Sometimes a memory.....

...will appear at the most unusual time;  take "klinkers" for example:  we were talking about the beautiful homes that were damaged when a dike broke from heavy rains and the muddy water followed the natural channel down to the river.  The homes were built on the flood plane under a level of trust that the  dike would hold, forever.  Then I remembered how the fruit cellar would flood each spring because the water table was so high and Mother would have to put on the knee-high rubber boots and step on cinder blocks to get to the jars of fruit.  Then my mind wandered up the cellar stairs to the back porch and then the furnace room, to the coal bin, remembering my dad shoveling coal each morning to feed the furnace and then the furnace itself.  The heavy cast iron door had a round wire handle and when open would make you reel with the blast of hot, flaming klinkers.  Then I remembered the marble maker (at least that is what we thought it was).  It was discovered by my brother in an old shed somewhere.  The two long metal handles came together at the end with two small round casings that fit together like a waffle maker.  Clay was dug up from a deep hole out in the garden, a little ball was formed and put in the mold.  I remember my brother placing the marble maker in the klinkers for a period of time and ending up with a nice little hard ball.  The only other thing that I know about klinkers is that they have to be discarded on a regular basis and can be used like gravel to fill holes in the farmyard and that you never want to walk on them in bare feet!

One, Two, Three, Four, Five!

Number One had a front door just waiting for me to paint fire-engine red.  It didn't matter that the stove only had one burner that worked, a vintage refrigerator and small freezer totally closed off with frost.  There was one tiny bath, two bedrooms, the one in the back was moist and a little moldy, and the one in the front had a twin bed covered with one double mattress.  In the winter, The oil stove barely gave out enough heat for the small living room and kitchen and had nothing left over for the rest of the house.  We saved money for our first electric blanket and donned knitted caps, warm stockings, flannel pajamas and left a small trickle of water running in the bathroom sink so the pipes wouldn't freeze.  Who would imagine that newlyweds could be so happy?

Number Two:  New, with the latest floor plan - two bedrooms - one a nursery - and moved in place by a diesel engine truck.  The trailer house sat within 10 feet of my sister's kitchen window.  I rocked my new baby in the living room, canned my first peaches on the stove, and tried to be happy with the advice, suggestions and corrections given by a well-meaning mother, father, sister and brother-in-law.  My husband could see that pursuing a teaching career in other town and making it on our own might be favorable to the security of farm life and living so close to family.

Number Three:  We lived on Tall Avenue - in a duplex, at the end of the most prestigious street in town.  We moved in around the locals - the best of the best and made life-time friends.   We learned valuable lessons, hung diapers out on the line, struggled with finances, and tried to serve wherever we could.

Number Four:  A new sub-division was developed, the bank provided the funding, we picked the kitchen cupboards and carpet, planted fruit trees, raspberry bushes, asparagus and a garden.  We welcomed a little  girl into our family and then another little boy.  We were a family of five and we filled our days with laughter, frustrations, accomplishments, disappointments, spilled milk and ended up with years of memories.

Number Five:  Do dreams really come true?  The minute we walked through the front door we knew!  It was the first of many sweet feelings that helped us with the struggle of moving so far away from friends and family.  We weren't born here but we got here as fast as we could!  Expanding here, taking down a wall there, adding on and taking off for years and years and years.  Each venture added a new sense of satisfaction and beauty to our home full of love.  Our number five has allowed untold opportunities for all of us - happy lives beyond our wildest dreams.