Another Beautiful Fall Day.

All winter you stay inside where it is cozy and warm. You can't wait until spring is here. Spring comes with all the spring flowers, the warm spring showers and the grass is growing, the the work begins.. You must mow the grass, the vegetable garden need planting, the flower beds need weeding, and then comes the long hot days. Everything comes in cycles. When will cool weather get here?

Today we are into November. Glorious November. The nights are cold enough for an extra blanket and a sweater feels so warm and cozy,in the mornings. The leaves on the trees are turning into big bouquets of beautiful fall colors. It's like God took his paint brush and gave everything a new coat of paint before he put them to sleep. What a pretty picture?

Yesterday our family took advantage of this special fall weather to celebrate the up-coming birth of another baby boy that will be born in December. We will be blessed in December, two baby boys. We are looking forward to both their births. What is more exciting than expecting two little boys at Christmas?

Thanks go to their Auntie Em for planning this party for her sister. She did a great job. It was good for me to see all the family and friend. I enjoyed seeing the grown-up friends of my grandchildren. I remembered them as little kids or teens. Years make a lot of difference, they forget that I taught some of them how to fish. It was a good day.

I Do Have Visitors Once In A While.

I live next to a pine forest, in fact my back yard extends into the woods. It's lovely because I get to see all sorts of birds and wild critters. My son put up a deer feeder behind my house and sometimes I get to see the deer as they come to feed. On several occasions I have seen a big buck and that really excites me. There is always rabbits, squirrels and I can't forget the crows that get a nice free meal. It is fun to be so close to nature, but.

A couple of weeks ago a little lizard slipped in my living room as my daughter- in- law came in to see me. She tried to catch it, but it was faster than she an it didn't get caught. I haven't seen it since. Hopefully it found a way out of the house. Lizards play on my porch and I'm not afraid of them. It is no big deal. They eat the bugs.

Now this little visitor is a different story. He is not welcome. He and his family invade my house every fall when the weather begins to turn cool. They have arrived a little early this year. They are really sneaky. Last week I cooked some vegetables that I wanted a bacon flavor to, so I cooked two strips of bacon. I decided to use one and left the other strip on a sheet of paper towel near the stove. After we had dinner and I cleaned the kitchen I said to myself "I will get rid of you later" so it was left there. It was there when I went to bed, but when I got up the next morning the bacon was gone. There was no signs left that anything or anybody had eaten it. What happened to the bacon? Now I know, the mice have come back for a visit.

I was away from home several days and was glad to be back. I snuggled down in my soft chair and was watching TV when I heard a scratching sound coming from the kitchen. I listened a second and then decided to go check out the noise. This little critter had gotten in the trash can, he had gotten under the liner and couldn't get out. I opened the kitchen door and let him free.

Last night my daughter- in- law was cleaning up after we had eaten dinner and when she went to the trash can she screamed. That little critter was in the trash can again. Needless to say he's not welcome here,so we set the traps out. Within ten minutes he won't be able to come visit again. I'll keep the traps set hereafter. 

What A Trip !!

This is a bit ironic, but as I sat watching Grey's Anatomy on TV last Thursday evening I started having a terrible pain in my chest. I'm use to pain because I live with it every day. I have so many odd ailments. You name it, I've got it. Anyway this pain was pretty severe so I called my son. Since he lives next door he and my daughter-in-law were here in a couple of minutes. He gave me an aspirin and the pain subside. After an hour I was pain free and they went home and I dressed for bed. I got into bed and that terrible pain came back to see me. I immediately called my son again and told him that the pain was back. That's when the trip started.

I slipped on my slippers and grabbed my robe and we headed for the emergency room at the local hospital which is about fifteen minutes from where we live. The staff there gave me meds to make the pain go away and started immediately on the journey to find out what was causing my problem. After being in emergency it seemed like hours it was decided that I stay in the hospital. All this time they were running tests.

Now it is Friday morning, my primary care doctor is not on duty this week-end so his associate came in to see me. He said he was concerned with the blood test and he suggested I see a cardiologist. He called one in to see me. I had just seen my cardiologist one month prior and he had said I had a strong heart and the little blips on the EKG was nothing to worry about. How wrong he was!  I'll never have enough Thank yous for Dr Yue and Dr Figuroa. Dr Yue was the cardiologist that inserted the balloon pump into my vein to keep my heart working until I could get to a bigger hospital and to a specialist at Ochners in New Orleans. I did not go to NO until next day. In the meantime anything but fun.

I had to lay flat on my back with my right leg stretch flat down. Everybody kept saying"don't move your leg". I have stenosis in my lower back so you can imagine the misery. On top of the back problem I had a episode of colitis. What a beautiful picture, but thanks to the sweet ER nurse I made it through the night.

