Dumpy Little Places

Little places.......dumpy little places.

Oh, the dumpy little places I've lived!
I loved dumpy little places. They came with landlords who didn't get in the way of fixing things up and claiming that dumpy little space. Sometimes, they even took money off the rent--and every time they increased the rent when you moved out! It was a great deal for them. It was a great deal for me. Rent was always cheap--and you really couldn't 'go' any place but 'up' in those dives.

Honestly, I've had some great apartments. Granted, they didn't start OUT great--but they got some TLC and they became 'mine'. I have some fond memories of those places. I have some fond memories of the 'hallways from hell'..... Folks were always relieved and impressed once they entered the actual apartment!

So 'we' (meaning *I*) spent some time this weekend moving the girl into a dumply little place.

Built probably in the 1920's it's a maze of rooms--small rooms. No.....ickle rooms, very small rooms.....
There's a second floor--(she dubbed it that)it's a paneled attic space with the angled walls. I don't even think standing upright is an option unless you're smack dab in the middle of the room.
From a spacious, modern apartment with all the amenities to a dumpy little place in the middle of some 'smaller than the town YOU live in, mom' town.

Why?
Cuz she's determined to 'claim' a spot and she's too anxious/uncertain about buying a house--and she's not financially where she needs to be TO purchase, which is part of this strategy with the 'dumpy little place'. It's one third of the cost of her spacious, modern apartment with all the amenities.
Cuz it's in a 'smaller than the town mom lives in' and she can see the stars from the back yard.
(Seriously small--we're talking population under 400)
Cuz she can live a quiet existance.
Cuz she can put in a garden and kill all the plants at her leisure.
Cuz she can put a nail in the wall, paint and decorate to her little hearts content without having to pay for 'damage' to someone else's 'model apartment'.
Cuz she can just 'be' vs. 'having to be' for other people.

I tried to keep in mind those dumpy little places I picked to claim as my 'home'. They were adventures, transformations waiting to happen.
They were a part of my 'recovery' after stepping out of fast lane living. They gave me a mission and a centeredness on what was in front of me.

So we talked pickeling that paneling on that 'second floor' and she assured me that the ants crawling down the wall would be poisoned successfully. And we measured walls to find where the couch might fit and she told me that the fella friend would be replacing the frontdoor with one that actually has a screen....and a non-broken window.

I had to hug her and tell her about 'the hallways from hell'.

She and the fella friend are pretty excited to be able to 'play' with the house.
I'm excited for her adventure.

I'm gonna send her a basket with garden plants and seeds as a house warming gift.......and I'm tucking in a canister of ant poison.