Written for OLWG# 358
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When Loretta and I bought the 1894 Queen Anne, on Mermaid Avenue, in Jemez, it needed a lot of work. The steeply pitched roofs needed to be redone, and the high turret on the Southeast corner of the front needed tons of clapboard replaced, but the front yard looked good and the lot was large. It had five bedrooms, a dining room, two kitchens, and a formal parlour. I converted the basement for brewing my own beers and when I wasn’t working on the house, making babies with Loretta, or taking care of the garden; I made beers. I mostly made Porters or Stouts, because they are my favourites, but Loretta enjoyed a good Saison so I did those too.
The kids are gone now. Linda’s a Traveling Nurse living in Kansas, but she’s in discussions about a new job in Idaho. Joe and his husband, Arthur, are still in Alaska working for the fisheries. Scotty left for Myanmar with a private security firm in ’21. Got a letter from him a few months ago – he might have met a girl. Says her name is Marlar. Says she’s a survivor, and I don’t really know what that means. Should I be worried?
All of the work on the house has been done at least once, and it is almost time to begin again. Now that Loretta’s gone, I probably won’t bother. I’ll leave that to the next owner, but the front yard still looks good.
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This week’s prompts were:
- but the front yard looks good
- that’s one of my favourites
- mermaid avenue
tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice 