Motivation Needed!!

I have not been a very good blogger this winter. At this point I need a little motivation. I started to get excited last week when I actually saw some grass and the snow piles went down a bit.

Then came Monday morning along with 10 to 12 more inches of snow! Thursday ushered in another 10 inches! The picture below shows how deep the snow is on the side of the house. I have to lift the shovel over the railing to dump it.
Out front.

The end of my driveway

and the front yard.

Yes,I have shoveled every flake!

It's supposed to get to 50 tomorrow but I don't expect to see grass again yet.

Help! I need spring and Bloomin' Tuesday to get me blogging!

Terrible 2's?

My littlest sweetie, Payton Max, turns 2 today! We can't say she's entering the terrible 2's because she has been there for awhile. LOL!Payton has a lot of her Daddy's traits. She is a little devilish but she's also a charmer, so she can charm her way out of a lot of trouble.
She is definitely the comedian in the family. She loves to make everyone laugh! She loves to tease, tickle and argue with a big smile on her face. She is also the cuddler in the family. Nothing feels better than to have her grab you leg or climb on your lap for an unexpected hug.

We are all prepared for a fun, bumpy,exciting ride with this little sweetie!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Payton!
Love, Gramma

Home Again!

I thought I'd give you a little tour around town to complete this "series". There is a celebration every August for Lucy's birthday. You can read all about it here. As you can see, this is the Gift Shop. Since these pictures were taken, the gift shop has moved across the street to the museum store front. Across the street is the Lucy Desi Museum/Playhouse. The sets from the "I Love Lucy "show plus many other treasures are in here. The top floor has been turned into Desi's club. There was a contest this year to celebrate what would have been Lucy's 100th birthday. One couple from Ohio won a free wedding in the 'Club' to be in August.
This mural is painted on the Post Office.

(Mural pictures taken by Chris & Laurie)
This one is on a parking ramp.This one is when they worked in the candy factory.
In 2002, Lucy's remains were moved here to be with her relatives.
I hope you have enjoyed the tour! If you ever decide to come to Lucy's hometown for a real tour, just let me know and Lloyd and I will show you around!

"Lucy & Desi" Kept Him In Stitches!

Lloyd is an avid cross stitcher and he has done several Lucy themed pieces over the years. Most of them have been donated to the Lucy and Desi Museum.

He has done 'the house',

Celeron school where Lucy went,

Lucy and Desi,

just Lucy,

Fred and Ethel,

and Desi with his son.
This is the only one Lloyd has kept.

As you can see this is the front of a Lucy Desi Museum News.
It is another cross stitch that Lloyd made and donated to the museum.

This article is inside the front page.
The "News" only comes in black and white so here is the colored picture.
Lloyd has also donated another cross stitch that he did of Lucy's Grandpa Hunt, who actually owned the house in Celeron.
It is hanging in one of the bedrooms of Lucy's house.

Yes, these are pictures of the actual cross stitches!
I would like to thank Lloyd for loaning me the pictures to share with you. I have gotten all of my Lucy information from him at one time or another and I know he still has stories to tell. If you decide to come visit Lucy's hometown let me know and Lloyd and I will give you a tour. We can't go into the house anymore but we can show you a lot of other interesting places.

I still have one more day of Lucy!

Lucy and Desi Jr.

Fast forward to August, 2001. Here are Lucie and Desi, Jr on the front steps of their mother's childhood home. Lucie has been to the area quite often but not Desi,Jr.This is a park on Chautauqua Lake in the village of Celeron. See the lake between the tree trunks.Here is Lloyd with Lucie and Desi.
Time to reflect for Lucie and Desi. It must be even stranger for them to visit their mother's hometown than it would be for us. It is nice that they were left alone to privately enjoy their time together.
The buildings in the background are across the lake.

Maybe this is what they were talking about.( click on the article to enlarge)

This article was in the Lucy Desi Museum News.

I'm glad you are enjoying this series. Just 2 more days. Thanks for all of you kind comments.

The Bathtub!

Lloyd's parents bought the house in September of 1928. Lucy was born in 1911 so she was about 17 at the time. Believe it or not this is the original bathtub that Lucy used. Lloyd's family never changed it and I'm sure everyone is happy about that! People were always knocking on their door asking for a tour. Lloyd has always enjoyed showing people around when he was there. During the Memorial weekend Lucy festivities and Lucy's birthday celebration in August Lloyd would stay home and visit with people on the tour buses that drove by the house. Starting this year there will only be one celebration, in August for Lucy's birthday.

