Puppies and houses
Our friend Michele just got a tiny puppy. Just looking at him, you wouldn’t think he’d be problem, but he’s super hard for just one person to manage. He demands constant attention, he chews, he pees everywhere, he whines at night. How can you tell ahead of time? And how do you weigh that against all the unanticipated good stuff that comes along with it, like tug-of-war with a scarf or the funniest loping run ever?
Maggie and I have been looking at houses recently and asking similar questions. What’s a deal breaker and what’s just a quirk? How important is layout versus yard size versus location?
The best way is really to try it out, but at a certain point you have to just make the plunge and trust that it’ll work out for the best. And along the way, focus on the good times and use the bad times as a way of connecting with others. That’s why I was so happy to be able to hang out with Michele and her puppy tonight even though she’s taking him back to the breeder tomorrow.
In that vein, here are some little things that have made me happy recently.
- snow!
- a tiny cat running from tree to tree to avoid the snow
- watching a good movie with friends
- chocolate chip cookies (that get better as they cool!)
- baking bread
- getting things done!
I know this isn’t really a “green” post, but it is all about living well, so I hope you’ll let me branch out a little. I also hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on–and share–some of your good times!
Linnea said,
February 15, 2008 @ 6:48 pm
If you’re able to renovate, layout is one of the easiest things to fudge. I dunno if you ever watch HGTV, but there’s a show called Hidden Potential that deals with just that. Assuming it’s not a load bearing wall, you can usually make some adjustments to give the space more of an open plan. A yard is harder to fudge, unless you’re willing to build a roof garden, or get into terracing. You can’t fudge location, but generally speaking location requirements are more flexible.
That’s my two cents. If you’re not in love with a place yet, you can always knock out a wall.
Linnea said,
February 15, 2008 @ 6:51 pm
Oh, i forgot to mention… If you’re going to renovate a space to fix the layout, what better time to put in radiant floor heating, gray water systems, and solar panels.
Will said,
February 16, 2008 @ 1:33 am
That works some places and not others. One of the places we’ve looked at is separated into three floors, so it’s not something that can be changed by knocking down walls. The other (that we’re thinking more seriously about) actually had a wall put in by the current owner that we’d probably take down. Location requirements aren’t that flexible for us, since we want to be within walking distance (no more than 3 miles) of downtown and in a place where we actually can walk (so nothing across a highway). That narrows it down to about three neighborhoods in our approximate price range, since the university takes up a big chunk of that space.
Maggie is actually taking a PV class sometimes soon, so that would definitely be something we’d consider! Of course, the more we have to spend knocking down walls, the less we’ll be able to spend on solar panels, etc.