For Uncle George :)

Mother’s Day 2008 @ Saltgrass

 

 

Lost & Found Posts

To My Faithful Readers:

I’ve been a blogging fool today.  I found some posts that were missing — they were tucked neatly away in draft mode!  Good grief.  Anyway, they are now posted with earlier dates so you may have missed them.  If you are interested…they’re now there!

Cornbread & Iron Skillets!

I’m so excited!  Last week I received my first delivery of Angel Food Minitries food for my pantry and fridge!  One of the items included in my order was a bag of mixed beans and all the ingredients I needed to make cornbread.  So, a couple of days ago, I made bean soup and it’s been sitting in the fridge seasoning.  Tonight I baked cornbread — I found all my little cast iron cornbread pans!  So, tomorrow when the Walston kids come over — we’ll have cornbread and butter and bean soup. They might not be that excited about bean soup but maybe they’ll like the cornbread!

I wish Gramma, Grampa, Karen and Beverly were here — we could have cornbread and milk which was often a Sunday night favorite at our house when we were kids — and for many years thereafter!

BTW — callng all Scouts — I can’t remember how to care for my cast iron pans — oh, I bet I can find it on the internet — or better yet, maybe there’s some instruction on the new skillet Sarah bought me last week.  YES - a new iron skillet (a Martha Stewart one with lips on both sides for pouring)!  THANK YOU Sarah for thinking of me when you found that bargain!!!

For Emma Raine

I wrote something today to catalog a conversation that happened last year between me and Emma Raine.  Aauuuggghhh!  I’ve lost it somewhere in the computer, the blog, cyberspace…somewhere!  So frustrating!  It was so special and I wanted to have it for Emma to read someday…sigh.   Maybe it will come back to me Emma so I can give it to you! 

OH Brother!  I guess it’s time for me to stop blogging today…it’s the only constructive thing I’ve accomplished aside from cleaning my apartment.

Do You Know

For all the words that have been written

For all the songs that have been sung

Do you know, do you know

Can you hear the soft wind blow

Can you see the bending willow, oh, do you know?

For all the tears that have been shed

For all the verse that has been read

Can you go to that far shore

beyond the golden door?

Do you know, do you know

Can you hear the soft wind blow

Can you see the bending willow, oh, do you know

Ironing

I put my white tablecloth back on my table today.  A couple of weeks ago I had washed it at Sarah’s.  As I was ironing it, Sarah was sitting at her dining room table (in a rare moment of being still!) watching me and we were just visiting.  She asked me why I was ironing it since I had to fold it to take it home and there would be creases in it anyway.  I said something to the effect of a few creases are not as bad as a lot of wrinkles.  And, then, I talked about when I was a young girl, around 10 years old, we lived on a farm in Quemado, Texas, and Gramma (my mom) would pay me 10 cents a piece to iron the sheets, pillow cases, kitchen towels, simple things at first.  That was one way I had of earning some money and a great way to learn how to work…and, I suspect, keep mom from having to do it!

Why did people iron their sheets and such things?  Where did my mom get that idea from?  I do know that ironed sheets are just scrumptious to sleep on.  Mom would sometimes use just a tiny bit of starch so the napkins, linens and such would have a crispness to them.  When you folded them for storage, they would fold so neatly.  There was a peacefulness to it all.  Mom always listened to music so ironing was usually during quiet afternoons but with music playing in the background.  Those were the days of radio or record players and mom had a nice album collection.  One of her favorites was ballads by Marty Robbins.

Ironing was always done the day after laundry was completed.  Laundry would be washed in the morning and mostly hung out on lines in the back yard.  Late afternoons were for bringing in the clothes and folding and putting away.  Even after we had a dryer, mom loved to hang out the sheets and linens.  Hanging clothes to dry in the air doesn’t leave the fabric soft to touch but does give linens a wonderfully crisp and clean fragrance.  All the clothes that needed ironing were put into piles (the linens were separate).  Then, they were sprinkled with water drops either by hand or by a spray bottle if there was one.  They had to be sprinkled with just the right amount of moisture, enough to soften the cloth but not be really wet…just damp. Then, they had to be lightly stuffed into a….pillow case…pillow slip!  Seriously!  Then, put into the refrigerator to “set” overnight.  They could stay in the fridge for no more than 24-48 hours…anything longer than that would be too long because they could begin to sour…and if that happened, they could stain, and most definitely, stained or not, would have to be rewashed, dried and the process started all over again!

Isn’t that crazy?  And, yet, I have only fond memories of washing, drying, ironing and folding laundry.  There is something about it that has a beginning and an end…a process that, like many of the simple things of life, can bend one in a direction perhaps unfathomable at the time.  I remember the smells of clean laundry, the sounds of sheets flapping in the wind, the wonder at watching the wrinkles and stiffness smooth out as the iron glided across the fabric, the talking with mom or listening to her and my sisters work in the kitchen or other things while I ironed, the satisfaction of a job well done, completed, the feel of clean, smooth sheets on the bed at night, or a crisp, folded, smooth towel hanging in the kitchen, and, finally, the joy of paying for my own soda at Smith’s Grocery in town on a hot summer day.  Their sodas were in bottles and were iced down in a cooler on the front porch of the store.  Orange soda was my favorite.

