As we enter a bright new year my daughter Abby begins work on her first home here in Black Mountain. She went to college in New York and has been there ever since. Living in New York City has meant living in cramped apartments with astronomical rent. Being stuck inside throughout the spring and summer during the pandemic has been stifling, and the reasons New York is so attractive: restaurants, theater, music, etc are all unavailable. Abby finally yielded to my entreaties to move home to North Carolina.
She has always longed for a place of her own that she can fix up, and more than that, a place where she can raise animals and have a big garden. Her dear friends from Charlotte, Becca and Brent wanted a place to escape Charlotte on weekends, and they decided to work together to find something they all could enjoy.
Realtor extraordinaire Jackie Tatelman went to work to find what I thought was impossible. They wanted a parcel with acreage, two houses, out buildings, and room for a garden. On top of that, the cost had to be affordable.
We went with them and looked at places far from Black Mountain: Nebo, Canton, Madison County, and elsewhere, but nothing fit the bill. Then Jackie pulled the perfect place from out of her hat. It has everything they were looking for, and it is just around the corner from where Ron and I live and around the block from Natty and Kate.
They closed this week and now Abby can create a perfect cottage from the bare bones of the cute little place she bought. As it stands, the house needs lots of TLC, and today Ron and his men set to work stripping the molding from the old windows so he can replace what’s there with energy efficient ones. The kitchen will be stripped next to make way for clean and efficient work surfaces, rugs will be pulled up and dragged out, and Abby can begin the exciting job of designing her own place.
I am going to track her progress on this newsletter, so all you friends can watch the transition! We will start next week.
A little gift I have for you is a chapter of my memoir. It is available here on my website. Just search for My Wedding.
