She's gone

and I knew that it was going to happen, but it still seems surreal. Edith has been torn down along with her "sister", Edwina (the old house next door). We lived in Edith for nearly a year and spent our last night in her, July 1st. Now all that remains of either old house is a quickly disappearing pile of rubble.

This is the front of Edith, as you walk towards the front door (which is just past the brick archway - hidden by tree branches in this photo). The window on the top right is where I had my sewing space and the spot where those annoying pigeons had nested.

Heavy equipment loading up the remains of those two houses, Edith & Edwina.

Edwina - the beautiful old house that Edith was a neighbour to.

Above is a shot of Edwina, the house that stood to the left of Edith. Both houses were about one hundred years old and I liked to think of them as sisters. ;o) The craftsmanship that went into these grand old girls was impressive and makes me wish I had seen them in the better days of their youth.

View of downtown Calgary, as seen from the second floor of Edith.

This is a view of downtown from the second story window of Edith. It was from this window that I watched fireworks on July 1st. Somehow, watching the fireworks display on our last night in Edith, seemed fitting.

Here's the east side of Edith. My favourite windows were located on this side of her. The windows on the landing of the second floor staircase were my favourite windows because they opened inwards to let in fresh air and marvelous light throughout the day. I used to sit on the stairs just to look out these lovely old windows.

Right next to this side of the house, is a strip of city owned land, with a paved path and many trees. Even though there is a city sidewalk running alongside this small "park", many people chose to use the paved pathway through the trees. I would see children use it on their way home from school. Business types on their way home from work would also pass by on this path. The path through the trees was also a favourite with dog walkers and joggers.

The paved path is still there, along with the trees as you can see in the bottom right corner of this recent photo.

This photo shows the view of that sidewalk and the paved path through the trees from inside Edith on her second story.

It seems strange to see those trees without Edith in the background. Stranger yet to comprehend that I once lived in that old house and now there's no evidence of her existence, except rubble.

I realize I'm waxing a bit nostalgic. Edith was by no means a perfect house and I'm not trying to idealize her. My memories of her will always be a bit mixed because of all that happened in our lives during our time living in her. It was a challenging year for my family and Edith did add to some of the challenges. Yet, she was also a haven for us, a place where we learned more about strength, character and love. She sheltered us, the best she could, and despite some of the inconveniences she provided, I'm glad we had the experience of living in her. I knew that the day I left her, I would not see her standing again. I walked through each room and said my good-byes and told her that I was grateful for my time in her. She's gone, but the lessons I learned while living in Edith remain and are shaping my future.