Visiting Old Florida

My maternal grandparents were hard-working Ohio farmers. It was rare that they ever traveled more than a few miles from home. However, in 1959 my parents convinced them to leave the farm and animals in the care of two of their children, and travel by car with my parents to Florida. 

When I came across a cardboard box of Florida memorabilia in our grandparents home, I claimed it, brought it home with me, and have been marveling at what my parents and grandparents did and saw. Many of the places are not far from where I live now!

They drove to and from Florida mostly along highway 301. There was no Interstate 75 cutting north-south through the state. After finding a small bar of soap from a motel in Gainesville, Georgia, I could see that their route to Florida avoided Atlanta, like we try to do when we're traveling!

Of course, there was the standard must-keeps - a bag of moss, seashells, and a bottle of Orange Blossom perfume that cost 75¢. The moss and seashells have been tossed.

Brochures reveal that they visited Silver Springs in Ocala; Cypress Gardens (current home of Legoland);  attended a Passion Play and heard the Singing Tower - Bok Tower (where we celebrated my birthday in March!) in Lake Wales; and the Seaquarium in Miami.  

I'm really curious about this place in Ocala: "Uranium Valley and Caves." 

Ticket stubs are from Silver Springs, and Ross Allen's Reptile Institute. Who wouldn't want to see 'gators for $1.15? 

In the Silver Springs souvenir book is a picture of swimming in Silver Springs, in 72℉ water. This doesn't exist anymore.

A little 15¢ box of photos was interesting. 

Black and white pictures are of Silver Springs (that famous arched palm) and a Stuckey's in Belleview. 

My uncle traveled to Florida before my grandparents did, so it's possible he visited Bok Tower earlier, in 1956. 

He would have been there, to hear the bells, on my birthday. 

Forty-five color postcards show the tourist attractions and sites of Florida in the mid-1950s.

These four postcards were jumbo-sized, so they must have been favorite places. 

Top L-R: Cypress Gardens, and Bok Tower
Botton L-R: Miami, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the Keys.

This alligator is a nut cracker.

And someone liked Cracker Jacks. 😁 

This is the only picture I have of them in Florida. L-R: my Mother, Grampa and Grandma. Looks like they're at Cypress Gardens. My dad took the picture.

It's nice to have these things (and more that I didn't share) that give me pause to think about how times have changed... and not changed. Generations of people vacation in Florida, and knowing that my ancestors did, makes me feel good.

Book Recommendation

Another great listen! This title was recommended by a line dancing buddy, Judy. 

Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff is a charming tale that came, for me, at just the right time because it made me recall times spent with my grandparents.

"Fish" (Fischer) spends time with his grampa in this story about Fish and "Bread" (Dale Breadwin) who are two young boys growing up together in Wisconsin. Bread's dad is abusive, so when Fish sees him beating on Bread, Fish shoots and the boys run. Two fatherless boys take off cross-country, encounter the wilds and its perils. Chasing the boys are four adults: Fish's grampa; Fish's mom; Sheriff Cal; and Tiffany who works at the local gas station. But more danger awaits the boys than any of them realize. 

I found this story captivating with nice visual imagery of wildlife, forests, marsh, meadows, river, and stars.  Linda's score: 4.4/5.0

Linda

Goodbye to an Era

After having been away for more than 30 years, it was an emotional experience to be at my Ohio grandparent's farm again, where many of my best childhood memories were made.

Nine of us grandchildren, along with spouses, and several great-grandchildren, gathered at the farm over Memorial Day weekend to finish cleaning out the house. During two previous visits in 2019, cousins began the laborious task of sorting through and purging decades of accumulation.

Grandma and Grampa raised five children at the end of this quarter-mile-long lane. My mother, who passed away 19 years ago, grew up here, the youngest of five children.

Since I'm the oldest of nine grandchildren, and lived in Ohio until I was 14 years old, I have good memories of several summer weeks spent with Grandma and Grampa who passed away in 1990 and 1975 respectively.

While sorting through the detritus of 150 years of family keepsakes (including books and Bibles written in German from the mid-1800s), we came across a scrapbook with pictures of the house being build in the fall of 1946. It was beautiful!

Until a few years ago, a bachelor uncle lived here, until the age of 93. The property was neglected for many years. My grandmother was known for her beautiful gardens - flowers, vegetables, grapevines, and fruit trees. The structure attached to the right side of the house was her greenhouse that was added later. Grandma's iris that were found blooming were dug up to be relocated near family.

As a kid, I remember running up the concrete walkway to this side door into the house. It makes me sad to know the house will be razed.

Though it may not look like it in this picture, the barn, which was built in 1948, is still in good condition.

It was constructed with sturdy lumber and hand-hewn timbers.

Now it's being dismantled to reuse in other structures.

I watched Grandma hand-milk dairy cows in this space.

This was Grandma's chicken coop... where I wasn't allowed to go because I might unsettle the chickens so they wouldn't lay! A neighbor stopped by and shared that she remembered Grandma, and paid $1 for three dozen eggs.

Two finished quilts were found in the house... and tossed on the burn pile! But wait. They were not burned. Because this one has holes, it was used to protect a piece of furniture removed from the house and put in a trailer to be relocated. According to the third edition of Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Blocks, this is Monkey Wrench (Ohio Farmer 1898 - seems appropriate!)

