Donna Henes

I enjoyed learning the history of how different cultures make a house a home. Some of the traditions I do not believe in, because I am a Christian who believes in God, but I think it is great to be tolerant and learn how others think and behave. It did make me think further about my own home and how making it my own changed it. The book often referred to rituals or methods to take negativity from a home. I recently had a bathroom remodeled. It was in very bad shape, had been for years. We didn't have the money to fix it, and had to take years to finally get the roof fixed, due to expenses, incompetent workers, and being unable to pinpoint why even a new roof fixed. Then, we had to save up for the bathroom. We found someone inexpensive who ended up being a headache, but did a decent job (after an extended time) on the bathroom model. The way I felt before the bathroom remodel was very dismal. I thought it would never be fixed. I never wanted people to come to my house, because they would probably need to use the facilities. The wall had holes. Every time I took a bath, I was scared the house would fall down. Once it was fixed, the dark bathroom had tons of lighting, too much, which was the way I wished. We upgraded to a newer vent fan (the old one was from 1950) that had a light in it. We had the walls and ceiling covered with the same white paneling for low maintenance. The old ceiling was prone to mold, and we were scared to use special paint to prevent it, as there are no windows. The dank odors from an old toilet, poorly ventilated room, and an old rusty pipe behind the toilet were no longer issues after the remodel. I now go in my bathroom and think hotel vacation. We had the old separate hot and cold water faucet. Now we have one to regulate everything. The old tub could not hold water for a nice tub bath. That was fixed. We upgraded to a nice size toilet instead of a tiny one, which makes it less likely that people will mess it up as often. Things that people take for granted, we had put up with the worst case scenario for years. Because the bathroom makes me smile and no longer depresses me, I am working hard on other areas of the house. I am glad for unexpected guests with no shame. I do believe there are a lot of things we can do to bless our home, and I am sure everyone who reads this book will come away with ideas on how to make their precious living space better. The reason why I shared my personal story is that this book will make you think about a lot of things that make a house a home.… (meer)