A house is a place to live.
A house is a habitat. A place to take shelter from bad weather, insects, noise, other people. A place to share with other creatures, or shut them out.
A house is a repository for stuff. Also a repository for history.
A house is a hole to throw money into. A house is a work in progress.
In The Rainshadow 
Hey! You’ve got a big hole in your back yard! From the forecast, it appears that the weather will cooperate in keeping things dry and warm for another week. I dried a bunch of your pears today. They’re like candy !!
Great observations.
I’ve never had a “so called” house, lol… always a piece of rebuilding, or a camp or a cottage… now that we’re older (looking at 70) we’re winding down this living remotely lifestyle. this in the woods stuff, and are setting up a new trailer on a new lot, 10 miles away from this last homestead of ours; not an altogether happy thing, but it’s a pretty rural spot and has a river as it’s back yard preimeter; saw a big bull moose there last year and there are water fowl and beaver, a little mountain to look at. It’s for “when the time comes”.