Tag: Childhood

Mary Poppins

Last week I went to the movie theater to see the 2018 Disney release “Mary Poppins Returns”. I wanted to see it on the big screen. It was well done – it had to be, to compete with the original movie “Mary Poppins” with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The sequel had a lot to live up to, but Emily Blunt, the actress who played Mary Poppins, did a good job, along with all the other actors and actresses. It was magical.

The first “Mary Poppins” was released in 1964. I would have turned 11 years old that year. I remember I had a birthday party and three friends went with me to see “Mary Poppins”. Of course we saw it on the big screen, at the Hollywood Theater in NE Minneapolis. All movies were on the big screen at that time. The idea of watching a movie at home was unheard of.

What I remember most about the party is a gift I received. After the movie we went back at my house to eat cake and ice cream and open presents. One of the girls gave me an umbrella – which was clever of her, and memorable for me. For Mary Poppins, her umbrella was magical…and now I had a magical umbrella too.

Interestingly, this is the only birthday party I remember having as a child.

A Play Cupboard

I’ve mentioned before my father was a carpenter by trade. In addition to his work projects he built a lot of miscellaneous items including (but not limited to): a wooden camping trailer, a corner cupboard for my mom for their 25th wedding anniversary, a cedar chest, a cradle for my dolls, a canopy frame for my twin bed…(I sure wish I had a picture of that canopy bed. He made it out of wood and it had flair to it.)

Rough sketch of my canopy bed.

He also made a small cupboard for me in the 1950’s, which I played with when I was a little girl, and then acquired it again after many years and basically used it for garden tools and supplies.

The play cupboard from the 1950’s, before the remodel.

Recently I decided it would be fun to clean it up and let my grandchildren play with it. There were two linoleum surfaces with spills, stains and ground-in dirt so I wanted to have the linoleum removed and replaced with vinyl or something fresh and clean. I asked a friend, who is a wonderful woodworker and has a wonderful woodworking shop, if he would fix it.

The old grubby linoleum.

He said yes. He took off the old linoleum and replaced both surfaces with plywood and applied three coats of polyurethane to them… it looks beautiful!

Eldy, the woodworker, and the cupboard.

Next, my husband and I sanded the doors and sides and added a coat of polyurethane so the whole cupboard looks bright and shiny and ready for playtime…

Restored play cupboard.

I know my dad would be thrilled knowing his great-grandchildren will play with the cupboard he made for his daughter so many years ago.