This Old House

This house lives in Redart.

I drove down there the other day on my way home from running errands.

The gorgeous green grass drew my attention as much as anything.

But it's a cute old house.

It reminds me a little of this house (click for the link)  down Hallieford except the door is situated differently.

I'm just glad we seem to be past the worst of the cold, dreary winter and green is finally taking over.

In fact, green is also taking over my house.

I just cut my front yard on Saturday, and as of Tuesday evening it needs cutting again.  All my shrubs need to be pruned, and every inch of space around my house needs weeding--even after I spent the better part of Saturday pulling and hauling stuff away.  I swear it's a full-time job just trying to keep up with the maintenance of my yard let alone the house, let alone anything or anyone else, myself included.

Anyway, for now I'll choose to focus on the beauty of the green, which I'll take any day over the dark, gray doldrums of winter.

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Still Standing

These were taken a few weeks back just before the leaves started budding on the trees.  Winter is usually the best time to catch glimpses of some of the older abandoned structures that lurk in our many wooded areas, but this winter I didn't get out nearly enough to take pictures.

The poor daffodils sagging in the last few photos were only doing so because it was a cold, damp day.  They perk right up as soon as the sun arrives to warm them up.

(I can relate.)

I pass all of these hidden houses--and more--on my favorite jogging route in the county. That would be the very same jogging route I've visited far too infrequently this year, making me ill-prepared for anything resembling the half-marathon I'm signed up for on Saturday.

(But all will be fine.)

Baby Sis and I will walk a part of this half-marathon if we must, in spite of our inner competitive demons which despise the thought of surrender.  She claims her knees are "bone against bone" with no cartilage to speak of.  I respond with statements like, "The longest I've run recently was six miles one time the other week, but my memory's so bad it might have been the other month--and I've done nothing since then except sit at a desk or in a car. And eat.  I've done lots of eating."

It's almost like we're in a competition to see who is the least ready.

As I've said before though, we need no training to have a good time.

But that's all this weekend.

These next couple of days I'm off from work and will spend some time with Daughter and Son, who are on spring break.  Son will be working at Merroir most of the time, but we'll squeeze in an adventure or two that includes a trip "to town" as we say, also known as a trek "across the river."  Translation:  We're headed to Newport News to take care of things like haircuts and errands that we otherwise never have time for.

And we'll have fun.

Because that's what this family seems to do best.

Three Things

If it's Thursday--and it seems to be, once again--then it's time to share three things, three thoughts, three of whatever happens to be dancing around the cobwebs neurotransmitters in the ballroom that is your brain.

I'll go first.

1.  I think the opening sentence of this blog post is proof enough that I'm exhausted, but not nearly as exhausted as the Mathews High School girls' basketball team, which traveled to Petersburg last night for a tough loss which seals the end of the season for us.  Although that particular game was pretty much a whipping, they certainly ended farther along than anyone originally thought based on how the season kicked off.  (Not so great.)  I'm extremely proud of them all--and their coaches.

2.  The boys' team, on the other hand, beat Franklin the other night to advance in regional play. Friday night they play (I think it's Surry?) Surry at Lancaster.  Daughter and her friends and I and my friends are all going. (That last sentence is so bad that I'm leaving it just as it is, as proof of how tired I am.)

3.  Mathews didn't win the top spot in the coolest small town contest run by Budget Travel (Berlin, Maryland, did), but we made the top five.  Click here and here for more.  Also, if anyone from Berlin, Maryland, would like to trade houses for a long weekend, please let me know.  Mathews is indeed cool, but I sure could use a vacation away from home and wouldn't mind checking out uncharted territory, which Berlin represents.

4.  (Because three is just a suggestion.)  The house pictured here lives along East River Road somewhere in between Cardinal and Bohannon.

5.  (See above.)  Today I'm doing a Meals on Wheels route down Haven Beach, filling in for the regular driver.  I'm particularly excited because I've never done the Haven route before, so this means new people to meet (and help) and potentially new places to photograph legally!.  Stay tuned.

That's it from me.  Now it's your turn to share three or five things.  Whatever you want.  Anything at all.

Cardinal

This lovely house lives on the way to Mobjack in a part of the county known as Cardinal.

Several friends of mine from high school lived in or near Cardinal,

so I passed by this house more than a few times back in the day.

Back then I didn't have time to stop and admire this house though.

Speaking of high school, Saturday I traveled to Charles City with Alda and Catherine, two classmates of mine, to watch the Mathews High School girls and boys basketball teams play in the conference championship games.

The girls put up a very strong fight but lost to Charles City by only! four points.  Although I thought we were done for the season, Daughter informed me that because we came in second we advance to the regional games. Tuesday night we play again.

The boys, however, won their game by one bucket in the last second of the game.  The last minute of that game was some of the most exciting basketball I've seen in a while.  

Other than basketball, the only other newsworthy topic is the weather, which reached the low 70s yesterday.  I spent most of the day picking up and burning sticks and pine cones--in shorts.  Although picking up pine cones doesn't sound very exciting--because trust me it isn't--just being outdoors inhaling fresh air, feeling the cool breeze and sunshine on the skin, and hearing the song birds and the frogs off in the distance was enough to make me happy content.

So there you have it, all the sordid details of my wild weekend.

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Welcome to the last week of February.

