Houses

Tonight, I am in Rawlins WY. On the surface, Rawlins doesn't look like much and I must admit, my heart sank when we got to town and the Thai place--the only Thai restaurant in Wyoming barring those in Jackson--was closed! More on Rawlins in my other blog, Wyo Wanderer, which I have just decided to start, about traveling in Wyoming. Hm. I must like this system.

I've noted I have a marked preference for Victorian houses, or at least that type of house. Must have something to do with being raised in a Victorian seaport. I also like colonial brick, imposing houses, but only to look at from outside (I guess that comes from the 9 years in St. Louis). This is not to say I do not like my own, not-Victorian, house. House observation is something I like to do. I like to walk by and see what I like and don't like and what I'd do differently. I like to look in windows (from the street--I walk in the middle of streets whenever I can--can't see much of anything, please!), especially if the house is uninhabited. Empty houses have such potential about them.

I was looking at houses in Port Townsend. Several of my friends have built houses and they have some really good ideas. Most of these are small houses with very clever ways of using space. Also, gorgeous, simple touches. L used sea glass as handles for the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen, and pressed it into the stucco walls. A window seat that pulls out into a queen sized bed. A friend in WY has an outdoor shower--that is a treat in the summer! I also like the system of a shower without a tub or pan, just a drain in the floor. Very simple.

Finally I saw a large house on 10 acres outside of PT which is falling down. They (the people who own it) got it for a song. It needed a foundation and a roof, and that is just the beginning. Carpeting, bathroom, hideous wallpaper, no insulation, but the house has such potential. The view and the silence are to die for, too.