Wednesday, August 17, 2011

what i did :: Watson Family Homestead

Last Friday Ivan and I went with my Dad and his sisters to the house they grew up in. This house was built by/for my family in 1852 and was passed down through the generations until my Grandpa sold it in 1981.
The people who bought it then still live there today and they were nice enough to let us come over for a visit.
My dad helped make these stones that formed a path around the side of the house.
Beside the house was (Ivan's favourite part) a huge vegetable garden and a bunch of fruit trees.
We got to peek around inside the house as well. The people living there now had these cool terrariums!
And, probably my favourite part...
This was a little tiny area that my Grandma used as a kitchen. The tiles and the scallops! Oh my gosh, I nearly died. So pretty!

It was really special to be able to see the house that my Dad's family lived in for generations. I loved hearing my Dad and his sisters reminisce about different rooms in the house and little details they remembered. I am so happy that I tagged along for this little adventure.

Do you have any 'family homes' that are still in your family?

♥elycia

21 comments:

  1. aw, elycia! this is so sweet! I just love the little kitchen part :) actually, I do have a house that has been in my family for a long time. it's now my grandparent's house, but before that, my grandma's dad build it when he came back from the war. isn't that just so cool? and my mum and her brother lived there their whole lives, too! :)
    -charlotte

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful house! Seriously... I love those tiles and scallops as well, but what was the nook for? Whats the metal in the center? (Am i being totally ignorant? haha!) This sounds like it was such a fun and interesting little trip. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a pretty house! My grandfather lived in the house he was born in till he was 80, but he had to sell it when he couldn't take care of himself anymore. It had stained glass windows and a huge garden with fruit trees where he kept bees. I'm still sad no one in the family could buy it... But I have some pretty great memories of it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That house truly looks amazing! And that looks like a little pathway going out to the garden...and the terrariums!

    ReplyDelete
  5. My great-grandmother was a single mom who ran a "hotel" for lonely sailors in Norfolk, VA. Kinda sad it's not still in the family. Now three incredibly wealthy, beautiful, eccentric triplet sisters (27 years old) live there together with all their cats. It seems like something out of a book...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I grew up in a house in middle-oh-nowhere Ohio that was part of the underground railroad. There was a crawling path that led from under the front porch to a secret room in the basement. You could also access the path by lifting up the slate in front of the fireplace. When I was little, I always thought I could see skulls in the secret room. We moved out of the house when I was 13, but it still haunts my dreams. I found out it had been foreclosed on, so my little sister and I broke into it in the dead of winter (it was totally open and unlocked). The people that had been living there let it fall apart. It was so sad to see such an interesting house in shambles.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That house is amazing!! A little sad that it is no longer in the family.... but that's great that the family living there now let you come over and take a peek. The house my grandparents live in hasn't been in the family that long but it is where I grew up and holds a very special place in my heart. I hope it will always remain in the family... the thought of others living there makes me very nervous. Sea Marie

    ReplyDelete
  8. What an adorable house!
    I just love old houses such as that one. There's so much history to them. My boyfriend's grandparents lived in the cutest little brick house. It's no longer in the family, either. But the new owners have torn it to pieces. It breaks my heart!
    It's nice to see how lovely your dad's old house still looks.
    xo, Allie.

    ReplyDelete
  9. love the terrariums! i keep imagining a shelf of them in my dining room

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Elycia,
    Just a quick note to say that the Cheer laundry detergent team loves your blog! We’d be pleased to have you join our blogger outreach program. If you’d be interested, please shoot me a quick email at Cheer And Catalyst@Gmail.com for more info.

    Best regards,
    Khara on behalf of P&G/Cheer

    ReplyDelete
  11. That place looks so wonderful...that was so nice of them to let you come in for a look. <3

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a gorgeous little home! My family is military, so we don't really have anything like that. We all are a migrating people. I do remember the house my grandparents had throughout most of my childhood, though, and the old camper. Both are gone now. And occasionally I've gone back to visit houses in other states I lived in for a two-year span of my life. They are usually far from what I recall, but it's kinda nice when the new owners are willing to open their doors to let you walk down memory lane!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is so so cool! What a neat thing to have a family home. It's nice that the new family let you guys visit it. I love the brick work and the fun colors in the kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a cool trip! :) my family and I did a similar thing, visiting the house where my grandad grew up with a bunch of family members. It was so cool listening to their stories about living there too :)

    Kc

    http://a-sparkley-silver-lining.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Elycia...it's absolutely beautiful! How cool were your family??!! It is a shame it's not in the family anymore :( Does your Dad wish it was still theirs?
    Tone

    ReplyDelete
  16. absolutely gorgeous!! <3 this bit of your history

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love this house!!! This is seriously my dream house. I have to admit, I'm jealous that this was in your family for so long! <3

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ohmygosh, it's beautiful!! I wish we had a little treasure like this in our family. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. i love the kitchen. beautiful!

    http://breatheandhush.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a pretty little brick house! Love it! My dream house one day is a brick one. I think because I grew up in neighborhoods (still do) where the plastic siding is overused. Bleh.

    The garden is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  21. What an amazing looking house! My grandma still lives in the same house that she's lived in since she got married. It's nowhere near as cool as the one you featured but my cousin and I used to love getting dressed up in all her old clothes and running around through the big old pine trees and then out through the soy bean fields!

    ReplyDelete

Your comment will appear after approval. Thank you so much for stopping by and saying hi, I may not always respond but I always appreciate hearing from you.