Home Sweet Home

Since arriving in Wyoming, my posts in this blog have been sporadic, so I'd like to backtrack to the basics and, as promised, give you a glimpse of my living situation here in Sheridan. We're currently staying at the house of Justin Steir, a friend of one of the Habitat For Humanity board members, who generously donated his basement for our use. Our reaction upon first laying eyes on our new home was pure giddiness; everyone had a big, goofy smile when we saw how very comfortable our stay would be.



Our actual living quarters are in the unfinished basement, where we've set up our cots. Since there are no walls, girls and boys are separated by a cotton bed sheet. Here's the men's side; it's a little bit messy, but that's to be expected after three weeks with no shelves or storage. This part of our housing isn't very glamorous, but we usually only come down here to sleep or change. I'm sure it will be a very functional space once it's all boarded up and finished out.



This is my little corner of this big basement. One of the biggest downsides of this current living arrangement is that nights get really cold, and the cot doesn't stay very well insulated. I've adapted well by wearing my down jacket to sleep, and for the past few days, I've started curling up in Justin's comfy papasan chair as my bed. It's like sleeping in a nest, and I stay a lot warmer. The treadmill has become my towel rack/night stand.





Here is where it gets good. Justin has given us more or less free reign of the house's common areas, which includes a lavishly appointed living room. For seating, there are two overstuffed leather sofas with built in recliners, and the wood floors and softened by a suede shag rug. The real center piece of the room, however, is the glorious 52" flat-screen HD television with surround sound, cable, and DVD player. When we're home, the TV is pretty much never off.







The kitchen is equally enormous. Even with a team of 11, we all fit comfortably in there with all the bar-stool seating and a cozy breakfast nook. There's plenty of room for all of us to cook with the modern, black appliances. Our food is stored in a big plastic pin that Justin let's us keep under the counter. Over all, it's just a lovely room with burgundy walls, speckled green laminate counters, porcelain tiles, and natural mosaic walls.







From the kitchen, we have access to Justin's spacious deck, which he built himself. The yard is tiny, but behind the home is a nature preserve, so we frequently see deer and rabbits when we glance out the windows during breakfast. Although you can't tell from this photo (it was cloudy the day I took the picture), the deck also has a fabulous view of the mountains. Because we have such limited refrigerator space, I took to keeping some of my food out on the deck to keep it cool until I found my juice frozen into boxes of ice one day.





There is an unfinished bathroom downstairs that we have access to, but it has no sink, mirror, or shower curtains, so for the most part, our team shares this one bathroom. This has proved to be a challenge with 11 people, but fortunately it's a very attractive bathroom with plenty of hot water.



It is a bit awkward living in someone's house, and a lot of times we feel like we're taking advantage of the situation. I can only imagine how much his utility bills have skyrocketed, and keeping the house clean has been a major priority for our team. It's especially uncomfortable when the owner has his young kids come over for the weekend. Fortunately, his children are very friendly, and Justin has been really magnanimous and open about every aspect of his home.

So far, it may appear that our time in Wyoming has been fun and games and big-screen TVs. I promise this is not the case, and next post, I'll give you a look at a day in the life of Silver 3 on the work site.