So here I am in Virginia. Yay?
Eh, it’s not that bad. While I was initially frantic about losing so much square footage, it looks like it’s going to work just fine. The kitchen is tiny, but in some ways it’s set up better than the one in Rhode Island. For one thing, the sink isn’t right next to the stove, so one of us can be washing up while the other is cooking. That would never work in Rhode Island. Yes, the bedrooms are smaller, but we still have plenty of room to have the girls share again, and the room we lost in the office closet is more than made up for in the master bedroom’s walk-in closet.
Folks, I have a walk-in closet again! Hurrah! And there are two shelves above the rod, so I have plenty of space for long-term storage on the upper shelf. Right now I only have the closet about half full, which isn’t so great in a way. I have a feeling I might try to fill it. I need to not to do that; I have plenty of clothes as it is.
We have a kind of a weird layout in the downstairs, though. The front door opens right into the living/dining room, but this room isn’t really large enough for both functions. I suppose if we didn’t have both a couch and a loveseat, plus two end tables, it would be fine. But we’ve created a bit of an intimate living room with our tv in one corner and the couch and loveseat making an L in front of it. The so-called dining area holds my largest bookcase and our storage bench/coat tree. I’m glad we still have room for that; we have wayyyy too many coats and a tiny coat closet now. I seriously need to weed them out. I mean, how many coats does one family need?! Sheesh.
We have an eat-in kitchen, of sorts. Technically the area off the kitchen is the “breakfast nook.” Somehow we’ve managed to shoehorn my china closet and our dining room table (minus a leaf) into the breakfast nook. We still have yet to eat a meal there; I haven’t managed to clear off that table yet.
But my favorite place in the whole house might be my reading nook. Yes, folks, I have carved out a nook for myself in my master bedroom once again. And most of my books are right there in my room with me! I couldn’t figure out where to put my smaller bookcase, so into the master it went, along with a hanging shelf that used to live in my kitchen and held most of my spices and teas. Basically anywhere you look in the master, you see books. How can this be a bad thing?! I’ve got my reclining armchair right up against the huge window in the master, and today I had a lovely breeze coming in and cooling me down after a long day of unpacking. And I can see most of the way down my street too.
It’s a very relaxing place to be, and I look forward to spending lots of time there.
I admit it’s pretty weird to be back here. You know, a lot of people, when they move back to a place they’ve been before, will say, “Wow, I can’t believe how much has changed!” I didn’t know the area well enough to say that, I guess. Instead I’ve been telling Kurt, “I can’t believe how much has stayed the same!” The bank we used to visit a couple of times a week to do a night deposit when I was a kid is still there, though it’s changed names a million times. The bar where my sister used to waitress right after high school is still there. Doumar’s, the drive-in diner (and where the ice cream cone was invented) that Norfolk is famous for, is still there — though in that case I would be more shocked if it wasn’t. We’ll drive by someplace, and I’ll point it out to Kurt as something I remember from 2003, when we lived here before. I suppose seven years isn’t long enough for things to change drastically. I’ll let you know when we finally made it down to my old ‘hood. It’s gone from completely scary ghetto into gorgeously desirable beach front property. Who would have thought?! I admit I am surprised.
I just wish the unpacking was over with already. Ugh. At least I’m more than halfway through it. I hope.