I've lived in some interesting apartments since my husband and I got married 3 1/2 years ago. I'll tell you about mine- will you tell me about yours?

AJ and I found our first apartment through a posting at the university he'd just graduated from. It was a basement apartment- that's the only kind we've had so far. It was in a beautiful area, close to the Botanical Gardens Arboretum (fancy name for the wild area with trees). The driveway had plenty of room for our 2 cars (a necessity, as there was no bus service in the area), and the apartment was big enough for us and the kids. Yes, we were a blended family; we each brought a dog to the marriage. There was one big room with a kitchen in the corner and enough space for all of our living room furniture. The bathroom was off one side of the room, the bedroom (also large) was off of another. We liked it right away.

Then we moved in, and (as happens with all homes, I'm sure) the flaws in the place became apparent. Looking back, it seems like we were REALLY stupid not to notice some things, but what can you do? Things like the windows. Most basement apartments have several windows- maybe not huge ones, but a decent size, big enough to let some light in, and maybe a breeze. Some even have doors from outside leading directly to the apartment. We had a front door... that you got to by going through the garage, down a flight of stairs, through the landlord's basement, around the corner, and down a short hallway. This was not a problem until AJ's old dog got sick and couldn't make it all the way outside before she... well, you get the idea. The windows were worse. There were two, both in the bedroom. The tiny basement windows that are down in the metal wells- you know the ones I mean? Not above ground at all. Is that legal? We had no fire escape. Oops. Add to the poor ventillation a gas stove that I'm pretty sure was leaking something, and you get a scary situation.

Other things weren't life-threatening, just inconvenient. There was no tub, just a stand-up shower. The shower started leaking a few months after we moved in, and the wall beside it got soft and moldy. That big driveway? It was great until the landlords had a party (almost a weekly event); then we'd come home to find our parking spots taken by their friends, and we'd have to park on the street at our own home. And the noise! Our bedrooms were at the opposite end of the house from theirs... for some reason they decided when they built the house that they didn't want to hear the nighttime noises of whatever young couple they'd be renting to. Weird. Well, that was fine for them... not so much for us. Not when their kids started piano practice at 7:00 on Saturday mornings, or when they ran around the living room just as early on other days. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!!! We swore they'd come through the ceiling and end up in bed with us one day!

And the cold! The apartment was heated by their house- we had no control over the temperature. We were told when we moved in that they'd be putting a wood-burning stove very soon. It was still in the planning stages 2 years later when we moved out. Our bedroom had outside walls on 2 sides and their cold-storage room on another. BRRRRR!

Enough about that place. The landlords were nice enough, but we weren't sad to leave when we moved to Newfoundland. Our place here (which I'd found and rented online, sight unseen) was nicer, though smaller, than our first. The "smaller" thing bacame a problem as my pregnant belly expanded and my husband's puppy grew. Too bad I didn't know I was pregnant when we got the place! The hallway was impossibly skinny, and the living room was tiny. Thank goodness the kitchen was big... and we had a real, live BATHTUB! The house was built on a hill (par for the course in St. John's!), and our door led directly outside.

We were happy there, but in spite of the fact that there were 2 (tiny) bedrooms, we had outgrown the place by the time the baby was born. We were grateful when AJ's aunt and uncle offered us their house while they were in Florida for the winter at a VERY reasonable rate. There's only one word for that house: HEAVENLY. A 3 bedroom bungalow. Small-ish kitchen, but with a pass-through to a dining room. A DISHWASHER, goodness gracious! Soft carpets. Large, sunny bathroom. Fully finished laundry room. Moving in was a pain in the ass, but once we were in it was TOTALLY worth it. Too bad the relatives were only gone for 8 months- 6 in Florida, 2 travelling out west. We had to find ANOTHER home.

AJ found this one. It's another basement apartment. You go down the hill around the side of the house, into the backyard, and there's our "front" door. It's not huge, but it's big enough. We have a decent sized bedroom, not big, but there's a walk-in closet. The living room's not big either, but the kitchen is MASSIVE, with more counter and cupboard space than I've ever had before. The baby's room and the bathroom are behind the kitchen- his room is small, with only a small window, but we usually play in the living room, in the kitchen, or outside anyway. The bathroom? Microscopic... but there's a big, old, claw-foot tub in it. It keeps the water warm forever, I swear! There's wood panelling on the bathroom walls and wood bead-board half-way up the living room walls. We're happy here, and we plan on staying until we can afford a house of our own. Did I mention the yard? Huge, and fully fenced, with mauture trees for shade and lots of grass to sit/ play on.

Whew! This must be my longest post ever- you still with me? It's your turn. Have you lived anywhere crappy? What's your current house like?

Coming soon: my "shopping list" for the house I'm praying we'll own some day! Think about your comments for that one too, OK?