“Home is where we should feel secure and comfortable.”
In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe it is, in the beginning, perpetually winter. We are in a similar state, less extreme but still perpetual. Every day is cloudy. The daytime temperature is always in the 50’s. When the days are windy, the trees lose more and more brown, crumpled leaves and become even barer. We’ve had our first frost. The few flowers which still brightened my garden are gone. Overnight the bird bath water acquired a thin layer of ice which slivered when I broken it with my hand. I, however, have stopped whining about the weather because whining seems to make it worse. I’ve adopted a ho-hum philosophy instead.
This morning has been productive. My bed is already made and the first wash is done. It happens that way. All of a sudden I get a blast of energy, and I do stuff around the house. I keep eyeing my low cabinet in the kitchen, but it would take more than a blast to get me to organize it. It would take a miracle. I know miracles happen because I finally organized my closet a while back. I’m thinking maybe it is better to start small. The cabinet under the bathroom sink would be a great first endeavor. I think I’ll give that one a try.
I love my house and did from the first moment I walked in the door. This was, of course, before HGTV so words like open concept, window treatment, bonus room and en suite master did not exist in the common vocabulary. I wanted lots of wood, a downstairs bedroom/den and a dining room. This house has them all. The floors are wide pine planks, now faded and scratched in the same way floors in historic houses are. The downstairs bedroom is the den I wanted so the TV didn’t have to be in the living room. I have a wonderful dining room. It is painted nutmeg, my favorite of all the colors in the house. It is open to the kitchen. The archway between the rooms is outlined in pine. The fireplace is on the left side of the large wall in the living room because the builder didn’t want to have two small corners. My yard is huge or rather Gracie’s yard is huge. I really love this house.
There are only two things I would add. The first is a screened front porch. That’s where you get to greet the neighbors. The second is a pantry. Everything I need would be right there, and I wouldn’t have to move stuff to find what I want. The cabinet I avoid scares me a bit. Moving one thing means several others will fall. I could be buried and not found for days. In a pantry order is easy.
I really have no intention of ever living somewhere else. I’m quite content with my back deck and my totally disorganized cabinet.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: 50˚, clean cabinets, cloudy, dining room, extra bedroom, front porch, frost, HGTV jargon, made bed, my house, organize closets, pantry, productive, wash, wide plank pine floors, windy
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November 19, 2015 at 1:18 pm
Hi Kat,
I have a pantry. It hasn’t helped. It’s poorly designed with upper cabinets that are too high to reach and lower cabinets that are very deep and have no shelves at all. The two levels of cabinets are so close to each other and extend out so far that 3/4’s of the counter top cannot be used for anything. I finally cleaned them all out and haven’t put anything back into them. My plan is to rip them all out and stick baker’s racks in there instead. In the meantime, my pots and pans are stacked on the pantry floor and few dishes I use are in the dish drainer.
I love my house and yard, too, but they need some serious reno work. Just like me, maybe. 🙂
Yesterday was the first mostly cloudy day we’ve had up here for a while. Today is completely dreary but not as cold. I guess it’s going to rain later on. This is more like a normal November day.
Enjoy the day.
November 19, 2015 at 5:54 pm
Hi Caryn,
I want a pantry I can use with lots of thick, handy shelves where I can put my holiday plates, my serving dishes and all the foods I don’t use all the time but still want handy.
The baker’s shelves will hold half an elephant or they look as if they could.
All houses reach a point when they need lots of work. I went through that phase about 7 or 8 years ago. Skip, my factotum, was here full time for two weeks plus I had a landscaper, a deck man, a carpenter, a plumber and an electrician at some point in the renovation.
Today was warmish but it was still cloudy. The sun is on vacation.
Enjoy the evening!
November 20, 2015 at 5:15 pm
When I worked at the IRS we had wheeled racks that had 5 levels of deep and wide shelves. The racks were open on all sides but the shelves had nice lips all around the edges. The wagons were silver metal of some kind and quite attractive for such a thing. They would each hold a couple of elephants. We called them Kansas City wagons presumably because that’s the service center where they were first used. I called them Kansas city wagons when I was visiting the KC service center. They all looked at me like Huh? I still don’t know what they call them in Kansas City. But I wouldn’t mind having a couple.
November 20, 2015 at 6:46 pm
I always think kitchens don’t have enough room. I have so many electrical gadgets I use and more I want, but I have no place to put them. That’s why my cabinets are so filled.
November 19, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Our home sits north of Detroit, in the Rochester area where the hills roll and the town is still a town. Mrs MDH and I should be empty nesters but that has never happened. The Prince descends once every two weeks and our home expands again with the energy of a 9 year old
The ceilings are tall, the glass is plentiful and we are blessed with the space to allow my stuff to be dropped without too much concern – A book on a table, Bob’s new boxset waiting to be played, I like my stuff in the space.
