Treasure Hunt Finds (from long ago)

Over at Small Things -, you can see some interesting items found during treasure hunts. Reading that post made me remember this bottle. I got a little frantic when I didn't immediately find it under the sink (where I was sure it would be), but further poking around revealed it was there, just further back than I looked the first time. I found this bottle buried in the ground when I was a little girl. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact place, but I do remember thinking it might be a genie bottle. It doesn't have any writing that reveals what it once contained. If anyone recognizes the bottle, please leave a comment. Typing this, I'm starting to think I found it on my grandparents' land in a wooded area when walking with my daddy. I like to use it as a vase for daffodils now.
The small rock is what my daddy called a "jack rock." My brother said you can google jack rocks, but I didn't find anything... maybe I need to go through more results pages. When we visited my daddy's parents, there was an old dirt road where you could find lots of these cube-shaped jack rocks (this one has a corner broken off). For my brother and I, finding one was a big deal. So, there's some treasure from my childhood.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6: 21 KJV)

Coincidence?

Last Tuesday, I asked C if after dinner he wanted to take the boys by a local John Deere place to see a huge tractor they had out front. C had taken a picture of it to show the boys earlier, and I thought it would be a nice way to get out of the house for a bit. As we were yielding to traffic, I saw the above car. I know it doesn't look like much, but it's an old Plymouth Valiant. My dad had one. Actually, my mom bought the "old Val," as the car was known, brand new in 1965 for about $2,000.00.

After my parents married, it became my dad's, and he drove it until it wouldn't drive any more. I sat in it on cold mornings with neighborhood kids waiting on the bus, I rode to school in it in junior high. It wasn't cool or even retro with its push button radio (push the button, the little dial flew to the next station). The paint was chipping off terribly on the front. A brick had been thrown at its side. Still, I didn't mind. It was like your ratty old comfy pants. Daddy did have the engine rebuilt after it "wouldn't drive any more," and then it was our Sunday-afternoon-drive car. By then, I was old enough to appreciate what the car meant to my dad, still I did manage to drag the right front bumper of my second car along its side one night, leaving a nice black line. I went right in and 'fessed up, even though the friend with me urged me to "tell him when we got back." Then, something went wrong with that engine, and the old Val never rode again. After my father's death, we ended up having the car towed away, but not before I asked C to take out the glove compartment door.
Yep, white with red interior!

I always thought the glovebox was neat with its little spot for your drink to sit and nice surface to sit your burger and fries on at the drive-in or a place with car hops bringing your food.


So, when I saw that car on the road Tuesday, on the fifth anniversary of my daddy's death, I didn't think, what a coincidence. I thought, thanks, Daddy, I miss you, too, every. single. day.Drive on...

Father's Day

Father's Day is bittersweet for me. I lost my beloved daddy four years ago just a few days after Father's Day. I miss him every day and am saddened that my children will not know him here (I pray that we will all be together one day in heaven). Recently, I've especially missed his advice and emotional strength. It would have been so nice to have my rock to lean on during W's diagnosis and surgery. I would also love to have him here to help with household decisions like home upkeep and to help me with our yard which is turning into a bit of a jungle complete with stinging and biting insects! More on that in a future post maybe. However, I enjoy thinking of Daddy on Father's Day and also spending the day with my husband and sons.

This year I did a couple of crafty things with the boys. I made some magnets with H's thumb print and W's toe print. We also decorated a magnetic picture frame with tool stickers. C also got some useful gifts: a sprinkler, sunflower seeds for planting (they're one of my favorites), and a Snickers (not useful but yummy). C's dad and younger sister came over for a visit, and later in the afternoon, C set up the camera and got a few pretty good pictures of the four of us. We also took some of C and the boys and me and the boys.

I always say I am going to take a couple of hours for myself on Father's Day to think about my dad or do something he liked, but it seems the hours fly by so fast. Last year, I did have some ice cream with caramel sauce (Daddy loved caramel sundaes from McDonald's). This year I had hoped to go the Y pool and read an essay he wrote as a senior in high school. Maybe one weekend before summer ends, I'll get to do that. (Just so you know, laying out at the pool is something I like but don't get to do nearly enough nowadays).