Home Sweet Home

Blaine and I are living in a small basement apartment east of BYU campus. We signed the contract because we loved the price and proximity and having a washer and dryer in my apartment was a dream come true! After living in this apartment for a month, I've really grown to love its many quirks. For example, you have to walk through the closet to get to the bathroom. The closet floor is made up of both orange carpet and concrete. There is remnants of kitten wallpaper behind the closet shelves. There is one outlet in the bathroom and it is on the light fixture. The fridge is probably 40 years old. There is no disposal or dishwasher. We hung a curtain for a bedroom wall because there isn't one. Our walls are made of brick and wood panelling. Last of all, our ceiling has glow stickers on it of stars and planets. In addition to all of these unique features, I absolutely love the owner of the house. Helen Bateman graduated from BYU in 1941 with a double major. She then married her husband in Washington D.C. right before he had to report to the Navy for World War 2. When her husband couldn't support their family with his small income, she started her own chocolate business called D'Reams Chocolate because her maiden name is Reams. In fact, this chocolate business took place in our basement apartment for many years and her candy machine still sits in our bathroom. She has served four missions for the church. She served in Australia then Vietnam. There she taught the doctors how to speak English. She later served a public affairs mission in Hawaii and returned alone to serve at the PCC when her husband passed away. Also, she is ninety years old and drives a red mini-cooper and owns a mac computer. Tonight, when I went upstairs to ask if I could take her trash out, she was sewing a decorative quilt to donate to the PCC. She showed me 5 other quilts that she had finished and told me that each takes 45-60 hours to complete. Her stitches were perfect and the quilts are beautiful! Now I know what I want to be when I grow up! I want to be Sister Bateman.