Now it's Saturday and arrangements have been made for me to fly to New Orleans for further surgery. Ochners hospital sent a plane far me and it arrived near noon. I was strapped to bed and was on my way. First I was put in an ambulance and we headed for the little airport of  this small town. We boarded this small medics plane from Ochners and away we flew. I bet none of you have taken a plane ride like this dressed only in a hospital gown and a blanket wrapped around. The plane ride wasn't bad, just terribly cold. I asked for another blanket, but there wasn't one. I still couldn't lift or bend my right leg. We landed in NO and was transported to the hospital in another ambulance. In different circumstances this might have been exciting.

I was met with a full medical team. They swarmed my room. Everyone was busy checking me over. It was decided I would have further surgery Sunday morning. This meant I still had to lay flat and don't move that leg. I was wired up to so many machines that if I moved I got tangled up. I prayed for morning to hurry. I wasn't afraid, but I was miserable. The team was working hard to save my life so I didn't complain. My surgery occurred soon after nine o'clock. Dr Ramee and his team were great. He is a teaching doctor. I was awake during this surgery. I listened all the way. He put two stents in, one in each vein. One vein was over 90 percent blockage. I came home on Monday and feeling fine. Now if some body could do magic on all these other odd things that happen to this little ole lady. I'm so glad to be back in my little ole house and my big king size bed. 

Thanks to my beautiful family and to both hospitals and doctors and staff. I will always be grateful.

At Last We Had Rain.

The clouds had been gathering every afternoon for the past week, but in our area seemed to say " not yet" and we continued to be dry. Every day we hoped for the best and it seemed the best was the water hose. Since the lawn is so large it was impossible to give it all a drink, so we only sprinkled around the plants that we hoped to keep alive. Most of the grass was brown by this time, but on Thursday evening we got a little shower. It was about the time we were to have dinner and I was hoping it would rain too hard for me to go next door to eat with my family. No such luck on this Thursday, I went next door and didn't get wet at all. This was just a teaser, but on Friday it was a different story. We got the blessed rain, it rained through the night and into Saturday. Now like magic the lawn is green again. For which we are thankful.

Saturday was a very good day. I was invited to have dinner with my daughter and her little family. Her son brought his girl friend home for the week- end and I was glad to go and meet her.. We had good confersations at the dinner table. There were three different nationalities at the table. My daughter and I are southern American, my grandson is Dutch American, my son-law is Dutch and the girl friend is Mexican. The dinner meal was Italian. We had fun discussing the different foods from each country and the ingredients in each of the foods. Some good, some bad.

Sunday I spent the day reading a book about Thomas Jefferson. I had told my son that I could read it in one week-end, but I didn't realize it was such a big book. I got bogged down in the politics and history and it made reading slow. I'll get back to reading about Thomas Jefferson later.

Summer Is Still In The Air In The South.

The dry weather is beginning to make all the lawns brown in our part of the country. The calendar tells us it is the beginning of the fall season, but if you live around here you know the seasons get pretty mixed up. I just finished sweeping the leaves from around my front entrance, and I found it to be pretty hot outside. I was eager to hurry so I could back inside so I could cool off. A cool glass of fruit juice did the trick for me.

I love the fall season when the leaves on the trees begin to turn so many different colors. My little house sets on the very edge of the pine forest, and we are wealthy in beautiful trees in the yard. Now that they are beginning to show their colors you know the cool weather will follow soon.

I miss the harvest time in the northern part of the state where I once lived. We lived near the fields where cotton and corn was grown. It was amazing how quickly the farmers could bring in the big equipment and harvest the corn and cotton. There was a corn field near our property and I watched how they picked the ears of corn, shelled the kernels from the ears, and then cut up the stalks in one operation. The cotton picking machine did the same. It picked the cotton and baled it and bagged it ready to be hauled to the gin. At the gin the seeds are removed and the fluffy cotton is baled, it is then sent to the factories. The seeds are also processed and used in many ways.

The little humming birds know when it is time to prepare for their trip south. They have been gathering around the feeders eating and getting ready for their journey. They are so interesting to watch as they fight for a feeding spot at the feeder. They provide hours of entertainment, they are so beautiful. We will  miss them until next spring when they come back again.

One Of A Kind

My oldest sister was one of a kind. When the Gods made a mold of her they said " one is enough". I say this because she was the best. When she was a young girl she worked hard at everything she tried to do. She helped raise all of us brothers and sisters. She was devoted and loved us unconditionally until the day she died. She lived to be ninety years of age.

