10 Awesome Neighborhoods To Call Home

10 Awesome Neighborhoods To Call Home
By Lauren McCutcheon & Christine Speer

The Village
Newtown Boro, Bucks County

This closely knit borough dating back to 1683 may no longer be surrounded by bucolic farmland (more like Toll Brothers developments), but feels more enchanting than ever thanks to design-minded residents who’ve struck a careful balance between historic and artistic.

Schools: Public: Council Rock. Private: Newtown Friends, the George School.
Commute to Philly: By car, 40 minutes via I-95; by SEPTA, 15-minute drive to Yardley train station, then one hour on the R3.

Things you get: History, sure, but also designer Katra Michener’s Love Illuminati boutique, Trove’s rehabbed vintage furnishings sales, Bucks County’s cutest hardware store. Heck, even State Street’s Gap and Starbucks don’t feel chain-y. Plus, great, great parties: “porch fest,” library fund-raisers, movie-in-the-park nights …

Things you don’t: A SEPTA station.

Betcha didn’t know: Newtown Theatre, which showed its first film in 1906, is the country’s oldest movie house.

Residents you ought to know: Radio Times host Marty Moss-Coane; photographers Emmet Gowin (a Princeton prof) and David Graham (a UArts prof).

The future: The old Acme on Sycamore Street is becoming “The Promenade,” a mixed-use development with Anthropologie as anchor.

Meet the neighbors: Kevin and Christine Edmonds moved their family of four here eight years ago. What they love: their house, which is old enough to have provenance and big enough for a disco party; October’s all-day Music in the Park festival; horseback riding at nearby Tyler State Park; and a parade for every holiday, in which “Kevin drives the mayor in his ’65 Lincoln Continental,” says Christine.

Wanna buy here? Realtor and historic home expert Mary Dinneen says to line up a mortgage lender and a home inspector who knows old houses, and be ready to jump. “Historic homes are typically one percent of all the properties for sale in Bucks County,” she says.

Just sold: A restored circa-1890 front-porched, black-shuttered brick Victorian on East Washington, with random-width pine floors, FIOS wiring and carriage house, for $440,000.

You might also like: Langhorne borough, for antique and pedigreed homes at lower prices — but less socializing.

To read the rest of “10 Awesome Neighborhoods to Call Home,” pick up a copy of the March issue of Philadelphia magazine, on newsstands now.

Never miss another great story from Philadelphia. Subscribe today and receive 79% off newsstand price.

Patching Things Up

I try hard to make my relationships work.  Sometimes, though, I have been  guilty of wasting precious emotional energy trying to salvage relationships that belong in the emotional dumpster.  If a relationship isn’t working, patching things up, sounds like a good idea – but extreme makeovers of the heart just don’t work as well as the “home edition”.  It is in my nature to do makeovers – not only with my houses, but also with people.  I mean really, who among us has not said to our significant others – honey, if you drank a little less, exercised a little more…or who has not looked at another person and thought – oh, she (he) has such a lovely face – imagine what she (he) would look like if she(he) lost a little weight……I have been on the giving and receiving end of THAT issue. 

Many of us are guilty of trying to fix people.  We are even subconsciously attracted  to people we can “fix”.  A friend of mine calls that the “broken wing theory”.  If it is not an external fix, then we are either trying to make them be happy, or not depressed, or whatever we think they need.  It is not our job and that should be left to therapists.  I am going to stick to houses.  The “fix” of the day is a wall.  At least with a wall, when the patching is done – the job is complete.  With relationships – where is Dear Abby when you need her?   I have learned that the only relationship that I can change is the one I have with myself!  Everyone else – get your own emotional contractor – I’m busy with my house! 

So I found this great patching material.  Sometimes a little spackle is just not enough.   This product is sold  at most big box hardware stores.  I found  it at Newtown Hardware House.  It comes in several different sizes and is very easy to use.  You simply take the screening out of the package and place the sticky side to the hole.  Then you glob on the spackle, let it dry, sand, and voila!!!!!! a beautiful patch job!  This was an easy fix because the hole was in a closet – and it was a good place to practice.   Part of me wanted to simply paint over the hole, put the pole back in the bracket, and hang clothes to hide the mess, BUT, what a great opportunity to try this neat product!

