Home Sweet Home

Well, we've been trying to get our house ready to put up for sale! It is an exciting time for me, as I planned to live in this "starter" home for about three years before moving on. Well, nearly fourteen years later, here we are...

I must admit, after 14 years in one house, inhabited by a major pack rat (me) who has raised little pack rats (also me)--getting things cleared out is a major challenge. ESPECIALLY when you are a pack rat, and it is hard to get rid of stuff. And your little pack rats are biting at your heels, not wanting you to get rid of any of THEIR stuff, either.

We are also making improvements that we would have enjoyed living with (like carpeting the room with the old tiles--previously mentioned in this blog--it looks so good now... I would have enjoyed that room looking like that!! And a future date of getting the bathtub reglazed!)... but that is also a challege for those of us that are home-improvement-challenged. And a bit financially strapped as well.

Despite those challenges (a word I keep using, but it fits!!)--it feels like a very good time, not an easy time, but like dreams coming together.

Funny, too--how those dreams have changed over the past decade-plus-four. I don't yearn for a gorgeous, large, new home anymore. With a giant yard in a fancy suburb. We are looking for a very modestly sized ranch (and I mean modest!) in a nice little neighborhood. A yard big enough for a swing set and a place to plant tomatoes. My husband wants unpainted molding (his pet peeve in this house!). I want to be near to school, and to have a dinette space. A driveway instead of an alley. A rec room in the basement--or room for one. Trees. Or tree. A picture window. Most importantly--and maybe this is where I've become older and wiser--my little family cozied up with me. A place to call home, where I plan to stay. A place where my kids will grow up and bring their spouses back for dinner. A place where I will have my grandkids open their Christmas presents. I guess the difference this time, this many years later, is what I am looking for. Last time, at the young age of 24 I was looking for a house. This time I am looking for a home.

What Lies Beneath

I have been working feverishly, in between entertaining a four-year-old (who, yes, has gotten paint in her hair) to paint a little room in our house that hasn't been touched in the 13 years we've lived here. I still have some trim to finish (yes, painted wood, sigh). Last night I pulled off the carpet (and hubby helped me finish--small room, but that carpet got heavy!).

I am sure it seemed like a good idea at the time, but someone stuck linoleum tiles all over the hardwood floor. They are kind of a cool pattern, though. I wonder how old they are--they are actually engraved linoleum--not a printed pattern. This house dates back to 1890, so it could be any time in between. I just love old things like that. I was never great in history class, but when it is in front of you, tangible--it is exciting to think of the people who lived here in the past with their own families and lives, joys and sorrows... Did they have to save up for the linoleum? Were they so excited with their "new look"? Or was it simply a weekend project, no big deal?

Anyway, even though the pattern appeals to me, it doesn't look right where it is located in the house (I might leave it for a kitchen or ??), so we will probably have to look into some carpet squares. We are not up for refinishing the floor, it would need lots of work. We have done other rooms in the house, and we are tired of doing that right now (!!!!!!).

Ok, time to get ready for my flu shot appointment. I am less concerned about the poke than freezing my bootie--it is a whopping 7 degrees here this morning!!!