... an emotional weekend and Candlemas...

This has been an emotional weekend. For starters, I am fighting a cold (coughing and just wanting to sleep). The weekend also began with some research/ adventures.

On Saturday morning, we met with a realtor to view a local house built in 1920.  It went on the market on Thursday (I called about it that day and we scheduled to view it on Saturday morning). It was an absolutely perfect fixer upper and we would have put in an offer if we didn't already own two houses. This was only supposed to be a viewing to help us process information since we’re putting my fella’s townhome on the market in the spring; we certainly weren't trying to fall in love. Aside from it having the PERFECT location to the train station (literally a hop, skip and a jump… okay maybe a few more steps but if I deboarded and it were raining, it would be no big deal to walk home). There was a gorgeous magnolia out front and the best possible gardener's backyard in the whole (Center of the) Universe! But if I’m being honest, the main selling feature for me was that there was a secret room that had been sealed up! That room even had a window! Oh the stories that I made in my head. My fella and I discussed it and he actually thought it was doable to carry a third mortgage temporarily but we’re ants, not grasshoppers and suppose one of us got sick or hurt… suppose his house doesn’t sell as quickly as we hope…. Okay, it isn’t fun to think this way. It’s much more Romantic to have an all-in kind of attitude but I’m from a working class family and I have been poor before (read that as couldn’t afford heat and at times worked four jobs to pay the bills). Anything that doesn’t seem financial prudent and can be avoided, should be. We have a roof over our heads and we’re fine. We don’t need a house, even if it’s nearly fixer upper perfect. As an update, I can tell that the house sold on Saturday. Someone was supposed to bring in an offer that very did and apparently they did. Good for them. It looks like a great house with old charm and I hope they love it… and if they flip it, well maybe we’ll look at it again.

After the house adventure we headed to the Virginia War Memorial for their Artifacts Roadshow. It was super exciting to watch an expert Nerd-Out on a Civil War picture of my maternal great, great, great grandfather. I really just wanted to learn how to care for the picture but when he asked if he could take it apart we learned much more. It's an ambrotype (is a positive photograph on glass). Because I know who it is and because there is actually writing from when the picture was taken (Dec 1862), I learned that the pose meant two possible photographers in the Petersburg, Va area. There is also an address written inside so while there was a line today, the expert spoke to me for about 20 minutes, cleaned the glass covering the picture, and gave me his business card because he would like to do more research. He said the cost of the photograph was about $3 (which was a good amount for a dirt farmer in 1862). Today's estimated worth is at least $1500, not that it’s for sale.

Finally, tomorrow is Candlemas which means that our Christmas decorations (and trees) will come down. It always makes me a bit sad even though the season is changing and it is time to move on. The Snowdrops (right) and Black Queen of the Night tulips (left) are starting to sprout while living in my bathroom. I’ve been forcing bulbs all winter. It’s so much fun to watch flowers grow.

Candlemas doesn’t mean over-the-top celebrations. We’ll most likely have a pancake dinner. Traditional Candlemas foods include crepes and pancakes because they are considered symbols of the sun due to their round shape and golden color. We’ll light candles. If you are fortunate enough to have a fireplace, clean out your hearth and then light a new fire. We will sit around the candlelight and reflect on our hopes for the coming year. What do you hope to accomplish? What are you passionate about? What seeds do you wish to plant?

Wishing you a wonderful Candlemas Day.