Come on, Columbian soothin’ syrup. Flow out those two spigots and give me the help I need to enable the thinking process. Oh, look, the liquid happiness is flowing. All I need is a sip, and the memories of this glorious room will return. Here is the sip. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
Here are the memories: The ceilings and windows give the feeling of the out of doors. When we moved in, the only piece of furniture we had was a futon. We sold our other place at the coast, which was fully furnished, so we had nothing. We bought the futon, knowing it would soon be gifted to the Salvation Army. Two people and two dogs were very cozy on that futon until the new furniture arrived.
We have been here for five years, and the room has changed slightly. The couches have been lowered twice: once for Twiggy’s rehabilitation from surgery and lately to keep Tempeste the puppy from running under them and doing things that should be done outside. The rug has been changed, and new art has been installed.
The room is the center of the home and is where we spend most of our time. The time clock is going to wait for next week since the word count is getting close to the limit. My text alert tells me Linda Hill has sent the prompt. It reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “Memories of the room you’re in.” Write about a memory of the room (or park, or gym, or where ever you are) you’re in when you write your post. Enjoy!
To see what other bloggers have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link: https://lindaghill.com/2024/03/22/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-23-2024/
Memories of the Room You’re In by John W. Howell © 2024
“How did you guys get along without furniture?”
“As weird as it sounds, we did quite well.”
“Where did you sit to eat?”
“We have a large kitchen counter that has room for seats. Our daughter loaned us bar stools.”
“Dishes?”
“Yeah, we brought a set from the coast.”
“Where did you sleep?”
“We bought a mattress and put it on the bedroom floor.”
“Why did you need a futon?”
“We didn’t have a place to sit, and it worked like a couch.”
“Was it long before the furniture arrived?”
“It was all special order, so it took some time. We found a couple of pieces by going to stores.”
“Sounds ghastly.”
“It was a good memory. Of course, being in my late 70s, getting up from the mattress was a challenge.”
“I can imagine.”
“Speaking of challenge, you haven’t mentioned VooDoo Ranger.”
“I guess I’ve been busy thinking of this old guy getting out of bed and trying to stand up.”
“Yeah, it was fun. I could have used a crane.”
“Speaking of.”
“Oh no.”
“Look at our Uber lift.”
“When you say ‘lift,’ that’s an understatement.”
“You like it then?”
“Dan Antion would love it. Yes, I like it. Looks like we both can ride in the cabin.”
“Can you imagine the looks when we get to the pub?”
“For fun, I think we should tell them we are here to raise the roof.”
“You know, for you, that was pretty good. Are you taking pills or something?”
“Just high on life, my friend. Let’s go.”
Fiction Favorites 
Dear John,
such a ‘lift’ was my favourite toy when a was a little boy.
Happy weekend
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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I can relate. Mine was a fire engine.
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I do like your ride, John.
I spent months living on the floor, but I was a lot younger. Not sure I’d want to do it now.
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Well we did it five yeas ago which make it 78 for me. These old bones were certainly glad when the stuff finally came in.
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I join in with Dan, that is a great lift!
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Thanks, GP.
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Your imagination makes me so jealous. Why do you think I stick with non-fiction!!
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You say the nicest things. Thank you. 😁
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So Tempeste is part of your family now?
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She is. The newest member.
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She’s a cutie! Another Frenchie?
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Yes. She is a rescue like Twiggy.
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A home with no furniture to start with reminds me of a time, back in the day. That lift could sure raise the roof. 😊
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Ha ha ha. Thank you, Tim.
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That’s quite a lift, John. The closest I’ve come to that ride was when I was a child, visiting my favorite uncle. He put me and two sisters in a front-loader scope and drove us around the farm. When my dad found out, he wasn’t pleased — but I loved it!
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That would be so much fun for a kid.
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The glorious futon. Seems to always come to the rescue in a pinch.
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Yes indeed.
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The futon is a hard no. LOL But I love the uber lift! Raising the roof would be some serious fun!
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Yes the futon was the hardest. Thanks, Kymber.
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That lift would come in handy if your bar has a second floor patio. No need to go up the stairs, John.
I had a futon at one point. It was the spare bed for a time, but has been long gone in favor of more comfy furniture. Glad it served its purpose for you and wife and dogs while you waited for the real thing.
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Yes it did. Our house is all on one floor so the lift won’t help.
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Oooo, my husband would love a lift in that Uber. He has pipe dreams of buying the front end of a long haul truck and driving it to the grocery store. I also enjoyed hearing how you are keeping Tempeste from getting under the sofa.
