house living room

Salutation: Bidding Farewell to A House

I’ve been asked, over the years, where my sense of design comes from. Although I’m a writer now, I was a sweater designer for 15 years and have made a lot of clothing, curtains, rag dolls, and painted quite a few houses inside and out. I’ve been envious of other writers, but nowhere near as […]

ipswich

Postcard from Ipswich

There’s no wifi at my Aunt Mary’s beautiful old house, so we watch the tide come in and go out again twice a day. There’s a moment of stillness when it turns, the water clearly going under the bridge in one direction, and then a pause for maybe three or four minutes, and the surface […]

nevada city farmhouse

A Matter of Proportion

There’s a new house in my town that I just adore. It’s heading in the direction of a modern farmhouse but with great vintage details. Right now, it’s built but not landscaped yet so it’s easy to see the place from all angles. In a year or two, enough shrubbery will have grown to obscure […]