Day 19: Welcome to my House

If there were some sort of magical place where everyone got to pick exactly the kind of house they wanted to live in, I would go nuts. Just thinking about it makes me squeal with joy. I would be over the moon happy. That’s not to say that I don’t love where I live right now, but just imagine, money, the laws of physics, reality, none of it would come into play. You could design whatever you wanted.

First of all my house would be an ever changing house. It would ripple and redesign as I saw fit, no need for pesky contractors. Dare I say it; I would live in a magic house. Some days it would look like a nice mountain cabin or an ivy covered cottage from the Cotswold’s, others it would more closely resemble a normal craftsman type home with a wide front porch. But in October, oh man, in October it would really be something. I’m thinking a LARGE Gothic Victorian mansion bordering on decrepitude. It would of course have an overgrown vast front lawn for the wolf man to play on and a long front drive that was guarded by a rusted out and yet still ornate wrought iron gate. Don’t forget all the broken down fountains and water features. The frogs and toads have to frolic somewhere.

It would have several gables teetering dangerously past vertical, hanging shutters, peeling paint and of course a belfry for the bats. But the inside, the inside would be immaculate, a reminder to look past first appearances. Of course there would be a wide grand staircase and suits of armor that talked. There would be many drafty fireplaces and many, many secret passageways and of course some of the paintings would have removable eye slots so that you could peek out from inside the passageways.

Shamelessly stealing from other authors, there would be an underground lair like in Batman. The dining room would have floating candles above it and a scene of the night sky overhead like in Harry Potter. Also like Harry Potter the meals would magically appear at the table which would be set in a Downton Abbey type style. There would be a secret entrance through a bookcase like in the Addams Family and all the books would open so that you actually immersed yourself in them. Want to go to Narnia, no problem. Feel like a trip to Middle Earth, pack your bags. Like in Dangerous Creatures the house interior would change with my mood and I would be able to write on the walls with my mind. There would be four poster beds you could bounce on, many bannisters to slide down and a spiral staircase that turns into a slide like in Casper. There would be a big front door which would have talking knockers like in Labyrinth, though they wouldn’t be nearly as irritating.

But my favorite idea comes from the movie the Haunting. There is a hallway in it that looks like it has been flooded and there are stepping stones that are made to look like submerged books. I would have three of those just cuz I could. Plus there would be a solarium that looked like the inside of Willy Wonka’s factory, you know, the one with the chocolate pool, edible grass and flowers. I’d poach Beauty and the Beast’s library, oh oh, and all the talking furniture as well. I’d have a pool like the one at Hearst Castle and a grand ballroom of some sort. Let’s just say it would change with my imagination and have floating tables like in Hotel Transylvania.

In this monster house I’d also have a ginormous aquarium that made up the floor like in Despicable Me. Plus a room that was nothing but a ball pit and a room that you could change the type of room it was by spinning a nob just like in Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. Which leads me to my in home movie theater. It would be set up like the grand theaters of the 1920’s. Movie monsters would be the attendants and there would be a concession area with every goodie imaginable. Plus they would serve theme food to go with the film. The inside of the theater would have red curtains with gold ties over the screen and balconies and couches instead of seats. A zombie would run the projector because I’d want to watch movies 24/7 that time of year and a zombie’s the only one who wouldn’t fall asleep on the job.

Yup, it’d be pretty amazing. Don’t worry; I’d totally invite you over for a visit. I’d send my driver Lurch to pick you up in the hearse.

October Thought Day 2: Home

What does the word “home” mean to you, and no I’m not fishing for a haunted house answer either. Unless of course you’re a ghost and you are reading this on the Supernatural Interwebs and you actually live in a haunted house. In which case, do elaborate. Snails carry their homes on their back so they are already home no matter where they go. One of my favorite signs comes from a realty company and reads “If you lived here you’d be home now.” It tickles my fancy. I understand what they mean, but it seems magical to me, like suddenly I could just decide to live there and I would instantly be home. How cool would that be! Then there are the sayings; Home is where the heart is. There’s no place like home. Home is where you hang your hat. I could Google more of them but I think you get the picture.

So why am I even asking this question in an October Thought? What do non haunted houses have to do with October anyway? Simply put, the month makes me both nostalgic and contemplative. I take out my decorations and reminisce about holidays gone by and what I was doing back then. I think about how my life has progressed or stalled. I think about where I am going to put this year’s décor and think of where I have arranged things in the past. I have a freakishly odd memory when it comes to this kind of stuff. I can recall where I got almost all of my decorations and where I have put them over the years. Sometimes I can’t remember my own phone number and occasionally I space out on my own name, but decoration locations, I’m golden, I’d win a trivia contest on it if there was such a thing….anyway back to home.

Home is where I can be the most me possible. It’s where I feel safe and comfortable. I can walk through it in my jammies with my pumpkin socks singing Thriller with not a care in the world. Home is where I can curl up on the couch and read as the rain pelts down on the roof. At home I can paint my toenails October colors by firelight and listen to the sounds of the high school football game floating up from the valley. Home is a place I can festoon with seasonal frippery and fill with the smells of autumnal baked goods. Home is where my things are, where my family is and where I welcome my friends. Home is where I can rest and make memories.

However, when I’m on a trip, I find myself calling my hotel room home. My friends’ houses are home, so is my church. Places I have lived before are also home. If I’m on a long trip, or watching a double feature at the drive-in, my truck is home. The concept of home seems to have many facets just like love. The idea of home means something different for everyone, or maybe it doesn’t. Some don’t have a home and some only consider home a state of mind.

All I know is that this evening, when I was watching the sun fade over the horizon, my home was back lit with this golden shimmer and it pulled on my heart strings. There it was, my home, and it got me to thinking, hence this post. So, what does home mean to you? I’d really like to know.