My bad! I've been out and done all kinds of things forgetting that I was supposed to post homework. And I knew what it was going to be.

I'm reading a book called Reading Like A Writer by Francine Prose. Yesterday, I came across a sentence that seemed perfect to translate into homework. The book disects writing Ms. Prose appreciates much as she does in her classes at the universities where she has taught creative writing.

The sentence: "Alice Munro writes with the simplicity and beauty of a Shaker box."

So, (a la Barbara Walters asking Katherine Hepburn what kind of tree are you?) What artistic style are you and your life?

You could be an ornate Victorian - a painted lady. You could be a Cape Cod - near the water??? no nonsense.

I think I'm an older house which needs TLC. I good cleaning and a near veneer are all I need to make me habitable. My floors sag a little, but I'm dependable - being hospitable for a LONG time. I don't take center stage like my contemporaries the Painted Ladies, but I have plenty of room and very utilitarian.

How about you?

Linda

I'm a log cabin in the country....a little dusty, a few cobwebs here and there, and a rogue chipmunk in my rafters, but comfortable, warm, loving and providing sound shelter.

Having never lived in a house in my life (I've always lived in apartments--was even raised in one), I don't know much about the names and characteristics of the different styles of houses.

I think I would be a slightly older home that may need a little more work than the new ones but that is structurally sound and welcoming. I would be on the smaller side--not one of these new rambling mansions--but with really interesting spaces. And I'd have a beautiful garden in the back for quiet, contemplative moments.

My favorite kind of room to build in The Sims right now is an intimate space, usually decorated in earth tones, that features a beautiful decorative fireplace, big comfy chairs and bookcases on either side of the fireplace. I call it an art or learning room because Sims have to study and achieve various skills in order to advance in their jobs, so I usually also put a piano and a chess board in there so they can get nearly all their points in one room.

I guess I would have to be an old country farmhouse from the 1800's.
The kinds where the kitchen is seperated from the rest of the house by a breezeway.

Well, if I'm architecture, I think I'm probably Arts & Crafts. Modern for its time, sturdy and well constructed, yet still comfortable and very functional, and warm and invited dispite its clean lines.

As long as I'm not taken care of and not neglected, I'm going to last a long, long time.

Dawn

I'm a split level, contemporary who likes to be furnished with big, oversize comfy furniture.

I have bright, soothing colors, and a dog sleeping somewhere on a blanket or rug, on the furniture.

I have lots of rooms that are all different, but are still rooms you can really live in. There is no furniture that you can't sit on anywhere in the house.

My kitchen is big and spacious, with no clutter and always smells of baking bread or spaghetti sauce. But there is always at least a tea mug or spoon in the sink, just to make it look lived in.

I am a very old house that needs much tending. But has much love between the walls.

I'm an older stained-glass window. It's not unpleasant to look at and a little unusual, but easy to pass over. If you take the time to really look, though, you'll see intricate patterns and finely-wrought metal throughout. It looks delicate, and probably would break, if hit hard enough, but there's enough iron holding the glass in place that even if the colors fall out, the framework is left and can be re-built.

It's not quite transparent...but things look a little different when you peer through it. It gives you a perspective on the world you might not have had before. When the sun hits it just right, it's radiant and hits everything around it with splashes of light and color.

(This reminded me of a Mary Chapin-Carpenter song called, "I Am A Town" )

I'm a transitional with clean lines, a modern asthetic but with ties to the past. Very uncluttered and open.