Journaling:
This was the house I grew up in, this was where I laid the foundation for the person I am today. I loved living in that house and it took me a long time to get used to the idea of moving when I was just 18 years old. The reason why we moved was several, partly that the rent was raised significantly and that dad was getting old and tired of looking after the house and garden but also that my sister's husband Göran passed away a few years earlier and she needed help with the children.
I lived in the house for almost 15 years and many of the memories I have from my childhood are strongly connected to our house and the surroundings. I have a hard time finding a better place to grow up, at least if one like me, loved to be out in nature and mostly spend time with myself.
The house itself was actually quite worn and old, it took several years before we got hot water into the house and before dad built a shower we had to wash ourselves in a plastic tub. The best thing about the house and what I have the best memories of is the old drying attic. I loved sitting up in the attic in the summer, on one of the floor joists, and reading books. I can still feel the dry, warm air and the smell up there, so special!
Another thing I loved about the house was our garden and that it was situated in the middle of nature. We had neighbors, but the houses were not as dense as in a modern residential area but scattered along the village road. On each side of the plot there were pastures and fields, pastures full of cowslip in the spring and wild strawberries in the summer. We had quite large cultivation areas for both flowers and vegetables. Dad loved gardening and I was always with him out in the garden. Carnations, peonies, autumn phlox, cornflowers and daisies are flowers that I will always associate with Dad and Råby.
The farm was a three house farm with a residential building, a barn and a hay barn. In the old barn my father had his workshop and I loved the smell inside. Oil, paint and sawdust, it simply smelled dad! In front of the yard there were three large horse chestnuts, well until one fell in a storm, then there were only two left.
After we moved from the farm, it was sold and the new owners tore it down and built a new house. It's really sad that we do not have that many photos of the house and the garden itself, because the house no longer exists, but in my memory and heart it will always remain.
Credits: Mixed Media Monthly: I love the life we have by Rachel Jefferies & Paula Kesselring & Lynn Grieveson & Little Butterfly Wings
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Mixed-Media-Monthly-I-Love-The-Life-We-Have.html
