I was staying with KC and Bob in their Saratoga Springs apartment while I looked for homes in New York State. KC suggested a home that she called the Wedding Cake House. Since I have PTSD war time stress reactions from my own wedding, I jokes and called it the Cupcake House.
When I got to the house, I looked around for a spot to sketch from. Conveniently there was a cement bench on the far corner of the intersection with a perfect view.
The roof of the tower of the home does indeed resemble a cupcake that has been turned upside down and shoved in the tower tube. There is so much decorative filigree that it could have taken hours to draw accurately, but I simplified the details and took short cuts.
I thought there was another house next to the Cupcake House but it is the same home attached in a U shape. There is also a carriage house which has been renovated and that is the size of studio homes I have been looking at.
This neighborhood is so opulent and beautiful. People al seemed friendly. An old man walked by holding his shopping bag, probably full of a few groceries from downtown.
Exploring Saratoga Springs convinced me that I need to move to upstate New York. I am not searching for such opulence but instead a quiet hamlet removed from the rush and hustle of NYC while being less than a 2 hour bus or train ride from the city. I have done my time in Florida and it is time to return to the North East which is where I grew up.
While growing up in New Jersey, there were snow storms large enough where I could create a big igloo by hollowing out a mountain of snow. Today such large storms are more rare, or so I hope. In Florida I am living in a home without central air conditioning. That has fueled my desire to move to a cooler northern climate. In my old age, I start sweating even if I think about how hot it might be outside.
Sketching each day in Saratoga Springs the weather was perfect. By the time I get there it should be fall and I am a bit apprehensive about living through a winter.