Can You Stand One more Aunt Pearl story?

Here it is:

Once my mother, Mary Ruth and I went to visit Aunt Pearl and Uncle Gola in Little Rock, Arkansas.  We stayed for three or four days.

Aunt Pearl cooked our breakfast every morning while we were there.  She would fry bacon and make eggs and the whole works for us. We all ate probably one or two pieces of bacon and the whole pound would just sit there left over.  Aunt Pearl would finish off the rest of what was left.  That absolutely stunned my mother!  She said. "Can you believe she ate almost a whole pound of bacon?" As I look back I don't really think it was that much but my mother thought it was  just  outrageous that she ate that much bacon.  Anyway, that is probably why Aunt Pearl  was as big as she was. Even  though my mother loved bacon she never ate but one or two pieces of it at a time. So, she thought, that  if you eat  more than that you are  a  PIG!

I can eat more than one or two pieces of bacon but not a whole pound. Anyway, at today's prices I doubt Aunt Pearl would eat that much either.

So much for Aunt Pearl!

More About Aunt Pearl

A few posts back I wrote about my Aunt Pearl.  Aunt Pearl and my Uncle Gola are in the picture above. Thinking back on this post reminded me of another event that occurred while they were on their way to visit us in Paris, Texas. They lived in Little Rock at that time.

They were driving at night along somewhere in Arkansas between Paris and Little Rock. They came to a point where there was some kind of an awful smell in the area. They could not identify the smell but they said it was really a strong odor and they were feeling nauseous.  They were afraid they were going to pass out.  They hurried along and finally got far enough out from that area that the smell dissipated.  To this day we do not know what the smell was.  They never heard anything about it so they never knew what it was. Certainly there was an answer to the question but we just
never found it out!






I can remember how mysterious it all sounded to me, as a kid.  Even though I was just a kid I still remember how frightening it  was. It was probably just one of those things that happen some times.  Things just happen that are never explained or known about. Anyway, it was very impressive to me and I would still like to know the answer to the whole thing! Of course, I never will.

Antenna TV

Many years ago you saw TV antennas on almost every house in your neighborhood. That was the only way you could get TV, through an antenna. That was before Cable TV, or at least before everyone could get it. You had the antenna on the top of your house or on the top of your TV. 

At that time  all of the good shows were on!  Leave it to Beaver, Dennis the Menace, Threes company, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, and many others.  Recently they added a new channel on our Comcast Cable line.  It is called  Antenna TV. They are rerunning all of those old TV shows again.

Now I am in seventh Heaven--I can watch all of those shows again.  Some of them I don't care for, just as I didn't care for them then, but many of them I find very refreshing to watch. You do not see or hear any sexual references on Leave it to Beaver or Dennis the Menace. 

I especially like watching the Beaver.  It amazes me that June Cleaver always had on a neat dress, earrings, and looked as if she were dressed to go somewhere even early in the morning while they ate breakfast. I never saw her in pants or casual clothes at any time. That was not very realistic but I still like the show. Ward Cleaver, Beaver's dad always had on a business suit and looked very neat and trim.

Now I am waiting for them to rerun some of the variety shows that used to be on; such as the Dean Martin show, the Glen Campbell show, the Dinah Shore show, and many other very good shows which are never on at all.  They may never do that but I am hoping they will.

TV has dropped to an all time low in their choice of shows. Much of it is because I am from the old generation and the new generation is producing the new shows. Maybe someday they will wake up and smell the coffee. The old shows were much better than the new one are!  At least in my opinion.

Learn to Swim!!

If I were a few years (actually, a lot of years) younger, I would consider making use of the day noted above!

In all of my 85 years I never learned to swim.  Not that it has ever made any difference but it could have.  I once was all set to sign up for swimming lessons at the YWCA and, unfortunately, the schedule  ran into our plans for a trip to Texas and I never did go through with it.  I think everyone should know how to swim!
We never lived near water anywhere that we could have learned to swim. Of course there was always the YWCA and public swimming pools. However, our mother thought it was sinful to wear a bathing suit and go into a swimming pool with other people. So we just never had the opportunity to have swimming lessons.  I am sure if I had been drowning in some place it would not have been sinful for someone to save my life! I could not understand my mother's way of thinking. But that is the way she was!
I can't say much for myself because I never saw to it that my kids learned to swim.  They may be able to swim a little but not because of anything I did.  Anyway, That is all water under the bridge.  But I do regret that we were  never a swimming family!