As a young girl she was tall and beautiful. She played sports in high school. Basketball was her game. In the small town school we attended there was no gym to play basketball. They only had a cinders court on the school grounds. I remember the  girls playing in uniforms consisting of big black bloomers that came down to their knees and a black sweater top. That was when girls played a half court. If you are old enough you will know what I mean by half court. It means forwards on one end of the court and guards one the other end, and they couldn't cross over the center line. The girls had a good team and went to many tournaments.

My sister was very popular growing up. She had many boy friends. She fell in love and married the summer she graduated from high school. She and her husband bought a farm in the community where she grew up and she never moved away. This was her home and she didn't want to be anywhere else. She wanted to live near to her family.

My sister raised her own beautiful family of two girls and two boys. She was so proud of all of their accomplishments, and she adored them all. In her minds eye they could do no wrong. That's true mother love. We are all like that about our families so I can't pass judgment on that.

She was like a historian in the community where she lived. She had such a good memory of time and events. She knew all the people from miles around, and she probably helped most of them along the way. She owned and ran a country grocery store for many years and I'm sure she literally fed many hungry people. That is the kind of heart she had.

Just remembering.

 

Faz

Faz is our family cat. He is a big yellow Tom cat that has been a member of our family many years. I'm not sure just how old he is, but comparing years, I'll say we are about the same age. I must say he gets around a little better than I do. He can climb up to his hi-rise appartment and get in his bed. There is where he relaxes most of the day. His cat bed is located on the top of the shelves located in the garage. His food bowl is located on the ledge near by. Nobody has it so good. It is a safe place. Nothing bothers him, he just does his own thing. Faz is a loving creature, he loves to snuggle and rub his face or tail around your legs. He is friends with the three dogs on the property. He adopted the new cat Rudy when he came to live with the family. Rudy is a short tailed tabby. He was only a kitten when he was rescued from the animal shelter. Faz and Rudy became friends right away. Faz let this little neutered Tom cat sleep in his bed with him. Fax is also a neutered cat. They were instantly friends. Last week the family went on a road trip. They placed plenty of food and water for the animals in their food bowls. They asked a relative to check on the animals to be sure they were not hungry or thirsty. When she came over to check on the animals and me, she found the cat bowl had a lot of food that had not been eaten. She opened the storage room to check and get more food for the dogs and she was greeted by Faz. He had gotten locked in the storage room when he got courious and went in to see what he could see. Nobody saw him go in, so he was locked in for two days. He was happy to be out and beat it to the food bowl. I'm sure the water taste good. We are all glad that he was found before he was harmed. The next day he was out letting the dogs love on him.

Sewing machine

My grandmother New bought this sewing machine when my mother was seven years old. the year was

1902. She used this machine until her death. My mother then inherited it and used it to sew clothes for

all of her nine children and my father. She treadles away. She sewed all of our dresses and shirts for my father and brothers. I made my first dress on this machine. I was twelve years old.

If this machine could talk what a story it could tell. My mother lived a long life, she was ninety eight years of age when she died in 1993. I am now in possession of this beauty. It will always have a place in my heart and my living room.

I Had A Dream.

Believe me this is not a Martin Luther King dream, I was not on a mountain top. I was not marching for a good cause as he was. I was fast asleep in my big bed, all cozy wrapped up with the sheet around my shoulders. It was a quiet night,even the dogs were quiet. The little wild creatures hadn't aroused them yet. Silence was golden. Suddenly I was awake. I wondered what had just happened. Then it occurred to me, this must have been a dream. I wouldn't call it a nightmare because it was a pleasant experience at times. I told myself that I must remember this dream, but when I awoke in the morning my mind was blank. I got out of bed and made my usual pot of coffee and then it came back to me. This is what I remembered. I was all dressed in my best Sunday clothes and I was in a large room with lots of people. I'm with friends or maybe relatives. There had been a convention and it was now over. Everybody was busy greeting friends and having a good. I remember visiting with some ladies that I hadn't seen in along time. We were having a good time visiting and I didn't see when friends I was riding with left the room. That's when I realized I had no ride home. I've never been one to get panicky, so I asked a young man who was talking to a young lady that I assumed was his wife or girl friend if he would drive me home. He immediately said sure and we started walking out of the room together. All of a sudden I realized the lady wasn't with us. What was I to do now. We had walked out of the building into the bad part of the city. I must get away from the man that was taking me home. I quickly ran down the street looking for a telephone. You don't see pay phones on the streets anymore. A lady came out of a place of business and asked me if I needed help. I asked to use the phone, and when I looked in my purse for telephone numbers I had none. I didn't remember any numbers of my family or friends. Then the phone rang, it was my brother-in- law saying where have you been. He also said that Kyle was sorry he had kicked me. So if you are reading this it is not a true story, it is just a dream.

We Have A TV At Last.

