221 Boulevard

This is my house. I don't own it. I wish I did.... it's exactly what I want/need. But for now, I am a happy renter who doesn't want to move EVER AGAIN... Plus, now that I've been there a couple of months, I can finally sleep without the sounds of the house scaring me. (I have a vivid imagination... it goes into over drive when I'm alone and it's dark and the house creaks). The front porch makes me love the house alone, it's at least 10 feet deep - I didn't get a good picture that shows off the size of it but as my friend Alyssa said, this is a great party porch. It wraps around the side of the house into a screened porch which I can reach from my bedroom. When it was a little warmer, I'd eat breakfast out there. Great way to start your day. But it's been a little cold around here lately so no dining alfresco for me.

This is the view from my front door - does it do the porch justice? The yellow house across the street is from the same era so it also has 14 foot ceilings and a wrap around porch and rocking chairs - actually most of the houses on my street have these features. Did I mention I love the street I live on? It's one of the oldest streets in town - to give you an idea, my house was built in 1911 and it's one of the "young" ones. The houses were originally owned by the mill for their administrators. Mine has crown molding, coal fireplaces (in every room!), and heart of pine flooring. I love it!

My sisters were actually home when I moved over Labor Day (thanks to a hurricane) so they helped. Lauren, the artsy one, hung my family pictures in the hallway. Basically I gave them to her and said put these on this wall. And this is what I got. I wish I could take credit for it because everyone that comes into my house LOVES it. I do too. It's got pictures from the time I was around 3 years old until recently of my family. Family vacations, weddings, random pictures in the backyard, Mother's Day, etc. My favorites. I've actually got 2 empty frames that I need to find pictures for. A work in progress my friends.

**The picture on the table is the one that my ghost moves around alot... it travels up and down and turns around. I'm not crazy, I have a ghost and I bet if the ghosthunters came to my house, they would confirm this fact.**

And this is Sandy again, in her favorite spot on the front porch. This is where she is every night when I come home, unless I'm late - then she's waiting by the mailbox looking at her watch. But most days, especially when it wasn't dark at 5pm, she'd be chilling on the front porch, watching the street. She can see everything from that perch and she keeps the squirrels in line from there. She's such a funny puppy.

I was taking her picture through the screen door (which I love to let slam - I can HEAR my dad saying, "don't slam the door!"). But those weren't turning out so well because my camera was focusing on the screen instead of the dog so she turned when I opened the door. Don't you just love the "what are you doing now?" expression? She's constantly watching me with an expression of exasperation. Especially when I move from one end of the house to another, she'll get settled in one spot to watch over me and I'll take off to the other end and she'll follow, only to settle again by the time I take off again. She never complains, just gets up and follows me back again. She's a good dog.