Childhood Revisited - Part I

Hi Friends,

Yup - that's me.   I sure have no idea how old I was, and my mother passed away a few years ago, so I can't ask her.   I'm guessing I'm 3 or 4 maybe.  What is your guess?

Last spring a cousin sent me a brown mailing envelope containing many photos that she thought I'd appreciate having.   This was not one of them, but by and by I'll be sharing them with you.   One of my Mother's sisters passed away a couple of years after my mother, and the cousin was still dispensing of things.  It was so thoughtful of her to give me a folder full of pictures.

I'm having fun reliving my younger years and thought I'd talk about them here because I'm sure many of you can relate.

My mother and I were very poor, and yet I see that picture must have been taken in a photographer's studio.   I know my mother didn't have the money for such, so apparently one of her sister's must have paid for it.   

Most all of my dresses were "hand-me-downs" from a cousin or made for me out of "gunnie sack" or more commonly known as feed sack fabric!  Yes, that's right!  Apparently various feed items would come in those sacks.   Sometimes for animals on the farm.   he he - very stylish!  But they were usually a good cotton fabric and quite often had pretty, dainty flowers printed all over.   However I got a new dress, it was a real treat. I would prance around and feel like a princess! 

Probably most of you are not quite old enough to have had clothing made out of Gunnie Sacks or Feed Sacks.   But I'll bet most of you are familiar with "hand-me-downs."   It was like getting a new dress to me.  


Those were simpler times back then.   Sometimes I miss those carefree days of youth.  ha ha - but then I'd have to grow up all over again.   Nah - guess I'll stay this age.

Until next time,

Mary

Remembering 9/11

Photo taken from Google Images and  RoadSide America's Webside

Dear Friends,

Do you remember where you were when you heard the news?    I was at work in an office downtown in our small city in the midwest - far away from where this horrific incident happened.   But it left a big impact on me that day.   My office mate and I didn't have the radio on that day, but someone came in and asked us if we had heard.  We immediately headed for our conference room to watch TV.

One by one people trickled into the conference room.   I got there just in time to see the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower.   Our conference room was dead quiet even with about 25 people huddled around the small TV in disbelief.   I remember thinking "I wonder if the world is coming to an end!"   It was downright scary.    My second thought was "I just want to go home and be with family."  But since the work day was only about an hour old, I could not do that.   We tried hard to keep the office running, man the phones, and do whatever was important to get done.  But, no one's heart was really in it that day.  We were just going thru the motions thinking of those poor people who were trapped, killed or injured in that horrific event.   That was one time where I really appreciated the media's overkill on a subject -  it was needed for that event.  We were able to catch up on all the news in the evening after work.

Mario's good blogging friend Cathy Keisha wrote a wonderful, first-hand post of what it was like for her Pop who worked in one of the Twin Towers.  I think you will find her post very interesting and worthwhile reading, if you have not already done so.

A couple of years after 9/11 our city decided to have a replica built of the original Twin Towers in a park located downtown for all to see and remember.    Roadside America's Website wrote a very nice article  along with the picture.   I think you'll find it interesting.   Every year a memorial service is held there on 9/11 to remember the event and honor those who perished. 

I hope and pray that we will never have to witness an event like that ever again.  But we'll have to remain on the alert forever.

What was the impact on you of this event?

Mary

Goodbye Muggies!

Streptocarpella

Dear Friends,
It's a glorious day in Wisconsin.   The temp is hovering in the low 7o's, there is no humidity (worth mentioning anyway), and a light breeze.  The windows are open and one can hear birds singing.   Days don't come any better than this.   It's a welcome relief after almost 2 weeks of high heat and high humidity.   And the best part is that I don't hurt anywhere! Humidity and Arthritis don't get along at all.  In fact, I hurt much less in the winter than in the summer when the humidity is with us.

What is everyone doing for the long weekend coming up?  For over 25 years we camped with a group of friends, and I do miss that on the holiday weekends. But, I don't miss all the work that goes with it.   It was getting to be too much for Mr. D. and me.   Maybe we'll go out there for a day trip to visit for a couple of hours.   Will see if it is going to rain or not.

The Streptocarpella plant pictured above is blooming it's little heart out this year.   Every year I get two baskets for each side of our patio.   It is a plant that likes mostly shade with a little filtered sun peeking through.  Our patio seems to be the perfect spot for it.   This is the first year that I haven't had a hummingbird visit every night.   Or at least, I haven't seen one.   The hummers do like the plant and I have missed seeing them this year.   

We hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend.  For us living in the northern states, it usually signals the end of summer (although we do have many nice days ahead of us in Sept and Oct.)

Until next time,

Mary

A Helping Hand

Sunset over the Bay of Green Bay on Lake Michigan

Hi Friends,

Hopefully you all are having a great week.   I can't believe that it's almost the of August.   It seems the older I get, the faster time moves.  Some days it's over in a "wooooosh!"   

A couple of days ago I had two dentist appointments.  Yup  - you read it right - two.  I'm being fitted for partial plates (replacing teeth).   Tuesday morning my regular dentist played around with one of my plates, glued it back in my mouth with Fixident, and sent me on my way.   By 3:00, I was grinding my teeth and really irritating one side.   Well, to make a long story short, I called the dentist back and was able to get in again Tuesday afternoon.   More adjustments made, so I went on my merry way.

I decided to stop at Walgreens as I had a couple of coupons that were to expire. I loaded up on stuff, went thru the check out counter, and another passing customer in the next line said to me "Can I help you to your car with the packages?"    She could see I was loaded down and dealing with a cane.  Of course my car was right outside the door, so I didn't have far to walk.  But I decided to take her up on her offer.

