You Just Can't Go Home Again

Sigh.  You really can't go home again.  No siree.

We were up in Oconto this past weekend, at our grandchildren's birthday parties (will write another blog about that once I get all the pics done)

We drove past our old house.  Oh my.....

It's been four years now since we sold the house.  I can honestly say it was in pretty darn near pristine condition when we sold it, both inside and out.  We worked hard to make the best appearance both on the inside and the exterior.

Imagine our dismay when we drove past it on Saturday.  

I snapped a few pics as we went slowly past.  

The front yard is filled with some planting frames and fences of some kind.. perhaps grapes or vines or whatever.  The mound system for the septic is left growing wild and not mowed.  But I am not talking about that, I am talking about the log exterior of the home.  ACK!

The log exterior is all faded, black and appears moldy!  It looks like there isn't any finish left or sealant on the logs, and they are weathered and graying.  The pine knots are all drying out which means they fall out or get loose, and will let water intrude.

This house was built in 1995 as a framed in unfinished shell, 

we bought it in 1997 and finished it up ourselves and added the garage.

The garage seems to be in a little better shape, 

but still lacking sealant or stain on those knots. 

Here are pictures of the exterior when we sold it in 2012.  It's a far cry from the shape it is now after four years of neglect. 

Located on an acre of waterfront land on the Oconto River.

Yup.. this is how the front yard looked in 2012. 

We thought we did a really good job of preparing the home for market,

de-cluttering the excess, and fixing anything that needed to be done.

It sold in 30 days --- cash! 

I felt it had such a welcoming exterior and we kept the wood in great condition, staining and sealing it every other year to make sure it was in tip top shape. 

The three stories overlooked the river to the rear of the property.  It was so pleasant and peaceful there.

We spent a lot of evenings on the wraparound decks and under this little gazebo.... watching ducks and deer and turkeys and a big ole groundhog that lived on the banks of the river.  Oh, and of course, the coons that came up on the deck every night and robbed the birdfeeders!

The inside was all gleaming gold lovely wood as much as the outside. Here are the interior pics from our sales brochure: 

The woodburning fireplace helped with the heat bills,

but I am sure glad we have a gas log fireplace now.

(no more hauling ashes, splitting wood or searching for newspaper to light the fire!)

But we were cozy.... and warm! 

 The kitchen we designed ourselves had hickory cabinets

and plenty of countertops and cupboards to do all my baking, canning and cooking.

You have to realize that we completely finished the interior ourselves from bare studs and plywood floors.  We nailed every nail, laid every floor tile, did all the plumbing, electrical, plus stain and trim.

 Our master bedroom loft was like sleeping in a wooden tent! 

This is the view we woke up to every morning, 

facing over the river

I adored our large bathroom, 

with washer and dryer hidden behind the mirrored doors.

I spent a lot of time relaxing in that big whirlpool tub, for sure.

These were my silly rustic bronco doors leading to the walk-in closet 

from the master bath.

I wonder if they are still there? 

It's the same pine tree motif we put on the outside shutters too.

The lower walkout level had another bedroom, a full bath,

and all the extra room for my studio which could be used as a family room... 

or put back into two more bedrooms again.

Before we put it on the market, we installed all new fresh carpeting,

in case the new owners didn't want a home that had dogs in it. 

The huge livingroom was 24x16

I don't even want to imagine what the inside looks like now.  After seeing the outside, that is enough.

Don't get me wrong, I don't miss it.  We could never afford to continue to own this home in our retirement as the ever-increasing taxes in Oconto County were a challenge to our budget. As well as the fact that the upkeep of log homes combined with us gradually becoming old people--- doesn't blend too well.  The maintenance would have been rough in our senior years.  We only bought it to raise our kids in a nicer small town school system, out of the big city.  We knew it was an investment to buy it, finish it, and then sell it later, which we did.

It just hurts to see something we worked so hard on, put our hearts and souls into, now falling into disrepair. Sigh.

Nope, you can never go home again. It's not the same.