Me and the Ol' Dear

Category: gardens and old home renovation | Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:39 pm

A year ago, I sat on the front steps of Melrose - the 200-year old faded beauty I have in Eastern North Carolina - and felt totally overwhelmed by the scope of all that needed to be done to this house, which had been left to me when my wife died in 2005. Immediately after her death I had fully intended to follow through on her dream to have Melrose restored and for it to serve as a "family seat" or a "country retreat" for my family. Throughout that first year, I had various projects underway, some on the inside of Melrose, and others on the grounds surrounding the house. The two-acre grounds had been such a mess, that just having someone haul away the accumulated trash of decades seemed like a good place to start. Much of that got done, and I felt the better for it- not unlike having an enema. But the inside of the house was another matter. It was filled with furniture and boxes upon boxes, all of which had been moved from the house we had sold on the North Carolina coast in preparation for the move to Melrose.

Each time I went to Melrose, I intended to do something - to invest some sweat equity that would move the whole project toward some far-off time when all would be done and life would be bucolic. But, no matter what I did on those quick down, quick back day-long trips, it amounted to less than a drop of sweat on the snout of a local mole. The restoration project was so vast, my time was so limited, and the dollars to hire workers were not inexhaustible. Hence, that day came when I found myself sitting on the Melrose steps, dejected, depressed and deflated. It was during that semi-seminal moment that I made a decision to sell the house. It now has been on the market since last spring.

But, funny things happen on the road to a house closing, and as it happens, that decision was not the end of the story. It appears that in a quirky, roundabout way, that might just have been the end of the beginning.

Soon after the decision to sell, we set about moving the furniture and boxes to a storage facility. I thought I was moving the stuff to make it easier to sell the house. And it did serve that purpose. But, because my mind is only slightly larger than that found in a fruit fly, having the stuff out of the house permited me to take in the uncluttered spaces as I had not done before. At the same time, I was still involved in projects intended to return the house to sound condition. I even spent three days in August perched on a portion of the metal roof, scraping and painting, sweating and swearing and even managing to sit in a spot of tar that was being used to mend leaks in the roof. Unknowingly, in the searing heat and humidity of an Eastern North Carolina summer, I had begun bonding with Melrose.

When fall arrived, my new wife and I came to similar conclusions, which we shared one night during dinner. Something- maybe stars in a particular alignment or (God forbid) the influence of the resident ghost in Melrose - something had the both of us thinking that getting rid of Melrose might not be the right course of action. I have been letting that idea marinate in sweet and sour sauce ever since, not sure whether it has more to do, as Scrooge said, with a bit of beef or a blot of mustard, than with ghosts or inspiration.

All of this has caused me to announce to a suspecting family that if the old dear does no sell by spring, I will take it off the market, and prepare to occupy Melrose, not as Sherman would have done with fire and sword, but with paint brush, toilet bowl cleaner and floor buffer. If the house sells by spring, I will view it as an act of fate fulfilled. But, if it is not sold by spring, I will take it as a sign of my karma.

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Frank wrote on Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:12 pm:

I'm very interested to hear how this works out SC, please don't leave us hanging come springtime!

Netty wrote on Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:45 pm:

I'll be waiting for news as well Southerncurrent.
Any photos of Melrose? I'd love to see them.

glendann wrote on Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:05 am:

I hope you end up with Melrose.That was always one of my dreams I would like to see someone live my dream for me.

DaphDaph wrote on Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:21 am:

Southerncurrent, thank you for the wonderful story. I look forward to hearing what happens with Melrose, but I have a feeling you and Melrose are meant for each other.

Droopy wrote on Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:46 am:

Leaving it all to fate... At least you have made a desicion. I'm eager to hear what happens next.

Biita wrote on Thu Nov 15, 2007 11:12 am:

I really hope you end up with Melrose, there is something about the appeal,quality an charm of an ol'southern home that modern homes are just lacking. As far as the ghost, let him earn his room an board but scaring off potential buyers,,

CritterPainter wrote on Fri Nov 16, 2007 3:53 am:

Good heavens, I'd lay odds that if you started writing letters with photos enclosed, to all these crazy decorating and remodeling shows you could hit on one that would love to do at least a room or two in such an historic house. Have you checked into preservation societies in your area? They might be of some assistance too. Worth a try anyhow, I know from painful experience that once you have let something like this go, you'll really regret it. She's a one-of-a-kind, and I truly wish you success.