Happy New Year! I’m sure a lot of people would like to pitch the past 365 days out the window. Be it political differences, weather disturbances, or natural disasters, there were a lot of less-than-happy-happenings in 2017. While they stretched our patience, stressed our nerves, and tested our relationships, the events of the past year also helped us come together, find our voices, and appreciate the good among the thorns.
I can’t erase or ignore 2017, and I don’t want to, because amid everything else, 2017 is the year that I, gulp, bought a house. Since I tell you about other peoples’ houses every week, I chose this week, at the beginning of this New Year, to get personal.
Neither fancy nor large, my new house is a one-bedroom, one-bath, 576-square-foot craftsman cottage built in 1920. It has neither a garage nor a driveway, but it sits in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, so I can walk just about everywhere I want to go. What it lacks in space and modern amenities, it makes up for in character. Instead of bemoaning what it doesn’t have, let me tell you what I love most about it.