It seems like a million years ago in a story I read and yet, I remember it as if it were yesterday.  And, I remember my mom…she loved her home no matter where dad would move her and she loved her family.  I really enjoyed that day at Sarah’s.  It is rare that we get to just sit and talk and share … I hope someday when I am gone, each of my children will have some good memories of me as they do of their grandmother.  Not for me, but for them, something I have said or done that will help them find something pleasant to carry them through one more day on their own path.

So, this is written as a tribute to some good moments of my childhood and as a thank you to my mom for teaching me how to iron.  Ironing sheets led to ironing shirts … and … ironing a man’s shirt led to the process of learning to sew … and life goes on…always forward.

Hannah & Claire…

Last Sunday evening, the girls came to spend the night.  We played games, watched a movie and … giggled and painted and colored and read books…and talked.

Hannah brought up her favorite subject:  “Gramcy, tell me again why you have to live in this apartment?”  This conversation occurs each time she visits.  It just doesn’t make sense to her.  She said, and I quote:  “We have room for all your stuff.”  I giggled.  Obviously she had thought about this since our last conversation.  I’ve now been forced to play the swimming pool card ’cause that’s the only one in her mind that has merit for me not living at her house and living here instead.  She’s a very smart little girl, a really deep thinker. And, very subtle - a conversation with Hannah takes thought.

Claire is just pure fun!  She didn’t eat breakfast again this time because “my tummy didn’t growl” — her way of saying she isn’t hungry.  Makes perfect sense.  Oh, I wish I could avoid eating when I’m not hungry!  My favorite thing she did this time?  She brought her birthday card from her Aunt Mimi.  We looked at it together and I asked her why she brought it.  “Oh! So I could put it up there (pointing to the angel card holder sitting on top of my fridge) with your birthday cards!”  Silly me, why wouldn’t I know that already.  LOL!  I’m glad she brought it to display at my house.  God is certainly building me a new home just as He promised.  My apartment is beginning to take on the flavor of family.

Ooops!  I forgot we went swimming the next day.  Hannah is a really, really strong swimmer.  She has great form and just blends with the water.  Claire had a boo boo on one of her heels and the band aid came off.  She had that happen a week ago on her skinned knee and she really freaked out about getting it wet in the water…stinging and all.  Bless her little heart…this time…she inched her way into the water with total fear all over her face with the exception of small bits of giggle sounds from her mouth.  I looked at her and said: “Claire, are you going to be okay?” … her reply through gritted teeth and trembling shoulders:  “yes, i’m laughing not crying…see…i can do it…!”  And, she did.  oh my.  I wanted to scoop her up and tell her we would swim later but I couldn’t because she just crossed a major hurdle!  You just had to be there to see that mangled, muffled cry faked as a laugh…she conquered her fear and then we spent almost 2 1/2 hours of unadulterated fun playing in the pool.  She loves to do cannonballs!

I love you little girls!  Hugs to mom and dad for sharing you with me.

Grandchildren

It’s summertime and the children are free!  I remember so looking forward to summers when I was young.  I loved school, for the most part.  It was always new because we moved so often.  It got harder as I got older, of course, because everyone had roots with each other at each new place we would go…and, I, well, I didn’t have the same kind of roots.  But, nonetheless, I always looked forward to summers…no tight schedule to keep, lots of time for reading, and when we lived in the country, lots of time or wandering outdoors.

Last weekend, Adri and Ean came over to spend the night with me on Friday night.  I had to go to work on Saturday at 1pm so they had to go home but we sure had fun Friday night!  We swam in the pool on Friday night and again on Saturday morning.  They love the water and they are pretty good swimmers.  I love the water and so it’s a great activity for us.  Saturday morning I couldn’t really get wet because I wouldn’t have time to clean my hair before going to work but I sure had fun watching all their tricks and being their contest timer and judge!

Friday night after swimming, we pigged out on snacks and then we played Clue.  They got a new version which was loads of fun..mostly their wisecracking durig the game was what was fun…we giggled and laughed for two hours!  Then, we cleaned up and settled down to watch Star Wars…episode…whatever!

Adri’s comment that I wanted to catalog for remembrance sake when I asked why they liked coming over to my apartment so much:  “Oh, we just love you and it’s fun to come to your house/apartment.  We just like hangin’ out with you.  Besides, I kinda know now what Alaina was going through when she turned 11.  I remember how she got to where she didn’t really like to play at McDonald’s anymore.  I’m kinda like that now…I’m too big for McDonald’s…but I’m not too big to come over here and go swimming and play games and have fun!”

Isn’t that just the coolest thing?  It means so much to me to get to be a part of these growing years and I hope some day, Adri will read this, and remember that night, and it will be a sweet memory for him as well.

And, Ean?  He’s just such a sweet, calm, fun person to be with.  He’s even tempered, likes to talk about fun, interesting things and has such a great sense of humor and comedy.  He doesn’t pop out with many comments, but, he often, gives me one of his looks, and in those looks, he communicates very well!  We always share a lot of unspoken understandings of things together, and, when we do, we giggle at our secret messages.  I love you Ean.

