Jim: As you all know by now, we’ve spent the past three months packing up 85 years of Mother’s treasures and belongings to move her back to Mineola, Texas.
We loaded out of Artesia on June 30 and began moving boxes into the new garage on the evening of July 1. By noon that day, the movers had gone and we began the trial and error process of seeing where things fit, as opposed to our original ideas of where they should fit.
Mother spent the night of July 1 with her sister, T.J., but took up residence at the new place on Heritage Drive the next day…back in Wood County after leaving here for El Paso nearly 65 years ago.
Within 3-4 days, we had the large pieces in place and the decorating started, and after ten days we had everything in place. We’re happy to report that Mother, Bonita, and Spike (the order should really be Spike and then Bonita, but Bonita is very jealous, and Spike doesn’t care about the order of anything, as long as he gets fed on time every day) are happy in their new home.
Barbara: After taking photos of sections of Edith’s home, Jim and I made the executive decision that we’d just have an open house via our journal. After all, we have a lot of time invested in the outcome of her home and are quite proud of how well Edith and the puppies have settled in.
Our tour begins in the kitchen and dining area for the simple reason that that’s where I began taking photos. These rooms are to the right of the front door and living room…
Kitchen/Dining Area…
Notice in the top right photo the cabinets perfectly built to display 2 of Edith’s China sets as well as 2 sets of glassware.
The top left photo shows the old ice box and a case of Borden’s glass milk bottles…Jim’s father was a milkman long ago. In fact, the reason that the family moved from El Paso to Artesia in 1948 was because Joe was named the manager of Price’s Creameries there. Years later, he went into radio broadcasting.
Living Room Area…
Obviously I’m not a qualified photographer, but at least you can see the three areas of her living room…as one enters the house, the couches are to the left with the desk on the left. The wall hutch faces the doorway. Speaking of the desk…the Bible on the left corner of the desk is from the Davenport family around 1889. (The picture isn’t really crooked; I did a poor job of photography…sorry about that!)
We loaded out of Artesia on June 30 and began moving boxes into the new garage on the evening of July 1. By noon that day, the movers had gone and we began the trial and error process of seeing where things fit, as opposed to our original ideas of where they should fit.
Mother spent the night of July 1 with her sister, T.J., but took up residence at the new place on Heritage Drive the next day…back in Wood County after leaving here for El Paso nearly 65 years ago.
Within 3-4 days, we had the large pieces in place and the decorating started, and after ten days we had everything in place. We’re happy to report that Mother, Bonita, and Spike (the order should really be Spike and then Bonita, but Bonita is very jealous, and Spike doesn’t care about the order of anything, as long as he gets fed on time every day) are happy in their new home.
Barbara: After taking photos of sections of Edith’s home, Jim and I made the executive decision that we’d just have an open house via our journal. After all, we have a lot of time invested in the outcome of her home and are quite proud of how well Edith and the puppies have settled in.
Our tour begins in the kitchen and dining area for the simple reason that that’s where I began taking photos. These rooms are to the right of the front door and living room…
Kitchen/Dining Area…
Notice in the top right photo the cabinets perfectly built to display 2 of Edith’s China sets as well as 2 sets of glassware.The top left photo shows the old ice box and a case of Borden’s glass milk bottles…Jim’s father was a milkman long ago. In fact, the reason that the family moved from El Paso to Artesia in 1948 was because Joe was named the manager of Price’s Creameries there. Years later, he went into radio broadcasting.
Living Room Area…
Obviously I’m not a qualified photographer, but at least you can see the three areas of her living room…as one enters the house, the couches are to the left with the desk on the left. The wall hutch faces the doorway. Speaking of the desk…the Bible on the left corner of the desk is from the Davenport family around 1889. (The picture isn’t really crooked; I did a poor job of photography…sorry about that!)
Guest Bedroom…
Antique Hallway… Just want to point out a couple of things…First, in the photo on the left is a photo of Jim’s great grandmother…and the photo with the white gown is one of Edith when she was a senior…a better photo of her is on bottom right. The large baby photo on the top right is Edith in 1924.
The bottom left photo shows primers, textbooks, and hymnals’ dating back to the 1800’s…Wow!
Bottom right…books that Jim and his brother read when they were younger. Some of Edith’s college textbooks are on display on the bottom shelf of the bookcase (not shown). We’ve told you she NEVER throws anything away!
Edith’s Bedroom and Office…
Obviously, it was naptime for Edith and the puppies when I took these photos, but it will give a sampling of the spaciousness of this room. The door in the bottom middle photo leads to the sunroom, but since we’ve done nothing out there, I saw no need to photograph it.
Bathrooms and Dogs!
The bottom left photo shows primers, textbooks, and hymnals’ dating back to the 1800’s…Wow!Bottom right…books that Jim and his brother read when they were younger. Some of Edith’s college textbooks are on display on the bottom shelf of the bookcase (not shown). We’ve told you she NEVER throws anything away!
Edith’s Bedroom and Office…
Obviously, it was naptime for Edith and the puppies when I took these photos, but it will give a sampling of the spaciousness of this room. The door in the bottom middle photo leads to the sunroom, but since we’ve done nothing out there, I saw no need to photograph it.
Bathrooms and Dogs! The top left and two middle ones are of the master bath area…enormous!
Top right is an angled view of the guest bath looking towards the antique hallway. This bath also has a hidden closet which houses the washer and dryer and a door which leads to the guest bedroom.The puppies…what can I say? I needed 2 more photos to finish this collage so decided they fit the bill. Spike is on the left and Bonita on the right.
Thanks for joining us during this open house time.
“Home is not a place, it is Edith and her dogs.” Adapted from a Lois McMaster Bujold quote…Jim and Barbara
