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When I landed here, I knew I was "home"!
It is like I had crawled into my own little cave when I entered this
room. I have, as always, familiar things around me--family pictures, my own pillow (have you ever slept on one of those pillows
in a motel?), my own goosedown comforter, and I am as snug as a bug in a rug. Come into my private abode and I'll show you
around. It's small, so it won't take you long.
My very own "nest." The bedspread was crocheted by my mother when she was expecting
me. She often teased me because she said, "I made a baby in nine months and a popcorn pattern bedspread in nine months." When
she gave it to me, quite a few years ago, she commented, "I wonder which one will outlast the other?" We both have a few scars
and tears, but we've both still got a lot more years of wear left in us!
The leapord-print pillow is Raquel's off-the-wall
taste in decorating!
The cedar chest was a gift to me from a fellow "back home" (Spring Lake, MN)
when I graduated from high school. Sam Stangland was his name. He owned and operated a huge logging camp, and he also processed
wild rice. The cedar he used for it came from my dad's multi-thousand acres of property.
The afghan is one I made.
The little table and doll on it are from Billie. The little ceramic bear box
on it was a going away gift from Joel Fontaine, a very special little boy who lived next door to us in Grand Forks. He was
born as a premie, weighing in at only 1 pound. When he survived, we called him our "miracle baby." Now, at 11 years old, he
is brilliant and funny and a great delight. When I was about ready to leave, he asked me, "How am I ever going to know how
to do my math homework if you move away?"
The little Elmo on the cedar chest was from Raquel. Mission Socorro worked primarily
with families. We liked to have things around that the kids could play with while we helped their parents sort out all of
their troubles. This little Elmo was perfect. You squeeze his right hand and he sings the theme to Sesame Street--in English.
When you squeeze his left hand, he sings it in Spanish.
These are two of my favorite pictures. The one on the left is one Ivan painted
of a sunset of the lake in late autumn from the front steps of my parents' cabin. The one on the right is our three kids when
they were little, painted by Ivan's brother Don from a K-Mart studio portrait.
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