Stairsteps: Dad, Louise, Dwight, Elizabeth

Dad, Dwight, Louise, Liz

Elizabeth and her mud pies in her Sunday dress.

A Faded But Magic Photo: Dad, Liz, Dwight, Louise

Dad, Dwight, Louise, 1933 Penrose

The Shumway house, which was always called "Rosie's", is in the distance.  The mailbox is barely discernible, but was our connection with the world.

Dad, Liz, Dwight, Louise Early Day Penrose

A bit fuzzy.  Amazingly, I remember the skirt Louise is wearing in this photo.  Had we gone to Church?  If so, where?  When did church stop being held in Penrose?  And would all of us have gone to Byron?  Who knows?

Judy, Steve, Ann way back when

Thanks to whoever took this picture.  Liz, maybe?

Penrose porch scene 1956

One of those rare times when someone else took a picture and I was in it.  We had no idea what we were in for when we headed for Ann Arbor a short time later.

Penrose Front Porch Summer 1956

This Penrose visit occured late summer 1956.  Ron was born shortly after and, when he was two weeks old, Velna and I and two kids took off for two years in Ann Arbor at the U of Mich.  No money, no place to stay, brand new baby.  Typical life story.  We figured it out.

Familiar Smells and Other Stuff

Are there childhood smells you sometimes long for?  Fresh baked bread or Mother's fried chicken, the smell of the sagebrush after a rain storm, a bowl of freshly picked strawberries,  or grape Kool-aid in a quart jar on a hot summer day?  There is a smell that has been tugging at my memory senses and today Paul helped me with this one.


Tonight when we crawl into bed, I can bury my face in the sheets and there will be that very fresh smell of sheets that have been dried without anything but the sunshine.  Can life get any better than that?
I know, our blog is coming, but life has been very busy, and so I am sharing on Penrose Mornings one more time (according to Judy, she doesn't think I really will do a blog - should I take that as a challenge, or should I just let her be right?).

Here is an update on the chicks - the photos speak for themselves.  We are at the one month mark and not one casualty.

Scout, the cat, is so intrigued she spends her days laying around the edge of the coop to keep tabs on the chicks' comings and goings.  We may have a rooster, so Laura has named that one "Dinner".

Life is busy and ever so good in our little corner of the world, in spite of forest fires all around us, and turmoil everywhere we turn.  We are very blessed.

Blood Family Penrose 1954

Not many pixels to work with here; of course, I am never in the pictures.

Where We Started Almost 60 Years Ago: SLake Temple

I just came across this photo and decided to post it for no apparent reason.

Annie, June 2012

A Penrose Moment from 1932? Dad and Louise

I don't think I've posted this one before.  This photo came out of the dark and into the light.  Thin and skinny Dad, baby Louise

Elizabeth, Louise, Dwight

Caleb and Michele's Wedding

When I saw these joyous photos on FB this morning, I stole them to post here on Penrose Mornings.  The bride and groom are delightful.  Velna is beautiful and Dwight has on his best worried smile. Russell is telling us something.   Today the world is right side up and we all rejoice.

Father's Day

 Dad was always obliging when I wanted to take his picture - this one with the tall lilies, astilbe, and dahlias in my Tumwater garden.

 This is the baby picture that we're forever grateful for.  There weren't too many pictures of Dad as he was growing up, because his mother passed away 8 months from this picture.

And this picture, taken the summer of 1980 when Mother was ill with her cancer.  Dad tried to retain his sanity by making one of his Germany pictures, which he gave to me.  We did not take many pictures of the picture-making process.

There are so many fathers in our family today.  It is very fitting that we take time to show appreciation for having them in our lives.  Our Dad was always a little bigger than life.  His distinctive voice carried far, and he was often shushed (much to his chagrin) when there was a baby in the house.  His laugh and enjoyment of family banter can not be forgotten.  Dad and Mother would do anything for their children that they thought would be good for them - they never quit parenting us.  I could write a lot more, but there are other things calling this morning.  Just wanted to wish all of the fathers a wonderful day, and give them a big thank-you for all that they do for their families.