I watch too much TV. Since I am home alone so much of the time it helps me pass the time. I like to watch old movies.The old movies seem to have more good stories and I don't care to watch all the crazy car chases. I don't like all the violence, and I surely can't stand the four letter words. I'm certainly not a prude, but I've never thought they improved the thoughts in a movie. The movie " Gone With The Wind" one of the greatest, was the first to use a curse word. I must admit it was OK for Rhett Butler to say what he did. It was early in the fifties and everybody was buying a new TV. This new invention was bringing the world into our living rooms. Our friends were all buying TVs, but we didn't have one yet. We were invited to watch TV with our friends, but we not too excited yet. The reception was very poor, we watched through snow and listened to static. We waited until the reception improved. That's when we bought our first TV. We were so proud, now we had intertainment in our little house. We had this big piece of new furniture that we could watch the world in black and white. Colored TV was yet to come. I have some very fond memories of watching my little ones laughing at the " Howdy Dowdy Show" with Buffalo Bob, Clarabell the Clown and Howdy Dowdy in it. They liked to watch " Ding Dong School" every morning. We started our day with Dave Garraway and Fred the big chimp. That was the "Today Show" with the early news for the day. Our first TV picture was about fifteen inches and we could only get a couple of channels, but it was wonderful. At the time you could want no more.

Aunt Mary's Cat

Our family has pets, there are two cats and three dogs, and they all get along together very well. It's fun to watch them and see how friendly they are with each other. One is a yellow Tom cat that is getting up in age, and the other is a bob tailed tabby. He is the latest member. He finally feels at home with the dogs, so now he doesn't have to run between his bed in the garage to the barn. Our animals are pets, but they are outdoor pets. Now Aunt Mary's Tom cat is a different story. Aunt Mary and Uncle Virge lived in a big city. They lived in a small house. They had no children, but they had this big cat. This cat was never allowed to go outside the house. He had never been with any other cat since they got him. He was well taken of. Aunt Mary bought fresh meat to feed him. He ate like a cat in the wild. He acted like a wild cat. I'm sure she loved him, but he didn't know how to act around strangers. When we would go there for a visit she would chain him to a chair leg. He would mew and hiss at the children. They and I were afraid of him. He was a pretty tabby cat. She treated him like this because she didn't want him to get with a female cat, or she didn't want him to run away. She was a lonely old lady. Our cats have been neutered. That wasn't done for Aunt Mary's cat. My children remember the visits we had, and seeing the cat tied up with the chain. They remembered the sweet little old couple and the cat.

Our First Garden

Our house was built on a corner lot in a little sub- division. The land was an open field and had never been used for gardening. I loved flowers growing around the house so that was my first project. I went to my mother-in-law's house and clipped branches from her rose bushes. These branches were planted in our flower bed on the south side of the house. I placed a fruit jar over each cutting to form a hot house effect. I then watched ever day until there was new growth on the plants. I planted these cuttings in the fall of the year and by spring I had rose bushes growing in my beds. I love colorful plants, so I planted seeds around the rose bushes. My flowers were beautiful. There was a dirt road or lane that ran by our house. I don't know here it lead to, but there was traffic there every day. Usually it was wagons and occasionally and automobile. One wagon got our attention,it came by every day. The driver of the two brown mules was a very polite little old black man. When he passed our house he would lift his hat and speak to us. One day we asked him if he would plow a garden spot for us. He said he would come back next week and do that for us. Next week came and there he was. He unharnessed his pair of mules and hooked them to the plow that he carried around in his wagon. He did odd jobs for people in the neighborhood. He first had to break up the hard soil with the plow an then lay the soil into rows. He did a good job. Now we only had to plant the seeds for our vegetables. We planted corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, string beans okra and zinnias. The zinnias were for color. I love color in my garden. We kept the weeds and grass from growing in our garden by chopping with a hoe. Our garden was beautiful. We had plenty of vegetable to eat,to share and to can for later. It was hard work, but it was also fun. Our good friend who plowed the garden for us confided to us later that never would have believed that we could make a thing grow in that soil. He was proud that he had been a part of it.

