No, but it was a close decision. We went out to dinner and slept on it and then realized that we don't just live INSIDE our homes. Yes, we could use another bedroom as an office for Bill, and it would be lovely to have an eat-in kitchen, but not at the sacrifice of the streetscape and surrounding area. The house in question is north of Princess Street (the wrong side of the tracks), where there are quite a few pockets of gentrification in progress. However, this particular house is more or less on its own and not yet part of one of these "colonies". Where we live now, our pre-Confederation home will continue to increase in value; the house that was under consideration will not necessarily increase in value at the same rate.
How can a house with four bedrooms not have any parking attached to it?
If you're wondering this, you've probably grown up in suburbia. Bill and I both grew up in old, close-in neighbourhoods and we've continued to favour similar places over the years. In cities that were laid out before the advent of cars, like Kingston and Washington, DC (where we spent 16 years), dedicated parking is a rarity. In DC, we had only on-street parking, while here we have parking, but to get to it we have to squeeze through a narrow carriageway. We now regard this as a luxury. Most homes in historic Sydenham Ward where we live have no parking at all. It's not as critical a problem as you'd think, since everything is within walking or biking distance. This shot of a house up the street from mine gives some idea of how the downtown area of Kingston was originally developed.
The house in the foreground was at one time the stable for the larger, grander house to the rear (facing another street).
How do we live with no closets?
It's true that we have almost no closets in our current house (we do have three fireplaces though). We live like Manhattanites, with armoires, underbed storage, and hooks on the backs of doors. It's workable, and worth it if you like old houses. And it does force one to eliminate unnecessary possessions. No hoarders allowed here. Even my stash has to be kept to bare bones.
Have we decided on a new vehicle yet?
No. We might put this off for as long as a year. Although Kingston is too small to have a car-sharing company like Zipcars, we can easily rent a car one weekend a month to do daytrips. This is what I did last weekend using my Visa card points. Not a bad arrangement at all.
This morning, before the rain arrived, I walked with my wagon to our local supermarket, bought the groceries and headed home. I always try to take my camera and it's a good thing I did today, because these beauties won't survive a downpour.
RDon't they remind you of the Karl Larsson painting of the woman picking pale pink peonies? The great thing about getting about on foot is that you have time, literally to smell the roses, or enjoy the peonies, or even the lilies.
These are right outside my front door along the sidewalk in front of the property next to ours.
Have I indeed gone over to the Dark Side (as suggested by Sharon in Surrey), now that I've become fascinated by spinning?
Not clear yet. Yes, I find spinning particularly soothing when life's pressures start mounting. The process is mesmerizing and seems to cause my brain to go into some sort of meditative state. I think knitting does too, but it depends on the project.
Here's my latest effort--merino from Fleece Artist. Even at my beginner level, I can appreciate the difference between working with BFL and merino. I'm on a learning curve. Not tempted to go for a wheel. It's the low tech aspect of the endeavour that seems to appeal to my Luddite instincts!
