While sitting on the throne on Christmas, I looked to my right and realized that the house DID have decorations up.
These towels have been hanging there for no telling how long. I know they’ve been there since Mother died in 2015. It just never dawned on me until today that they were seasonal.
Obviously, I don’t use them.
I started to crop out the lacy thing on the right, but decided to leave it for historical accuracy, and as a sample of earlier customs. It’s a loop that was designed to hold extra rolls of toilet paper.
I don’t use it, either, but I’ve left it up for sentimental reasons. Any of the Steinhoff Clan who would like to claim it can speak up. I’ll even pay the postage.
I know this is “none of my beeswax,” Ken, but you never had the desire to put your mother’s house up for sale??
I spent most of my life chasing things that were none of my beeswax, so I don’t begrudge you your question.
The answer is, “Yes, we did consider selling it.” Almost as soon as the flowers on the gravesite wilted, David and Mark came to town to “declutter” the house to get it ready for sale. Some stuff went into a monster dumpster, some went to Annie Laurie’s Antiques, and I managed to snag a few items from the time capsule that was the attic. I told them they were welcome to deal with the “stuff,” but wanted to hold on to any paper, records and the like for historical preservation.
We agreed that I would rent the house, with the money going toward my share of what it might cost to put it shape to sell. When they started to get antsy to get the house on the market, I set a departure date and started to look for a place to buy or rent to keep me in Cape. All of the places I could afford were junk or were in questionable neighborhoods. It dawned on me that I could buy the house from my brothers and get way more house than any I had looked at. I also figured that it would be easy to flip if and when the time came: large lot, rural feel, good school system, centrally located, etc., etc.
That’s when Wife Lila and I came to another realization: she loves the beach, warm weather, and being close to the boys and grandsons. I have hated Florida from the day we moved there in 1972, but I really liked my job. We decided after I retired from the paper that we were of the age when we both needed to do what made us happy. Up until this unusual year, I would go back to FL for a couple weeks at a time a couple times a year, and she’d come to Cape the same. Various combinations of kids and grandkids would come up, too. (They have all become Wib’s converts.)
So, that’s the long answer to have I considered selling the house. Want to make an offer? Cat and deer come with the deal.
“He was a man who knew Christmas and kept it well”.
Those towels are in pristine condition and have obviously never been used! Since I only live around the corner so to speak, at least for a few more months, maybe I will stop by and if you still have them you can gift them to me…..no postage necessary!!
Thanks to offering to find them a good home, but I’ve gotten kind of used to seeing that flash of red in a pink bathroom. I’ll hold to them for now.