Our Parents Have Lost it – How Joe and I went for a Walk and Ended up With a Broken House.

“We need a day off of school, in commemoration of our parents’ completely losing their minds!” Our children drafted that request after Joe and I returned from the closing…

There is no terribly witty way to present this, and you absolutely must see it to believe it – we bought a house!

In Dobrinishte, on a piece of land bordering the river and overlooking the mountain! It is absolutely beautiful, bathed by the sun, with fertile soil and lush grape vines already in place!

All we need is that fig tree, and it would fulfill the Scriptures’ requirements for a home.

So why the descendants’ drama? Well, the house was decided on after we casually announced we were going for a walk. It just so happened that a close friend mentioned there was a lot for sale, by the river. Our friend happened to know the neighbor, who gave us the name of the owner. Our friend also happened to know where the owner lived and so, a viewing was arranged within 15min. We, naturally drawn towards the water, fell in love with the sound of the river right in our back yard (not to mention the added bonus of watering future gardens).

After a brief “background check” with a few local friends and relatives, who knew everything about everyone a few generations back, we agreed on a price and a couple of weeks later, became owners of the property.

Without much ado, I present to you, our future land home:

Oh, guess what – the house is within a 2-3min walk of the oldest church in town – Dormition of the Theotokos, where they serve a Moleben to the Theotokos (Prayer Service) each Thursday, at 18:30! People bring baked breads and chocolates to be blessed and given to everyone at the end of the service. On Thursday night I don’t cook dinner – come to church if you wish to eat!

Does that mean “goodbye” to SV Graceful? Not at all! It will take a while to turn that place into a home, one day, some day. If you are curious, here is what we got ourselves into this time!

The current hope is to be able to disassemble the house by hand and store all the materials until we have the time (and money) to build a new one. The bricks were hand made in the area and the roof tiles are in great shape. There is so much history in this place, and we would love to preserve as much as we can. It might take a bit longer than we wish, but we have had enough of the “here and now” mindset. Besides, we still have seas to sail!

As it happened, we created tons of work for ourselves, yet again. And to think, I had promised myself “no more fixer-uppers”, after we finished repairing the boat….

In the meantime, homeschooling is in session, the temperatures outside are dropping and we find ourselves snuggling inside my grandma’s house more frequently. Four generations living under one roof can be testy at times (different times throughout each day, that is), but with some patience and God’s help, we will manage. I still consider it a blessing that my grandma can watch her great-grandchildren grow!

Wait, I almost forgot to show you the spacious bathroom – possibly the largest one I have ever seen!