We live in a 1901 house. When we moved here in 1995, we loved the light, the fireplace, the extra space for an in-home office, the nice yard…but we hated the cruddy kitchen. Peeling ancient cabinets, a terrible layout, a mish-mash of depressing appliances – it was all horrible. It was intolerable. It had to [...]
“Is that a Girl Scout song, Mom? Because those are the songs you seem to remember best.”
Continuing my kick of including archival photos in this week’s posts, here is a shot that illustrates “back to school.” It was taken in Anaheim, CA in 1915, and that’s my bespectacled 15-year-old maternal grandma, Lorene, right smack in the middle of a bunch of classmates. She ended up attending the University of Denver, as [...]
Quite by coincidence, Emily and I both wrote about Kansas on Monday & Tuesday. I’ve been meaning to post about my grandmother’s quilts anyway, and she was from – KANSAS. Not sure we can sustain this accidental theme all week, but three days in a row devoted to the Sunflower State ain’t bad. Did you [...]
My dad was born in a tiny dot on the map in Kansas, on September 7, 1924. Happy Birthday, Daddy! He’s the baby in this photo – one of the very few pictures from his childhood. Looks like the big brothers are propping the Humpty Dumpty baby up. His family’s life wasn’t exactly Little House [...]
Labor Day is over and you know what that means. Thrift shops are open again! New old inventory! This makes me almost as happy as school being back in session. I’m a serious thrifter. I love old stuff, especially books and linens. I buy, sell, and occasionally keep what I find. It’s not my job, [...]
As another school year begins, so does the great volunteer round-up. Parents are needed to head up gift-wrap sales, holiday craft projects, and class parties. Wanted posters come home pleading for moms and dads to volunteer in library time and art class. Attend PTO/PTA meetings. Man booths at fund-raisers. Brainstorm and spearhead enrichment projects. Chaperone [...]
We spent last weekend at a remote cabin in the Shenandoah Mountains. No running water, no mod cons. The cabin and gorgeous setting reminded me of The Waltons, that tear-jerking 1970s show in which a close-knit family weathered the Depression with grit and determination. Like John-Boy, my husband went to UVA, and we spent the [...]
In 1986, Chris was traveling in Europe. He wanted to meet up with his college friend Rob, who had been living in Germany, Italy, and Egypt for several years. It was a pre-cell-phone era. Pre-email. Pre-text-messaging. Even pre-fax. And so Chris and Rob communicated old-school, by occasional phone call and letter. In August, a postcard [...]
We were tooling north on NY’s I-81 for our annual rendezvous with friends at the Thousand Islands. Almost there, last exit before Canada! Chris drove while 17-year-old Ian rode shotgun, wearing giant white shades and giant lime-green headphones. And why was I not in the front seat, where grown-ups belong? Because I was sitting in [...]
