Love it or list it?

Blankenmom asked to see how the dresser that I refurnished for the spare bedroom looked in its space. Right now it’s very simple – just some succulents and photos – but perhaps I can work on a more inspiring tablescape. Tami was complimentary even though the dresser was still emitting a varnish smell that required her to crack the window at night. Oops.

It was a good visit. We drank champagne, watched HGTV, knit, took sunset walks, read trashy magazines…all the best stuff. We went to backbar in Union Square, which I recommend for anyone who appreciates a well-made cocktail. Very swanky in an Oregon-steampunk-hipster kind of way.

Tami also introduced us to her sister and her partner who live in this great old house in Somerville. The upstairs unit is currently available – three bedrooms, two baths, fenced backyard, awesome housemates. We trouped up the stairs for a late-night tour after backbar and I started to get all googly over the place. With so many people around me leaving to do big things (take a new job, buy a house, relocate, etc.), I am sure that part of my wish to move to Somerville was fueled by a I-want-to-have-an-adventure-too feeling. Besides, who wouldn’t get googly over this kitchen?

It’s cute, right? I know! But there’s a catch. We’d need to bring in a roommate to make rent. We met as roommates and we had a wonderful roommate in Oregon, so it’s not like that’s an instant deal-breaker. But after a lot of discussion this week we decided that with all the trouble moving would require, it wasn’t worth having to share our immediate space again. Also, there’s a large gang of feral cats on the block and it seemed likely Teddy would be getting into scuffles. Sigh…not an easy decision though. Even looking over my shoulder at these pictures Read just said, “Is that the house? Oh…it’s so pretty. It hurts to say no.”

So…faced with such a pretty kitchen, do you think you could go back to having roommates if you’d been living without them for a while?

In working through the pros and cons of moving, I played out what it would take to relocate my balcony garden. Re-using last year’s dirt by adding kitchen compost seems to be working- the radishes and peas are doing well. There’s even what appears to be a rogue potato coming up out of the compost.

I’d gotten as far as deliberating whether it’d be better to lower the pallet with an elaborate rope and pulley system…or give it the heave-ho and deal with the aftermath on the ground. Now we can delay that dilemma but at some point I’m going to have to relocate a lot of dirt from the second story balcony. I’ve built a ship-in-a-bottle up there and getting it out is going to require a ton of effort.