That’s what I felt when The Cottage closed the first
of the year.

![]() |
Mary's Home |
The attraction was the house, described as a
California Bungalow and eerily reminiscent of Mary’s home in Janesville,
Wisconsin.
We laughed at how we would identify that we were
received on what was the front porch and seated at various times in the sewing
room, mother’s bedroom, the TV room or almost anywhere except the kitchen,
which was being used as, duh!, the kitchen.


We went looking for the serial number in Janesville,
but reconstruction of the basement since its original construction somehow got
rid of the number. However, there was no
doubt that it was a Sears bungalow.
After Mother Kelley moved out of the house, it was
sold to a nice, young couple who were into antiques. On one of our return trips to Janesville,
Mary and I stopped by to meet them and see what they had done to the
house. Very little it turned out and the
rooms had an oddly familiar feeling to them.
Except that things were in the wrong place. The sewing machine, for instance, which they
used for a table, was in the dining room instead of the sewing room. And the Cedar chest, which was at the foot of
Mother Kelley’s bed, was being used as a coffee table in the living room. We avoided telling the new owners of their
mistake, but the topic is one we regularly share with family.
We have already identified several very nice places
to go on Easter, Mother’s Day and the like.
But as we dine there, we are likely to remember that on our last visit
to The Cottage, with our children and grandchildren, we were allowed to sit in
the Dining Room for the first time.
Only fitting!
In my next Post I’ll explain why a late Christmas
gift from Mary was special. I hope you’ll
stop by.
Great post, Dee! I wonder what year the picture of the house in Janesville was taken?
ReplyDeleteMary thinks about 1950. Glad you liked the post.
ReplyDelete