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Housewarming
Jun. 23rd, 2007 09:54 pmToday I got to go to a housewarming party. I love to see what people do with their houses.
This house was big and dramatic, just the kind of house I ooh and aah over when I'm house hunting and then have to remind myself that I don't really need big dramatic spaces, nor do I want to clean them, pay for them, or maintain air conditioning throughout them. Still, it's nice when other people buy such houses and then let me look at them.
In addition, these guys are very artful. They have modern furniture, bold paintings, fancy electronics, big plants. In fact, their stuff was even more dramatic and beautiful than the house, making it look boring in comparison. But at the same time, it was also very comfortable.
One look at the backyard made me feel tense. It was perfectly bright green Saint Augustine grass (which is actually easy to mow), with beautiful landscaping along the house and with fencing made of widely spaced iron bars, so you can see all the matching neighbor yards as well. That's a lot of pressure to be perfect. The cool part was that the fence had a gate. As if the neighbors actually liked each other or something. That was awesome.
My favorite part of the inside was a bay window with a cushioned seat in front of it. One thing I really liked about working at summer camp was waking up to a view of trees. I slept in a platform tent with the canvas sides rolled up in the middle of a pine forest. Just beautiful (through the mosquito netting).
After that I once lived in a bedroom with two windows adjacent to each other in the corner. Outside the windows were a bunch of trees in a fenced-in backyard. I stuck my bed right in the corner so I could wake up in the trees.
So, this bay window gave me that feeling, and also was very, very comfortable. I want to sit there and read and look up out the window and write in a little notebook and listen to music. It's nice.
There were also a few silly things around, loads of delicious food, and loads of their coworkers and new neighbors. About half their neighbors are old. One mentioned his age; I was surprised to learn he was eighty-one. He looked to be in his early sixties. Sadly, all he talked about was his knee replacement. I actually think that knee replacement surgery is fascinating, but every time I passed him later in the party, he was discussing this very same topic.
I also got to hear about names. My favorite name topic was this: Is it weird to have two names that are obviously from different cultures, countries, or whatever, or is it cool? I think it's cool. Hey, this is America, we get to do that.
I also got to hear about various remodeling ideas, got to see a 1956 Chevy something-or-other in aqua and white, and got to hear great dance tunes with not enough room to dance.
Journal Entry of the Day - Merle Sneed's T Minus 7 Days and Counting - "The drama continues to build toward my grand farewell to Tedious Systems." I don't know how much of my appreciation of recent blog entries is just because I'm getting a vicarious thrill of watching someone else on the verge of retirement. This entry also addresses a serious issue in a humorous way.
This house was big and dramatic, just the kind of house I ooh and aah over when I'm house hunting and then have to remind myself that I don't really need big dramatic spaces, nor do I want to clean them, pay for them, or maintain air conditioning throughout them. Still, it's nice when other people buy such houses and then let me look at them.
In addition, these guys are very artful. They have modern furniture, bold paintings, fancy electronics, big plants. In fact, their stuff was even more dramatic and beautiful than the house, making it look boring in comparison. But at the same time, it was also very comfortable.
One look at the backyard made me feel tense. It was perfectly bright green Saint Augustine grass (which is actually easy to mow), with beautiful landscaping along the house and with fencing made of widely spaced iron bars, so you can see all the matching neighbor yards as well. That's a lot of pressure to be perfect. The cool part was that the fence had a gate. As if the neighbors actually liked each other or something. That was awesome.
My favorite part of the inside was a bay window with a cushioned seat in front of it. One thing I really liked about working at summer camp was waking up to a view of trees. I slept in a platform tent with the canvas sides rolled up in the middle of a pine forest. Just beautiful (through the mosquito netting).
After that I once lived in a bedroom with two windows adjacent to each other in the corner. Outside the windows were a bunch of trees in a fenced-in backyard. I stuck my bed right in the corner so I could wake up in the trees.
So, this bay window gave me that feeling, and also was very, very comfortable. I want to sit there and read and look up out the window and write in a little notebook and listen to music. It's nice.
There were also a few silly things around, loads of delicious food, and loads of their coworkers and new neighbors. About half their neighbors are old. One mentioned his age; I was surprised to learn he was eighty-one. He looked to be in his early sixties. Sadly, all he talked about was his knee replacement. I actually think that knee replacement surgery is fascinating, but every time I passed him later in the party, he was discussing this very same topic.
I also got to hear about names. My favorite name topic was this: Is it weird to have two names that are obviously from different cultures, countries, or whatever, or is it cool? I think it's cool. Hey, this is America, we get to do that.
I also got to hear about various remodeling ideas, got to see a 1956 Chevy something-or-other in aqua and white, and got to hear great dance tunes with not enough room to dance.
Journal Entry of the Day - Merle Sneed's T Minus 7 Days and Counting - "The drama continues to build toward my grand farewell to Tedious Systems." I don't know how much of my appreciation of recent blog entries is just because I'm getting a vicarious thrill of watching someone else on the verge of retirement. This entry also addresses a serious issue in a humorous way.