I spy houses.. with Dazee and Christy

Time again to break out those camera phones and cameras.. Use your sekrit ninja skills like Rachel does.. and get those pics up for I spy with Dazee and Christy.

This week the theme is houses and of course your choice..

Living in the South I have my choice of beautiful houses surrounding me. I am a HUGE architecture fan and love looking at houses. More often then not I am equally fascinated by abandoned ones. Around here it is nothing for a family to forgo the family homestead to build something newer and modern. Leaving the old house up and used for storage or even a place to keep hay for animals. So often in our adventures I am driving around snapping pictures of houses that once upon a time were the grand estate, left to fall in on itself , empty and alone. Houses like this:

You can tell a story in their neglect. Can you close your eyes and picture the kids that once roamed that yard? Chasing butterflies and lightning bugs in the summer? I can. I can envision it before it was forgotten, before it got too old for someone. When all it needed was a loving touch and some rework to be a beautiful home once more.

There are far too many homes like this. Homes that could have been so much more then this if only someone had taken the time to care. It makes me sad that we are so busy keeping up with the trends that we leave behind the beautiful craftmanship of the past, thinking the new way is so much better.

But you have to consider how well this had to be made to endure this long, that it was made with the love of someone wanting to shelter a family, make a home, have gatherings.

How like people, homes need love to be homes. Oh the stories their walls could tell if only someone had taken the time to listen and care.

My choice is of course the opening of the family pool . We set it up in 90 degree heat. By the time we got it filled up and treated to play in the temps were stuck in the 60 and 70 degree range..Of course. But the kids don’t care.. they still get in.