Sherwood Drive vs. Mountain House

We're settled in here at the Mountain House to enjoy our nice long weekend. We won't go home until Monday, after my doctors appointment in Gainesville. If you're a clock watcher, like me, that means we have about 72 hours to go here in the Hills.

It's still surreal for me to realize that *this* is my parents' house after all the years on Sherwood Drive. Not to malign the place that has been home for our family for 36 years... but this place seems like a mansion in comparison. Here are a few differences so you can see what I mean:

Living Room:
Sherwood Drive: tiny, with enough space to walk through, open to eat in kitchen
Mountain House: medium size with a lovely stone fireplace and views of the lake. nice comfy sofa, two recliners, open to dining room

Kitchen:
SD: single file only, hard to have more than one person cooking, cabinets packed full like those Russian nesting dolls
MH: huge, open kitchen, tons of counter space, large pantry, lots and lots of room in the cabinets

Bathroom:
SD: one. small. can pretty much hear what's going on in the rest of the house... and vice versa.
MH: three and a half baths. I've never even used the one on the top floor. I can't remember if I put toilet paper up there.

Bedrooms:
SD: four. Pop's room. Mawmaw's room. Computer room/Austin's room. Converted garage where I sleep.
MH: five. Mawmaw and Pop's room. My room (which is completely empty other than having some of my clothes in the closet). Austin's "bomb shelter" room with no window (just what he's always wanted - makes for best gaming lighting). Two rooms upstairs that are going to make excellent guest rooms, computer rooms, craft rooms, office, whatever they evolve to be.

Den:
SD: ha!
MH: huge living space in the basement (aka Whine Cellar) where I have all my living room furniture and my disco ball.

Square Footage:
SD: maybe 1100?
MH: 2500, give or take

View:
SD: suburban street with lots of pedestrian traffic, Dawn's fence
MH: woods or lake, depending on which way you turn

Parking:
SD: two cars on the driveway, one beside in the mud lot, overflow parking goes to Cody's house next door
MH: easily four cars on the flat part near the house, could park a dozen more on the level spot beside the road at the top of the hill

Neighbors:
SD: Cody and Marquee on one side in the house my parents own, drug dealers and their noisy brats on the other
MH: Now that the leaves have fallen off the trees we can tell that there are houses on the other side of the lake... there are houses on either side of us but they both seem to be weekenders like us... two sisters live across the street and I can see their light at night but have never caught a glimpse of either one of them

Outdoor space:
SD: There's a screened in porch and a deck that we built in 1983 or 4. Both have become overflow/storage spaces for the stuff that won't fit in the house.
MH: rocking chair front porch, screened in porch, two decks on the main level, long patio on the basement level, fishing dock with tiki hut.

Storage:
SD: attic accessed by drop down staircase which I can no longer climb, back porch, storage shed, closets packed out, utility room
MH: two "dwarf attics" under the eaves of the top level, two walk in closets in the master bedroom, two linen closets, a huge storage/utility space in the basement, another space under the stairs, storage building

Yard:
SD: typical suburban fenced in backyard, small front yard
MH: two acres, lake lot

Communication:
SD: not to be crass but if you pass gas, the whole house hears it
MH: had to text Austin to come up for dinner last night

Neighborhood:
SD: Puts the "Hood" in neighborhood, smack dab in the City limits of Riverdale
MH: private drive, about half the homes are owned by "weekenders", waaaay off the beaten path

Creature Comforts:
SD: washer/dryer, cable tv, internet, garbage pickup, no dishwasher
MH: internet, books, hamper in pantry to collect dirty clothes to take back, trash gets hauled back to SD in the trunk after a weekend, dishwasher that leaks a little

Shopping:
SD: rarely done in Riverdale, usually I'll drive down to Fayetteville to avoid the thuggery that Riverdale has become. My favorite thrift store is in Riverdale and I go there about once a month. Publix.
MH: the "Amish Bakery" (they're really German Baptist), Loganberry Heritage Farm, Ingles

Dining:
SD: pretty much anything you want is within driving distance.
MH: North Georgia Barbeque (in season), La Cabana, Glenda's for breakfast

My Favorite Things:
SD: my nest, my Little Kitty, having Oscar snuggle up beside under his blankie in my nest, seeing Cody and Marquee, Pop's cooking, spending time with my mom, having Austin with us, my job
MH: Pop's recliner, the view - especially first thing in the morning when the mist is rising from the lake, peace and quiet. This is home.