Tuesday 4 Home Sweet Home

1. What kind of home do you have, and does it need repair or improvements this year? I have a small home, 1400 square feet. Our last home was 2300 and though it was roomy, it was lot to clean.

My home is cozy. It has what we need. Most of the things that I would like to be done are cometic. The range hood needs to be replaced. We need some electrical updates and hope to get that done this summer.  But if money was not an issue, I would paint the kitchen and bathroom cabinets white. I would put wood look tile throughout the house. I would change the ceiling fan in the master bedroom and add them to the other bedrooms. I would build a patio cover over the spa. I would add an outside storage unit.

2. How do you accessorize your home inside and out? I had 2 bookcases fill of books when I moved into this house. One holds Legos now and the other holds my crafts. My cousin gave me her bookcase and keep my Bibles and favorite books and journals in it. We only have 2 plants right now. One in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. I do have several pictures. We inherited my mother in laws black baby grand piano a couple of years after we moved in, and it takes a lot of space.

3. What objects reside on your coffee table? We don't have a coffee table. I had a beautiful one but gave it to my sister since this house is smaller. We also needed something that worked with the grands so we got an ottoman storage unit. We don't put anything on top of it except our feet. We have a blanket on the top of it. We have two small lamp tables. We have a large kitchen table that has a limestone top. We left our formal table at the old house but kept the matching hutch. Everyone has a nightstand with a lamp and what they need. 2 of the grands live here during the week.   

4.  Do you like your kitchen organized and with counters cleared off or do you prefer to have the things you use often out on counters? We have a small kitchen. We keep the things we use daily in the counter. Our air fryer takes a lot of space, but it is used often and too big to store.    Do you mind what some might see as clutter, or do you hate having to dig out tools and appliances when it comes time to use them? and prefer to have them within easy reach? I am not worried about what others think. Other than what we need, I like to keep everything else put away.

Tuesday 4

This week's questions were provided by Pamela Steiner who has the Closed Doors Open Windows blog.

1.  They say the kitchen is the heart of the home...tell us about YOUR kitchen. What is your favorite part
of your kitchen? My kitchen and eating area is all in one large room. I like the dining table the best. It has a limestone tabletop and is very sturdy. Besides eating on it, we do Bible studies and play games. I cut out material and craft on it. 
 
2. If money were no object, what would be your "dream kitchen"? First I would have all the cabinets painted white. I would enlarge the kitchen window, maybe adding a plant window. I would move the refrigerator to the opposite wall and add cabinets above it. I would then add more cabinets. If I do all t hat, I would get light counters and maybe a new backsplash. Finally I would have new flooring in. 

  
3.  Tell us about a favorite memory from your kitchen, or from a kitchen in your past, perhaps your mother's kitchen or your grandma's kitchen? My favorite thing is doing Bible journaling with my grands and baking cookies at Christmas time. When I was a child, my grandma would let us make tortillas. She would give us the masa(dough) and a little rolling pin. She would put flower on the table and let us roll out our tortillas. Then she would cook them on the comal(griddle). When they were done, she would give them back to us. We would take some butter from the crock and spread it on our tortillas. It was so good! Then she gave us little blue metal mugs and out a tiny bit of coffee and canned milk with fresh sugar and it was so good, liquid candy! Grandma always wore an apron.
 
4.  If you could invite anyone in the world (either past or present) to come visit with you in your kitchen, who
would it be, and why? My parents and grandparents. My table holds 8, so they would all fit. I was close to all my grandparents. I have so many memories. I miss my parents too. I would make them tacos.
 

Tuesday 4

 Welcome to Tuesday 4, Toni Taddeo's once weekly questionnaire...

 This week's topic is home

 1.What makes a house a home? I like making it comfortable. When we moved to this smaller home,  I wanted it to be livable for everyone. At my other home, I had a formal living room and dining room. I let go of the things that would not work. The new owner bought my dining room table and I kept the large kitchen table that is very durable for our family with 4 grands. I gave my large coffee table to my sister and got a cozy leather storage ottoman. We got cozy sofas. We have two rooms for the grands, one for the boys and one for the girls. I like to decorate my house according to the seasons.

You can see the limestone table we have that is great for crafting. There are Legos on the table behind them. You can see the shelf I like to decorate seasonally. There is even a popcorn maker behind on the left!

The main thing that makes it a home is the family in it! 

This picture below was taken on Grandparent's Day this past Sunday. 

We were are my son's home in the playroom.

2. How to you keep your house neat, tidy and clean? Do you find it difficult? I use to be a perfectionist. Not anymore. But I do like a tidy house and so does hubby. We both do things to keep up with it. I sweet and he mops. We don't dust as often as we use to but it is done as needed by both of us. I don't mind a few dishes in the sink, but my hubby does so we wash as we go and I will wash whatever he hasn't and he outs things away in the morning. We don't run the dishwasher unless we have had everyone over and used dishes. When the grands are here, we let them take what they want out (Legos, dolls) Then they have to put it away when they are done. I can tolerate the tent that is pitched in the family room or in the bedroom. We have a laundry basket in the bathroom for them to use. They do have to pick up the room afterwards.

