Something is Missing

Every home has its own distinct style of decor... and ours is no different. There are things that are designed for comfort, things that are necessary, and things that are just fun. Our little home in the country has some of each of these categories, but something is missing. Something that falls under the "necessity" umbrella.

Our home is out in the country. It sits on highway "O" so we can hear the occasional car or truck or tractor or horse go by. We really don't hear the horses, but Jazz the beagle lets us know when one is out there. This is how the front of our house looks from the road.

When one enters our little home in the country through the front door, they find themselves in the living room, entertainment center and piano to the left, red sofa and my grandfather's rocking chair to the right. Behind the red sofa is our "Jesus wall." Pictures of the Savior, President Hinckley's six B's, The Home Rules (Always be honest, Count your blessings, etc...), The Family Proclamation, The Living Christ Statement, and a few other things to remind us how we want our home to be.

Through the living room is the dining room. Not as big as the one in Richmond, but our table fits nicely. Also in the dining room is the big wood burning stove that we use to heat our home in the winter. Not all that effective for heating the entire house, but the living room and dining room sure get toasty when the fire is raging. Sometimes we can boil water on top of it, even though it's not really a cook stove. Good for simmering gumbo however.

I like the heat from a fire like that. To me it's much more comfortable than heat pumps of other forced air heat. It's a dry heat so we have to keep a sauce pan with water on top to keep us from drying out too much. We add a little potpourri to the water and it works just fine.

Also in the dining room is a piece of artwork that I bought for Sheri a couple of Christmas' ago, made by our good friend Melinda. A wonderful addition to our home and a perfect match to the red dining room that Sheri wants.

This painting is also in the dining room. This was painted by my grandfather some 24 years ago.

Off to the right of the dining room is the kitchen. Refrigerator,
stove, sink, cabinets, an old potato bin, and a telephone.

This telephone was hanging in my grandparent's kitchen for as long as I can remember. I used to have to climb up on a chair or stool to turn the crank and make the chimes ring. I never tired of that ringing action. It now hangs in our kitchen, and will go with me wherever I live. I still turn the crank from time to time. I think that it should be the dinner bell, alerting everyone in the house when dinner is ready.

There's a sign in our kitchen that reads "Real men wear aprons." Who can argue with that? That little decorative item came from our friends Rudy and Bonnie back in Richmond.

Behind the kitchen is the laundry / cat's room / pantry. Behind that is another room that's used for storage. I really need to get back there and clean it out someday.

Off the kitchen heading back towards the front of the house is a bathroom, and through that bathroom is a bedroom... the guest bedroom. Sheri painted it baby blue a few months ago, bought some blue bed coverings and it really looks nice now.

Through that room and we're back in the living room.

Upstairs is one big room that could be divided into two rooms, and another bathroom.

Behind the dining room is where I sit right now, in the office. Not much more than a cluttered, multi use room with a desk and the computer.

So that's it, the written and slightly pictorial tour of our quaint county home.

What in the world could be missing? Well it's quite simple really. Remember that picture of the refrigerator? Well, that was only the freezer part of the appliance. Here's a picture of the whole thing.
Notice anything? No pictures on the big door. Would you like to know why? Because I have been on the hunt all over Ava, Missouri looking for suitable magnets and have thus far come up empty handed.

Simple magnets, that's all I ask for. I don't want the ones with butterflies or grasshoppers or Volkswagen Beetles. I'm not interested in magnets shaped like states or airplanes or Hawaiian shirts (although I would put those shirt magnets elsewhere.) I just want simple, small, round, strong magnets to hold up the pictures of my family and friends for my own viewing pleasure. Is that really too much to ask?

I have many more pictures printed and ready to add to the door, but when I put them where I want them they just fall to the floor.

I have some great pics too. Some pics I took from blogs, (McEvoys, Andersons, Anantats, Woolleys, Roberts, Skinroods, etc...) Some were sent to us via e-mail. Some were given to us by friends visiting, and this one of my niece, Megan and my nephew, Jake was taken by yours truly a couple of weeks ago at the end of a pier on Lake Michigan at sunset.

So that's it. My world has temporarily been reduced to a need for magnets. All of my friends have a place on my fridge. And as long as there's room, there will be a need for more magnets.

When I run out of room on the fridge, I have a large box freezer that's looking rather naked.

Until next time...