THB! Where do you live?

Danna: Kalamazoo Michigan, midway between Detroit and Chicago—hills & trees, culture, university & colleges, friends, & extreme seasons. my adopted home where I landed after much wandering.

THB! In five words or less, your home is…

DANNA: Sanctuary, beauty & great messes, archive, dreams

THB! What do you do at home?

DANNA: Write, read, sleep, cook, clean, stretch, watch TV, listen to a wide variety of music, play with cats, yell at cats, talk long distance to my sister, stare, light fires, entertain friends on occasion, knit, rearrange furniture, grade papers & prep classes, rearrange books, shower, dress, undress…

THB: What’s your favorite room (and why)?

DANNA: My study—where the life of the mind & heart can explore, discover, compose, ponder…

THB! What’s your favorite piece of art or memento or plain old thing in your home?

DANNA: I have several pieces of original art that I cherish and love to live among, but I think my fav thing hanging on the wall is the handmade embroidered Serenity Prayer that my sister made me years & years ago. We grew up with one on the wall of our home that our mom made. It is a prayer that has guided me over the years in so many ways, and connects me with my roots/genes.

THB! What could you never throw out…though maybe you should?

DANNA: Nothing in particular comes to mind, but I suspect it would be something from my long marriage.

THB: What’s the best piece of decorating advice you ever got?

DANNA: A place for everything and everything in its place. Nice theory I do not practice.

THB: What’s on your home wish list?

DANNA: Downsizing, which will help me get to the essential, and let go of the rest. mid-life, empty nest stage.

THB: Got color?

DANNA: Yes, more lately, as accent or splash across the neutrals. This climate demands it in winter for sanity’s sake. I’ve painted the kitchen green, the bathroom will be mango & pink soon. My sun yellow bedroom is my 2nd fav room.  Also chose bold colored dishes from Pier One a short while ago.

THB! Any last words?

DANNA: What I will take with me from this 1350 sq ft home (where I raised my son, and grew into a confident teaching-artist) to a 3 bdrm apartment next year (one mile from here) will be instructive & spiritually important.