Blue Button Farm

On our shopping day once a week, Anne and I could be in line at Goodwill, or picking out produce at Aldi’s. Anne would announce she was a hundred and three, telling fellow shoppers “Google me!” Everyone in earshot would, of course, ask the same question: “what’s your secret?” To that Anne would simply say “keep busy!” But as everyone who knew her, Anne did more than just “keep busy”. She raised a family of four, worked full time in the early years, later she volunteered at our senior center, at our polling places, competed on a bowling team and even traveled the world. She was smart and brave, funny and adventurous. Anne was also well known for flying with Amelia Earhart in 1936, but that’s another story!

I got to know Anne while I was helping a great lady named Verena. At the time, Verena needed someone to help her with household chores and her daily routines. Anne would visit often, coming for dinner and playing cards with her good friend. When Anne’s daughter Andrea needed someone to help Anne after she broke her hip, I was only too happy to accept.

Over time, Anne and I got into a routine of going shopping in Fairfield. First we’d visit Goodwill, then Aldi’s and finally Stop and Shop. Sometimes we’d even go out for lunch or get some ice cream! On one of our trips to Goodwill last year, Anne noticed a large wooden dollhouse. It was made of plywood and it was unpainted. For twenty five dollars, you’d get the house and a shoebox full of miniature furniture. Anne pointed it out to me, and said, “oh Holly, this would be a wonderful project for you!” She knew just how much I loved to craft and decorate, “I’ll buy it for you, but you must make a room for me!” She also wanted the room with the attached bathroom!

And so the great project began. Anne helped me pick out paint colors, as well as the furniture. She even gave me a piece of an old sweater she loved, the fabric full of embroidered details. It made for the perfect miniature bedspread. She found a tiny square of purple fabric for the bedsheets and a bit of lace made wonderful pillow covers.

I finished Anne’s room first, making sure to include a rolltop desk and sewing machine- just like her real room back home. I added a few personalized touches as well- a small table and chairs filled out the room and I even made a tiny Scrabble board to go with them. It was Anne’s favorite game, after all!

While I worked on the doll house, I kept it on a table in the garage. That way, Anne could just walk right in and look at it, without worrying about climbing up and down any stairs. She loved that I had taken pictures of the artwork in her own home, and miniaturized them for display on the dollhouse walls. I even included a tiny photo of the two of us from ‘Cinco de Mayo’ night, with Anne sporting a particularly fancy sombrero.

After completing Anne’s room, I started to work on the rest of the house. I managed to decorate a bedroom for myself, with plenty of miniature versions of my own favorite things. I found a cast iron, coal burning stove for the kitchen,the same kind that Anne used when she was a child. She would tell me stories about her mother making the dough for crullers on a Saturday afternoon, kneading and twisting them before Anne fried them in a big pot of oil. Anne had to use a stool to reach the stovetop, since she was only about seven or eight years old, and she wasn’t allowed to go out and play until she was done.

I had completed most of the dollhouse’s room by Easton’s Open Farm Day, August 2024. I set Anne up in her own personal tent, playing scrabble with her friend Margaret Silvestri. The dollhouse was on a table next to her, so people could see and ask Anne questions. Open Farm Day was a success, and I’d say Anne definitely was a big part of that.

One day, while Anne and I were sitting and looking at the dollhouse, Anne said, “I could live here!”

“I could too!” I replied. “ I’ll meet you there.” We both started laughing. Still, it felt good knowing we had a place to go.