My New Sweeper

After a lot of thinking and looking for a new sweeper, I finally got one.  It is a Shark Navigator. Actually, I don't even use my sweeper any more.  Brett, my grandson does my vacuuming for me now. But he has a sensitive back and my old sweeper was bad on backs. It had a tank that you have to pull along behind you while you vacuum.  So this new sweeper is much better for his back and along with that  I think it is doing a better job of cleaning than my old one did.

I got a good deal on it so I plunged in and got out my Discover card and did the damage! This sweeper  also does not have a bag to deal with.  It has a container that you lift off and empty. I am pleased with it and so is Brett. Brett is doing my housecleaning now (with pay, of course) and I am thrilled to have such a good house

 cleaner. I don't have to worry about him stealing anything and he knows how I like things so I don't have to tell him everything to do, he knows. Next time you come to see me my house will be sparkling clean!

I Love a Rainy Night

I love a rainy night, I really do!  I also love the song by Eddie Rabbitt.

I remember when I was a kid how much I loved going to bed when it was raining and listening to the pitter patter of the drops of rain hitting  the roof. There was also a downside to the rain.  My Dad worked for the  City Street Department and if it rained too much they could not do street work so he would be off work without pay. I worried about that.

To this day I love hearing the rain on my roof.  However, it has to rain pretty hard for me to hear it inside the house. You can't hear snow hitting the roof but I hate for it to be snowing
because I know I will have to deal with it the next day when I get my mail and Paper. But rain is different, you don't have to shovel rain!

In fact it is raining here tonight.  But by the time I get to bed it will probably have stopped.
Anyway, I can remember the  way it sounds and pretend I am a kid again!

Blogging

It is true! Blogging isn't easy.  Actually,  writing the stories is easy but thinking of stories to write is very hard.  I have been doing it for a couple of years and at first I had tons of ideas for stories.  But after a while I ran out of ideas. Now I am constantly picking my brain to think of a new idea for each day.  I watch the newspapers, watch TV, and literally  watch everything around me for an idea.  I am actually using ideas now that I thought of a long time ago but discarded them because I didn't think they were good enough. Now some of them seem brilliant after reviewing again.

I have great respect for people who write columns for newspapers or magazines on a regular basis. I now know what they must face every day of their lives coming up with new ideas.  Some categories may be easier than others.  My blogs are  based on stories of my family and our past lives. There are only so many stories in my past and I think I have about reached the end of them!

Actually, I know there are probably many stories that are there--I just have to remember them. So if I miss a day putting on a post just know that I am here thinking hard about one I can put on next.

Also, my life and my family's lives  are  still going on so maybe there will be some new things come up (good I hope) for me to write about!

Picasso? or Van Gogh?

 

  
I  have some valuable art work in my possession!   The picture above was colored by my daughter, Lana Kay, many years ago when she was about 6 or 7 years old. I thought it was an excellent painting for a child that young.  It was done with crayons on just plain old paper like they use for student artwork. I don't know how it survived the years without getting misplaced or lost completely. In later years I did put it in a frame which saved it until now. I have it hanging on a wall in my hallway. I treasure it more than I would if it were a Picasso or a Van Gogh painting!

I don't know what will become of it after I am gone but for now it is a beautiful,
precious piece of art that will hang where it is until I am gone!

Animal Cookies

Along with Cracker Jack, which I wrote about a couple of days ago, another thing I remember from my childhood days is  animal cookies. Sometimes they are called animal crackers.  But actually they are cookies.

The boxes in the picture above look the same as they did many years ago when I
used to get them. You can see  in the picture that  the box has a cloth string attached at each end of the box.  After the cookies were gone I usually kept the boxes a few days to play with, until they  ended up getting torn and dirty.

I am not certain but I think you can still buy animal cookies in the same kind of box to this day.  You can also buy animal cookies in big bags, which are probably a better bargain than the boxes. I have not had any in a while but I did some time ago buy a
bag of them.  I like them now as well as I did then but they are not as much fun as they were then.  They are just a plain little sugar cookie but they were lots of fun to
eat, and play with. I must have not reached my second childhood days yet because I
would just want to eat them now--not play with them!

