PLACES I'VE LIVED

I was born in Bakersfield, California but moved around a lot when I was little; Lompoc, CA; Buena Park, CA; Tuscon, AZ; Sikeston, MO; El Monte, CA; Bakersfield, CA (15 yrs); Provo, UT; Memphis, TN (13 yrs); San Jose, CA (17 yrs); & Coloma, CA (2006-present).  I have four  favorite places that I’ve called “home” – (1) Bakersfield is where I consider the home of my youth, where I grew up & attended school.  (2) Memphis is where I learned to be an adult.  It is where I was blessed to become a young mother & gave birth to 5 beautiful children – it is where I learned that “things” don’t matter & all the plans in the world can change in an instant…that there is more to life than earthly existence.  (3) San Jose is where I was given a 2^nd chance at life & love - a 2^nd marriage & 5 more beautiful children!  (4) The Riverhouse is truly a dream come true for us, where I find peace & joy & a safe harbor from the storms of life.

MY FAVORITE HOUSES – 

6608 Cedarcrest in Bakersfield, CA is the 1^st home my family owned.  It was a great neighborhood & I enjoyed a happy childhood in this home.  I had my own room & my brothers shared the other room.  On my birthday one year while I was at school, to surprise me, my mom painted my room lavender & she made a matching bedspread & curtains with Austrian puff sheers.  They had purchased some 2^nd hand white French provincial furniture with gold leaf trim.  I felt like a princess!  I was so proud to have such a beautiful room & a comfortable new home.  We played football in the back yard & in the winter Dad would let the water run in the backyard so that it would freeze & we would slide around it like an ice rink…it wasn’t very good for the grass but it sure was fun!   Bakersfield was a great community to grow up in, a small farming community with a rural feel.  I lived in a safe neighborhood where I knew everyone.  We were involved in our community where everyone supported one another.   Most of our neighbors were involved in 4-H with large animals – cattle, sheep, horses, etc.  I learned to ride & care for horses from my neighbors.  I got to see cows, horses, sheep, & dogs give birth – it was a wonderful thing to witness.  Most people grow up & stay there for generations.  Very few of my friends went away to college, most of them still live in Bakersfield today.

I took this photo is 2012.  We bought it in 1962 & had to sell it in 1969...it really hasn't changed that much.  It sits on a 1/4 acre lot - huge yards zoned for large animals.  My dad converted the garage into a drapery shop for my mom to work out of the home.  I remember one time my Uncle Roger's foot slipped off the brake, hit the accelerator, & plowed into the shop - not hurting anyone but creating enough damage to have the front redone adding the brick all the way across the front of the house.  The brick is now painted white (I'm not a fan) & they have added the fencing between the posts on the porch.  The weeping willow has overpowered the front yard.  It was so puny when my dad planted it all those years ago.

Here's a picture of my G'pa Harwell painting the original addition, before Uncle Roger went through it with his car...

And this one with Uncle Charlie & Aunt Audra standing in front of the finished addition in 1963...

This is the backyard...it says a lot about my dad.  My mom is standing at the end of the back lawn portion, where we played many a football game, with a view of the way back.  He always had some project going on & seldom finished things in a timely manner...if at all.  He started this garage/shop in the way back...it looked just about like this when we moved, too.  It was the only house my mother owned until 1990 when she bought her house on LaFrance in Bakersfield.

989 Bonnie Street in Memphis, TN was the 1st home we purchased when Ben was 8 months old.  It was just under 900 sq ft - a tiny little cracker box.  It had a small kitchen, dining room, & living room towards the front with 2 small bedrooms divided by a small bathroom towards the back.  The garage was detached & the washer was in that garage...I hung my clothes to dry on a clothes line in the back yard.  I was happy here but we quickly out grew it...Jill & Cindi joined us while we lived in this home.

