Our current home is just over 1700 square feet. And we don't really use all the space we have. There's a family room downstairs that we almost never sit in. And there's a third bedroom that is basically just a storage closet. We're living (comfortably) in about 1200 square feet, which is exactly how big our first place was. We haven't expanded to fill this space at all. So the idea of going even bigger seems ridiculous. Shawn says most of these 3000 square foot homes have finished basements, adding another thousand square feet of livable space.
To contrast the enormity of the houses, apparently, the yards are minuscule postage-stamp sized patches of grass. And, like here, the houses are built with only a few feet of space between them. I hate that.
We've agreed that this time we're going to look at slightly older houses instead of buying new again. New was lovely and sparkly and clean and fun. But this time we want something that just isn't being built anymore. A smaller home on a larger lot with a big yard and a little distance from our neighbours.
Never before have I thought of our home as being "small", but apparently, by these standards, we are living in a tiny house. I hope we can find a tiny house there. The thought of trying to clean 3000 square feet (+ basement!) makes me want to hang myself with the vacuum cord.
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Last night I took the pups for a walk and got about twenty mosquito bites. Blegh. I also got harassed by a loud man and his three bouncy daughters who wanted to pet the dogs. The dogs were terrified and finally Capital E slipped his collar and headed for the highway. I had to chase him down after bellowing at the Noisy Family to quit chasing him with me and scaring him into running faster. The whole experience wasn't worth the mosquito bites I acquired. I hope I don't have malaria. Or West Nile virus.
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Yesterday I mowed the lawn and last night it rained. I love that. The grass looks beautiful. I love our little push mower. After looking at heavy electric beasts and giant gas powered monsters, we finally decided on a sweet quiet little push mower that allows us to do grass cycling instead of putting the clippings in bags to be taken away on garbage day. The push mower makes a gentle clipping sound as it goes over the grass. It doesn't blow hot air in my face. It doesn't have a cord that needs to be avoided to keep from being electrocuted. It doesn't have a bag that needs emptying. The clippings just stay on the lawn and are composted back into the soil within days. I think I might be crazy - but I love mowing the lawn.
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Shawn is coming home today! I am picking him up from the airport in about five hours. I have missed him very much.
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3 comments:
I'm just estimating, but I think our apartment hovers right around 500 square feet. It gets really messy really quickly, but then it only takes an hour to clean. And we're comfortable. It's not so great for guests, but that's a blessing too.
Shawn and I lived in an apartment about that size too. It had yellow shag carpet that was at least thirty years old and had shrunk back from the walls to leave a visible outline of concrete around the apartment. And it had stained linoleum and noisy neighbours and a scary laundry room. And still... some of my happiest memories are set there. The biggest thing for me, about having more space, is the ability to be alone more easily when the need arises. Not being able to host guests is a big bonus to a small apartment though. :)
Boy, I wish I'd mowed yesterday myself. It's raining here today as well and the lawn needed it yesterday! haha. Good for you!
And you're not crazy. I like mowing too. ;)
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