TheBanyanTree: This Old House

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Our great weather left us this morning.  Of course, it’s Easter and it’s the
time everyone wants to break out their new spring fashions, but it’s
raining, and there’s just enough nip in the air to require a jacket.  I
managed to get Axel outside for his morning walk before it started raining
in earnest.

I love having a public sidewalk in front of our old house.  These warm
spring days have brought out the people and it’s been enjoyable watching
them jog, run, and walk in front of our house.  The houses are close to the
street, so it seems that no one is a stranger, and it’s OK to wave and say
hi as they pass with strollers or dogs.

There’s an old school just a block down from us.  It has a large park and a
playground.  It’s great to see kids swinging or playing ball as Axel and I
walk by.

The houses are all different, too.  Some houses are junky and not very well
kept up and others are almost like small estates with perfect yards.  I don’
t think I’ll ever get tired of the diversity in homes here.

Our previous house was built in the 1970s and all the rooms flowed together.
This house was built in 1947 and each area of the house is almost like a
separate world.  The previous owner added on to and totally modernized the
kitchen.  The kitchen is HUGE and bright with its five windows and maple
cabinets and flooring.  The appliances are much more sophisticated than the
ones in our previous house.  ALL my dishes, including my good set of china,
fit into the cabinets.

>From the ultra modern kitchen, we move into the dining/living area.  The
dining room and living room are kind of combined.  They are defined from
each other by a painted beam in the ceiling.  At first, I thought this
living room/dining room openness would bother me, but it doesn’t.  I think
it will work to have these two areas flow together when we have company and
everyone can mingle together.

I love our living room because of its compactness.  We had three living
areas in our old house and the one we used the most was the loft, which was
small.  This living room isn’t exactly small, but it’s tight.  I think what
a lot of people do, no matter what size of room, is buy a large sectional or
a couple of large sofas and then a smaller room really gets small.  We just
have one large sofa with a rocking chair.  We added in our small
entertainment center, along with the stereo and a couple of shelf sets of
CDs.  Add in some plants, and the room becomes interesting and functional.

Our bedroom is on the second floor.  It’s a wonderful room, too.  It
stretches across the width of the house, so we have three windows on each
side.  It is large enough to have our king-sized bed, my bureau, Ray’s
dresser, and two small nightstands, and yet it still feels spacious.  Of
course, the closet is quite small, so I just have my summer clothes in it
now.  However, we have a fairly good sized storage room at the end of the
hall with a clothes rack, so I can store my winter clothes there and still
have access to them if I need to (because it’s only April in Minnesota and
April can be considered a winter month).

It’s so great to have a basement again.  Our previous house’s basement was a
walk out and finished, so it didn’t seem like a basement.  This house’s
basement is again perfect for us.  Half of the basement has that cheesy
paneling, but it’s been carpeted, so it’s OK for the boys’ toys and my
bookcases.  We have a sofa and loveseat as well in the “family room.”  One
fourth of the basement is the laundry area and the other fourth is a nice
little workshop.  Plus, we have some more storage under the stairs.

Our kitchen has a patio door which leads out to a deck.  Below the deck is a
patio where we have our picnic table.  The backyard seems massive to us,
because there aren’t 10,000 trees in it.  There is only ONE tree!  I’ll miss
our trees, but I won’t miss the work.  It’s nice to face spring this year
without raking leaves.  The previous owner built a raised garden plot.  I
can buy plants that like sun this year.  Previously, I have had to be
careful and just buy shade loving plants.  I can actually grow vegetables!
Farmer’s Market – here I come!

Finally, we have the massive garage.  It’s an oversized double garage with a
second floor.  Ray has built a workbench and now is working on shelving and
getting all our stuff out there organized.

It’s Easter Sunday and I didn’t put out the Easter decorations this year,
but I did buy the boys Batman Easter baskets – won’t they be excited?  I’m
having the family over for dinner, so this will be the first time I actually
cook in our kitchen.  All my good dishes are now accessible to me again and
not packed in boxes anymore.

And I’ve rediscovered my clutter.  It’s been so great to display some of my
dishes and knickknacks again.  And our refrigerator is covered once more
with magnets.

It’s back to reality tomorrow.  Our “vacations” are over.  Ray goes back to
work and his drive is cut in half and I go back to working out (the club I
can go to now is only two miles away) after “working out” so much here by
climbing up and down stairs with heavy boxes and furniture and I’m going
back to my job tomorrow as well.

It’s only been a week, but I think this was a good “move” for us.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
~Margaret Atwood