I sent the pics to the granddaughter of the lady who lived and died in my house. She was 99 and still living here when she died. This is her response:
This makes me feel very good. I bought my house and 14 acres at auction 9 years ago, one parcel out of 450 acres that were divided up by the estate. I’m glad I kept in touch with the granddaughter - she lives in Memphis, hours away.
StG
How lovely.
One of the granddaughters of the woman who owned my last house before I did used to stop by on occasion to get cuttings from the magnificent rose bush that grew beside the porch. I always enjoyed talking to her.
Nice color and paint!
I don’t think StG’s screen door question was answered. I vote for keeping the screen door white, and painting the door a contrasting color.
That letter was nice, too. That’s great that you’ve kept her involved.
Nicely done,
e7t
That brought tears to my eyes! How wonderful.
I wrote the granddaughter back after her lovely letter and got a response that was even nicer. My email to her:
*Cheryl -
I’m so glad you approve, and that you think Miss Mattie would’ve liked it. I actually think of her often and wish I could’ve known her.
My handyman and I painted it. Do you remember a year or two ago when I asked you about the unemployed guy picking the scrap metal out of the pile across the road? That day I hired him to help me with some fencing I needed doing, and since then I’ve had him do lots of work around the farm. He now has a more-than-fulltime job and helps out when he has time and I have money. I haven’t gotten any further on the roof yet. I’m mulling over the idea of replacing it altogether. It would last me the rest of my life.
The interior hasn’t been changed as much as I’d like. Time and money and lack of inspiration. The kitchen is redone, and the bathroom ripped down to the studs and rebuilt. I sleep in the front room and I’ve removed the wallpaper from those walls. Under the paper was dark unfinished beadboard. I hate to paint over it, but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve stripped the paper from the hall, it’s the same beadboard, but the top two feet were painted. A decorator I am not.
My goal is to try to have central heat and air installed in 6 years, when the house is paid for. I’m not sure how I’ll do it, because there’s so little crawlspace. And I’ll probably have to upgrade the electrical before I can do the heat and air. Some day I’d like to put in a bathroom and master suite upstairs. I don’t plan on selling, but it would make the house a lot more salable if I had to. Lots of work, and it’s often easier to save the money than spend it.
I’ll send more pics when I get the roof done. I also plan on painting the old kitchen to match, but I’m running out of good weather for that.*
Her response to me:
I totally love that you are putting your heart and soul into this house that is yours. It is exactly what my Grandma did in the time she had with the money she had! It was 1st my Grandad’s house that she made her own in time, and you are definitely doing that as well. You are a thoughtful, pensive, strong person and so was my Grandma, so it is almost as if it was meant to be. This house needed new life to be breathed into it, and that is what you are doing, and you are doing an incredible job! I love seeing the transformation, and I am so sure my mom and Grandma feel the same way. All things happen in good time and the choices you are making are right for you and also for your home. Again, thanks for involving me and I look forward to seeing the transformation!!! Love, Cheryl
I’m glad I have the house - the other two people who were bidding on it in the auction were planning to tear it down and build some McMansion. The same family owned the house since it was built in 1849, until the auction. The granddaughter told me a story about when they put indoor plumbing in and put the kitchen inside the house. Way back when, especially in the South, the built the kitchen as a separate building so if it caught on fire, it wouldn’t burn down the main house. Until 1961, the grandmother drew water from the well and cooked in the summer kitchen. The granddaughter remembered them moving the old kitchen on log rollers, pulled by mules, while the grandmother still cooked lunch for the farm hands on the stove. There are old slave cabins still on the original property, although not on my lot, and a slave cemetery about a 1/2 mile behind my house.
StG
I love this thread! And the house, and the letters; so very, very nice 
Thank you so much for sharing those letters with us! I love the history of your house and that you have contact with the previous owner’s family.
Looks fantastic!
Looks great, better than expected actually. No faux shutters please, and someone mentioned clay for a contrasting color on trim,that sounds good, not neccessary though. Not black,oh no. Door color…mmmmm screen door white, door… not white. I want to say weathered gray.
My cousin suggested a raisin-y color for the door.
I’m very glad I kept in touch with the granddaughter, too. She’s told me some great stories - her grandfather making moonshine in the woods up the hill. Apparently she stumbled on his operation and her scared her so badly she never told anyone until his funeral. Or when the granddaughter was in college, back in the '60’s. The house is about 15 miles away from the college, but the granddaughter was much too cute a young thing to visit her hick grandparents in the country. After not coming to see them for several weekends, she got a phone call from her granddad asking if she wanted to go to lunch. When she sid sure, when would he like to meet her, he said he was in the lobby of the dorm. She hurried down, wanting to get her toothless, overall-clad granpda out of public view. She got down to the lobby to see him sitting there on the bare back of his mule, who’d let a big steaming pile go on the carpet. She called her grandma and asked if she knew where her husband was. The grandma got on the phone with the grandpa and told him to ride that mule back RIGHT NOW. The granddaughter never missed a weekend visit again. A 30 mile mule-ride to make a point.
StG
I think I’d go with a medium grey door. With the white trim, it would contrast well without clashing.
missred - would you leave the screen door white or paint it grey, too?
StG
I like the screen door in white, with the main door a slightly contrasting color - the grey that’s been mentioned by missred and chela sounds good to me.
Personally, I’d go with white to match the trim. Happy painting. 
So here it is, a year after painting the house, the new roof is on. These are bad phone pics taken today, but I hope to take better pics this weekend when it’s sunny. You can just sort of see the rooster weathervane on the roof.
I’ve gone from this to this
Pic 1 Pic 2
Please disregard the ugly winter yard.
StG
Nice! I absolutely love the rouded top windows.
It’s very nice, but I like the trellis. Are you going to replace it?
j666 - I lost it in a windstorm, but I will replace it. Still looking for something to grow in partial shade on it.
StG
Very nice - such a cute house, with character! (And cats and dogs.)
That looks really great with the new roof! And your winter yard looks at least as good as our summer yard.
