It's been awhile.....

.........since I last posted an entry.  The Christmas decorations have been put away, we've all experienced the start of a New Year, I've had another birthday and now here we are at the beginning of February 2013.

Christmas Day I woke up sick and that continued on into January with a really bad case of bronchitis and on top of that a doozey of a common cold.  I was very miserable for several weeks, even with two different anti-biotics and a couple weeks of a prednisone taper.  I'm feeling much, much better but still have a nasty cough.  I am soooooo glad I was never a smoker, I can't imagine how bad the cough would be if I had been.  

 During the time I was so sick, the mobile park where I live experienced a 36 hour power outage from a blown transformer.  It was miserable at times but thankfully Bob was here and kept the woodstove burning.  I felt bad that I couldn't help out with making comfortable the residents that had no other source of heat but I sure didn't want to expose them to my 'bugs.'   The power company brought in a big generator and plugged in the Clubhouse where they had meals prepared and people could camp out until the power was restored.

My doctor gave me the 'all clear' to leave town so Bob & I are tentatively planning to leave here on Thursday February 7th for the sunny southland.  Our first stop will be Yuma, Arizona where we'll camp out while we go back and forth across the border to Los Algodones, Mexico for dental work.  We have information on a female dentist from several couples who have been going to her for many years.   I need two very old crowns replaced and he needs at least one.  Here, with dental insurance (at $33 a month) a crown costs me over $600 each.  Down there a crown is $150.00 ~ a big difference.   I also plan on getting my eyes checked and new glasses if I need them.  Medicare does not pay for glasses.

After we're through in the Yuma area we'll travel over to San Diego where I hope to visit a friend of mine from grade school & high school and also Bob's cousin and her husband.  Then we'll go north to La Crescenta, CA where his #3 daughter and her family now live for a couple weeks visit.  After that we'll head to the coast, visiting his 94 year old aunt in Atascadero, CA.  And then slowly back the coast and home.

There's lot's of projects on the books for this Spring & Summer and I absolutley want to be home when my daffodils and tulips bloom. 

Are you glad January is over?  I am...it always seems like it's the longest month of the whole year.  Maybe it's because the days are so short. 

I leave you with a picture of past daffodils....Remember Spring is just around the corner and the long gloomy days of winter will then be over. 

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

IRONING

"Ironing~~~it's an art, and I think it's dying out.  It takes half a brain to do it, and the other half is free to roam."   Butler Christopher Ely, who has worked for Brooke Astor and Buckingham Palace.

Back in the 1950's when I was growing up, my mom felt it was very important for me to learn to iron.  My task was to iron the handkerchiefs, pillow cases and the tops of all the sheets. (She liked the sheets folded a certain way and the tops to be smooth).  Basically I started out ironing anything that was flat. 

After these items were washed and dried, the clothes, etc. were then sprinkled with the water filled sprinkle bottle and then rolled up and placed in the 'ironing' basket.  If left like this too long, they would be covered with mildew and had to be washed again and I was usually in trouble.

As I got older, I moved on to more complicated ironing tasks, like my blouses, mom's house dresses, aprons, dad's shirts and slacks.  By the time I got into high school I was the ironing queen of the house. Mom pretty much left it all to me.  

Now one would think, that after having to iron as a kid I would hate ironing today.  But I don't....I don't iron sheets or pillowcases and of course hankies have gone by the wayside.  But I do still press my blouses and slacks.  I like creases in the sleeves and flat fronts on my blouses. And I usually time my ironing for when a good movie is on TV. Then I set up 'shop' in front of the TV and iron away.

I've also discovered that my trusty ironing board has other uses. It can become a sideboard if you have a bunch of people over for dinner and there's nothing else that works better as a work table for wrapping presents, than the ironing board.

Remember~The ironing board is portable, it can be set up almost anywhere and is just the right height. 

So go ahead, call me crazy but I love to iron !



My first attempt at ironing in December 1943 just weeks before my 2nd birthday.



If Things Don't Seem Quite Right Today......

.........maybe you forgot~

MUSH

I grew up in the days before Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Apple Jacks.

During my growing up days MUSH was the staple for breakfast almost 365 days of the year.

If it wasn't Quaker Oatmeal, it was Cream of Wheat, Ralston Purina, Wheatena or Malt~O~Meal.

My mom would make a big pot of MUSH every morning, especially during the winter months.  Since we had Daisy, we had our own cream to put on the MUSH and she would put out either granulated sugar, brown sugar, molasses or honey to also put on the MUSH.

I checked with my brother (he's 8½ years younger than me) and he remembers a lot of MUSH also. But while we were discussing this subject we each remembered  an occasional bowl of Cheerios, Rice Krispies or Wheaties....but only during the summer months.  

Also on the weekends mom would make pancakes, french toast and eggs, bacon and toast.  But for the most part it was MUSH almost every morning.

The funny thing is, I can't remember if I did the same thing to my kids and quite frankly...I'm afraid to ask them. 

I do know that as an adult I do not eat MUSH.  I put Quaker oatmeal in cookies and in my meatloaf.....but I don't eat it for breakfast!

My Encounter With The Duke

I may have told this story before in a previous Blog post....if you've heard the story before....excuse my absent "mindness."   (Is that a word?) 

It was March 1955, I turned 13 years old in January that year and was so excited that we were going to take a family vacation.  However, I knew riding in the same car as my dad, mom, grandmother and 5 year old brother all the way to southern California and back was going to be a challenge.

This is really the only family vacation I remember, we lived on a small farm....had animals that needed to be cared for, so a day at the park or maybe an over night at the ocean was the most we ever did.

I was in the 7th grade and it was not Spring Break, so my mom talked with my teacher and it was decided that I would be excused from school as long as I wrote a page each day about our activities. Then turn the 'diary' in when we got home for a grade for the time I missed.

My dad's father and step mom, plus his brother and step brother and their families all lived in California.  It was very exciting as we headed out the first week of March...down Highway 99.  I remember at every stop there was the 'changing of the seats' routine between my mom, grandma and myself. Quite frankly I was super annoyed with my brother by the time we passed thru Olympia (30 miles south of our home). 

One day after we arrived at my uncle and aunt's home, my dad's step brother and his family came over and spent the day visiting.   My dad's step brother (Uncle Don) worked for the movie studios as a freelance photographer.  He took those pictures you used to see as you walked up to the ticket booth of a theater, and he took continuity pictures so the actors ended up in the correct spot and in the correct clothes when they came back from a break in shooting their film.

Anyway, during that day of visiting he asked me if I'd like to go to work with him one day while we were there.  I was thrilled and my folks agreed that it would be a fun adventure for me.  But, I didn't really have the appropiate clothes with me, so the next day they took me to the Robert Hall store in Hollywood.  They got me new shoes, new skirt, blouse and a pink  jacket.   I felt like a movie star myself.

The appointed day came and Uncle Don came and picked me up.  When we got to the movie studio he took me in with him and sat me over in the corner to watch the action.  The entire morning they shot the same scene over and over again and I remember that they finally got the scene right just at lunch time.  My uncle came over and said that he had talked to the two movie stars and they had agreed to pose for a picture with me.   I followed him over to another area and there on a high stool sat this beautiful lady named Lauren Bacall.  I had never heard of her before.....

She did sit while my uncle took the picture but then she got up and walked away. She didn't say one word to me. 

 From there, I followed my uncle over to another spot to a group of people standing around talking and laughing. In the middle of that group stood this larger than life man who stepped forward as we approached.  He looked over at my uncle and then at me and extended his hand...my uncle introduced me to John Wayne.  I had heard of John Wayne and needless to say I was dumbstruck.  Here I was, this 13 year old girl who lived on 10 acres and did farm chores meeting the one, the only John Wayne.

We (or should I say 'he') chatted with me and my uncle for awhile and then he asked me if I was hungry. I must have nodded yes, because before I knew it he was leading us to a big round table over in a corner and box lunches appeared for all.  I remember there was an apple in my box lunch but that's all I remember and I don't even remember if I was able to eat much.   I do remember he asked me about my school, where I lived, etc.  He was especially interested in the fact that we lived on a small farm and had animals. He wanted to know who was milking our cow.  His laugh was hearty and it helped me to relax a little. 

Sadly after the lunch break it was time for me to go.  My uncle had arranged for my grandfather to pick me up so I bid farewell and literally floated out of the building.

It was a day I will never forget.  My 8 x 10 glossy, autographed photos hang proudly in my hall, along with family photos.  I have treasured them all these years.

Oh and the movie they were shooting~ it was 'Blood Alley.'   A very good movie and several years ago a friend gave me a DVD of the movie so I can watch it whenever I want.

Remembering~

Mary Teresa Caulfield.......a daughter, sister, wife, mother and aunt was among those who lost their lives in the North Tower of the World Trade Center that sunny and clear morning, September 11, 2001.  She was an executive assistant working in her office at Marsh & McLennan, an insurance company. 

On September 11, 2002 one of my co-workers went by the YMCA before she came into the office.  As she entered the 'Y' there was a table set up, that held business size cards of tributes to the victims of 9-11-01.  Julia gathered up enough of them for those of us already at work and when she came in, she stopped at each desk to let us choose a card.  I chose Mary Teresa Caulfield because she was very close to my age. 

Mary Teresa, you would be 69 years old now, you would be retired and no doubt would have taken that dream vacation with your husband, James.  Maybe you would have even welcomed grandchildren by now...grandchildren that will never know you.  All those dreams were cut short in an instant by a senseless act of a few.  A senseless act of hatred, that most of the people in this world still can't understand. 

I carry that little green card with your name and the fact that you were confirmed dead in the World Trade Center that day~that horrible day,  September 11, 2001. I continue to pray for the loved ones and friends you left behind. 

May we never forget those who left us that day and may we never, ever  forget those few who brought about this horrible event.