Many of my friends were skeptical. "You'll be bored of living in Seattle in three months, and off on another adventure!" they said. But two winters ago, I knew I was ready to stay in one place for awhile. And I knew that place was the fair city where I was born. So I looked for a rental... and looked, and looked. It took about three and a half months and viewing maybe a dozen places, but I finally found the right spot. Today marks the one year anniversary of moving into this home. And you know what else? That is the longest I've lived in one spot in TWELVE years.
And I could not be more grateful. One year later, I'm not looking to move. I feel like I've just scratched the surface of the city. And I love my roommates more than ever. First of all there is Simon, who is like a brother. He gives me an excited greeting when I get home, and always has time to chat. We often stand in the back yard together and talk about our visions for the place as I drink a beer and he offers tools and know-how. One night awhile back I got home after a sad break-up talk with my then-boyfriend, and Simon knew something was wrong. He gave me a big, long hug then said brightly, "Hey, want to go out for Chinese food?" Yes, yes I did.
Then there is Loren, who I think of more as the uncle of the house, and is the most awesome roommate in terms of outdoor gear. Last year when I was getting ready to hike up to Camp Muir and buy a pair of gaiters, he was like, "Wait, I have an extra pair of women's gaiters you can have!" A couple months ago I was on my way out the door to hike Mt. Si and he was like,"Have you ever used Yak Trax? Here, borrow these for the snow at the top!" He is also great about helping me with bike stuff, like tuning up my mountain bike before Burning Man as well as the road bike I just got.
Sara is my fellow lady roomie, and she is a funny and creative force to be reckoned with. She is a fabulous story-teller. She bakes amazing cakes and cans sauces and pickles and makes her own bitters. Once she spent hours making and reducing a 3-part classic French sauce, finally eating it after 10pm. The next day, I told her I was having a friend over for dinner and didn't have a plan of what to make. "Use the rest of my sauce in the fridge!" she insisted. Wait, really? Right before St. Patrick's Day she said, "I'm going to a party and want to wear a green dress, but I don't have one." So instead of just buying one, she went to the fabric store and came home and sewed a beautiful spring dress in a day.
All three of these folks are so respectful, generous, tidy, laid-back, and genuinely kind. We are often busy and do our own thing, but we also enjoy roommate time occasionally. This was our first backyard BBQ and fire of the season on the spring equinox, with a couple of friends over.
I also love living here with ample space for backyard projects. For all the farms and gardens that I've helped with, I've never had a garden space of my own for more than one growing season.
In fact, I got so zealous about growing veggies last summer that I ran out of space in the beds, and started a driveway container garden.
We also have a fire pit, giant trampoline, carport, roses, compost piles, chicken coop and run, and a tucked-away corner to keep my beehive out of the way.
1 comment:
Huzzah!! Isn't it nice to find somewhere worth staying?
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