The Portable Universe: Doubling Down


First Sunrise

First Sunset

Hello, I’m back.

Remember, oh, a year and a half ago, when I wrote a piece titled “I almost bought a house” ? – and I went into detail about why I almost did it and then decided not. I may have even mentioned that I would never own again? Well, never say never.

No, I didn’t buy a house. I doubled down. I bought a duplex. It was a dance studio, built in 1974, and then converted to two apartments in 1991. Under the pretense of looking for a property for my brother (who moved here from Michigan in April), I walked into the east unit and immediately said “I want this.” So I got it. And great tenants in the west unit.

Of course, I can’t just buy something and move in. I have to remodel. Six weeks and several thousand dollars over budget, I moved in. I had the best crew anyone could hope for. Excellent craftswomen and men. Even my brother, who purposely bought a turn-key property where he would not have to lift a finger, did an enormous amount of scut work. Messy, sloppy, tedious work. Fortunately, he just wanted to be paid in massive quantities of meatball stew.

The night I moved in, I slept very little. I kept going over and over in my head that maybe I had made a big mistake. I was up at dawn, and went to sit on my east facing deck with a cup of coffee. I watched a spectacular sunrise (a daily occurrence as I have come to see), and knew that if this was the only reason to own this place it was reason enough. Every day, I am reminded that I lead a charmed life.

I’ve loaded up the photos taken during the remodel, and the end results.