Maggie patrols her home and does an full scale barking job between the hours of 6.00 pm and 7.00 pm. If it moves, Maggie reminds it who is in charge.
I have never been sentimental about past homes, once we are gone they become merely a house.
November 19, 2015 at 6:07 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I like the idea of rolling hills and the sound of a nine year old giving the house more life.
I also like my stuff. It is all over the house. When I travel, I buy odd things, small things or colorful things. They give my house a personality I love.
Gracie too protects her house. She’ll bark from the yard to ward off intruders or anyone who dares walk a dog on her street.
This is the first home I have ever owned. It will also be the last. I have no urge to move from here except to travel. So many places stay on my list.
November 19, 2015 at 1:23 pm
Aren’t homes great? We have lived here for about 12 years and despite trying to fill all the space, we have rooms for our daughter and her brother and their significant others to come visit. The dog and cat are happy and we get deer, foxes, lots of birds and an occasional flying squirrel (not related to satan at all, I’m sure). Home IS where the heart is.
November 19, 2015 at 6:13 pm
Bob,
I agree: homes are great. Mine is a reflection of who I am. Stuff from my travels is all over the house as are odd things like my hat collection. My den is filled with so many things and at night the two cats and the dog always join me.
You’re right about homes and hearts!
November 19, 2015 at 1:37 pm
They can’t decide what weather we’ll have here. One minute they say lots of snow and below 32, next moínute they say lots of rain and above 32, barely. The latest predictions says mixed rain and snow and just above 32 🙂
I had the same feeling when I came to this cottage. I especially like my fire heated stove but I wish I hade a glassed veranda. It used tobe one but they made pulled down the wall to the hall (sounds as if it was something big 🙂 ) so there’s more space to place shoes and outside clothes (it is a sin to wear shoes indoors here in sweden, one will never be invited again to a home where one just walks right in with the shoes still on).
I do hope I can live here till the day I die and I do hope I’ll have the same neighbors till that day too, the ones I have now are perfect 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
November 19, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Christer – Congratulations to Sweden – See you in France for Euro2016.
November 20, 2015 at 8:59 am
Thank You 🙂 Still, I think they shouldn’t build the entire team around one guy, Zlatan, even if it was he who scored 🙂
I have no high hopes though but I always have England to hope for even if Germany most likely (like always 🙂 ) will win 🙂
November 19, 2015 at 6:21 pm
Christer,
Now they”re talking about rain during the night. We’ll get it last and it will leave us last, tomorrow morning some time.
I never knew you didn’t wear shoes into peoples’ houses. I’d have to make sure my socks had no holes. Where did that custom come from?
I have three neighbors who have been here the whole time with me. The house next door has had three owners. The current one is my landscaper and his family. The house on the other side is a summer rental and is dark all winter.
I really like this neighborhood.
Have a great evening!
November 20, 2015 at 8:50 am
I have no idea where it comes from but I know it is the same way in Japan and I think it’s like that also in Norway and Finland. I guess it is like that because of our rainy weather and dirty roads back in the days. No one wanted all that inside their homes.
November 20, 2015 at 12:01 pm
Christer,
I would think in winter most places would be wet and maybe mud, but the summer is different so I’m still wondering.
November 21, 2015 at 12:09 am
Kat.
Summer is actually our most rainy season so it does make sence that we wouldn’t want that mud inside. It deosn’t get muddy a normal winter because the water would be frozen but it will all melt in spring and then the rainy season come 🙂 Autumn is actually our best chance of getting somewhat dry weather 🙂
November 21, 2015 at 11:37 am
Christer,
We have rain all year, but in winter no mud as the ground eventually freezes. Summer is mud season more than any other. Gracie leaves paw prints all over the kitchen floor. Maybe I should get her those dog boots!
November 19, 2015 at 1:42 pm
Oy! That comment about ‘perpetual winter’ brought me (courtesy of the WayBack Machine’) back to my first reading of Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Long Rain’. It takes place on Venus, where it rains without letup. Well sure, we know today that can’t happen, but this was 1950 … Anyhow, it’s still all bright ‘n sunny ‘n cloudless ‘n stuff here in Memphis, and we’re supposed to be in the 30s (YAY!) this weekend. Oddly enough, we still have a few hardy hangers-on in the Plant Kingdom, but they’re not long for the show.
