Silverdale House

“Turn right on Road”, said our GPS with an English accent. Just… “road”? Suddenly, these roads had no names. We were just minutes away from seeing our new home in Scotland for the first time. It was a typical Scottish winter day – gloomy & cold. Yet, the views all around us were breathtaking. Sheep (lots of ’em), horses, cows and green, green, green. Moss covered stone walls, rolling pastures, and an occasional farmstead. Then, there it was… Silverdale House!

This photo was actually taken a week later after a beautiful sheet of snow wooed me out into the cold to take pictures. We live in one side of the home. Silverdale is the first gable you see (with the white-framed sitting room).

How we found this place. Months ago, back in Boston, Bobby had been searching online for flats in Aberdeen. The rental market in the city was very competitive, so it was hard to find a place, let alone a place that would allow a pet. All the while, Bobby had been emailing back and forth with someone on staff at the church we now attend. He knew a couple in the congregation with an available home in the country – and they would allow a dog. THE COUNTRY?! Who would have thought that after living in Downtown Boston for nearly 8 years, that we would end up in the country. I was really looking forward to the peace and quiet! We are so grateful for the global church network!

We met the landlords (such wonderful people to know!) at the home so they could show us around. Silverdale had been vacant for about 3 months. It was colder inside than it was outside. There were spiders and webs, and little piles of mice poison in the corners of the rooms. All four of us were shivering. Luther was lovin’ life (of course). They showed us how to work the heating systems, how to access the water, how to heat the water, the coal stove, etc. We were walking around wide-eyed just responding, “okay, okay” to everything they said. While we were looking out a window, it suddenly started snowing – sideways. Even living on the Boston Harbor couldn’t prepare me for the Scottish winds. I thought to myself, “here we go to a completely new life!”… Over the next week, we cleaned up the home little by little and Silverdale really started to feel like our home! Not just home, but a place that I absolutely adore. And the landscape is so amazing, it will have it’s own blog post. Now we can’t imagine being anywhere else. At the time of moving in, Bobby was in the thralls of anatomy review… here are some pictures of our living room in our first few days at Silverdale.

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A little bit of Silverdale history. Our home was built in 1874 and served as Summerhill’s local school and schoolhouse. In the 20’s Summerhill’s name was changed to New Machar (after St. Machar’s Cathedral located in Aberdeen). After years of Scottish accent influence on the name, it’s typically now spelled “Newmachar” (sounds like new-mawk-er). I believe the schoolhouse was relocated to the village (2 miles away) around the 1960’s. Which is when our landlord’s late aunt purchased the property and turned it into two attached homes. When Silverdale wasn’t occupied by extended family, it was used to house missionaries needing much needed rest. That’s about all the history I know of Silverdale! We’ve lived here for just over a month now, and we’re getting to know the ropes. As lovely as the view is from the living room, it’s very difficult to keep the room warm due to the single-glazed windows. The room is not just cold, it’s breezy. After living here for a week, we decided that the kitchen should be our main living space for the remainder of the winter. It’s actually quite spacious (it was previously the school canteen), recently remodeled and cozy!

So grateful for a washing machine, dishwasher, oven and hob! Couldn’t be more happy to have a modern kitchen in this old historic home!

Welcome to where we spend most of our hours! We typically keep the door closed to keep the warm air in, but Luther wanted to be a part of the picture and show off the Oregon Ducks flag in the hallway.

Last but not least- COME VISIT. We have a guest room with brand new bed frame and mattress. Working on decorating!

Cheers from Silverdale!