Milah, bless her heart, reminded me that I never told y'all how the Old Homes Tour went. Well, it was a smashing success! We had 750 visitors to our little town on a gorgeous weekend back in September, which was half again as many as we expected to have. In this economy, it's nice to see that people still spend some of their money on day trips.
My bestie and I took the Tour ourselves on the first day, and despite a few inaccuracies trotted out by our bus guide (this PoliSci/History major was biting her tongue!) about the history of the town, we had a great time. Gorgeous houses. We decided our favorite was the McCausland House, where during the Civil War when Lexington was occupied by Union forces, Susan McCausland refused to take down the Confederate flag in her front yard, a stance that landed her husband promptly in jail. Today the house is owned by Kenny and Bette Maib. Mr. Maib is the City's codes enforcement officer, who kindly looked the other way when Mare and I first demolished and then rebuilt the front porch without any sort of a permit, and pulled me aside as I walked across his upstairs hallway (barefoot) to say "Your house looks great, hon!" and give me a peck on the cheek. Mrs. Maib, the day of the tour, held court at the head of her dining room table surrounded by her collection of cranberry glass, antique china, and Capodimonte vases.
On Sunday I was one of the guides at Carl's house, The Parsonage Bed & Breakfast, across the street from my own house. WTB showed up in Civil War regalia on his way to the Anderson House State Historic Site and entertained the first group of Carl's guests with a story of the history of Enfield rifles. After that, it was droves of people solidly until after 4 p.m., when the tour was over. Folks ask some odd questions. The most common ones: No one lives here, right? (Yes, Carl lives here.) Where's the washer and dryer? (I have no idea.) Does he cater in the breakfast for his guests? (Nope, he makes it himself.) And my personal favorite: Where does the homeowner sleep? (Um, I never asked him...)
The second-best part of the Homes Tour was sitting on Carl's front porch drinking wine and reviewing the day. And the best part? When one of the members of the Historic Preservation Commission told me that she's going to write an article about my house for the local paper because she considers it a "preservation success". I was so pleased and moved that I nearly cried. Carl and WTB seemed nearly as pleased about it as I am. I'll be sure to share it with y'all when she writes it.