to my favorite "houses"

You have to understand...I love our house!  It's a sickness, I know, but I have learned to live with it.  The house was built in 1922, so it has a little age!  It has an amazingly firm foundation, plaster and lath walls, and room to move around.  It's been painted, papered, unpapered, painted, plastered, and in several other ways had face-lifts over the years.  The bathroom (with the black throne seated on a raised platform) is different.  The back porch wasn't there when we bought the house  but when our parental units aged, we needed a bathroom on the main floor.  The lot is long and narrow, the garage is big enough for one car and a few assorted items, and the driveway is too Grand Coulee long!  It's furnished in what I call early eclectic!  If it's comfortable and we like it, it's there.  Basically, it has everything we need but not everything we want.  I would guess that is typical for any homeowner. 
As I was riding my bike (seemingly into the wind every direction I turned), I realized I choose friends like we chose our house.  Our friends have an amazingly firm foundation.  They understand and agree with our basic tenets of right and wrong.  They have a little age to them, and that experience blends us.  They've worn mini skirts, leisure suits, wing tips, Birkenstocks, and Nehru jackets.  No matter how adorned, their "walls" have been sturdy and lasting.  They've moved around a little--travel has broadened their perspective on life.  They all have their unique features that make me smile.  They've all adjusted for our age as necessary.  And they agree in the winter that ANY driveway is too GC long!  They too are eclectic.  Some are Republicans (see how broad minded I can be!).  Some are Democrats (see how broad minded I can be!).  They are different religions.  The are different nationalities.  But they are comfortable, and that is all that matters.
The purpose of any house is to provide shelter from the elements...to keep us warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and protected from unwanted predators (like flies and mosquitoes!)  It is the place we can always go and feel safe...wanted...accepted for who we are.  Just like you, my friends.  Thanks for allowing us in to your "housing development".  You are the architects of what lies ahead, and you are loved!