As promised, a rendering of the 2nd floor of the house built by my maternal grandparents, memories sparked by Bartok's birthday. Click, yo, to enlarge. There are at least two people I felt an obligation to follow through at least with this floor. This is obviously not to scale, so obvious my incompetence at architectural drawing. I could do the basement easily enough but I've found the 3rd floor completely impossible, not only the physical layout of the floor but the secret universes the maze of attics lead to are utterly unmappable.
Here are the keys:
- A - Chair except at Giftmas; Giftmas tree goes there.
- B - Corner of house wrecked when car flew of Fellsburg Road into side of house.
- C - Broken Philco record player/radio console/cabinet - my favorite toy.
- D - Small china cabinet.
- Star - Where my grandfather, crippled by arthritis in his knees, sat staring out the window hour after hour day after day after day.
- E - Philmore refrigerator.
- F - Double-sink looking out window at vegetable garden
- G - White radio always tuned to KDKA.
- H - Bag of candy, never eaten, pink, chalky mint, think fat Necco Wafers.
- I - Bottles of Lemon Blend.
- J - Left side of hoosier had large, built-in, flour sifter.
- K - Green and white sliding davenport. Summers I would sit on davenport with my grandfather and listen to Pirates games while he rolled and smoked cigarettes out of a red Prince Albert can.
- L - Bathroom closet where a box of Chinese Checkers and a game of Racko were kept.
- M - Kitchen stove/oven. Pilot light needed lighting each time. Oven door swung left/right, not up/down.
- N - Dresser where my grandmother kept the Time Magazines and books on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution - the start of all this.
- O - Creepy wooden mothbally wardrobe.
- P - Secretary.
- Q - Clock on piano that was broke at 1:35 forever, now on my bookshelf in my bedroom.
- R - Bathtub - no shower, no hot water - all hot water in house had to be heated on stove.
- S - End table piled with back issue of Readers Digest.
- T - Notice, no TV.
The three of you who know this place send me additional 2nd floor notations if you'd like and I will add them. As for the 3rd floor, I'm still trying to get my head around its vast and tiny distances and the mysteries of the attics' labyrinth and where it leads to, I doubt I'll ever be able to ink it down.
UPDATE! I just realized Spock was born was born 83 years ago today.
I can't tell you how it pleases me that the thought of posting Fleabus as a stand alone is too slutty even for me.
Seems to me that the hallway between the dinning room and kitchen was wider and there was some kind of dresser or cabinet there. And a door that was always in the way. We piled our coats on that dresser/cabinet.
ReplyDeleteAnd C was in a little alcove off the foyer, kind of in it's own room. I have no idea what that area was meant to be... perhaps a coat closet that never got finished.
"Drawers" in the downstairs bedroom was a woman's dressing table. Low with lots of little drawers and a big mirror.
The creepy wardrobe was where all the giftmas presents given to our grandmother sat in their boxes.
The cabinet in the kitchen was square, metal, and had that door latch that stuck until you pulled very hard and then it flung open making lots of noise. Matches for the stove kept on top. Need the perculater on the stove reheating coffee over and over. And the pot of triple used tea bags.
I think it was only the broiler that door that swung out. But by the time I can remember, only the stovetop and broiler (and that only for toast) were in use.
I'd forgot about that glass pot of teabags steeping. Gorgeous amber when the sun hit it right.
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