I've been thinking a lot about my dream home lately--the place where I want to spend my life and build a family. Yes, I've got a laundry list of wants and needs and wouldn't-it be-cool-if-we-hads. But when I really try to picture my dream home, here is what I see.
It's spring, and we've just planted vegetables in the yard. The flowers are starting to come up. They are old-fashioned varieties of roses, peonies, and lilacs that have been growing here for many years. We've planted herbs near the patio, just out the back door, for quick snipping around dinnertime. It's still quite cool in the evenings, so we spend time curled on the couch with piles of books and yarn. During thunderstorms we watch the rain out the wide front windows until the weather gets too scary, and then we hide out in the basement till it calms down.
Summer comes with its hot and heavy days. The kitchen is busy with canning and jamming vegetables from our garden and fruit from our trees. We've got summertime craft projects spread out across the long dining room table. Suppers are quick salads and grilled vegetables eaten outside on the deck. Evenings are spent on the porch swing with iced tea. When the mosquitoes drive us inside, we break out a board game and stay up too late playing.
Autumn is my favorite season of all. We pull quilts from the cedar chest and pile them on the beds. Windows stay open all evening long so that my porch-swing-knitting is accompanied by the sounds of Dinah Washington records. We carve pumpkins and line them up on the porch steps. We build the first fire of the season and feel so cozy in our living room. We cuddle under crocheted afghans for movie nights with a big bowl of kettle corn and hot apple cider.
During winter we put our stack of firewood to steady use, and our home is filled with the rich smell of wood smoke. We linger under the covers longer every morning, scurrying out in woolen slippers to put the kettle on. The Christmas records play regularly after dinner as we make wish lists and homemade presents. We bake more cookies than we could ever possibly eat and pack lots up to give away to neighbors and friends. The kitchen is the place to be this season. When it snows we clamber outside to make snow angels in the front yard and build an igloo in the back.
I am looking forward to many seasons in my dream home. I know that everything on my laundry list of wants is not going to be checked off, but I'm looking for a house that captures that feeling of home that I want. And a big kitchen would be nice, too! We're still on the hunt...
* * * * *
What's your dream home like? Is it a cabin in the woods? A cottage at the beach? Do you live there now? I'd love to here about the place where you dream of spending your days.
* * * * *
P.S. I've been listening to this song over and over. It's perfect for dreaming! (found via Cast On)
That sounds just about perfect! I have wants and wishes but when it comes right down to it, I am perfectly happy right where I am. It's a good feeling.
ReplyDeleteThis dream home of yours sounds perfect! I would maybe add a dog to the picture, but that's about it!
ReplyDeleteI really hope you can find the closest thing you can to this! :)
That sounds like my memories of summer vaca on my aunt & uncle's farm in Pennsylvania when I was a child (so I only experienced the summer season). I would love to capture the home feel you have going in this post. My dream home has a long winding driveway which I love walking in the fall and spring, and most likely chicken out and drive down in the hot summer and freezing winter. There is a dog barking in the background, no matter the season, just outside in the backyard. We have a basement as well, where the giant toy room is never clean. I spend the afternoons in my office/craft/library room, windows open, breeze blowing through gently. --This way, I can hear the horses neighing in the field (we have at least two). In the summer, the swingset is always going, and as the kids get older, their friends consider our house their second home. People come in and out our door without worry of bothering us, because our home is always open.
ReplyDeleteOk, I think I need to turn this into a full-blown post for my blog. Such a great idea for a post!
It's a nice dream. I hope you can live it, wherever you are!
ReplyDeleteAwesome dreams. I hope you stumble upon it soon. My dream home is the house we live in -- if only I could relocate it to our dream location at the lake. Oh well, I guess I can have the best of both worlds just not at the same time!
ReplyDeleteI love this post Allison! I read it on Saturday and have been thinking about it often, how I'd reply. See, having my "dream home" is one (if not the biggest) of my life goals. A lot of what you said here is similar to what I am looking for too.
ReplyDeleteI really hope you get as many of the things you aim for in a dream home! :)
The more I garden and the more I have to clean my current house, the more I want to downsize to a tiny house in the city with a HUGE back yard to garden and have chickens.
ReplyDelete