3.Are plants important in your home.. or collections.. or wall art?  Is there a theme you like to create? There are just a few plants in the house. I use to have a green thumb, but it just isn't my interest. Hubby has a lot of plants growing in the backyard. We have a lot of family pictures around and wall sayings. I am currently decorating the house for fall. I will do the outside when we are officially in the fall season.

4.What is a typical day/evening like in your home? Hubby and I have breakfast together and watch a bit of tv in the early day. He usually goes out to water in the morning before I wake up. While I am working on m Bible study or crafts, he is watching his programs. Lunchtimes can vary but we try to have dinner together. Then we watch a few programs on the TV that we both like. Some days we  go out for lunch or to the market. Our schedule also depends on whether we have grands to pick up or watch.

Future Ahead...

Future Ahead...

 Welcome to Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo.

This week we have some questions from Pamela Steiner once again.

I hope you enjoy them.

1.  Let's pretend that it is 50 years into the future, and explorers have just discovered your house, "frozen in time" exactly as it is today. Everything is preserved, even the food, but of course no one has lived there for fifty years.  What do you think would be their first reaction as they walk in the door of your house? I would hope they would think that the house looks homey, with the signs they see on the wall. The flowers on the entryway table and the little block o the other table that says welcome friends. They would probably wonder why there is a tent in the family room or a Lego camp set on the kitchen buffet table. As they walked forward they would see a little table that had shelf that held 4 boxes with a names on it. They would find a Bible in each box along with craft items like color pencils, tape, ink and ink block. If they looked through the Bibles they could see the art work and bible verses of children. If they went past that table and into the family room, they would see a picture of the children hung over the baby grand piano. They would also see a few doggie beds. They would see a Slimline tree in the corner that has patriotic  ornaments on it and a sign saying God Bless America!

If they walked into the two guest bedrooms they could see that one room is geared to boys and the other to girls. They might wonder how many kids lived here. Hopefully they would see the pictures of an older couple with young kids in frames that say we love our grandkids. As they continue down the hall they would see lots of pictures of family. 

2.  What would the things left in your house tell the explorers about you? Lots of things. A china hutch filled with china, crystal, and other collectibles. They would think wow they liked to collect a lot of crafts! But they would not know that I gave up my craft room so my grands could have a play room and a place to sleep when they were over. They would see a crowded master bedroom that also had an area for crafting. They would also see a bookcase filled with all my Bibles and devotionals. They would find a office in the last bedroom that was geared to a male with walls filled with paintings. They would not know that those painting were made by my mother in law who was an artist. She lost her sight to diabetes.  They might take a seat on the cozy Lazyboy loveseat and observe the many Disney collectibles. They would see that the desk was neat. They would also see a few globes in the room along with some Route 66 decor. Yes a man cave for sure!
 
3.  What kinds of books would they discover on your bookshelves or beside your chair/bed? They would find a lamp, tissue paper and water bottle on the end table. Besides study Bibles, they would find the Left Behind Series and AD Chronicles along with some Bible commentaries and several journaling Bibles. They would also se some pictures.   
 
4.  What things would they discover in your closets or cabinets that would make them wonder why on earth you were saving it? They would think, wow she had a lot of clothes and shoes! They would find lots of pictures in one of the guestrooms and craft storage in the other. 

End the end they would see that this was a house full of love and memories.

Thanks  Pam for more great questions!

1. Do you like the way your home is decorated or would you tweak things a bit if budget allowed? It is comfortable. I do miss my last home which was 1000 square feet bigger. But we downsized when we retired. If I had the money I would have the kitchen cabinets painted, put in new lights and backsplash. Both the bathrooms had been remodeled. I would change out the plain tub and get a soaking tub. I would get a better air conditioning system. I would install a ceiling fan in the family room, along with a light over the fireplace. I would get new flooring, a hard wood looking tile in a light color. I would build a gazebo over the spa and over the other open patio area.

2.. Do you have any plans/dreams to change anything about your home? I plan to get the cabinets painted white. Since we bought this house, we have added a fireplace mantel, a front patio area, a spa in the backyard, carpet and paint. We could do more, but we would rather save and take vacations with the family.

3. What style of furniture do you have or want to have in your home and why? The master bedroom has antique pieces. The family room is contemporary. I would love to get new couches. We had a formal living rooms and family room at our last house. Now we one room. I brought my china buffet and grandfather clock from our other home. I left the formal dining room table and kept our a big kitchen table that is great for everything. I inherited furniture from my parents and there are pieces in the other rooms. My husband also inherited a baby grand piano that is in the family room. Everything is functional and cozy.

4. Tell us about your ideal dream house or dream kitchen if you prefer. When we were first married we rented a little Craftsmen style home. I loved the big sunny kitchen that had a breakfast nook. There was even a laundry room off the kitchen. It had a nice dining area with french doors that led to a side porch. It also had a build in buffet. The front room had lots of windows and a fireplace with built in bookcases. It was a little 2 bedroom and we were so cozy there. In light of what is going on, I am thankful for what I have.