Let's go on inside!!

Due to popular consensus, I do believe that the shrub mentioned in my previous post is, indeed, a hibiscus. It produces these lovely flowers, but boy are they - wimpy? What is the gardening term for the opposite of hardy?? A little afternoon sun will wilt these puppies and shriveled and ugly they will be, dropped on the sidewalk. But, while they are still thriving, the pink ones are my favorite. I do find it interesting, though, that the link above - to the hibiscus - declares them "very hardy"! I must not really know much about them or am doing something all wrong since my flowers wilt and are NOT hardy.

However, maybe I do prefer these white ones with the contrasting red centers... hmmm. I am not sure - but they seems somewhat out of place, here in the midwest, to me! Seems like they should be in Hawaii, not Nebraska!

I will welcome you to my front porch - but overlook the rosebush that needs to be deadheaded!!

We used to have two of these chairs - but somewhere between Oregon and here - we now have only one. I wonder if it will turn up somewhere - when and if I remember what happened to it!! And, yes - that IS a mini fridge sitting there in the corner. The treekids had a little fishing bait business going for a while and dug worms and advertised them for the fishermen on the lake (maybe I'll get around to posting about that, too!) earlier this summer. More people drove over to our house and rang the front doorbell than used the self-service cooler on the property line. So, we put our out-of-use fridge on the front porch and it had a "worms $3" sign on the fridge door for a long time! One of our summer storms blew if away.

So, back to coming on inside! I would love to welcome you to our home - ding dong and we'll go on inside and get out of this summer heat and humidity (I know, I know... it has been a mild summer, but I am ready for crisp fall air and snow to fly this winter! I am DONE with bugs.)

The layout of our home is considered an "open-floor plan." The foyer with coat closet opens right on into the "great room" - a wide open space for the living room, dining area and kitchen.

Yes, that is a baby gate in the stairway. Our poor old dog and her blind and deaf self has already had one tumble down the stairs that lead to the basement and we don't need THAT again. I think my heart nearly stopped that evening.

We got rid of a lot of furniture when we moved to Nebraska... and now, I am wondering exactly why it was that we decided to do that. We could sure use those other two couches and the big oversized chair and ottoman in this house! But, they were big and we were definitely in the downsizing mode with a 41 foot travel trailer as our home! So, for now, this will do and everyone can sit somewhere if we all want to be together. There is also a star shaped ottoman over by the bookshelves that the kids like to sit on. And, yes, there are two boxes over in the corner. I had all the boxes unpacked and those two boxes now hold books that the treekids would either like to sell or to put on the paperback swap website. So, we'll get to that in time.

It is rather hard to see in these pictures, but the view out the windows is of the lake and the "I can see forever" farmland of Nebraska. Those windows face east and in the morning, it is really cool to sit in that green rocker/recliner and swivel around to watch the sun come up over the horizon. Some days I have been graced with the most amazing purple, orange and red sunrises!! And here, my non-morning self thought that those colors were reserved solely for sunSETS! :) Not true, not true - "morning people" are keeping secrets from the rest of us.

We have a nice-sized deck out the sliding-glass door by the table (I'll take a picture out there one day when I show you the "view") and a wonderful laundry room through the pocket door on the red wall.

I love the high vaulted ceilings in our home. It makes our home feel all that much more open and spacious. I don't know... something about living in under 400 sq. ft. of space makes a person appreciate any and all open space, you know!?! Of course, those high ceilings with those lights in the kitchen ... oh, how I cringe when one burns out!!

I enjoy having the desk space in the kitchen, although it is a little ill-placed for actual usage if you don't scoot yourself all the way back into the knee-hole! But, it could be seen as a way to be a gate keeper of the pantry!! A positive spin on everything - I try!!

The open doorway across the way, on the right-hand side of the photo, leads to the master suite, two bedrooms and a bathroom. The stairs lead down to the basement, where there are two bedrooms, a bathroom and plans to finish the otherwise unfinished used space!!

I do have some more decorating to do around the great room, but for now, it feels like home! We'll visit the rest of the house later. And hopefully the rest of the house will be viewed as "before and after"!!! We'll show you "before" this week and as I work on the areas... maybe you can help me make it a much better "after" with some things on the walls and a few more pieces of furniture! Until next time, we'll make a mess and play cars and leave out a few more books!!