The second hand life
@sallypup (63962)
Centralia, Washington
April 27, 2025 12:31pm CST
I look around this house and realize that very little here was bought new. The chair I sit in and the bench and fake stove are new. All the fur kids are adopted.
The light fixtures were owned by others first- the dining room's glass globes arrived in a paper bag, their side crystals ripping through the bag as the seller woman handed it to me. Silly woman should have found a box.
Even the house that I sit in is not new. This old dame house reminds me of the dressers that live with me- dovetailed drawers, scarred and dusty, the wood grain front and center from long gone trees.
I hope you like the little bouquet that I poked into my Chinese jar. I believe they are bluebells. There are scads of these fragrant blooms by the back shed.
15 people like this
15 responses
@GardenGerty (163217)
• United States
7h
I love the little blue and white jar, and the bluebells. Most everything in my house has been purchased used. I am sitting at a wooden desk with brass handles (two missing) It has a leather top and intricate scroll work on the trim around the top. I have book cases that were my familiys' before me.
2 people like this
@sallypup (63962)
• Centralia, Washington
6h
@GardenGerty Your desk sounds lovely.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (77193)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
13h
I still find it funny that my husband and this house are the same age.
2 people like this
@sallypup (63962)
• Centralia, Washington
13h
@kaylachan That is funny. I hope your hubby is doing better.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (77193)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
12h
H@sallypup He is. He just learned Youtube tv isn't free, but I've been paying for it for two years now so he could watch his races.
2 people like this
@sallypup (63962)
• Centralia, Washington
11h
@kaylachan I'm glad George is interested in something. That's a great sign.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (146538)
• United States
12h
I believe those are Spanish Bluebells but I could be mistaken... We had those and Grape Hyacinths at the last house. Both smelled so good when we brought them inside and put them in vases.
I like the Chinese jar with the flowers in it. 
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (146538)
• United States
7h
@sallypup The iris here is already done. It bloomed in March.
2 people like this
@sallypup (63962)
• Centralia, Washington
6h
@DaddyEvil That's early. Do you have Rhodies in your area?
2 people like this
@sallypup (63962)
• Centralia, Washington
11h
@DaddyEvil You nailed it. Spanish bluebells. The grape hyacinths are about done for the year. Iris next.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (43088)
•
12h
My home isn’t old. I often think of the oldest house I lived in. I think yours is even older and it truly does sound charming. We restored it, room by room, a labor of love as it was the home my husband’s grandparents owned. I have majorly downsized since then, but I still have some family pieces similar to those you describe. Ah, memories!
2 people like this
@sallypup (63962)
• Centralia, Washington
11h
@MarieCoyle Restoration. I love Queen Anne houses, with their parlors, turrets, wrap around porches. Now adays you have to be a millionaire to keep such a house in good shape. My house is simple and yes, it is 125 years old this year. But doesn't have doodads. Glassed in front porch but nothing lovely like a parlor or turret. The roof we are having put on this week is going to be enough cash outlay.
2 people like this
@sallypup (63962)
• Centralia, Washington
6h
@MarieCoyle I worry about the plaster walls and upstairs ceiling. Besides the cost, carpenters don't like to mess with plaster.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (43088)
•
8h
@sallypup
Getting a new roof is wildly expensive. But of course the roof is very important to keep in good shape, so it’s more than necessary.
The house we restored was very similar in age to yours. No turrets or wraparound porch, but it was unique in its own way.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (188337)
• United States
10h
It looks very cute. I would say in here it is half and half between new and old.
2 people like this
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@Ineeddentures (369)
•
13h
We moved into our new house and only some appliances were stuff we bought new.
Everything else had lived somewhere else before we got it.
It doesn't bother me in the slightest.
And I do like the wee Chinese Jar with the bonnie Bluebells in it
2 people like this
@sallypup (63962)
• Centralia, Washington
11h
Thank you @Ineedentures. Everything in your corner is ancient compared to anything I have. And grand, too.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (144510)
• India
7h
Here everything is brand new My husbadn never liked second hand things.
1 person likes this