Can’t wait for you guys to come over again…soon!

The Rumba and the Samba…

I don’t have an ipod

I dont know how to clog

I’m living on a level where

I’m stuck between the sod

But when it comes to writing

My pen can shine and shine

And I can dream, or paint,

or make up silly rhymes!

A person took me dancing

one swirl and he declared

“enough! enough! enough!”

“you’d better pick your pen up”,

“and stick to what you know

for the rumba and the samba

is not the way to go!”

A teacher should have patience

A teacher should be kind

but when it’s time to laugh

the girl who’s out of time

should let the pen be bidding

and rhumba with the rhyme!

Walking

Since I awoke at 7am sharp, I got up, gave myself 30 minutes to really wake up, stretch out my muscles, got dressed and took myself to the gym.

It’s quiet there on Saturday mornings.  I was there by 8am, had my pick of treadmills, remembered my earphones so I could watch a movie (they have cable, I don’t!), and enjoyed a cool, easy walk, caught pieces of the movie, but more enjoyable than that, watched the lifeguards get the pool ready for open swim, and, as well, people watched.

No one was swimming yet, but, there must have been a racquetball tournament or something because there were several families (mostly fathers/sons and 1 grandmother/granddaughter) heading to the courts over past the pool area.  What a great way for parents to spend some quality active time with those active kids!

I love the gym.  Triton is located just across the street and one block down from where I live.  There is so much to do there.  You can just work out, have a trainer, take advantage of all sorts of classes, ranging from dance cardio, kickboxing, pilates, water aerobics, tennis, swim team, racquet ball, and they’re adding new things all the time.  I can’t wait for the slides to be added to the pool…

I was in water aerobics a couple of weeks ago and the women were talking about how they dreaded the slides being added.  One lady who I thought might be someone I would like to maybe hang out with at some point stated: “Oh, we seniors won’t really like the slide thing…ha ha ha”.  Sigh.  My first fearfilled, panic ridden thought?  “OMG, is this a seniors class?! Are you people all old?! What am I doing in this class…I didn’t know it was for seniors!!! aauuuggghhh!”  “Well, how old ARE you?”…they asked.  “Oh, I’m 56″, I respond most assuredly…oh, yeah, I see…hmmm…well, ANYWAY, I happen to LIKE slides!”

Sigh.  Where are the people my age who still want to be our age and not jump right straight into nursing home status?  AAuuugghhh….hmmm…there’s a song I remember…goes something like “…stuck in the middle again…”   which is absolutely weird for a first born!  LOL!

Anyway, I really enjoyed my walk this morning and it was so good to make myself get out of my apartment.  There’s so many things I need to get taken care of but I can’t seem to train myself to focus long enough to complete anything.  It’s really frustrating but, oh well, what else am I going to do with any down time I have,right?  I might as well keep on practicing!

I usually start my walk at 2.5mph for 5 minutes, increase to 3.0mph for 3 minutes, maintain 3.5mph for 15 minutes, decrease to 3.0mph for 2 minutes, 2.5 for 3 minutes, 2.0mph for 2 minutes and stop.  (Yikes…that sounds tedious…is that an outward reflection of my fragmentend brain?)  Anyway…I finish with a good stretch while all my muscles are warm using different stretches I have learned from Denise Austin workouts, water aerobics w/Diane and ballet training with Sarah.  Oh, warmups—that is done at home before I head to the gym — every morning, I do floor exercises to stretch out my lower back muscles, and joint muscles, then I do some floor movements using weights (3-5lbs).  The above walking time usually works for a full-30 minute walk and makes a mile in about 20 minutes in length — yes, I know that miles are measured in feet but I’m not a numbers person you see…a mile has to be ’seen’ and ‘felt’ .. not measured by numbers…even an engineer building roads has to ’see’ it in his head…doesn’t he/she?  My dad saw it in his head, of course, he also ’saw’ the numbers w/out doing the calculations.

Anyway, back to walking.  Today, I wanted to stretch my routine out to an hour walking at a slower pace.  I’ve noticed that while 3.5mph really feels good heart rate wise, my right knee seem to get a twinge and my left ankle doesn’t really hurt but feels weak sometimes.  So, today, I started at 2.5 and slowly worked my way up to 3.0 but stretched it out to one hour in tme with a 15 minute focsed stretch at the end.  I completed 2 miles.  I’m not going for time so I’m happy with that.  What I want to accomplish is relaxed endurance. I can push myself for heart rate, weight control, toning, etc. during water aerobics and ballet training…but I want the walking to be about pure enjoyment and peaceful disengagement!

So many things I could blog about and when I’m not blogging I remember all those things and make lists both mental and written…but…when I sit down to blog…well, I can’t remember a single important thing I wanted to record.  Sigh.  Another focus issue I believe.  WELL, maybe the oxygen generation from my peaceful walking endeavor will help me recapture that illusive butterfly called memory plus action equals success!

I think I’ll go again tomorrow!