The painting of the master bedroom is almost complete.  All the walls are painted, the ceiling is done, and most of the woodwork has at least one coat.  It will take about three coats to finish the woodwork, because it had been painted a deep green.  The floors should really be sanded and sealed, but I am going to use a heavy duty cleaner and sealer to see if that does the trick.  New furniture for the room was delivered today – so the floors will have to wait for another day.  It is starting to look like the peaceful retreat that I have envisioned.  It is so exciting when the rooms start to come together.  I figure another two weeks and this room will be done and I will start on the dining room.  Oh the plans I have!!

Consumed

19 South Chancellor Street

I woke up this morning at 2:30.  My heart was racing, my brain was spinning and I thought to myself – this is crazy!  To do lists were flashing in my head and I could feel my anxiety level ratchet  up.  No way was I going to get up – so I tried deep breathing – 10 counts in, hold for 5, blow 10 breaths out……and I guess it worked, because when I looked at the clock again it was 6:30. 

I never thought a house could do this to me – an affair de coeur, most certainly, but an affair de la maison (francophiles, please excuse any grammatical blunders!) – never!  Perhaps it is the mass and scope of work that I feel I need to do that has consumed my thoughts.  I can envision  the completed product, but ticking off the items on the to-do list – and the ever-increasing length of that list, sometimes overwhelms me.  I have to remind myself not to get mired in the minutia – just one step at a time, one room at a time.   Sometimes it is so hard for me to maintain that focus – and since this is  a pretty lengthy renovation – I need to work on ways to relieve some of the anxiety and still keep pace with a self-imposed schedule.  For me, the best way to keep my stress at a manageable level is to go to the gym.  So after several hours of work at the office and an appointment with a client, I grabbed my work-out clothes and headed on over.  My routine is to start on the treadmill and run 2 or 3 miles, then about 30 minutes for weights.  Well, I must be stressed, because when I looked down I had already run 3.5 miles.  A quick round of the weights and I was off to the house.  It is pretty amazing that exercise can calm me down, help me focus – has something to do with serotonin levels.  Whatever it is – it works. 

Today I finished painting three of the four walls in the master bedroom.  The fourth wall, which is covered with built-in shelves, will take a few days.  I removed some of the shelves and will bring them home to work on at night.  I figure I can do four shelves a night – an easy task.  Each morning I will bring the finished shelves back to the project house, and repeat at night until all the shelves are done.  Not really sure if I like the drawers at the base of the bookshelves.  I think I might remove them and put in doors, plus the glide mechanisms on most of the drawers don’t work.  That is a project for a few weeks from now. 

While I was painting the walls I noticed more things that needed  attention.  All of the outlets had been painted - not just the outlet covers (which I have removed) – but the outlets themselves.  That is an unsafe condition according to most home inspectors – and is a cheap and relatively easy fix.  I figure that is something I can do – just turn off the circuit breaker and install – hope they sell those things by the case.  Another mini-project that caught my eye was the closet.  It is a  later  addition – appears to have been a 70s thing – and I tell you it makes me crazy.  Instead of trying to reproduce  the molding that used  throughout the rest of the room the contractor used that dreaded colonial stock molding!!!  Have they no sense of history?  Not to mention a total disregard for a sense of design continuity.  People, what were you thinking?  To me, it is like nails on the proverbial blackboard.  Then, to make matters worse, they tack on a sorry excuse for crown molding – and there is no crown molding elsewhere in the room.  I have to think about this – perhaps I will go to an architectural salvage store and see if I can find some doors that I can retrofit so that the closet would have more of a built-in appearance – as if it were original to the house.  I have seen them in older homes in Philadelphia – usually oak, more often than not, they were painted.  Another item for the to-do list…..  Also I notice that this closet has base molding that doesn’t match the rest of the room.  Notice in the background that the molding is the 6″ base molding – and then in the foreground, the molding is the ubiquitous colonial molding.  Just hurts my eyes.  Another item on the list. 

I admit, I am consumed – but I am loving every minute.  This past Friday I had my first house party – I wanted everyone to see the “before”.  There must have been 50-60 friends, colleagues and clients who stopped by for a look – and it was so much fun.  No furniture, stereo blasting, lots of drinks and muchies, and I was amazed at the turnout, and touched by all the kind words of support!  So here’s the deal, folks.  If you want to stop by and lend a hand – let me know.  I will cook you a killer meal – pick French (a la Julia Child), Italian, or comfort food (I make a mean chicken pot pie).  We can paint a wall or two, reglaze a window, take down a wall – then pop a bottle of wine, sit down for a meal, and do what I enjoy best – hang with the people I love!  My door is always open. 

I’m In Over My Head

Have you ever fallen in love so quickly -  so completely, that you couldn’t even breathe?  Did you ever shake your head in disbelief and think – how did all this happen so fast? – and am I doing the right thing, or am I being a silly fool?  And you ask yourself the question – can I commit?  Should I commit?  Well, I guess we have two choices:  deny those feelings and walk away (if you don’t open your heart you can never get hurt), and that might be the easy thing to do.  Or we can decide to take a chance, take a risk and jump in.  What’s the worst that can happen?  You get hurt, your heart breaks a little – but the best is that you might fall deeply and completely in love.  And that, I think, is always worth the risk. 

Yesterday I walked in the front door of my newest project house and thought – oh my – I am afraid of what I am about to undertake.  This house, that first caused my heart to do flips, is now giving me second thoughts.  Do I stay – do I bolt?  What if I have taken on too much?  What if I can’t do this?  Sometimes I think I am in over my head and that, once again, I have rushed into something without considering the consequences.  What is the worst that can happen?  I push the negative thoughts aside and think of only positive outcomes.  Deep breaths…I can do this – and this is what I do well – but my ADHD brain wants to do everything at once – and I have to battle with those demons to stay focused.  One room at a time, blondie.  This is what I always wanted to do.  I have to say to myself:  “Calm down!”  I talk to myself all the time – and answer, too. 

Enough talk.  Time to start work.  The house hasn’t been painted in 30 years, and the aroma of a past resident cat (or two) lingers throughout the first and second floors.  The kitchen and baths need remodeling, the yard has been neglected, the interior gutter system is in need of repairs, and the list goes on…But beyond that there is a majestic home with high ceilings and massive wood trim.  I can imagine the house finished – color schemes are already worked out, and the work that I plan to do will hopefully pay homage to past owners.  I still feel butterflies about the undertaking, but I know that in time, this home, this labor of love, will certainly be something special.

I have decided to start with the master bedroom.  The first order of business was to put on some music.  The stereo system was the first thing I hauled to the new house.  Next, I spread out the drop cloth and set up the ladder and got ready to spackle.  The plaster seems to be in pretty good condition, with nothing more than some hairline cracks and a couple of settlement cracks near corners and windows.  Nothing I can’t handle.  I hate prep work – my first impulse is to paint right over those cracks – cram them with so much paint that they will eventually fill in – but I try to be methodical, and correct, in my approach.  I set up my worklights and look for outlets.  None of the outlets in the bedroom are working!  I try the wall switches thinking they control the outlets – nope.  I try some hall outlets – no again.  Then I stomp down to the basement to check for tripped switches – nadda.  I return to the bedroom and finally try a switch in the dressing room.  I can feel the frustration bubbling up inside me and have to breathe and “let it go”.  Let there be light – and there was light!!!  Mental note to further research the cause of the failed outlets.

I climb the ladder and do some spackle work and finally start in with edging the ceiling.  I have chosen a soft cream color – specifically “linen white” – and start cutting in.  Tomorrow I should be able to roll most of the ceiling, and then start on the cut in work for the walls.  The paint for the walls is a pale blue-green, reminiscent of sea glass, or the color you find on nautical charts.   It is also the same color of a room in Laurel Hill, a historic home in Fairmount Park.  The specific room, named the octagonal room – for obvious reasons – was built in 1837, and reflects the muted colors popular at the time. I have selected the color because it is the same color in a nautical map of one of my favorite places – Block Island.  This antique map will be the focal point of the room.

I need to get into a rhythm.  I don’t want to work so quickly that I get frustrated – my warp speed brain wants to finish the entire house – by yesterday.  The practical, logical part of me, says – three years.  Somewhere there is a happy compromise.  Again self-doubt creeps in and I have to have a chat with myself.  I have done this so many times before and always with successful outcomes.  Perhaps I doubt myself because that is what drives me to aim for perfection – I am OK with that.  I want to get two rooms done in the next few weeks.  The dining room will be  my next undertaking, but for now – the saga of the master bedroom continues. 