My Little Dream House

When you have lived in the house with your mother- in- law for three years you start to dreams of a place of your own. My mother- in- law wasn't the problem, it was the relatives. My mother-in-law was good to me and I loved her. I married into a large family. My husband supported his mother and took care of her. Her oldest daughter and her husband liked to live close, so they bought a new Airstream trailer and moved it into mother's yard. That made too much family so close together. There was no privacy for us. There was always someone coming through the back door. The house was small and we lived in one bedroom. Of course we had use of the rest of the house, but it was too crowded. In our second year of marriage our first baby was born. That made the little house seem smaller. There was never a quiet place for our baby to sleep without someone coming in and waking her up. And then I was pregnant again. This togetherness was getting the best of me. I started looking in the want ads for a house for sale. I found one.That day when it was time for my husband to come home from work I dressed my little girl up in her cutest little dress. I curled her hair and she was so cute. I then made my pregnant self look as pretty as possible and we went for a walk to meet daddy. I had the newspaper with the ad in it in hand. When we got in the car I showed the ad to him and we went to see the little house. The house was perfect for us. It had two bedrooms, one bath, kitchen, pantry and living and dining room combination. We bought the house for $6,500. The down payment was $75.00 which we didn't have to pay because there was a chip on the bath tub. We settled even for that. Furniture was the next problem. We had a table and four chairs, a console radio-record player and a lot of records, a chest of drawers and a baby bed. We went to Montgomery Wards and bought bedroom furniture and appliances for the kitchen. We didn't have cookware, so we bought as few pots and pans as we could get by with. My mother- in- law gave us a roll-away bed for our little girl to sleep on. We didn't buy living room furniture for several months, but that was fine with us, we were on our own. What a relief? One of the greatest purchases that we got was the washing machine. When you have two little ones and pampers had not been invented yet that machine was a blessing. My friend said she could find our house easily because the white flags were always flying. It was good to be home.

Saturdays When I Was Growing Up

Saturdays sure have changed a lot since I grew up. I don't know if I can put into words, but it was fun back then. We didn't have a Walmart or Mall to do our shopping in, but we did have a General Store where one could buy food, clothing, tools, feed for the animals and seeds and fertilizer. You could also buy candy and cookies from big glass jars. Sugar, flour, corn meal and dried beans, rice and peas could be bought by the pound or by larger amounts. Lard was sold in buckets. We only bought that when we had used up the lard we had rendered when we killed the hogs. Crackers were kept in barrels and you could buy as many as you needed. A few cracker and some cheese cut from a big block was a good lunch for a hungry person. Saturday was the shopping day for most country people. Since there wasn't a lot of cars during this time and the Great Depression had made everybody poor, travel mostly was done riding in the farm wagon pulled by the faithful team of mules. We would sit on our front porch and wave at the neighbors as the rode into town. We didn't ride into town, we lived close enough to walk there. Everybody went to town on Saturday afternoon. Some went early and stayed all day. Our little town had three general stores, a drug store, a barber shop and two doctors offices. The stores were lined up in a row with a common sidewalk. There were benches in front of each store. That's where all the people met to do their visiting for the week. The little sidewalk would be so crowded you would have to push your way through. But it was fun to be there. You would see friends you hadn't seen all week. In the summer when the church ladies made ice cream and sold it by the cone was a good time. They would set the freezer and all the fixing in a shaded spot and sell the cones for .05 cents? It would melt and be messy, but oh so good. At the end of the day everybody went home until next Saturday. It was nice to go visit friends and shop on Saturday. Nobody was in a rush, Oh well, times do change. S

Wedding Day.

This morning as I was tidying up my bedroom I glanced up and looked at the pictures hanging on the wall. There is a picture of myself taken when I was 21 years old. Beside that picture is one of my "Honey" in his Air Force uniform. We were not married when these pictures were taken, in fact we didn't know each other at all. I met him after WW2 was over. I was working as a bookkeeper at the bank and I had a friend that worked with me who was his friend. My friend asked me to go on a picnic to the lake and be a date with his friend Bill. That was the beginning of a long, long love affair. We had a very good time on the picnic. He had just returned home from being in the Air Force for three years. He enlisted when he got the letter from Uncle Sam saying that he needed him. All young and some older men got those letters, and they had to enlist or have a good reason that they would not be able to serve. Bill chose the Air Force because there was a base in his hometown, and he had worked on the base when he graduated from high school. He got his orders to report for training in December. He was sent to Colorado Springs, Colorado in the coldest time of the year. That was pretty hard on a southern kid. They had to take hikes in snow and rain. Their barracks were cold, the wind and snow would blow in the windows. When his training was over he was sent Kearney. Nebraska. He was assigned to office work and did office work until the war was over. In the last months of the war he was sent to Guam. He worked on the island where they were getting ready to bomb Japan. He was never in or saw combat duty. After the US bombed Japan the war was over. He said he typed up his own discharge papers. The pictures on the wall brought back memories of seventy years. I can remember the little wedding we had at a friends home with family and friends there. We stood before the fire place in the living room. There was a big spray of gladiolus on each side on the mantle. We were so nervous, I got the giggles when I had trouble slipping the ring on his finger. The minister was a friend of ours. Our wedding cake was made by Bill's mother. Everything was so simple, but so sweet. We were married for 51 years,7 months and 12 days.

