The Mount

SO, we drove about 230 miles each way on Sunday to Masachusetts to see Edith Wharton's House, called The Mount. We did so because it may be closing forever this fall, or maybe not.
Edith Wharton was born Edith Jones, and it was a very wealthy family about which 'keeping up with the Joneses' was coined. She became arguably America's most famous female writer with 'House of Mirth', written in this house, plus 'Ethan Frome', and 'The Age of Innocence' etc.
The reason we visited the house is that it is this:
She built the house with her husband in 1902, and he began using her money on mistresses. After 2 years she left the house and husband for Europe and never lived in America again, the house eventually became a girls school etc, and fell into terrible condition. This foundation has spent about 15 million restoring the place, but they need maybe 25-30 million more (!!!!!) and the bank was to foreclose last Friday October 31, but they have been given a month's extension. So, will they raise the 3 million they need this fall or not? Not an easy time to do business with banks, Fall of 2008!
Anyway, the house is the only place in the world dedicated to this writer, and it is an extraordinary place, if only a summer cottage (!!!). Western Massachusetts is so pretty, this house is on a lake with huge gardens and woods, a real treat to visit.
We saw snow all over New York state, including some still at my parents, but the weather was good and it was a long and fun day even if we didn't have time for Woodstock also.