Estate sales are big business here, it seems. There are companies that run them much of the time. Yes, they happen here when when people die, and also can happen if an estate is being broken up, but usually is due to death. They open up much of the house, and sell pretty much everything in it. You can walk through the house, yard and garage, shopping for almost anything and everything you need, from kitchenware, and dishes to clothing, tools, collectibles, curtains, and furniture. What doesn't sell, the estate sale people take to their stores. Yes, they even have estate sale stores. I like being nosey, though, and going to estate sales in interesting neighborhoods with the cool houses. To get back to cooking, I've found some interesting cookbooks at estate sales, too. I just remembered about one I picked up that had arabic recipes. It was one of those fund raiser cookbooks that churches and civic groups do. This was done by an Arabic church, and has half Arabic recipes and half American recipes. I have yet to cook anything out of it yet, but found it fun to read through. Sally

"Leaving your family with a mess you have created is very thoughtless and unfair." I'm in this club, too, and based on what my family and I had to deal with after my parents died, I'm not doing this to my kids, either. Plus I just don't want to live like that, surrounded by stuff I no longer want or use. For us it was complicated by the fact that my parents lived on the opposite coast. They were more packrats than hoarders, with a nice apartment and some very nice things, most of which they never used any more. But 40 years worth of stuff in closets and drawers and cupboards adds up. It was a long and complicated affair to make arrangements to travel to clean out their place. Further complicated by the fact that it was a rental, so the landlord was breathing down our necks and not at all understanding of the time and distance constraints. And it was over the holidays and we had been away sorting out their stuff (ie hauling it away by the truckload) from their vacation home. Far far away. My husband and I are incredibly lucky we're self-employed, because we could make our own schedules (up to a point); any employer would have fired us that year. But we lost out on work/$$ and had to impose on my elderly inlaws to look after our own things while we were away so long. We took as much of the good stuff as we could in a trailer. But most of it wasn't to our taste or there wasn't room for it. Thank goodness for a Goodwill just a block away, and three willing kids (ours) to help haul stuff over there. Really, with a "garbage room" on each floor of the building, and the Goodwill on the way to the subway station not to mention a maid who would have been happy for the shoes and purses etc., my parents could have been disposing of a bag of stuff a week on the way to work for years and not been in this situation. A friend told me that before her father died in his 90s, he started giving things away. So that by the time he died, he was down to a bed, table, chair, one plate, one bowl, one fork, etc., some favorite books, the television, and so on. He transferred the deed to land he owned to his daughter. All very Thoreauvian, and very selfless. She said it took her less than a week to deal with his house and estate. Sigh... All a huge reminder for me of what NOT to do, including not waiting until the very last minute, and a good lesson for my kids, too. And though I've always been a steady declutterer (though I like my pretty things, too), I became even steadier after returning from that first trip. For what it's worth, I've never bothered with garage sales. Anything in decent shape goes to Goodwill, which is faster, easier, and benefits others...

Thanks all - we are excited! We are buying a DW in a 55+ park just 4 miles from here and close to all shopping :-) It has a sunny eat-in kitchen, large living room, dining room, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths - one is a reasonable size and the master bath is huge. Master bedroom is roomy and the second bedroom is so large we will probably divide it so we can each have our own space - he dabbles in painting and I have an obscene amount of yarn (I packed a lot of it yesterday) for crochet, laundry room and a shed with electricity. The kitchen has black appliances w/a bottom freezer refrigerator. I have almond appliances now and will be glad to have black again, and an installed dishwasher after 7 years using a portable. We have the name of a MH inspector and someone who does MH repairs, not that that is anticipated right away, but you never know. Just a comfort to have that info at hand from the getgo. I'm so relieved to not have to do the routine to show, never knowing when, what, etc. Huge relief. (I'm using "huge" a lot here LOL) A fantasy I have had for many, many years is to have a bathroom large enough that I can keep the scale in it! Sure doesn't take much to make me happy...... Guess I'll have to open a photo hosting account so I can post some pics. TTYL, everyone - time for coffee.

Well...I think many architects may like to play the little shell game where the front façade of a house may be one (often historic) style, while the interiors and rear façade are something else entirely (often highly Modern). It's a game which requires a good working knowledge of architectural history, with a blend of sleight-of-hand magician tricks of an architectural nature. Of course, there are a number of situations where this may actually be a requirement, i.e., designated historic structures; historic zoned areas, architectural and HOA requirements for a given area, etc. In such cases, there may be little option for new construction, remodeling and improvements involving the front façade of a house, but for which the owners may have a much more Modern taste. So blending "old" with "new" is not unheard of at all. Whatever, the photos did display strong design talent and accomplished construction techniques. I'd disagree with palimpsest about the "cheapness"...the interiors and rear exteriors, especially the major glass ones, look extremely expensive. This approach to design and construction is clearly an acquired taste and not for everyone.