A Barn's Treasure

When visiting Ohio a couple weeks ago GrandmotherJane decided it was time to sell the barn.  It's too difficult to keep up with the maintenance and she doesn't spend the time there she thinks she should.  She and I completely agreed, she's to a point in her life where she should only do things she wants to.  She offered the treasures and memories inside for anyone who wanted them.  All the things we brought home have found a perfect place.  A perfect addition and a loving reminder of my Grandparents. 

The last time I saw my Granddad was Christmas, 2006, when we celebrated my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.  We all came together and had an amazing time.

 

I love this farm bench.  I love to look at the cuts and dings and think about the stories behind them. 

 

This butcher block goes back as far as my memories will take me.  I remember playing on this table 

and in the kitchen it sat in with my cousins and brothers.  It was in the basement kitchen. The basement is where us kids always hung out--daring each other to go into rooms that were way too dark or touching stuff knowing we would get it trouble if caught. 

 

I think I inherited my Granddad's love of chairs.  Big ones, little ones, as long as they're unusual, I love them.  I think he did, too.

 

A perfect place to sit and eat a pop tart.

 

These chairs make a perfect addition to my back porch.  Aren't they just begging you to sit down with a glass of iced-tea?

 

Love this one, at first glance it's a simple wooden chair.  But, looks can be deceiving...

 

A potty chair!  Complete with faux leftovers just to catch you off-guard.  Granddad was such a trickster--if you came to visit he would have convinced you this was the only toilet in the house. One of my earliest memories of him is being duped into thinking pigs' feet were candied apples.  Uh-huh, I totally fell for it. 

 

This is a simple bed.  But, a bed that my Granddad made so it means a lot to me.  It was really challenging to get the bed to Texas and even more so to get the bed into Gavin's room.  I overheard Steve channeling Granddad as he was putting the bed back together, "Come on, A.L., how did you do this?" a couple minutes later, "I got you, I see what you did, man, you weren't messing around!"  My favorite part about the bed is it still smells of the barn.

 

Each granddaughter was given a hope chest Granddad made.

 Harrison and Granddad, Christmas 2006.  Harrison was the only great-grandchild Granddad got to meet.  I know he would have really gotten a kick out of the other two that have since joined the family.  

 

It was a little hard for my GrandmotherJane to see things leaving the barn.  She said, "It's okay that I'm sad. It's what life is about.  It means I've had a good life when it makes me emotional to think about it.  And I'm having a great life."