The Little Things Part Two: # 9

I've posted most if not all of these pictures already, but my recent trip to my friends' cool house and the famous and infamous Baino's posting of her space have inspired me to share my digs again. I apologize that I am not including the messy mountains of clutter that also occupy # 9, but that will come another time.

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For now, here's a little walk through of my home:

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The first thing you should know is my house is mostly small. It's a seven room ranch on a third of an acre, punctuated with little rooms like this dining area. That said, it's a sweet comfy space. I love eating here, where I am surrounded by photos of JB, my Jessica and my son-in-law, their wedding, Mr. Ryan, and other favorite people.

Don't ask me to live in a house without books. I love books. Ancient and modern literature, cookbooks, atlases, poetry, coffee table art: anything that will hold my attention while I hold the book.

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Did I say the rooms are small? This is the tiny sitting area across from the kitchen. We've since added cushions for the 1950's chairs taken from my parents' cellar. Up until recently (that's another story) this is where I start my morning with coffee, an apple, nuts, and either yogurt of a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter. (Do you care what I have for breakfast? Smile.) And then one more cup of coffee while I read the morning paper, including my astrological forecast.

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The kitchen will one day get remodeled, two people fall on top of one another trying to cook, but all in all it's also sweet.

The guest bedroom: this is highlighted by JB's special (and expensive) wallpaper and my special (and dirt cheap) bureau. JB got to choose this wallpaper when we moved in a couple of years ago, and I got to bring this bureau home on one particularly lonely birthday many years ago. It was for sale in the front yard of a farmhouse on a back road. I offered $ 40 and it came home with me.

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Don't ask me why but the again-little hallway has a spiritual feel to it for me, and I like that. The stain glass window is covering a traditional window that overlooks our neighbor's house. Before the stain glass, there was no walking to the bathroom in your underwear. Now--I wear even less...

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Okay, Baino, you can see from my office that I am not particularly neat. I have a thing with papers. I can't seem to keep them organized. Every once in a while I dream that I have piles of papers on top of me and I am fighting to breathe. Still, I have an office-writing room of my own (see my laptop--that's where I blog), it has a printer and fax machine, as well as several bookcases, and I am usually happy as a clam in there.

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Please step outside to the back yard. JB and I have transformed this space from a starved plot of dirt to a sanctuary of sorts. We grill, we eat, we rock in the hammock, we read books on the patio, we garden, and putter, and sometimes I sit at the table and write my stories.

The back yard is also home to the hot tub, which turns out to be one of the best purchases ever made at # 9. We had some extra money when we sold our old house and moved here--enough that we bought a hot tub, installed it outside, and hoped the novelty wouldn't fade. It hasn't. The water temperature is 103 degrees F, perfect when it's minus 10 in the dead of winter. And looking up at the stars at midnight, while floating in steam, is one of my life's little treasures...

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His name is Robert Cardinal and he is a painter from Truro-Provincetown. We bought this on lay-a-way--$ 50 a month until it was paid for. It will be willed to my son-in-law, but for the long foreseeable future, the sky changes color with the sun and lighting. This is a lighthouse in Martha's Vineyard, by the way. (Val!)


And last--two favorites. Here's a side view of JB's Magic Cottage,

And here's the sweetest paws at # 9: Stella, who after 7 or 8 years of a challenging existence, has settled into her role of family dog with both grace and appreciation.

I might do this again. Anybody else interested in sharing where and how you live these days?

I for one would savor the tour...