Monday, March 22, 2010

Our Wild, Strange Winter!

Melody Acres in Deep East Texas, 2009


I received a call from my sister, Mary Ruth, today. She was whining about the snowfall they got today. I said, "Boo Hoo!" The picture above looks more like an Indiana scene than a Texas scene!



Here it is getting close to April and today is the first full day of Spring. They got several inches of snow there in Texas. We had a beautiful day here in Indiana. It was sunny and bright and about in the high forties. It is just about a complete switch of weather for us. Usually, we have the snow and cold and Texas has the beautiful, sunny weather.



However, Mary Ruth said they are supposed to get to about 75 degrees for tomorrow. When we get snow it does not change back to warm that quick. I hope the snow is finished for us for this season!



I do not like the weather here in Indiana but what can I do? I live here and my one daughter and grandkids live here so I am sort of stuck to this part of the country. This winter has been somewhat worse than usual. But thank God it is almost over. And, thankfully, I do not live in Washington DC or any other east coast state. They really got socked this winter.











Friday, March 19, 2010

OLD AND NEW!



Are these socks below

any worse than the ones

on the right?


























The socks in the picture on the right were advertised in today's paper. The ones on the left are the socks I had on for a picture from about 75 years ago. Are the socks I had on any worse than the ones in today's ad?




And how about those shoes? I think the ones I had on are much better looking than the ones in the top picture above which are horrendous in my opinion.




Styles change so often that any kind of shoe, or sock, you can pick will probably be out of style in a couple of years.




So don't laugh about the shoes I had on 75 years ago. They may be back in style soon! I think my shoes were pretty neat! besides that I am sure I didn't pay $4.99 for my socks!





Thursday, March 18, 2010

About My Posts


I want to set things straight about my posts. Sometimes they come out exactly like I write them. Other times they come out completely different than I wrote them. I don't mean the wording is changed but that placement of pictures, captions, and paragraphs are not placed the way I wrote them.

A few posts back my post came out with the first word of my first paragraph placed at the top of the post and the rest of the paragraph was far down below it. Some people may have not even noticed the first word of the paragraph since it was so far above the rest. I did not write it that way!

And the pictures are another problem. I place them exactly where I want them and I write captions below, or above, some of them. But when they are published they may be miles apart and the captions are not where they should be.

I assure you I do not place everything as it shows up when published. So if you notice that a caption is not in the right place, It is the publisher who is responsible for that--not me!

Another problem is that I like a space between my paragraphs and I always put the space there. But a lot of the time the spaces are not there when it is published. And no matter how many times I try to edit the post and place the space there sometimes they just will not be there.

So if my posts are sometimes goofy looking and not symmetrical--I love symmetry-- it is not my fault. I suppose maybe if I just deleted the post and started all over it might solve the problem but who wants to write everything two or three times? Not me!

So when you read my posts and something is odd or not right, consider that the publisher may have done it, not me.
The sad thing is, I don't really know to whom I should complain about this problem--or if they could even do anything about it. So I guess I will just have to grin and bear it!

Another Thing I See As Wasteful!























I like cereal with milk. However I have great pain when I throw out the milk left over from my bowl of cereal.


You might say, "Why don't you drink it?" Well, I am not a picky person and I like most all foods but the milk left after the cereal is all scooped out is one thing I just can't handle! I try not to put too much milk on to start with but it does take about at least a half cup of milk or more to moisten the cereal. Sometimes I take an extra helping of cereal just to soak up the leftover milk but other times it is just more than I can eat. So that is when I have to throw it away.


Back years ago when I had dogs I gave my leftover milk to them but now I don't have a dog so the only thing I can do is pitch it.
Every member of my family usually always drank the leftover milk and I was glad. But I could not do it. There was just something about that sweet milk that was repulsive to me.
My frugal streak hates me for throwing out good milk, but what else can you do? Certainly no one else would want it!
Sometimes I think maybe I will eat cereal for breakfast and then I think, No, I don't want to throw away the leftover milk.
Hey, I just had a thought, maybe I could put in in the fridge until I want cereal again! No, that is also repulsive. I guess I will just have to grin and bear it when I have leftover cereal milk and throw it away.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Food Network

At least this person is using a scraper







I have stooped so low in my television watching that I now watch the Food Network a lot, also some other cooking shows. When I can't find anything else to watch I turn to the Food Network.






