The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: house

  • My Last Night at Home

    It increasingly felt like I was camping.

  • Making My Mark

    It’s time to make this place ours.

  • Are You Vacuum-Worthy?

    Then consider yourself in an elite group, indeed.

  • RIP Mary Cerruti

    Every once in a while I’ll come across a news item that I know will stay with me, probably, for the rest of my life. Mary Cerruti’s story is one of those. On the surface, it seems fairly simple. In 2015, she went missing. Later that year, her Houston area house was foreclosed upon. In…

  • Do It Yourself

    So yeah, this happened: I got dressed in grubby clothes, complete with an extra t-shirt to cover my hair, and a face mask and safety glasses and gloves, and I dragged my fat self under my house. Mission: installing insulation on the sub-floor. I think it’s important to know one’s house from top to bottom,…

  • Architectural Salvage Yards

    “Hey, where was that place that you got all the cool used doors and grates and glass blocks for the house you used to own here in Jacksonville?” He asked. “Burkhalters,” I replied, and a tsunami of nostalgia washed over me. I absolutely love salvage yards. I don’t know why more people don’t take advantage…

  • An Introvert Throws a Party

    Now that I’m a homeowner, I decided to have a housewarming party, for many reasons. First of all, it would give me the incentive to actually unpack. Second, this is a very close-knit community, and I really want to become a part of that. This would give my neighbors a chance to get to know…

  • Dear New Tenants

    When you rent a place that you know has been a rental property for many years, you tend to think of it as having no emotional history whatsoever. It’s easy to assume that it’s just a space that has been occupied by a long line of non-owners who came, paid their rent, and then moved…

  • Nesting

    So, it’s official! I am buying a house! I’m so excited. During this waiting period, while all the paperwork gets processed, and in between packing by fits and starts, I am starting to imagine the many ways I will make this house a home. First of all, this place is really, really small. And it…

  • The Importance of Love Letters

      When trying to buy a house, I cannot overstress the importance of standing out from the crowd. Even though there were multiple bidders on the house I’m about to buy, and my bid wasn’t the highest, I was the only one who wrote them a “love letter”, and that strongly influenced their decision. So,…