The House

The wait is finally over... Almost!

City is getting ready to welcome the year of Monkey Chinese New year's celebration, I am joining in by sharing this good news. 

We found a house and made an offer. After a bit of negotiations, (we lost) we settled on signing a contract.

In October when I wrote about moving, I was ready to live in a smaller space, spend more time creating and less cleaning but I wasn't ready to give up on so many other things.. Green was a required color. I like line and textures but power lines looming over the house or in the backyard were not part of it. Older homes are good to look at in magazines and in the home improvement show based in Waco, TX but I have a real life.

In Berkeley, we looked at some homes with kitchens with original appliances from the 60's.. I wasn't willing to fix everything around the stove and the oven. Then there was a tree-house style home, with absolutely no counter-space next to the stove. I love cooking too much to have a free-standing stove. That kitchen was just not going to work.

In Walnut Creek, we saw a beautiful Mid Century Modern, Eichler home.. It still makes me sad, someone called it before we did.

In south of San Francisco towns we looked at homes built in 50's and 60's.. Row houses going up and down the hills. Most of them were with the views of rooftops and power lines. With concrete in the back yard and views of the rooftops of shopping malls.

Too dark, too old, too narrow, too tall. too boxy, too crowded, too small, too large... the list went on. 
we even saw few homes outside our budget.. Even they had few things wrong!

I wanted to move into a space that was lived in, Not brand new (that meant small yards) not overly staged, not overly remodeled.. After a while they all looked the same. I like gray but please don't let me be stuck with the back splash and bathrooms, all grey for rest of my life! A house not too modern and not too traditional.. Something with an indoor-outdoor space feeling.. After all, this is California.. It's not too much to ask, is it?  

We finally found that house! A single level, small ranch-style home. I walked in and thought, this is it! There was something about the house that was welcoming. Calm back yard, bright indoor space. Laundry in the house not in the garage, or in a narrow 'mud room' with doors opening into each other. With a little garden in the back and lots of trees to tie the clothesline for the quilts.  

It has the tiniest room as the third bedroom, which will be my sewing room. I will have a sewing room on the same level as the rest of the house!

We are in contract.
 
Last week, I went to oversee the inspection of the house. While inspectors were working and making notes, I went to the backyard and stood under the pepper-berry tree. 

I could hear the birds.

I looked up to see who was calling me.

I saw nothing. 

I looked again.

   
That hummer perched at the top of the tree was singing, "Home Sweet Home".

This house is minutes drive from the hospitals where my daughter and younger son were born. It's 15 minutes drive from our very first family home. 

This is the town I took my first quilting class to learn quilting and made that first quilt.

Talk about a full circle! In my case, a triangle! 

We have finally found a house. It's not perfect but we will make it into our home and it will be, a home!

Afterthought - I must add, the house is supposed to close during my visit to India. Keeping my fingers crossed for everything to go smooth. Hoping when I return, it will be to the house and not the apartment.