A PICTURE WHEREVER YOU LOOK!

It is so beautiful! A picture wherever you look! – Ina (February, 1936)

Of course, Grandma Ina was speaking about the exterior winter views. Hallie mentioned that she would have liked more photos of our trip to the farm last Friday, and I think she meant interior photos. It was not possible, though, because the truth of the matter is that the house was a mess. When I took this picture of the dining room, I was standing in the midst of cans. The kitchen counters were covered with "what have you," and all the floors are covered with heavy paper to protect them as the work continues. Also, five people were working intently at their assigned tasks. I was in the way and eventually sat in the pick-up to wait for Mike.

Ina' view -- 1934

During this process of remodel, it’s been difficult to visit the farm. In the beginning, the contractor cautioned us not to enter the house due to the mold. I could have done a much better job of organizing the storage effort had I been there. The contents of affected rooms were just stacked precariously into unaffected rooms, burying anything I might want. We really couldn’t go there for more than an hour or two, and I’ve felt badly about that, but the contractor was good to check with us frequently.

. . . and the same view today

As the homeowner, though, I’ve felt like an outsider. The workers are polite and respectful, but they are responsible to the contractor, not to us. Well, 2019 will see the end of this process, and we’ll be able to make ourselves at home, welcome family and friends, and make a sandwich in the kitchen. KW

FARMHOUSE NEARS COMPLETION

Mike has been under the weather, so yesterday (Jan. 3), I went alone to our morning stretch class. Afterwards, we went to the farm. Mike is joining a pistol league at the shooting range this month and hoped to find some of his gear. It was time to check on things anyway.

The snow line was about halfway up the Gilbert Grade, and it might have been a little slick, but we were careful. We made it into the farm just fine – and back out, too! The painting crew was there applying final touches.

While we were there, the plumber arrived, bringing a new toilet for the master bathroom. The previous unit sat on the porch all summer, and the contractor said he preferred to install a new one rather than to replace parts. We had thought perhaps we could use the old one in the modular home, but as the crew tried to move it, it broke. I laughed. Let’s have a new one here, too.

In looking for his gear in the storage container, Mike found the shower head that the plumber was missing. We also found the kitchen and dining room switch plates, and the painter assigned one of his workers to cover those with the new wallpaper.

So, the farmhouse project is nearing completion. No word yet on when we’ll move into the finished house. I would probably wait until spring, but I expect the contractor will want to finish up if the weather cooperates. The whole house and everything in it will need to be cleaned, and I don't know how the timeline will fit with the weatherization, i.e., the water is now turned off and the pipes drained. Ideally, I would have a day or two to organize before they move boxes and furniture. KW

TAKING DOWN THE TREE

Christmas and New Years are both history again after all the feverish making and planning and mailing. It did keep us going before Christmas, but it was fun and we surely made several somethings out of quite a lot of nothings. We still have our decorations and Christmas tree and I think I won’t take them down for a few more days. – Shirley Dobson, 1933

I’ve dismantled the tree since getting back and feel like I can settle down to just living again and enjoying my gifts and memories of a very happy Christmas to which you added a great deal. – Ina, 1938

I’m just a bit wistful today with the realization that Christmas is over. The displays and decorations that lightened my heart as they popped out here and there now begin to disappear rather rapidly, and we are powerless to stop it. But after all, it’s no one’s fault. It’s just the way it is. The holidays pass and now it’s time to “settle down to just living again,” as Ina says.

I took our tree down yesterday (Jan. 1), and the good part is that I had both the tree and the ornaments packed away in less than an hour. I have a nice collection of ornaments, but they’re in storage and were unavailable this year. Many haven’t been used in years, and I shudder to think of what’s happening to them. Then I remember that time marches on, life changes, and it doesn’t matter. As it happens, the ornaments available to me at this house were antiques from my mother’s collection and others that I gathered from here and there. Some are very old and tarnished, but daughter Hallie said that now you can buy “pre-tarnished” ornaments, so I proudly hung them anyway. And – as I looked at our tree, I never thought that it was anything but lovely. KW