These are a few of my favourite things..

So given my exceedingly grouchy and ungrateful previous post, I thought given that I am in an improved mood and the fact that my house has not burned to the ground like so many in California, I should attempt to redeem myself by talking about some things I like about my house.

Our house has beautiful, gleaming hardwood floors which require very little maintenance.

We inherited a fabulous, landscaped garden with something new to replace what has just finished blooming for most of the year. It  really was masterfully planned and despite much neglect, it continues to soldier on. Plus, what really sealed the deal for me is that it has what I had as a garden growing up which is quite rare these days.. all sorts of nooks and crannies for children to hide in and have magical adventures. There is also a lovely deck and a gazebo. I have always wanted a gazebo.

Our house has a lovely bathroom upstairs with a huge garden tub for children to swim in and skylights which make it very sunny. I think of the sklylights as picture frames with ever changing art. The other day I looked up and saw an intense blue sky, the type that can only happen on a beautiful Autumn day and then across the "frame" came fluttering deep red and orange leaves. Often I will see the moon at it's different stages, sometimes when I go in there in the middle of the night and leave the light off, I can see myself in the mirror with the moon reflected next to me because the skylight is perfectly angled. Kind of creepy, kind of cool.

Our house has a very cool room downstairs which children love. It has a sliding ladder which slides across the room from one loft bed to another. Yet more of the hidey holes which make childhood so much fun.

Our house is mine, well technically it is the Banks' but still...I can (and have) painted it any crazy colour I want to.

Our house has a good history. A happy family with four children were raised here before we moved in and this house was cherished by its previous owners. I felt good house karma the moment I first walked into this house, it gave me a hug and I knew it was ours.The Lady of the House as I call the lovely former owner, still gives me gardening advice and when our water heater went out several months after moving in and we called the owners to find out if it had a warranty, they were horrified and insisted on splitting the cost for the replacement.

Also? Great neighbours. They are the type who always have what you need when you are half way through a recipe and realise you have neither flour, nor sugar, nor eggs. They also have more obscure things like magnetic tape.  They are the neighbours who will dig you out when you stupidly bury your van in the snow and will come and fix your car with you when they arrive home to see you tinkering with it by flashlight. They are indeed model Good Neighbours and friends.

My house is warm and comfy, it is casual and cozy, it is the type of home that people can put their feet up in and eat a lot of chocolate. It has comfy couches and soft throws. Even though it is often (usually) far from immaculate, people tell us they feel comfortable here.  Friends have found themselves here when they were having a rough time and did not know where else to go. To me there can be no greater compliment to a homemaker then that of their home being a refuge for people in times of life's storms. I hope that my children feel as though they are being embraced when they walk through it's doors, I know I do, and that is all I ever wanted my home to be, so I suppose the least I can do is put up with a grotty guest bathrom and way too much white in a kitchen.

Best of all, frequently, when I leave my home completely wrecked in the evening to go to some or another activity, I come home and it is clean. It is a self cleaning house! Well almost. In this house lives a really, really nice man who almost always has the house looking nicer then when I left it, complete with glowing candles and clean dishes and retucked slip covers,and best of all? Children in bed upon my return.  Now really, how could anyone complain with someone like that living in their house?

Pop-corn popping on our apple blossomy tree.

Comments

[Julie]

I do love everything about your home, from the lighting to the backyard to the adorable munchkins that attack me when I walk in your door. Your work does not make me sad. :-)

[Genevieve]

So you are still in California? I'm still trying to figure out where in the vast landscape of the USA you live these days, gathering little clues here and there. Something made me think you'd left California. Anyway, your house sounds wonderful and warm and maybe you'll find me there in a time of crisis!

[Jen]

Do you know what I like about your house? That I can just walk right in whenever I decide to show up there. Oh, wait, I can't do that anymore.

I miss it though! Your house is the greatest.

[Kirsty]

Julie-awwww thanks.. I'm so glad my work does not make you sad ROFL. DON'T PANIC
Toad-that's a negative-keep guessing :D
Jen-I do so miss you walking into the bsthroom when I am on the loo and jumping into bed with us in the mornings. But even more then that I miss the daily sight of Eli.L standing in front of the fridge or pantry with his, "I'll know it when I see it" expression :D COME BACK!!!!

[Amz]

Kirsty, I loved this! And I remember that comfortable feeling I felt whenever I was in your home. You do have a place that you instantly feel at home in.