About three years ago my husband bought a 1948 Willys Jeepster. He actually bought it because we thought he was dying. For real. He didn't, though. Obviously. Which is a good thing. He did however take my suggestion to sell my SUV to buy one of these cars that he has talked about and talked about since the day I met him.
He grew up in Idaho to a pretty interesting family and fondly remembers Sunday drives in this exact make and model of car.
Many, many years passed but his dream to own one never dimmed. Until the death thing. And then the Bucket List kicked in and one day when I was off babysitting I came home to hear "I bought a Jeepster today on e-bay!" Hmmm... OK. "Oh, and BTW, I listed your X-terra on Craigs list!" Hmmmm... OK. "Oh, and Fed-ex is going to deliver the car in a few weeks!" Hmmm.... alrighty then.
And all that happened. The whole fed-ex delivery. Which was actually pretty cool. And he was so excited. Like a little kid at the best Christmas ever!
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And then when he didn't die it grew into a whole past-time. Running around the neighborhood, hauling anyone who wanted a ride around in it, carolling at Christmas all bundled up in quilts (hey, it gets cold in the desert in AZ)and it was just cool.And by now you are thinking, OK, what does this have to do with apple picking.
It has to do with alleys, actually. Our whole neighborhood is criss-crossed by alleys that were originally used for trash pick-up!
And the Granddaughters love driving in the alleys. Often. Whenever they are here.
And in the alleys are all kinds of treasures...like pomegranate and fig trees, like grapevines growing along the old walls, like citrus hanging over into the alley...and like apple trees!
Initially it took us a while to figure out whose house matched which tree in the alley and then we would go ask permission and they always said yes. Now we know and just knock on the door when things are ready to pick.
We pick bushels of apples. Baskets of figs. Paper bags filled with grapes. And beautiful garnet pomegranates. We never bother with the citrus because we have our own trees.
And it's just a neat thing to do. It's always like a little adventure. Cruising the alleys to see what is ripe! So while all of you are going to beautiful orchards with the air crisp and fragrant and beautiful autumn colors surrounding you, we are cruising around in the Jeepster in the alleys picking produce.
You should come sometime!
Just bring your own ladder!
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9 comments:
Ahh.. Boys & their projects. Dave had a '03 Ford F350 diesel that he bought weeks before we got married. His last horrah as a single guy, I guess. Plus, he'd wanted one every since becoming obsessed with all things diesel at.. well.. birth, really. He'd spent a ridiculous amount of money tuning it up & it was the fastest truck in the county, which made him quite proud. When I was about 6 months along with Chase I convinced him that we needed another vehicle (the truck was the only one we had) because a) with me being all of 5'2" I was having a hard time getting in & out of this HUGE truck with such a big pregnant belly, & b) because it was a single cab that wouldn't be safe for a car seat. We bought a '00 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Soon the gas prices sky rocketed, along with diesel prices, & he realized the truck had to go. In December we traded in the Ford for my Accord & went from 9 mpg to 30 mpg. Finally, our wallet could breathe easy. It lasted all of six months. In June Dave wanted a project. There is now a '96 Dodge 3500 12 valve diesel dually sitting in the yard. We've had it four months & the thing has broke down a dozen times. Dave always says, "But darlin', we knew it was going to be a project!" Boys. They never learn. :)
Well I had no idea what a Jeepster was when I started reading your post. When I saw the picture...oh my! I want one too! What a gorgeous ride.
And picking the alleys? I like that concept.
You're right. The music is so much fun! And your vintage Halloween pictures are wonderful. Hope you enjoy yours! Do you have big plans?
Take care, Rebekah
Love the car! My bucket list is to have a restored, shiny, bright red 1965 Mustang convertible...I keep looking at hubby and hinting - to no avail....yet.
Picking apples? I admit - I've never done that - but perhaps its something to do with the kiddies one of these days....
Thanks for the blog post!
what a lovely car and a great story :D my dh restores old cars so i know how fun it is to toodle around in them :D
That is so cool!! Love that car, and your blog. Thanks for stopping by and don't worry, I don't spread the hot flashes, just don't shake my hand! New follower!!
What a delightful post!
I loved seeing your hubby's cool wheels. Mr. Mapgie loves cars, too, and when we first married, he called me while I was away visiting my mother to see if I would loan him a whopping amount to put a downpayment on a 1957 190-SL convertible. See we had our money and "my" money. ;-) So I floated him the loan, and we enjoyed that unairconditioned car (mind you we live in Florida!) for many years. SO I understand your husband's love of his!
This was a neat story, and how fun to drive the alleys looking for fruit. That's neat!
XO,
Sheila :-)
Totally loved the story. I wondered how that cool car got into the picture! I love the apple picking story and the alleys... I am an alley girl too!
Jenny, I'm so happy your husband didn't die! Oh my gosh...is he in remission or cured?
My husband's *wake up* call was seeing his Mom slowly dying from Dementia in a nursing home. Seeing so many elderly residents in God's waiting room made him realize life is too short and he's been much more open to treating himself and doing those "bucket list" type of things.
Love the roadster, and the alley way orchards...lol...my sister always tells me about all the lemons and grapefruits she eats for free there in sunny AZ!
Oh my goodness! This post was so fun to read! lol...too funny! What a beauty he has though, wow!
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