This is a Blog within a Blog. But both of them are well worth a look at. Enjoy, Dodie and Seligor

Diddilydeedot's Dreamworld -
IN DONNA'S DINER
 
Would like to bring you a blog within a blog. This morning whilst I was looking for some bits and pieces for a new page I came across this wonderful blogspot and ended up leaving  a comment after reading the blog Kirsten had left for Jan 2nd 09.  Then I realised that she was more upto date and left another comment, this is part of her blog and my reply:

Home Sweet Brooklyn
 Friday, January 2, 2009
Patterns in my Parent's House
http://homesweetbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2009/01/patterns-in-my-parents-house.html



 

                   We went home for Christmas, and I took a bunch of pics of my parent's house. My stepmother and father live in a four bedroom Victorian house in Louisville, KY. Louisville has the largest collection of Victorian homes in the US. You can see pictures of the neighborhood and read about some of the history at www.oldlouisville.com.My stepmother bought her house in 1975, for the ridiculous sum of $13,900, when the neighborhood was dilapidated after years of white flight and neglect, and promptly rehabed it, with some help from the city, which was sponsoring some restoration in the neighborhood. Her ex-husband picked out the paint, wallpaper and flooring, and while some of it has a deliciously 70s vibe to it, I still think it stands the test of time. Unfortunately the house is in desperate need of another rehab, but the age of the house makes repairs costly, and while my parents chip away at the mountain of upkeep and repairs, it always seems to be crumbling just a bit faster. The first picture is under the back stairs (there are 2 stairwells) and is paper left over from before the renovation. It was common to use scraps of wallpaper in closets and side entrances in the Victorian era, and I like to think that this wallpaper is left over from the original house, though it could be from as late as the 30s. Anyway, here are some of the other patterns in the house:

Now this is my comment to that January Blogspot.

           When I was a little girl in Liverpool, my three sisters and my mum and dad lived in my grandmothers house. which was also the home of my aunt and uncle and their little boy and of course my grandma and her younger daughter, my mum's sister. And although we all lived under this one rather large roof we very rarely saw  each other, it was so big. Yet for all that we still had to use the bathroom in the cellar in an old tin bath, with the metre dials going tic-toc, tic-toc just like in the Wizard of Oz two. We had the run of the ground floor back rooms, Grand-mama and Auntie Irene having the big front rooms. but our bedrooms where up four flights of stairs. I believe my Mum and Dad where unable to marry and this was my mum's punishment from her Mother. Makes me laugh now to think back on it after all these years (I'm almost 66) but they were a happy few years and it didn't seem to do us any harm. In fact it stood us in good stead for still young we moved to Wales, a tiny place called Bontnewydd, 7 houses and a public house, so things didn't change much. and the loo was outside in a wee shed behind the holly bush. Brrrr very cold in winter. But we were the posh ones then for we had a double seat, so we could take a sister and a torch with us.  Very long this short tale but I hope a little amusing.
 Regards Seligor, xxx.
Of seligorscastle.zoomshare.com/

             As I mentioned I then found an awful lot more  that had been added to the site and wow, is it interesting, you really must pay it a visit. They have diversed from the interior decorating quite a lot, as we all do when the family comes along. But still I hope you enjoy both of our trips down memory lane, most soothing to the mind. I would like to add however that we did eventually in 1956 have a new bathroom inside, it meant myself and youngster sister Kath had our bedroom above my dads potting shed cut by a third but having a hot bath and running water inside the cottage was far nicer than a torch, wooden seat and newspaper cut into squares; not to mention a cold draught on your bottom. I do believe it became a coal hole after the toilet facilities were taken apart. Now we move back inside, there was a roaring fire in the range, a huge kettle on the hob, meat and roasties cooking in the range oven.
Do you know I don't think we ever had a posh cooker! or telly come to that, but they were good days with loads of swimming and playing "Journey into Space" I of course always wanted to be "Lemmy". Many a good childhood was spent round and about Dolben Garden Cottage by the River Elwy. Paraffin stoves that made patterns on the ceiling. Aladdin lamps with the mantle burnt away at one side and my old dad up in the pub drinking his nightly dose of bitter, and my mother moaning continually about him being there, he, he, he. Bless them all.

WELCOME TO MY WORLD>