13 januari 2008

Today’s Name Day is Knut. That was Ruffas middle name. And I had a long ago relative named Knut Train. Happy King Knut’s Day!!! Thought for today: “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” -William Jennings Bryan Today  I met John for lunch at Pizza Hut. Nice to be out & about.  I drove around town taking photos. And got an idea to photograph houses with importance to me. Have them here & on Flickr. I missed one but not sure I could have gotten close to it. It is  on a private drive. Where I took piano lessons. My teacher had been  Miss Illinois in the Miss America pageant. But when I knew her she was terribly overweight. Her daughter is now married to a guy I grew up with & she is a soprano with the Metropolitan Opera. She teaches in Colorado & travels all over the world to perform. My friend David Friday arrived today to be the artist-in-residence. I went to say hi to him. His art is breath-taking. I have one set aside to buy, probaby tomorrow. There is another that is a maybe. One is fairly small but the other is a bit larger. I hope to spend some time with him. He is a Buddhist & said that he will take me to temple with him. I am very interested in Buddhism. If I like it, I may go on my own sometimes. Have to drive to Wichita though. No temple closer. They have a sunday morning meditation & then 2 nites a week they meet also. I do meditate but need to learn more. And to do it more often. I am excited tonite. The mini-series of Comanche Moon starts. It is part of the Lonesome Dove series. I am taping it for Bill. It should be awesome. The docent today is Marjie. I have not seen her for sooo long. We just chatted away!! Great to see her. And Marsha was there also. Jo did not escape last nite, but tried a little. She was totally out of control last nite. What a hoot!! She would race to kitchen where the floor is tile. And she would sliiiiiiiide!!! Then turn & run at full speed down the hall & hit the tile at the end of the hall & sliiiiiiide around the washer. Then turn around to do it all again! And she was biting at everything! Not good to get too close. She is like a crocodile! Willie & I went to Lindsborg to eat tonite. I did not feel like cooking. I wasn’t very hungry either. We ate at Seasons. It was pretty busy there. Gått för dagen. Kanske. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch!

Collage of my life

This is my church, Bethany Lutheran Church. It was originally a small brownstone building. Then it was covered & painted white. Eventually wings were added so if looked at from above, it is in the shape of a cross. The original brownstone building is still there inside. If repairs are needed & some of the wall is removed, the brownstone can be seen. My great great grandfather, John Train, was a charter member here & has a stained glass window in memory of him, as do all the 12 charter members.


This is where I was born. This house was a hospital. I was born by the windows in the middle on the second floor. It was white then but the owners now are completely fixing this house up. It has been in bad conditon for years. At one time it had 2 apartments in it. When I was born, the funeral home was across the alley to the left & across the street was the doctor’s office. Sort of a full service neighbourhood!!

This was my first home. Not this house, but small house in the back yard. The family who lived there were like grandparents to me & their 2 daughters played & babysat me. The one daughter is mother to Steve Grogan, former football player for the Patriots.

This was my second home. It was next door to my mother’s parents. When I was deathly ill with measles that did not show on my skin but were inside my body, I stayed with my grandmother. I remember the doctor would visit me almost daily.

This was my third home & what I still consider to be home. My room was the window to the right upstairs. The house to the right is the former funeral home. The former hospital is just behind it. Across the street was Pelham & Margaret Greenough. She was the daughter of Birger Sandzén, famous artist. Pelham was a cousin to Beverly Sills. I loved this home. It was to large. I hated when we moved.

This was my last home in Lindsborg. It was my grandparents home. Eventually after my grandma died, my grandpa remarried. He then sold this home to my dad. My mom & all her siblings grew up in this house. At one time it was a rooming house. The house to the right is my second home. There was a wonderful home to the left that is now gone replaced with a doctor’s office. Behind this house used to be Train Bros, Produce. I am relatead to all the Trains. My great great grandfather was John Train.

This  was my great great grandmother, Kristina Train, & my great grandmother, Mary Linderholm’s home. Kristina never spoke English & was a very tiny woman. She always sat in the windows on the left side of the house. Next door lived Willie’s aunt & grandparents. This house was also a doctor’s office downstairs with an apartment upstairs. I took violin lessons upstairs. Recently it was an art gallery/studio, Art Space, owned by Rich Thibideau. They lived upstairs. He then sold it to Mary Erickson, another artist. Downstairs is her gallery/studio & they upstairs & in the attic. She has given me a tour of it all since I am related to the original owners. I do not ever remember being there to visit my great grandmother. I might have been, but I do not remember.

This is where I went to high school. The school where I went to grades 1-4 and the school where I went to grades 5-8 are both torn down, as was the gym. This school now is both high school & middle school.

This is the Seasons of the Fox, a bed & breakfast. Across the street to the right is Bethany College. The large evergreen trees were grown from seeds sewn into a Swedish immigrant lady’s hem. The whole block used to have these trees, but some have died.

I took piano lessons in this house for many years.