I was happy to escape the nasty neighbors at my old house in Marshfield, but desperately missed my tiny garden, shed and attic.
Turns out, I also missed the hardwood floors that I had restored after getting rid of the nasty old carpeting and linoleum.
My old house, a renovated cottage not far from the beach, had a lot of charm but also a lot of funk: a crawl space instead of a real basement, no laundry hookup, an almost unusable kitchen.
Moving to this house eight years ago was a step up in terms of lot size and soundness, although it lacked personality: just a little 2-bedroom ranch with a depressing back yard, stained carpeting and peeling kitchen linoleum.
I committed to some serious home improvements this past spring, starting with a clearing and complete replanting of the back yard and a good chunk of the front.
Mr. Fluffles and I lived through the irritating, semi-professional addition of a deck, replacement of the roof and lanai door and new windows, siding and trim on half the house.
I also had a floor put in the attic, pull-down stairs and in the basement, a new cellar door and a platform for the dehumidifier, so I didn’t have to break my back emptying it twice a day in the summer.
In September, I added my first pride and joy: at long last, a shed. It has windows with screens, shelves, a pegboard and most important, room for all my gardening equipment plus two bikes belonging to James.
This month, I hired the same contractors who put a roof and trim on P&B’s house to install hardwood floors here. It was a project I dreaded, having been intimidated by various horror stories from other contractors.
Instead, everything went extremely smoothly. Every detail – and there were many, surprising to me at least for what sounded at the beginning like a simple project – was taken care of.
There is something magical and ethereal about my garden. Even now, at the beginning of winter when almost everything is dormant, I’m afraid to stop looking at it for fear it will disappear.
The floors, on the other hand, are solid. They give off a kind of glow. Even though they are brand new, it’s as if they’ve always been here, hidden in the soul of the house.
I need to finish painting, but at least am motivated. It’s starting to feel like home. Let’s hope I can stay here long enough to enjoy it.