Fourth of July Picnic.

Fourth of July has always been a special day in our family and since this Thursday is that day, it's a good time to tell you about how we celebrated one year when I was a kid. We didn't have a fancy outdoor cooker or grill. We didn't have a car to take us to the lake. We didn't have bathing suits, but we had fun. On that morning we were all eager to go on a picnic to the lake. We had dug worms and had plenty of the wiggly, slimey little worms in a can ready to put on the hook. Mama packed some grease in the big iron pot that she usually cooked our meals in. The grease was from rendering the fat from the pig that was killed in the winter. It was called lard. She packed some potatoes to fry in the grease, just in case we didn't catch some fish. She also had a chicken prepared and ready to fry. and for a special treat she had baked a cake. Since we needed to ride to the lake, Daddy harnessed up the mules and hooked them to the farm wagon and we were on our way. We rode the five miles to Chalk Lake sitting on boards laid across the sides of the wagon. Our family filled the wagon up. We were a big family. This will be a great day for all of uss. When we got to the lake we all got a fishing pole and started to fish. My daddy found a good place to fish. He found an old log that had fallen into the water. He found a place that he could ease out and catch fish in deeper water. We were only allowed to fish in the shallow water. None of us smaller kids could swim, so we had to be careful where we fished. It seemed that Daddy had a magic touch. He caught enough fish to fry for our picnic. He scaled and gutted the fish and prepared them for the big iron pot. They made a fire and cooked the fish, fried the chicken and potatoes. We had a feast and it was wonderful. After we had eaten we were allowed to wade in the water. It was very shallow near the banks. We were having so much fun that Mama decided to join us. We were all playing in the water in our clothes, and we were all soaking wet. We delighted in making Mama as wet as we were. She had a lot of fun, too. Everybody went home wet and happy.

What Would My Father Think?

What would my father think if he looked down from Heaven and could see all his children? First he would probably say "Where is everybody?" "What is going on here?" It is a different world than the one he left in 1959. His family has grown so big that he would have to get a bigger place to live and he would have to work a lot harder to feed all these people. He would wonder just who they were. He would know his nine children and fifteen grandchildren, but there were more, many more grandchildren, great- grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Things have changed so much since he went away. He is not lonely in Heaven. He has Mama there with him and three of his daughters and two sons near him, so you see he keeps busy watching over them. He doesn't have to worry about the ones left on earth. They seem to be able to take care of themselves. He does have a fine family and he is proud. He is proud to know that he a poor dirt farmer who had only a third grade education had helped create this fine family. He is proud that he worked so hard to get an education for his nine children. Someone once told him he was killing himself trying to educate his children. He very much resented that remark. He was proud of all of us, and we are proud of him. The world has changed a lot since he went away. This is a place he would be lost in. Even I am amazed at the changes in my lifetime. I never dreamed I could sit in my easy chair and play games on my I-Pad or watch the news as it is happening on the TV. This month I have had a miracle in my eyes. My old God given lens were removed and new man made ones were put in their place. Now I can read without glasses. What a blessing? My father only had vision in one eye. He was nailing shingles on a house and a nail stuck him in the eye. In those days you had to just be blind. He was 80 years old when he died on November 11, 1959.

Depressed Is Not The Depression.

Last week some of my grandchildren were visiting and they started talking about some of the documentries they had seen on TV. They said they had never known about how the people suffered during that time. It was surprising to me that this was true. It should be in every history book. These things do happen and all should be aware of it. I am from a large family and I am a depression child. I remember how hard it was for my parents to provide food and clothing and a roof over our heads. We owned a small farm. Mama raised a garden and grew vegetables. We had a few chickens for eggs, a few cows for milk and a few pigs. My Dad grew cotton and corn. He had a couple of mules to pull the plow while he walked behind to guide the plow. It was hard work from sun-up til sun-down. There was never any money for extra things. We were happy to be able to be fed and taken care of. Our little house was bursting the seams with all the kids. All the beds were filled and then the twins were born. Now there were nine kids. Two more mouths to feed. My Dad lost the little farm to the bank because there was a drought and the crops failed. We had to move away from the little house he had built for Mama when they first got married. My Dad rented the little farm next to us and we moved into that house. It was a bigger house and we were happy for the extra room. Even though we had more room I had to sleep with a bed full of kids. It was usually my older sisters. They say the middle child gets the worst, and I can testify to that. We ate a lot of great northern beans and corn bread, that's what kept us healthy and strong through the depression.

Rollercoaster Ride

When I was just out of high school and new to the city life, my friends and class mates who were in the same city called and asked me to meet them at the park. They were there as nursing students and I was in business school. I had never been in a big city before and I was really a "greenhorn". I knew nothing about the city, but I went to the bus stop and caught the bus and paid my 7 cents and went to the park.

