Grandma Larsen

Probably the biggest treat during my visit back to Minnesota was stopping by Grandma Larsen's house in Hopkins (a suburb of Minneapolis - where my Dad grew up). My childhood friend, Carie, was with me and we were planning on just doing a drive-by..........but when we arrived, a woman was unloading groceries into the house, so I quickly pulled in the driveway and jumped out of the car.

I told her who I was and asked if I could see the house.....

The "L" custom storm door was still on the house - "L" was for Larsen!

Grandma's side door - still the same!!

Here is the woman who lives in Grandma's house now - and she's in Grandma's kitchen (where unfortunately, Grandma breathed her last breath in June 2004). Same appliances and linoleum!

Looking out the front door from the living room - I missed that "L"!

WOW - I could not BELIEVE the living room! Grandma had a ton of furniture, old carpet and terrible wallpaper in here. I was shocked at the beautiful hardwood floors throughout the house that were underneath that carpet all of those years! Grandma owned the house from the 1940's when it was built until 2004 when she died.

Here's a shot from the dining room into the hallway with the 2 bedrooms and bathroom. WOW - how different everything looks with clean paint and no wallpaper! But Grandma's old doorbell thing is still up on the wall.....And what's that on the wall?? Is that Grandma's ghost?!

Here's one of the bedrooms - what Grandma always referred to as "the back bedroom" - basically a catch-all. I just can't believe those amazing floors were there all this time!

Here's a view out into her screened-in porch....

Grandma's dining room - same chandelier that I remember....and the floors creaked in all the right places. Made it feel like it was still Grandma's house. :)

The little dining room looks so pretty with the paint job and no wallpaper, with the beautiful wood floors! And the lady that is living there with her son said that she always felt that there was "good energy" in the house. Grandma is still there, taking care of them!

The little boy that lives there now said that Grandma's raspberry bushes are still there - I love that a piece of her still lives on there......

Here's the garage - looks the same as always!

It was such great timing and an amazing gift to be able to go inside Grandma Larsen's house while I was in town. It brought a weird sense of closure, and felt so good that the house was being cared for and loved, just like Grandma did and would've wanted. It was truly a breathtaking experience to be back there!