What drew us here to where we are in life? Going back less than six months ago we had chosen a job and needed a place to live. We chose nature with facilities close by. Why did we choose that when we could have found something five minutes from Jim’s work.
What do you want? After my mother died this month last year I’ve been thinking of reasons my family chose things over the years. My dad definitely chose his first “real” house with acreage for the views but we were daunted by the facts that we had to finish the house, mow the weeds every week, and build a retaining wall choosing stones from a creek not nearby and hauling them in the station wagon. After we were done with painting, plastering and mouldings, we had to build a pool and place brick around it. Year after year.
I chose my post-college lodgings by convenience (not a good idea), money (again, not a good idea to share), compatibility worked for a while then she got a job elsewhere and I was left with someone so insensitive, clueless and faux intelligence that I left my own home after two months because I couldn’t hack it anymore. Moved a block away to my own place and loved it.
Then my dad thought one place in Englewood NJ (near where Springsteen and other stars lived) would be cool. He asked me to drive a few hours to see it and describe it to my mom. It was horrible. Black ceilings, charcoal walls, velvet wallpaper in the closets and bullet holes in the windows. The owner was in jail for drugs. It was dark when I saw it, no electric, and the agent took me everywhere and every step I took I thought, what am I going to say? Why would they have kept it in the dark? This was a horrific existence for my parents and younger kids.
Then she lifted bent mini-blinds off the kitchen dining area and voila! A tennis court and cabana! The court was not in good shape but all my dad could think is that he could play tennis with my brother. And there was a lovely patio out there which they used often in the brief time they were there.
Again, why do you want a place? I wanted this one for its kitchen and its views and it had most everything else on my list. We spent the weekend with in-laws on house tours and it was evident that one person wanted a separate golf room to hit a ball toward a screen. Another wanted a movie room and ski/exercise room with boot warmers and a steam sauna for 12. One wanted a 2,000 bottle wine room and ski-in. ski-out access. Taking some time looking at ideas for other people’s homes can make a difference in designing one’s own home.
Often it shows their passion. I was pleased that one had a Texas A&M logo emblazoned on the desk in his office. Jim’s an Aggie and saw it right away. Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 
We moved here before I started playing the piano, and then I wanted a house that had a living room that could accommodate a grand piano. We remodeled it! The piano is here, and I don’t play much right now. Something’s wrong with that picture!
Really, we moved here because we wanted this particular school in this district. The piano was an afterthought.
Son John has moved more than once and always the school for his kids has been a deciding factor.
We have changed addresses 3 times in 37 years, first across town to a larger house (even though we had to totally rebuild it as we had our first small house, only one school district in that town). Next time it was to the parent’s farm to build a dairybarn and start farming, our house was the used, barely insulated trailer we bought and moved and that served for 5 years. When the TV antenna failed in the first week, it ended up being the end of TV for 5 1/2 years. In that time, the 4 and 5 year old boys learned to entertain themselves in other ways, sometimes too daring for a mother’s heart but always in building the men they would become. (ie: “Mom, we didn’t tell you that after a few years we would go copperhead hunting and kill them”. ) It also pushed them to read. I would listen to them read their assignment as soon as the bus brought them home, then I would head to the milkbarn and return 2-3 hours later. In the meantime, they played wherever they chose, the house, the barn, the haybarn, in the graintanks, the small pigpen, just name it. Adventures abounded. They both became great readers, the younger mastering Reader’s Digest’s “Adventures in True Life” by the beginning of 2nd grade and the older one getting so excited about multiplication in 2nd grade that he was ready for the concept of division his dad presented the same day. Needless to say, the older tutored the younger in math and the younger could outspell the rest of the family by the time he was in 7th grade.
But this was supposed to be about houses. When we finally built the home I had drawn up over several years, we had the drafting teacher to put it on paper and show us what the elevations would look like. We were the contractors and I did a lot of milking by myself while the rest of the family and our hired hands worked alongside the carpenter who ran the job. To me, tiling around my bathtub is remembered as a full day spent in the tub, dressed and plenty dirty.
The showcase of homes was good for inspiration. The highlight of building our present house was when we could not get shinglers in the hot Texas August weather and my (then) 9 and 10 year old boys were up on the roof at the crack of dawn every day with their dad to do the job. Dad still says they made good hands at that early age. It was only one story high and kids have great balance so in case anyone worries, it was not a dangerous job for these 2 kids. We chose the site because it had large trees to shade it and it was closer to the dairy barn. Living off the farm was not a good option, we felt we needed to be close to our work, it is a 24hour job sometimes.
Our next home will also be on a farm but this time we have been able to choose the spot and will likely work with an professional to get just the right amount of house for our needs. That is something I look forward to. Choosing when that will happen is the next step. This year we cleared some junk trees and graded up a road for the next farm headquarter’s site. We get to plan the whole thing but outside factors dictate how much or how little we can do each year till the time approaches for the BIG MOVE.
While I get tired of all the driving sometimes, I never get tired of the view from our hill…
It was refreshing last night when one of our neighbors stopped by @ sunset as the thunderstorms were rolling in to pick up fire dept paperwork; she exclaimed she had forgotten how terrific our view was! [She & her husband used to pasture their Beefmasters right across the road; when TJ died Ruth moved into town…]
Jim says same about our view from the hill. I dread the winter but as long as he has the right car he’ll be ok. It’s a BIG hill! Dee
Hi, Can i take a one small picture from your blog?
Thanks
Which one? And is it for commercial use? Dee
No. You do not have the right to use any of my photos for any use whatsoever, as you have not gotten back to me and your site is a fake. Beware this person, fellow bloggers!
NO!
To PDX, Today I got my own “piano,” a floor model Yamaha keyboard for under $150. Looks like it’s going to be fun. Now I can’t remodel, so where should I put it? I know, the Music Room. That must be next to the billards room, second kitchen, 12 seat theatre, ski room and indoor pool. Got it now! Dee
Enjoy the piano! I actually played mine a little yesterday. Today was consumed by making plum jam, chocolate truffle sauce, and celebrating our anniversary. 27!