Patty, that's nice to know about the Laurel connection! I never paid much attention to the earlier Fixer Upper series done by couple Joanna and Chip Gaines out of Waco, Texas, but it seems to be along the same lines. I never thought of Waco as charming when I lived nearby in Temple, but it is a tourist destination now. And agreed, I love it when Ben and his friends head into an old family barn and come back with some beautiful piece of wood with local history to turn into furniture or other features in the houses they work on. (I've also watched a dozen episodes or so of a Mother and Daughter team out of the Indianapolis area do these kinds of things, but they are house flippers and sometimes their schtick is more like an architectural high-wire act. At times it mades me wince to watch them and their crew.)

When I moved in here I found various things around that had been left behind in the attic or laundry room or forgotten in a cupboard that were incorporated into projects because it felt like a nice homage to past tenants of the house. The original couple lived here for several years but rented it out for many more years. At this point, I've lived in it longest of anyone and have made changes, though it is still a work in progress.