Trains, Tunnels and a Child's Imagination

Back of the Photo

"Spanked later" was written on the back of this photo. I was two years old. My mother told me I was two, standing in the middle of the street and we were on a trip to see family in California. I really can't imagine it being that dangerous back in 1951 but, who knows? Those cars look pretty fast! I love this photo.

Basketball and Horses by Grandma Jo

I went to a one room country school when i was a kid so all the kids played soft ball , and then when i went to high school i played basketball two  years .  I didn't really like it , i thought it was to rough and i rode horses if thats a sport. I rode a horse to my brother's house on Sunday and changed clothes and went to ss and church, after lunch me and my neice would go to the neighbors and a bunch of us would ride horses, i never had a very spirited horse so i would try to ride this friend's , it would run etc. I was in the glee club and oh in grade school i did a lot of plays and always sang. 

I led a very boring life i guess but in the country its different, we thought riding a cow was fun and going out on the creeks for picnics, and weiner roasts.

Grandma Red, Daredevil Biker by Grandma Redlich

When I was a young girl I loved to play baseball, but did not get a chance too often.  I was a pretty good batter  and pitcher. But , of course  !!! I was always excited if I thought there may be a chance to play baseball !   I loved to ride a bicycle but never owned one. My parents would not get one for me.  So if I could I would borrow one without them knowing it, or I would have been in trouble.  I borrowed a bike once from a girl I knew when I lived in Madison Park area. I was a teenager. I took a long ride by Lake washington on a road close by. I had a blast but my parents never knew I would have been in big trouble !  I was all alone riding . It was fun because I loved to ride.  Another time I talked my girlfriend to ride double  with me on the bike down the Lee street hill and it was very steep . We didnt stop until we went several blocks and almost ended up at the swimming hole. We went thru the cross streets fast if a car would have came along we could have been killed. I was a daredevil.  Just telling it now  makes me shudder !!!!!  Thank God I had my guardian angels on duty.  We dont realize  how many times we are protected !  Well I finally grew up and dont do those  kind of things anymore!!  

A special gift

I remember one time when my sister Gail and I were crying and crying. Our father had come to visit. We were put in a room and told to wait. We didn't understand. We didn't know he was our father at that time. We just thought he was a nice uncle who came to see us from time to time. When they let us out of the room we were surprised by a nice gift. They had set up a play kitchen set for us. I never forgot that. I remember lots of fun with that kitchen set. I also remember our little sister, Sheila, running into the corner of the kitchen play set and gashing her eye. She still has the scar.

Al Jolson and my Father

My mom told me that my Dad, Ralph ( Bud ) Dinwiddie, use to sing like Al Jolson. Naturally that sparked my interest

My Eighth Birthday?

This is much like a birthday cake I had when I was maybe 8 years old. Or was I 11 years old. It seems like everything happened to me when I was 11 or 5 years old so...but I think that maybe I was eight for this. My mother's friend, Louise Ray, made this cake for me. That is all I remember about that birthday.

Being a Little Boy

I saw a program briefly on National Geographic a couple of days ago. It reminded me of when I was a kid. It was about Horned Lizards in the midwest. They always looked like miniature dinosaurs to me. I had many enjoyable hours/days/weeks even? playing with these brown creatures. I fed them one of their favorite foods, ants. They were happy.

Memories of 1st Baby Girl

New babies being born this month and next makes me think of our babies.

Angela truly was and is an angel. Angel means "messenger of God". We chose that name just because we liked it. I had a schoolmate named Angela who went by the nickname of Angie. I loved the nickname Angie so I chose that name but Dad hated the nickname Angie. He thought it sounded like a "mangy" dog. Thus Angela remained Angela. Her middle name, Marie, was chosen with Mary, the mother of Jesus, in mind and because it was beautiful with Angela.

At the time, Dad was an E5 in the Navy. Salaries were very low in 1970. We had no money to buy anything for Angela. Angela's hospital bill was $7.00. That was for our food. We had just moved from Williamsburg to Fredericksburg, Virginia since Dad was stationed at Quantico Marine Base. We had only a few friends whom we had just met. Therefore, we had no baby shower. The day Angela and I were to be released from the hospital, Dad bought one outfit to bring her home in. Poor Angela! But God knew and was so faithful. Upon arriving home, we found a large box on our doorstep with everything needed for new baby Angela. What timing! God provided through Grandma Jo! This is just one of many stories of God's faithfulness to us as a family over the years. When Angela was first born she slept in a green rectangle laundry basket. I have to say, it was the most convenient thing. I believe we were given a crib later. Martha Stewart often says, "It's a good thing!" Well, I say, "God does good things!"

Practical Math

Imagine my surprise when I woke up one day to find my math teacher building a closet in my bedroom! Yikes!! When I was growing up our house was constantly being remodeled, it seemed. At the time, the large room in the basement under the front room was being finished. This was the room my 2 sisters and I slept in temporarily. My 8th grade math teacher was there along with other workers working on my closet. The teachers needed to work part-time jobs in the summertime.

Our house was originally a 4 room house with a full basement including a garage under the house. There was one bedroom, a "front room", a kitchen, a bath and a utility room. I guess that makes 5! In my dreams, the utility room became a jungle. At some point, my parents built on a new front room next to the old kitchen and a little later, I think, a new kitchen. The old kitchen and front room became bedrooms. The utility room became a dining room.

My most unpleasant memory was of having to carry dirt out of the basement by the bucketfuls. My dad dug out the room under the new front room by hand and us girls had that "wonderful" task. Boy, did I hate that! Somehow they poured cement in to make walls and finished that room for us girls to use. When the kitchen was made, I think they dug the basement out first. My memory is a little faulty on that point. In the end, the room under the new kitchen became my room. I got to choose the color for the walls. They were lavender. I still like purple.

After I left they added on another large room where my mother took care of daycare children. Our backyard that once was large gradually became smaller and smaller. The original house use to have white shingles.

As most families, I have a lot of memories of life in that house. A lot of good memories of a loving mother and her care of the family and some not so good memories but I will never forget waking up to find my math teacher working in my room using his math skills.