Wow have things ever changed since the last time I shopped for a house.
It was 1992 or 1993 the last time I looked for a house -- long before the internet made "virtual tours" possible.
It was shortly after my Dad died in late '92, and I only remember because I remember leaving my apartment on East Yale Avenue in Seattle, realizing that my Dad had seen where I lived there, but knew he'd never see my house in Ballard.
One divorce, a marriage and a move cross-country later, my husband Brian had already bought the house that we lived in in Denver for 7 years. That's the house that's for sale now and as of today -- is under contract to be sold to new buyers. New buyers who I hope to be able to tell a few stories to about how much that house was loved, and if a certain rock band happens to stop by to sleep in their driveway, we'd appreciate them continuing the tradition of being hospitable to that.
So, here we are about to be in the market for a house again. And I found myself making a list for a friend of mine who is willing to shop online for me for houses.
As I went through my mental checklist and put it on paper, I found I don't ever want to deal with asbestos siding again. I don't care if the house is a cosmetic nightmare because THAT I can fix. But the expense and trouble of asbestos? No more.
Bad carpet? Icky paint? No problem.
But I'd like a decent sized kitchen, good living space and room for my kid not to be sleeping in my room anymore. THAT is going to be wonderful.
I recently started looking at houses online, and I realized that I'm back in the Northwest where baseboard heat is actually quite common.
Baseboard heaters are individual units along the floor of one wall per room (hence the name "baseboard") They have thermostats in each room usually, so the handy thing is you only need to heat the rooms you use whereas central heat heats pretty much everything (although you can close the registers).
They just aren't as efficient as gas, and in the Northwest where electric is relatively cheap because of hydro-electric power from the rivers, it's ok. I just don't like the thought of my daughter being able to touch the heat source, or drop crayons, Barbies, and the other stuff I think she'll be playing with when she decides to "see if that melts too".
How do I know she'll do this?
I'm just peering into the future of a girl who came out of my body.
That's all I'm saying.
Sloganizer
1 comment:
Oh yes -I can see that in your future ....! We ahve the standard British solution of hot-water filled radiators on the walls - Barbies etc will survive, but if you put your wax crayons directly onto them, they WILL melt - adn the mess is indescribable, especially where there is carpet underneath .... But if that's what the house comes with, I guess you're stuck with it - could you put a mesh guard around the one in Nora's room, perhaps?
Post a Comment