A House Filled with Memories

Today we went to Grammie Teele's house.

After going to bed Sunday night a little past midnight, all 6 of us--3 adults and 3 dogs--began waking this morning at 7:00. Because we knew we'd have a day without rain, our plan was to head south to Carlsbad by the Sea to the house that was Grammie Teele's when we were growing-up.

So for breakfast my sis poached some of the organic eggs she had brought to us and sizzled some of the organic bacon I had purchased.

Shortly after 10:00 we were all in the car driving south on the 15 Freeway through the communities of Lake Elsinore, Temecula, then turned west on Route 76 through Bonsall, Vista, and then on into Carlsbad. First stop was at Grammie's old house.

As we stood there looking and sizing-up the place, we began pulling out one memory after another like precious possessions that had been stored away in a long forgotten package. First trying to figure-out how the place had changed. The street has been widened considerably and the beautiful hedge that used to fence in the front yard is completely gone. On one side, a room has been added-on right where Grammie's flower garden used to be--the spot where she grew the pansies that we had used to make pansy pies.

The bay window is in the room that was Grammie's bedroom. She had a 3-mirrored vanity that sat right in that spot. The windows surrounded and illuminated the vanity. As youngsters, we thought Grammie performed magic as she sat there applying rouge and dusting her face with a powder puff. Her hair brushes and combs were so different than anything we had at our house. It was there that Grammie Teele's oval green mirror fascinated me. I would pick-up the long handled mirror and turn my back to the vanity mirror and see my image reflected in multiples.

We loved to watch as Grammie dabbed on her cologne from a bottle that had a lid with a glass applicator. She'd rub it on her wrist and the inside crease of her elbow; then dab it a couple times to her neck and behind her ears. The bay window and the vanity will always be magical places in my memories and now I know the same is true for my sis.

The big red front door was also a place of wonder. We would come around the opening in the hedge to see Grammie standing inside the screen door to greet us as we hopped up two-steps of her curved porch. That was a place of welcome, and today even though the entire front yard looks like it needs some tender loving care, the red door and matching screen door ignited memories of arrivals to Grammies house, and yes, also farewells.

Today her little house looks dwarfed in and amongst all the new multi-level structures. The hedge is gone; the lawn has disintegrated to dirt, and the drive-way desperately needs paving, but one thing is for sure, it is the house where Grammie lived, a place filled with love and security, and a place we'll continue to travel to in our memories.

Today my sis and I talked and talked as one memory after another surfaced. We've knit each memory into a thread of conversation that we'll continue for the remainder of this week, and I'm sure even after sis has gone home back home to Portland.

Thanks for all the lovely comments on yesterday's page. I hope to do some commenting this week, as time allows.

Good night from Southern California.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol