FALL

I love fall, all the beautiful colors and the crispness in the air (at least we have that here in the Pacific Northwest).  However, I don't like what comes after fall......WINTER.  I wish we could just skip winter and go right into spring, summer and then fall again.  I have to confess there is one part of fall I don't care for and that's the 20 ga-zillion leaves that fall from the very large oak trees across the street from my house.  My house faces the south and there a 'T' intersection right in front of the house and for some reason all of that causes all those leaves to end up in my carport.  I do have a leaf blower but they still have to be picked up and deposited into the yard waste bin. I spend many hours each fall on 'Leaf Duty.'   I came out of my local Target this last Sunday afternoon and the fall colors and the blue sky stopped me in my tracks.  Such beauty~

Then I was out in the front and noticed the fall colors right here in my neighborhood.

This bright orange/red Japanese Maple is in the yard next door to me.  I have a couple of them in my yard but they are a different variety and have already shed their leaves. 

This tree is in the yard across from me....so pretty but a totally different color.  As winter approaches all the trees (except our Douglas Fir trees) will be bare.  They'll go dormant and settle down for their long winter's nap and then wake again in the spring.   I have two small lilac trees that haven't bloomed yet.  I hope as spring approaches I'll begin to see at least a few buds of flowers on each one of them.  

I hope where ever you are...you're able to see a little change in the season.  It's truly an amazing sight!   And don't forget to; 

REMEMBERING 9-11-2001

Mary Teresa Caulfield......

.............a wife, mother, daughter, sister and an 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 & Mc Lennan, an insurance company.

On September 11, 2002 one of my co-workers went by the 'Y' before she came into the office. As she entered the 'Y' there was a table that held business size cards of tributes to the victims of 09-11-01. 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 70 years old now, you would be retired and no doubt would have taken that dream vacation with your husband, James. Maybe even grandchildren have been born, that will never know you. But 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 still have 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.



To the family and friends of Mary Teresa...please know that as long was I live, I will keep this card with me. I pray that God continues to comfort you and bring you peace as the years go by.



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

                                           

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!