However, I get so frustrated with the chefs, or cooks, on the shows that I almost can't bear to watch them.


It pains me greatly to watch the chefs when they pour something out of a dish or pan into another mixing bowl because they do not use scrapers--or at least they do not use them very efficiently. I just want to grab that pan or bowl and scrape out the large amount of batter or whatever that they leave in it.


At least one or two servings are left in the containers and pitched into the sink to wash. I know that they have to hurry and can't spend a lot of time scraping but they could at least try to get a little more out of the pan or bowl.


I have two or three different sized scrapers and I use them to the fullest! Poor kids would not want my bowls to lick because I never leave anything in them. I remember when I was a kid asking my mother to leave a little bit of batter in the pan or bowl for me to lick--and she usually did.



Not only is not using a scraper a waste of money but it makes such dirty dishwater.



Some of the chefs are not quite as wasteful as others but they all leave a lot of batter and other things in their mixing bowls. Their supplies are furnished by the network and they don't have to pay for them. I could probably feed one or two more people with what they pour down the sink!


Sometimes, I just get so aggravated with them I just turn to another channel. I am sure they cry all the way to the bank about it!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Another past treasurer gone!



Lawrence Welk




















Just this week I found out that one of my constants has been demolished. I have watched the Lawrence Welk show for many years. About 50 to be exact. Now I think it is over.


I always tape the show on Saturday night and if for some reason I miss taping it then I can always tape it on Friday at noon. They repeat the Saturday night show on Friday at noon. I never miss it. I usually watch it sometime during the week because it is at the same time that Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are on. So I watch them and then watch the taped Lawrence Welk show some other time during the week. I have been religious about making sure I see it every week.
The shows that were being shown for some time now have been put together from clips of old shows and usually have a theme such as Holiday songs, songs about love, transportation or other things. But they were always fun to watch. Many of the stars on there have been dead for some time while many of the younger ones are still performing.


I feel as if I know all of the people on his show because I see them so often. Many of them are also gone now but thanks to VCRs I could still see them every week--now that is GONE!


Now the show is not on. They never even apologized to me or made any mention that the show was not going to be on any more. I feel slighted! Just as no one ever asked me if they could tear down my old high school, my old church, my old home place or Allen County Motors. They just did it!


I suppose I will survive but it won't be easy. I do have some of the tapes that still have shows on them so I will dig them out once in a while and watch them for old time's sake. I may check out the video stores to see if they have any of his shows on DVDs or tapes.


Also, I will have to figure out what to do with the time I used to spend with Lawrence Welk during the week. Lawrence has been gone for some time now but I hardly know it because I watch his shows so much! He has made my life so pleasant with his music as I am sure many others would say.
Goodbye, Lawrence Welk!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Our Cousin, Lavada Burke

Lavada Burke

Pictured above is our cousin, Lavada, in her Roman sandals. She was the daughter of our mother's sister, Aunt Lottie. Lavada died when I was very young, only about three or four.

Lavada had diphtheria. Back in those days I guess they didn't know much about treating diphtheria. Lavada was a few years older than I am so she must have been about five or six.

I well remember the day my mother got the news about her death. Aunt Lottie lived out west somewhere--I don't remember exactly where, maybe Amarilla or Denton. Of course we could not go for the funeral because we didn't have a car at that time. But I remember the sadness around our place for a few days.

Lavada was a very pretty little girl. They missed her very much. Aunt Lottie had seven other children so her mind was occupied with taking care of the other children which helped her forget sooner, not really forget but think about it less.

