The Old Woman

 It is no secret that Tim and I are incorporating a lot of used things into our 'new' build. We have always done so. The things that people put up for sale for virtually nothing will never fail to astound us. 

The hickory kitchen cupboards were from a friend's house. Two trees fell on his house during a tornado. He decided that while he was doing the extensive repairs, he would also replace his kitchen, the lay out of which he had never been happy with. We got them all for $500. 

We have decorative 'parlor' stove with nickel trim and glass fronted. That was gotten on the curb.  A man had bought it for his garage but never got around to installing it. Years later, he had sold his house, and needed it gone. Being tenderhearted souls, we helped him out in that regard, and got a brand new never used wood stove. 

We got a cast iron Kohler bathtub that retails for $1300 for $100. A man was building a low profile shower for his elderly mother. He wanted the heavy tub gone. We drove to New York state for that and wrestled it on the truck. It will be lifted into the house with the tractor and set in place. The walls will be built around it. 

The pedestal sink is a beauty, very elegant looking. I don't even LIKE pedestal sinks but it was in someone's yard with a free sign. 

The toilet is very cool as well, from the mid-40s. Tim had pulled it from one of the renovations and was going to take it to the transfer station on a load of junk. I asked him not to, because I loved the shape of it. It's been packed away in the old house we use for storage on the property where the new house is being built. It will be very interesting to see it again, because I have forgotten what it was that made it catch my eye. 

So that is how we roll. We have saved a lot of money over the years. 

One thing we do not skimp on is weatherproofing and insulating and so to that end, we went up to Eastern States to buy another four rolls of zip tape for sealing off any cracks and gaps between the sheeting boards. 

Across the road from the huge sprawling expanse that the business sits on was a house with a front door leaning against the garage. It caught my eye immediately, being quite unique. It was plain but elegant. It had a for sale sign on it. While Tim went in to make his purchase, I ducked across the road to look at that door. It had all the hardware, and it was NOT a cheap door. I studied it. There was no price, so I walked up to the door of the garage.

The elderly woman who came to the door was very chatty. She was harvesting sunflower seeds from the garden. The birds had been helping. She told me the door was $100. I told her that I'd have to talk to my husband and asked if I could take her phone number. We were driving the car so if we wanted that door, we'd have to come back with the truck. 

She said yes and held the door for me to come inside. When I hesitated, she said, "Please come in. It feels good to have someone in the house. My husband died of cancer a few months ago..." and my heart just seized a little my chest.

She led the way through her tidy home, to her neat as a pin kitchen with the perfect shiny floors, talking "....the house just seems so empty and quiet and I'm having an awful time getting used to that..." 

She rummaged around in a drawer and pulled out a pen and paper. "He fought for four years. It was so hard, but he didn't make it. I just never thought..."  

I listened to her with a horrible feeling. Was I seeing my own future self? I spontaneously blurted out, "My husband was diagnosed with cancer a couple weeks ago." She looked at me, and said, "I'm sorry to hear that." 

"We're pretty hopeful at this point." 

"So were we." 

She gave me the paper, and I thanked her, She walked out to the driveway with me. Tim had pulled up in the car. "That IS a nice door," he agreed, looking at it. 

"The hardware alone is worth $100," she said. 

Tim agreed. 

I told her that I would call her no matter what we decided, and as we got into the car, she said, "I'll give you that door for $75. Good luck to you."