Monday, July 28, 2014

I love a parade! (Oh my gosh I've got to stop making all these plans!)

The most dangerous spot for me this past weekend was putting on some blue surgical booties and making my way through the Parade of Homes in Michigan, accompanying hubs on some business related visits.  You know, we wanted to see the homes but it is still a business visit, and we have so much to do around the house that it was difficult to make the commitment to go. I really enjoy these visits though as I usually see some great floor plan or new gadget or appliance, some landscaping or paint color.  

Anyway, the first home was a remodel of a home along the St. Joseph river.  Oh my goodness, the lot, the view, the stunning kitchen.  It was gorgeous.  Very uncluttered and minimally decorated but beautifully so with some nice arts and crafts pieces sprinkled throughout.  What a treat to visit this great spot.  

Another home or two which were equally as nice, new construction,  and then onto another remodel.  Oh dear.  This one had some seriously great upgrades to a home in a well- established neighborhood.  The standout for me here was the entry as on the way up to the parade, hubs and I were discussing entry remodeling and I expressed some ideas that have been rolling around in my head.  Nothing major but to improve our entry, just talk.  Nothing major until I saw this home but now my wheels are really turning.

A couple more homes and our final stop at a very contemporary, almost Scandinavian style home near Lake Michigan. This was a stunner, and so unlike our home and what I thought to be “my taste”.  I could live there for sure.  They had to take down several ash trees on the property because of the dreaded ash bore but they were able to salvage a LOT of the wood and made the stair treads and wood flooring from massive trees that had to be cut down.   Gorgeous. 

A stop at my favorite brewery for a sandwich before heading home, and a bit of my hobby~ conversation with strangers.  Talked to two men who were in Michigan, one from San Francisco and one from Seattle, to attend a weeklong family retreat ~ about their 30th  summer.  They had been sent to the store for supplies for dinner and were stopping in to have a beer on their way.  They were the sons-in-law of the hosts of the reunion, and in trouble, they knew it and didn’t care…like 16 year olds who had been given the keys to the car and sent out on an errand.  Until one stood up and said to his brother-in-law,  “I’m going to go to the store, but, I’ll be back and here are my sunglasses and cell phone so you can be sure.”  One of the funniest things I’ve seen a grown man do, but sort of charming, too. 

It was a nice ending to a busy weekend and now, do I hate my house? My yard? My trees? No, but boy oh boy do I have some ideas.  Now, where’s that graph paper?

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