homes – New England's Narrow Road

A Nomads Life, Places I Have Lived

Reminiscing about all my moves while in New Hampshire

One of the reasons I have kept this blog even though I no longer live in New England is that I have shared some of my favorite photos here. Now I use this blog to share my knitting adventures and dream that one day I will be able to write again from a New Hampshire location.

All photography on this page is my own and is copyright protected.

When I moved from Florida to New Hampshire I had a nice house where I expected to stay for a very long time – maybe forever. I have to laugh at that. Silly me.

It didn’t turn out that way. I moved, and moved, and moved some more. I rented at four different places and lived in one house of my own before high expenses and lack of income forced me to head back to Florida.

frozen lake ice skating — Life by the lake, my son skating in the cold

My first, third and fourth homes in New Hampshire were near Gregg Lake in Antrim. I loved this area. The lake is small enough that it never gets crowded and it’s very quiet when the summer people have gone. New Hampshire doesn’t change very quickly, and I love that. After living in Florida where there are really no small towns, being part of one was a welcome change.

winter sunrise — Light at the end of the tunnel?

My first rental house was in Hopkinton and I snapped this photo of the sun rising just at the top of the hill. I lived here for a year but rent was too expensive so I moved (almost) into a condo.

The condo flooded before I could get in, so I temporarily lived in a little “camp” near Gregg Lake. It was August and we were right on the water which was nice for the kids, but it was only temporary. The condo was taking a long time to renovate and I was desperate to find a permanent rental that was decent. I lucked out when I found the duplex (photo below), where I stayed for three years.

This area is so beautiful. The only thing that would have made it better was if I had really belonged by having my own place. But walking was beautiful and I enjoyed the views of woods, hills and the lake. My landlady had a black lab and I would take her for walks with me.

I’ve always loved taking photos and I used my digital camera for all of these. I never had a nice cell phone until just before I left the state. With the change of seasons, there is always something amazing to photograph in this area. Fall and winter were favorite times to get photos. I loved to go out after a snowstorm and get photos before the wind ruined things.

Trees covered with snow after a storm — Winter Trees

Because I was feeling more like a normal person – having a home helps – my kids talked me into getting two cats. Richie and Fontana loved to sit in the front window and watch the birds.

Richie was killed by a fisher cat after I moved into my own home, but Fontana is still with me. She is about 14 years old now.

my cats Richie and Fontana — Richie and Fontana

Yay, My Own Place

The house I bought (below) needed a lot of renovating. You can read about that here. I was having siding, windows and new shutters put on when we got a freak October snowstorm which brought the work to a halt for days.

October snowfall snowstorm — October Snowfall 2011

Now I am back in Florida where I deal with heat, humidity, crowds, tourists, and hurricanes. I no longer walk in the woods and take photos of the change of seasons. I blog about seashell identification and our boating trips where we attempt to catch fish large enough to eat. I write about Florida landscaping and gardening and life in general on my Hydrangeas Blue blog.

I miss New Hampshire, but I am a nomad, and my goal is to move again… back to the Northeast.

One Year Ago…

construction — The Mess I Bought a Year Ago

I came across the pictures of my house being re-sided and it reminded me not only of the mess, but the big snowfall that came at the end of October. Fortunately the guys were almost done with my repairs, but I can never look at Fall the same way now. I keep thinking that we could have two feet of snow in another week – or worse – an ice storm like what they got south of here.
It’s not a pleasant thought and on a beautiful, sunny day like this one, with temps in the 60’s, it seems unlikely. But it is New England and the weather can change in a snap.
This photo also reminds me of all the good changes I’ve been able to make in a year. And that I will still need to re-side the entire back of the house in Spring (I hope).
See a couple more pictures of the before and after when my house was being transformed.

Expect more snow, typical temperatures this winter, Accuweather says (rep-am.com)
Winter could bring above-normal snowfall to N.J., AccuWeather says (nj.com)

I’m Thankful For My Surprisingly Great Home – It Has a Mudroom!

When I was getting ready to buy a house last year, there were a few things I really wanted the place to have. But I was not in a position to be picky and the reality was that I would be lucky if the roof wasn’t caving in. The features I hoped for were not likely to be part of the fixer-upper I would be able to afford. I hoped for a garage, 2 bathrooms (with windows please), a nice neighborhood, a fireplace or wood-stove, a decent basement, and it would be oh-so-nice to have a mudroom. I believed it was only a dream, and doubted I’d have any of those things in a house I could afford.

I did not have the luxury of time either. I needed a place to live right away. My choices were, move into another apartment or rental house, or buy something. With the interest rates so low and the housing market at the best it might ever be, I saw this as my (possibly) one and only chance to own a home of my own in the northeast.

I looked at some scary homes. The Realtor and I walked into one house that was missing a bathtub. Upstairs the insulation had been ripped out of the ceiling and it was hanging all over the room. That was not the least of the issues with the foreclosures I looked at, and I am not a handyman, so I couldn’t imagine what it would take – in terms of work and money – to “fix” those places and make them livable. How could my son and I move into such a place?

The first house I saw at had warped siding, was loaded with black ants, had broken garage doors, a leaky basement, leaky roof, and no steps from the sliding door to get to the back yard. To name a few of the issues! But, believe it or not that was the NICEST place I saw. I ended up buying that house and I have been here for over a year now and I’ll tell ya – it’s looking good!! I had to begin renovations right away, and things moved along nicely to make my little family comfortable for winter.

The most amazing thing to me is that this house has most every feature I wanted (and never expected to get) in a house. I love the big, 2-car garage (now, with new doors). Both bathrooms have big windows and are nice and bright. The kitchen is modern and huge and I have a big home office. I even have a mudroom (pictured). The neighborhood I live in is quiet and we’ve even made a few friends. I am thankful for this place and definitely feel that I made a good choice when I decided to buy a fixer-upper instead of renting once again.