We rode rides all afternoon and had a glorious time until the rollercoaster ride. I don't think I have ever been so afraid before or since then. I was so thankful when that ride was over. My friends enjoyed every moment of it. I never rode another one until I rode the Matterhorn at Disney World in California with my little five year old son many years later. I couldn't let him know how scared I was.So you see I can be brave in bad situations.

Since I wrote my last blog several months ago I have been on a rollercoaster of a different sort. This has been pretty scary, too. Thanks to my girls I have spent a lot of their time carting me back and forth to doctor's offices and the druggist to make me feel better. If medication will make a new body, I should be about done by now. I take so many different kinds of meds that I have to keep books on them. I need a good bookkeeper. I read my medical history the other day and I'm amazed that I can still get up every morning and do as well as I do. This has been and is the ride of my life and I'm not ready to get off yet.

Queen For A Day.

This weekend has been very special for me. It's like a fairy godmother came and cleaned all the pollen and dirt off my little back porch, and then on top of all that hard work, filled it up with bright new flowers. How proud can you be after all that? Now that it is spring, and I do say it lightly because the wind is raw outside and has been for two days, I can enjoy being outside on the porch.My daughter-in law was so sweet to do all the cleaning for me. Then she went shopping for the flowers and put them in pots. I'll be grateful. This made me feel like a Queen for the day.

I told my son this cool, or cold spell, is called blackberry winter. He said he had never heard that expression before. That is what my parents use to call it. I asked him if the blackberry were blooming and he said yes, well that's what the old timers called it,  and sometimes it just happens at Easter time. We have a full moon at night and clear azure blue skies in the day, and a light jacket makes it just right.

Every one is anxious to get their yards cleaned up for the Easter holiday. The grass has got to be cut and trimmed, and the vegetable garden has to be planted. It's a busy time of year. When I was a kid out on the farm we were allowed to go barefoot while we planted potatoes. It was so much fun pulling off those old shoes and feeling that cool dirt on your feet. What fun!!























we have a full moon

Along Comes Pollen.

From my front door I can see the beauty of spring. What a glorious view that is. But spring also brings along the pollen. We live in pine country, do I have to say more? Everything is covered with the yellow pollen from the beautiful pine trees.

This morning I had the bright idea that I would clean my screened porch and get it ready to enjoy the nice weather. I took a pain killer for my aching back, my little hand clippers to trim my Plumbego that I had neglected and the frost had done a bad job on it, and my trusty old broom that I have had since I moved here in 1998.  Gee, now I'm aging myself, but that's no secret. I surely bit off more than I could chew this time. I did the front stoop, cut the dead branches and twigs off the plant and swept away the pollen. Now I go to the back porch. What a mess?

Everything is covered with this yellow dust. It was and is so thick that I didn't want it to get on my shoes. I didn't want to carry it back inside my house. I didn't want to get that stuff on my new carpet. I swept a path to the plants that needed water, then I looked over the situation and decided I'd try that another day.

I'm thankful I'm not allergic, but I don't want to take chances. I don't need anything else to cause me pain. Hopeful for another day. .

Spring Is Finally Here.

If you live out in the rural area, I mean country, in the south. You can hardly wait until the dull browns on the trees and grass are gone. My friend kept saying to me {March 20th is spring} and I do believe she is right this time.

Last night was a good night for sleeping. We even had a quiet shower during the night, and I slept late. The birds were so busy and noisy, the sound was beautiful. You have to live here to know what I mean. I made my usual breakfast of cereal and plenty of coffee, two big cups, and I was ready for the day. I did the few chores that needed done and then went out into the yard to see what was new.

It was as if our yard wake up from a long sleep. The peach trees, the crabapple, pear, and mayhaw trees are all in bloom. The azaleas, bridleswreath, sweet olive and camelia bush are in full bloom. Looks like heaven on earth. This with the azure of the sky, it's just about perfect.

To make it perfect, I've got to put out my humming bird feeder. I saw one of these beautiful little birds this morning. I also have to put out my little wren houses that I was given at Christmas. The little wrens were on my front stoop this morning looking for something to build their nest. I can help them out. Now, I'll just have to muster up enough energy to get outside an enjoy another spring. 

66th Wedding Anniversary

Some things slip your mind and you can't remember, but one thing is embedded there forever. This is what I remember from my wedding day.