Aunt Pearl

The picture above is my Aunt Pearl.  She was my Uncle Gola's wife at one time (they later divorced). She had beautiful black natural curly hair. She always wore it pulled back and pinned down so that you couldn't really see her curly hair. I have no idea why she hid it that way. 

Anyway, I always used to tell her that I wished she would let her hair hang down so you could see the curls.  She would just laugh at me and still keep it pinned back.
Of course you can't see the curls in the picture above either because she had it pinned close to her head. 

Aunt Pearl has been gone many years but I can still remember her beautiful black curly hair as if I  saw her yesterday.

Cracker Jack Prizes

One thing I remember from my days as a kid is Cracker Jack. Really not so much the Cracker Jack as the prizes that were included in the boxes. I had a large collection of those prizes at one time but somewhere along the lines of time they got lost. The picture above shows one of the kind of prizes that were typical in Cracker Jack. You could write a story using the figurines and charms as an outline.  I loved my necklace that I made using the charms.

My mother used to make popcorn balls which were actually cracker jack. She made

the popcorn and  made a caramel coating and poured it over the popcorn and then made it into balls.  It was delicious to eat but it just wasn't the same without the prizes!

I have a recipe for caramel corn that I occasionally make but it, also, isn't the same without the prizes. I very often see little things that remind me of the prizes in Cracker Jack.  Then is when   I start remembering all of the tiny little jewels that I used to have in my possession but are now long gone!

Our Stolen Hubcap

On one of our many trips to Texas years ago, we were the victims of thieves who stole a hubcap from our car.  The car was very similar to the one in the picture above.  It was a Ford.  I don't remember for sure the year but it was very much like this one.

We had stopped at a rest area to use the rest room.  We parked in a very open place beside several other cars.  We went into the rest rooms and I know we couldn't have been out of the car more then maybe ten minutes. We came back and got in the car
and left.

After we arrived in Texas we discovered that the  hubcap was missing.  We knew
what happened had to be at the rest area because we did not stop at any other place  and there was no chance for anyone to take the hubcap anywhere else.
Some one must have been watching for just the right hubcap to enter the area and
had to have hopped on it right away because we were  away from the car  for no more
 than ten minutes.  I guess that was long enough for them to take a crow bar, or whatever tool they used, and pry off the hubcap.

Luckily my cousin happened to have a son who worked at the Ford place and he got
us another hubcap and put it on for us.

I hope they enjoyed using our hubcap.  We were out probably about $20. They will be out an afterlife in Heaven (unless they change).

Curious or Nosey?

I really don't know whether to call myself curious or nosey--maybe a little of both!
All through the years I have never failed to read every obituary, every marriage announcement, every divorce announcement or every birth announcement published in the newspaper. I religiously checked out details to make sure I knew who it was getting married, divorced or who had a baby or who died. I even checked out the other names in the articles  to make double sure I knew who was doing what! I am not
sure if that is being nosey or just being curious.  Maybe a little bit of both!

Now at this stage of my life I have begun thinking, who cares!  I still check out
obituaries so I know who died but marriages, divorces and births seem to have lost their importance. Maybe that is because they have lost their importance to others.  So many people now don't even bother to get married or divorced they just have their fun anyway without regard to their significant others.  People seem to have forgotten
 all about following the rules of the bible. Many of them probably don't even know the rules of the bible or don't even care to know them.

So now when I read the obituaries I know someone has died and that it was ordained by God for them to go.  And when someone is born, I suppose it is ordained by God for them to be born even in sin. Marriages and divorces are done by people who
don't really know what they want. This world is so mixed up with people who have child after child with man after man that many don't even know their own brothers and sisters. I am so thankful that my children know each other and that there are no
other brothers or sisters involved in our family.

Now the only really important thing I look for is who died.  All of the other stuff is just 
 a jumbled up mess!

Our Good Dog, Buddy

Buddy was a good old dog! I still love him to this day and he has been gone for many years.
Buddy would eat just about anything.  His favorite thing to eat though, was potted meat sandwiches. I use to buy it mostly for him.  I liked  potted meat too  but I would have him in mind when I bought it. He would hear the can opener buzzing and come
 tearing into the Kitchen like crazy with his nose twitching and tongue wagging. He knew he would get some of it.

