Category Archives: Mondays are for Memories

Mondays are for Memories

It was in October of 2004 that we did our first SOWER project. It was at a small Christian school in Vienna, Georgia – and those memories will always be precious to us. The school is now closed, and we have not been back that way in many years. One of our favorite excursions while there was our trip to Providence Canyon State Park – Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon. We still recommend that park to friends if we know they are heading to Georgia.
I didn’t seem so very wordy back 19 years ago – so, here it is – short and sweet!

Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon
October 10, 2004

OK, so it’s not THE Grand Canyon, but for Georgia it was pretty impressive. We took the 3 mile hike that went into the canyon itself and got to walk along the creek beds that formed these canyons.



Monday Memories

I shared this memory over on the “Where are we now” page, but as I read over that post from nine years ago, I just couldn’t resist sharing it here also! My great niece, who was here just before us, is part of the fifth generation to come (as adults) and enjoy time here. There are now 40 (!!!) in that fifth generation – truly, I wonder if they knew…

Do you think they knew?
It was in October of 1937, in the midst of the Great Depression, when my grandparents purchased 190 acres (+/- as the deed states) about 8 miles outside of town along the road to Wright’s Mountain. My grandfather was the town doctor with a young family and I’ve often wondered just how they were able scrape together the funds to not only purchase the land but then build this modest one room cabin during a time when his bills were as apt to be paid with live chickens and black raspberry jam as cold hard cash.
cabin 1938
But regardless of how it all happened,  I wonder if they knew the impact this little get-away would have on their descendants.
I’m pretty sure the cabin was not built as a vacation destination. Since I doubt that in the years preceding World War II there were many vacation days built into a country doctor’s life, I think the cabin, in its earliest years, was more a spot for an afternoon of quiet, or maybe even that safe place where my grandmother could take the kids for a break in the routine. Knowing my grandmother, she probably used it for parties too!
Fast forward to the 1950’s. Although as a family we ALWAYS came to Bradford for our vacation (last week in July/first week in August = Plant shutdown = two weeks in Bradford), we stayed at our grandparent’s house – the Big House in the middle of town (complete with the Doctor’s office and Nurse Cora) and later a small house just outside of town affectionately called The Little House. I think that four young children coupled with no electric, water that needed to be pumped by hand from the not-very-close-by well and the random cow plops that dotted our meadow and path to the pond made “cabin time” a bit more challenging during those years. (My grandparents leased out their property to a nearby farmer for his dry cows to roam. The cows did a great job of keeping down the undergrowth and added a bit of whimsy to the cabin ambiance, but you never knew when you might come across one of their deposits.) We were more apt to pile in the jeepster for an afternoon cabin excursion or maybe, as a special treat, an overnight camping adventure.
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While it wasn’t the ultimate destination for our family vacation, it was still the highlight. It was the spot where I learned to swim, bait a hook, row a boat, enjoy fresh caught trout for breakfast and how to read by candlelight. Precious memories all. By the late 1960’s electricity had arrived and we began to stay at the cabin for longer stretches of time. Or maybe it was that my grandparents were getting older and the happy mayhem of our family (now full of teenagers) was best enjoyed by them visiting us at the cabin rather than us staying with them and just visiting the cabin. It’s hard to say. But by the early 70’s, as our generation was getting married and starting our families, the Cabin became the destination. We could hardly wait to introduce our little ones to the joys of the Cabin. (Difficulty of children napping in a one room cabin notwithstanding. At least there were no cow plops!)
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Pond1981 PondLara1981

Along with being the vacation destination, over the years our little slice of Vermont heaven has also served as a honeymoon cabin, a retreat from the world cabin and a family gathering cabin.
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1998 – The last summer my Dad (center) made it to the cabin.

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2012 – the Cabin’s 75th Anniversary

This summer, along with the four of us “senior siblings”, six of the thirteen cousins and their families spent time at the cabin. Several others longed to be here but couldn’t make the logistics work. Hooks were baited, inner tubes were inflated, frogs were caught and books were read. Naps were taken and favorite spots were explored. Maybe even a party or two was enjoyed. And important moments like these were shared.
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Grampy Doc and Lizzie > Dad and Mom > four siblings > 13 cousins > 29 (and counting) second cousins
I wonder if they knew…….

