From the beginning...

The back yard as it looked in the late 60s. The attic fan is still there. 

A quick update on the status of 920 Cedar Brook: according to a realtor friend who was kind enough to look in the MLS for us last weekend, the house is "in attorney review." Given that the house is also a short sale and bank owned, I don't know how complex this process might be--or what the odds are the sale will move forward.

We all have our fingers crossed.

In the meantime, on my last visit to Plainfield, my sister and I dug through a large pile of old boxes and discovered a treasure trove of photos...some of which I didn't even know existed. And as luck would have it, a friend of mine at work has recently started a neat little photo scanning business. She just finished digitizing about 30 images for me. So here's a quick look at the house in our first years there. I will do another post shortly with more recent pictures of the front and back yards. 

Summer 1968 - the year we moved in. 

My mother's first big project: The pool!

 

We lived in that pool all summer, every summer...and so did our friends.. This image is from about 1970. Eventually all our own children enjoyed it as much as we did. I wish I had a picture of my mother floating on a raft, coated with Bain du Soleil...iced tea glass in hand... She loved her house, but the pool was her favorite room.

Inside, right after we moved in. This is one of the large front bedrooms. Love that  40s wallpaper! (My mother was not a fan; it was quickly replaced.)

The dining room with 1940s/50s  formal style.

 

The dining room after re-wallpapering and painting. It was a great place for a birthday party.

The foyer as it was in 1968, before the floors were stripped and refinished.

My mother and grandmother in the foyer on Christmas morning, a year or so later.