Two things that he would not eat even if he was hungry was banana and macaroni.  I tried many times to get him to eat macaroni that would be left over but as soon as he sniffed it he would turn and walk away.  The same with banana.  You would think that with the cheese on the macaroni he would eat it but. no, he would not have anything to do with it. I guess dogs are just like people-- they have their likes and dislikes.

I hope in heaven he is getting something besides macaroni and banana!

That's My Dad!

If you knew my Dad you would know his reaction to this event was exactly like him!
 He related this event to my Mom after they were married.

He was out on a date with a girl once and he said this happened:  She told him she had some new silk hose and that they were so smooth and soft that she wanted him
to rub his hand over them and see how nice they were.  My Dad said he looked at her and replied, "I will just take your word for it." I don't think he ever asked her out again
 after that! Now that is exactly like what my Dad would have done and I believe him!

MIss America!!

Do any of you remember that I used to have a figure?  Of course these pictures were made back in about 1959 or 60. I was at my best at that time. We were at Warren Dunes in this picture also. We loved the water and spent a lot of time in it while we were there.

I would love to go back to the good times we had then. But that is all water under the bridge and fat on the hips!

More Precious Memories

Another one of our favorite places was Warren Dunes in Michigan. On the shores of Lake Michigan we had a ball.  We went there many time over the years.

We had really praised the place and blown it up to my sister and her family so much that they finally decided to visit us and we planned to go to Lake Michigan and spend  a day on the beach with them.

 Luck was not with us.  For some unknown reason something had killed a lot of the fish and there were tons of dead fish on the beach and it smelled terrible.  My sister and her family  were not very impressed with the scene.  Of course we had no way of knowing that the fish would be  a problem. Anyway, we did get to be together for a day even if it was stinky!

Precious Memories

Many years ago when our kids were little, as in the picture above, we used to make lots of trips to Texas.  One of our favorite places to stop was in New Port, Arkansas.
There was a small lake there and we loved the lake and the whole atmosphere of the place.  These pictures were taken June 11, 1960, 52 years ago!

Along the way just before we reached New Port there were several fruit stands.  We would stop and buy fresh peaches and take them to the park with us.  There was a water fountain and we would wash all of the peaches and then have a feast eating them, peeling and all. Of course peaches were not always in season but they were most of the times we were there.

I can almost taste the sweet delicious flavor of those peaches to this day.  I have never found any in the stores that taste that good. They would be just the right point of ripeness and so juicy and sweet.

The whole point of my memory though is  my two precious kids and my husband, Ford.  I was living the real life then and didn't realize it at the time. Now that I look back I would give my right arm to live that time again.

But at least I do have my memories to enjoy now.

Jumping the Broomstick

I am sure you have heard the phrase "jumping the broomstick." Ever wonder just what it means?  I know it means to get married but why that phrase?

Back in slavery times the slaves were not allowed to have a legal marriage ceremony, so they devised their own.  Jumping the broomstick used to be a part of the Pagan ceremonies.  In America it became part of the ceremony for black slaves. Most marriages were not recognized as such. The couple would stand on one side of the broom and jump over to the other side, thus symbolizing their entry into a new life together. This has become a tradition in modern African American weddings to symbolize the marriage and also to pay homage to their past.

So, for us,  the term these days mainly has come to mean a "common law marriage," one without legal recognition, also known as living together or  as  "shacking up."

Knock on Wood

  In my last post I made a reference to 'knock on wood'. that got me to thinking--just what does that mean? I googled it and I found out that there are several theories about the meaning and origin of that phrase. The most popular one is: far back in ancient times spirits were thought to live in trees so if danger threatened a person  he simply knocked on the tree to summon up the aid of the spirit living within that tree. So knocking on wood seems to be a way to bring some good luck for yourself.

Another theory goes back to the child's game of 'Tag.'  in this version the child simply has to touch a tree, or wood, and is free from capture.

 

An Irish belief was that you 'Knock on wood' to let the leprechauns who live in that tree  know that you are thanking them for a bit of good luck. 

So for a bit of good luck or to keep going along good just knock on wood and hope for that bit of good luck for yourself!

Broken Bones

My sister, Mary Ruth, must be the president of that club!  She just broke her arm again a few days ago.  She also broke her other arm a few years ago.  So she is recuperating now from her accident. Luckily, if you can call it lucky, she did break her left arm this time.  The other time it was the right.  Of course either arm is bad but the left  is the best to break if you have to break one!

