Polyester heirloom

I was ironing this tablecloth this morning, feeling smug that it would be put away ready to use.
It has been on the table at just about every significant dinner for a long time. 
Besides being washable and long-wearing, this lacy-looking cloth goes over a solid color to elegant effect, and, incidentally, covers small stains and imperfections on the underlying cloth.  Very handy.

I've had it since we lived in Albany, which means that it is as old as Karen!

Grandmom's Adventure 75th Birthday

In 1993 Karen and I went to Wilmington to celebrate Mother's 75th birthday.
It snowed. Quite unusual.

On Sunday, Karen produced this charming account of the weekend, done in the style of a young grandchild.  (She was 19 and in art school at the time.)

I just found the booklet again today.
The cover is wrapping paper.

The top picture references a picture Sarah drew years before for a Thanksgiving place card, illustrating Grandmom (Grace) after driving to Minnesota for a visit.

I don't remember either issue here, but apparently we were not stars in the kitchen!

"once in a while"...  chuckling.

The Olive Garden was chosen because it was open.  The roads were not plowed, Newlin drove, and the ride was 'exciting.'  That is Lois in the front seat, freaking out.

Well Loved Little Rocking Chair

This little upholstered rocker appeared in my life when I was two or three.

I think of it as always being around.
It featured in early Christmas Card pictures.

There was some way we played with it - probably making forts - that involved lying on the floor with the chair upside down over our heads.  I remember this because it was such a shock one day to realize that I was too big to do that anymore.  My shoulders wouldn't fit between the arms.

My kids sat in it, and I am still looking for  more photographic proof of that.I know there are more pictures to find.
Here are Sarah in Grantsburg and Karen in Range.

At some point the chair was reupholstered in blue, and was at the Bon-Keen's.
Amanda and David both sat in it.

Karen and Brian had it for a while for their kids.

 Now it stays at my house.  Waiting for another generation.

Garage House - 1978

This was a major adventure.  We reclaimed the well*, put in the septic system, and built the garage (well, Max and Mike did)  to live in  for the summer while we started the house.  Alan was on sabbatical.  The house didn't  really get started until later.  You can see the foundation in one of the pictures.  

* there is another post about the well. http://stuffstories.blogspot.com/2011/11/meaningful-mineral-memento.html

Features of the garage:

• Wood burning cook stove, fueled by wonderful clean oak blocks which were available as scrap from a factory in Siren. Took the chill out of mornings, made good cookies.
• Propane stove for more serious cooking.
• Electricity, but we used oil lamps, too.
• Water  "walked in and ran out".  Electric pump out back near the power pole.
• Outhouse with a real toilet positioned over the septic tank. Bring your own bucket of water for flushing.
• Cardboard "sheetrock" to keep wind and mosquitoes (mostly) out of the sleeping areas.
• Thunderstorms as multi-media experiences, with a tin roof to maximize rain noise and fiberglass garage door and south roof to emphasize lightning. Noisy enough that I would get up to look at the children to see if they were awake and/or bothered by the storm.  Couldn't have heard them.

The garden was not good.
There had been a schoolhouse on the front acre of the property, and when that building was razed, the topsoil wound up about three feet under clay.  We could see that when the area around the well was dug up.  A load of manure from the farmer across the road was not enough to make good soil on short notice, and we were not there long enough either to improve that soil or establish a garden elsewhere on the property.

Kevin's sheep

This little guy has been part of our Christmas creche decoration since Karen was in pre-school.
It is a small wooden spool, cotton, and paper front and back, only two inches high.
And, in little tiny letters on the inside of the back leg, it says,"Kevin."
I hope that Kevin's family has taken as good care of Karen's sheep as we have of his.

Meaningful mineral memento

When we built the house in Range, the existing well had to be reclaimed to make it useable.
It was re-drilled deeper and a submersible pump was put in.
Before the pump was installed, Max collected this little jar full of stones and water from the well as a keepsake.  And I've kept it for over 30 years now.

Fjord water

We store all kinds of treasures.

This Norwegian Coke bottle contains authentic fjord water.  Paul brought it back from the Stillwater High School Band trip to Norway in 1988.