March can't get here soon enough for me.

Old House II

This adorable little house lives just down the road from yesterday's house, in Diggs.

It's been a while since I stopped by for a visit.

By stopping by, I mean I slowed to a stop in the road, got out, 

snapped a few pictures from the road, then drove away.  

No trespassing was involved. I promise.

There were no cars around for miles. And miles.

Although I do appreciate my house on Queens Creek, there are many, many days

I wish I could downsize into something more manageable.

Something about this size I believe I could keep up with.

This particular one might require some work to become livable again, but size-wise I think I could handle it. 

As long as I had internet connectivity, a refrigerator, a stove, a place to sleep and a source of heat.

(This little daydream assumes, of course, that both teenagers are off living productive lives elsewhere.)

Speaking of teenagers, 

Mathews High School girls beat King and Queen last night in the last home game of the season.

That's three wins in a row, and I'm confident we can win again tonight.

Contrary to what I wrote yesterday, tonight's game is at King and Queen. 

Wednesday we play at King William.   

(There are way too many kings in this blog post, by the way.)

From abandoned houses to daydreams about abandoning my own house to a winning basketball streak to too many kings, it's time to stop writing.  If I don't force myself to stop, I'll soon be talking about Bora Bora and Javier Bardem Who Knows What due to my proclivity for rambling especially when tired.

Hope your week is going well.

Old House

This old farmhouse lives on Route 613 in Diggs. 

I drove down here and took its picture on a morning I was supposed to go running.

It was just too darn cold.

This whole weekend was pretty dreary and cold and absolutely boring rather uneventful. Other than a quick 30-minute jog on Saturday, I didn't leave the house the entire weekend.  Son was (and still is) sick with flu-like symptoms.  It was a juggling act trying to keep up with his needs while keeping Daughter at a safe distance since she can't afford to get sick.  (Not that anyone ever can.)  She has three back to back basketball games this week starting tonight at home against King and Queen.  Tuesday we're away at King William.  Wednesday we're at King and Queen.  That's a lot of basketball...and a lot of driving.  They will be brutally long days for those of us who have to work an hour away.

Anyway, that's all that's fit to print from this neck of the woods.  Hope your week is a good one.

Unexpected

A weekend that was supposed to include house and yard work instead was spent having fun, none of which was planned.

Saturday I went to Gloucester's Daffodil Festival with Me, Myself and My Camera.  The three of us like to hang out, and we enjoyed the diversion on a brisk sunny day.

(We also happened to be avoiding house and yard work.)

I'll post some pictures of the food trucks as far as the eye could see flower-filled festivities later this week.

Saturday night I met my friend BHE and her date at Sandpiper Reef, where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner.

(I had the blackened tuna which was fantastic. And yes, I was the third wheel on that date.  Still, we had fun. Also, I was at Sandpiper Friday evening at the urging of another friend in town for a funeral. She called on my ride home from work and forced me out of the cocoon I've created for myself here lately.)

Sunday BHE and I met at Merroir.  Again.  What can I say, it's become a biweekly event.


On the drive home from Merroir I pulled over in a church parking lot to take a closer look at an old house I spotted in the adjacent woods.

I was completely engrossed in thought, entirely focused on this house, when out of nowhere came a man.  I waved politely and started making my way back to the car.  Figuring I should explain my presence, I held up the camera, said hello, and told him how much I loved old structures.

This started a conversation that lasted at least thirty minutes and went everywhere from his wife's death to his unfulfilled desire for a daughter to my great uncle Gene, who evidently was a mentor to this man in earlier days.

Sometimes I wonder just how these things happen.  Here I am, randomly pulling off on the side of the road to take pictures of a ramshackle house when out of nowhere comes a man who not only was interesting but who knew someone in my extended family.  I gave up trying to figure out the "why" of these occurrences and instead am just grateful they occur at all.

His name is Howard.

Sprinkled throughout the conversation were several references to beauty, the simple beauty found in everyday things. I pointed out to him that the very reason he and I were talking was because I was drawn to the beauty of an old house which others might consider dilapidated. 

After a most unexpected (yet deep) conversation with the man who came out of nowhere, I returned to my car and drove back to Mathews.

Although I accomplished absolutely nothing on my To Do list, I had a wonderful weekend.

Run-Down

This lovely old house lives in the middle of a field on a back road in Middlesex.

On my way home from Merroir on Saturday, I was able to slow

down long enough to snap a few shots as the sun was setting.

Today I had every intention of telling a story of an unusual recent incident,  however technical malfunctions (aka technical incompetence) prevented me from loading a picture without which the story is meaningless.

(I'm not too sure about that last sentence, it doesn't sit well with me. I feel certain my high school English teacher would keep me after class if I turned that in. Or mark it all up in red.  At least I'm aware of it even if I don't feel like making it better. What you may not know is that there were three other versions that were far worse.  I'm just tired of trying.  That I obsessed over it this much is a little disturbing. Also, when the parenthetical sidebars of a blog post are lengthier than the actual intended blog post content, it may be time to reconsider the topic or the blog post or at a minimum change the title to "Utterly Random, Incessant, Mindless, and Pointless Internal Chatter." Speaking of bad sentences, let's forget I wrote that last one. )

Where were we?

I took these on the way home from Merroir the other day and absolutely adore this run-down house.

The End.