2008
we’re called pipas, the pipas show
maura @ 8:36 pm
It has been brought to my attention that yesterday’s post was a little sad sack. Sorry! I didn’t mean for it to sound like all my childhood summers were lame.
Due to my advanced age I can’t remember exactly what we did the summer after my first grade. But my sibs were toddler-n-infant-aged at that point and the house we lived in had a freakishly giant yard, so I probably did spend a fair amount of time playing outside.
One thing we used to do every summer is spend some time at the shore. My dad’s aunt lived in Ventnor, NJ (buy Atlantic Avenue and Marvin Gardens for the monopoly!) year-round. Visiting Aunt Peggy was always a good time. Often my slightly older cousins were there, too, and it was fun to raise a ruckus with them.
Aunt Peggy had a big old house with an awesome attic crammed with all kinds of stuff. She did not care one whit if we kids went up there and rummaged around, so rummage we did. I think I scored some nice stuff from the attic when I was older for a dollhouse* I built on the shelves of my bedroom closet.
* Jonathan wants me to add something about my using board game pieces with a flat base and tall pointy part as lamps, with toothpaste caps as lampshades, in my dollhouse, because I am still so totally impressed with my childhood self for inventing it**. So now I have!
** N.B. I don’t actually think I invented this — it just seems too obvious. But a quick Googling hasn’t found any images, so I can’t show you how obvious it is. Sorry!
She also had a garage stuffed with bikes, hula hoops, jump ropes, and more sand toys than you’ve ever seen. The weirdest was this funky tricycle with no handlebars. Kind of unicycle-ish, except it was more about balancing left to right than up and down and left and right. Man, did I ever feel like hot doody when I learned to ride the no-hands trike, seriously!
4 comments on “we’re called pipas, the pipas show”
Har, we used to let the kids play with our old (and very bright green!) laundry detergent caps in the sandbox. All the purchased toys and they all fought over the laundry caps!
Yeah, I am so constantly going back + forth with the hoarding/clutter + not. I was all on this minimalist kick, but then there was an article about punk houses in the Times (of all places! with their Tiffany’s + Barney’s ads!!) that made me wistful for the days when I didn’t see knickknacks and immediately think of dust.
(article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/garden/03punk.html)
Mom got the Sunday NYT when I was growing up. I always thought everybody in NYC lived in those mansions and penthouses in the magazine classifieds. Well, not *everybody* but it was impressive. Plus all those great shoe ads! But I’m sure they’re not too practical on sidewalks in the snow.
When I was Sesame St. age, I thought they had Spanish on so that people watching in Mexico (which I knew was not far away) could understand part of the show.
Well people probably think we have cows here, so I guess it’s a draw.
OK, gotta go milk Bossie!
What do you mean, of course we do all live in fabulous penthouses full of shoes? You don’t? I guess the cows would step on the shoes, and that would suck.
Gus never liked Sesame Street, it made me so sad.
I grew up in a house like that. It’s still like that. Now it drives me crazy so it was good to read about how a little hoarding can be a positive thing.
The other day Ben tossed out a bunch of detergent lids (how many does one require?) and got fussed at by mom. I am constantly organizing magazines, and have managed to convince them that the St. Vincent dePaul thrift shop is a good alternative for many things.
Welcome to my world!