Nesting

The House in Texas

Dogpatch was a welcome sight earlier this week as we returned from the Texas hill country.  Having all the familiar possessions and amenities like television, internet, cooking pans and oh yes, the king size bed.  We've shared a king size bed for nearly forty years, and a queen bed allows for a little closer snuggling than we require for the duration of the night.  A labrador retriever usually inserts her presence on the bed to further crowd the quarters.  Sleep in the Dogpatch house came easily and lasted longer with the extra mattress volume.  Morning was welcomed with delivery of the daily newspaper, such as it is.

The photo displayed was taken a couple of months ago just as we made our offer on the house.  Since that time the remainder of the grass has become green and the trees have taken on summer foliage.  Weekly mowing is now necessary.  Two excursions to begin habitation are making it feel more like home.  The master bedroom and bathroom have been relieved of their burnt orange gloss walls and I am ready to begin some serious decor planning.

In the early years of our marriage, we entertained ourselves by shopping through K-Mart, Montgomery Ward, Sears and Spears Furniture.  Decorating our first couple of homes was a joint project and sometimes compromise was a bit difficult.  When children arrived and Abner (not so old then) devoted more time to career decisions than home decor, I followed my own taste in patterning a pleasing look for the home.  He noticed occasionally, and generally agreed with my choices (at least those made in the sober light of day).

We found ourselves feeling a bit like newlyweds while planning this home.  Awareness of one another's personal taste, and knowing which buttons should NOT be pushed has made shopping for items to feather the new nest a fun experience.  The additional lot that fronts on the street behind allows space for construction of his extra garage to accommodate all his toys along with space for storage of some of my treasures.

Maybe this bit of nostalgic joy is further fueled by the plan in a few short weeks to attend Ol' Abner's high school reunion.  It's been twenty years since he ventured to the last one, but with the advent of social networking, he's reconnected with many friends from school days.  I think this event will be attended by more of the folks he's really interested in seeing.  Reliving some of those times has lead us to memories of our earliest days and how they shaped our present.  We even picked out new dishes and bought them all ourselves.