Sure enough, there were a dozen or more holes ...

Great Uncle Eddie and Great Aunt Evelyn had a jazzy car.  They had a nice house.  Uncle Eddie built boats; NICE boats.  His boats had beautiful woodwork, natural wood, crafted from a tree into absolute beauty.

Although he was Great Uncle Eddie, we always called him Uncle Eddie.  He was Mother's uncle.

Uncle Eddie was an artist when he was handling his tools and wood. Aunt Evelyn would often show us tables and other items Uncle Eddie built her.  One table was made of tiny squares of wood, each about an inch square.  The squares fit perfectly next to each other as if the tree grew that way.  The table could only have been built by a master wood worker.

When we visited, Aunt Evelyn would always show us the new things Uncle Eddie built her since we were there last.  She knew Mother loved to see them.

One day when we arrived, we sat and visited as always.  We children were taught to sit quietly while adults talked.  While Mother, Uncle Eddie, and Aunt Evelyn talked, we sat in the chairs and couches and waited, knowing that after a while we would be able to go outside for a few minutes.

After the adults had caught up on the news of all the relatives, Uncle Eddie went out to his work shop.  Aunt Evelyn took Mother and I around her house to show us her new soffits, her latest pride and joy.  As a child, I had no idea what a soffit was.  It was just the area under the roof, outside, that stuck out from the house.  Aunt Evelyn was so proud of her new soffits.  I normally tuned out what they were saying while I tagged along but this time Aunt Evelyn caught my attention as she told the story of her new soffits.

She had been telling Uncle Eddie that she wanted new soffits.  She didn't like what was there.  I'm not sure why; stained, dirty, not the material she wanted them, I'm not sure.  But she kept after Uncle Eddie for new sofffits.  He told her that they were fine and didn't need replacing.  The next day, she took him back out to show him that holes had developed in them.  Sure enough, there were a dozen or more holes, about two inches across, spread out under the soffits.  Aunt Evelyn had taken the broom and poked holes in the soffit. She was so proud of herself.

I found this an interesting window into their marriage.  I couldn't imagine Uncle Eddie not being mad but they must have had a very special relationship!