Cozy in Robbinsdale

I always find myself squinting at old photos in an effort to see the trappings of long-ago life in their blurry backgrounds. So I decided I'd take a few photos of my house in Robbinsdale, Minn., where Noah grew up, so he can squint at them decades from now and remember his misty childhood. The old cuckoo clock, purchased in West Germany in the early 1960s, is a favorite of all the Miller kids. (That's Turtle, one of our geriatric cats, reclining on the couch.) The living room is bright green, modeled after "the great green room" in the classic children's book "Goodnight, Moon." It's nice to have bright colors to cozy up to during Minnesota's long, cold, sometimes drab winters. Moriah and Hannah helped me pick out the bright red chairs a few years ago.

The living room from another angle. That's Alverna's old china cabinet in the corner, recently moved from the now-sold Lake City place. Though it's March 24, Alverna's Christmas cactus is blooming away. And the bead curtain? Love bead curtains, have several in my house.