Lately I have been thinking about our house. We love our house. Jay purchased this house 27 years ago. It represented his California dream house because it had a pool. When we married 13 years ago, we had planned to buy a new house together, but after months of searching, we decided we really liked the location of his house in Playa del Rey and we would remodel it to meet our current needs and stay put. We did the remodel and declared..."We will leave this house when they carry us out!"
However, what looms over me now are the 15 steps it takes to climb from the street level to our front door.
Once at the door, the house is a single level but what if we lose the capability to bound up those stairs? So we are considering looking for a street level house. Each Sunday we drive the local area and go to Open Houses. We wander through other people's homes and try to imagine living there and always come home and say..."We LOVE our house!" Copying a post idea from my friend, Erin, at Knitting in Beantown, here are 6 of the many things we love about our home:
1. Our Front Porch
Many evenings are spent on the porch, sitting together as we sip a "liquid refreshment," talk about the day, plan tomorrow, wave to neighbors, watch Spencer shoot baskets across the street and admire the hummingbirds dipping their beaks into our red flowers. We watch the world go by and feel that we are so fortunate to live where we do.
2. Our Greatroom
Our house is Goldilocks size...not too big and not too small, but just right for the two of us. When we remodeled we opened up the kitchen and dining area so we have a "greatroom" that we love. I enjoy cooking in my open kitchen, Jay enjoys sitting at the table reading the newspaper during the day, friends and family enjoy gathering around the island, sampling appetizers or singing happy birthday. The walls hold all the sounds of happy times, laughter and love. The Greatroom makes our little 1200 square foot house feel expansive.
3. Our Sunroom
This is a special room that holds our treasured books. At certain times of the day, the sun comes in just right and it has the most delicious feel. It is easily converted to a quest bedroom for a single guest by opening up the love seat. Here I can read, begin a new knitting project or sit and meditate...ohhhmmmmmm.
4. Our Raised Garden area
All our garden areas are raised and easily accessible. We have raised beds in the backyard for vegetables and terraced areas in the front that reminds me of the garden terraces of Ferla, in Sicily and I can easily weed and cultivate our edible landscape.
5. Our Neighborhood
We have a wonderful neighborhood for walking. Just enough hills to make it interesting. The beach is only a few blocks west and we can watch the sailboats enter and leave the Marina. We know our neighbors and catch up on their lives and happenings.
6. Our Office
Our office is the room where we spend most of our time. We enjoy having our desks facing each other so we can easily communicate as we each work on our separate projects. Jay researches and creates his lectures and PowerPoint presentations for his energy class. I write my blog, send email, update Facebook, prepare Omnilore presentations. And we talk! This room has the most "lived-in" feel and it is also the room that has the closed door when company comes!
Soooo, if we don't move, then we have to think of other options of getting from the street level to the deck if the need arises. We will investigate various technologies and keep the quotes in our hip pocket. As a last resort, I remember that my cousin, Enza, who lives on a third level of an apartment house in Gela, Sicily. She had a basket she used to let down when the produce vendor would come by.
She would lower the basket with her list of items needed, he would fill the basket and she would crank it up to her level. Maybe...if we lost some weight...
If it comes to the point where you can't climb the steps, go through the back door. It is so difficult, not impossible, but difficult to leave a home you've shared with wonderful memories. Just remember...we left Tacoma after 40 years to move to a different state and a town where we knew only 2 people. It's not so bad after all. There is a reason why we are here in this particular neighborhood. God puts us where we're supposed to be. He'll let you know when or if it is time. The only thing He won't help you with is purging and packing!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I thought of when I saw your front steps was the climb. (I hope the problem with your sciatic nerve has improved).
ReplyDeleteWhen we decided to retire to Yorkshire, England we were looking for a bungalow and a house with no steps up to the front door. Eventually we found a house on a hill (lovely views) and a fairly flat driveway and garden. Being able to drive or use the tram at the bottom of the hill we get around some of the other mobility problems of living in a hilly district.
You have done so much in your lovely home to accommodate your lifestyle I can appreciate that you have a serious decision to make about moving or not. I hope that this will become clearer very soon.
I knew exactly what your post was going to be about when I saw the title. We face that decision too when Dan retires in 4 years and we have decided to move. It didn't come easy either because we built this home to be our retirement home. We have been here for almost 7 years but we realize as we age that the very steep driveway which needs snow removed when it snows, the trees that fall across the driveway or in the yard that need moving and the other myriad chores required to maintain a home that we thought was going to be low maintenance will catch us up to us as we age. Our oldest daughter and her husband live in NH and they are not likely to move from there so in researching states we decided we would look into moving there come 2016. We are even considering retirement communities where we don't have to worry about maintenance issues. It's tough because we love this house and the surrounding 8 acres of woods. I've spent so much time landscaping - its been my canvas. To move brings tears to my eyes but I know it's really for the best.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your decision.
Your home looks perfect apart from the hilly aspect and those outside steps. An outside stair lift maybe :)
ReplyDeleteI live on a second (third for you) floor, no elevator, therefore I understand waht you are talking about. When I come home from a trip I open my case at the bottom of the stairs and then carry its contents in 2 or 3 times!
ReplyDeleteBut this is 'home' and till I can walk the steps I will stay here. I do not know how you could live elsewhere, without the beautiful view of the oceean.