We got the keys to our 325 square feet of simplicity. I'd only seen the house at night. All I saw was a patio with a small dirt strip I was planning on planting my 3 Sister's Garden in. While the house is tiny...there is a yard 4x the size of the house behind the patio! Not only is there a fire pit and plenty of room for the dog and patio set... but there is an already dug and framed for Winter ~ GARDEN~. At 12'x6', it's bigger than my current garden AND in a better location. I am beyond happy and relieved. There is a waiting list for plots in the community garden. I wasn't really thrilled about not having one large enough to produce food in at home year round, like the one we are leaving. I was being a big girl about it and just going with the flow of what I thought we had. Whoo-hoo! I'm going over to work in the yard tomorrow. I think that will help me start to fall in love over there and have an easier time when we leave here.
The house may be tiny but it's beautiful in it's own way. It's an adobe house with 3 feet thick walls. With no AC or cooler on, it was still 20 degrees cooler in the house than it was outside yesterday. The main room is narrow. It will be a really minimally furnished place. We can fit an arm chair, our futon couch, 1 bookcase and our record player in it. The kitchen is off to the left side. There is a gas stove that's got to be 60 years old. I love it. There is a big 'fridge...also fairly 'vintage'. One kitchen counter/bar style eating area, one open/no doors kitchen cabinet, one under the counter storage area. We are closely watching the free boards on community web pages for another cabinet frame. We haven't had doors on our kitchen cabinets for years. Why start now? Also looking for shelving material. This all poses a new challenge. Adobe doesn't like nails. We should have lots of fun hanging anything.
The other room is a fairly large bedroom with a 3/4 bath and big closet. We can fit both of our dressers and the one desk we are taking in the closet, store all of our newly thinned out Summer wardrobe, linen, and seasonal use storage. By removing ALL of our clutter and only bringing useful objects with a designated purpose into the house, I think we will just fit what we really need and use. Due to the back door being in the bedroom, the layout is weird. Our bed will only fit right near the arched doorway that has no door. But hey, It's OK because it's just us. There is a handmade bed frame in the bedroom from a friend. It's high as it was used as a trundle bed. We won't be trundling anyone but it makes the perfect size storage space for records. There is a part of me that loves this challenge of small space living. I'm looking at the world in a different way just by planing this space out. We'll have no choice but to keep it neat and organized if we want room to walk in it.
The drive out of the neighborhood had us grinning from ear to ear. The organic community garden was overflowing with Dry Hot veggie bounty. There is a large alternative housing collective across the street from the garden that holds classes, parties, and workshops. A bicycle community center has bike maintenance classes, a used bike part shop where nothing is over $5.00, a use all the tools and use the repair shop for $4.00 program and has free Bike-In Movie nights in their courtyard. They won't repair your bike for you; they show you how to do it yourself. The park across the way had lots of space and and a walking path. It won't be long until I really fall in love with the house and the neighborhood and start calling it home.
Wait a second. Yes! I am in love with it already. And away we go!
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