July 1997 - Memories of Yesteryear

 

July 20, 1997

Do you know this Hollywood star, hiding behind the dark glasses?  This picture was taken when I visited Uncle Peter in Calif...

Yesterday, Aunt G. & I went to Nathan Hale Homestead.  I really enjoyed the tour, even tho I had been there before.  It is a beautiful spot, your great, great grandmother lived right near there when she was a little girl - right after the Civil War...

It was good to get out and sorta relax...  Sometimes my nerves get a bit frazzled, but I guess I will endure.  Tonight I had a hot fudge sundae for supper - it was delicious.  Last night the moon was so bright I had to hide my head under a pillow.

July 29, 1997

As you know we went away for the weekend.  I had a very peaceful, relaxing time.  We visited a friend on Tyler Lake where I spent many happy hours so long ago.  We rode around the lake in a fairly large boat - compared to the rowboat we used to use.  We were on it about a 1/2 hr. & yrs ago, it took 1/2 a day to get around the lake rowing.  This is the lake & cottage (remodeled) of the famous dish cloth episode in our lives.

The 'dish cloth episode' Grammie mentions here is a story I love.  She and Grampa Bob were married later in life - when both were already grandparents (I was 8 when they married).  But they knew each other growing up and went to the same high school - Farmington High.  Grampa Bob, as I've mentioned in previous posts, was a jokester.  He loved teasing and joking; one of his favorite petnames for Gram was 'Shorty off the Pickle Boat' - I don't actually know the origin of that!  But clearly this was a character trait he had had a long time.  The story goes like this:

One day, in their teen years, Gram & a friend were at the house cleaning out some greasy cast-iron pans.  My Grampa and another friend walked in unexpectedly on the two girls.  Grammie immediately threw her dirty dish cloth at Grampa, hitting him square in the face.  He was so surprised, exclaiming indignantly, "What did I do?"  Grammie replied, "I don't know, but you must've done SOMETHING!" and then she and her friend high-tailed it out the door, giggling all the way.

Clearly this story made both Gram & Grampa laugh and evoked fond memories of their younger days, as they both remembered the incident 70 years later!