We started out much the same way – no furniture and too poor to purchase anything except at yard sales. I shake my head when I think of what we had. Left it all behind when we moved to California.
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So far we have furnished a number of homes completely. There are times when we moved that the current stuff just didn’t go with the house we were moving into.
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Except for the dogs!!
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Yes. Except for the dogs
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I remember being the owner of five, count ’em, five sofas at one time. My ex wife was a collector of all things, from shoes to art to sofas. What saved my sanity was a Coca Cola vending machine circa 1959 that I found on one of our antique shopping trips. I changed the coin mechanism to quarters, kept a bucket by the side of the machine and filled the thing with beer.
PS- I had seven vending machines at one time, but I only housed two of them at a time so unlike the sofas, they didn’t get to be enjoyed nearly as often.
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Your vending machines sound like they would be the subject of plenty of conversation. I also had a coke cooler. It was a chest type which didn’t need a coin mechanism. It was big enough for six cases of beer. I used to laugh when guys came over the first time and saw it in it’s glory. Such fun.
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I had one of those too! I’d fill the cooler up to a line and set bottles down inside it. That was a fun time as well.
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Mine was electric.
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Wow! You can hoist a lot more than sixteen ounces now. Don’t get into trouble.
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Let’s see . . how many ounces in a barrel? 😁
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“Just high on life.” As it should be, John. Interesting memories. 🙂
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Thank you, Jan. 😁
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John, I enjoyed your reminiscence about the room as much as your response to the prompt. I’ve been without furniture a few times, and it wasn’t such a big deal to me either.
The “Uber” lift cracked me up. Hugs.
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I love that lift. Yeah it took about six months to get everything but I was okay with it.
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John,
I just learned a lot more about you in this post.
wow and here I thought you were just my rich guy boss. 😀😀
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Ha ha ha. I love this comment.
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I have great memories of living without. Where tables were milk cartons and my couch cost $25.
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I used to refinish furniture when I first got started and had some great trash finds.
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I got a big kick out of every part of this post! I particularly enjoyed this bit:
“Speaking of challenge, you haven’t mentioned VooDoo Ranger.”
“I guess I’ve been busy thinking of this old guy getting out of bed and trying to stand up.”
“Yeah, it was fun. I could have used a crane.”
“Speaking of.”
“Oh no.”
“Look at our Uber lift.”
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Ha ha ha. Thank you so much Liz. You are the best. 😁
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You’re welcome, John! 😀
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😊
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I enjoyed you memories, John. I can relate to getting up and down from a mattress on the floor, except at school there is no mattress. Ha! Yes, Dan would absolutely love the lift!
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Yes indeed he would. Thanks Jennie.
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You’re welcome, John.
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😊
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Hope that Über lift has power steering! Lovely reflections on the room that was. It’s a good exercise looking back and seeing from where you come.
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Thank you, Monika. I’m sure it has power steering. The memories of the room include our loved ones as well but I kept that part to myself.
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If I slept on a mattress on the floor, I would still be on the floor, I fear, crawling about looking for a shelf or something to pull myself up! Fun post, John!
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Ha ha ha. You describe me perfectly.
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Time sure flies! It’ll be 5 years next month that we moved here. Happy Anniversary, John! It’s been fun reading about the changes and fun adventures the girls have had at your new place. Here’s to many more years of great fun and adventures! 🍸
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Thank you, Deborah. Time does fly for sure.
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Love the lift. One could get up really high to paint a mural…. or perform VooDoo Ranger rituals.
I loved it when we moved here and had no furniture. We did have a bed, tv and table.
5 years… are you happy you made the move? It looks beautiful where you live.
🐂 🐂 🐂 🐂
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We do like it here. We like that the house is one story and you are right it is beautiful here. 🏠X 🏠X🏠X🏠X
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Oh man! That’s what I want..1 story!
Beauty! 💋 🏠X 🐂
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Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in a big castle. She was so sad because she had no one to play with her. One day a little mouse came out of it’s hiding place and the princess invited it to tea. The two had a wonderful time and played games every day. They both lived happily ever after. There, one story. Now go to sleep.
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Hahahahaha! 😴x
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😊X
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Reminds me of when I moved out on my own for the first time. I had a bed, a washer and a dryer (don’t ask). My friend’s mother sold me a table and two bureaus – antiques – for $75 total and my friend lent me four chairs. My sister gave me her old TV. Took forever to get a sofa and now I can’t even remember what it was!
Thanks for my own trip down memory lane, John. Love your share. That is QUITE the ride!
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Glad you got some memories,Dale 😊
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Indeed I did!
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😊
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