Three and a half years ago when Mom moved into a nursing home, one of my nephews moved into the house to keep an eye on it. Another nephew and a friend or two also moved in. After Mom passed away two years ago, my nephew said he wanted to buy the property, but at the time he didn't have the money. He stayed in the house, paying the utilities and property taxes, and saved for the day that he could buy the house. Yesterday was that day.
I'll admit I'm having mixed emotions about the sale. I am very, very happy that the house is staying in the family. But I am sad because it is the closing of the final chapter of my life at Marycrest. No longer will I be able to just walk in the front door. But I'm sure I could visit if I wanted.
It has been about two years since I've been there. My sister said that her son has made changes inside. Someday I'd like to see them.
Marycrest was the greatest place to grow up. The street is a secluded dead-end street. Our house was the last one at the dead-end. Two sides of the property was surrounded by woods. Across the street was an apple orchard. It is at the top of a hill that overlooked the Millcreek valley north of Cincinnati.
Mom and Dad built the house in the mid-1950s. Our place was the gathering spot for cookouts with cousins. I'm not quite sure if that was because we had the largest yard or the largest family. It was probably easier for Mom to not have to get us all rounded up to go to a relatives. There are so many memories wrapped up in that place. Memorial Day picnics with Dad sitting in the backyard listening to the Indy 500. On the 4th of July Aunt Betty would bring sparklers which we used to write our names in the air then we would watch numerous fireworks displays from the front yard. I remember one year before the trees grew too tall, we could see the fireworks from 5 different communities.
This is one of my favorite pictures. Nancy and I are sitting on the front porch in our Easter dresses. I'm the prim and proper one. It's funny that now Nancy is the more refined one.
Below is another picture packed full of memories. This was our dog Holly. She was the best dog. Obedient and loving. I'm sure she thought she was another one of the kids. In the background is the Stingray bicycle that my brothers rode. It is in a favorite parking spot for bikes. Under the large shrub to the right of the bike is where Holly lay on hot summer days. She could keep an eye on the backyard, protecting us from the dreaded squirrels, and see into the kitchen to make sure Mom was OK. The flower bed along the walk had roses and sedum. The sedum were transplants from my grandmother's house. Dad taught me how to care for the roses. He even gave me a corner flowerbed that I planted each year.
There were times when I didn't like living on such a secluded street. My grade school friends weren't close by. We weren't connected by sidewalks, so walking over to someone's house to play wasn't an option. But now that I look back, it was perfect. One of my best friends, Donna, grew up across the street. She is older than me and we didn't play together when we were young. Her youngest brother is my age. But when I was in high school and she was in college we worked together at a Burger Chef and became friends. Her dad still lives in the house where she grew up. He's the last of the original homeowners. I guess the era isn't totally ended. Not yet at least.
The last full weekend in June is always the weekend for the Ohio Special Olympics. My brother Joe is again competing in the bowling tournament. Ed and I met him last night at the Opening Ceremonies. He was excited to show us his credentials and tell us which lane and bus he is on.
This year over 2600 athletes are competing. Butch Reynolds, gold medalist from the 1988 Olympics, spoke to the athletes and dedicated his gold medal to the athletes.
Joe bowls Sunday morning. I may have pictures next time of that.
Last week I took an entrelac class at my LYS. I'm not a huge fan of entrelac. I took the class to learn how to knit backwards. Below is the class project. My plan was to alternate skeins of Noro Kureyon.
What I think I will do now is frog it and make a sequence scarf out of it. I was browsing through my copy of Sequence Knitting when I came across the Noro scarf pattern. I'm not sure which pattern I'll do, but I know this yarn will turn into on of the scarves in this picture.
My teacup is now empty and it's time to get my chores for the day started. Have a great weekend!