I convinced my cousin to take this one. Those indigo colors are lovely, and the design is very interesting - four patches set in a diagonal block. According to the third edition of Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Blocks, it's a version of the "Radio Windmill" block called "Arabic Lattice" (Kansas City Star 1941). Both quilts are tied.

She has already washed it and sent me a picture taken after soaking and rinsing it three times! She said, "It was brown with dirt!" 

So, what about those 44 items I made from Grandma's vintage scraps? See previous blog post. My siblings, spouses, cousins, and cousins once-removed took them all. They couldn't have made me any happier. 

I also gave away two quilts. This "Plaid-ish" quilt, made from my scraps, is for the cousin who has been dealing with legal matters over the past two years. We are very grateful for everything he's done.

Another of my quilts was given to this sweet one month-old from my dad's side of the family. She's technically my first cousin twice-removed... a little doll.

I didn't bring too many things home with me from the farm because storage space is at a premium. Thankfully, a shirttail relative is taking Grandma's Singer treadle machine.

But I brought home whatever fabric items remained - several pieces of old clothing (like children's embroidered rompers) and embroidery - that were in a very old trunk. All those things are being sent to a Texas friend who will appreciate and use them.

Among the fabric items were 91 embroidery blocks, 9" X 9". Some had been embroidered - mostly redwork - and some had not. 

This clothesline peg apron design tickled me. Check out the bright aqua color of those peg people!

I kept these few things. Nothing is valuable; only sentimental.   

Living in nine different states, us nine cousins will likely not meet again. So, I've said goodbye to family, the farm, and an era my family will not experience again. Linda

All Vintage Fabric Things

Most of the items in this blog post have been saved-up since 2020, when I spent free time (I had lots of time on my hands then 😀) making these projects.

My work began with this box of vintage scraps, saved from my grandparent's Ohio farm that has since been sold.

The farmhouse is in terrible condition because it was neglected. 

During two working get-togethers at the farm, those of us nine grandchildren who could travel (I could not attend), spent time clearing-out, burning-up, and saving sentimental items. This is where lots of fabric scraps were found that were passed along to me (blogged about here). The bulk of it I passed along to a Texas friend, Monica, who is into vintage fabrics. 

Scraps I saved for myself, I attempted to do good things with. Initially, in June 2019, I made four Dresden Plate wallhangings for the girls - my sister, sister-in-law, and two cousins. 

Then, when I received a second, smaller box of fabrics, I tried to think of other things to do with them. 

Whatever I made with the fabrics, it was apparent they needed to be washed first. 

Soaking in a tub with OxiClean proved effective. The water turned brown. 

All the pieces were then well-rinsed and dried on a rack on our lanai. All the scraps were oddly-shaped, and obviously many had been used to make dresses and aprons. I repeated the washing and drying steps five times to wash everything. 

Then, I got to work. First I made six of these 7" X 11" zipper pouches. Both sides of each pouch have an identical design of vintage scrap strips. 

This is the YouTube video for "Scrappy Pouches Sewing Tutorial" by Just Jude Belfast. I love how they turned out.

Trying to think a bit more practically, especially for the guy cousins (several are single) I thought to make kitchen hot pads. I used Insul-brite for the interior. The pads sound crinkly. 

This "9-Patch Wonder Block Potholders Tutorial" is what I followed to make 7" X 7" hot pads. Front on the left; back on the right. They're really easy to sew!

I ended up making 11 of them, thinking that not only cousins but extended family would like one as a keepsake - or, to use!

Along the same lines, I thought to make mug rugs because they're gender-neutral and would be nice for extended family. I used this YouTube "Quilt as You Go Mug Rug Tutorial" to make them. Fifteen of the 16 mug rugs are 7" X 8". 

Similarly, bowl buddies are something everyone would like and use, so I made seven of them. 

Unfortunately, the 2012 link to the free "Buddy Bowl" pattern by SeamsHappy, is no longer available. 

Microwaveable Pellon Wrap-N-Zap is in between the layers. 

And lastly, after learning in a virtual workshop with Sujata Shah last December, how to make kawandi I made these over the course of several months. The round kawandi is 17" in diameter. Others are 14½" square; 16" X 22½", and 16" X 31." 

So, that's 44 items to distribute among eight of us cousins (two of whom are my siblings). 

I've just returned home from spending six days driving to/from and being in Ohio with relatives. I loved being with family again, especially after the isolation of 2020.

The new owner (as of last November) of our grandparent's farm, generously gave us until June 1 to get the farmhouse cleared-out. So, those of us who could meet-up spent Saturday and Sunday (over Memorial Day weekend) going through the farm house for the last time - sharing memories (and crying), and taking pictures. My next blog post is about saying good-bye to a special place, and giving away these vintage scrap-made gifts.

Book Recommendation

This was an exciting read! The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is a modern-day gothic romantic tragedy that takes place in an Alabama gated community of mega-mansions. When Jane, a coffee-shop barista and dog-walker is nearly run over by a man, Eddie, in a sports car, pulling out of one of the mansions, her life takes a huge turn. 

Jane wants to keep her past in the past, so she focuses on her relationship with Eddie. As it blossoms, she learns about the death of Eddie's wife, Bea, and Bea's best friend Blanche. Jane is intrigued by Bea's rags-to-riches success, and tries to fit in to the life she thinks she's always wanted. When Blanche's body is found, and Bea's isn't Jane begins to question Eddie's actions, and and what she thinks she knows. Nothing is as it seems, and yet a fairy tale ending is possible. 

Linda's score: 4.5/5.0

Linda