Another survey, another impulse... in These titles mean nothing.

DO YOU LIVE IN A HOUSE OR AN APARTMENT?
House - 2 story plus basement. Oldest part dates to before 1895 and newest part was added soon after the end of WWI. It’s an old farm house and hasn’t been kept up the best but it’s home. It has a new blue metal roof.

WOULD YOU SAY IT IS BIG OR SMALL?
Big - but doesn’t have a lot of usable space. We took out walls on the main floor and have sort of a linked kitchen, etc. room, my doorless bedroom and the bathroom. Upstairs there are two storage room, a central ‘lobby’ and two bedrooms. The basement has a laundry room and the room where the furnace, water heater, pressure tank, etc. is Or are.

DO YOU HAVE A WELCOME MAT?
No -but you’re welcome to visit anytime.

DOES IT SAY SOMETHING?
N/A.

DO YOU HAVE A DISHWASHER?
No. Had a portable one a million years ago but the seal went bad and it was religated to shop as counter space for the original tool box and holds my husband’s old propane carburation equipment.

HOW MANY PLANTS DO YOU HAVE INSIDE?
My summer deck plants come in to winter but they just barely survive. Remind me to water them. And sweep up the dirt the cats have dug out of them.

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE THAT YOU PUT YOUR KEYS?
I can’t tell you. It’s a secret.

IS YOUR REFRIGERATOR STOCKED WITH ANYTHING?
Sugar Pepsi, milk, O.J., butter, beer, carrots. We are kind of low now. Catsup and tartar sauce and an almost empty box of chardonnay.

WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR BREAD?
On the counter or in the cupboard.

IS YOUR BATHROOM CLEAN?
No.

WHAT IS YOUR BATHROOM’S THEME?
Reading material within reach.

HOW MANY RUGS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR DWELLING SPACE?
None. Distressed linoleum and wood floors. Stone steps to basement which has concrete floors.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS?
For generations. The place is full of history and we are part of it. We try to help and care for one another. No one is perfect but we are who we are and who we have in this life.

IF SO DO YOU GET ALONG WITH THEM?
In the way that we get along with family, there are high and low points, but generally everything is pretty good.

ARE THERE ANY STRAY CATS AROUND?
Most of the cats aroud here aren’t really strays. Lots of times there are too many, but then again, I’m not much of a cat peson.

DO YOU HAVE A DVD PLAYER IN YOUR BEDROOM?
No. I don’t even have a radio anymore.

WHICH ROOM WOULD YOU SAY YOU SPEND THE MOST TIME IN?

The kitchen. At my mother’s formica table. If we count sleep, then sometimes I spend more time in my bedroom.

DO YOU HAVE A POOL OR JACUZZI WHERE YOU LIVE?
No. Paint Creek doesn’t count.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DVD THAT YOU OWN?
I own no DVDs. Don’t have anything to play them on anyway.

HOW ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE CD THAT YOU OWN?
We have CDs from a long time ago. Not sure we have anything that will play them either. My computer doesn’t have a CD/DVD drive - it’s a notebook. Jim’s has a drive but he doesn’t have drivers, if that makes any sense.

WHERE IS YOUR STEREO OR RADIO LOCATED IN YOUR HOME?
We have no stereo and the radio in my bedroom and on the kitchen table no longe seem to work. We recently bought a radio on ebay that is like the one I bought in 1965 for my husband for Christmas. It cost me one whole pay check and one part pay check. I laid it away at Robinson’s, Cedar Rapids first discount/everything store on 16th Avenue. It’s a 5 band, 17 transister Juliette and it’s in beautiful condition but it isn’t working very well. I wonde if radio signals have gotten weaker since everybody is on the net all the time.

DO YOU HAVE A COFFEE MAKER?
Yes, my 4-cup Mr. Coffee that my sisterinlaw gave me for Christmas in 2013. It is my pride and joy.

DO YOU HAVE AN AREA DESIGNATED FOR ALCOHOL?
The fridge holds whatever beer and wine we have on hand.

HOW MANY TELEVISIONS DO YOU HAVE?
None - we gave up tv after my husband died. It was a good decision. The last tv that we had went to my son’s house and had a few good years there though I don’t think it’s in use anymore.

DO YOU HAVE STAIRS?
Yes - a narrow center of the house stairs to the second floor and the stone steps to the basement.

WHAT KIND OF STUFF DO YOU HAVE ON YOUR WALLS?
Let me look around. The historic plate rack that came with the farm holds three old china creamer and sugar sets and some miscellaneous stuff. Two paintings from OD friends. The family picture Christmas cards we received last year. The non-functioning ancient bunderbuss that came with the farm. Various Carl Homstad wood cuts. The child Jesus teaching in the temple pictures that was in my grandmother’s house. The Iowa Standad School sign that was on the door of my one-room school. There’s more, but that gives you the idea.

DO YOU HAVE A DEN OR AN OFFICE?
No.

DO YOU LIVE CLOSE TO ANY STORES?
Not really. But I manage to spend money and get what I need anyway.

DO YOU HAVE A WALK IN CLOSET AND IF NOT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE ONE?
No. I never thought of having one.

DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING HANGING FROM THE CEILING?
A non-functioning ceiling fan and a semi-functioning ceiling fan, in separate rooms.

DOES YOUR KITCHEN HAVE A THEME?
Something to read within reach.

IS IT A PAIN TO DUST YOUR LIVING SPACE?
It would be if I did it.

WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED?
I’d rather not talk about it. It’s not too bad though. Shoes, and I think there might be part of the old satellite tv dish. Hard to throw away something like that.

DO YOU HAVE A GAME SYSTEM?
No.

HOW MANY TELEPHONES ARE IN YOUR HOME?
One portable phone on the wall - does that make sense? And Jim has a cell phone.

DO YOU HAVE A FIREPLACE AND IF SO DO YOU USE IT OFTEN?
No fireplace but the wood furnace in the basement is purring away right now.

WHAT KIND OF MICROWAVE DO YOU HAVE
Ours stopped working a while back and we haven’t remplaced it. It was a Hotpoint and it lasted a long time.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FIGURINES OF ANGELS AROUND?
No.

DO YOU LIKE TO OPEN THE BLINDS OR CURTAINS OR KEEP THEM SHUT?
There are no blinds or curtains.

HOW MANY COMPUTERS ARE IN YOUR DWELLING SPACE?
Two. My little blue Acer and Jim’s bigger Acer Aspire laptop.

WHAT COMPANY DO YOU USE FOR INTERNET ACCESS AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
We get satellite internet through our electric co-op. It costs $50 and is added to the light bill. It’s not great but we live down in a valley and can’t get line-of-sight internet and cable or phone internet is not available. If I want to watch youtubes I have to do it between midnight and 5 am when downloads aren’t limited.