Spaceship House

Okay..this is for the people who know exactly what I am talking about when I say "Spaceship House."  You find it on the left while driving down the stretch of road to the old beach house.  The spaceship sits on top of a tiny cinder block house, and it looks like it is used as a den.  It has survived all the hurricanes the island has been hit by.  And Sally, Janie & Amanda...I know when we were young we have all done group/separate walks down to it late at night and found that it was gone.  Off on a space mission?

Anyway, I was reading Vanity Fair and came across this little article.  Since the print is illegible on the scan, I will type it out.  Pensacaola Beach has its very own national treasure:)

"BACK TO THE FUTURO"

Designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, the 500 square foot Futuro House was introduced in 1968.  These ovoids wee intended for quick placement (some were simply transported by helicopter) as ski cabins or vacation saucers.  A circular fireplace sat in the center of the living lounge.  A small bathroom, bedroom, and kitchenette completed the futuristic floor plan.  About a hundred were made; only 18 are known to survive in the U.S. today.  This one, owned by Mark Haddawy, designer and co-owner of Resurrection, the resale-fashion showroom, was purchased in 2009 at auction for $50,000.  Haddawy has placed his restored fiberglass Futuro House precariously on a Hollywood hillside just above his own, John Lautner-designed masterpiece of a home, the 1956 Harpel House.

Big Move For A Big Boy

We went out Saturday to pick out some new bedding for Solon's new room.  We settled on the rocket/spaceship theme.  Solon was pretty pumped up by the idea of sleeping in his big bed for the first time.  So we settled him in, and then Jay and I headed downstairs.  About 30 minutes later, we hear his little feet padding down the upstairs hallway.  Sure enough, there he was at the top of the stairs holding all three of his favorite blankets.  He looked thoughtful, and asked for some milk.  Jay brought him up some, and Solon was sitting in his bed.  He had put EVERYTHING in it with him.  All his toys.  His shoes. 

Then he looked at Jay..and said "Okay.  I think it is time for me to go to my crib."  He is good about telling us when he is ready for something, so we figured we have a few weeks for him to get used to the idea of leaving his old room behind. 

Just Found

I just found these pics on another camera.  They were from Nana Christmas!  Solon had a blast opening up presents, and Ann knew Jay and I too well.  She must have gotten tired of us using all this sad and broken equipment in our house:)  Me.  My one big mixing bowl that has a crack down the entire side.  Jay.  A bamboo stick for a fire poker.  So I got new red mixing bowls, and Jay a fire place set!

Lots of fun! and we had a fun dinner of chicken lasagna and wine:)

Deja Vu

Does this look familiar?  Jay went and pulled out the stroller and baby carrier from the attic, and he cleaned it all up and put air in the tires.  Solon tried to squeeze his big bottom into it, but it just wasn't working.  He then kept saying he was going to push Poppy and his baby sister in it.  So, I think he is starting to realize that we are going to be adding another person to the group soon.

Happy Late Birthday!

Solon wasn't quite sure why he was getting a present, but it didn't dent his enthusiasm!  A bday present from Matt, Amanda and Caelan!  Amanda has become quite the seamstress it appears because this blanket is all her creation:)  Solon loves it, and likes to "get comfortable" with it on the couch.  Also in the package! Cookie's (or Steakfinger Jr) first toy.  Jay's eyes light up when he sees the color pink.  No lie.  I think Muffin and I are going to be scraping for crumbs of attention when she arrives:)

Musty Archiving

Well, I am done.  I have successfully gone through a huge box of old newspapers from 1964 that my mom  has stored in one place or another for the past 40 plus years.  There was a point during mine, Sally and Janie's week of going through Momma's stuff that we looked at each other and couldn't decide to hang onto it or pitch it.  We were just overwhelmed with the amount of pictures and things around us, that taking on a bag of crumbly paper didn't sound like fun.  BUT.  My mom had her reasons to hang onto it.  And we all knew why.  She loved her dad so incredibly much, and these newspapers were all about him.  My granddad passed away when my mom was 23, so we never met him.  But she told us many stories about him.  Namely, how smart he was and well respected in his profession.  Back in the day, he was the youngest person every elected to district attorney in Mississippi, and had a successful career as both a prosecutor and defender.

These newspapers followed one of his big cases.  He was co-counsel for the defense in the Byron DeLa Beckwith trial.  It was a very volatile period for MS civil rights, and this case was a hot bed of emotions.

So, I have all the articles now stored in a neat little binder.  It was something my mom always wanted to do I am sure, so I am happy that I carved out some time to get it done.  It would be interesting to hear what my Granddad had to say about the subject, but at least I/my sisters/family can now sit down and read about it.

Here's To 2012

We got a picture of all the boys before we all left town. 

We all talked about it at length over the break, but 2012 is going to be a good year.  Sally, Janie, Jay, Jason and I have been through some really tough emotional, physical and financial times the past two years, and we all agree it can only get better from here.  So cheers to the new year!