I have been fortunate, 'knock on wood', in that I have never in my life had a broken bone. My kids both had both arms broken and my sisters both had arms broken. Some how, I escaped the  misfortune of a single broken bone in my 85 years.

I may fall and break an arm tonight or tomorrow, God forbid! But at least I have never yet done that.

The Parade Magazine

Most people get the Parade Sunday magazine in their newspaper. If you do I am sure you have noticed that it is a far cry from what it used to be. I used to love it but now it is so different from its former self that I hardly even want to open it any more.  There is one feature that I still open it for--Ask Marilyn. I  like her column.

As for the rest of it , I usually skip over in it a New York minute. Seven pages out of the 14 in it  this week are totally advertisements. I realize they do need to make money but not at the expense of the good of the magazine. I used to look forward to a half hour of good  reading in the Parade. Now I am finished in maybe five minutes if I am lucky. Why don't they just hang it up and admit the paper is dead!

Seafood--not for me!

I am definitely not a seafood person.  I do eat salmon, tuna and just plain fried fish but I do not like shrimp, scallops, clams, oysters, lobster or Crawfish or any of the other seafoods that most people like who do like seafood eat.

Many people  eat crawfish tails.  The reason I don't  like lobster is because they look like huge crawfish.  My stomach rolls at the thought of eating either one of them. I am repulsed by the sight of the lobsters at the grocery store. 

Years ago in Las Vegas they had shrimp cocktails at the Golden Gate Casino for 50 cents.  They had a generous amount of shrimp  with a red sauce of some kind. Everyone we were ever with went wild for one or more shrimp cocktails when we
visited.  We always got something else, because Ford didn't like them either. People thought we were weird because we would not eat them. I am sure that the shrimp cocktails are not 50 cents now! But back then that 50 cents was really a bargain, if you like seafood!

Maybe we were weird but that is just the way it was, and still is with me. I really like just plain fried fish, catfish or any other kind, and I like tuna and salmon patties.  But I'll leave all of the other seafood for the rest of you!

Dimples

Why couldn't I have had dimples? Have you ever seen an ugly person with dimples? 
Betty White is 95 years old and she still has very pronounced dimples.  I don't know about Shirley Temple now but she surely use to have pretty dimples.

Some people are just lucky, I guess.  The only dimples I have are from fat and they are not where I would dare to show them! My idol from my high school years, Pattie Bess Lummus, had dimples and I thought she was the most beautiful person I had
ever seen (or ever will see). It seems as if people who are already pretty enough have the extra bonus of beautiful dimples.

Ford had dimples.  They show very well in the picture above. He was about 24 years old in this picture.  He still had dimples when he was older although not as defined.

I don't know if plastic surgeons can make artificial dimples or not but  if I were young, and rich I would consider getting them! At my age I will settle for the hidden dimples I already have but they are not pretty!!

Happy Easter to all of you!  I am not cooking at home this year.  Carla is doing it at her house (Thank You Carla)!

I am making the dressing and some deviled eggs. They are coming to pick me up so I won't even have to drive there.


Once again, Happy Easter to each one of you and may your  life be blessed to the full extent.

Love, Anna Beth

Blue Bonnets and Indian Paint brushes

The blue bonnet is the Texas state flower.  Indian paint brushes are also a Texas flower although not a state flower.

When I was  a kid we used to go for Sunday afternoon car rides and we would see millions of both flowers.  We usually picked a few for a bouquet--and no it is not illegal to pick them. Many people think it is but it is not actually illegal to pick them. It has been many years since I have lived in Texas but if I remember right they both grow in the springtime. It is a beautiful sight to look on a big field of blue bonnets or Indian paint brushes.

Indiana does not have either flower growing wild as they do in Texas. So if you are ever in Texas look for a field of either flower for a feast  for your eyes!

Tooth Brushes

My dentist gives me a new toothbrush every time I go for my six month checkup, I use the word GIVE loosely because I pay him over a hundred dollars each time I get my teeth checked.  I could buy an awful lot of toothbrushes for that hundred dollars. However, tooth brush does not appear on my bill so I know he is not including the charge for it. He probably gets the toothbrushes for a little of nothing.

