Terrapin Station

Houses

Monica says at RevGals:

We are in the process of purchasing our first house, ever. In the process, we’ve realized how much we don’t know and are ever so grateful for our realtor. We’ve also reflected on what we need and/or want in our new home. Here are the Friday Five questions about your home. Play in the comments or leave a link to your blog.

This is my house, photo taken at the end of March. It looks entirely different now, with all the trees fully in leaf! Note our new, GREEN roof. 

1. What is the most important room in your home? What requirements do you have of this room? (Sure, you can answer “bathroom,” but we can stipulate that as a reasonable assumption and you can pick the second most important room). I think it's a tossup between the kitchen and the office. We spend most of our time there. As it's an older (1924) home, the kitchen is separate and not conducive to gatherings. But I do a lot of my best moving meditation there.
2. What is the least important room in your home? The one you use the least, or are not very picky about? Well, the upstairs is like no-man's-land. We moved in and our two kids each staked out a room. Our (grown) daughter didn't stay long, and that's the guest room. Brandon's room is a combination of "old stuff he left behind when he moved out 9 years ago" and "junk I piled up there rather than putting it in the attic." Mostly I never go up there any more. One of my projects for the coming months is to clean out all the Brandon and other detritus. :) 
3. Do you have preferences for your neighborhood? What are they? I love living in an old home. When I first moved to this city, I used to drive down Oak Street (the historic district) and yearn for one of those houses. Since 2001, I've lived in one! It still has much work to be done, but I adore it.
4. If your elementary aged offspring were to choose colors for their rooms, would any color be off limits? any dark color that's difficult to cover later. Brandon's room is painted dark green with white trim. It looks like a golf course. I'll be priming forever!!!
5. What is your best piece of packing or moving advice? Get someone else to help! In the words of my sister, "I can't pack my own stuff because I am always saying, "oh, look, there's my little thingy I forgot! and then it takes forever."

Higitus Pigitus

 

When Nancy and I were little we shared a room, and it was usually a disaster.  When we had to clean up, we would put our 45 of the theme from "The Sword in the Stone" on the record player, to the B side, which contained this wonderful tune.  As the tempo increased, we would run around faster and faster, cleaning up.  It made a bad job better. 

So grateful for Youtube...'cause who knows what happened to the 45 and the record player...

The Home of Happiness

To us, our house was not unsentient matter -- it had a heart, and a soul, and eyes to see us with; and approvals and solicitudes and deep sympathies; it was of us, and we were in its confidence, and lived in its grace and in the peace of its benediction.

- Mark Twain

 

 

(my house in snow...may we see it again one day...but for now, over 100 F each day.  Sigh.)