I need a scanner badly

Tonight I was doing some sketches. Maybe they could be called blueprints. I'd like to scan them and show them to you.

Everyday I walk past this old shop that's on a residential street, houses all around. I'd like to buy it, fix it up, and make it my home.

I don't think I'll ever be able to buy a real house. But I'd like to have one by the time I'm forty.

So here's my plan: find an existing structure and make it into a house. A one-bedroom, maybe a with a small guest room. My whole adult life I've mostly lived in apartments. I'm comfortable with the size of a one-bedroom apartment. But having neighbors so close really sucks. They're always being loud and stealing your parking space.

So I'd like to find an old factory shop or a large garage on someone's property, preferably one with an existing working bathroom- I know nothing about plumbing and anyway, I don't want to start from scratch.

My cousin is an architect and a lot of my family members are handy and know about building. If I can find a basic building with a bathroom and sink I can take care of the rest. One storie is fine, though I'd love a second floor or even just a loft with a ladder. When I was ten my family rented a cabin on a lake and it had a bedroom loft and the ladder was in the living room and from the big bed we had a nice view of the lake. It was really cool.

So tonight I did some sketches of what I would do with a basic structure with the bathroom at one end.

Here's what I'd do: Imagine the bathroom on the far right-hand side. I'd have a linen closet in the bathroom that would extend out. On the outside of the bathroom I'd have another, larger closet. If there was a second storie I'd have the staircase right next to that and I'd put a daybed underneath the staircase for unexpected guests to crash. It would be small and simple but closed in with a wall there'd be a built-in bookshelf and light so they could read a little before they go to sleep.

The bedroom would be in the opposite corner from the bathroom and it would be tiny- just enough room for a bed, a small nightstand, and a small dresser. There might be a closet that extends into the room next to it.

Between the bedroom and hallway leading to the bathroom I'd put a small kitchen- small with just enough room to prepare and cook food. There wouldn't be a table or anywhere to sit. Any extra space would be used to put in a small closet to use as a pantry.

The largest room in the house would be the living room. That's where I'd entertain company. The far left-nand side would be where I'd put a couch, a loveseat, a recliner, a couple bookshelfs, and a coffeetable. On the kitchen wall or the loveseat wall I'd put a small table for 3 and nearby there would be a small work desk.

I think it would be an awesome place to live and a great place to have company. If I had some guests sleeping over, someone could sleep on the couch (maybe it'll be a fold-out bed), and someone else could sleep on the daybed under the stairs. A third person could sleep on an air mattress on the living room floor. A forth person could just hop into bed with me.

The place I'm imagining would be a little bit larger than the typical one-bedroom apartment. But I could set it up in a way that would be the best possible use of space.

I think about the house where I grew up- a full basement, a downstairs with a kitchen, dining room, living room, and 1/2 bath, an upstairs with a full bath and three bedrooms, and an attic.

My friend Amy lives in Springfield and while her house is very very nice, most houses in the city are smaller. The house where she grew up is set up exactly like mine, but all the room are much smaller and their downstairs 1/2 bathroom also holds the washer and dryer. I look at their house and see the ways that they make the most of the available space. My parents' kitchen has a large pantry that you can walk into with counters for preparing food. Instead of that, Amy's house has a large storage closet and a spicerack that is built into the wall and has a door.

I also think about my uncle and aunt's house on the Cape. It's one of my favorite places in the world and I feel incredibly comfortable there. A hundred years ago it was a schoolhouse and the room that they use as a kitchen was once the school's cloakroom. It's one narrow room with all the regular kitchen stuff and counter space, but there's nowhere to sit and you really don't want more than one person in there at a time. Their dining room seats about six comfortably and it's also the computer room.

The living room holds a couch, loveseat, recliner and coffee table, and like the dining room, it's tight. At large gatherings guests are usually spread out betweent he two rooms without feeling seperated.

The tightness of space is eased by the fact that my uncle and aunt are the best hosts I've ever known. Years of having relatives from the other side of the state has given them a lot of practice. The summer beach season is always a busy time for them. We used to visit every year when I was a kid and the first year I lived away from home I spent the winter there. It still feels like home.

I'd like to have the kind of place that friends and family could visit and have that same feeling. I want them to feel safe and comfortable. I want them to feel like they're at home.