Solo Trip
It isn’t often that I leave home on a solo trip to Mankato. Dennis loves to drive and that is not so different from my dad. Mom would share with me that she would be in the midst of working on her rug loom or stitching in her sewing room and lo and behold, Raymond had a wild hair and she was asked to ride shotgun. She did share with me that she didn’t very often say no, for the fact that it would come that Raymond would no longer ask her to go with for fear of being turned down. I remember that oh so clearly. Today it was Dennis that turned me down.
When Orlin and I made a home together in the early 1960s, we always made what we had into “a home.” Perhaps not a lot of bells and whistles but we never lacked for comfort and safety. Over the years there were extra special items that we added to our home. Orlin was a huge fan of Norman Rockwell as the featured artist of the Saturday Evening Post magazines. There was a flyer that found itself into our mailbox in the 1970s. It featured Norman Rockwell figurines in bisque that could be purchased over a period of time. Each figurine was one that depicted a cover that had been done on the Post. What made it perfect was that Orlin’s mother, Esther, had given Orlin a multi-tiered corner wooden shelf. As it were, it featured the entire collection of the statuettes perfectly. It was a rare purchase for our family, but nonetheless very much enjoyed and appreciated.
When the Popular Mechanics magazine featured a grandfather clock kit, it called to Orlin as a good project to take on. Upon completion, it was a very handsome addition to our home added by the fact that it had been hands on with Orlin and Kevin putting the kit together. I loved hearing it chime.
In time Carrie had both the Norman Rockwells and the clock in her home. As Carrie added wee ones that were capable of having mishaps, Carrie passed both items off to Kevin to enjoy. Nothing better than to keep those special items that had been acquired in the family. After all, they were and are special reminders of what had piqued the interest of their father, Orlin.
This last fall, I was doing some cleaning in the attic. There were many items that I had no emotional attachment to that I did let go of on a market site. One item that I could never let go of was my sewing rocker. Orlin bought it for me in Mart, Texas, in February of 1964. It was my first piece of furniture when we set up housekeeping in Riesel, Texas. Carrie and Kevin had both been rocked in that rocker until their legs were almost dragging on the floor. In the 1970s Orlin had an interest in re-upholstery. The rocker was given a new look and it went on to be used as a great rocker to do crocheting from. Orlin and I may have moved on, but the rocker was always with me.
Arthritis made it a bit hard to get up from the rocker as it did sit very low to the floor and I moved the rocker up into the attic. It held some cherished stuffed animals upon its seat. I got the rocker out of the attic in the late fall. The first thing I did was care for the pecan wood that the frame was made of. Texas sported quite a bit of furniture with pecan wood as pecan trees are everywhere. I made an appointment in Mankato to have the rocker material to be replaced. It needed the springs to be re-tied and the webbing over the springs, right along with all the padding within the back and the seat. It needed what could only be termed as a re-do. Today I took the rocker and the material to the gal that will be doing all the work. An exciting trip with great anticipation of the outcome.
What I am very proud of is that Carrie will take care of my rocker that I have cherished for many years and Kevin will take care of the items that Orlin had a fondness for and cherished. It all remains within the family. Priceless.