the bungalow files: quirks

One of my favorite things about living in this house is learning all of its little quirks.  It seems to have more than most other places I've lived.  Twice already I've stood bewildered as I tried to figure out light switches.  You wouldn't think it would be so difficult, but it is.  For example, the washer and dryer are hooked up to a light switch.  If this switch is off, no laundry's getting done.  The first time I went to wash a load of laundry I almost had a new-homeowner meltdown when I couldn't get the machine to work.  Not only did I desperately need clean clothes, but I also was envisioning having to lug heavy, broken machines out of the basement.  Luckily, shortly thereafter Dan's mom saved the day by flipping a little light switch.  All I can say is, phew.

This wall of the kitchen is completely free standing. Well, aside from the built-in upper cabinets anyway.  It amuses me how the tile just stops. Also - counter space is a bit of an issue.  That little metal cabinet is where I do the majority of my food prepping (not that I've been much of a cook lately - don't forget the cream style corn), and needless to say, it leaves a bit to be desired size-wise.

Our shelves reach all the way to the ceiling! And almost all the way to the counter below.  They come down so low that not much will fit under them, as documented by this photo.  Furthermore, the sloped floors in the kitchen caused me to stub my toes on the cabinets the first few times I tried to do the dishes. My subconscious quickly learned not to step so close.

It's funny the things you fail to notice when you're touring a house. It's like when you first get a crush and every thing's all rainbows and butterflies (please tell me that was a phrase before the Maroon5 song...) and you fail to notice that that super cute guy actually picks his nose every 5 minutes.  Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.  But whenever I'm in the market for a house again, if all of the blinds are down and closed, I'll take it as a warning sign. Those nice, brand new blinds in the dated house probably aren't just there to keep people from peering in the windows. Most likely they serve to distract you from what's hiding behind them as well. For example, some windows open and some don't. Some sashes are kind of rotten, most aren't. All windows are were very, very dirty.  

Can you tell which window is clean and which one's still dirty?  Ha yeah, it's not very tough.  Dan's mom and I have spent A LOT of time (and even more Windex) on these windows.  We've made it about halfway around the bottom floor.  The windows in the picture above even had this tinted film on them (on purpose, not dirt) to darken the room.  Once ripped off, the amount of sunlight streaming into the room was an incredibly welcome change.

There are about a million more little things we've found and discovered and I'll be sure to share them all with you soon.  As much as I may sound like I'm complaining about some of these things (okay, yes I would prefer to have the windows a bit cleaner and more counter space), really I have fun discovering them.  I actually fear the day when I stop finding new quirks, because they give the house so much personality.