This week we welcome Cara C. Putman to Author Memories.
Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a teacher at her church as well as lecturer at Purdue. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. She loves bringing history and romance to life.
An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara left small town Nebraska and headed to Washington, D.C., to launch her career in public policy.
Cara is an author chasing hard after God as she lives a crazy life. She invites you to join her on that journey.
An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara left small town Nebraska and headed to Washington, D.C., to launch her career in public policy.
Cara is an author chasing hard after God as she lives a crazy life. She invites you to join her on that journey.
Grandpa's Handcrafted Furniture
by Cara C. Putman
Cara's Grandpa is the boy on the left circa late 20's to early 30's.
In December, my grandpa turned 92. Can you imagine the cute boy on the left in that photo, now a man who has seen 92 winters come and go?
Because Grandpa K is 92 and Grandma K is 85, I treasure the times I have with them. But the times I treasure most are when they share memories. Often when my family drives home (860 miles my door to my parents’), we’ll stop at the family farm to spend the night with Grandpa and Grandma. I’d slept in their guestroom for years, never knowing the story behind the furniture.
It’s a nice set. Probably walnut – I really don’t know woods well enough to distinguish them. And you can tell from looking at it that somebody carved it – quite well from my perspective, but being a child of the 80s, I assumed they’d bought it at a store.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
My Grandpa is a child of the Depression. He was born in 1919 and grew into adulthood in the hard times of the 1930s. Living in eastern Nebraska, it was a hard time to find work and make a living. I don’t remember all the details, but during that time, I think it was a doctor took a liking to my Grandpa and asked him to make some furniture for him. That meant he had to learn how to build furniture. One of his first projects was that bedroom set I’d taken for granted. Each swirl in the wood was there because he carved it in place. The dresser matched the vanity and the bed because he made the set.
All of a sudden the furniture evolved from a nice set that I appreciated when I was exhausted from travel. Now, I view it as a treasure. It’s a treasure because a man I love and respect poured his energy and creativity into it.
After hearing the story and heritage of those pieces, I was quick to let Grandpa know I would exercise my right as his oldest grandchild to claim the furniture if none of his children wanted it or had room for it. It’s a set I would add to my home with pride because I know, love, and respect the man who crafted it all those years ago.
Because Grandpa K is 92 and Grandma K is 85, I treasure the times I have with them. But the times I treasure most are when they share memories. Often when my family drives home (860 miles my door to my parents’), we’ll stop at the family farm to spend the night with Grandpa and Grandma. I’d slept in their guestroom for years, never knowing the story behind the furniture.
It’s a nice set. Probably walnut – I really don’t know woods well enough to distinguish them. And you can tell from looking at it that somebody carved it – quite well from my perspective, but being a child of the 80s, I assumed they’d bought it at a store.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
My Grandpa is a child of the Depression. He was born in 1919 and grew into adulthood in the hard times of the 1930s. Living in eastern Nebraska, it was a hard time to find work and make a living. I don’t remember all the details, but during that time, I think it was a doctor took a liking to my Grandpa and asked him to make some furniture for him. That meant he had to learn how to build furniture. One of his first projects was that bedroom set I’d taken for granted. Each swirl in the wood was there because he carved it in place. The dresser matched the vanity and the bed because he made the set.
All of a sudden the furniture evolved from a nice set that I appreciated when I was exhausted from travel. Now, I view it as a treasure. It’s a treasure because a man I love and respect poured his energy and creativity into it.
After hearing the story and heritage of those pieces, I was quick to let Grandpa know I would exercise my right as his oldest grandchild to claim the furniture if none of his children wanted it or had room for it. It’s a set I would add to my home with pride because I know, love, and respect the man who crafted it all those years ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY!
Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, January 15th
to be entered for a free copy of
Cherry Blossom Capers which includes Cara's novella, Dying for Love
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY!
Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, January 15th
to be entered for a free copy of
Cherry Blossom Capers which includes Cara's novella, Dying for Love
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cherry Blossom Capers, Barbour Books, Available Now
Cherry Hill Blossoms contains
4 novellas set in Washington, DC:
Cara's novella: Dying for Love
Attorney Ciara Turner is horrified when she stumbles over a judge’s dead body in Alexandria. Will she be able to retain her composure and control when she joins her nemesis Daniel Evans in investigating the murder? Constantly on the opposite side of domestic cases, they have to work together to find the murderer…just in case the police and marshals run out of luck. As they are thrust back together, Ciara is reminded of how Daniel swept her off her feet as a clerk. Now she has to choose whether to risk her heart to love.
4 novellas set in Washington, DC:
Cara's novella: Dying for Love
Attorney Ciara Turner is horrified when she stumbles over a judge’s dead body in Alexandria. Will she be able to retain her composure and control when she joins her nemesis Daniel Evans in investigating the murder? Constantly on the opposite side of domestic cases, they have to work together to find the murderer…just in case the police and marshals run out of luck. As they are thrust back together, Ciara is reminded of how Daniel swept her off her feet as a clerk. Now she has to choose whether to risk her heart to love.
You can find Cara online at the following sites:
http://www.caraputman.com
http://blog.caraputman.com
http://www.facebook.com/cara.putman
http://www.caraputman.com
http://blog.caraputman.com
http://www.facebook.com/cara.putman
