Thom Thompson Painted our house... no, Really!

When we bought the Natchez house we fell in love with the lines, the woodwork, the flow... but not so much with the dingy grey stucco exterior. Stucco is a great material for houses up here in the frigid tundra, as it does a good job of sealing out the cold winter winds... but it can get to looking a little shabby. Especially if you firmly adhere to the 'if it ain't broke' school of property maintenance.

Well, a short burst of landscaping work, as well as a successful kitchen renovation (it's almost, really close, just about there) convinced us that the biggest impact that we could make would be to finally get around to painting the outside. We figured

, ehh, it's a few cans of paint, a few days of work, how expensive could it be?

Trust Laura to hire one of the Group of Seven to do the work. She could have settled for Rembrandt, Michaelangelo, Monet - (well, the last one sounds right, anyway), but no - she had to go and solve one of the great Canadian

mysteries instead. Namely - what REALLY happened to Tom Thompson?

For those of you unlucky enough not to have experienced his work, Tom Thompson was a Canadian impressionist painter, famous for his interpretations of the Canadian wilderness. His works sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Here are a few favorite examples...

"The Pool"

"Northern River"

"Natchez Ave. S"

Seems that Tom faked his untimely demise to launch a lucrative career as a house painter. You know how I know it's him?

Well, the impressionist spelled his name 'Tom Thompson". Add an 'H' for house, and what do you get? "Thom Thompson"

And his paintings are still Canadian (insofar as I'm part owner of the house) and will sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I hope.

At least it's a step in the right direction... next project - replace that eyesore of a barn door that serves as a storm with something more appropriate... we'll keep you posted...