And did I mention, "I love our house?!?!"

I love our house. I am just going to keep saying that over and over again and maybe...just maybe...it will quit surprising us with unexpected little catastrophes. And maybe if I keep repeating that phrase, I will remind myself of all the excitement I first felt at owning a historic home with all its character and charm. I love our house. I love our house...


The story of being a historic homeowner began for my husband in 2001. I joined the team upon our marriage in 2005. And then began the growing list of...well...projects to be done. I'm serious. We had pipes breaking and flooding rooms, floors creaking and shaking when we walked on them. New roof. New boards on outside of house to replace those that were rotted. Foundation stabilization. The root seller that fills up with water every time it rains. Raccoons down the chimney, skunks between the floors. Mice. Ugly wallpaper. Uneven corners. Cracks in the walls. Hail damage. Another new roof. Burned ceiling beams from a century ago. No water pressure. Dry rotted carpet. And now we have added to the latest little snag in our growing list of mini disasters.


Apparently at some point in the history of our house, someone decided to remove an old chimney from the first floor of the house. What they DID NOT do was remove the rest of it on the second floor of the house. You know, we wondered why the floor was beginning to sag in the oldest section of the house. Little did we know it was because said floor was holding up century-and-a-half old chimney bricks with very little help.


Oh yeah. They found it today.


I love our house. I love our house. I love our house.


We are very fortunate that chimney above-mentioned sagging floor did not crash through on top of our heads. I mean, we already lost our minds when we bought this place...we don't need any more brain damage...right?!


The cost of the latest project is climbing. We are now having the chimney removed, the roof patched where chimney comes out of roof, and in the Spring....an entire new roof will be put on the house. Oh, the roof is needed due to the recent hail and wind damage, not due to the chimney. At least we discovered them at the same time.


I have a migraine.


And did I mention...I love our house?


Pictures of said mini disaster forthcoming as soon as I locate my photo memory card. And my sanity.

Top Photo credit: Scene from "The Money Pit."