Some things change, some things don't.

 

This is the house next door to ours. (Our house is on the right.) It, ours and the one to the left of this one were built in 1903 by the guy who owned the town lumber mill and all three have the best woods available for flooring and interior trim.

My step-daughter found this postcard online, showing how the houses looked shortly after they were built. The upstairs balcony on this house is no longer there.

I had no idea it was once a hotel. The three houses were built for the lumber mill owner's three sons.

Here's another view with our house in the foreground. The Interurban tracks ran just this side of our house.

And this is a view from a little farther south, showing the Interurban crossing and another house south of ours that has since been replaced by a modern ranch-style house.

Balcony improvements

This is my recently improved upstairs observation post.

Our 1903 vintage house is showing its age and slowly, but surely, we are making improvements. The wooden balcony railings were deteriorating and gap-toothed and the corner post was also in bad shape.

We had the corner post redone and replaced the railings with attractive gray vinyl clad railings that really dress up the space.

The floor is a composite material that was installed in 2002 and will last for decades.

Now we have a pleasant place to sip coffee and watch the world go by.

Hearing aids in my future?

We've had extended family here for a couple of  weekend events in the past month and I've had a hard time maintaining a good attitude.

The problem appears to be my hearing. I find it impossible to discern human speech when several people are talking and end up feeling ignored and isolated. And cranky and irritable.

Part of it stems from the fact that I was an only child and grew up in a home where one took turns talking - no talking over someone else. I always felt that was rude and inconsiderate.

Unfortunately, my wife's family does not observe the same conversational rules.

I've suffered for years in bars, restaurants and other noisy venues where I find it impossible to carry on a conversation.

The recent noisy visits got me thinking about a conversation I had with a couple of hearing-aid-wearing friends some years ago who told me their hearing aids cured that problem for them. They also said hearing aids helped their tinnitus - a condition I've had for as long as I can remember.

Maria and I visited a senior citizens expo last weekend for a story and photos of the event. In the process, we asked about hearing aid screening and were told that Costco has $6,000 hearing aids for about $1,400. My stepdaughter and her husband live in Evansville and are Costco members there. They have been urging us to join here, but the nearest Costco to us is about 40 south on the northside of Indianapolis.

We decided the potential savings on hearing aids justified the membership fee, so we drove down and signed up for an Executive Membership on Sunday.

I returned to the store yesterday and made an appointment for screening by an audiologist. They're booked for a couple of months, so I'm scheduled for Dec. 20.

I'm guardedly optimistic that they can help me.