I'm Still Amazed!

I'm back from the wedding "holiday".  Not really a holiday though.  So many things to be done before a wedding and I caught a cold from the flight there, as well, I hardly slept at all!  It rained every day for 7 days straight and we were starting to wonder if the sun would actually shine at all.  Thankfully, my cold cleared up, the sun shone brightly for the day of the wedding, and all the odds and ends got finished.  Now for my amazing story.

Many years ago when I was a toddling child, my parents built  a house in a small village North of Guelph, Ontario.  My Dad designed the plans, had architects approve and blue-print them, and my Mom, Grandparents, and Dad then set out to build the house.  The pictures above are slightly off colour because they are scans from slides, but you get the idea.  There is me, sitting on the counter eating green beans from the garden with the cupboards my grandfather made in the background (age 15mo-ish).  Then, the other two photos are of the living and dining areas that make up the back portion of the house.

Well, wouldn't you know it!  A very nice couple (Jose and Anya, above) offered to have a bar-b-que for the family and friends who attended the wedding after all the festivities were finished.  When we pulled up to the house, can you guess which one it was?  Of all the places, in all the villages and neighbourhoods in the area, and all the families...  They had purchased my Dad's house a number of years ago, renovated and fixed it up... And were hosting the BBQ!  It took me a long time to digest all this.  The last time I was in the house I was just under 2 years old!  Insanity!

The house has since be renovated, updated, and even added on to.  I am thrilled to share all the photos with you and share my great experience meeting Anya and Jose, the new owners who are friends with the Bride (my dear friend of 20 years)...  Seriously...  How on earth did this come about!?  WOW!

Can you see a few of the changes?  Obviously paint and decor, but there has also been a door added at the end of the kitchen and a wall removed where the living room used to be to make room for a larger dining room.  Still, it was so surreal to walk on the same hardwood floors again and go up the same stairs again.  The yard was the same, but with bigger trees and more landscaping of course.  The cows were no longer in the field behind the property, the the small creek was still running swiftly and they had even put out two chairs to enjoy the view and the babbling of the water as it rushed by.

Speaking of upstairs...  The decor was so amazing!  Quilts and antiques everywhere.  I was dying to explore everything and forget the rest of the party!  Now, as if all this other serendipitous business wasn't enough, Anya, the new owner, was so kind.  In fact, soooo kind that when she heard about my love of her decor and how much I love to quilt, so gave me one of her antique quilts.  Yes, you read that correctly!  It's the 1930's double wedding ring on the bottom of the bed in the picture above.

Again, still trying to process all of this.  My Dad's own house...  really!  And a quilt for the new memory to boot!  Holy moly!  I hope your week has had something just as wonderful to remind you that every moment each day is special. You never know when serendipity (if there is such a thing) will dip her ink into the schedule of your world!

Heather