A Tale of Three Houses (Part I)

Once upon a time a long, long time ago—namely, at the end of May—an adventurous blogger promised her faithful readers that she would share with them a tale of three houses.

And then she got busy with other adventures and forgot all about that all-important promise, until one day at the midpoint of July. Then she realized the error in her ways and sought out the long-lost pictures of the three houses she was so excited to share. (Luckily for her, they weren't really long-lost. They were on her computer, right where she uploaded them.)

And then—finally!—she was ready to reveal the three houses to her dear readers.

So now, without further ado, she'll stop speaking in third person (go ahead, breathe a sigh of relief) and share with you the first of the three houses.


Only this house is not really a house, per se. Rather, it's a condo. It's a condo that belongs to the parents of a certain blogger who happens to enjoy trying new things. But to protect their anonymity, I won't say anymore about who My Mom and My Dad ... er, oops, I mean, these people, are.

Well, shoot. Now that I've slipped up, I might as well explain: My Parents live in Wyoming. They have lived in Wyoming pretty much the entire time I've been alive, except for a quick stint in Montana when I was too young to remember. But they don't really want to retire in Wyoming. Have you experienced a Wyoming winter? And the short growing season? Would you want to live there when you're in your golden years? Enough said.

(By the way, parents, I know you're a long, long way from your golden years. Just looking to the future here.)

Needless to say, it didn't take much for them to fall in love with the Lake Oconee area and snatch up a little condo that was for sale right next to the golf course they wanted to join. It had almost everything they were looking for: a great price, a terrific pool view from the balcony, and no lawn for My Dad to mow.


The only problem is, my parents aren't quite ready to retire yet. So rather than having their terrific new condo languish without visitors most of the year (and having two home payments each month), they're renting it out for now.

That's why, at the end of May, when My Entire Immediate Family converged on Georgia (yes, I know My Entire Immediate Family probably doesn't need to be capitalized, since there's only four of us ... but we're very important), My Mom spent less than a weekend whipping their new place into shape. No kidding. It went from a little condo pretty much devoid of personality to this. Nicely decorated, ready for renters, and a great place for us to visit if renters aren't around.


My Mom, of course, has plenty of other DIY projects she plans to do when she moves into this place for real. Like adding more color. And artwork. And replacing the carpet with cork flooring. And getting a few more furnishings.


But, for the few hours she actually spent on the condo (and considering the fact it's a rental right now), it looks pretty darn good, doesn't it? Particularly the guest bedroom, which looks so darn serene and vacationy.


The Queen of DIY even managed to put up a new backsplash in that short timeframe. (Don't act so surprised. She's done it before.)


She's quite the speed decorator, that lady who birthed me.


Remind me to show you the magic she worked on ... oh, every place I've ever lived in since I graduated college. Maybe I'll get to that sooner than I managed to start the tour of the Lake Oconee houses.


Maybe.

(Parts 2 and 3 are coming soon—promise!)