Broadstone Tour: Part One

Well, for our Wednesday's Wanderings, we will not go far afield.  In fact this first picture is of my front porch and shows my friend Margaret (on the left).  I first met her when she and her husband Jeff boarded our horses when we bought our house here in Payson back in 1997.

Margaret is on the board of the local quilt guild and called to ask if they could tour my house on their annual quilt walk.  Of course I was delighted.  Above you can see half of the group.  My husband told the other half stories about the house out front.  Since my house is stone and has great carvings, including gargoils, there is plenty to talk about outside as well.

I am sharing my parlor and dining room with you today. One of my favorite stories about the house is that someone from Disney came by one day, while the previous owner was in residence, and asked to see the house. As she was showing him around he offered her $30,000 for the fireplace mantel and tile surround.

   Whoa,  I wish he would come back, I would definitely sell it, as an antique fireplace of this quality can be had for as little as $5,000.  But alas, I have to admit, I am glad she didn't sell it, it is one of my favorite features of the house.

Though, actually, this stick and ball spandral is my favorite detail in the house.  It was seeing this spandral when I came to the house for an estate sale 15 years ago, that made me first consider making the house my own.

When we bought the house, the older couple who had owned it for 30 some years, were just living in three rooms, and had the rest of the house sealed off to save on power bills.  The dining room was their sitting room and they had a wood burning stove in the middle of the room.  It was one of the first things to go when we took the house in hand.

This sweet portrait of a young woman from the fifties, gets a lot of attention. I love the painting, mostly because its a beauty, but partly because I bought it out of the back room of an antique store for $20.  It had been found on its side in an attic.  The roof had leaked and the paint had run causing her red lips to smear across the right side of the painting.  A little linseed oil to remove the streaks and voila'!!

Thanks for coming along on the first of four wanderings around Broadstone Manor. (Yep, I have named my houses ever since I first saw and read Ann of Green Gables.)