This set of skis were found in the garage when Lloyd was clearing out his mothers things. They were made by Lucy's grandfather and had never been discovered before.

When the siding (added after this pic in 1956) and shingles were taken off, 2 windows were found on the back of the house which is the kitchen. The window in this picture was over the kitchen sink. When Lucy lived there there was a window on either side of the sink area and a mirror over the sink. Cleo (Lucy's cousin who lived with them) said that Lucy was so busy "performing " in the mirror that she never got the dishes done! The two windows were restored and there is now a mirror over the sink.

Still more to come!

LOOK!

There was a photographer with Lucy and Desi even though they didn't have an entourage. The photographer was from LOOK magazine. Lloyd had to get most of the black and white photos I've posted from the Library of Congress as they are unpublished.This is Lloyd's Mom Bernice with Lucy in the dining room. Notice, she knew Lucy was coming and was still in her apron. I'm sure it was a "Sunday"apron!
The little boy in bed is Lloyd's middle son, Clark. (His youngest isn't born until "57)
These are two very touching pictures of Desi. I can't help but wonder if he did this for the camera or if this was insight into the real man.
This last picture was one of the pictures that was printed in LOOK magazine.

All the pictures I am posting are Lloyd's personal pictures. He is often a mystery tour guide on the bus to the house on Lucy Lane in Celeron where he would give copies of some of his pictures to fans. This summer we will be celebrating Lucy's 100th birthday in August. You can go to 'The Lucy and Desi Center' for information.

"Lucy and Desi" visit

Here are Lucy and Desi walking up to the house. Today they would have a whole entourage with them!
Lucy is reaching up to a wooden bar that is in the archway between the entrance and the living room. There is a small landing behind her at the bottom of the stairs. Lucy is telling how she would hang a sheet on this bar as a curtain and put on performances for her family and friends. The boy in the high chair is Lloyd's oldest son, Craig.
You can see the rod better here. Lloyd's mother would stand in the entry area and iron her salesman husbands shirts and hang them on the rod. It is still as it was when Lucy was a child.

This picture was taken by Lloyd's wife, in the kitchen door way.

Tomorrow "LOOK"

Sassafras

Lucy's best childhood friend was Pauline. Lucy called her Sassafras and she lived right next door. Lucy mentioned her often on her show just like she mentioned Jamestown, as her home town. (Celeron is a small town on the outskirts of Jamestown)

Pauline

Lloyd was responsible for Pauline's house when she could no longer take care of it. He asked me to go along and help out a couple times and, of course, I jumped at the chance. We had to look everything over carefully because we found cards to "Sassafras" for all occasions mixed in with other papers. We found books about Lucy that she had signed and given to Pauline. I found a silver tray with "Lucy and Gary" (Lucy's second husband) engraved on it! We really had a good time even though it was a lot of work.
Lucy and Desi came to town in Feb. of 1956 and wanted to visit her old home and neighborhood. This picture is Pauline's mother at her front door.
These are two other neighbors. Don't you love their aprons? I'm sure they were surprised to open the door and see Lucy and Desi standing there!

More on the visit tomorrow.

The Lucy Connection

Since it was 55 years ago this week that Lucy and Desi first came to visit Lucy's hometown, I thought I would repost my Lucy posts. They were in town for the premier of their movie 'Forever Darling'.This is my friend Lloyd. His parents bought the house Lucy grew up in in Celeron from her Grandfather. Up until a few years ago, his was the only family to live in the house since Lucy. He is quite the celebrity around here. The house is on Lucy Lane in Celeron NY. This is a picture of Lloyd (smaller boy) with his parents standing on the side of the house.
This is the house when Lloyd's mother lived there. Lloyd and his brother sold the house when their mother could no longer live there. It was sold to a Lucy fan who only lived there a couple years. Another fan bought the house and restored it to the era that Lucy lived there.
These pictures show the outside restoration. Lloyd's parents had shingled and then sided the house. Both have been removed and this shows the original clapboards that were under everything. Lloyd met with the owners, Lucy's brother Fred and her cousin Cleo to brainstorm and remember as much as they could about the original look of the house inside and out. Private tours are now being given of the inside.
The double window on the second floor was Lucy's bedroom. There were lilacs in the back yard that she could smell thru the window. Lilacs were her favorite flower.
More Lucy tomorrow!