As Promised, More Pictures from Blogfest

Because I am such a dork

and I am not a very good listener

when I have my camera out and I 

am overwhelmed with thoughts in my head 

of shots to take, 

I don't have very many details 

about this property.

I tend to shut down my auditory system

when searching and planning photos.

I do know, however,  that this property belongs to the family of

one of the Virginia Blogfest hostesses,

Big Hair Envy.

I also know we left Mathews County and went

a county over to get here, 

but,

being geographically challenged the way that I am,

I could not tell you which direction I traveled

or which county we were in.

I am sure Kate would know, though.

She was our tried and true navigator.

Diane would know too,

because she isn't dumb like me.

BHE's great grandfather owned this property a long time ago

(aren't you glad I am so specific?)

and it still remains in her family today.

It has a beautifully weathered barn that still stands proudly 

next to the house.

At some point, there were two horses stalled here,

Wind Song and Scout.

They are since long gone,

but their names still remain

marking the space they called home.

I wish I had a picture of the outside 

of the house, but I don't.

It is a beautiful house,

well loved and aged.

The picture below is of the covered porch 

that extends off from the kitchen door

through which I entered this treasure.

And this is the amazing sight I saw

as I walked through that door

into the sunny, yellow kitchen.

I almost cried.

How gorgeous is this space?

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It was so strange,

it was like the family just disappeared.

There were still

cups in the cabinet,

dishes in the sink,

food items and 

other sundries in the pantry,

and other things that just seemed like

they had not been touched or moved

in a generation.

Even the kitchen door had the valence

still gracing the interior.

How cute is the red with the yellow?

So cheery.

Can you tell how warm and comforting

this space

must have been to the family

who was lucky enough to live here?

The chair in the middle of the kitchen

did catch me off guard.  

I wonder what it was doing there?

I took its picture because

this chair has a hundred stories 

in it, I am sure.

I will add the image below to my

"Resting Places" series

I am working on.

As I turned to leave the kitchen area,

and move on to the next room

the details of the doors and 

door handles struck me.

Modern homes don't have this

much care in the details and it is a shame.

Look at those key holes! 

In what I assumed would have been the 

living room or parlor,

I found another fine subject for my

"Resting Places" series.

This chair was in remarkable 

condition considering the surroundings.

This ironing board

still rested against the wall,

waiting to be useful again.

Personally, I would have left 

it behind too.

I am not one for ironing much.

Leaving this area, I turned and went up this beautiful staircase

to the bedroom above.

Imagine my surprise when I saw

there was still a bed there.

Don't you wonder whose hands

built this bed?

Don't you want to know if anyone

was born or died in this bed?

It is all so fascinating.

On the back of the bedroom door

there were even hangers still there.

What a beautiful mess.

I don't have a picture of it

because it had to be 

110 degrees on the top floor of that house,

and I was melting into a pool of butter,

but there was also a closet in the bedroom.

I was brave enough to open it and

inside were clothes that had been left behind.

One particular piece, 

a woolen blazer,

caught my attention and curiosity.

If I had more time and felt like

I was not intruding,

I would have liked to go through 

the pockets to see if there 

were any mementos left

from an era gone by...

a train ticket,

a theatre stub,

a handkerchief,

something...

On my way back down the steps to exit

this house,

 I saw this light fixture.

Look at the details!

My heart was heavy

when it was time to leave this place.

I knew I would probably never be back.

I felt such a kinship to this place

that it was like I was leaving a friend

I had just found again.

I can't explain the pull 

this place had on me.

Perhaps it was similar to 

the feeling I got when I would 

visit my grandparents in their

old home.

Perhaps it was the hospitality I felt

from the long ago souls

that used to occupy this house.

Whatever it was,

I loved it and didn't want to leave it.

I hope you enjoyed 

this part of your tour.

Believe it or not, 

I still have other pictures to share

from other stops we made that day.

Yeah, Blogfest was THAT GOOD.

xoxo