Meet my latest adopted grandma.
I thought I was creative in making something functional from nothing, but hands down this kinda-crazy, ultra-quirky grandma has got me beat. Why can't she be related to me??? Tressa 'Grandma' Prisbrey, was a world traveler who lived out of her trailer hopping from place to place with her husband. Eventually she had seven kids, but I'm not sure how many she carried along with during her days as a gypsy. Since there was limited space, she would collect pencils from her travels....... 17,000 of them. It was the pencils that actually motivated her to settle down and build a house for them.
Her husband bought 1/3 acre in Simi Valley, CA in the hopes of enticing her to settle down, but it wasn't until her pencils filled her trailer, that she agreed.
Can I just say, I grew up in Simi Valley! This is hands down the most artistic and creative thing this city has to offer. It's sad though because through all 18 years of living there, I never once heard about this place until I moved out of state.
Anyways, since they had spent all their money on the land, she went to the dump to try and find materials to build a separate house for her pencils. Within 3 years she built 15 one-room houses from glass bottles, broken tiles, etc. and completed 25 structures from wishing wells, walkways, and "the leaning tower of bottles" before she stopped.
Sadly, the major earthquake of 1994 (that happened to be on my birthday) ruined several of the houses and only left 3 standing, but for only $25.00 they will inlay your name in her "walk of fame" sidewalk and use to funds to rebuild bottle village.
Did I mention she didn't start building until she was over 60???
I'm still trying to decide if this lady was intensely creative and an extraordinary genius or just some crazy old lady. Either way, she's super interesting and I'm kind of infatuated with her today.
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