A House Becomes a Home

Today marks the one year anniversary of our signing our lives away on our very first house! It's been a quite a year, there's no doubt about that. From a major roof leak the first week we moved in, to the pain of energy bills in an old house, we've risen above it all to truly fall in love with our little crooked house. On the anniversary of our new lives as homeowners, we pause to reflect on the journey thus far with a few nuggets of wisdom gleaned in one short year:

1. The studs in an old house are older than you or anyone you know. They've been there, standing for a long time, and will have none of your annoyances (nails, drill bits, etc.). They command respect and incur endless frustration
2. Sometimes the ugliest, least perfect aspects of your house become the most near and dear to your heart.
3. Contractors owe you nothing, even if you've paid them and signed an agreement to work. A good contractor is worth his (or her) weight in gold.
4. "Character" comes at a cost. One that is still well worth paying as far as we're concerned. I can't imagine living in a house with level floors and brand new windows. Just wouldn't feel the same.
5. A covered woodpile is a beautiful thing. An uncovered woodpile is a worthless eyesore.
6. Some home improvement projects are best done with one person. Not two.
7. There are few feelings more satisfying than surveying your house after you've cleaned it up yourself. Knowing that it's yours and it's beautiful because you take care of it is what taking pride in ownership is all about.
8. Nothing... and I mean, NOTHING... makes up for location. We could live in a huge house 20 miles outside the city, but as far as we're concerned, our neighborhood is about as close to priceless as you get in real estate. We have EVERYTHING within walking distance, 2 grocery stores, shops on King Street, parks, walking/biking trails, public and private elementary schools, hardware store... I could go on and on.
9. And finally, a house becomes a home when the people (and animals) you love move in. This is our first home as a married couple and it's Harry's first home. Period. We look at pictures of the house before we moved in and see a shell. Now it's a place we can't wait to come home to.

Though we have even bigger plans for our little crooked house in our second year as homeowners, we will never forget the happy memories of our first.