Welcome to the Wednesday Coffee Hour here at Street Prophets. This is an open thread where we can talk about what’s going on in our worlds.
Everyone is welcome to discuss all topics of conversation and to post photos.
It’s usually only when I’m on a trip far away from home that I think about what my home means to me. It’s much more than the little house I share with my three cats and two dogs.
When I bought my house over a decade ago, I knew it was a fixer-upper. It was in good shape overall but I knew that the warped vinyl siding would have to come down soon and that the landscaping needed a lot of work. The driveway was in really bad shape – what had probably once been a nice gravel driveway was horribly uneven and quickly being overrun with weeds. It takes me a while to save up for improvements but in recent years I’ve managed to have the driveway re-done and the siding and windows replaced. I’ve completely changed the landscaping all by myself, doing a little bit at a time every year.
When other people look at my house, all they see is an almost 900 square foot, 2 bedroom, 1 bath house with a detached garage. But to me, it represents my whole life up until this point. At $60,000, it’s my biggest purchase – or the most money I’ve ever borrowed, I should say. My little house is filled with all the things most important to me. If you came inside and looked around, you’d quickly see that I’ve done a lot of traveling, that I collect religious icons, and that I much prefer vintage, second-hand dishes and furniture to new. You would probably also realize that when I invite friends over for drinks by the pool, I'm talking about the blue plastic wading pool I got Louise at Petsmart two summers ago. You would definitely notice that the whole place seems to be furnished more for the comfort of the animals that live here than the human.
When I was in middle school my sister went off to college and I finally got the bedroom I’d been sharing with her all to myself. I still remember how much I enjoyed moving the furniture around and redecorating the room to make it my own. As an adult, having my own house has allowed me to experience that part of my life all over again on a slightly bigger scale. In between living in the house I grew up and my current residence, I lived in many different dorm rooms and a couple of small apartments. You can furnish an apartment and make it reflect your personality and your taste but when you have your own house you can tear down walls, tear out carpets, install new floors and change out doors and windows. In other words, you REALLY get to make it over to fit your lifestyle. It wasn’t until I bought my house that I discovered a deep and abiding interest in DIY projects. I had helped people paint walls before but I’d never experienced the sheer delight and wonder of poring over hundreds of paint samples to find the perfect colors. And as exciting as it might be to get to pick out your own paint or tile or flooring, there is also a huge sense of responsibility because it’s not ephemera – this is something you’ll have to live with for a while. Of course, the downside to owning instead of renting is that you have to be the one to deal with all the unpleasant stuff that comes up like leaky roofs, heating or air conditioning repairs, and flooding. You’re the one who has to spend sleepless nights nervously listening to your sump pump run continuously, praying it doesn’t burn itself out.
I love a lot of things about my house in the winter - it's small and cozy and inexpensive to heat. I have my favorite reading spot where I will sit for hours nursing a cup of mint tea. But summer is when I most appreciate my house and neighborhood. In addition to the constant hum of lawnmowers, summer in this house means listening to baseball games every single day. I'm not a sports enthusiast but I have to admit I have grown to enjoy the sound of the crack of a bat as it hits the ball, the over-excited announcer calling the games, and the cheering crowd from the sports field of the school a block away.
I don't know how other people feel about their home. I know that I truly never expected to feel so strongly about a building. Over the years it's become more than just a dwelling – it’s my refuge, my sanctuary, my hideout.
According to BlueJessamine, today is Booby Wednesday and this is a Public Service Announcement: Self exams can save lives!