Telling Her Story.

Today is the beginning of a new project for me. This is a picture of my mother as a baby.  Whenever she showed me this picture, as I was growing up, she'd say "The first time my father saw me, he said, 'She has a big mouth just like her mother!'"    

... And that is my project, to share her story. 

Here she is as a high school graduate.

This picture shows her as a young married.  They were married in 1936 but did not have their first child until 1940. 

She was born in 1917 and I will finish her biography in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her birth. She was an extraordinary woman and I hope to capture that in my telling of her story.

Norma was born the tenth of eleven children, two of whom died before she was born. When she was three, with a pregnant mother,  her father died. 

Then two years later, in 1922 her mother remarried. Her new step father told her mother he would only take on one child. That child was my mother's youngest sister.  So at the age of 5 she was farmed out to relatives, an event not uncommon in those days, before the Social Security program came into being. 

Broadstone Tour: Part One Again

Broadstone Tour: Part One

As many of you know I live in a historic house.  My house was built in 1894 by the mayor of our small town, John Dixon.    My husband and I had always wanted an old house to fix up, so when I saw this house for sale at an estate sale back in 1997, we made the leap, and have never looked back.

I have actually borrowed this post from a series I did a couple of years ago.  There have been very few changes since I did this series of posts, so I thought I would repost them.  There are three more in the series, and they will be coming to you in the future.

As you can see we are starting with the entry way, and the find old decorative staircase that greets you in the entry way.

I am sharing my parlor and dining room with you today. One of my favorite stories about the house is that someone from Disney came by one day, while the previous owner was in residence, and asked to see the house. As she was showing him around he offered her $30,000 for the fireplace mantel and tile surround.

   Whoa,  I wish he would come back, I would definitely sell it, as an antique fireplace of this quality can be had for as little as $5,000.  But alas, I have to admit, I am glad she didn't sell it, it is one of my favorite features of the house.

Though, actually, this stick and ball spandral is my favorite detail in the house.  It was seeing this spandral when I came to the house for an estate sale 15 years ago, that made me first consider making the house my own.

When we bought the house, the older couple who had owned it for 30 some years, were just living in three rooms, and had the rest of the house sealed off to save on power bills.  The dining room was their sitting room and they had a wood burning stove in the middle of the room.  It was one of the first things to go when we took the house in hand.

This sweet portrait of a young woman from the fifties, gets a lot of attention. I love the painting, mostly because its a beauty, but partly because I bought it out of the back room of an antique store for $20.  It had been found on its side in an attic.  The roof had leaked and the paint had run causing her red lips to smear across the right side of the painting.  A little linseed oil to remove the streaks and voila'!!

Thanks for coming along on the first of four wanderings around Broadstone Manor. (Yep, I have named my houses ever since I first saw and read Ann of Green Gables.)

Steam Punked Peter Pan at Hale!

Saturday night I had the fun of seeing Peter Pan at a local theater.  I am a fan of Pan, so I knew I would love it. 

Then when we walked across the central stage and I saw clocks and gears and  I knew I was about to see a Steam Punked version of an old favorite.  Happy me!! 

Loved these clustered mason jar lights!

Here's part of the stage AND my friend Barb, one of the 10 friends who join us in enjoying season tickets to the Orem Hale Center Theater each year!

You may recall that Penny, HCTs scenery painter, and their two costume designers, who happen to be Penny's daughters ... Have been dealers at fleaology a few times. Such a talented family! And their combined craft adds so much to these shows!!  

Here I am after the show with the lost boys!! 

... And then with the Darlings, who also play Tiger Lilly and Captain Hook .

What a wonderful production!! I am just sad I went on closing night.  Had I seen it sooner, I'd have gone again, and maybe again!!