The Stress of Buying a Old House

[farmgal67357]

Well we got over the first hurdle. Our little bungalow passed the mechanical inspection without any big surprises. :D Now it's on to the termite inspection. Oy vey! I'm not going to have any fingernails left!!!!

[vintage girl]

Hang in there. It will all be worth it in the end:)

[memmey]

Yep this is the crumby part and then....it's yours. I remember walking into my house after it was signed, sealed and delivered and it felt so wonderful. I walked around and around. I got the immediate urge to scrub and make it mine. It was a shabby little thing but it felt like the east wing of the White house to me. I was home. I made this little house the promise to take care of her, isn't that silly but I meant it. I still do.
I found an old sampler that says, " Dear House. You are really very small just big enough for love that's all.

Congrats on your new home..how very exciting.:D

[vintage girl]

Memmy,

I just love that quote from the sampler you found. How very sweet:) I also love how you refer to your house as "she". My house is a girl also. And so are my cars. They all have names and they are all female. No offense to the guys on here, but I have always felt I would love to live in an Amazon Society. Except when I need the plumbing unstuck or something heavy moved.:D:D

[chyna]

I made a promise to mine too except my house is a boy, so are my cars. Well except my Stratus, I think it is a she. I just named it Trusty. :)

[farmgal67357]

I am so glad that someone else names their cars! Well, this started when my two boys were little. We had an old Dodge Caravan that had the name Curtis on it's key, so the van became Curtis Caravan. Now we have a Jeep Laredo that has been named Larry...... Hey, someone was on this forum talking about what to name their house, I have come up with "Tveir Kottr Heim" for mine. It's Old Norse for Two Cat Cottage/Home. And by the way, I am a Viking Age reenactor in the SCA.
farmgal AKA Lady Maeva Dagsdottir
Shire of Bois d'Arc
Calontir

[farmgal67357]

Well we made it!!!! The mechanical inspection didn't turn up anything that wasn't expected, and there are no termites in the place. YEA!!!!! Looks like we are buying a house!!

[RoseMary]

Congrats:)!

[vintage girl]

Big huge congratulations. Now the fun part begins. Decorating:D:D

[chyna]

Wicked beads!!! Me and my family do Mountainman Rendezvous recreations. My name up there is Yellow Jacket Killer, lets just say I will live with nature until it bites and stings my little toddler daughter then all hell breaks loose.:cool:

Congrats on the house. I'm so jealous!;)

[memmey]

Oh no how can we have TWO reenactment girls on one forum !!! This is very interesting:p Who knew?

[farmgal67357]

Thank you! Yeah, Vikings are into the bling! Don't know how smart it was to pick a Scandinavian persona (layers of clothing) when it's SOOOOO hot here in the Summer. But I love the history of that time.
I assure you that the decor in our new little cottage will be eclectic. Cottage style with touches from the Middle Ages. Actually the word cottage has roots in the Old Norse word kot which means hut. There ya go kids, ya learned something new today!

[chyna]

Obviously the Norwegians weren't into beads. About all we're into is dragons and tole painting. LOL

I've wondered how intellient we are for all our layers either, will let you all in on a little secret though. Long skirts are surprisingly cool and refreshing. :o And since we aren't prim and proper like the rest of civilization at the time nobody says a thing when you are tromping around in the ditches. I still havne't made my braintan dress yet. I hear those are incredibly hot.:eek:

[shabbychick]

I used to belong to the SCA. My persona was Anglo-Saxon, which is a period of English history that I adore. I have one room in my home dedicated to the middle ages. Luckily, the colors I've used in there go well with the cottage colors I use in the rest of the house even if the decor is a bit more...gargoyle-intensive...than the rest of the house. I've taken that pseudo-medieval theme into my backyard garden, and it works okay with the cottage stuff. I even have a Celtic chicken picture in my medieval room to incorporate my beloved chickens into the decor. It's been interesting trying to meld my different interests into one home.

[memmey]

What??? Three of you here??? Now is this the reniassance festival kind of thing?
I went to the reniassance festival in Texas and it freaked me out. The wenches and fairies and trolls and such. I love the smell of incense but that smell make it creepier LOL:p
We had a choice of going to Mass at an old church or staying for the fireworks at dark and we chose Mass....I didn't want to be in the "shire" at dark.:eek:

[shabbychick]

Well, it is sort of the Renaissance fair kind of thing, though it's all in the interpretation. The hard-core SCA folks really know their history and strive to be authentic in look, dress, and craft (I knew a Viking lady who sewed the huge tent her family took to the events) and who even write wonderful articles detailing their historical research (often much better even than the articles written by historians). At the "big" Renaissance fair events, you get a lot of people who like the dress up and pretend part, and I doubt they're even SCA members. The last fair I went to I saw a lot of outfits that a real medieval woman would be severely punished for wearing!! Lots of fantasies are set in a medieval-type setting, so you can kind of see the appeal to fantasy fans, hence the crossover. They're all harmless, though, even the trolls. :)

[farmgal67357]

Actually my persona is 10th century Norse, so the Norwegians used to be into beads. But if I went to a Rondy I'd have to be an Indian so I could still have my beads!


[QUOTE=chyna;14345]Obviously the Norwegians weren't into beads. About all we're into is dragons and tole painting. LOL"

[farmgal67357]

LOVE the Celtic chicken idea! You must smile everytime you see it!

