Monday, August 27, 2012

Family home...


I am back from Niagara Falls, Ontario.
It was a wonderful visit but way too short.
So many people to see in such a short time.
I planned on taking lots of photos but time
just got away from me  and 
i still had not photographed all the things i planned on.

Here i will share some photos of my childhood home
that my mom still lives in. 
This home my parents built 46 years ago..
(there now you know how old i am)
My Italian grandfather and uncle did all the brick
work. My dad also helped with the construction.
My mom was pregnant with me when they moved in.
This is the only home i have ever known.
That sounds strange and feels even stranger.

It is a double edge sword really.  I mean i am so attached to this home
it is part of me...my childhood...my entire life 
 When the dreaded day comes to say good bye 
to it i will never ever be able to drive by it or
 even look at it without feeling incredibly sick.
Weird because it is just a house.



But it is a house filled with so many memories.
Memories of me growing up with my big brother.
Pool parties all summer long. The entire
neighbourhood always at my house.
On and on the memories come forth...


The screen door here is an antique elevator door.
My mother does have an incredible eye for design but 
i won't tell her that...she already knows.
She found that antique stain glass from an old house years ago
and had it installed when i was a kid. This was before
people thought of this type of design.  
Yes , she has always been ahead of everyone.

Everywhere you look she puts detail everywhere...
I got over stimulated on my first day home
so much to see...


The clay ornaments here are new too.
Who would think to line them up like this?
Only my mother...


I freaked when i say this cement heart! I love hearts. It must be from
a grave or something. She snagged it a garage sale for heaven's sake!
Can I have it??




This is the side entrance to the house and back yard.
A few years after the house was built she made 
her dad build her this brick wall with the iron gate.
No one did this back in the 70's. Our house
always stood out in the neighbourhood
and still does to this day!
My childhood home... beautiful as ever
and always ready to welcome me home...

Thanks for visiting
Pamela xo

28 comments:

  1. How lucky you are to be able to go back home and visit the house where you grew up. It is just wonderful and your Mom really has a great sense of style- now I know where you get it from. Blessings to you tonight and welcome home- xo Diana

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  2. I believe style is something you are born with and clearly both you and your mom were born with bucket loads! x Sharon

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  3. Wonderful memories Pamela - I liked that cement heart too, did you see how it's sitting perfectly straight?

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  4. Your mother has great tast. Love the brck wall with the arch. It is so sweet that you can relive the memories when you visit your home. I drive by my childhood home every couple of years. I always wish someone would be outside and I could ask to go inside.

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  5. what a super house and what wonderful memories.. I love Canada , when my daughter first emigrated they lived in a little town near Vancouver and now in Ontario they live in Aurora.. I love the people and their ways,.. seeing your son, I can see he is from Italian stock.. how amazing that your parents stayed in the one place all these years, no wonder you love going to visit them.. thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.. J

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  6. Nothing like home. Do you think the heart cement thing is a part of say a few of them that would have formed a railing? Lovely, just lovely.

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  7. Wow, I was close to your home this summer.....upstate NY: Buffalo, Ithaca, and Aurora! Your childhood home is charming.

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  8. Your childhood home is absolutely beautiful! You were really close to me too, :D

    Hugs,

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  9. OK, that elevator door is fabulous! I've never seen anything like it and am going to have dreams about it tonight. When we sold my mother's house which they bought before I was born I have never ever been back. I will not drive down the road and have no interest in even hearing about all the things the new owners have done to it. So I am with you. It may just be a house, but the memories make it so much more than that!

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  10. Everything about the charming exterior of your house is really lovely Pamela - and I know your creative mother must have done a wonderful job inside too! I especially love the brick gateway, and all the garden statuary, urns etc.

    Glad you had a happy visit home - always a special place to be no matter how long we've been away! I do not like to look at my childhood home when I return to England - since my mother's death and selling the house, the new owners have made changes I find so upsetting - such as concreting over her lovely front garden to make a parking pad for cars!!!!

    I'm off to Australia next week and hope to have lots to share about the interesting trip planned.

    Hugs - Mary

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  11. Your mother sounds so cool, and i love that she was and still is unique, and creative... and walks her on path, how totally awesome! You must be so proud of that. Home is a very primal, gut, heart thing, and it must have been emotional on so many levels to go back... being the you now, and remembering the you then...
    and, I love love that front door!

    Cindy

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  12. What a wonderful house! It sounds like you had a terrific time at home. Good for you. Glad you made it home safe and sound.
    xo C

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    1. Your home is gorgeous Pamela!
      When I head home to where I grew up, I always love going back and looking and remembering those special memories.
      Your Momma has made this spot so unique and beautiful!
      So glad you got a chance to visit again!

      Deborah xoxo

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  13. How perfectly delightful to see photos of your childhood home. You are blessed to have had one place to live in for so long. You certainly inherited your mother's eye for design!
    It's a beautiful home, I would LOVE to see what your mother has done with the interior, I'm sure it's equally beautiful.

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  14. beautiful pictures Pam. It's not just a house though, a home has much, much more weight.

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  15. As Dorothy said so well, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home. " :)
    Bises,
    V

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  16. It's the best place in the world, not because of the views and the design but the whole idea of it. Our home is the most loving in the world, and nothing else can match that. No place like home as most people would say. bathroom lighting

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  17. Karen October 31, 2012 in Wodonga,Victoria,Australia
    I am an addict of decorating magazines and am just discovering the blog world...I love the way you feel about your mother's home..her love shines through...my children enjoy returning to my 35 years imprint on my 100 yr old home..(also the only home they have known)..I WANT that elevator door...smile...your blog is delightful

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  18. Glad you had a good trip home. My parents don't live in the house I grew up in anymore but its funny that I still feel like I'm going home when I go to visit. She too was ahead of her time, going to auctions and antique and second hand stores to save money. She unknowingly filled our home with loving memories that travel with her still.

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  19. WoW Now we know where you get your acute sense of style!
    Hoping you are well...

    xo

    Andie

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  20. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I live 10 minutes from Niagara Falls, Ontario in St. Catharines!!!!!! Too cool. I absolutely love, love, love your blog. Wish I could join/follow by email though as I prefer that.
    If you could respond that would be wonderful. Jann

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  21. You have such a beautiful yard. I love your chair in front of your home.

    -Zane of ontario honey

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  22. There's no better feeling than going home, Pamela. :) Sweet times and sweet memories all rolled into a hug. ♥ I adore that darling brick path leading to the gate. So cozy!

    xoxo laurie

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  23. what a beautiful home you grew up in!!

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  24. Very creative blog.I will always be concerned about.- ugly christmas sweater contest Store

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  25. Que bom rever a família. Essa casa deve te dar muitas recordações. Adorei seu blog.
    Tenha uma ótima semana.

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  26. Oh my goodness,,I guess I am a bit mixed up...have missed too many blog entrys ...as I thought you had moved back to Ontario!
    Oh my goodness your family home...Love that elevator screen door, and the arched brick wall...how delightfully unexpected!
    What lovely memories you have!

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  27. oops...reading back now I see the problem as you where winging your way to Ontario I was floating over the channel to your island to visit relatives...seems I missed a few entrys!

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I love love reading all your comments!! They mean so much to me...thank you..Pamela xo