Summer of 2021 was long and hot like no other - as far as the real estate market in Southern California was concerned. Coming out of the worst part of the COVID pandemic, everyone was suddenly trying to somewhere, move, do anything they could to change the scenery. 

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By then, the walls of my condo, which I called home for 17 years, were closing in. I worked from home through the first year of the pandemic, and I was, too, going stir-crazy. It was also the right moment - I had enough equity to buy up even with the quickly rising home prices in my area, and properties under a half-million dollars was in seriously short supply.

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Long story short, I ended up with a house much bigger than I planned. I'm not complaining - really. Given the crazy real estate market, I was very lucky to get my offer accepted for a well-maintained turnkey home. But I felt out of sorts for a while, like I took too big a bite to chew. It's taken time, sweat, tears, and even a drop or two of blood even, to make this big space my own, one small piece at a time.