What a fun thread to read - and Oh the memories! The first thing I thought of was my tree house built in the Lambert Cherry tree in our back yard. My uncle built it for me, but really for himself, cause they always came around the 4th of July when the cherries were ripe, and it was perfect for getting those yummy treats! I enjoyed it for years, being such a tomboy that I was, and then I'm sure my little brothers had their times there too.
Dad also built us stilts that were meant to last, and tall ones at that. We had a great time on those in the driveway, and shot hoops in the driveway in the net he put up. I learned basic tennis strokes from my big brother, hitting on the side of our house from the driveway. Also bikes, pedal cars, wagons, parade floats, hopscotch, and making homemade ice cream were driveway activities, not to mention the cars!
We also had a little 10-12 foot square shed on the back of the property. Dad called it the tool shed, but it served so many purposes over the years. We had tools in it; we had rabbits in it; we had guinea pigs in it; we had banty chickens in a fenced area beside it; I had a great dollhouse in it one summer and my neighbor friend and I even put up wallpaper in it! My brothers had the urge to dig holes in the ground every spring, down in the toolshed area. They covered them with plywood for roofs. We jumped off the roof when dared to by the bigger kids. And "found food" out there- especially sun-warmed tomatoes and cucumbers from Mama's garden.
We had a daylight basement with a big "party room" (We never had parties there though) and slept there on hot summer nights when our upstairs bedrooms were too hot. We had cots and mattresses lined up - there were 5 of us kids and Mom and Dad in a row.
I had a cubbyhole place in the eaves of our house that was perfect for reading comic books on rainy days. There were three storage areas there, and Mom and Dad let us fix them up for our forts- me and my 2 little brothers. That's where I first snuggled up with the quilt from Grandma's house that later went with me to college, then to my first home with my hubby, and then got recovered as my first quilt project, and was used as a picnic quilt for years, then went to college with my son. What a well used comforter that was. And the start of a love of a lifetime. Enough said. How grateful I am on this memorial day to be remembering all those blessings of the past.