Thursday, January 23, 2014

Home Half of the Day.......


It is cold out there.  The house you see across the street was always a mystery as I lived in the house 15 or more years before I ever saw who was living there.  One day an elderly Italian women, I was told she was Italian for the Granger area,  was out clearing her leaves from her sidewalk and I realize that the women did actually live there.  Eventually she went to a nursing home and her granddaughter lives there now.

When we got up this morning the thermometer was registering -5 degrees F. and by 8:00 it had gone down to -8.9 degrees.   School is delayed and some other schools are closed.  I was suppose to go in for the afternoon arriving at 11:30 but now I am awaiting to see if I will go in earlier.  The person I am covering for must have an appointment and I have to cover her class that start just before noon.  We abbreviated schedules on late starts so I may have to go in earlier because of the schedule change.



While moving through the dining room I decided to give you a shot of this Disney character from Beauty and the Beast.  When the boys were young, my wife received gifts that were from the Lion King, 101 Dalmaitions, and other movies that they liked. I think this is Mrs. Potts and she had the voice of Angela Landsbury. I assume that this may be a collector item but it really has no function as it isn't a small teapot.














A blurry side view shows that it almost looks like an elephant with here little maids hat.  She had a little son in the movie who was a small cup and saucer.  His name was Chip and he did have a piece of his cup chipped out from some fall from a table.






I shared the other day that I had found a lot of old newspaper clippings that my mom had collected.  I didn't really take the time to go through them as there is a whole garbage sack of them. When getting the house ready for sale I grab a sack and cleared off a whole shelf full of these things from the linen closet where she had stored them.  I can still see her clipping and walking over to that linen close door and pile it in on the other newspaper articles in the closet.

While looking through the top few I noticed an obit of a neighbor lady named Ella Deahl.  My parents liked to visit her and her husband Earl Deahl. They were many years older than them but they had known them for a long time and it was a good friendship. I usually always went along and enjoyed see them. They were avid gardeners and Ella had lots of great flower beds which I admired as a young kid and grew up learning garden plants from her.  She gave me  plants and I would take them home and plant them in dry dirt under the house eaves and they would die.

Anyway, one day after I was in high school, my mom visited Ella and she gave these small glass pieces to her for me to have.  I think they were making a move to town and she was handing out keepsakes.  Seeing her obit and then the very day I glanced over and saw the glass set in the cupboard,  I had to share the story and a photo. I was told later in life that I had a middle name that was the same as one of Ella's son. Just to add to that story, my mom dated her son for a while.  I remember my mom keeping letters from him in an old trunk and telling me he was an old boy friend not boyfriend.  Never too old to find out things about you middle name Dean.


Well the woodpeckers still like me and they keep feeding.  I don't know if there is a big difference in suet but I think this one has less goodies in it than the other brand that I bought.  I may have to go back to it as they are eating on this one at a much slower pace. After finishing this blog I am going to dress in a lot of coats and sweaters to go out and fill the feeders.  I have an hour to get ready to go to school for the afternoon.  I guess we are going to have school in spite of the temps. It is a very bright day today so it makes it look a lot warmers. 

Thanks for stopping in today.

4 comments:

Far Side of Fifty said...

Interesting when we think of our parents young enough to date someone else besides who they married. She must have liked her boy friend to have used his name for one of her sons.
Yes some suets the woodpeckers like more than others. Not sure why? I had some home style bacon ends and pieces that I trimmed and put out in an old orange sack, the little birds loved it...too much fat to add to my baked beans:)

Stay warm, it was -38 here this morning but the sun is shining.

Anonymous said...

Funny about living there 15 years w/o really seeing the Italian lady neighbor. Our closest neighbors that are within 30 feet of the property line, I NEVER see the woman. Occasionally I see the daddy and little girl BUT the mommy just never comes out!
I always loved Angela Lansbury but never saw any of the Disney movies.
Ella would be thrilled that you still have the glass creamer/sugar. These days, not many folks appreciate when older folks share lifelong treasures with them. By the way, Larry's little granddaughter is named Ella after my grandmother's sis.
John and I were just discussing your brutal cold temps. We are in the 30's and that feels terribly cold to us. Take care.

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

So interesting that you found the clipping and saw the pitchers together like that.
Great shot of the woodpecker. I changed suet brands recently. Didn't seem to change anything for the diners.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Fascinating when we learn new things about familiar and not-so familiar people, Larry, especially when they have been neighbors as well.