Just did layout of the last home in our next book, Small Homes: The Right Size. It’s a 2-family home converted to a duplex in San Francisco,. Downstairs is Jay Nelson, his wife Rachel Kaye, and their daughter Romy; upstairs is Dalia Burde — all 3 are artists (probably Romy (above) too).

This is what’s called a “tenants in common” agreement, where 2 parties buy a home together. Listen up, people looking for homes in cities, here’s a way to cut costs in half with the important prerequisite that you’re compatible (and remain so) with each other.

At left: staircase between the 2 units, in the backyard.

We’ve got another month or so to go on the book. I’ve been neglecting a bunch of things, like working out, blogging, traveling—to get it done. Boy, do I want to get it done!

Next we’re working on the “front matter” and “back matter,” as well as the all-important, the big kahuna—the cover. We’re probably changing from a single home on the cover to a collage of 14 photos. I’m going to put up our cover choices here for general feedback pretty soon.

Listening to this song just now: Marty Raybon – There’s A Ghost In This House now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-_JQwido

“…US home prices continue to rise faster than wages, a situation that makes it increasingly difficult for those who hope to convert from shelling out monthly rent to investing in a home of their own.…”

The comments are very interesting here.

https://news.vice.com/article/why-more-americans-cant-afford-to-buy-homes

We just finished what will probably be the middle section of the book, “Small Homes in Cities and Towns,” 67 photos on some 20 pages. When Rick showed me the finished pages, I was thrilled. Some times I’ll muddle my way through a project, starting with no concept of how it will come out, and the whole, as  they say, is greater than the sum of its parts, i.e., synergy.

We’ve got 200 out of 224 pages done now. I have this great feeling, having worked for so many months, because:

1. we’re close to the end (to printers in November, out February 2017)

2. it looks so darned good!

House in Santa Cruz last week

The book is about two thirds done now—the most complicated one I’ve done so far; 80+ contributors, and lots of correspondence going back and forth, getting large enough photo files, more information, enough material to do layout.

I’m going to back way off on posting here in coming months, in order to get the book finished.

Friday when I was in San Francisco, I shot this picture of the building where I worked for five years as an insurance broker—corner of California and Sansome. I was on the sixth floor. If you count up to the third row of windows in the red brick part of the building and then across to the sixth window on the right, that’s where my office was. I was standing looking out that window the day JFK was assassinated.

I lasted until 1965, until along came rock and roll and everything else, and I gave up commerce for artistic freedom…