Sunday, February 03, 2008

We are in a new house (kind of)

So...... in response to some feedback about my not posting or commenting much lately (I mean...come on!! Last one was Monday, 1/28!)..... I will tell you what's been going on. We moved from our previous abode (renting it, I might add) in Lee's Crossing to my grandparent's old house on Hope St. My grandmother still owns it, technically, but my Dad is the estate comptroller (just wanted to use that sweet-a** word). So, we're renting this bad boy.

It's hilarious to be living in the house you used to visit often as a kid. It's this same layout that's buried in my memories, but now it's got Laura's famous decorative touch and our kids are running around in it. Surreal can't even begin to touch what I'm getting at. The weirdest things are:

- the pantry in the dining room still has this distinct smell that brings back childhood like a mutha.
- I can still picture Grapenuts, Vienna Sausages, and Cracklin' Oat Bran in the pantry. This was NOT a fun destination for snack food as a small child.
- the little mirror/medicine cabinets in the bathrooms (so old skool, yet cool!)
- the massive sliding doors on closets and pantries that can get "off track" and not roll correctly.
- the stencils of ducks on random objects in the kitchen
- the hideous stenciling in the utility room (that was BIG in the mid-to-late 80's)
- lying in my grandparent's bedroom, which is now our bedroom, staring at the wall and thinking, "this is the same frickin' POV I had when I was a kid taking a nap in this room with my grandma! Whoa!"
- how small the backyard is now that I'm a grown-up
- how big that small tree I remember as a kid is now

I could go on, but you get the point. It's a great house. I'm nearly right across the street from David Eldridge and his family, which is a bonus, as we've been great friends since high school. We are enjoying the place and still need to find a home for all the contents in boxes in the carport, but that's news for another post..... I will try to post some pictures soon.

7 comments:

carolineb said...

Invite me over!!!

Bekah said...

I love that house!

Chip B said...

Hey Sean ... new to the blog and it's excellent. Would be somewhat freaked if I were sleeping in G'mama's room as a married adult. But perhaps that's just me. Looking forward to following your material.

clay kirkland said...

what about the tassel hanging down from the fan in the living room - could we really not jump up and touch that?
weird....

seantk said...

clay -

that tassel is no longer. but there is one in the dining room - same style, too. Henry is fascinated by it; it's in his blood.

and, no...we struggled, but we could not reach it in our fruitless jumping.

Writeaway said...

You are so blessed to relive your childhood for a time and fondly remember the pantry, the tassel, the backyard...

My grandmother's house was a big, beautiful home up on a hill and I loved it. Last year, a church across the street bought it and tore it down for a parking lot. It broke my heart. I still have my memories of the huge country kitchen, the creaking swing on the side porch, the owl making noise outside my bedroom window and the train sounding in the distance. I even remember the old swinging screen door on the tiny grocery store in the next block. A rusted metal sign was attached to the handle and it advertised "Bunny Bread"...

Milli$ent said...

That's so funny... and relate-able. When I go over to Mammaw's, I know exactly what you mean about the smell of the pantry and cabinets... And her bathroom. She actually had this basin and pitcher that she never used that some people used to bathe in. Forever the smell of those bath beads she used will remind me of being a kid. (She had a huge tub). Funny what we all remember.