early Christmas present

We are buying another house.

As I have stated before, some people collect Precious Moments figurines, but not us. We seem to collect houses. The purchase of this one brings us to a present total of nine. Nine houses.
It seems we could arrange them into some kind of Christmas village. Even the dumpy ones look decent covered in sparkly snow.

Let me tell you why this house is so special to me:

1. It is made of stone.
2. It is river-front property
3. It is very old. We think 1802.
4. It is in Madrid, which is where most of our other properties are located.
5. I have admired it for many years. When I was a college student, I used to stand on the Madrid bridge and sigh over it. True story.
6. We are going to live there!

This house has some history behind it, for certain. My favorite students are gearing up for a visit to the local historical society.The word on the street is that it was the miller's home. Next door stood the grist-mill, which was torn down years ago. I found some online history and an old photo of this mill.
The main part of the house has deep, deep window sills and wood floors. You should hear me swoon and moon over these windows. I'm pretty loud about it; you might hear me if you are at the Hometown Cafe eating a burger. The views of the river, dam, and bridge are amazing.

The back wing of the house is an addition which includes the kitchen, family room, and utility room. We are not sure when it was added, but this is where most of the renovation will take place. First of all, I am sorry to say, the giant stone fireplace will be dismantled. It is akin to a blundering elephant which sits in the smack-dab middle of everything. An entirely new kitchen will be installed, along with a new family/"great room", mudroom, and office for Hubby.

The property includes a two-car garage with an unfinished apartment above it. It used to be a boat-house. I've always wanted a boat-house. Our two canoes and kayak will feel quite at home there.
The ground floor of the stone house is a one-bedroom apartment. Presently, it will stay rented to the quiet gentleman that lives there.

There is much excitement about this project, as you can imagine. I dream about it fairly regularly. Hubby and #1 Son stay up late comparing designs. We draw on napkins a lot. #1 Daughter has already claimed her bedroom. She is hoping for an art studio above the garage. Family conversations tend to be truncated at the drop of the hat with the words, "-about the stone house, I was thinking....."

Since I am concerned that this blog will be blah, blah, blah about the stone house, I may start an additional blog. That way, those who are interested in our stone house obsession can get their fix. And those of you who would rather stick to my other random thoughts can easily do so.

Breaking news: Click on this link for an update on the Madrid bridge project. (The stone house is at the foot of this closed bridge.) A strikingly handsome bystander was interviewed.