Small Home Gazette, Winter 2021
Letter From the Editor: still in the midst of a pandemic
Here it is, 2021, and all is still not well. I feel cheated. The meme of 2020 as a dumpster fire became so prevalent that, despite being a nominally rational adult, I somehow expected things to improve merely because the calendar page turned.
Yet so far this year, there has been a disgraceful insurrection at the nation’s capital; the number of COVID-19 deaths continues to surge, invigorated by virulent new strains; and the financial walloping of workers and business owners in some sectors of the U.S. economy continues unabated.
I will pause here to finish off my half-empty glass and refill it to half-full. There. Much better.
Thankfully, most aspects of my life are going well, and I hope the same is true for you. I have managed to avoid the coronavirus, at least as of this writing. Friends and family members who did catch it have recovered, though some not fully. And I’m perhaps proudest of managing to resist launching political flame wars with certain Facebook friends and family members (though I’ve launched a few in my head).
But I should write something about bungalows. Though the Twin Cities Bungalow Club has not been able to hold our quarterly events during the pandemic, we are still bringing you this pithy, fun and fact-filled newsletter! And if you didn’t notice, we have extended your Bungalow Club membership for another six months, after first extending it for six months last fall. (Check the “Paid through” date on your newsletter’s mailing label.)
We had hoped the pandemic would have subsided enough for us to schedule our spring home tour. But though the vaccine rollout seems to be picking up steam, we just don’t think group events will be possible for a while longer. We have a cautious eye set on the fall of 2021 as a possibility—watch for updates.
Speaking of houses, you may have seen a December 2021 Star Tribune article by Kim Palmer titled, “10 home trends to enhance your space for the winter ahead.” The 10 trends in Ms. Palmer’s article leads off with this shocker: Brown is back.
“White and gray have been the ubiquitous go-to color palette for interiors in recent years,” she writes. “But warmer neutrals, including brown and beige, are starting to make a comeback…” As I glance around my bungalow, with its extensive natural oak woodwork and rooms full of brown Mission style furniture, I’m suddenly feeling pretty damn stylish.
Finally, here in the depth of winter, would you like to tour a bungalow garden? Of course you would. Bungalow Club board member Deb McKinley invites you to a virtual tour of her garden. Filmed last summer (2020), it is a narrated walk through the lush and varied front and back gardens of her bungalow in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis. Look for the video in the Gallery section of the Bungalow Club’s website.
So let’s raise our half-full glasses to 2021 and the hope that the rest of the year brings fewer dumpster fires and flame wars, and more cooperation and compassion.
