A new milestone in #TheTackyBrownHouse….electricity in the washroom! For almost a month and a half we’ve had the family shared washroom back to indoor plumbing, and it was quite the improvement. Upon move in, we had a floor that was unsafe to walk on, ground showing through the floorboards and a less than useable washroom. We had work to do. Last night Dh (dear husband) wired the outlets and wallah, the next stage of civilization came to our home, blowdryer capability. Some of you had noticed my hair was super short of late, there was a reason. We were learning how to live with one incomplete washroom as well as one extra long orange extension cord. Morning competition looked something like “will I plug in the toaster, coffee pot, or blow dryer” and I can tell you the blow dryer didn’t win for a long long time. Our electrician is about to marry the lovely bride to be and the last several weeks there were other tasks that simply rose above our need for plugs. (I totally agree, one of them was HVAC for his sister’s home , which in the South is a very serious necessity) We with no regrets have shared with our electrician that he could return when his schedule allowed, but we are okay! Meanwhile Dh gets serious kudos for the blowdryer outlet. He went so far as to engage three sets of them in the bathroom. One inside the cabinet so that his razor stays charged without it being on my small counter! hooray!
Moving to the country has been a welcome if trying at times adventure. We live on a little three acre stretch near town, but far enough from the road we love the scenery. The house is now enclosed, livable and we’re beginning to work on the finishing details. There are six rooms altogether and about 1500 square feet after taking in the single garage as an incomplete Master Bedroom and second bath. This week the studs for the two remaining rooms are up and Dh has insulated the space, brought home the drywall and moved the electric boxes to the new stud construction. Progress. The kitchen still has an unfinished island and we’re almost ready to hang the open shelves above the two sides of the sink. It is amazing just how much you can further pare down after 2 months of living without. The stories of you’ll go find what you need in the boxes are true…and the 7 left in my office…they are shortly to be gone through one more time then released to new owners. I simply continue to pare down and pare down what we pared down to keep the kitchen and storage simple and useful.
The little fluffs (our two Shih Tzu’s and one Peek a Poo) now have a small 4 foot tall play yard to live in during the days. They have spent a few nights out in the new space on nice days, but they are not terribly into the camping life, preferring glamping in my bedroom, however until the house is more past construction I prefer them in a kennel or the yard at night for safety reasons. Furniture is still being tried here and there or shared with others when it simply doesn’t fit anywhere. We have had more visitors and friends over in these three unfinished months than we did all of last year. I have given up the concept of being ready for guests and simply celebrate that they are here. We look forward to soon having an extra bed in the house for when they do come though. The clothesline is used on sunny days for the dryer isn’t connected yet. We love the line dried clothes and towels though at times the convenience of a quick dryer run is missed. When laundry and food are prepared more by hand, the time is a tradeoff but the tasks each take on a more meaningful time of reflection, prayer, and joy for me…slowing down isn’t easy, but simmering through the chores each day here inside and out, have brought a different kind of joy.
Outside the flower beds and garden remain unplanted. I have put in a few hydrangea bushes, a rose bush or three, and brought home hostas to begin a new bed in the front yard. Madison and I typically have a cutting garden and a small vegetable garden, but this year other needs have taken precedence….there is something about needing windows and walls that mattered more. 🙂 We visited our in town home where our children now live last weekend, it was interesting that I no longer even engaged it as “our home” for the tacky brown house is home now. The greens of the views still call to me as sweetly as they did when it was barest wintergreens, there is endless work to do here, but it is home. I love how our child at home gathers here friends here, unashamed that it is an unfinished space, but taking all its best parts and sharing them with others. This weekend we will have another ball team here for a cookout and time together. These are the days as family we hoped for in moving to the country again.
My dream late last summer was to find a perch to fly from that felt as lovely as the one I was visiting in the Appalachians of Alabama. The space was warm and inviting and fed my soul with its beauty. Our place is just beginning and a humble one, but it does indeed affirm that small and humble, with natural beauty surrounds is where my heart sings. For this adventure I am so very thankful.
