I had a good laugh this morning as Bill was reading a story that appeared on CNN. Nate Roman, who lives in a single-family home in the Boston suburb of Marlborough, Massachusetts, was absolutely stunned when he came home form work with his son and found that someone had broken into his house. However, instead of ransacking the place and stealing or damaging Roman’s valuables, the intruder tidied up and left ornate toilet paper roses in the bathroom.

Roman called the police, who took the complaint very seriously, but didn’t find anything missing other than dirt. His bedroom and his son’s bedroom were cleaned and straightened; they had been messy that morning. The bathroom was spotless. Rugs were vacuumed and everything was put away. The kitchen was not cleaned. Roman assumed that maybe a cleaning crew came into his house by mistake, but then thought better of it when he discovered the still dirty kitchen.

As I heard about this story, I couldn’t help but experience a strange mixture of amusement and creepiness. I mean, God knows I am not the world’s most gifted housekeeper. I do like a clean house, but lack the will to make it happen on a regular basis. I think a part of me would be delighted to come home to a spotless house, even though the intruder neglected to clean the kitchen. Another part of me would be totally weirded out by the thought of some stranger going through my stuff while I wasn’t home, even if nothing was taken or damaged. I have experienced coming home and feeling like someone was in the house when I wasn’t there. It’s a horrible feeling of insecurity and dread.

Roman has changed his locks and now opens his cabinets and closets carefully, in case any nasty surprises were left behind. However, he did keep the toilet paper roses as a memento. I don’t blame him for that. They were pretty cool looking. I suck at crafty stuff, but here’s a tutorial for anyone who wants to learn the art of making toilet paper roses.