It's Mule Days in Ralston!

A quick perusal of this morning's online Powell Tribune tells us that the most important news item, of interest to all of us, but particularly to Dwight, is that the weekend of Father's Day is also Mule Days in Ralston.  This could be a very important weekend for mule lovers all over the United States.  There will even be an auction, so that if you want, you can have your very own mule to tether in the back yard - but not if you already have chickens.

Chicken Update and Other Stuff

I hate to interject today's life in the middle of the neat photos that Dwight has been posting, but I feel somewhat justified after taking much abuse from siblings regarding our new adventure.  It won't be long before you can keep up with Tanner stuff on our family blog.  Yes, we are moving into that world with our blog named "Grandma's Fried Oatmeal".  Our intention is to keep our name out of the title, and our kids all remember how Grandma would fry the leftover oatmeal for the next meal, rather than wasting anything.  That experience has been a constant source of conversation at each family gathering,  so after taking a family vote, our blog name has been set.  The blog should be up and running within the next couple of weeks.  But, in the meantime here you go -

Monday the chicks moved out of my sewing room and into the coop.  I can still hear the peeping and chirping even though the source of the noise is no longer in the house.  But now I can grind spelt to make some bread, and get busy on other projects in the sewing room

This was taken prior to the move to the coop.  The chicks are all lined up on their perch as though they are waiting for the movie to start.  They have tail feathers and wing feathers and real attitudes.

We just moved the chicks out to the coop.  They were so accustomed to being in the big plastic box they didn't know what to do with so much room.  Soon they were flapping their wings and "flying" all over the place.  When we checked on them this morning they are all still alive so I think we have made the transition ok.

 This was a common sight last week when the house was full of kids, grandkids, dogs, cat and chicks.  For some of the grandchildren, the chicks were a little intimidating until they held one.  Then it was hard to leave them alone.  This is Jack (Nathan's oldest).

Not my favorite photo, but oh well.  In the middle of all the chaos there was a knock on the door and we were presented with this award for the month of June.  Guess I'll go plant some more flowers.

 When I did the original post this morning I left this photo off.  We had wild and crazy winds on Saturday which made it necessary to prune back this 6' tall rose bush.  It was just loaded with these roses that are now in vases in the house.  Our spring has been wonderful for the roses.

Liz, Dwight, the White Cat, and the Doll Buggy

One of my truly favorite all-time photos. Liz still followed me around after I appropriated (stole) her doll buggy to haul our big white cat around in. Note home-made shirt.

Dwight, Seriously?

Dwight and Louise

In the summer yard at the Penrose little brown house. Maybe 1933, since I was born in September 1932. I'm just going through these photos in the order they appear on my hard drive.

Cat and Dog at Sunlight Cabin

This photo is one of those classic pictures we have all looked at a million times,  Now the cat has been brought to light while the dog sleeps.

Baby Louise 1931 Sunlight WY

Note the Colorado license plate from the brief stay Mom and Dad had in Denver when seeking new adventures right after their marriage.  Note also the shadow of the photographer.

Important Package

Just wanted to let you know the Post Office called to let me know I had a very noisy little box that needed to be picked up.  Photos aren't great, but I just wanted to share. 

Happy Birthday to Steve

 If you will notice, the impish look that Steve had as a "cute" kid has endured over the years.  Our younger brother has a wicked sense of humor as well as the absurd.  And, we can't think of him without including Mary Lynn.  (Note the plaque in the background.)

These pictures were taken in New York a few years ago.  Not much  has changed since then, has it, Steve?  You never age, right?  May you have a happy birthday today.  Love you, brother.

