Our New Home

Life on the farm is what John and I have longed for.  Specifically, the farm in Louisiana owned by my parents.  Of course we had to move in during the hottest part of the year.  So, after a wonderful vacation to celebrate Stephanie's high school graduation we arrived in Louisiana, greeted by unseasonably comfortable temperatures, (that didn't last long), ready to begin our adventure July 14, 2012.

The house we now call home, belonged to my mom's parents, John H. and Virgie Carroll.  They built the house in the 50's and called it home the rest of their lives.  My mom grew up in this house, well sort of.  I learned recently that she lived with her grandmother until she was 8.  They owned a general store in Ludington after moving here from Fullerton, LA, a logging town that was no more after all the timber was gone.  Her grandmother had a stroke and was no longer able to care for her so she had to move to the home her parents had built.  They built a two bedroom home, they had only one child so two bedrooms were all that was necessary.  The house was located on Hwy 171 in Ludington, near the store owned by her grandparents, until 1968 when they moved the house to it's present location on the farm where my granddaddy raised cows and ran a dairy.  The house was added onto at that time too.  It has another living area bathroom and another bedroom.  The addition made the layout of the home a bit awkward since the kitchen is the main hub of the home.   One must go through the kitchen to get from one part of the house to the other.  The house is right in the middle of a beautiful stretch of land that includes pasture, cows, wooded land and a little bit of water when we aren't in a drought.  We also have a large flock of geese who visit on occasion.  Zach and I tried to feed them corn the other day, but they were afraid of us and went the other way.

My grandparents lived out their lives mostly in the new addition to the home and I remember being intrigued by the mystery that was held in "the back of the house," where we were never allowed to go. My granny's brother lived back there off and on and he seemed just as mysterious to me, I rarely saw him but I know he was there.  My brother lived with my grandparents and uncle for a few years after high school and he developed a great relationship with our uncle Tom.  Uncle Tom was on the beaches of Normandy and lived to tell of it, though I am not sure that he ever liked to.

So now you have it.  We have a three bedroom two bath house that needs some TLC.  We hope to turn it into a 4 bedroom 3 bath home and look forward to the adventure.  Although, we don't look forward to the dust and mess!  Our first project was to get all of our stuff unloaded, that task is now accomplished.  We will begin sanding the hardwood floors in the back of the house next week in preparation four first major project, the kitchen and laundry room.  Currently, the kitchen houses the washer and dryer.  We are converting the dining room into a laundry room and renovating the kitchen with new cabinets, appliances, flooring, an island and a new window.  We are also enlarging the kitchen a bit and will even have one of those cool pot filler faucets behind the cooktop.  I will post photos and updates as time permits.  I am excited to have you join us on our adventure!

Until we meet again.

Front view of the house.  The carport on the left side of the house is where we hope to add our master bedroom someday.

The kitchen window looks out on the back yard and the woods behind the house.  The window will be moved to the left and the wall behind the washer and dryer will be moved back about 3 feet.  

The new refrigerator will go where the stove is now and the vintage dishwasher has already been replaced.   The sink will be located about where the dishwasher is above and the new dishwasher will go to the right of it.  

Removing the wall behind the washer and dryer will give much needed additional space in the kitchen.  To the right of this room is the current dining room that will become the laundry room.  We plan to add space for food storage in there as well.  This washer and dryer have been replaced.  The washer was purchased in 1985 or '86 by my parents and it is still going strong.  Appliances and pets have long life spans at my parents home.