Our New Old House

1901 Doukhobor house, Castlegar

So this is what we're leaving Victoria for. Makes sense now, doesn't it? The house was built by Russian immigrants-- Doukhobors-- in the early 1900's, and it had a twin right across the yard that accidentally burned down in the 1980's. Douhkobors believed in communal living, so there were a number of families living here and working the land. There are many houses of the same style scattered throughout the west Kootenays, many overlooking rivers, as does ours. The Columbia is just behind the white structure to the left in the picture (a greenhouse), down a 30-ft. embankment. When we took a road trip to check out the property in April, there was a lovely sense of peace about the place and we just fell in love.

The other white structure to the right in the picture is a 1600 sq.ft. workshop with 200 amp service, office space and a bathroom. Paul was drooling over the black '59 Impala under wraps (didn't come with the house), and he'll finally have space to work on his baby '72 LeMans. The workshop is perfect for developing a home-based business in addition to my psychotherapy office, which will be run out of the main house.

So here's what we're in for, starting with the main floor...

 

And then the second floor... there are eight (!!) bedrooms up here, three with electricity and the rest without. No plumbing.

Ooh-ya, lots o'work ahead!

I knew when we were there the first time, that the original, undeveloped second floor would either give me the heebee-jeebees (sp??) or not. When I wandered down the hall, though, with sunlight coming in the window at the end, I was filled with a sense of peace-- if there are ghosts, they're benevolent, and we can live with that!

Welcome!

Welcome to the tale of the mid-life adventure of Paul and Jo-Anne. It really came home to me when our realtor commented that most people our age were downsizing, while there we were looking at a bigger house and property. Why? (Yes, why? Paul has wondered many times in the middle of the night). I (Jo-Anne) admit I was the instigator, the fire-under-the-pants of this move. And the fact that Paul was willing to do it speaks volumes about his character and spirit. He’s a Wet Coast Boy, grew up in West Vancouver and then moved to Vancouver Island in the ‘80’s. I moved to Victoria in 1992 and raised three children there. Lots of reason to call it home, and yet those rare and lovely occasions of snowfall never failed to call up a yearning for real winter, for a sharper change of seasons. My son Dylan says that Victoria ‘slurs’ from one season to the next—evoking images of a slightly inebriated Mother Nature with a wobbly sense of the difference between winter and spring...

The house we left in Victoria

Between that and my children growing up and moving away (they do that), we chose the Kootenays as a location that suited our sense of community and home—or so we envisioned. Lots of funky, back-to-nature types, thriving arts community, holistic lifestyle (right??). I wanted a place where I could do my counselling work from my home and property; where we can grow our own food, and have more room for our bees. Paul wanted to shift out of a Monday to Friday job and try running his own business. The property we found seemed perfect: three acres with river frontage; a big old farmhouse with lots of room for guests, workshops, retreats, maybe a B&B; a workshop with office space. Lots of work and fun ahead, and we’re happy to have you along for the ride...