We bought a house. This one:
It’s just a stone’s throw outside of Providence in a town called Cranston, not to be confused with Scranton, PA (“The Electric City”, made famous by Em’s favorite VP, Joe Biden and our favorite TV series, The Office).
The street is a cul de sac with very neighborly feel. I bonded with the Dominican family next door. The grandmother has been there for a couple of years, and the grandfather just moved over from Santo Domingo a few months ago. His English is scant, but I was really excited to speak Spanish with him, and he’s excited about improving his English, so it’s a win-win! Another neighbor is an elderly Irish woman who has lived there for over 40 years and has one dog whose name is Gaelic for “my darling” (I don’t recall what the Gaelic is) and another named Snuggle. There’s a planter with a tree in it at the end of the circle, which the neighbors decorate at Christmas time. Across the street is a fire hydrant with a smiley face painted on it, which The Jeanne termed the “smidrant”. The smidrant was quite a selling point for me, in the way that the cat door was a selling point for our previous apartment.
The house itself is quite charming. It was basically move-in ready, so we did in fact move in last weekend. There have been some surprises like the garage side door not latching because the door knob was installed in the wrong place. I fixed that quickly since one of my first priorities was to have secure and accessible bike storage. Also, we thought that a handful of electrical outlets in the living room were non-functional, but Jack Smooth helped us discover the magic switches that controlled them. In our defense, some were oddly placed (one switch operated outlets on either side of a wall).
Another priority was to make The Lightning and Kepler feel at home. The Lightning even got a new piece of furniture! And Kepler was a bit nervous leading up to and during the move, but she has settled in quite well. She is enjoying all the windows in this place. Nancy gave her a window perch, and we have yet to determine the window of choice for it.
We’ve got an energy audit scheduled, which I’m excited about, but I think it’s going to happen while I’m away. Em and our trusty friend, Burlap have been busy painting – they did a nice job on the living room before we moved in.
Our multi-talented friend, Natalie decorated this chair (which matches our friend, Greg quite nicely), and we are holding onto it for Burlap. It’s going to be a good quirky addition to our house for however long it sits here.
The house has a fairly productive garden including some strawberries!
And we are fairly close to a charming diner called JP Spoonem’s. It’s cash only and has a very local vibe. We ate breakfast there, and I noticed that the glasses they have there are made in Huntington Beach, CA, which blew my mind a bit! For those who don’t know, Huntington Beach is the neighboring town to my home town in CA, Fountain Valley. When people ask me where I grew up, I start as vague as possible in order to avoid the association with Orange County, but if people probe further, I usually have to reference Huntington Beach since it’s a town that many people know.
Here’s a challenge to our readers: we are trying to come up with rap lyrics to change this rap about Scranton to Cranston. Any ideas are welcome.
Wonderful, I am so happy for you guys. Wish it was closer but hey..
Thanks, Uncle David!
Well, what’s a 750 mile bike ride between friends?
Thank you for posting the Scranton rap- seems essential to understanding the town where you guys are living. Your house is lovely and a perfect fit! Looking forward to enjoying many fun times there :) xo- Burlap
Thanks, Burlap!
It will be lovelier with friends <3.
You two are among the most wonderful people I know, and so so happy about this post. I love you both and I know where to find you <3
Happy grannie blue (the chair) is still making her rounds.
Xx
Aww… We would say the same about you guys, for reals.
Grannie Blue! We will refer to her by name now.
Natalie, that chair looks somewhat familiar… :)
Congratulations!! So happy and excited for you guys and cats and fish. We need to come visit! Ron says you are only about 45 mins drive. Road trip! We just moved too earlier this month. Fun times all around. :)
Thanks, Ting!
Yeah, that’s about right for light to no traffic to Quincy. Road trip(s) indeed. Congrats to you guys as well!
Congrats, Mike. Best wishes in this great little neighborhood. I haven’t been in a while, but I do love JP Spoonem’s and their pumpkin pancakes. Good luck!
Thanks, Jeff. Yeah, We are still getting to know it but liking it so far. Sounds as though you’re in the neighborhood as well?
jp spoonems! the owners’ son is a good friend to new urban arts – michael cirelli,
he did the coversation series a few times— had planning mtgs here. adore that place.
loved reading this post. so so happy for you both!!! excited to stay tuned
for all the house’s adventures ahead :) enjoy! eek! strawberries!!
Nice. I had no idea! It is quite the cozy spot.
Looks like we now have matching light-yellow living rooms..Sounds like a great neighborhood like Overhill…maybe a bit more quirky and fun…It’s lonely here without you but will soon be busy again. I can only hope the new folks will be as great as you! Meows to Kepler from J Ollie and Bailey!
It does remind me a bit like Overhill – I think that’s why we liked it ;) . Kepler has had some interesting interactions with the neighborhood cats through the screen door. She seems to be defending her new territory quite fiercely!
Congratulations, lovely house!
So happy to have you both in lovely Cranston!! Will work on coming up with some lyrics.
Congratulations on the house! It looks awesome and super charming – I’m so happy for you and Emily!
Thanks, Krissie! Sorry for my late reply. We need to see your place sometime as well – I can’t believe we still haven’t seen it!
Thanks for the tour!! Good luck and God bless you!
I’m so happy for both of you. What a cute place! Sounds like the perfect spot to live and be a part of the community.