All My Homes

Yesterday, I started making a list of all the "homes" I have had in my life. I loved different thing about each one, and each played a key role in my life's journey. I decided to start writing blog entries about each one. Let's see how long it takes me to write about them all. I will focus on the attractive features of each one.

Even in addition to these homes, there were other homes that were like "second homes" to me, namely my grandparents' homes, but I'll be writing mostly about houses that I actually lived in . . places where I actually unpacked my suitcase and received mail even if for a short time.

Home #1

Let's begin with the house of my birth. My father had waited til age 30 to get married, and had lived frugally until then, so that when he got married to my mother 6 years before I was born, he was able to pay cash for this brick split-level home at the end of a deadend street in Oklahoma City.

A Dead End Street . . .

There used to be a railroad track at the end of the deadend, but by the time I was born, that was pretty much gone, I think. It was just a big meadow. My father used some of the land outside our fence for a big vegetable garden. I don't know if it was technically part of "our yard," or if it was in fact part of the old railroad easement.

. . . and a Meadow

Anyway, the meadow was a delightful mini-nature preserve, full of flora and fauna such as dandelions, meadow larks, butterflies and bumble bees, plus a tiny creek. A perfect place for kids to frolic, which we did. My father also once made a big bonfire out there . . . not sure what he was burning. Maybe he had been pruning branches or something. That was quite fun . . . and would probably not be allowed in a city nowadays.

Layout of the House

The house itself had a large living and dining room area, a large kitchen with a backdoor opening to the backyard, two bedrooms downstairs (including one that had two doors --- one opening to the hallway by the bathroom and the other door opening to the kitchen); a full bathroom with black and white ceramic tiles, a large bedroom upstairs over the garage, and a huge attic.

Father Put Flooring in the Attic

My father put flooring in that attic so it could be used for storage. My oldest brother also used the floored attic area as a painting studio and a place to set up his chemistry set.

Brothers Upstairs

My brothers lived in the upstairs room, and divided it into their respective territories by painting it half green and half yellow, and by setting up their dressers as a dividing line, one facing one direction and the other facing the other direction. They still had their arguments, as they were very dissimilar boys, but it worked out somehow.

I Was the Only Girl, So Had My Own Room

I occupied the downstairs bedroom that had the two doors. I complained that "people" messed up my path through all my toys when they walked through the room. That would mean, of course, my #2 brother.

Parents' Bedroom and Bedroom Set

My parents, of course, had the other bedroom downstairs. They had a beautiful set of finely crafted and finished wooden bedroom furniture including headboard, dresser and mirror, and large chest of drawers.

Baby Grand Piano, Safe Neighborhood

The inside of the house was not that remarkable other than the baby grand piano in the living room, but it was more than adequate for five people (except for the often quarrelsome brothers having to share a room). The neighborhood, however, was fun and safe, with good neighbors, a nearby wading pool for summer (just a block away), the meadow and also proximity to our elementary school (about 3-4 blocks away).

Attic and Garage

The attic was a place to explore a bit. The garage was once a home to a possom and her babies!

Gardens and Trees

Plantings in the yard, other than my father's veggie and iris gardens, included a huge tree that he built a secure swing for; at least one mimosa tree; a sycamore tree; and lots of "shrubs," including honeysuckles and some other flowering bushes that produced tiny white flowers.

Fun Things for Kids in the Yard

The yard was big enough to contain a really big slide and a big cage that once had chickens in it, once rabbits, and I'm not sure what all else. My father was always thinking of something to build or plant or fix that would benefit us all, such as a picnic table that he made by hand.

Stay tuned for home #2, coming in the next blog! I thought I would do them all in one blog, but I've changed my mind! Sometime I'll find pictures to add, but that will most likely take a while!
Photo credit: My childhood friend Nancy.S.D. took these pictures for me recently! The house looks pretty much as I remember it in the 1960s. There are major differences that are not visible in these pictures: namely, the meadow to the right is now a major highway.