--

Saturday, March 13, 2010

MY PAST IS SLIPPING AWAY!

Our favorite car dealer


Our old home place











My church when I was a kid








































Paris High School


It seems that my past is slowly slipping away from me. Not only that but a lot of my friends, relatives and acquaintances are dying. I guess that is the price you pay for living to a ripe old age!

My old high school, Paris High, has been dismantled and and is no longer at the same old place where I spent many days when I was going to school.

The church where I went when I was a kid was torn down many years ago. I certainly hope they salvaged the beautiful stained glass windows that were in it. I can still see them in my mind as if it were yesterday!

The hospital where both of my children were born was demolished a few years ago and the space is now a barren lot on the street where the hospital used to be.
Just last night on TV they announced that Dimension Ford--which was formerly Allen County Motors-- where we bought all of our cars over the years-- has been demolished and they are trying to figure out what to put there. I have made many trips there to have our cars serviced so I feel like I have no place to do that now! I could handle the name change but not the complete obliteration. Actually, Tony, my son-in-law, services my car now but I still would like for Allen County Motors to be right there in its old location if I want it!

It is as if I am just being left here to mourn the disappearance of all of these familiar places. I know most of it has been an upgrade to a better place or location but some of it is gone forever.


For instance, my old home place on North Main Street where I spent many years living and loving it has been gutted and torn down as have several other houses where we used to live. They have not been relocated to any other spot and are gone forever! I would like to be able to drive by to look and reminisce when ever I want.

If you know me you know I don't like change. I like a routine and a steadiness about things. All of these changes have certainly messed up my routine and steadiness.


Help! What can I do to stop it? I guess the answer is, die! At least it would be stopped for me.

Friday, March 12, 2010

It's Permanent!

Carla Sue, about five years old.


When my daughter, Carla was in kindergarten I was visiting at the school one day for a play or some sort of entertainment. One of the acts required the kids to all hold hands. Carla did what the rest of the kids did and she happened to be next to a little black boy, so she held hands with him.

Later, when we were back home we were talking about the play. She was thoughtful for a minute then she looked at me and said, "You know the black from Joey (the black boy she had held hands with) didn't even come off on my hand." I was shocked because we had never talked about anything like that. I have no idea who told her that the black might rub off on her from a black person.

It all reminds me of the time Mary Ruth slept with a black baby doll which Uncle Gola had given her. She woke up the next morning with black paint smudged all over her face and neck. The doll had been painted with inferior paint. We had a good laugh about that! I had a blog about it some time ago.


Thursday, March 11, 2010

My Pongee Dress




When I was just a little kid I had a dress that was made of pongee. Pongee is a thin airy material which my mother thought was fabulous. I really didn't think it was so great but she did so I had at least one dress made of it. The dress in the picture was not my dress but it was similar. In the picture of me the dress may be pongee--I can't be sure but it looks like what I remember as my pongee dress. By the way, my shoes are Mary Janes.

My mother also liked the materials of dimity and voile which were also thin, light materials. My dresses were identified by the names of the materials; such as my voile dress or my dimity dress or my pongee dress. Colors were never mentioned, just the material. Back in those days girls always wore dresses, never pants or slacks. Even for play we wore dresses.


Nowadays, I hardly ever wear a dress. Maybe for a wedding, funeral or church but never for everyday wear. I haven't had a pongee dress, Roman sandals or Mary Janes for hundreds of years! By the way, do I look fat?


Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Roman Sandals

This is a picture of Mary Ruth, Sara and me about 1936, Below is a picture of me about 1931. The other picture is of our cousin Lavada Burke. I'm not sure of the date but probably about 1930.





































How about these shoes I have on in this picture--and the socks are a totally different story!



My mother always loved Roman sandals. they are the ones that Mary Ruth has on in the top picture with about four straps, and Lavada has them on in the lower right picture. They were the in thing back in those days. I had several pairs of them through the years.



Mary Jane shoes were also a big style. They were just the little plain black shoes with one strap.



