Top of the Line?
I guess it's all in what you want from life.
Fran wants to save up 3 and a half million dollars so she can buy the old house and change it back. There is a danger in attempting to go home again...even in a virtual tour. It’s not sour grapes, we really aren’t too keen on what has been done to this house. Except for the fireplace, which appears to be more ornate with some sort of caryatids or whatever. That I would keep.

For now, Fran will restrict herself to helping her recently unemployed sister paint her bedroom pale purple. This is not altogether altruistic. It’s the best way to get Bridget off of her floor and back into her room.

You all can be thankful that I don’t have a digital camera or else I would be compelled to give you a virtual tour of the current abode. No gourmet chef’s kitchen. (I mean, really, we don’t even have a toaster.) The only panoramic lake view is that of the massive puddle (formally referred to as Lake Wolff) that forms at the entrance to the next door apartment complex whenever it rains. No separate steam shower with a multi-spout faucet, but Rick did get the clog out of the bathtub pipes for which we are all so very grateful.

I am no less happy now than I was when I lived in a big house with the panoramic lake view. I would caution any buyers who think it is worth going out on a financial limb in hopes that living there would make them “happy.” If you’re not happy where you are now, chances are you won’t be substantially happier living there. So often I will see houses that I admire and think it would make me “happy” to live in them. But I remember a few less than happy times when we would be sitting on the porch on a lovely day. People would drive or walk by and stare at the house. I knew what they were thinking. “I’d be sooo happy if I lived there.” No, not really.

And who needs an English basement?