I am fortunate enough to have these lovely friends, Connie and Brian. We had a sort of estrangement (due to a misunderstanding, what else is new) but they finally realized the motives of the miscreant that had wedged herself between them and myself....
....and last weekend, they kidnapped me and we made up...so
I got some friends back! YAY!! 
Furthermore, they actually gave me a key to their house. "Stay anytime you like", they told me. These are
truly sweet people! 
Connie and Brian went on a little mini-vacation this weekend, and entrusted their
house to my care, if you can imagine!
Here's the e-mail Connie sent a little while ago:
Hi Todd, Thanks for coming out to play on Saturday and Sunday. It was fun! I hope you will take us up on our offer to stay at our house this weekend. Help yourself to anything you like. The "adult beverages" are in the cupboard above the refigerator. If you do laundry the laundry soap is on the shelf above the washing machine. I forgot to stop the papers so if you could, bring them in. I hope you have a great weekend! We will be back on Tuesday afternoon. Talk to you later.
Thanks again,
Connie
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Isn't that sweet? Here's the reply I sent back:
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Heya, Connie and Brian!
I'll come out and play w/you guys anytime! I almost forgot how much I like you two! =)
And thank you for the invitation to hang my hat for the weekend within your beautiful home!
Sadly, there was a bit of difficulty, as last night I was over at your delightful abode; and feeling a bit of a chill, and not knowing how to operate the fireplace properly, I sort of "improvised" and made a small "fire-ring" in the sun-room adjoining the living room.
WELL! From the reaction I got from the Fire Dept., you'd think I was a CARELESS sort of person! Nothing could be further from the truth, ya know? Careful consideration is my middle name!
Ha-RUMPH!
So anyway, yeah, the whole place burned down; BUT I'm sure you are
heavily insured, so it shouldn't be a problem...a mere "bump in the road", as I am wont to say.
The TRULY unfortunate part for me is the loss of that lovely SHOWER, as I do believe that "cleanliness is next to Godliness"....and me just COVERED in ashes and black soot, as you can imagine! So naturally, I hooked-up what's left of the water lines to what's left of the bathtub today and attempted to have a leisurely shower
"al fresco"... but wouldn't you know, the police arrested me for
public nudity!
Honestly, the folks in this town are just plain uptight! I found your neighbors to be wanting in the "graciousness department", to put it lightly! It seems they were a mite perturbed at the fire and the resulting water damage to their homes ( which, I hasten to point out, was the fault of the Fire Dept., not your faithful friend [me] ) and I swear, it's a SHAME at how many of them have lawyers and so forth to make such a bother with!
Thus, I felt it prudent to take an impromptu "vacation", and with fair winds, I should be on time for brunch in Nebraska tomorrow. Wish me luck!
I hope all is well with you, and that you are enjoying your trip. Take lots of pictures, and we'll catch up later!
With fondest regards, Todd =)
P.S. You KNOW I'm kidding you...the Police didn't arrest me! Haha, a little "humorous aside", ya know?
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I am confident they have enough of a sense of humor to have a laugh at that....
...hope so, anyway! 