That would be the job for me. The city wouldn't even have to pay this minor bureaucrat.
This English Country House of Native Stone and Stucco designed by A. Raymond Ellis, 1882-1950 of Hartford, CT, for the January 1925 issue of Woman's Home Companion would lure me up the sidewalk.
Imagine my surprise when I walked out on our kitchen porch one cold morning in late November and looked beyond the hedgerow that borders a long part of the street of our property and a house magically appeared that had been hidden by leafy tree limbs.
So this was where all the construction noise had come from! Let me zoom in on it...
Doesn't it remind you a little bit of the 1925 magazine's house?
We aren't likely to meet these new neighbors as their road entrance is not on our street but down on the state highway that our own street runs off of.
Theirs is a gated community and frankly, the first houses built there, probably in early 2000s, are really ugly McMansions. But this new house built high on the hill at the rear of the development looks like it has grace and charm.
Here's how it looked the other night when I went outside with BreeBree and James Mason after supper.
They must have been having a party and every single light in the house and on the property seemed to be on.
Our mail lady must have lost our invitation but I stood there and snapped pictures, enjoying the pretty sight of the lighted house on the hill.
Wouldn't that have been a perfect time to walk up to the front door and say, House Inspector calling?
Every morning now, when I let the dachshunds out to go potty, I look up towards our new neighbor's house. I'm very careful now to put my robe over my pajamas and brush my hair. Because you never know, do you?
Just last week I saw something new near my neighbor's house.
My neighbors will someday have a new neighbor!
I hope this house is finished before the trees put on their Spring leaves. Then it will be months before I can snoop on my neighbors again.
Unless I get that House Inspector job.
Do you need an assistant? Because I would love to be a house inspector, too! I've always had a curiosity about what the insides of houses looked like. Even as a child, I loved going to model homes with my parents.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't we have fun? And we'd see everything!
DeleteYou have a good attitude about the increasing population of your neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteGretchen, only because neighbors are so spread out here in the country on huge lots and twisting roads. So it's nice to see some lights at night in the winter when the leaves are off the trees.
DeleteI guess too, because we lived even further in the country before we moved here for 26 years on 24 acres back in a hollow with almost no neighbors around. Nice but friendlier here!
LOL! well I've never met a nicer house inspector. I love that all the lights were on that night and to think they might be having a party. maybe they were celebrating the Lunar New Year!
ReplyDeleteand now another being built that looks to have the same amount of charm. it's wonderful having lovely homes peeking through the trees. xo
There is something so magical about all the lights being on in a house for a special night. It reminds me of one of Rosamunde Pilcher's wonderful short stories where the couple arrives home to see that all the lights are shining out the windows of their house and find that their adult children have come home to give them an anniversary party. Do you remember that one, Tam?
DeleteYES! I do remember it. I hadn't thought of it in years though!
DeleteI love that RP story!!
DeleteI think you should have taken a tray of home baked cookies over and they probably would have let you in to the party lol! Looks gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Happy New Week,
Kris
I should have, Kris! Maybe next time?
DeleteI have a list of homes that I would love to "inspect" in my area! VERY rarely, one of them will come on the market and I get my chance to peek inside. Usually, my imagination is better than the real thing, but every now and then, magic! Hopefully, you'll get a peek inside that one soon!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to peek inside those houses with you, Kim. Especially if they're all older cottages like yours!
DeleteInteresting houses that are lit up at night always look so festive and even mysterious in a way. Makes you wonder what’s going on inside.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, YES! But for me it’s not the occasional house, it’s every single house in the world!! Even if it’s ugly on the outside. Actually, I might go so far as to say ugly houses intrigue me more. I’d love to get my grubby hands on them and realize their full potential.
Yes, they do look mysterious, Doreen!
DeleteThat's interesting that you want to house inspect every house, the mark of a true interior designer, I'd say!
Introduce yourself, offer light house sitting/watching services, mail/houseplants......
ReplyDeleteWish smart phones had been part of my entire 30+ year career. Been in so many incredible homes. Oh my the powder rooms, and......
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Nice suggestions, Tara! And do one of your marvelous posts on powder rooms soon, please!
DeleteI LOVED this post, Dewena!! It read like a superb short story that had everything: an intriguing plot, a charming protagonist and plenty surprise twists! You are the HERcule Poirot of pretty pads - a fabulous, freelance,(house) inspector!
