This Old House!

Now that Greg and Amy are back in town they have decided to live in Gran and Papa's old house. It will be a win-win situation for all of us. The house will have someone in it that will take care of it and they will have a nice home for a couple of years with cheap rent. The house was built by Papa about sixty years ago for around $7000. He used cross ties from from the railroad for the foundation. Yes....this house was built upon a rock! And if you knew Papa you know there is some creative wiring going on....but it is a solid house....and he was mighty proud of it. They had a couple of add-ons through the years and now it is very comfortable white frame house with gold shutters sitting on an oak covered lot.

When Gran was alive she was meticulous. She had lovely fancy things and her taste could be seen through out the house. She loved pink... she loved roses. In their formal living room there was this unusual 100% wool carpet with pink roses. Pink roses were in cut glass rose bowls and the walls revealed pink rose pictures and various hand painted china....with pink roses. It was the fancy room... the room we really only visited during holidays for the big family meal. Gran was the perfect hostess for Martha Stewart-like meals down to her organdy starched apron. But then....Gran's brain began to deteriorate... her memories, her sense of logic and reasoning began to slip away until there was just a shell of the woman we once knew. Alzheimer stole her thoughts and her personality.

The last few years the house was sorely missing the touch of a woman. Gran was unable to attend to the most menial of tasks....and Papa....well, Papa was a man....clueless to the touches that a woman makes to create a home from an ordinary house. Later Papa lived in the house alone when Gran was in the nursing home. Gradually the home became neglected and lonely. After Gran died Papa moved out to assisted living....and the lonely house was abandoned. As the young couple that built the house grew old and changed....the house itself seemed to mirror what was occurring in life. Houses have life!

Hull House was alive and growing as the young family grew. The yard was full and green and lush. Lights shone bright from the windows...and family pets barked in the backyard. Projects were always going on in the garage and activity surrounded the house. Good smells came from the kitchen and music filled the air. As the young couple grew old...so did the house. The paint peeled. Solid boards began to split and crack. The plumbing weeped. The once beautiful rose carpet faded. Musty oders penetrated the senses. Hull House was alone, broken and in mourning. Closets held left over memories from the past....old photos, scrapbooks and cards....memories held in a shoebox.

Then the young granddaughter and her new husband decided to move into the old Hull House. They giggled as they cleaned and painted the walls. You could almost hear the Hull House cheer! She soaked up the paint like a thirsty traveler in much need of nourishment. You could almost imagine her stretching and yawning after a long hibernation nap. The windows glowed once again. Music accompanied the fresh paint smell with a touch of lemon oil. New colors updated the walls. New style and rearranged furniture created new life in the rooms. Hull House hugged these newlyweds and will be a good home for them to begin new life. She is smiling once again anticipating the future of this young couple in love.

And....so goes life in the sandwich!