Monday, May 26, 2014

Full Circle!

Grandma is 101 years old, her next birthday is in September and she may make it that long.  She is however, losing track of things and has become very frail.  I am so lucky to have had a grandma this long.  Every once in awhile she pops out with a memory and I am trying to keep track of them.  There is no telling how long I will have this opportunity. 
This story starts with the old farmhouse which had just gotten more and more dilapidated since Grandma moved to town in 1984.  She had a hard time thinking about tearing it down and in that area with the heat and humidity and the growth that goes with them, the house became scary to even walk through - the floor boards would sag and bounce. (yikes!)  We have so many memories of the farm and the house and all the
reunions and fun and work.  This photo is taken from the hump in the farm lot next to the gate, it was a good sized hump and my mom and her sisters played on it as did my cousins and my brother and I. I don't remember anyone ever even talking about the hump or why it was there.






About 6 years ago during a storm the house was apparently struck by lightning and the fire burned most of what was still standing.  The neighbor that leases the farm said he would fill in the hole. 


This is what it looked like when he was done!  Not a very good job to my way of thinking.  This has bothered me for years (it's the insurance agent thing that makes me think of liability issues all the time!)  Since Mom is out there taking care of Grandma she decided to have this taken care of, and done right.

(This photo is the view to the north from the top of the hump.)  

When mom met the guy who was going to do the bulldozing at the farm, he asked her where she wanted the dirt to come from that he would use to fill in the hole.  She said he could use the dirt on the hump and when she leaned in the car to ask Grandma if that was OK Grandma told her that the house had been built without a basement and the people who had owned it before her and Grandad, had dug out the basement when the house was already there.  The 'hump' was all the dirt that came out of the nearly full basement they dug under the house.  Mom and Grandma went out to look at the job after it was done and said it is really nice.  The 'hump' is back where it started!

4 comments:

  1. Kathy,

    I want to let you know that your blog is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/06/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-june-6-2014.html

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. I have been out of town meeting our next generation (new grandchild) and when I came home here was your post like a fun welcome home gift - thank you so much!.

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  2. What a neat story! My husband's great aunt is 95 and loves to tell stories. I keep telling myself I need to write them down!! And ask her questions. But, I rarely do. Her younger sister, my husband's grandma, is also still alive at 90. But, her memory is starting to go. It's better when she talks about the past, though!

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    1. Grandma is like that - she can't remember breakfast but can talk for hours about the old days. I am trying to get as many stories down as possible, that was really the idea behind this blog!

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