Got a notification today that I got a new follower here–welcome, welcome…

OK, the other day I just flat ran out of steam and time. There’s a few more things I need to say about the dream home. Being disabled blows, y’all.

The mini forest–kids need a place to explore nature and build forts. Growing up, we were literally across the road from a creek/river. We spent hours climbing over small cliffs and across shale “beaches”, slogging through the creek and picking up leeches and getting black feet from the sludge that coated the bottom. Was it cow poop? Was it decaying trees? Both. It stunk to high heaven, but it was like soft, gooey pudding. Yes, I also licked salt blocks that were set out for cows. Fight me.

— Whew. Alright, had to take a brief break to dispatch a snake. My mom came in all a flutter (she’s 77, let her flutter) and asked if Tim could get rid of a snake that just scared the s*** out of her. Tim grabbed a pitchfork–our family prefers a hoe, but sure. He stabbed it a couple times, but it slipped away into the grass. He has assured Mom it is a garter snake and harmless–he also didn’t have his glasses on, and we have those pesky Massasauga rattlers here in eastern KS that are the size of a garter snake, so Mom and I are leery. We also have a lot of copperheads in this yard for whatever reason. Hate those suckers–don’t care what breed, don’t care what benefit they provide to the ecosystem.

Add that to the dream home list–NO SNAKES. The frogs and crawdads can stay, and I will even allow bees as long as they don’t stab me and send me to the ER.

OK, so forests. We live in Kansas–there are no true forests here. But back in the day, homesteaders were required to plant trees to improve their land. I find it fascinating to drive around the back roads and see a pasture with a stand of trees in the middle of nowhere, because I know that once upon a time, that was someone’s home. Our neighbors to the west had a nice little tree-filled pasture, and my brother and our neighbors’ son spent hours using fallen branches to create walls and forts. He had a legit tree house that his dad had built that was a masterpiece, but we liked dinking around with fallen limbs like this:

Not my picture, but it’s cool. https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news/local/stop-making-forts-in-the-woods-officials-tell-visitors

Also not my picture, but it is the river I grew up next to:

This particular picture is in Arkansas, but it’s what I experienced. https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/the-saline-river/ It amazes me that Jon and I spent hours there and never took a picture. I guess hauling a camera along when you know you are going to get wet isn’t a priority. Dream home needs a dream creek.

Back in the house, we need a conservatory/music room. My family needs music like others need air. I still have the record player my dad bought in France when he was stationed there in the 60s, and that was what I spent my childhood listening to vinyls on. I still have my dad’s vinyl collection and my own. We also have the pump organ that my great-uncle modified into an electric one. We have my brother’s drum kit. We have a number of electric guitars and keyboards. We need a place to jam out, and it probably needs some decent soundproofing in case others in the house don’t care for the musical genius emanating from the room.

In the rec room I mentioned in the previous post, we need a table and some bookcases that hold our board game collection. We like board games. We don’t always follow the standard rules supplied by the game creators, but we have fun.

The elevator I mentioned in the previous post–it needs to be big. It needs to be able to transport furniture from floor to floor, and it needs mirrors so people can check their appearance on their way out if they want to. Furniture moving and mirrors aren’t really compatible, so we need a way to fasten moving quilts to the walls to protect the mirrors.

The laundry room will have at least 2 sets of washers and dryers. I needed a laundromat setup when the kids were small, and sometimes it still would come in handy. We need the big monster washer and dryer for bedding, too. No point in skimping now.

The kitchen needs an industrial dishwasher.

Honestly, I wouldn’t even mind if we had stainless steel countertops to make cleanup easier. Man, holiday dinner cleanup would just zip right along with this setup. Heaven.

In the ideal world, I would also have a few guest houses around the main house. I want my kids and their families and friends to visit, but I know sometimes they need their own space, so they can have their own guest homes. Each of them has different tastes and hobbies, so they can be individualized. One needs a fishing hole nearby, and one needs a basketball court.

I think that about does it for what I remembered after I posted the last time. See ya in the next post!