One step at a time.  One room at a time.  I’m in over my head and that is OK.

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

I was restless.  I was searching for something – but I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for.  I had tried and discarded several careers – commodity broker, officer with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange – but I longed for a more creative direction for my career path.  Real estate seemed to be a blend of both my business background and my creative side.  My kids were growing up, my marriage was dissolving and I was at a crossroads.  Although I loved the real estate business, I recognized the fact that I would need to find a way to differentiate myself from the rest of the industry.  The Historic Preservation Certificate Program at the community college seemed to be a great way to set myself apart.  Not only did it appeal to my creative side, and my love of old homes, but it also provided a solid background in historic properties, construction methods, and understanding of the need for preservation at the local level. 

My first course was Introduction to Archeology.  The class involved a dig in Upper Bucks County.  It was interesting, painstaking work and gave me a deeper appreciation of historic preservation and material culture.  Not only did we search for artifacts, but we also learned how to document findings, prepare a grid for digging, and catalog those items that we uncovered.  That class was soon followed by a course in Law, Taxes and Zoning for Historic Properties – the hardest academic course I ever took, including graduate level courses – as well as courses in Methodology and Documentation, and several hands-on restoration workshop courses. 

At the same time, I had moved to a property on 3 acres.  This home was a mid-century colonial in need of restoration.  I had designed 2 additions for the property, selected an architect and a builder, and was about to begin work when I found myself single and unable to afford the cost of the additions on my own.  So I set about remodeling the kitchen and landscaping the property and decided not to go forward with the additions.  Since money was tight – I did most of the work myself.  I tried creative painting – learned that you can paint vinyl flooring, that you can faux paint flat doors to look like grained wood, and I learned NEVER to power wash your house while standing on a ladder unless you like falling backwards.  Been there, did that. 

It was time to move back to Newtown and so I put the house on the market – it sold right away.  I found a rental and stayed there for a few months while I looked for a new property.  In November of 1999 a stone twin came on the market in Newtown.  It was a dark little house circa 1860, with 4 small rooms on the first floor - but it winked at me.  So I had to buy it.  Soon those 4 rooms were turned into 2 large rooms, new hardwood floors were installed and the walls were painted a warm buttery yellow.  It was my first house all on my own and I was so proud of my work.  A trip to Italy inspired me to paint a scene of the Tuscan countryside on the stairway to the second floor.  It took less than a year to finish that house and less than one day to sell it. 

And what did I buy?  A lovely frame Victorian about 2 blocks away.  My career had taken off and business was good.  This place was more expensive than I had planned – but it had great bones and a lovely yard.  My first task was to have the floors refinished – they were red oak with walnut banding.  Simply stunning.  The kitchen was mauve laminate cabinets, mauve laminate counters and mauve ceramic tile.  I hate mauve.  Soon I was chipping away at the tiles and trying to come up with a design that was more in keeping with the style of the house.  Little by little I took down the cabinets, all the while refining my design for a future kitchen.  The house needed white wood cabinets – if you listen these houses will speak to you.  I found a young contractor willing to work with me and he installed the cabinets and lighting.  A soft, pale green granite was used for the counters and the walls were painted to complement the granite. 

The rest of the house took a couple of years to finish – the carriage house was restored and period appropriate garage doors were added.  The exterior was painted – 5 colors were used – a real “painted lady” and the rear yard was completely replanted with perennials.  The house was selected for the Christmas Open House Tour one year – and I was so honored. 

Five years in that house and I started looking again.   This time I moved to a ranch in Washington Crossing.  That was August of 2007.  I bought at the top of the market and started a complete renovation.  Kitchen was not only remodeled, but ceiling was vaulted, skylights installed, windows added.  Both bathrooms were remodeled, every room painted, floors refinished, yard landscaped and fenced, basement finished, and new windows and doors installed.   It is a beautiful house, but still something was missing.  It was quiet and kind of lonely.  I realized that I still loved those old houses, and more importantly I missed the activity of being “in town”.  I had strayed.  I had thought that the grass was greener on the other side of the ranch.  But I was wrong.  My heart was always with the old houses.  So I am coming back. 

I am having an affair with an old house and tomorrow is the start of my love affair.  November 1, 2009, the house of my heart is mine.  I promise to love and keep it safe.  I promise to restore and repair and respect the history of this lovely place.  Join me and we can fall in love together.  There will be great times and there will be frustrating times, but I promise you, it will be worth the journey.