I have never had an electric toothbrush.  I have thought about trying one but I then think, what could it do that I can't do with my hand? Besides what would I do with all of the hand brushes I get from him? Actually, I sell some of them in my garage sales. 
 I also give some of them to my kids and grandkids.

So, I will keep brushing my teeth by hand and donating the dentist the one hundred dollars for his fancy lifestyle!

Storms and Tornadoes

This is a picture of a tornado in Sulphur Springs, Texas.  It is northeast of Dallas, Texas. These storms hit there yesterday. I heard all about the one in Dallas but I didn't hear about the ones in Sulphur Springs until my sister sent me this picture. She lives there.

As far as I know all of my relatives in Texas are OK. I am amazed that after all of these years none  of my family has been involved in a bad tornado.  Maybe they have been in them but no one has ever been hurt in one. I am 85 years old and I have never been
 in a bad storm of any kind--Thank God.

Once again, I am thanking God for the safety of my family in Texas.  I also pray to God for help for all of the people affected by the storms. I am sure it must be devastating to go through one.

Social Security

Do you know my favorite day of the month?  Of course you don't. Well I will tell you.  It is the third day of the month!  That is that day we get our Social Security checks. Today I got on line and checked and there it was as pretty as you please.  That is my main fun for this month.

I have to credit the man in the picture above as being responsible for me getting my Social Security. He worked a long 58 years to earn that money for us. When I started getting my SS they checked how much I could get on my own work record and then They checked what I could get on his record. Mine would have been $80. What I could get on his record was much higher. Then they give you which ever is the highest amount. So without him I would be getting the $80 amount but it would be some higher now due to all of the raises over the years.  Anyway, I am getting much more
on his record.

I quickly give my loving thanks to LeRoy Ford every time I see my Social Security check on my checking account. I Thank God, and Ford,  for Social Security.  I hope Obama doesn't do something to mess it up!

Our shrinking neighborhood

I feel a touch of sadness every time I go to get my paper and mail and I am faced with the view of this house which is across the street from me. The lady who lived there died about two or three weeks ago.  Her husband still lives there. 

I did not know the lady very well even though we have been neighbors for about 36 years. I had met her on occasions but we never did much neighboring.  She had ovarian cancer which was discovered about  a year or so ago. She was only 66 years old. Even though I did not know her that well I still feel a touch of sorrow for her husband when I look over there.

Her death makes a  count of four for our part of the neighborhood.    The two houses
on the one side of me and then her death made three and with Ford, my husband, dying eleven years ago made it four. Out of the three houses along side of me and then the lady right across the street  makes a total of two widows and two widowers

One  sad thing is the lady right next door has a retarded son who lives with her.  He is probably about 30 or 35 years old and she is in her 70s.  I am sure it must be a big burden on her  to have her son and to know that she might die long before he does. I feel certain that she must have made plans for him but it still would be an awful thing
 to have on your mind.

Well no matter how sad, LIFE GOES ON!

Dandelions

The first picture above was just taken a few minutes ago.  It is the yard of my neighbor across the street. The other picture is of my yard taken at the same time. The two pictures show the results of The True green Lawn Company care of my   yard. It is a shame that I am exposed to the view of that yard more than my own yard.  I pay about $250 a year to get my yard treated for dandelions, and other weeds.  As you can see, it really works.  They treat my yard four times a year for weeds and fertilize it also.  They never even knock on my door.  It is usually early in the morning when they do the application and I never know about it except for the little sign they place to show that it has been treated. They stick a note on my door .  I pay for the whole year by check and that is the extent of what I have to do.

To me, it is well worth the $250. Once I was going to do it.  I spilled fertilizer on
 a spot and it killed the grass I decided then and there that That was not my cup of tea.  That was about ten years ago.  By the time I would buy fertilizer and weed killer
I would probably spend near that plus I would have to keep track of when to do it. I am too old for that kind of thing!

Up Your Nose!

My post from yesterday reminded me of another little incident with the same  neighbors. They had a son, Steve, that was near Lana Kay, our daughter, in age. He was a little older than her but they often played together. They were perhaps about three or four years old.

