Monday, June 21, 2010

The Swing

Friday, February 19, 2010

The Swing

O.K., so you know that we live in a "Shouse", which is a combination shop/house. Our original intention was only to live in the shop for a year and then build a house. HA! We ended up not being able to stomach the debt of building. So, here we are, 10 years later, still living in the shop. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining. I have learned to be content wherewith I find myself. I have grown to love the quirkiness of living in a "shouse". We can hang our laundry from the ceiling and it doesn't get in the way. I was able to acquire a huge kitchen cupboard from a restaurant built in the early 1900's and put it right into my kitchen - no remodeling! A friend gave me grocery shelves from a 1930's grocery store. All we had to do was cut it in half (the shelf was 17 feet long!) and build an end where we cut the shelves. You just can't do that in a "regular" house! We put a huge wood cookstove AND a huge commercial gas range in the kitchen. With concrete floors, we didn't give it a second thought.

I have to admit though, that there have been times that I have been discontent. I have been more than a bit snarky about not having doors. Sometimes I dream of a door on the bathroom. The thought of a bath in peace is tantalizing! The lack of built-in storage is beyond frustrating. We have ONE wardrobe for all 7 of us. We hang everthing that has to be hung in it and all the rest of the clothes live in dressers. But the fact that we can open the garage door in the summer and look out over the sunroom, eating al fresco every evening, more than makes up for any inconvenience. The fact that I don't get upset when someone spills something or comes in muddy from outside because the floors are concrete is a blessing. I have come to truly appreciate the space that we do have, having met many that are living with much less.

And we get to have a swing! When we first moved in, we had little kids. It was always snowy or muddy or hot! When the kids couldn't be outside we wanted them to be able to play inside. So my husband made them a swing. In the middle of the living room no less! He hung ropes from one of our trusses and built a seat out of leftover lumber and hung a swing. We hang it up out of the way when the kids aren't swinging on it. When they do swing, we have to move the furniture, but it is always worth the effort. The bigger kids can no longer swing on it, but we have littles coming up that think it is great fun.


Youngest son likes to pretend the swing is a horse - he gallops!

Youngest daughter plays the princess.


This twosome is trouble!!!


O the joys of a shouse!

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