A Quiet Corner of a Busy World
Honestly, I think the answer to that question keeps shifting. When I started this blog almost six years ago, its main purpose was to share my home renovation projects. Then as the renovation work settled, it became more of an outlet for my writing, occasionally fiction or poetry, but most often non-fiction essay or personal [...]
Won't you be my neighbor? Mr. Rogers I found this abandoned draft from March 11, 2020. You'll see why I abandoned it at the time. Enjoy this unedited time capsule! In a world where you can be connected to people half way across the globe, relatively few know the people in their physical neighborhood. I [...]
The pot on the stove was simmering and the hearty smell of lamb and potatoes wafted through the house. The bathrooms were clean. Books, papers, and craft projects had been corralled into the art room. At the risk of being too cliché, I almost felt like dancing with the broom while sweeping the front porch. [...]
Two of the best words ever are "Let's eat." Of course, any words that have to do with eating are pleasurable, but compared with other phrases also involving food and meal time, "Let's eat" is the best in my opinion. Why? "Let's eat" implies you are eating with someone else, that there is a shared [...]
September 22nd: Bilbo Baggins' birthday...and Frodo Baggins' birthday... and the first day of fall this year! I was first introduced to the idea of celebrating Hobbit day about ten years ago when an acquaintance at college celebrated with snacks, reading, tree climbing, and generally enjoying the day. When I moved into the Carriage House, I [...]
A few months ago, I had a family over for hot chocolate and cookies at Christmas time. I am good friends with the parents and their three kids are preschool and elementary age. They brought a yardstick to measure my Christmas tree. =) The kids had fun drinking their hot chocolate out of teacups (with [...]
Though I don’t own a “tiny house” (which is usually described as under 500 square feet), at 1,300 square feet, my house is only about half the size of the average single-family house. I have found there are many benefits to owning a small house. Soundtrack for this post here. =) Coziness- With a small [...]
I was thinking recently about how blessed I am to live in such a safe, pleasant place. My country, my state, my city, and even my specific neighborhood offer relative safety and more than a fair share of comfort. I love where I live. It is a beautiful neighborhood with interesting history, a friendly community, [...]
His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.-J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit My house is not perfect, but I want to make it pleasant for all kinds of activities for all kinds of people. Other [...]
The open concept floor plan is the current dominating design and remodel trend and it looks like it will be around for a while. There are certainly many advantages to open concept. The home feels larger, it allows for more time together while family members can be doing different activities in the same large space, [...]
Welcome To The Carriage House 