‘Productive.’ I used to know that word and its meaning. I re-acquaint myself with it every now ‘n then when I do laundry, or work on a paid project involving photography or design work. It’s the lure of the Billable Hours Invoice that does it, y’ know. For the most part these days, I’m ‘Un-‘ …
The apartment I’m renting now is the second I’ve had in this complex. The first was far in the back, and it was a trek to do things like bringing trash to the dumpster, checking mail at the mail drop, etc. The current apartment is immediately next to the swimming pool, and provides one helluva view in summertime. It’s also only one gate-opening away from the Leasing Office, which makes paying rent convenient. There’s a fireplace that I never use, and a kitchen I use constantly. There’s also a second complete bath in the back in addition to the smaller one up front that I use for myself. The big one’s for guests. Best of all, it’s only one story. I grew up in a 2-story home and later rented and lived in many 2-story structures. No more. I like not having to walk up stairs, esp. since my right knee’s torn meniscus isn’t getting better with age. Oh: The best part is the 24-hour on-call Maintenance Dept. I’ve forgotten now what all those old tools in my toolbox do … and that’s the way I like it.
This apartment is as close to being in New Orleans as I’m likely to get here in Memphis. It’s an architectural style that reminds me of home. My daughter drove me around to look at apartments when I came up after Katrina to check out places to live. As soon as I saw this place, I knew it was time to end the search. I’ll never return to New Orleans in this lifetime, and that’s fine with me. I was there for 61 years before K paid us a visit, and now I’m not. That’s the way it happens on the Trail of Life …
November 19, 2015 at 6:44 pm
Richard,
I remember that story. The spacemen finally went crazy from the rain. Then there was All summer in a Day where the sun shined just one day.
We never did get sun but the rain will finally come during the night. It’s been waiting in the wings a long time.
I have days where brushing my teeth and taking a shower are as productive as I will be. Doing nothing is just fine with me.
Having an apartment has plenty of amenities. I have to make sure my yard gets shoveled and the driveway plowed, the grass cut, the bushes trimmed and plumbing problems fixed. You don’t have to worry.
I have two floors and my back doesn’t always appreciate the steps, but I adjust. I don’t think I could live in an apartment with neighbors so close.
We find what makes us happy.
November 19, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Hi Kat,
I have been cheating and reading you on facebook, or the link to you. I am very interested in this color nutmeg. I looked it up and it goes from a tan to a deep orange to brown, just curious where your’s is on this line. We are having our ‘last’ warm day in the Ohio valley today, so they say. I have never cared for ‘they’. So I finally planted my tulip bulbs today and covered them with some of the thousand of Oak leaves in my yard. My hope is planting them late will deter the squirrels from ravishing them. We shall see. I am happy to be back and reading all of you, life gets crazy sometimes and getting back to tame is such a comfort!
November 19, 2015 at 6:51 pm
Hi Splendid,
I wondered where you’d gone. It’s nice to have you back!
The color is more tan than brown:
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/en/color/72770_Behr-S-H-230-Ground-Nutmeg
You have your last warm day and we have our first frost.
Squirrels do love tulip bulbs, damn spawns!
November 19, 2015 at 7:16 pm
It’s nice where I live but I don’t really know what home is.
Live Jazz concert in our planetarium tonight, Billie Holiday songs under moving stars. Perfect.
November 19, 2015 at 7:24 pm
Birgit,
Home is where you are the most comfortable, where your hair can look awful, your clothes not match and you can eat right out of the pan. Okay, strange ones I know but I always think of home as the place I like to be the most.
November 21, 2015 at 10:05 pm
Tomorrow morning we are forecast to have our first freeze since March. Today it was windy and in the 50s. The flight attendant on my flight from Phoenix told me that they were delayed leaving Chicago this morning because they had to deice the airplane. Snow before Thansgiving is a good reason not to live in the upper Midwest. 🙂
Personally, I’m glad we downsized to a three bedroom two and a half bath condo. No yard work, no outside maintence and someone else maintains the pool. After 18 years you can’t imagine how much junk one collects in a large house. I hate moving and my plan is that my next move will be to the cemetery. Then someone else will carry the box. 🙂
November 21, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Bob,
We have been lucky having had only one freeze I think. I may have slept too late to miss a few more but I didn’t notice any aftereffects.
I warn my sisters that they’ll be in trouble trying to clear out this house. Some of the stuff needs to be appraised including the African stuff. Mine is also considered a three bedroom but I only half a one full and another half bath. The yard is enormous, just perfect for an enthusiastic dog.
I have my plower who also shovels for me, my landscaper who trims, cuts and clears the yard, a couple who come and clean every two weeks, an electrician should I need one and my man of all trades, Skip, who will be over soon to put up the Christmas lights. I feel like I live in the lap of luxury.