Each morning I read the news - world, national, state and local, check the weather and facebook - which doesn't take long any more since it's nothing but ads and whatever FB thinks I should see - and then move on to my puzzles, both crossword and jigsaw. Doing those is supposed to keep your mind working as you get older. I really do think they have helped.

Today's daily puzzle was only a fifty piece one which took me about three minutes. So I picked this 100 piece one to do as well.

I think I picked it because the color reminded my of Mom's choice to paint her house after Dad died. In fact we painted every building on the farm that color. If I remember right I think she said the house was yellow when they moved there but Dad wanted all the buildings to be white.

By the time Mom died in 2003, the buildings were needing to be painted again.

But she got to enjoy her choice for more than twenty years.

I've always loved this picture of her with her cats. She made a pan of oatmeal every morning, ate a small dish and then fed the rest to the cats.

A view of the front (west) and side (south) of the house shortly after it was first painted.

And another of the chicken house, corncrib, milk house and barn. The barn was the only building she hired someone to paint. All the other buildings (hog house, granary, two garages, lawn mower shed, coal house, wash house and toilet) were painted by us, her children and grandchildren.

I've always loved this photo I took from down on the road east of the farm. It looks to the northwest across the oat field and cornfield.

There is a lot of nostalgia connected with looking back at photos and memories of the farm where I grew up. Not only my children but also my grandchildren have many memories of visiting Grandma/great-grandma Ruth on the farm and enjoying her love, good cooking and the freedom to roam. I imagine some of my grandchildren wish they could still take their children there and pass on their memories of what the farm was like. 

It was one place we all knew we were welcome, loved and cherished. 💛