Grandma May lived in Silverdale, WA. The first house I remember was the "big white house" on Bayshore Drive NW. a dutch colonial style, I think. It was right across the very small street from Dyes Inlet. We would go and dig in the sand for clams and other shells. The yard had huge trees. One evergreen was so big that we could set up a table underneath the lowest branches. We played house under there for hours. Grandma had a big garden ~ I can't remember what she grew in the garden, but I do remember that it attracted slugs. We liked to pour salt on them. The Elementary School playground was just behind her garden. One time I was turning off the garden hose ~ it was just outside the back kitchen door (?) under the back dining room window. As I glanced down I saw a snake slither across my feet. I probably jumped 6 feet in the air and screamed bloody murder. It could be why snakes still make my skin crawl. The side yard had a laundry line. The driveway was dirt and the garage was at the back of the house...UNDER the house. The firehouse was next door and the alarm would sometimes wake me up at night.
That house was beautiful ~ at least it was in my mind. There were bedrooms (2, I think) upstairs with sloped ceilings. I can still feel the smell of that upstairs in my nose, and I can hear the floors creak, and feel the worn floors on my feet. The fireplace in the living room was beautiful. So was the picture window that looked over the water. I remember the smell of low tide ~ it still reminds me of her house. Between the living room and dining room were leaded glass doors; there was also a door between the dining room and kitchen. The bathroom was fairly standard for its age ~ and if you flushed the toilet, the person in the shower would get scalded with the hot water!
One of my most vivid memories (especially as my kids lose their teeth): I was watching Speed Racer (the TV was near the fireplace), sitting on the big braided rug that covered the wood floors. I kept pushing at a loose tooth and suddenly it just popped out! I was completely taken by surprise because it wasn't really loose enough to come out!
We lived with Grandma May when I started 1st grade. For my first day mom made me a pretty red and white ginham dress (big gingham like a picnic tablecloth). Grandma May bought me a pair of socks to match ~ they were red and white striped (like a candy cane). That was just the beginning of the crazy socks that Grandma May would give us. I mentioned it to her years later (when I was an adult) and she was insulted that I thought she gave us "crazy" socks. Apparently she liked them and thought they were pretty!!
That house is gone now...I think they built some apartments on the land. That makes me sad. The house was moved, but I haven't seen it in its "new" location.
Later Grandma moved to a "new house" at 7245 Chico Way NW. That home was also across the street from Dyes Inlet. She had a big wooden deck around the front and the side of the house, and a huge staircase to climb to get to the house. She had a merry-go-round with a hand crank. It was sooo much fun!
Grandma loved gardening and she loved her flowers ~ especially roses! She grew a Crocosmia Lucifer plant near her outside stairs. It was so striking that people would stop (Chico Way is a fast street) and ask what it was. I helped Uncle Alan clean her yard after she died in 2005. I brought home some bulbs (Iris) and as much Crocosmia as I could. I love it when it blooms in my backyard. And when my own roses bloom I think she must be proud of me. I know she is the reason I have a "green thumb."
Grandma May loved Girls' Camp...I remember visiting her there at least once. She had a big walking stick and a hat. She seemed very at peace outside.
When Doug and I got married, we used the cake topper from her wedding cake. She had re-pearled the bride's veil and repainted the faces of the bride and groom. I was sad when she took it home, but happy to have that part of her wedding as part of ours.
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The old white house is now located on Silverdale Way, about half way between the Newberry Hill highway exit and the Farm Store on Silverdale Way. It was moved and changed into an insurance office. Just after moving it, they completely remodeled it on the outside and probably the inside as well. It no longer looks anything like the house that I remember on Dyes Inlet.
The merrygoround Missy remembers at Grandma Afton's was given to Dennis, Denise, Alan, Brian and Doug back about 1955 in Spokane. It had four seats and a hand crank that turned it around a central pivot. We could get that apparatus really flying... so much so that sometimes it was hard to stay on the seat. Great memory. Dad
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