New Albany in the News

Here's a recent article from StyleBlueprint.com about what New Albany, Indiana has to offer. It's definitely worth a read.

http://styleblueprint.com/louisville/everyday/where-to-eat-and-shop-in-new-albany/

The Accumulation

When Steve and I bought our home on East Main Street in New Albany in 1994, we owned only enough possessions to fill one bedroom of this large Victorian house. Our home has, on the first floor, a foyer, a front parlor (which we have repurposed as an office), a dining room, a library, a kitchen, a walk-in pantry, a family room and a bathroom. There is a front staircase and a back-of-the-house servant's staircase. Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms (one with laundry facilities), a long hallway and a large bathroom.

There is also a basement with space to park 2 cars and accommodate a workshop, a large room that houses the furnace, and another room between the two for storage. There is a carriage house behind the main house, with a 2 bedroom apartment upstairs and a 2 car garage below.

Somehow we have managed to fill all those rooms, garages and basement. Honestly, I don't know how. But it's time to purge, and that's what we are preparing to do, as painful and time-consuming as it is. The end result will be a big yard sale early in August.

I've spent the past month going through every room, critically assessing every possession. When did I last use this or even look at it? I've been very surprised at some of the items that have come to light. Yesterday, while sorting through books to sell in the library, I found the original blueprints of the home my parents built in Edwardsville, Indiana, where I grew up. Cost to build in 1955? $13,000.

The reason the blueprints still exist is that my mom saved everything. When she died in 2009, oh, my, the things I discovered tucked away! Every birthday, Mother's Day, Easter and Christmas card I had ever sent her, even the ones my dad had bought and signed for me when I was a baby. Every single note I'd ever written her. All my school drawings and many homework papers. Baby clothes of mine. Pictures of her as a young woman, some of them when she was a patient at the Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Sanatarium in Louisville.

I don't know how long this purge will take. The house and garages are full and many are things we no longer need or use. It'll be a yard sale to beat all yard sales, but if I keep stumbling upon little treasures and forgotten mementos, I don't know if it'll be this August–or next.

Wooded Acreage For Sale in Edwardsville, Indiana

I'm selling a 2.62 acre wooded lot that is next to my childhood home in Edwardsville, Indiana on Highway 62. It's rolling and rocky with plenty of wildlife and mature trees, and has a site where a home could be built. If interested contact my Realtor, Stephannie Wilson of RE/MAX One at s.wilson2@insightbb.com or (502) 643-3062.

Kitten Available for Adoption

Meet Tater Tot, the kitten of a neighborhood stray that we've captured and are preparing to go to an adoptive home. She's a 12-14 week old female Siamese, and will have her first round of shots plus will be spayed. She is very loving and gentle, but still a bit skittish after spending her infancy as the kitten of a stray. If you or someone you know is interested in adopting, email ann@earthlygoods.com.

It's been shamefully long since I updated my blog, but business, volunteer work, home, family and pets leave few spare moments.

Steve and I don't get to take much time off this time of year. One of our favorite pastimes when we do have free time is a road trip to an area we aren't familiar with, taking whatever back roads strike our fancy. Last fall, Steve photographed this barn along an Indiana back road. It's a favorite photo of mine.

We had a new addition to the menagerie here, too. Little Tommy came to us in October. Here he is, and although he looks harmless, many Christmas ornaments met their demise in December.

Timmy Cat, 2003-2011

A cat is more intelligent than people believe, and can be taught any crime.
- Mark Twain

This morning, Halloween day 2011, our cat, Timmy, was put to sleep. Just saying that Timmy was our cat doesn’t begin to convey what Timmy truly was or what a big presence he had in our lives.

Timmy was one of those cats with personality. Not ‘purr-sonality’; cutesy terms didn’t fit Timmy at all. He was a 'people' cat, not a 'cat' cat. If there was a party or even a lone visitor to our home, Timmy was involved. He was a greeter and a facilitator at these events. He helped unwrap gifts. He settled into laps. He shared a place on the couch amongst everyone gathered.

Part of Timmy’s appeal was that he was a bounder at 20 lbs in his prime. He was a mere adolescent when he came to us. Rosie and I had seen him one day while on a walk about 6 blocks from our house. He started to follow us, and I thought, “Oh, please, no. The last thing we need is another cat.” He got distracted and stopped trailing us.

But then, a week or so later, I saw him across the street from our house, being stalked by a much larger, disreputable looking stray tomcat. They went into some hedges, and I knew the younger cat wouldn’t stand a chance against the old scrapper. So I did what any cat lover would do–I intervened. I gave my ‘kitty kitty kitty’ call, and Timmy came out to see me. The other cat fled. I carried Timmy across the street and into our lives.

He immediately set about creating havoc. He stuck his nose on the gas logs while they were still hot and burned it. He jumped on the pancake griddle while it was hot and scorched his paws. He ate things he shouldn’t and got sick. He terrorized my old lady cat, Chloe, by biting her in the butt whenever he had a chance. Even if the catnip container was hidden on the highest shelf is the most obscure area, he'd find it and chew it open. He carried off my earrings and they were never seen again. Had he not been such a likeable and self-assured cat, he’d have worn out his welcome.

As he settled and began to leave some of his kittenish ways behind, he got more involved in our household routines. When it was time for lunch, Timmy was there on the seat beside us at the bar in our kitchen. If it was time for TV watching, Timmy was on the couch beside us. Upon arising in the morning, Timmy stood ready to escort us to the bathroom.

He liked petting, but stroking Timmy was an invitation to be bitten. We called them ‘love bites’ but they weren’t gentle nibbles by any means. You knew he’d been petted enough when the ears flattened back and the eyes narrowed, but there wasn’t always a warning and sometimes Timmy just felt a good bite to the hand was in order.

He liked rough-and-tumble play. Our two female cats wanted nothing to do with that sort of thing. But Timmy made a friend, a neighbor’s cat who roamed, and they’d rip through our house and body-slam each other. Then, they’d fall asleep on the floor, head to head, with paws outstretched so they could touch. Sadly, his friend was hit by a car and killed. Timmy sat by the window many days, waiting for his buddy to arrive for a play session.

When my old girl-cat Chloe passed on, Timmy seemed a bit lost. They’d moved beyond the butt-biting stage and Timmy was gentle with her as she declined, laying beside her and grooming her when it became too much of an effort for Chloe to do herself. We brought home a kitten, a black and white male, so Timmy could have an energetic playmate once again.

Timmy wasn’t amused at first, but Jerrie the kitten didn’t get the not-so-furtive nuances. He came back for head thump after head thump from Timmy, until the elder realized the younger was here to stay. Timmy began to realize the possibilities and tutored Jerrie in mutual grooming, tussling and games of pounce and chase.

Then we noticed Timmy’s normally immaculate fur looked as if it hadn’t been groomed as often. His morning bathroom escort service turned into a plea for us to turn on the water in the tub for a drink. He was irritated when Jerrie wanted to play, and when Rosie weighed him, he’d lost 3 lbs in as many months. At 8 years old, the vet diagnosed kidney disease. Two weeks after that diagnosis, with a shockingly rapid decline that was so hard to witness, we laid him to rest beside old Chloe, under the cypress trees just outside the back door.

Requiescat in pace, sweet Timmy-cat.

Scenes from a Fall Vacation

Photos from our October 2011 trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park