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She lived out in the country in a little frame house. It had one bathroom - I remember that clearly. It was one of those houses with two front doors leading onto a big, wide covered porch with a porch swing. She had a linoleum floor in the kitchen with an art deco pattern on it. She had no air conditioning and she had those old school space heaters that we'd have to light in the mornings when it was cold.
She had feather beds in every room and in the summer, with no AC, she'd put percale sheets on them and lower the blinds in the rooms (all the windows had deep awnings over them for shade) and open the windows and there was a box fan in a window in each room. I honestly don't remember being particularly uncomfortable, but I do remember that her front porch was in the shade much of the day and we did a lot of hanging out there! If I had a dollar for every game of Clue or every Paint By Number painting I did out there, I could probably take a pretty decent vacation somewhere!
Her house always smelled like whatever sort of wax she used on her hardwood floors. I loved the scent and still do to this day. I have a sewing kit of hers and when I open it, I can still smell her house 30 years later. Her bedroom though smelled like Pond's Face Cream.
She had a washer but no dryer so we used her clothes line. I loved that too - especially the smell of those percale sheets after they'd hung in the sun all day. I still hang clothes and sheets outside whenever possible.
Oh and she had a party line and some old rotary phone!
She used to say "I lived in the good ol' days - they weren't so good." As nostalgic as thinking of her house makes me, would I want to live there? No. Go back for a visit? Absolutely!
My grandfather (my father's Dad) lived in Florida in an old house with a huge grapefruit tree in the front yard. When we would visit we were allowed to pick grapefruits off of it with a long pole with a basket on the end - fun times for Northern kids! The thing I remember most though is that Grandpa kept a huge spider in his bedroom to keep the insects down. He always warned my Mom against smooshing that spider, as it was better than any insect repellent! All of us kids were terrified of it though.
I remember the scents. They're hard to describe but once in a blue moon I'll be somewhere and get a whiff and immediately get pulled back to my grandparents' house. The scent of certain soaps, certain aftershave, certain perfumes that are no longer popular.
Like many people of their generations, they had a lot of dark wood furniture. It's not common to see the wine colored varnishes in today's houses.
They also had formal living rooms, which no one seems to have anymore. I distinctly remember that both sets of grandparents had a cut glass crystal container for certain kinds of candies which were only offered to guests and never touched otherwise. It seemed to be a thing for that generation.
Lots of doilies, African Violets and philodendron. And it always smelled like Noxzema.
Yes, doilies all over the furniture and on couch arms and backs.
Other grandma always had her homemade baked goods on the counter. She had one of those old hand wringers for doing the wash which always fascinated me.
A coal stove in both, at one in the living room, in the other the basement.
Outhouses at both. Chamber pots at both in the bedrooms.
A hand water pump in the kitchen at one.
Hydrangeas and peonies at both, currant bushes at one. Raspberries at both. A cherry orchard at one, apple trees at the other.
Chicken coop at one.
I should note the two house were half a mile apart. Very few houses in the town didn't have outhouses.
My grandfather (my father's Dad) lived in Florida in an old house with a huge grapefruit tree in the front yard. When we would visit we were allowed to pick grapefruits off of it with a long pole with a basket on the end - fun times for Northern kids! The thing I remember most though is that Grandpa kept a huge spider in his bedroom to keep the insects down. He always warned my Mom against smooshing that spider, as it was better than any insect repellent! All of us kids were terrified of it though.
Happily surprised to read about the spider. That's so true about the spider. They can reign in a house better than bug repellent and none of that smelly spraying effecting humans. They can get their liquids as well as food from bugs they kill. They can be very content and have the awareness that there's no need to bother a human as long as they are content.
Off the back porch was a season room- Not like todays version. It was a dank room where she kept - the chopped wood, the potatoes/onions/summer veggies, sodas ( back then we got them by the crate ) , and her small garden tools. I can't say its a shed though, it was a niche right off the kitchen.
My aunt and uncle had a back room like that. I never heard it referred to as a "season room". I think it was just called the store room, or the porch room (I think way back before my time it was a back porch). They had a chest freezer in there too, and it was soooo dark. This was in a big old farmhouse, on a working farm. At one time my uncle was the largest landowner in the city (and it's a good sized city). The farmland has been split up now, amongst the kids and grandkids, and much has been sold off to developers, but there is still a lot of family land left, and all of it is still farmed. One of my cousins now has a thriving beef cattle business - and sells to local restaurants as well as individuals. Farmers are hardworking folks!
Happily surprised to read about the spider. That's so true about the spider. They can reign in a house better than bug repellent and none of that smelly spraying effecting humans. They can get their liquids as well as food from bugs they kill. They can be very content and have the awareness that there's no need to bother a human as long as they are content.
Sorry I've had a spider drop down on me in the bed, one too many times. I keep glue traps out along the baseboards. I want NO spiders in my bedroom thank you very much.
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