Mondays are for Memories

As I was thinking about doing a Mondays are for Memories post for today, I thought I would look back to the last time we stopped by here at High Braes – September 2010. It was just a quick overnight, and I documented it in a blog post called (wait for it) – Catchin’ Up. So apparently, I’ve been backlogged for a Very Long Time!
But anywho – here we go!
Catchin’ Up – September 2010

There is soooo much catching up I need to do. Bookkeeping, thank-you notes, journaling, blogging, bank statements, emails…..the list is long. Too long. But this post is about some catching up we were able to do as we traveled from Ontario to Ohio to meet that new grandson. Each night on the road we stopped and were able to catch up with old friends.
Monday night we stopped at a SOWER project in upstate NY –
HighBraes
and had a lovely evening catching up with the folks we worked with on our very first project six years ago. We’ve seen them a couple of times over the years, but not recently. It was great to enjoy a cup of coffee and some very good brownies with them and catch-up.
Tuesday morning we traveled to North Chili, NY (near Rochester) for a lovely afternoon and evening with SOWER friends, Dave and Edie. We worked with them on our third project, have seen them a couple of times since then and were delighted to be able to spend some time with them.
EdieandDave
(That’s the Erie Canal they’re standing by. Did you know the Erie Canal is still a viable (363 mile) waterway that stretches from Albany, NY to Buffalo, NY? We were touring an historic canal barge – very cool!).
Wednesday we headed into Pennsylvania. Even though PA is where I grew up and raised my family, we were heading into totally new territory for us. My best friend from high school lives just outside of Mansfield, PA and since we hadn’t seen each other in 30+ years, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to make a little detour to catch up with her! We’d lost touch over the years and only recently “found” each other through the miracle of the internet (and a sweet mutual friend who had an old “where are they now” class list!).
StephandGail
Not only was Gail my best buddy in high school, she was also one of the two attendants in my wedding.
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(This was a good summer for reconnecting with the wedding party for me. Back in July we spent a night at Deb’s house – remember?)
Deb and Me
Thursday morning we left Gail’s (with great hopes for staying in touch) and continued on to catch up with another SOWER couple that we had worked with a couple of times.
Green Isle GroupThey were also on that third project back in 2005 –
(that was our first “big” project – and it was lots of fun. Earlier this summer we had stopped to see another SOWER that we had met at that project, so you can tell it was a very special month!) We’re delighted to be working with them again this winter in Florida. Such a blessing it is to be part of the SOWER family!

By Friday morning we were heading to Ohio – and those grandbabies!!!!!!!
Noah-10
And although little Noah was (given the newness of his status – oh, and the fact he is a he) the star of the show –
Noah
we certainly had lots of fun with the girls (who actually knew we were there!).
Ohio Conrads 9_10-3_edited-1

And as startling as this may be, there are a bazillion other pictures of ALL the Conrads HERE if you’d like a peek!

Fair warning, there’s a lot of cuteness going on there!

So now it’s on to the rest of the catch-up. I think I’d better start with those thank-you notes! Or maybe the bank statement. Or maybe that new book……

Mondays are for Memories – FAQ #3

I checked back to see what I was writing about on this date 10 years ago, and found this. It seems surprisingly current!

Since you live in a house that you drive around the country, isn’t the price of gas KILLING YOU???
truckheader
Of course!
Isn’t it killing all of us????
Here’s the thing. Yes, we do drive our house around the country. But we do NOT drive it to the grocery store. Or to the bank. Or to pick up a burrito at Chipotle.
Last year we traveled just about 6400 miles. (And some of you came along for all of them! Thanks! :)) It’s true that when we fill up, it really hurts. Let’s face it, anyone with a 100-gallon gas tank is in pain when he fills up!
Gary at Work
We spent a whopping $3172.11 on diesel fuel in 2012. Yowzer. So (last year, anyway) it cost us about fifty cents a mile to drive the house.  Now that might seem like a lot, but there are a couple of big expenses we DON’T have.
Like property taxes. Or utility bills. Oh, we still have some of the same expenses you have – food, clothing, phone/internet-, but all in all we feel that our house on wheels is a pretty economical way to live. We try to be smart about our travel choices (the days of crisscrossing the country are over for most RV owners) and will try to work SOWER projects on our way to different destinations.

As for driving around our truck and the expense of that, we’re quite fortunate on that front also. Most of the time, when we’re on a SOWER project anyway, we are within walking distance of our jobs.  The majority of miles we put on the truck are pleasure miles.  Miles of choice, not necessity.  And that’s pretty sweet!

One more thing that’s related to the whole “price of fuel” discussion –

We NEVER have to buy gas for a lawnmower!
🙂

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FYI – our diesel cost for 2022 was $2425.24. That surprised me too! But then again we only put 3899 miles on the rig, so the price per mile was (as expected) higher. I guess we followed our ‘drive smarter’ rules! I’m pretty sure we’re not ready to hang up the keys just yet!

Mondays are for memories – The Way We Were

Sometimes when you’re going down one bunny trail, you come across a batch of old photos and your heart begins to melt…
1981 – The Cabin
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1986 – our Jamison House
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1987 – Mt. Washington, NH
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1989 – The Cabin
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1993 – The Living Room
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1997 – Back Porch
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2001 – B&B at Mike & Robyn’s wedding
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Late 2003 – Back in Jamison
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Fast forward 20 years….
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Yes, my heart is melting.