Happy Birthday Steve

Dear Steve,
I hope your day is full of good things, sunshine and happy memories. I must admit there are times on quiet days when I think about the adventures you led me on.  There were so many, like taking apart bicycles and sharing parts as we put them back together.  (Did you know that Dwight only left those bikes at Penrose to be stored?  Sorry, Dwight)   Remember how they really did go much faster, even on the washboard roads?  Then we would take those much improved (?) bikes up to the top of the hill by the old oil tank and  take off to see how far we could coast heading towards home. We would fly through the rain puddles and laugh like there wasn't a care in the world.

I will always be thankful for a "little" brother who was my buddy during our growing up years.  The photo is just to remind  you of what you are missing unless you come to my house.  I love you, Steve.

Another Birthday Wish for Elizabeth

I think that this picture is crooked, but don't let that fool you.  That really is Elizabeth sitting in the field among the chickens.  Question:  Why isn't she scared of them????  puck-puck-puck-ma-guck!

The truth is, she isn't scared of anything, then or now.  She is brave and she is strong and we love her fun place is our family.  Yes, she does use her Elizabeth speak very well.  But we know.....we know.

Happy birthday, Elizabeth.  May your day be laden with love found in your favorite things and people.

Happy Birthday to Elizabeth

I know this should be cropped, but hopefully this will come through ok.  I love this photo of Elizabeth.  The twinkle in her eye says there is mischief brewing.  There is another photo I wanted to post, but time is short, so this will have to do.  Elizabeth's birthday and Memorial Day celebration never were on the same day - that was always Steve's birthday, but this year is just a little different. 

So, to our dear sister, Elizabeth, Happy Birthday!  I hope your day is full of fun "stuff", and that this next year will continue to give you time for quilting, gardening, reading, learning how to vine your tomatoes, etc.  (Who wants to clean house???)  I am so thankful you are my sister.  I am thankful for the laughter on the phone, for your confidence that I just might know an answer to a question, for your friendship and for your love.  May this be a wonderful day for you.

Lilacs and Iris on Memorial Day

I remember Memorial Day in Penrose, when we hoped that both the iris and the lilacs would be blooming.  The lilacs grew on the huge lilac bushes on the original home site of the Tvedtness home on the lot next to ours that Dad bought.  The home was long gone, but the remnants of "Emmy's" gardening prowess remained long after their home was gone.  The iris grew on the path from our back door to the barn.  As I remember, quart bottles were used to take the flowers to the Penrose cemetery.  After Dad and Mom died, and both were in the Penrose cemetery, Burchell and Ruby Hopkin told me that they had taken flowers to their gravesite each year on Memorial Day, a moving tribute to our parents for which we all remain eternally grateful since we are not able to be there ourselves, however much we would like to be there.

Memorial Day 2012

 Our grandmother, Louise Blood

 Our grandfather, Roscoe Blood

 Our parents, Minnie and Russell Blood

 I'm not certain, but I think Dad is kneeling by his Mother's grave in Nebraska, 1988

 Classic picture of our parents, Minnie and Russell Blood, baby Louise, Sunlight, 1931

Our grandparents, Tilda and James Wasden

Memorial Day 2012.  Today we honor our parents and grandparents and all those who have gone before us.  Since we cannot travel to the Penrose cemetery, we make the best of it by remembering them here.  If these photos are too large for your hard drive, let me know and I'll shrink them, but I wanted to see them in a large enough size so I could feel their presence.  We never knew our Blood grandparents, since Dad was an orphan at an early age.  We grew up with our Wasden grandparents and we children were close to them all of their lives.  Never a day goes by that I still do not think of my parents in some way or another, and continue to miss them after all these years.  And so we pay tribute to all of them this Memorial Day 2012.

We would be remiss if we did not honor service men and women, and particularly the members of our family who have served, and are now serving, in the armed forces of our country.  We especially pay tribute to those who have served in harm's way.  So, be assured that we are thinking of you, that we are aware of the sacrifices you have made and our now making in our behalf.