Bad backs

"July 16 - 19, 1991:  Extremely hot.  Temperatures to 108 degrees.
July 20, 1991:  Willie and Irene S. and Sophia here.
July 26, 1991:  Nancy came in evening.
July 27, 1991:  Nancy helped me clean the basement.
August 1, 1991:  Howard and I went to Marion, So. Dak. with Irene D. and Wilva.  The doctor said Howard's back and my back were just wearing out!!"

We are all such even, level, unexcitable Scandinavian Lutherans and that makes me love the fact that Grandma used not one, but two exclamation points.  I think I would have used them for the hot temps, but Grandma picked the worn-out backs.  How funny.

I think I already went on before about the scary basement at Grandma's house.  I guess it made an impression on me.  One day in high school English we were to pick ten words and their meaning from the dictionary.  Afterwards we were told to write a poem using as many of the words as possible.  I have a copy of my poem somewhere but I don't remember the words I needed to use off the top of my head.  I do remember that my poem's title made the front page of the little book we made of the poems we all wrote.  Someone made an illustration.  The title of the poem was something dreadful like, "What Actually Happens in the Two Seconds it Takes to Open a Cellar Door to the Sunlight."  That isn't word-for-word correct, but it gives you the idea.  Just hideous, but Ms. D. liked it.

I really can't think about the basement without thinking of Grandma Anna since a good portion of the canned stuff down there was by her hand.  Sometimes in the afternoon the sun would come through the high windows of the basement and light up the dusty air and turn the jars of fruit into shining jewels.  (I guess some of that English creative writing assignment stayed with me.  Ha!!)  So here's a picture of Grandma Anna with some Kahler women at a reunion in 1964.  They all look like capable, proud women to me.  Grandma Anna is second from the left.