Once when they were playing they had some  small beads they were playing with and Steve stuck a couple of them up inside his nose.  We really didn't know how many he put in his nose but anyway he couldn't get them out.  His mother panicked and started having him blow his nose and trying to get them out. I think he did blow out a couple but to this day we don't know how many didn't come out. Anyway, Jean, his mother hoped they were all out.  He got a long speech about not doing that again!

Unfortunately, Steve did not live to a very old age,  He had some kidney disease and had to be on dialysis for as long as he lived. I think he died about age thirty five or somewhere near that.

Our First TV

Back in about 1952 or near then, we moved into our new house on Reed Street. We had neighbors right next door who moved in around the same time we did.  They were near our age and we became friends immediately. 

At that time TVs were just becoming popular but neither we nor they (the neighbors)had TVs yet. I had a plan all figured out about how I was  going to arrange our living room when we did get a TV.  I excitedly told Jean, the neighbor, all about my plan.  Then it was a few weeks before we finally decided to get the TV. We had bought our TV and it was going to be delivered soon. Their Living room was almost identical in  dimension  and size to ours.

Would you believe, the week before our TV was to be delivered, I looked out one day and there was a TV truck next door with a TV in it and the antenna was all laid out in the yard ready to be installed.  This was all done without them telling us anything about it.

Later, after the TV was all installed, Jean asked us over to see it.   
I was shocked to see my  floor plan  all laid out exactly as I had described it to her. I was devastated.  She had stolen my idea!  They had beaten us to the punch on arrangement  plans. I think they had an idea all along to get their TV before we did, which was fine if they had not stole my idea for the arrangement of it. After that when

we did get our TV  we felt as if we had copied them instead of them copying us. After that I learned to keep my mouth shut about anything I didn't want them to copy! She
never mentioned anything about using my idea but I am sure she realized it was my idea.

The Cat's Pajamas

 Along with Bees Knees, its synonym, "The Cat's pajamas" is another 1920s adjective  used to describe someone , or something, that is great, incredible or special. Usually indicating stylishness or innovation. The term "cat" was beginning to be used as a term to describe the outgoing and unconventional jazz age flappers. Pajamas were a kind of new and in style garment which fit in with the idea of something  outlandish for that time.

Mr. Dorgan is attributed with the use of 'the cat's Pajamas in the 1920s also. Another coined word was "the cat's whiskers" which also had the same meaning. Why they picked the cat is beyond me! Anyway the term "the cat's whiskers" and "cat's
pajamas" fit's me to a T! That is what I am! Kidding.

Free as a Bird!!

I feel like the figure in the picture above! I went to my colon doctor yesterday,
Monday.

He told me to come back in a year for a colonoscopy.  That was music to my ears.  I didn't know what to expect he would say. I usually have to get a colonoscopy every two years.  When I go longer than that I usually have developed a pollop. I had  a
colonoscopy last March and I had  one pollop at that time.  The doctor removed it then. So I have had one year of non worry about my colon problem.  Now I have
another year to go before I have to worry again.  Actually, I never am completely  free from worry because I have a tendency to grow pollops for some reason. They are for
the most part non malignant.  I lose some of the worry for a while right after my
colonoscopy until it gets near the time for another one, then the worry starts again. Will I have another pollop?

Anyway, Yippee, I am free for a year!!

At least I am going to enjoy a year of worry free time!

The Bees Knees

Have you heard the saying, "The bees knees"? I happened to see it in the newspaper the other day and it got me to wondering how the phrase started and just what it meant.

According to Google a guy named Tad Dorgan, a cartoonist and sportswriter who was well known for coining phrases that didn't make much sense but were pleasing to the ear, started the Bees Knees back in the 1920s. Some think he meant it as shorthand for  "It's business" meaning it's great. Some other examples of his phrases were "The cat's pajamas" And  "For crying out loud". If you say the word business slowly it can be taken for Bees Knees.

Bees do have knees with sacks  about the midsection of the legs. They store the pollen they collect in the sacks. Since the pollen was so precious it was considered the height of excellence and greatness thus the Bees Knees became a meaning for being  highly regarded and excellent.

I will have to dig into some of the other sayings since some of them are interesting
and I would like to know their origins.

Aunt Irene

I

In the picture above is my Aunt Irene.  She was my mother's brother's wife. She died many

years ago when I was only about 6 or 7 years old.

I have hesitated to write this post because it is kind of gross to think of.  But it did happen and the memory of it has haunted me over all of the 75 plus years ago that it happened. So I am

going to tell it now.

