Monday, November 23, 2009

This is a Terrible Picture



I took a quick shot this morning to illustrate something.  We'll get to that in a minute.  But first I want to talk about how terrible this picture is. I was standing near the dining room table looking east-ish when I took the shot.  You can clearly see the dowel that's holding the upper window closed and the crack in the storm window from falling down (because the tracks are loose).  You can see less clearly the reflection from the west windows (yes, there is a view clear through the house east-to-west), and you can see even less clearly the view through the window, because you're looking through 2 layers of plastic and 2 layers of glass.

This terrible shot shows something I've been thinking about lately.  I'm terribly proud that I'm living in this ancient, crooked house in the woods, more or less successfully.  But I'll never be able to clean it up enough to make a city boy comfortable.  It's a loose, dusty place with far too many ladybugs, and his discomfort makes me uncomfortable.  Years ago it would have been me with the look of distaste in my eyes, but now I see the look in other eyes, and I find it terrible.  Enough with the word "terrible" for today!  You know how when you look at a word too long, it starts to look funny and wierd?  We're there with this word.

Let's get to what I wanted to illustrate.

I'm practicing a trick I learned when I lived in South Carolina. Parking the truck in the yard, that is.  When I first noticed that South Carolinians park in their yards (at least where I lived they did), I was (terribly) put off.  It grew on me though, and before too long I was parking in the yard like a pro. 

There's something else I learned in South Carolina that I sometimes practice.  It's how to use the word "shortly."  South Carolinians use the word "shortly" to mean any time in the future when they don't want to specify a time.  As a transplanted northerner, I thought the word "shortly" meant the same as "soon."  It doesn't necessarily mean that, but it may.  See how much freedom "shortly" provides?  Practice it often, cricket.  It's a very useful word.

3 comments:

  1. Parking in the yard truely is an art form here in South Carolina. I have a neighbor who owns one car, has a driveway that can fit three and they still park in the middle of the yard. I must say I have not picked up this habit. The longer I stay here though the more I am certain that I will shortly start parking on the grass. Of course shortly meaning any where from 10 min. to 6 months and beyond. Don't feel bad about the multiple layers on your windows and all the other problems with your house, we lived in a house like that for a few years it was over 200 years old and had more problems than we could have fixed in 20 years. What I mean to say is I understand your house issues compleatly.

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  2. So, are you uncomfortable enough to want to be someplace else? and is it just the physical house or the all-around location? I am still waiting for the guy to come that is replacing my tub this summer...with a roomy shower stall. and do the vanity & mirror/cabinet above it. I'm not fancy, I want room and function. And he's doing it instead of my BIL, because I get mad at how long and messy his work is and then I can't complain. But then the kitchen is in need. Again, I'm not talking fancy, but the cheap cupboards that they put in here 30+ years ago, are falling apart..Sometimes owning a house is a never-ending battle...

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  3. Shannan - that's hilarious! Things they didn't tell you in your "Intro to the South" class....

    Karen Sue - It's the city boy that's uncomfortable. I'm not going anywhere! I might be alone, but it will be here!

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