Memory Monday # 22

 

In front of our house in town

     The house we moved into was pretty neat  It was two story...or more like a story and a half.  The upstairs was really just one big room with a large hall where the stairway was and a huge closet which faced the front of the house and had a window in it where one could look out on the street. (More about that in my teen years!)  The only problem with the upstairs is that it wasn't heated.  There were a couple of vents in the floor so there was residual heat from below in the winter.  Very few houses in that part of Illinois were air conditioned then; but there were windows on all sides of the room so we got great breezes! The front of the house had a glassed in porch with screens so we kids would often sleep out there in the summer.  And it was a great place to play on rainy days.
      We had a huge lot so my parents were able to have a large garden.  Mom was always pickling and canning vegetables!  There were also these large maple trees which were beautiful in the fall.  In fact the whole town is full of maple and oak trees and others which turn beautiful reds, oranges, rusts, etc.  I remember there was a large pecan tree in the back yard upon which my dad hung a rope swing.  And I came across this picture of me with kittens, so I guess we found someone giving away free kitties in town too!

Jay with kittens

      And when we moved back to town we were reunited with Fuzzy, our border collie who stayed with the neighbors!  My dad was a big hunting enthusiast so his favorite kind of dog was some kind of bird dog...either pointers or setters.  While we were in the country, he acquired Specks who was a mature pointer...the sweetest dog ever! Also a very skilled hunting dog!!

Jay with Specks

    Oh, for those of you who did not know why we had "boy" and "girl" bikes was as some one guessed...it was because originally women never wore pants and had to accommodate the wearing of long skirts and it would not be very lady-like to straddle a bar!!