In the hopes that we would have guests visiting us in Utah, we moved from our one bed-room to a two-bedroom, one floor below in the same building. Besides the second bedroom and bath, there are some nice differences about our new place:
The living room has a bay window and a corner gas fireplace that add a nice touch to the room. This room also has a stereo which Wayne was able to hook up to our computer so we have much better sound when we listen to MPR or our music.
The door to the deck is between the living and dining room, and it leads to a small fenced patio with a gate out onto the larger patio space shared by the complex. Now we can leave and return to our condo this way instead of taking an elevator.
The owner has several green plants that give the place a touch of home instead of a hotel. He also has a few games in the closet and magazines on end tables. There are also more dishes so we can use the dishwasher, bake things, and entertain at home.
The next door neighbors are very nice and have already brought us flowers to enjoy, (as the owner had explained to them that we were moving in).
We put the flowers on the kitchen counter, and still have 10 feet of free counter space. It is in the shape of a v with 4 stools against it.
But nothing is perfect and there are some things that we will miss:
The view is non-existent from our new place, as all our windows look out at 6 foot walls, giving the patio privacy from the complex. We do have a view of our old balcony(if we stand in the bay window and look up), as well as the very top of buildings and just a peak at the tops of mountains over the roofs.
The old place had cannister lights in the kitchen that shone on the counters. This new place has just a center light and we seem to be always standing in our shadow. (We did turn 2 spot lights that had been shining on a hall mirror to light up the counter.)
The old place had fewer square footage but more useable space.
It's bathrom cabinet had six drawers where we stored our personal things.
The bedroom closet had built in drawers and shelves as well as 5 hanging areas.
It also had a linen closet. Our new place has none of these things.
The appliances in our old place were also top of the line (although I won't miss cleaning the stainless steel finishes). I enjoyed using the front loading clothes washer but now am back to a regular top-loader stacked under a dryer.
There is a lot more furniture now with more seating and sleeping space for guests, but it is all older (except the 4 bar stools) from the owner's mother's home. The dining chairs are wobbly, and the living room furniture is soft but homey, reminding me a lot of my parent's place. The carpeting is off white and has many dirty spots that the owner has not been able to successfully clean. He has placed 2 rugs over spots in front of the coach and by the rear entrance to the patio.
But mostly we are happy to be here and looking forward to our first guests, Jon and Linda, who will arrive in mid-April. We will have to find a new place for our bikes when they move into the guest room.
There is a storage space on the 2nd floor of the complex but the owner has it filled with more furniture, etc. He was able to make a small space where we put our camping gear so it no longer sits in our bedroom.! Instead we have a small organ in our room which we are welcome to play.
As you can see our new place is a little old-fashioned but sunny, warm, and welcoming if any of you wish to come visit!
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