I have an old house, like 1889 old, though it's been remodeled so much you'd never know how old it really is. We have made a few stabs over the years at getting it spiffed up inside--actually decorating and so on--but haven't gotten very far. Our furniture is an amalgam of hand-me-downs, cheap bookcases and a nice sofa and chair set bought back when we had money.

So you can imagine how happy I am now that I have this one really nice little spot: My work area in the living room bay window. I inherited the table, chairs and lamp from my grandmother, and my mom got the curtains free at the thrift shop where she volunteers. The tie-backs are brass pull-chains, and underneath the curtains are plain cheapo roll shades. They replace honeycomb shades from JCPenney that fell apart in less than four years, and I mean literally fell apart. I was never so glad to see something leave my house as those shades.

You can see my laptop and my teapot there in the photo. This is where I sit, looking out the window, writing to you now. There is space for the girls to do their schoolwork next to me. The whole feeling of the living room has changed; it's so much cozier. I'm lucky I get such great hand-me-downs!

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