When she died I attended the funeral with my family.  The funeral service was over and we 

were at the cemetery for the graveside service. I was standing near the casket and it had been

 opened for viewing. I was looking at Aunt Irene and I saw a yellowish fluid coming from one of

her nostrils, which was most likely embalming fluid. The undertaker  saw it also and he took a hanky from his pocket and wiped the fluid away and then tucked the hanky into the casket

underneath Aunt Irene.  I am sure several

 others must have seen it also. It was a very unpleasant thing to happen and I am sure that today they  have a way to prevent things like that happening . That was a terrible

 memory that I have had to carry along with me all of these years.

I try to remember her as she was , a very loving and nice Aunt!

Our Fantastic Weather

We are having a long streak of record breaking weather here. The warm weather we are having is really unusual for March. We have had weather breaking records for the hottest temperature for days, longest stretch of above 80 temperature days, and several other record breakers for March.
We all love it!  Eat your heart out Texas people! Several times in the past weeks my sister has told me that they are colder there than we are here in Indiana. Plus, we have not had nearly as much rain as usual.  We don't understand why it is happening but, I repeat, we are loving it; and our gas  heating bills are loving it.
I have lived in Indiana for 66 years and it  has never been this good before.  I am afraid we may be in for a bad April and May. we have never had this much good weather in march before. Anyway, I am hoping it all holds out for the rest of the
spring!

JCP ?

The gradual process of eliminating Mr Penney

Have you noticed lately that JCPenney has been using a new logo?  I saw some time  ago that they said they would start using the new one in February.

I looked in last Sunday's ad section and I saw this one ad that had a great big JCP up in one corner, nothing else to identify the store, just the JCP.  JCPenney came to my mind.  I looked all through the pamphlet and on the very last page there was a small mention of JCPenney.  It was as if they were making you guess who the store was.

What is wrong with JCPenney?  That is what they have been using for many, many years. Who or what is behind this big change? Mr Penney has been gone for many years so it is certain that it isn't his idea. It is  like Sears would suddenly came out with the name SAR (for Sears and Roebuck). That would be stupid!  Maybe it is a private matter. Who knows?

Anyway, I suppose now that I have discovered who JCP is and I see something I like there I will buy it; but for me it will always be JCPenney, not JCP!

MY MUSIC

I love music.  I always have.  Music is a big part of my life.  I have always wanted to be into it more than I actually have been.

I suppose I am too lazy to do what it takes to be a good musician, which is practice, practice, practice!  I did take a few music lessons at one time in my life.  I was too impatient to be able to play like I wanted to so I became discouraged and didn't keep
up with it.

Now my music is limited to what I can hear on CDs, records, radio or on my MP3
players. I can plug my ears with my MP3 player and drift off into a different world with
 the music which flows into my ears! They do it much better than  any music I  could
ever play myself.
I can be in a low mood and after a couple of minutes of listening to the music I am in a totally different mood.  If I am depressed, or lonely I can suddenly be in a festive, or
romantic, happy and much lighter mood.  The songs take me back to a much happier,
 fun loving time. I can almost relive my life just listening to the music. Each song brings up the memories from my past and I can fantasize living them again

I will never run out of music because I have several hundred vinyl records, 33s and 45s. cassette tapes and two MP3s filled with many of my favorite songs. It is too bad that at this time it seems  there are no new songs being written that can even touch on being as soothing and beautiful as those of the past.  I am sure the younger
generation would disagree with me. To each to his own.


I will always be a lover of music and I will always have my sources for listening to it. whether it be records, CDs, radio, MP3s or live music.  Give me a good, old fashioned song any time!

A Time Saver

I  love gravy; on toast, on biscuits, on mashed potatoes and  almost any other way.

Sometimes I want gravy on something  and I have not cooked any kind of meat to
make gravy with.  That is when the little packets above come in handy.  You just mix the contents of the package with one cup of water, I usually use part water and part milk, and cook it for about maybe five minutes and there is your gravy. It is enough
for at least two or three servings, maybe four if you wish They come in several
flavors, turkey, chicken, pork, beef and maybe others. I buy them when they are on sale at three for a dollar, very inexpensive and very delicious. Try them sometimes
and I am sure you will agree will agree with me!