Bless you Peggy Sue - you were a bright spot in my day.  I thanked her profusely and told her I'd write about her kindness in my blog (without names). Then she said, oh, you can use my name - it's Peggy Sue - and I don't mind if you publish my name.

So Thank You to Peggy Sue (reminds me of the song Peggy Sue, which has been going thru my head) for helping an old lady with her packages. What an angel you were.   Such a nice lady.   Goes to show us that kindness is not by any means dead yet. Sometimes you find it where you least expect it.

Hopefully your day has been blessed with an unexpected kind deed - or you have blessed someone elses day with a kind deed.

Until next time,

Mary

One special lady - Aunt Ruthie

Ruth Williamson, 86

Dear Friends,

My family has almost reached the end of another era this summer.

I think I've mentioned before that my mother was 2nd from the oldest in a family of 7 girls, 2 boys, and 3 infants that passed away before they had a chance at life.   

Aunt Ruthie passed away on July 7, 2014 at the age of 86 after about a 3-month battle with stomach Cancer.   She was my mother's second-from-the-youngest sister.   There is now one sister remaining, Aunt Lillian, and no brothers!  Almost the end of an era!

I always felt especially close to Aunt Ruthie (we are only 11 years apart in age).   She and her husband and two children had a farm in Cross Plains, WI - which is only about 10 miles from the City of Madison, WI, where I grew up.

After my parents passed on, Aunt Ruthie and I became extra close.  Whenever we were in Madison, we would meet somewhere for lunch and/or visit her in her home.   She was my contact and only source of news of the family, and I'm really missing her.

I'm so thankful that our daughter and son-in-law drove Mr. D and I down to Cross Plains at the end of June so we could visit with her and her daughter-in-law and son one more time.  We enjoyed the visit so much, and so did she.    

Rest in peace Aunt Ruthie.   I'm thankful you are no longer in pain, are with your beloved husband and so many of your brothers and sisters once again. 

Until we meet again........

Love,

Mary

Where Are The Cows?

Hi Friends,

Wisconsin has long been known as the Dairy State. One could take a ride down any country road and usually see cows out in the pasture.   There was always something peaceful about that scene, and it was so very typical Wisconsin.

I think I've mentioned before, that I was born on a farm.   My mother left there before I turned 1 year old, but all her brothers and sisters had farms. Spending time on a farm visiting was how I grew up. I always wanted to be in the barn with the dog, cats, and cows.  

We spent a week of driving back and forth to our daughter/son-in-law's house about 2 weeks ago taking care of their two cats.  They live about 45 minutes from us and we enjoy driving the back roads to get there.  I began to notice there were no cows in any pasture along the way.   Where are the cows?  I noticed the same situation when we drove to Oshkosh on the I-system also a couple of weeks ago.  Where are the cows?

I have since learned that the corporation farmers keep their cows in those huge barns round the clock. Those poor cows never get to graze in the meadow in the fresh air or feel the sunshine on their backs. The reason is that the cows give better milk production when they remain inside rather than free roaming - or so I hear.   How very sad for them! 

There are not very many small, independent farmers left these days.  Those that we did go by are also keeping their cows inside the barns - or so it seems. I realize you need to make a profit on a farm to stay in business. Farm equipment is not cheap and the farm is your only means of support.  You can't always depend on the weather to give you a good crop season either to help make up the cash flow or feed your own animals.   But couldn't there be a happy medium in still letting the cows out to pasture some of the time?   I guess this is the way of the future, but once again is it for the better??

Thanks for putting up with my rant. I still think it's sad, and I think I'll try Goat's Milk! Most small farmers work very hard for a living, and with animals to feed and cows to milk, getting away on vacation is next to impossible.    Do you see cows in the pasture in your state?   Or do you have any information on this subject and/or wish to make comments?   I welcome them for another perspective.   

Oh, the new header picture at the top of my blog was taken in our daughter's back yard.  Her husband has a green thumb for working with flowers and I couldn't resist getting a picture of the beautiful Hollyhocks.

Hope you are having a good week.

Mary

Hotter Than ...............

Glacier National Park

Hi All,

As is the case with most of the US, we are baking here today.  The current temp is 93 with a Dew Point of 73.    The a/c is running full force  and I don't even care how much it costs this month to keep us cool.  I'm just so thankful to have it.    Our state doesn't experience temperatures like this every year - it might be every 3-5 years.  We are fortunate so far this year that this is the first time we've hit 90. It is supposed to cool off tonight with a high tomorrow of 71.  I can't wait.

I went to the mailbox (at the end of our driveway) a few minutes ago and got light headed just from being out there for all of 2-3 minutes.   That's when I decided to post a picture of a glacier in Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. Just looking at it makes me feel a tad cooler (ha ha - because I'm back inside where the a/c is cranked up).

Did you ever wonder how the pioneers ever survived those early days without a/c?   They had to do hard, physical work too.   I suppose it helps some when you finally get used to it and don't know any other way of living.   Makes me happy I am living in this century!

I have some errands that need to be run, but that will have to wait until it cools down some.  We're supposed to get severe storms tonight and maybe that will help bring the cold front down. 

A very good Blogging friend (Beth) is going through another horrible health scare again after thinking she was in remission.  Please add her to your prayers.   Such a lovely person.    

Stay cool!

Mary

P.S.  It seems like I just got thru complaining about our bitterly cold winter - now I'm complaining because we have heat.  Guess I'm never happy with the weather, and it's something we can't even control.