Ok, so it's been awhile...

Yes, as per usual, it's been months and months since I've posted anything to what could laughably be called my 'blog.' Still...

I don't even know what to write about anymore, but I just know that I need to get something out there. Do you ever get that feeling? That feeling that you are just bursting with something, but can't quite put your burst-i-ness into words? I get that all the time, actually. I feel like I am always on the edge of amazing, but always end up somewhere around mediocre.

I expect I'd like to talk about my favorite daydream. My favorite daydream begins with the presumption that I've just won the lottery (isn't everybody's?). Stop me if this sounds familiar...

I want to buy 2000 acres somewhere in Montana or Idaho maybe. Somewhere stunning. Somewhere I can be absolutely isolated - no neighbors! what a dream! I want, of course, the perfect house customized exactly how I want it.

The first thing I want is to be able to be completely energy self-sufficient. I would think that with 2000 acres, I should be able to have a wind or solar farm to collect energy (and donate excess energy to the nearest town) for a generator or two. I want to have hot-water heat that goes beneath the floor and through the walls. I never want to feel a draft, so I want the best insulation. I also want a water reservoir that is eco-friendly. Something simple, but I want a large composter so that waste is recycled and introduced into the gardens as high-grade fertilizer. Though I know very little about the 'green' movement, I know it makes sense and the investment - no matter how high - would be worth it in the long run.

Definitely one-story. Maybe 3500 square feet, nothing too ridiculous. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths - one with a nice deep sunken bath and another with a tall clawfoot tub. A chef's kitchen with a glass sliding door refrigerator, marble and bamboo countertops, an island large enough to have 4 stools so friends can visit comfortably, and lots and lots of storage space for all the cool gadgets and foodstuffs I'm bound to have.

I want three living rooms (front room, living room, sitting room). The front room would be - ahem - in the front of the house, with bay windows where you could sit and admire the landscape. The living room would have a state-of-the-art television, stereo, and sound system (which I would want wired throughout the house) and the comfiest couches and chairs imaginable. The sitting room would be just that - a sitting room, no electronics - just a room conducive to discussion, to games, to puzzles, to any past-time that is 'quieter.'

Definitely need a large library and a solarium. I always was partial to having the solarium in the very center of the house, around which would be a small courtyard before the entrance. So, I suppose, in the true sense, it would be a greenhouse, not a solarium. The only thing I cannot figure out is how to get rid of all the snow and debris that would collect from the courtyard that's open-to-the-elements. I'm sure there's an engineer or architect out there who knows all about it, though. Besides, this is my daydream, so I just presume there's an answer for everything - that's what daydreams are for, really - dreaming the impossible becomes possible.

An indoor swimming pool, sauna, hot tub, and gym would be a must. I'd also like an outdoor fireplace with a lovely bricked patio that is partially covered. It would be nice to be away from the worst elements, but still to be able to see the stars if it's nice out. Definitely a lovely courtyard with a beautiful brick path through what will be the most amazing garden. I want a quiet place that is almost sacred.

I want a really long driveway and a beautiful gate at the entry. I'd also love to have a small landing strip so that should anyone (me included) every choose to go for a small jaunt, it's but minutes away. I'd have to have a pilot on standby I guess as I could never imagine learning to fly.

On the grounds at locations chosen specifically for their beauty, I want to have stop-overs. For instance, picnic grounds with fire pits and an oversized gazebo. Perhaps I could hold my first family reunion there. And, I would love to have a basketball court, tennis court, movie theater, quiet pond with a nice, wooden bridge across it, several gardens, and a stable (with horses, of course, tended by someone truly gifted with animals). Also, I'd want a forested area with a wood-chip path running at least a 3-mile circuit. With these amenities, if any of my guests would be up for some fun activities away from the house, they could have several options from which to choose.

So I can have visitors without feeling stressed, I would have to have three guest cottages, each about 1500 square feet. One for more 'permanent' guests (because if you win the lottery, you know that family and friends will want to stay) and two for casual visitors. Each would have to have two bedrooms, two baths, a living room with a fireplace, and a large kitchen. Lastly - and you may think it strange - I want each cottage to be connected underground to the main house. If it's bad weather, I don't want anyone to have to think twice about coming for a visit. Too, as I'm sure my mom will be living in one of the cottages, I don't want her to have to worry about stumbling as she walks.

There are many finishing touches I would like to add, but these are the broad strokes -- the musts should this daydream come through.