I lived in Helena, Arkansas in a rooming house with five other girls. My room-mate was my sister. All the girls went to work this day, except me. It is my wedding day! None of the girls had automobiles, so the all rode the city bus to work. I had errands to run today, so I also rode the bus. I could have walked to the shoe store to purchase my shoes, but I didn't ride because I really couldn't afford to spend the seven cents for the bus ride. I really needed the shoes, I needed low heels as I didn't want to be taller than my groom. I found the perfect shoes with the help of the store clerk, who was especially helpful since he knew me from the announcement in the paper.

My next trip was to the next town to get my hair done. My good friend was also my hairdresser, and we were getting married at her house at seven thirty. She fixed my hair and I helped her get ready for the wedding party. It was a good day. I then rode the bus back to the rooming house and waited for the time to pass until it was time to get married.

Our sweet little house-mother, or owner of the rooming house prepared a good dinner for all us girls, and I remember how hungry I was. I may have skipped food all day. Jittery nerves didn't bother my appetite. The girls helped me get dressed.

My wedding outfit cost less than one-hundred dollars, but it was beautiful.We didn't have a camera at the wedding, so there are no pictures. My mother-in-law made the wedding cake. It was a white cake with white icing. It was served with coffee. Our music was played on a record player. We stood before the fire place decorated with gladiolas. They were beautiful. The minister was a young friend from the Methodist Church. I can remember my nerves came to the forefront when the ring I had bought for my groom was a little snug and I had a little trouble getting it on his finger I began to giggle and couldn't stop. I soon got over that.

My sister-in-law who was three months pregnant went outside the house to help decorate our car, and when she returned to the house, she opened the wrong door to the house and fell down the stairs to the cellar. She wasn't hurt badly, but it ruined our wedding party It was like a dark cloud over the rest of the day.

We took a wedding trip to Memphis for the week-end., and then it was back to work on Monday.

Let's Talk Valentines Day

Yesterday was Valentines Day and it brought back lots of memories. I spent over fifty years with the Valentine that I chose to be me mine on February 21, 1947. I don't remember all the different little Valentines that I received in all those years, but this is remember, it was always Valentines Day. We loved each other and that was enough.

My first gift for Valentines was a lovely scarf. I can amost recall just how pretty it was, and I can imagine him thinking she will like this, and she can use this. Such a practical gift. I did like it and it was usefull, but what red blooded girl wants practical on such a special day. He never knew I was a bit disappointed in his choice of gifts.

Over the many years I received boxes and boxes of chocolates and roses. When the chocolates began to to change my figure, which wasn't so good to start with, I said enough. He said but I like the chocolates. Then I got roses, and they would die in a couple of days. That was when it was decided I would get the real thing. I got the roses bushes. That is when I really got to love growing roses. So with roses you get flowers every day. They adorn your garden and make beautiful bouquets for your table. It's like getting a gift every day and it's practical. We liked that.

What's Up?

I haven't seen the sun in three days. I hope this is the day. The lake is running over and my yard is soaked, and the sky is still gray and it looks like more rain. Hopefully we will see blue skies real soon.

This is a good time to read a good book and I received one as a gift from Christmas. I must get started on it, but this weather doesn't put me in the mood to read. On a day like this I usually like to put something in the oven and cook it slowly so I can smell the aroma. I think I will do that and then maybe I'll get in the mood to read.

I don't have any projects that I need to be working on at the moment, so you might say I'm really bored. But you could say my Christmas project was a success. I made a puppet show for one of the great-grand children and she loved it. Wish I could have made one for each of them, but I'd have to have a factory to do that big job. Gotta a lot of kiddos. It's something to think about, and I will think about it. Some day!

Happy New Year 2013 !

I don't make resolutions so you won't read any of those here. I just live one day at a time, and live it best I can.

Christmas is over at my house. I think I have it all clear out except my little gold bell that has hung in my house every Christmas since my once young kids were very small. You can pull the string that is attached to it and it will play "Jingle Bells". The reason for not taking it down, I can't reach it, so I'm waiting for someone to come by and take it down for me. All the kids of mine, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren have pulled that string and enjoyed it. Now I'll put it away for another Christmas. It's getting a bit worn, but the knot in the string doesn't keep it from playing "Jingle Bells".

I didn't go out to celebrate the birth of the new year, but I did crawl under the covers of my warm bed and watch the crowds in the big cities as they celebrate. I miss Guy Lombardy and his band on New Years Eve. Now you young ones don't know who that was. Olde Lang Syne ain't the same any more. That group had class !

I made a nice dinner for my daughter and her husband on New Years Day. We had the tradition black-eyed peas and cabbage, creamed potatoes, and pork and sourkraut. Boneless pork ribs substituted for the hog jowl that my late husband and I use to cook. That is the traditional meat for good luck on that day. I'm no Rachel Raye, but I've got more experience in the kitchen than she does and I can cook something other than an Italion dish. Just good old home-cooking. The peach cobbler was good, too.