Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Luv My House

This may sound dorky but I love my house. I really do. I love how the sun slants in through the east windows and makes the gold walls glow. I love the big sturdy columns that demarc the living room from the foyer and the dining room from the living room. I love the coolness of the sage walls in the foyer and how different that is from the red in the dining room. I love the french doors in the dining room and the massive baseboards holding everything solidly in place. I love that I don't have to squeeze between table and wall to get from one room to another. I love having nine feet of dining table at which to work, play, and dine. Last summer it was the test lab for Kent's networking class.

I especially like this time of year when I begin to think of putting up the holiday decorations, the greens and reds of the garlands between the columns, the twinkly lights sparkling above the chestnut floors, listening to Christmas jazz waft through the rooms from the 1970's hifi monstrosity that was left here by the previous owners.

Oh, ya, sure, I like the second and third floors, too, I spent loads of time there. But the first floor is my favorite place to be. I wish the rest of the house looked like it.

I could take this house and drop it anywhere in the world. We didn't move here because of the neighborhood although it's a good neighborhood. We moved here because we fell in love with the house. Two years later we still love the house. It's our haven away from the world, despite the work yet to be done.

The kitchen desparately needs to be remodeled. The carpeting upstairs should be pulled up and all floors, first and second, need to be refinished. Some windows could be replaced. A door needs repainting and another door replaced. The horribly ugly fireplace circa 1950's needs to be ripped out and replaced or closed up. I'd like to finish the basement but that's at the very bottom of my list. Repaint the front porch, this wonderful 32' expanse of Fall and Spring outdoor living. Repoint the front stairs, rebuild the back porch. And a bunch of other little things. Refinish the thirteen columns on the front.

And maybe, just maybe, I should write all this stuff down and prioritize it. Maybe I should go and get that belt sander today and work on the columns. I'll bet I could make a big dent in the work while Kent is working his magic with a pork loin for an afternoon dinner. Maybe I should get serious about the bathroom decor and give it a little oomph instead of leaving it so sterile.