Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday morning to you from our corner of Iowa where Spring has arrived!  The snow is melting quickly and the temps are seasonal.  Yeah!  We survived another winter, and this one has been a challenge to say the least.  Soon spring flowers will start to bloom!.  The resident ducks are looking for a place to nest, and the robins are coming back!  Spring brings with it hope.  We can all use a little more hope.

Our state is one of a few in the midwest where flooding has spread destruction.  Mostly in the southwest corner of our state.  It will take a long time and a lot of determination and hard work to restore what has been lost.  I saw one story where pig farmers lost over 600 of their hogs to flooding.  The wall of water came quickly and there was no time to evacuate.  Sad.  Weather has really taken it's toll the past year with fires, floods, tornados, and more.  I'm hoping summer will be quiet and uneventful.

I turned 71 this week.  Very grateful to still be here, but can't help but wishing I felt a bit better.  Each day is different.  I received a phone call from our grandson Eli, who lives with his family in Arizona.  What a nice surprise.  He will soon be 17, hard to believe it.  His dad, our son Kevin, died in December 2004.   We were happy to hear from Eli. We are so grateful for all our grands and the gifts they bring to our family.  Each one of them is unique and special, and we are blessed to have them in our lives.

I was watching an HGTV show this week and found myself amazed by how particular people are when house hunting.   The McMansions that have so much space, you hardly ever have to run in to each other!  Blows my mind.  It took me back to all the parsonages and houses we lived in and the adjustments we made to things that were not really our style.  That had Joel and me discussing the different bathrooms in the many different houses.  We have never had double sinks, and only one house with a "master bath" that was so narrow we both could not be in there at the same time.  We adjusted.  One bathroom we had was covered in turquoise and black tiles, another had a lime green clawfoot tub.  We had one with pink tile, and another that was just a stool with two pocket doors.  It was located between the kitchen and our bedroom.  Funny thing is, that was everyone's favorite bathroom!  Our present bathroom is in need of a complete renovation.  It is a 80's black and white explosion...black and white tile on the floor, on the shower walls.  A bit too much in the early morning!  ha!    Just can't decide if we want to put the money into it when we don't plan for this to be our "senior" house.  Too many stairs.....too large......Anyhow.......

For me the houses I am most fond of have a warm history behind them.  We absolutely loved the "Internage" in Malta Montana.  A small, old house that sat next to the church.  That is the one with the lime green tub and a makeshift shower in the unfinished basement.  The kitchen was an add on and the space between the dining room and kitchen slanted down a few inches.  There was an enclosed porch, and two bedrooms upstairs.  Our oldest slept in the large hallway and loved that because she could read by the downstairs light at night when she  was supposed to be sleeping!  We loved that house.  Not because of it's many great features...........but because of its history.  We were the 19th intern they welcomed at Malta ( if we remember correctly) and many of them had lived in the Internage as we called it.

Enough rambling.  Are you living in a place you love?  Do you "feel" the history of it.  Maybe you have created a history in your home.  Houses are just that, but when we make them our own they become a home.........whether they have a turquoise and black bathroom or not!