First house

We bought our first house in the late summer of 1979 for $41,500.

127 Wilson Circle in Norvalia was just north of Norge Elementary School, where Don ended up teaching and both girls attended K-5.

This picture was taken right after we moved in when Art came to see Amelia, who was at UVA (or perhaps he was dropping her off ... I can't recall). It was his second and last visit to Virginia, the first having been Parents Weekend at William and Mary in 1974 when Don and I met on a blind date.

Don (no beard yet), Liz, Amelia, Art

We didn't have a couch ... the crate furniture ordered from a local dentist (who had a side business) took four months to arrive. Our dining room furniture was handed down by Barb and Ray. And I'm pretty sure there was a mattress on the floor in one of the bedrooms for at least a couple of years.

Fortunately, the Kenmore refrigerator bought on credit for $400 arrived promptly. As did the portable dishwasher that was a housewarming gift from my mom and dad. A Kenmore sewing machine was another major investment ... and is still going strong 40 years later, most likely because it doesn't get used very much.

The lawn mower we bought is long gone, but the memory of laughing hysterically whilst reading the instruction manual on the way home from the store remains: "Do not place hands under mower when motor is running." Right.

There aren't many pictures of the house interior, but it was a fixer upper for sure. Over the years we tore out carpets under which we found hardwood floors, painted and wallpapered walls, and gutted out the Virginia summer heat with a couple of window air conditioners. And I do wish I had a picture of our first Halloween watermelon jack-o-lantern, cobbled together as dusk fell and we realized we didn't have a pumpkin.

M and M were born while we lived at Wilson Circle, but those are stories for another day.

Liz 7/12/2018

First home, first television, first car

After we got married, we lived on the first floor of a rental at 110A Harrison Avenue ...

Our upstairs neighbor was Robert DeNiro's cousin and, more important, a long distance runner. When it was raining, she put in her miles by jumping rope. A lot.

The interior of our $150 a month pad was already furnished, but we added our own touches with wedding gifts and garage sale finds like this classy lamp  ...

I'm pretty sure that's a Scotch and soda that Don's got in hand

We didn't have cable in those days, so TVs came with built-in rabbit ears ...

And when the transmission blew on our used blue wagon, we took the plunge and bought the first of many new cars, a green Chevy Monza that didn't last long at all ...

Note the open window ... no AC

7/12/2018

With this ring I thee wed

We were married December 30, 1977 and though there is no wedding album to show for it, there remains a rather large stack of loose photographs that continue to await some attention.This is one of my favorites ...

Liz and Don

Liz 7/12/2018

Wedding Rehearsal

Liz and Don

The rehearsal was on a Thursday night, because we got married on a Friday. Weird, I know, but we were pretty sure getting married on New Year's Eve wasn't a good idea. The dinner afterward, hosted by Don's folks, was held at Larraine Murphy's in Manhasset. I have no idea what I had, but I do recall that LM's had the best popovers I've ever eaten in a restaurant.

Hopefully more pictures from that night will get added later ...

7/13/2018

More on the Ludwell apartments

Liz and Don

We were headed to a dance, where I don't recall. I'm wearing a cotton India print dress that I have to this day. Don is wearing the wide-wale corduroy jacket that he wore on our first date (a dance at Theta Delta Chi).

The lovely couch was part of the apartment furnishing provided by W&M, as Ludwell was actually a college housing unit. The classy India print hanging was Linda's ... wonder if she still has it somewhere.

First apartment

My sophomore year at W&M I moved into the first of three Ludwell apartments. Linda and Jane were my roommates, and Don was a frequent guest ...

The Ludwell apartments were built in the 1940s and had no air conditioning. But they were furnished and there was a very small kitchen. Much better than dorm rooms and because of the bus service, much better than living off campus.

There was a laundry room across the way ... a kitchen mouse we named Hiram (don't ask me why) ... good friends who lived across the hall ... a single phone on the landing of the second floor right outside our door that served the six apartments in the unit ... and some guys downstairs who liked to play Turn the beat around loudly and often, which we tried to discourage by banging on the floor with my geology hammer.

The third year I only made it through one semester at Ludwell as Don and I got married during the Christmas break and moved into our first home.

Liz 7/12/2018

How sweet it is to be loved by you

How sweet it is to be loved by you was recorded by James Taylor in 1975, which is about the time this picture was taken, standing in the doorway of my dorm room on Dupont Third West at William and Mary ...

Don and Liz

I'm wearing the necklace that Logan now has. And I'm pretty sure we were headed to a sorority dance (as guests) based on this picture ...

which seems to have been crashed by Art Garfunkel and David Lee Roth.

Liz July 2, 2018