Our House

Is A Very, Very Very Fine House: Surely you, Abq Jew's loyal readers, will remember November 2023, when (see At the End of the Rainbow) Mr & Mrs Abq Jew were "thrilled, thrilled" to announce the marriage of their wonderful daughter Alex to the equally wonderful Jake.

Well, here is another significant milestone for Mr & Mrs Abq Jew to announce: The aforementioned Alex and Jake (with their cats Simantov and Mazeltov) have, Ken O'Hara, taken possession of (that is, purchased and moved into) their new home.

To celebrate this happy event, here is a song that Abq Jew wishes he could claim that he wrote just for them. But he didn't. Graham Nash, as it turns out, did. And he wrote it for Joni Mitchell, after they returned from food shopping one day at the farmer's market. Crosby Stills Nash & Young first recorded it for their 1970 album Deja Vu.

I'll light the fire

You place the flowers in the vase

That you bought today

Staring at the fire

For hours and hours while I listen to you

Play your love songs all night long for me

Only for me

Come to me now

And rest your head for just five minutes

Everything is done

Such a cozy room

The windows are illuminated

By the evening sunshine through them

Fiery gems for you, only for you

Our house is a very, very, very fine house

With two cats in the yard

Life used to be so hard

Now everything is easy 'cause of you

I'll light the fire

While you place the flowers in the vase

That you bought today

It should be noted (and therefore Abq Jew will so note) that "Our House" was not Graham Nash's house. It was, per JoniMitchell.com, Joni Mitchell's house.

Joni bought the little house at 8217 Lookout Mountain in the Spring of 1968 with the royalties from her first album, SONG TO A SEAGULL. She met Graham Nash, who was visiting from the UK with his band, The Hollies, shortly after she purchased it, and by July they were living there together. 

Joni's house soon became THE place where Laurel Canyon-dwelling musicians hung out (when David Crosby and Stephen Stills dropped by one night, Crosby, Stills and Nash was born.)

As you will of course recall (see December 2021's Joseph Dreams ... Of Real Estate if you do not), Abq Jew, a true son of California, is fascinated by the Golden State's real estate market.

So Abq Jew looked up the 8217 Lookout Mountain address on Zillow.com. And learned that this 1,830 square foot single family home, built in 1910, currently has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

This property is not currently for sale or for rent on Zillow. However - today's Zestimate for this off-market house is

$1,743,600

The house's value has likely appreciated somewhat since it was built, and perhaps even since Joni Mitchell bought it.

We have wandered off the edge of the map. What do we care about house prices in California? Abq Jew forgot to mention - the new home is in

Rhode Island. The Ocean State.

That's important, for two reasons. First of all - that's where a lot of Jake's family is, and that's where Jake & Alex have been dreaming of and planning for. The cats, maybe not so much. Simantov & Mazeltov!

And then - this marks a sharp turning point in our family history.

After a century, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew no longer have close family who live in New York City or in New York State.

This may not have the world-wide repercussions of the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn - but it's still a very new feeling. 

So Abq Jew marked the occasion with a new tee shirt.