My Love for Laurie Colwin books....

This will NOT be my usual Monday morning post. There will not be a recipe or a quick antidote about how I came to find/enjoy/learn about the recipe being shared. Why? Because I lost a few books in the great broken pipe flood of 2022 in Wyoming. And one of the replacements is quite special. Come and read the rest of the story...

It wasn't until we got back to Wyoming in May of this year, 

that we knew what the real damage was. We had been kept informed about the structure damage and the repair and replacement of needed walls, appliances and the such. But what we did not have any clue about, was the personal loss that could never in a million years be evident to any insurance adjustor or even the contractor. Only to us. Photos of loved ones now gone, not restorable. Books that we cherish and have taken the time through the years to collect, a pulpy wet mess on the back deck. 

What we heard was, "sorry to have to say this, but your book collection looks to be mostly gone." 

This of course had already been suggested by some of the photographs sent our way by the contractor. Who also happened to be our neighbor. The same neighbor who saved us, in so many ways, when the flooding began, on Christmas day. But those books, now nothing but a mess to haul to the dump. My husband was quite taken back. As was I. Which exact books laying out in a pile in the yard, however, remained a secret until our return to Wyoming when the passes cleared of snow. Worse yet, it is rather hard to read the title of a book on a soggy pile, in a photograph.

Being on the road and now with no home to go home to, 

we gazed at the photos showing the lower parts of every wall in our downstairs apartment cut away. With the studs in plain view, but all the insulation ripped out. Other photos with all our furniture tossed out or already hauled to the dump due to water damage. So yes, we knew the damage was significant. We were asked to begin the work of placing a value on our belongings. And so we did, working from the photographs. But we knew the books would have to wait until our return to Wyoming, after the mountain pass was safe to cross with a travel trailer.

It took four days of hard travel to get from Huntsville TX to Worland WY. 

And in order to do so, we left our travel trailers in storage in the state of Texas. We knew that if parts of the route we were traveling were still covered in snow, we would be fine with our trucks, but not if we were pulling travel trailers. It was a long and tough four days, and a little harder yet, on our grandson who was cooped up for hours and hours each day in a car seat. Just under 1400 miles of rough and tough terrain, snow and fatigue. With short stops for a bit of play time in a park and meals before calling it a day to sleep.  

Arriving home was great, but that is when the real work began! 

Construction dust and debris was everywhere! Our furniture that could be saved was upstairs in the kid's apartment. What did not fit was being stored in an enclosed 16ft box trailer that was loaned to us by Sleep in Heavenly Peace (I wanted to mention this charity for the good work they do in almost every state!) It took a solid four days to get each apartment moved about and ready to live in. When ever we were outside working or taking the baby to the park, everyone welcomed us back to Worland, which was so nice. We got comments about all the work done to our house, how sorry they were for our loss. And how long it took. Supply chain shortages and record breaking cold, made the repairs take more time than usual. 

My husband took on the job of putting together the list of the books we had lost. 

That list was 144 books long, some were quite collectible and others were novels and reading materials we had picked up at one of the many book sales we like to go to. The novels and reading materials were largely forgiven by us for replacement value, life happens, and there will be more book sales. But the collectibles were different. From there he needed to find the replacement value for each book and when we emailed the spreadsheet off to the adjustor. I remember the exact moment he came in from outside and told me that some of my Laurie Colwin books were also in that pile. 

I have been collecting Laurie Colwin books for a few years now. 

All in hardback. Currently I have all of her novels, and Home Cooking. At the time of the flood damage the only book I did not have, was More Home Cooking A Writer Returns to the Kitchen. That one had been very hard for me to find at a price I could afford, in hardback...while I am a serious collector, I am not an investor. These books are my joy to own and read. Those damaged in the broken pipe freeze and flood when things warmed up, would be replaced with high hopes to also find More Home Cooking along the way. 

But once back home in Wyoming, 

Texas was calling out (especially to me!) loudly. We had only lived in Wyoming about three months before leaving for winter travel and NPS volunteering. Once the house was damaged, we were actually in Texas much much longer than we ever were in Wyoming...so we decided to make the move permanent. Our remodeled/repaired duplex sold very fast. To a family that had lived in the area years ago and wanted to return. It was a win/win for everyone. So the packing began once again...

Fast forward a lot of hard work and even more driving, 

and we have been in Texas one month. The first thing that my husband and I did once we got the moving vans unloaded was begin to replace the damaged and lost books. And that included my beloved Laurie Colwin books. Anytime we purchase a used book, my husband especially will thumb through the book to see if anything was left behind by the previous owner. And while I have written about finding something extra in a book once before...this replacement book was different.  

A Big Wind Knocked it Over, was owned by someone who was also 

a fan of Laurie Colwin, for it held a newspaper article where Laurie Colwin was being interviewed about writing the book, a clipping of a recommendation for purchasing the book, along with a copy of the program from the Tribute held to honor Laurie Colwin. And while I would absolutely turn back the hands on the clock to have not lost anything in the great broken pipe flood of 2022, it turns out, this is the perfect replacement book and I feel absolutely blessed to own it! How about you, do you purchase used books? Have you ever found anything in center of the book that absolutely made the book more valuable to you? 

This post updated 07.17.2025

#wholefoodingredients

#scratchmadefoodforyourfamily

Thanks for stopping by!

We offer new and delicious recipes as well as DIY ideas for your home, regularly. Feel free to drop us an email request for any question or recipe you may be looking for. In addition, like all our guests, we invite you to come for a visit again and again for new recipes, and my down-home take on frugal ways to keep your home in tip top shape.

Hey you, don’t miss a post! Please consider following Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household. To follow by email, and/or by RSS feed, complete the application located on the right-hand side of the blog. Please Note, some posts may contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household. 

PS, friends, and family who love good food and household ideas might love us too! Tell them about us, and thanks for the referral! 

You may also enjoy, Creative writing from the heart... stories of life, living, and family.

Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household proudly shares with these generous link parties featured here.