The Learning Curve

I had wandering eyes.  I was – and still am – looking for the next project, next house, next adventure.   The work on our first house was finally finished and could I sit back and relax – enjoy the fruits of my labor….what are you kidding!  No,  I was out looking for my next conquest.  I didn’t care if it was old, lacking a working heating system, missing a few shingles… the hunt was on.  So what caught my eye?  New constuction! 

OK, OK, so here I am – this old house lover – and I go and purchase a new house.  That is just wrong, you say.  But – with every house I learned something new.  You know how they talk about the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence?  Well, I thought that a new house might be easy and certainly a change from a hundred year old house.  I was wrong – at least about the easy part.  You see, the problem is, I just love houses.  Any kind of house – and every house – old or new, updated or not – has a story to tell and a lesson to teach. Mind you, a new house just doesn’t have a lot of stories, but I just had to try it.  And let me tell you, I learned a lot. 

I learned that I loved the quirkiness of old houses.  I loved  the cool, smooth, feel of plastered walls.  Sheetrock just doesn’t have that feel and forget about all those nail pops!  I spackled dozens of those nasty pops and even tried sheetrock screws to remedy the problem.  I learned that just because a house was newly constructed, did not mean that it didn’t have its own set of issues. I learned that I loved the nooks and crannies in old houses. New construction is often so geometric – rectangle after rectangle arranged so neatly – so predictable and to my eyes, lacking in the architectural detailing that I had previously taken for granted. Stock “colonial” molding is the norm for new houses. That is the 2 1/2″ trim around all the windows and doors in development housing. I had assumed that the generous molding in my Victorian was the norm. Generally 4+ inches, that substantial molding gave grace and importance to the opening – like jewelry on the wall of the house. Nowhere is that detailing to be found in most new construction. The window and door openings floated unanchored on chalky, white walls. And then, there were the baseboards – thin strips of wood, barely peeking out of the builder’s grade carpet – absent was the substantial 6″ baseboard that graced my old house. The rooms looked naked in their whiteness and out of proportion with their thin, weak strips of molding. I decided to take what I had learned in my carpentry class, combined with my appreciation of the older aesthetic, and turned that 1986 colonial into something that would give homage to a time when finish carpentry was an art.
I installed crown molding in the formal living areas and also designed and put up a chair rail for the formal dining room. I framed out the room openings with molding and wood trim – new construction is notorious for not trimming out these transition areas.

I learned that I missed trees! New homes stand like lonely sentinels on their muddy territories. No grass, no bushes, no trees!!! Where does one sip lemonade – or other frosty libations – on a hot summer day?? What shady tree will offer comfort on a mid-August afternoon – that is a story to tell in twenty years!
After landscaping the yard, designing the patio and deck – I started to get the “itch”. Once again I started to look around for another house. I had come to the conclusion that I needed “project” houses – so off I went in search of something to fix up. Several months later a vacant home called to me. It sat on a little hill in a rural road in Wrightstown, Pa, and was surrounded by waist high weeds, and it was a foreclosure! A challenge for sure – the previous owner had cut down all the trees and bushes, and had allowed animals to use the second floor carpets for their “business”. But the interior woodwork was sumptuous, the house was large – plenty of room for a family of five – plus various dogs, cats, pet rats, mice, snakes, lizards and a neighbor’s pony who liked to graze in our yard.
It was a lovely home – great party house – the large pool in the back was the center of our entertaining efforts. We redesigned the kitchen, but this time were were able to have contractors do the installation. It was the first time I was introduced to granite – and I was in love again. It doesn’t take much to win me over! I spent a lot of time designing and planting gardens – loved the colors and smells…..
In the meantime I decided to take a course at Bucks County Community College in Architectural Stained Glass Windows. The master bath had a 4′ x 4′ window next to the whirlpool tub. Not wanting to install curtains, I designed and executed a window with opaque glass – wisteria vines on a mottled pink background – turned out great and is still at the property.
But the most important thing that happened at that house was an introduction. While I was taking my stained glass window course I heard about another program at the college. A new course of study in Historic Preservation. The program was run by a charismatic, Pied Piper of a professor named Lyle Rosenberger. He had single handedly turned a small, obscure program, into a nationally recognized Historic Preservation Certificate Program in a matter of a few years. The year was 1998 – and I was about to embark on one of the best learning experiences of my life – and I was lucky enough to be taught by the master. This house was finished – another house was in my sights – and I was about to enroll in a program that would be the beginning of the most rewarding educational adventure in my life.

