A Friend's Dedication to Dereliction

After my beloved Kota passing on Thursday, I became a recluse for a few days, miserable and acutely aware of the change in the house's atmosphere. A huge presence was missing, almost palpable. Poor little Rosie Lee clung to me constantly or sat looking out of the window. I wasn't sure if she was on Guard Cat Duty, which she excels at, or looking for our desperately missed companion.
I'd canceled a lot of plans, having no interest in socializing, but thereone event I was determined to make an effort to attend, an invitation to an old friend's Ham and Lamb Easter Lunch. I'd met Bill nearly 10 years ago at my very first urbexing event and we'd been on a few expeditions after that until our lives changed and we followed different paths. So it was wonderful to get an invitation out of the blue and an opportunity to see him and his girlfriend Jen again. I was also aware that I'd know no one else and so my grief from the past few days could be kept secret if I so wished.

 I was incredibly impressed to arrive and discover that Bill and Jenn lived in an old house with accompanying abandoned outbuildings. The house was built in the early 1900's but hadn't been lived in for a couple of years. Bill and Jenn have evidently spent a lot of time and money on restoration work, with still plenty more to do, but they now have a beautiful home. Bill, on seeing me, gave me a big hug and then led me straight out to the abandoned house and store, unlocked the door, opened the shutters and gave me a free rein to photograph what I liked.

 How amazingly and outstandingly cool to own your own abandonments. I had to stand and let that sink in for a bit and then smirked at the 'no trespassing' sign in the window which I could now ignore without any twinges of guilt or trepidation. I stood looking around, enjoying this lovely old building, surrounded by crafted wood that was still solid and dry after years of standing empty.

 The first thing I noticed was the beautiful door, aged and textured wood with an intricately designed door handle still attached. Bill told me the buildings were Civil War era. The general store had closed in 1956 but still had its original shelving and a few posters intact. Jenn had even found old leather shoelaces which the owner had made himself to hold the locals' shoes boots on their feet. A few bottles were left on a shelf along with a few barely decipherable scraps of paper but what intrigued me the most were the old electrical outlets, the wiring and glass insulators still intact.

 The buildings were still completely watertight, no signs of mold or water damage anywhere. Bill and Jenn have some amazing friends who have helped in painting the main house, laying new floors and roofing and also restoring the old chimney in the abandoned house along with replacing the old wrought iron fireplace crane.

There were a few wonderfully behaved children present who immediately settled down to decorating hard boiled eggs. I watched this process for a while since it was an activity I'd never taken part in before and was very impressed with one girl's egg, beautifully mottled in blues and greens, which I realized matched her outfit colors exactly. Very clever.

While Jen was preparing foods inside her gorgeous old fashioned kitchen, Bill cooked the lamb to perfection. I was curious to taste this after my amazingly tasty lamb burger a few weeks ago, and wasn't disappointed. Succulent and full of flavor, I've now decided to try American lamb for myself in future instead of trying to find New Zealand lamb. Everyone had brought a side dish, one guy even making biscuits for the first time ever which were delicious.

I had forgotten that when I first met Bill he had taken up a hobby of creating artwork from old computer boards and pieces. It was great to see them on display after hearing about them so many years ago. I particularly loved the DC map, and if I'd had a few hundred dollars spare would have offered to buy it, although I suspect it's not for sale.

 Throughout the house Jen has been using antique wallpapers and tile designs. There is so much color in every room that it reminded me of English homes, homey, warm and cozy, not the stark drab and colorless house here in the States, where different shades of whites, as long as they're brownish, are the extent to which most homes I've seen have been decorated. This house was immediately interesting and inviting with its warm colors throughout, different hues in each room. My particular favorite was the wallpaper above, I stood for ages just staring, loving the sweep of the birds' feathers and grasses and the way all the colors worked together. After researching, I learned this walls were a  style of mural decoration called chinoiserie wallpapers, and I was immediately hooked.

I was one of the last to leave Bill and Jen's house. The afternoon had been such fun, with some amazing people, that the hours had flown by and my sorrow temporarily forgotten. It sounded like Bill and Jen were planning on a lot more work being done. I sure hope I'll be on their list of friends to call when they need help and that it won't be another decade before I see them again.