Cleaning out the family farmhouse and barn in New York
Posted By RichC on October 16, 2013
EDIT: I’ve added a small recording “app” to the iMac called eXtra Voice Recorder. In the old Mac days we would call these small apps “DAs”(Desk Accessories). If you’re a pre-X Mac user, do you remember them? Below is the audio test.
| Reading Cleaning out the family farmhouse and barn in New York (mp3) |
Brenda and I stretched out this past Columbus Day weekend and towed a U-Haul trailer up to Jamestown, New York in order to begin cleaning out her parent’s farmhouse and barn – it is tough closing the chapter on a lifetime of memories.
Most … no ALL of my time was spent in the barn and workshop. The neglected outbuilding was in serious need of cleaning, sorting and organizing since caring for it was no longer something Brenda’s dad was able to do in his later years. He had collected a lifetime of tools and treasures from his youth, World War II and 40+ years as a dentist; he had a pretty healthy collection of scrap and salvaged wood along with the miscellaneous items that many of us find too easy to keep and store when you have a small barn. (check out mud nest! – photo right)
Brenda’s mom and her sister and brother-in-law were there for the “fun” too. Chris and Jerry’s oldest son David and his girlfriend Rachel (now fiancé) arrived and found room on the couches (thankfully still there) – the big surprise was that he proposed on Monday morning … and did it by hiding a ring in the built-in cabinets in the farmhouse stairway. Very nice touch!
There were a few sisterly disagreements, but all in all we had a nice time together and accomplish a lot – still a lot to do. I only wish more of the family would have been there to sort through the memories and help line little things up for the family lottery. We talked about having one more family gathering and trip to Peek’n Peak over the holidays … something we have done for most of 30 years. We’ll see?
Comments