I’ll say it before anyone else brings it up: Why would a couple of Empty Nesters add on to their home now that there are only two occupants?

Actually, I didn’t happen upon the real reason until after we’d “moved in” following a long summer of loud construction.

Why? Because the view is glorious!

The east side of our house faces the forest, yet our house’s windows on that side just didn’t do the trick.

We needed more windows. Lots more.

And so, the month of June began with lots of noise as Ruben and Jose of Moya’s Construction got started.

There’s absolutely no reason to complain about noise when there’s a sunroom under construction. In my defense, though, the sunroom abuts our bedroom plus Ruben and Jose started their day early and on Eastern time, while snoozy Farmer Gary and I live on Central (it’s an Indiana thing – don’t ask!).

The other reason not to complain? It took Gary nearly two years to find a contractor. He worked it hard, too! I’ll bet he contacted close to two dozen booked-up companies before a neighbor recommended Ruben.

It was worth it, though, as Ruben and Jose were laid-back yet hard-working professionals. Gary would head back to hold a confab at least once a day. Sometimes they just chatted, other times they made changes to the plan, such as adding more windows:

In all, our sunroom has 14 windows and two doors. I’ll try my best to give you a tour.

We’ll start from the north side: As you walk through the door from the extension we added to the back deck, look to the left and check out the little breakfast table.

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you – two of the table legs are bookshelves! I happened to see this table in a video posted on Pat Coslett’s Simplicity Furniture Facebook page.

“Gary! Is this what I think it is – bookshelves in a table leg?”

We watched that video a dozen times before agreeing that a one-second pan across the store included a table that was just right for our sunroom.

Bookshelves, you say? Take a look at the west wall, which adjoins our bedroom.

No windows, of course:

Just about the first thing everyone notices as they walk into the sunroom, though, isn’t the wall-o-windows or the many books.

They notice the fridge:

Our little Frigidaire keeps the cream for our morning coffee fresh. Or, I should say, my coffee. Gary is still not into hot beverages. But he sits with me while I sip and we have lovely chats, as one does in a sunroom.

The blue-tiled counter is a checkerboard of Beatrix Potter characters. Grandson Cameron‘s favorite is Squirrel Nutkin while I’m partial to Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.

Continuing into the room, past the coffee bar, past the books, we find a tribute to Dad’s dad.

Grandpa Vayo played piano beautifully, and when he wasn’t making music, he created artwork. Those four framed paintings are his work from 1985, when he was 86 years old. He and Grandma loved spending a month or so each summer by the shore at Ogunquit, Maine.

That framed photo on top of the piano? What might that be …

It is a 101-year-old photo of Grandpa and the rest of the Bates College Mens Musical Club. Grandpa is on the left end of the second row – the only gent in a bowtie, and the only with pens handy in his jacket pocket.

To the left of the piano is Mom‘s writing desk. It was the one piece of furniture Gary insisted we bring home when we cleared out my parents’ house two years ago. “We’ll put it in the sunroom,” he told me. “You can sit there and gain inspiration as you gaze out the windows.”

Next to Mom’s desk is my “comfy chair,” which quite conveniently offers plenty of room for a cuddly grandchild. The end table on the left side of the photo was made by Gary’s dad in the early 1940s.

Outside one of the windows by Mom’s desk, Gary hung a “buoy bell.” This one replicates the tones of a buoy’s bell outside of Maine’s Bar Harbor, guiding vessels to safety over the centuries.

On one rather windy day, I leaned outside one of the 14 windows to catch the sound on video. Click on the arrow, below, and turn up the volume.

Of all the 14 windows, this one is my favorite. I can sit in the comfy chair and watch the sunrise, count the clouds, see the leaves change colors, and soon, marvel at the swirling snowflakes.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with family in the sunroom last week and look forward to Christmas here as well. The rest of the house has served us well for 41 years, but for now if you’re looking for us, chances are Gary and I are sitting together, holding hands, and sharing our thoughts for the day.

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