Doorway to Other Worlds #handyman #ThursdayDoors

So when we got married, Charlie said, “I’m going to build a house in the woods for you, me, and the three girls. Design it.” (We had three then. #4 came shortly after.)

So I got some books and I did it. I would show him my sketches and he would tell me why they wouldn’t work, and I’d start over. Eventually, we agreed on a design.

HOWEVER. You knew that was coming, didn’t you? HOWEVER, we miscommunicated, as we so often do, this time on which direction the staircase to the second level needed to go. I could have sworn he said it needed to be this way, and he’s convinced he tried and failed to persuade me to have it go that way.

Which is neither here nor there, actually, I’m just saying.

ANYWAY, the staircase divides the west side of the house into a front room and a back room. We used to have the baby’s room in the front across a hall from ours but, when she got bigger and moved into an upstairs room one of her sisters had vacated, Charlie took out the side wall and made a front room out of it.

So here’s that dividing wall.

La la la, I'm a wall. Just a wall, that is all.
La la la, I’m a wall. Just a wall, that is all.
All in all, I'm just another arch in the wall.
All in all, I’m just another arch in the wall.
I used to be a hall, now I'm an arch in the wall. With a chimbley at the end, dividing the kitchen from the back room.
I used to be a hall, now I’m an arch in the wall. With a chimbley at the end, dividing the kitchen from the back room.

So what’s behind those folding doors, eh? the ones we keep closed during the winter, to keep the warmth where I can soak it up in my poor old bones?

closetroofThe Stairway of Infamy! It’s so dark because something went wonky with the circuit about five years ago and somebody who shall be nameless but whose initials are Charles Allen is too stubborn to call an electrician for something he could do just as well himself. Mm-hmmm.

Okay, so that’s at one end of the stairway. What’s at the other end?

A DOOR!!!!
A DOOR!!!!

And behind that door? Back down under behind the stairs?

OTHER WORLDS!

closetinnardsIf, by “other worlds,” you mean a turntable, vinyl records, CDs, VHS tapes, and DVDs. And a heating duct, a lampshade, a vacuum, and a leaf for the dining table. When the kids were little, the sekrit clarsit also held card games and board games. Also a step-stool: movies on high shelves, for the getting to.

Although you would never guess it, this post has been part of Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors link-up. Go to his blog, read his wonderful post, and follow the little blue frog-link to some real Thursday Doors posts from around the world.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write about a secret room.

MA

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About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

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One thought on “Doorway to Other Worlds #handyman #ThursdayDoors

  1. norm 2.0

    September 15, 2016 at 8:19am

    Oh I’m jealous: your hidden storage room is waaaay tidier than ours is or ever will be šŸ˜€

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      September 15, 2016 at 8:27am

      Charlie goes through it every now and then and rearranges everything, and then we can’t find it, so we can’t drag it out, so things stay neat. heh

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  2. janet

    September 15, 2016 at 8:43am

    And that room is much tidier than our basement as well (or as our attic was in our former house.)

    janet

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      September 15, 2016 at 8:51am

      It’s much tidier than OUR basement or attic, as well! It’s true what they say about tiny spaces: the smaller it is, the neater it has to be in order to be at all useful.

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  3. Joey

    September 15, 2016 at 8:49am

    You do so make me laugh!
    I love that hidden world. We all have a bit of hidden world stashed here and there, don’t we?
    It’s so funny how men are like, “I SHALL BUILD YOU A HOUSE!” then build you a house, and then be like, “Light’s out. Oh well, I’ll fix it someday.” LOLOLOL

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      September 15, 2016 at 8:53am

      YOU ARE SO RIGHT! If it was somebody else’s light that was out, he’d be right on it. Mom says, “The cobbler’s children go barefoot.” heh

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      • Joey

        September 15, 2016 at 9:20am

        Yep yep, I believe your mom is right. My husband works in finance and is mechanical by trade. I asked him how much I could spend Saturday, and he told me he doesn’t know right now, and Marian, his driver side tires look low. LOL I’m just sayin šŸ˜‰

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  4. Dan Antion

    September 15, 2016 at 9:21am

    Thanks for the tour and the poetic commentary šŸ™‚

    Don’t be too hard on Charlie.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      September 15, 2016 at 9:53am

      Nah, Charlie is my honey, and honestly is practically perfect in every way. He just strikes me funny sometimes. šŸ™‚

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  5. Deborah

    September 15, 2016 at 10:42pm

    I read “sekrit clarsit” two times; still didn’t get it then thought, “Woman put in Marian’s southern accent!” Then I got it! šŸ™‚ You’re so funny!

    Your little sekrit clarsit is so much neater than my garage, and hall closet!

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  6. Jane

    September 16, 2016 at 8:39am

    Okay. Since I moved over here, my sekrit klarsit is…EVERYWHERE!!

    Love the tour of the castle! I really like your house. It’s aspirational!

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      September 16, 2016 at 1:59pm

      LOL! Yeah, it aspires to be finished some day, but I doubt that’ll ever happen. šŸ˜€

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  7. Bee Halton

    September 16, 2016 at 4:11pm

    Oh wow, what a lovely house. Never mind the infamous stairs. I love it :-). Thanks for sharing šŸ™‚

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply

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