[farmgal67357]

Renn Faires are usually run by some company that hires actors and performers to entertain your. I think they go a little over the top, I guess they want to make your visit memorable. What we do in the SCA is go to events that different Shires or groups hold on the weekend. It's mostly just for SCA folk, you may bring interested friends but it's not open to the public. And it's more history oriented than that Renn Faire fantasy stuff.

[farmgal67357]

What a great description of the SCA! I have one of those big Viking tents, it's purple and yellow striped. It's kinda loud, but all our friends know where we're camped!
There is a big Renn Faire in Kansas City every fall. There used to be a SCA encampment there but they stopped having it.



Well, it is sort of the Renaissance fair kind of thing, though it's all in the interpretation. The hard-core SCA folks really know their history and strive to be authentic in look, dress, and craft (I knew a Viking lady who sewed the huge tent her family took to the events) and who even write wonderful articles detailing their historical research (often much better even than the articles written by historians). At the "big" Renaissance fair events, you get a lot of people who like the dress up and pretend part, and I doubt they're even SCA members. The last fair I went to I saw a lot of outfits that a real medieval woman would be severely punished for wearing!! Lots of fantasies are set in a medieval-type setting, so you can kind of see the appeal to fantasy fans, hence the crossover. They're all harmless, though, even the trolls. :)

[shabbychick]

There' a lot of crossover between Anglo-Saxon and Norse culture. They could even understand each other's language (particularly helpful when an invading Viking is about to whack you). Entwined plants and creatures feature in both cultures' artwork and jewelry. I know there's a difference, but to my untrained eye, they look the same and also not that much different from Celtic designs.

When I look at the beautiful jewelry, fabric, and books, and weapons produced throughout the middle ages, I'm blown away by the patience and skill of these cultures and the intricacy of their designs given the conditions and materials they had to work with. There isn't much in the world more beautiful than the Book of Kells and similar books produced in drafty monasteries by men who made their own paper, their own pens, inks, brushes, and paints and who worked, for the most part, without any artificial light (even candles being a hazard). I've had my students try to reproduce some of those Celtic knots or try to trace one of the animals from beginning to end throughout the design,and it's a real challenge.

We can learn a lot about patience and craft from those ancients. I'm particularly impressed by the millefiori and enamel work. Plus I love the outfits. I'm more comfortable in some of my medieval outfits than I am in the jeans I usually wear.




Actually my persona is 10th century Norse, so the Norwegians used to be into beads. But if I went to a Rondy I'd have to be an Indian so I could still have my beads!


[QUOTE=chyna;14345]Obviously the Norwegians weren't into beads. About all we're into is dragons and tole painting. LOL"

[shabbychick]

LOVE the Celtic chicken idea! You must smile everytime you see it!

I do. A friend gave me a Celtic-themed calendar, and the chicken was one of the months (I don't remember which). When the year ended, I took the picture out and framed it. I love chickens and wanted to have at least one in every room, but finding a medieval-themed chicken picture was easier said than done. This was a real stroke of luck, and I love seeing it there on my wall. Now if I could only find a chicken gargoyle for my garden!

[shabbychick]

Well, with a purple and yellow tent, you must be the envy of every University of Washington grad in the crowd! I think people should revel in color. The Vikings knew how to do it up right. So did the very ancient Celts, who used to strip naked and paint themselves blue before going into battle. :) They also loved stripes and plaids.

Back in the 70s, I used to love to go to the Renaissance Faire in southern California. It was far enough out of the populated areas that you could really feel you'd been transported back in time. What fun!

What a great description of the SCA! I have one of those big Viking tents, it's purple and yellow striped. It's kinda loud, but all our friends know where we're camped!
There is a big Renn Faire in Kansas City every fall. There used to be a SCA encampment there but they stopped having it.

[chyna]

there was a SCA group here that a friend of mine belonged to and invited me to visit. Best I could figure out was that they were into partying and having sex with each other. I'm positive they aren't all like that. That group was more of a fantasy player.

We have loads of celtic stuff at our rendezvous' and I love them. I picked up some horse themed stuff several years ago. I need to figure out what to do with them but the choices the choices. Oh I forgot, I tell people that we Vikings are good at raping and pillaging and turning your culture into ours. :D

[farmgal67357]

there was a SCA group here that a friend of mine belonged to and invited me to visit. Best I could figure out was that they were into partying and having sex with each other. I'm positive they aren't all like that. That group was more of a fantasy player.

We have loads of celtic stuff at our rendezvous' and I love them. I picked up some horse themed stuff several years ago. I need to figure out what to do with them but the choices the choices. Oh I forgot, I tell people that we Vikings are good at raping and pillaging and turning your culture into ours. :D
Well it sounds like that group thought SCA meant sex, combat, and alcohol! My group is more family friendly, thank goodness! And I'm not technically a "Viking", but I do live in the Viking Age. My persona is also a Christian and I think the Church would frown on the raping and pillaging....... ;)

[farmgal67357]

Big huge congratulations. Now the fun part begins. Decorating:D:D
Well I just got a call telling me we are closing the first of next week! Then the painting and decorating will begin! This is the first house that hubby and I have purchased together and we are so happy to have OUR house! :)

[vintage girl]

Yippeeeeeeee!!!!!:D

[memmey]

Pictures please we want to help decorate:)hooraYYYYYYYYY IT'S YOURS!!!!!!!

[shabbychick]

That's wonderful news! Now you can celebrate!

[chyna]

congrats!!!