ReplyDeleteYou know how much I adore spring, and always longingly await its arrival, but I must admit that, if I lived at Home Hill, I would be willing to wait a little longer for its fresh, green leaves to appear, this year, so that I may keep a watchful eye on that adorable adobe 'across the way', as well as the developing one close by, through the clear spaces between those bare branches!
Now, go grab yourself a beautiful beret and floral scarf, (Poirot's black homburg hat and bow tie, female counterparts) - just in case you need to dash off for some dire detective work!
Happy Monday (and happy snooping)!
Poppy xoxo
Be careful, Poppy, you'll turn my head with that pretty compliment and I won't be fit to live with! You certainly have the gift of encouragement, my sweet friend. Thank you!
DeleteWow, this house is so hidden - I'm surprised you saw it. It looks like a charming house, especially with all the lights on. And do tell us if you ever meet your new neighbors while taking your dachshunds out for a walk. Yes, being a house inspector would be interesting. One time, I was looking at houses, and I came across the most charming house, and when it was time to look at the inside, it had a bad smell, and their were cages. I think they had cats! As you can imagine, I passed that house right up. Your neighbor's house really blends in with the trees. But I'm glad you finally got to see the house on the hill. Love these photos, Dewena. They look a bit mysterious and so lovely. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
That does sound like a house you were supposed to have passed up, Sheri! I remember once when we were looking at houses and over the sofa was a huge Nazi flag...we left immediately. I will certainly wave hello if I ever see the neighbors out in their yard but their yard is pretty much straight up a steep hill with their road not turning onto our road. Maybe we'll meet by chance at the grocery store and I'll tell them they are not strangers to me, not really.
DeleteIt would be fun to create some stories about your new neighbors' house. I agree, it looks charming.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea, Karen! I'll have to keep that in mind.
DeleteOoooh that would be a fun job, Dewena!! I hope your new neighbors aren't too noisy! I'm blessed to have very quiet neighbors next to me....but then again, I have a quarry on the other side (down the road a bit) and they have been logging behind me. When I have a rare day off midweek, and I'm outside, I can hear the noise from those two companies....sad.
ReplyDeleteLogging sounds carry so far. At our old house one year the owners down the street were allowing it on their property and the noise was terrible, not to mention the look of their hills, which made me sick to look at. We were offered $40,000 for our timber there and told them a big No! I wish more people would.
DeleteOkay you HAVE to bring attention to yourself so they notice you admiring it and invite you in for a tour. I had that happen one day a year ago . We were walking down a favorite street of mine in a nearby city down the mountain and the woman in front of a house i was admiring was in her side yard working on her garden. She saw me snap a photo and said ...hey would you like to come in and take a tour ...i thought she was being snarky and i felt weird being caught. But she was serious and it was such a beautiful house inside. And she encouraged me to take as many photos as I wanted. it was an older style bungalow type all redone inside but kept to the original style. I hope you get in there some day but in the meantime keep taking photos!!
ReplyDeleteI wondered if you'd ever been stopped while photographing houses, Sandy. What a nice thing for her to do! I would have been in hog heaven.
DeleteSo you think if I go out in our front yard with a telephoto lens and plainly let them see me taking pictures of their house that she'll wave and say "Come on over!"? Any chance she might call the police? I'll call you for bail if that happens!
What a fun post my friend. I have a favorite house on a drive we take. I stop each season and take photos of it. I wish it would come for sale. ;-)
ReplyDeleteLove, Carla
I hope it comes up for sale too, Carla! Would you just view it or seriously want to buy it? I know for you a big priority would be garden space. But maybe it's meant for you someday.
DeleteYou have such a great attitude about construction in your neighborhood! I love to watch the building process. The highlight is the nightly performance of lights! Just think of all the make believe you can do!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your new neighbors...if they only knew we are all intrigued!
When did gated communities begin? I can't imagine living in such a place. I wonder if they have rules like condos? I'm sure your home is more wonderful than the house you saw.
ReplyDeleteCan I be your partner in crime? I love to see how other people live, how they decorate and, if I'm honest, what they keep in their fridge :-)
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
I love inspecting houses! That's why I love holiday tours of homes. My dream home would be a stone cottage.
ReplyDelete