In The Beginning

I don’t know when it all started.  I just always loved old houses.  In 1967,  my family moved from a 2 bedroom apartment in the New York suburbs to a pre-war brick colonial in Westchester County, NY.  While my sister was busy hanging Rolling Stones posters in her room – I was picking out dresser scarves for my bedroom furniture.  She selected 1960s style maple furniture for her room – remember, they all had that laminate top – eeew – and I got my grandmother’s bedroom set.  She was rock and roll and I was glee club.  I’m sure you get the picture…

The first house I ever owned was a cute Victorian – of course in need of a makeover! –  in quaint Newtown Borough.  Newtown – if you don’t know, is a lovely historic town in Bucks County, PA.  The town  has always reminded me of a sweeter, gentler time in our past.  It is a  place where people hang out on their front porches and where you can walk to the movie theatre, talk to the postman, visit the hardware store – and everybody knows your name, your kids’ names, your dog’s name… It is comforting stuff – and to me,  that sense of place, of belonging to a community – well it is just priceless. 

In 1980, that house became my laboratory.  I bought “how-to” books galore.  There was a woman carpenter in town, who also worked at Newtown Hardware House.  She gave classes in carpentry – for women only – in her basement.  The class learned how to use power tools – hey, a food processor is a power tool – sharp blades, noisy – so why be afraid of a circular saw???  We all had projects to make – I made a blanket chest with ogee feet.  I was so proud of myself. 

The first project was refinishing the floors.  They had been painted brown – and we discovered that they were a lovely pumpkin pine.  We moved on to finishing the third floor – which involved running electric lines, plasterwork, and reopening the stairwell to the third floor.  Once that was done  – we  had a stunning open stairway for 3 floors – and I realized that I was hooked on this makeover stuff!

Our next project was the kitchen – and since we were still new to the remodeling process – there were lots of mistakes along the way.  We didn’t plan for such an extended renovation time, and with a new baby, full time jobs, a limited budget and two clueless adults – well it was simply miraculous that we were able to complete the job.    For over two months we had no running water in the kitchen.  At the time, my husband worked as a medical products salesman.  His product was sterile IV bags of water.  We had bags of water tacked all over the kitchen walls – the baby’s bottle needed to be heated up – and the only bath was on the second floor.  The kitchen ended up looking like an ICU ward.  Funny now, but it was pretty awful then.  But still – I loved the process.  I would like awake at night designing the kitchen, thinking of color schemes, planning the next project.  I was hooked.

The last major project we undertook in that house was removal of the asbestos siding.  We had put the house on the market – I think it was 1986.  We had painted the house, but still – according to the realtor – the house did not have curb appeal.  The asbestos siding was hiding the true beauty of the house and the width  and length of the asbestos shingles did not complement the mass of the house.  I knew there was clapboard siding under the asbestos – so in a moment of  insanity – I called the realtor, took the house off the market, and grabbed a crowbar.  By the time my husband came home, the yard was covered with asbestos shingles.  I had used that crowbar to remove about the first 5 feet of siding – and the clapboard was peeking out from underneath – calling to me!!  Needless to say – the husband is now the ex – but we finished the entire house that summer.  The transformation was incredible.  I used the knowledge gained from the carpentry class to make corbels and brackets for the front porch,  an adorable paint scheme set off the architectural details of the house – and a domestic goddess had been born.  We put the house back on the market – at a higher price – and Voila! – it sold!

Love

I think I am falling in love – AGAIN!  I know, I know – tell me I’m charming, nuzzle my neck, bring me French wine – and I just melt.  Call me naive, call me crazy – but it is just the way I am wired.  But wait – the object of my affection is not a guy – that is a story for another blog! – this time my heart belongs to a house.  A very old,  and well loved house. 

This is the story of a love affair with a house. 

I have just been introduced to this stately Victorian.  It needs love and attention – and I am ready to be the partner in this affair.  With eyes wide open, a heart bursting with excitement, and a bankbook that will undoubtedly be depleted in short order – I am saying “I do”.  I hope you will join me in this adventure.