6310 Jupiter in Bartlett, TN was the perfect home for my little family.  I enjoyed decorating it in Classic Country of the 1980’s.  I was into wood working & cross stitching & I made many of the decorations myself.  I wallpapered every room & I was very proud of my home.  This is the home that Terri & Ty were born into & I was very happy to be a mother & a housewife.  We would have picnics out side, play on the slip & slide in the summer, & Jeff built the playhouse & garage out back.  It was a labor of love & a happy time for him, too.  Memphis was an exciting city to live near – although we lived out in the county in Bartlett, we were close to the big city excitement of Memphis in May on the banks of the Mississippi River, the music of Elvis at Graceland, Beale Street – the home of the Blues, & the Mid-South Fair.  Although I hated being far away from my family in California, I loved my life as a young mother in Tennessee.  I was happy working at the gym & being involved in Church activities.  I learned the Gospel as I taught my young children the principals of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Even though we were dirt poor, I was happy doing what I believed to be right & raising my family to love the Lord.

579 Hyde Park Dr in San Jose, CA was my favorite home - it was perfect for our very large combined family & the walls were filled with love & laughter.  Through the years we were able to re-model it into a beautiful home.  We started in the back yard by putting in the pool & dropping the trampoline, then we re-landscaped the front & tore out the courtyard & those hideous junipers!  Eventually we got rid of the “aztec sun dial” tiles & replaced it with beautiful tile & hardwood floors & custom kitchen cabinets.  It was gorgeous & I loved it.  It hosted many gatherings & parties & became a great hangout for the kids & their friends.   San Jose is close to the beach, the mountains, & San Francisco.  We went camping every year & we enjoyed many outings into “The City.”  We were involved in the kids’ schools & their activities.  We enjoyed a large group of LDS friends that helped to strengthen our family as we associated with others who shared our values. 

It's kinda fun to compare the before & after...

5935 New River Rd in Coloma, CA (aka The Riverhouse) has become our “dream home” – a gathering place for family & friends.  Through the years, as the Bay Area continued to be an expensive place to live, our friends began to “move away.”   Paul & I were looking for some place new, too - a place where we could enjoy & spend the rest of our lives together.  We knew our children would be scattered all over the US, but we wanted to find a place for us.  We had considered buying a beach house because we both love the beach; however, beach front property was too expensive so we quit looking.  In the meantime, as a joke, Kyle emailed us an obnoxious piece of property for sale – an 80 acre estate north of Placerville that had a huge lodge & its own private river.  After we got a good laugh, Paul said, “Why not the River?”  Of course he meant the American River.  We spent many years rafting the American as a family & had great memories there & it seemed like the perfect place to build a gathering place for our family.  We got lucky & found the property a few months later & built our dream home in 2006.  Coloma, CA was at the heart of the California Gold Rush in 1849.  Sutter’s Mill is 200 yards down the road & is the site of gold discovery in California.  The American River is literally in our back yard & is the most rafted white water river in the US. 

The Riverhouse is about 5500 square feet of house on 4 ¾ acres.  It was interesting to actually come up with the plans for the house from start to finish.  I never in my wildest dreams ever thought that I would be able to “build” a home (honestly, it was never important to me).  Many people spend their whole lives gathering ideas for their dream homes – this was not the case for us.  We had to research from scratch & decide rather quickly what we wanted in our “dream home.”  We visited model homes & home shows & I didn’t like all the fancy walls & cut outs – I learned that I’m kind of a “plain jane” when it comes to décor  & design.  Once we came up with a floor plan & took it to the architect, our dream began to unfold.   We built the main part of the house on the River side so that we could see the River from every room we used daily.  The guest  rooms, upstairs & down, were built to make it a little more comfortable for our very large & ever growing family to gather together.  I especially love the large open kitchen/family room – the heart of the home.  We can all be working in the kitchen & not bump into each other.   We chose natural stones & durable permanent features that would hold up under the “love” of a large family.  We kept the colors neutral & “dirt friendly” because we knew it would be well used & “loved” by little ones.  It is set on the banks of the beautiful American River, where our family has come for “white water” fun through the years & we felt that it was the perfect setting for our “gathering place.”  We have not been disappointed so far.