I so appreciated each of your comments to my last post. They reminded me that one of the reasons we go through hard times is so that we'll, later, be sensitive to others' difficulties. We'll know the right things to say if we recall what we wish others would have said to us.

I spoke with Naomi over the phone yesterday morning and felt better afterward. She's leaving Oreo The Cat with Carl because Oreo has become a great buddy to Carl and she hates to take everything and leave him alone, with nothing. I appreciated hearing the compassion in that thought and also knowing that they plan to remain friends. I realize lots of people say that, but knowing those two, I believe it will happen.

Anyway, there's more, but I got off the phone feeling more at peace with the situation. So that's good.

Tom and I traveled over to the village of Niagara Falls yesterday and ordered two storm doors to replace our two ugliest-dirtiest-screen-doors-on-Earth. Valu Home Center had an amazing sale on them, installation and delivery, included.

How fun to make this home, ours. Even when I buy simple things like brass switch and outlet plates or decorative ceramic balls for the ends of pull chains, I feel like I'm creating something all my own. Or recreating, maybe. Every wall I paint or curtain rod I replace makes this more like Tom and Debra's House, rather than a house belonging to a line of faceless strangers. (Though I do like to imagine faceless strangers within these walls back around 1900. That, I think, is fun.)

One of the many ways in which I like New York better than California? When you buy a house here, you are given the Abstract of Title (as it's called). What's that? It's an amazing list of everyone who has ever owned, not only your house, but the property upon which it sits, even before it was divided up into your current lot. It's like reading the history of your house! Well, sort-of.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some of the wonderful old-fashioned first names of people listed upon the pages of our title:

Charles and Blandina (1828)
Ebenezer and Jemima (1832)
Theodotus and Ann (1833)
William and Cornelia (1833)
Trumbull and Sarah (1833)
Elbridge and Ruth (1853)
William and Eugenie (1895)

There are more, but you get the idea.

Remember the 1970's decor I've told you about? The orange counter tops, gold/tan/white kitchen floor, orange shag carpeting and bicentennial wallpaper (which the previous owners removed) and aluminum windows? Well, after reading the title, it all makes sense now. A man and wife bought the house in 1975, in November, then she filed a quit claim deed in March(!) (Yikes! Couldn't handle this country life?) 

Which means, he must have later decorated the place himself. Only a man would have put so much effort into making this place look so bad. シ

Heh. And there is your smile for the day.



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