When I think of barns I think of images in children's books... red barns and cornfields. That's why I love this barn, just outside Park City, Utah. The dusting of snow on the mountains accents the snowy white barn, sitting in the colorless grass. Barns I Remember: Sitting in the loft of an unpainted barn in MO Ozarks, owned by an 80-year-old farmer friend... Dancing with Mr. Sam in the Round Barn in Oklahoma... Barns with advertisements written on the roof... So many tidy barns on our drive through Iowa 2 falls ago... Sleeping in a reconstructed barn (B&B) in Postville, Iowa...
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I need a cat picture today to make me smile. In fact I just need a cat! I also could use a cozy place like a laundry basket, where I can hang out away from the world and worries. I didn't have many worries at age 3, but I loved being in my own little space, with toys or books or a pet to love. Cozy Spaces I Loved: A cardboard box, turned up like a boat or turned down like a house... My bed (except the years I shared with my sister) was my own space, covered with stuffed animals... My shed-turned-playhouse near the alley was the best... The canvas tent I saved up for at age 12. Dad built me a platform in wooded lot behind the house and it became my retreat...
You've got to love an Uncle Sam Doll, especially on this crazy Election Day! My sister and I each have one of these special dolls, owned by our grandmother and her sister. We both love our odd, little beardless Sams with their wrinkles and faded patriotic colors. For some reason, both our families find the dolls creepy. The "Dolls" I Love: The Caroline Kennedy that I've had since I was a child, idolizing the president's daughter... A few troll dolls from my past... Dr. Doolittle doll with an eerie Rex Harrison face... Tiny, Liddle Kiddle Dolls, popular in 1960's...
The day before Election Tuesday, I'm choosing a photo that reminds me of what I haven't seen lately... people working together as a team. Last March, Don and I spotted these young students from a hillside. From where we watched, they looked like spiders crawling all over the ropes and masts of a tall ship, in the Bermudan harbor. We wandered down to watch them working on the sails and ropes, passing and lifting as they climbed about. Teamwork Memories: Rock climbing and rappelling in my college years... Watching my kids in HS marching band, supporting each other to make a show come together... Don and I passed our first test of teamwork, when canoeing together 37 years ago... At age 13, I so wished for better teamwork on the first Earth Day, when our school group failed at our goal to clean out a dump... When all the various jobs of cast and crew come together on opening night of a play...
I love this picture of my sister, mom and me holding the silly mugs that Mom found on a shopping spree. They were goofy and colorful and just what we needed during our working visit to help Mom organize her house. Jennifer and I had left our own kids and households for a week of work in St. Louis, but mom made things festive! Mom's Festive Fun in Later Years: She had a huge, stuffed moose that she decorated for various holidays... She laughed at her limp and pitiful "Miss Copeless" doll, that she would hang from shutters and door knobs... She loved wearing a knit Peruvian hat (with llamas) that Jenni gave her... She teased about her Arthur Miller Bank, which was a fat autobiography on her shelf with some cash tucked in the pages...
I spotted these enthused fans near Ann Arbor, when taking our daughter to school in 2005. If you zoom in, you can see a "thumbs up fan" in the back seat. I loved seeing this shiny image that reminded me of all the maize & blue spirit I encountered when I moved to Ann Arbor as a teen, in 1973. Even though I've never been a big football fan, I couldn't help getting caught up in the fun. Game Day Memories: Sitting in the stands with feet resting on icy snow... The masses, moving in and out of the stadium... Proudly wearing my U of M jersey as if I knew anything at all about football... Bumping into my parents when at a game with a new friend. I wasn't a bit embarrassed because they were with famous UM alum, Arthur Miller, which really impressed my friend... Watching, coach, Bo Schembechler and wondering how he could be father of the sweet, quiet guy in my HS drama class...
All the recent World Series hoopla reminded me of this old photo of Heidi and her friend posing with Fredbird. The girls were 4 and giddy and quite unaware of the photo-bomber behind them. I'm not even sure if they had the term photo-bombing in 1990. I know they didn't have Photoshop in 1990, or I would have gotten rid of him. But now the photo just makes me laugh. Mascot Memories: The kids being surprised in the stands by Tulsa Drillers' big blue bull, Hornsby... Phillie Phanatic, using his furry green "paws" to grab my camera and take a picture of me... Laughing just the other night while watching a new Christopher Guest mocumentary, "The Mascots"...
This photo from about 2008 cracks me up. Scott and Don had crawled into a tiny space, knocked through the wall of our pantry. They were investigating the repairs on some pipes and having such a great time, they invited me in. (I did) Some of my favorite memories are the times our family of 4 worked together on some chore/project. I'm sure we had some grumbles and whining, but there were always moments of slaphappy laughter.. after we'd been working (or failing) at something for a while. Craziest Family Chores: Boarding up windows for hurricane Rita... Using crowbar and group strength to lift our sunken sidewalk... Our assembly line, moving delivered firewood from the driveway to the stack near the house... Bucket brigade in reverse, when our hot water heater was overflowing and we passed buckets down the attic stairs...
It's November and I think I missed National Book Month. But November is a better reading month in Texas, with cooler and cozier weather. I took this photo many years ago using books my Book Club had read. The wine is in there, because that is always a part of the club. It's funny to see the books in the photo and see how our book choices have changed over the years. It makes me eager for a rainy book-reading-day! Places Where I Enjoyed a Book: In a tree, as a kid... Rocking chair on a lodge porch... In a tent, using a flashlight... Under a palapa in Cozumel... With my kiddos, in a fort made of blankets... On a quilt on a picnic... In the hammock in the yard... Floating in the pool
I love old mills. Potter's Mill in Bellevue, Iowa is now a B&B and restaurant. Don and I stayed there 2 years ago on a cold fall night. There was once a waterwheel, 20-ft in diameter, that provided the power to grind wheat into flour. Potter's Mill has been sitting here beside the bluffs and creek since 1843! Favorite Mill Images: Alley Mill, powered by icy blue spring water, in the Missouri Ozarks... Climbing up in the Red Lion Windmill in Gouda, Netherlands, while it was working to produce flour... Crossing the bridge to reach the War Eagle Mill in Arkansas... And imagining my great-grandfather at work in the Meyer Milling Company in Springfield, MO!
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