I can't remember if the Roman sandals had buttons or buckles. The shoes I had on in the lower left picture laced up. What ever, my kids would have laughed at me if I had put those shoes on them! They were well acquainted with flip flops and sneakers which I never wore when I was a kid.




How times and styles change!


Friday, March 5, 2010

Target and Brett




My grandson, Brett, has worked at a Target store since he was about 16 and in high school. In fact, that is the only job he has ever had. I figure they must like him since he has been there for about twenty one years.
He probably will retire from there since he has had an offer a couple of times to go to other stores but he didn't want to leave Fort Wayne. He lives and loves TARGET.
He gets lots of good deals there such as when they are clearing out things at really big discounts and he gets a chance to buy them. He also gets a store discount of, I think , about 10 % on all of his purchases.
How many kids do you know who have never worked at more than one job? He is 37 years old and that has been his only job.
He has bought his own home and lives a pretty nice life style. Thank You Target!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Pineapple

























Some of my favorite ways to make pineapple are pictured above.

My mother used to make fried pineapple slices. She would roll the slices in flour and then fry them in butter to a light golden brown. Our whole family liked that.


My dad liked pineapple pie, not the cream pie but just the fruit in a double pie crust. We all liked Pineapple upside down cake.



I had never heard of pizza with pineapple on it but my grandchildren in Idaho love pizza with pineapple and Canadian bacon. I have to admit, it is good.



Of course, I also like pineapple juice and just eating plain pineapple chunks.



It is good that pineapple is good for you but not when you add too much sugar, butter or all the other good stuff that it takes to make all of the above items!



I like to keep a can of rings, chunks and crushed pineapple on hand for when I get an urge for something sweet. The only thing better than pineapple rings is diamond rings!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

More About Mrs. Eubanks











Betty Jo Eubanks (the birthday girl)>


A Sunday School class


Since I wrote about Mrs. Eubanks in my post yesterday I will write another one of my memories of her for today. The picture above was when Betty Jo was in high school, long after her childhood birthday party.


I was in Mrs Eubanks' Sunday school class and she knew how to entertain children. She had a large, low table in her class room and she had put sand on it for the children to use as a sand table. She asked all the children to bring a toy to use on the table. We brought a variety of animals, small people and other things that were not too big. We had sheep, cows, horses, dogs, cats, chickens and lots of other things to make a village. We could leave them there or we could take them home after Sunday school was over. Most kids just left them there. We made the cutest little village. We added things to our village every Sunday for some time. Too bad we didn't have all the cameras around as we do today. I could have made a picture of it. But I do have a mental picture of it in my mind!


To this day I can remember how fascinated I was with that village. Mrs Eubanks always found a way to inject aspects of the bible and Jesus into our stories and to relate them to our toys on the sand table. She was truly a good teacher as well as an entertainer.
There probably are not many children who had a Mrs Eubanks in their childhood. Maybe if they had this would be a better world!

Monday, March 1, 2010

A Birthday Cake with a problem



























Charms for a birthday cake


When I was just a small kid I was invited to a birthday party. The mother of the birthday girl was my Sunday school teacher. Her name was Mrs Eubanks. The girl's name was Betty Jo. I remember that I loved Mrs Eubanks. But she was not too smart!




She baked the birthday cake which was fine, but she baked it with tons of little charms inside the cake! It was fun at the time to dig into the cake and find all kinds of little charms inside it. The charms were made of metal--whatever kind of metal they made charms from--and they were not wrapped or anything. They were just inside every nook and cranny of the cake.


I don't remember any special instructions for not biting into a charm, or of actually swallowing one of them. However, I am sure Mrs. Eubanks must have warned us to watch out for them when we ate our cake.



At the time I was unaware of the danger of eating such a piece of cake and as far as I can remember no one did encounter any harm from it. But nowadays serving a cake like that would be totally unacceptable.



However dangerous it was, it was a lot of fun. I don't remember what I got out of my piece of cake but I am sure I liked it!