Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Timmy and Pop's Project Book

Do you remember a blog post just a few months ago about Timmy and Pop working together to build this bird house?




Well, just in case you might think Emily is the sole recipient of some very artfully preserved Hulse history, let it be known that Timmy was also gifted with an incredibly meaningful and special link to his heritage.  As a kindergarten graduation present, Nancy put together the photos and story of Timmy's construction project with Pop into a book.  She continued the book telling Timmy that he comes from a long line of "fix-it guys."  She shared photos and stories of the many projects Dave worked on with his father while he was growing up and since.  She also found old photos of both her father and Frank's father, and narrated some fascinating tales of their various projects.  Frank's grandfather was a ship's captain who also constructed basic furniture, such as a shoe cabinet that Frank and Nancy still proudly display in their home.  His father was a "get-er'-done" project man who would sit at the dinner table and propose tearing down a wall to enlarge the living room, then take a hammer to the wall minutes later and execute the project.  Nancy's father was a truck mechanic who could, and did, fix almost anything!  Timmy is fascinated by these stories of his great, great-grandfathers and has already memorized most of this very special book by reading it nightly at bedtime.  The end of the book very thoughtfully links Timmy to his family fix-it guy history with some wonderful photos of Timmy's early construction projects, from elaborate train track designs to Lego villages he has built.  Timmy is hopeful that he, too, will leave a legacy for his children and grandchildren to admire by joining the ranks of the Hulse project men.










Sunday, June 29, 2014

Nana's Grandma's Dress


When Dave's mom, Nancy, was a little girl, her grandmother crocheted her this lovely, delicate little dress.  Nancy can remember being dolled up in it for photos, and then it was laid carefully away to be preserved.  She dutifully kept it for many, many years, lugging it along on countless moves long after giving up on the notion of someday having a daughter to inherit it.   She eventually decided to move it out of the house, bequeathing it to a neighbor with daughters who thoughtfully pulled her aside and recommended that she tuck it away just a little bit longer, just in case...

Along came Miss Emily, and the dress suddenly had a purpose for its almost 70 year wait to be worn again.  Nancy refurbished it, adding a new under slip and ribbons, detailing its history along with that of its maker, Emily's great, great grandmother, in a special heirloom notebook she presented to Emily just after her 3rd birthday.   Nancy was 3 1/2 years old in the photo above, so I waited until Emily was the same age Nana was then to do a little photo shoot to further celebrate and preserve the legacy of this very special dress.  I feel blessed to see our children learning more about their family history and I'm grateful for the devotion and thoughtfulness their grandparents have put into fostering this connection.



This was Nana's childhood rocking chair.  Nancy was always dressed in braids as a child.

Emily was definitely channeling her inner-Nana!  







Thursday, February 20, 2014

Timmy and Pop's Project


These beautiful photographs of Timmy and Pop sharing a special grandson/grandfather project day building a birdhouse together were taken by Nana using my camera. 





















Sunday, January 12, 2014

Mazama Getaway


My hubby and I found ourselves in the rare and exquisite position of leveraging our Christmas presents this year to wrangle a two-night getaway to snowy Mazama WITH OUT, and this is the kicker, THE KIDS!  The grandparents and one of our awesome babysitters rallied together to provide our two little urchins (3 and 5 years old)  a fun-filled weekend at home while we cross-country skied, napped, snow-shoed, exchanged massages, and ate and drank under declaration of calorie exemption. It was sheer bliss!  It was also a wonderful opportunity to crack out the cameras and do some photo-documenting.

Baby, it's cold outside!

View from our room.

Fueling up for a long day of winter play!


I loved the architecture and general style of the main lodge dining area.


Hitting the trails.  With over a thousand acres to choose from, we decided on Jack's Trail for starters.

Enjoying the scenery.


Remembering, more or less, how to do this!



Lunch at Jack's cabin.  The Potato & Escarole soup was healthy enough to compensate for the Hot Butter Rum to follow.





A touching tribute to the late, great wilderness guide and the cabin's namesake, Jack.
A nap and a good book(s) by the fireplace.  Working on a little dual language reading.  I'm a dork, truly.  This is fun for me!

Round Two:  snowshoes.
Dave tells me he was working on his "funky tilt" here.   Obviously, he's a dork, too.  Good thing we've got that in common!



Kicking around Winthrop.  Dave was intrigued by the gear ornaments on the bike racks.

    Always smart to get in good with the town Sheriff.  He was a bit stiff, however.
                                              


Dinner at the old historic Duck Brand Hotel in Winthrop.


Ah!........... No further comment ;o)