Thursday, June 18, 2009

A Great Place to Live



I wanted to be able to scan my pictures of where I use to live before I got married. But I can't figure out our new printer :( So I have taken 2 pictures of two pictures. I know, I am a goof! Anyway, it literally was in a barn. My roommates were the 5 horses that lived downstairs! It was relatively cheap and part of the deal was I had to be able to look after the horses when the owner went away for a couple of days. Right up my alley! It had one large bedroom, a living room with a window that over looked a paddock, a tiny dining nook and tiny kitchen and a tiny bathroom that when I would blow my hair dry in the morning the horses would stomp their feet. It was way out in the country. Probably 20 minutes from town. The drive was beautiful. In the morning the mist would sit in the trees and it was so peaceful. The apartment was on a farm called Southern Breeze. The driveway was about a half a mile long and you had to go in and out two gates. Not a problem unless it was pouring rain and I had to get a rain slicker and rubber boots for opening the gate. I had to wear a separate pair of shoes in and out of the house because otherwise my heals would sink in the dirt. I would have to park my car inside the last gate so the horses wouldn't chew on my bumper. I would walk out my apartment door into the hayloft (although it wasn't filled with hay) and you could walk to the hayloft doors and open them both up. The view was spectacular. The doors opened up to the rolling pastures where the horses grazed. In the afternoons I would sit in a chair and read or just watch the horses graze or frolic. Aaaahhh such memories! There are many days I wish we still lived there.

My mom came up one weekend to help me decorate. I swear it should have been in Country Living when she was done. It looked so great! We actually had my office Christmas party there. I had a TV but there wasn't cable and I wasn't going to pay for a Dish so most nights I would read. It was a little bit of a bummer during football and basketball season though.

A couple months after I had moved in, hubby and I got engaged. He agreed to live there for a short time after we were married. But, his work was clear across the county and he did not relish getting in and out of his truck twice at 5AM. In addition to all that, the apartment was made for a single person so was a little cramped when both of us were home. There was no central heat and air. Just two stand alone units. One in the bedroom and one in the living room. The one in the living room was on a timer so at about 3:30AM it would turn on so daddy wasn't freezing or totally sweating depending on the season.

After we moved out the whole farm went up for sale. I really, really wanted to buy the piece of it that had the barn on it. Redo the barn into a house and have a couple of horses. But we ran into some snags. One of which, there were not any covenants and the last thing we wanted was a beautiful home unsure of what would be surrounding it. Plus, truth be told daddy didn't want to live way out. As outdoorsy as he is, he likes the creature comforts of being in town. Maybe some day when the kids are grown and we are retired (ha, ha) we can live "way out" . . .

2 comments:

Katie said...

Sounds idyllic. Maybe one day you'll get your converted barn. Plus some horses to go along with it :)

Diane Moody said...

I LOVED that place! In fact, I've used that entire "set" as a scene in one of the books I'm working on. It was such a unique and beautiful place for you to live. Great memories! Thanks for sharing!