Sometimes the weather changes your plans…today it did!

I was unable to get out as early as I wanted to this morning to run several errands. Our local weatherman said we would have heavy rain later and he was correct, about the rain, but it came a bit earlier than was forecast. Clothes ready, my list written, then I heard the rain, not soft, gentle rain, but heavy rain, beating down on the deck.

I decided it was not an absolute necessity for me to go out on a cold, rainy Friday and I am so happy I decided to go to Plan B.

I did a few things in the house that I had needed to do, but had kept putting off. Just a little furniture rearranging made a room look larger. I liked the change! There is never enough room to store things and to get them out of sight. In cleaning out a cabinet, I came across some trinkets that belonged to Mother. I had forgotten about them. That discovery was a serendipity. I also was able to put other things in the cabinet.

I must have put on my Martha Stewart hat, because I decided to cook a few things. Now, I am no Martha, Julie Child or Nathalie, but I enjoy time in the kitchen when I can prepare a good meal.

My kitchen table is small. It was custom made for our kitchen in Atlanta. I love it! It will seat four, but having only two, gives much more room. Ever since I moved into my present home, there is seldom anyone to share meals with, since I have been a widow twenty one years. I always keep the table set for two, because I like dishes, pretty place mats, cloth napkins and glasses. My current color scheme is several shades of blue and white. I think pretty dishes makes my food taste better!

I prepared a nice lunch, healthy and colorful. I didn’t rush because I did not have to. It was so nice! My fireplace in the living room made a cozy atmosphere. I really like looking at the flames as they dance up and down!

It was a good day to count my blessings! I did that! Fridays are always so busy with people hurrying to the bank to deposit checks or to get cash out for the weekend. Grocery stores are full of shoppers buying food for the upcoming week and especially when there is an important ball game taking place. Got to have plenty of snacks!

After I enjoyed lunch, I took time to read a little and to call the library to reserve two very popular books that are much in demand.

I am so thankful for my interrupted plans! I have been inside my comfortable home, had a good, nourishing meal, no waiting for a table, and all I had to do was relax an enjoy it!

No telling how this story could have ended, if I had stuck to my original schedule. I am so thankful for “changed plans” because of the wonderful time I have had today. There is an old saying, “Just go with the flow.” Not everyone can rearrange plans because of the weather, I really am thankful I was able to do it today! What a great Friday it has been!

Before and After Facebook

I do not know the date my Facebook account was established, because I did not set it up. Long ago when I lived in Atlanta, my husband bought a computer for his use. It was large, expensive and complicated to use. He kept many kinds of records and I did not dare try to use it for fear I would mess things up. He was a perfectionist. I knew nothing about using a computer and certainly did not want to push the wrong key and delete some of his work.

I was so busy with many activities that kept me occupied and I liked writing cards and letters, keeping journals and I really did not need my own computer at that time. It was after he passed away, that I decided I would buy a newer, less complicated model.

Some of my friends had computers, but not too many of them used them at that time. I moved to Columbia to take care of Mother and communicated with several of my Georgia friends, using my computer. It was fast and I saved money on stamps.

My friend, Hannah Horne, told me she wanted to “sign me up” for several sites, so she is responsible for introducing me to them. After she did that I didn’t use Facebook at all for a long time. Maybe I should have never become active on it!

One day I began to explore it and found so many quotes and beautiful pictures, I became hooked. Back then the time I spent on Facebook was very limited, but as I made more and more friends the time I spent grew. That is the way things happen. You become addicted to dark chocolate or anything by starting small. Then before you know it, it becomes more and more a part of your daily routine.

I love to travel and have made many friends through face to face conversations while we rode to our destination, but as the popularity of smart phones increased, verbal conversations decreased. Now when I go on a bus trip, as soon as everyone gets settled in, out comes the phone and there is no verbal contact.

I suppose it was when I had an I had an injury that I started to use Facebook more often and for longer periods of time. It is a good pastime. I never knew how much I could learn from so many sources. It brings me a lot of pleasure, but just like eating too much dark chocolate can become harmful to your body, spending time on Facebook can destroy your schedule. For folks who have nothing to do, it is a wonderful “entertainer” and for those who like to play games, such as solitaire, it is great! As for me, my passion is the color pink, kittens, beautiful country scenes, especially when it is snowing and quotes.

I have so much I need to accomplish and I make my list every morning, but it is very easy to become so consumed with messaging with friends, finding so many sweet kittens and other favorites, I may as well forget my list.

I must do better and I will…but just like Scarlet O’Hara, I will think about that tomorrow, after all..tomorrow is another day!

Taking a Winter break…

It is so easy to break a daily routine. I write in my (diary) journal every day, but I have missed several days of writing in my blog. I decided rather than to admit I was “goofing off” I would call it my “Winter break.”

We observed a holiday on February 20. Holidays are always welcome, but they can interrupt your schedule for the rest of the week. Back when I worked in an office, I looked forward to those days off, especially when they fell on a Monday or Friday. Now, I no longer go out to an office and it is especially nice to stay inside on a cold, rainy day.

On Tuesday, First Seniors met for a program and a delicious meal. It is so good to get together for several hours to catch up on what is happening with one another. We are in different classes on Sunday, so these meetings are good for visiting.

Wednesday was spent at home catching up with household chores. I had to miss the fellowship at a Bible study because I just did not feel like going out. Winter brings on colds and lack of energy, for sure. The basic chores go on no matter what. There is always laundry to do as well as cooking. I had lots of calls from family and friends that kept me busy on the telephone.

Thursday was a “red letter day!” Bright and early, I drove to Lexington for the first day of the Winter session of the Shepherd’s Center. It was like family homecoming! I have written about this “Adventures in Learning ” event for seniors in the past and what a pleasure it is to be a part of it.

My first period class is led by Bob Hardee. Each week we discuss a different subject. Our topic was about the rapid trend to becoming a cashless society. The class is called ” What’s New in the World.” After we see a video, we have a discussion which we all participate in. I have learned so much about many things, so I choose this as one of my classes each semester.

The multi talented Marsha Clayman teaches Sharpfit Brains: Optimizing your Brain’s Health and Performance. Our initial session made me think I was attending medical school. I look forward to each week on this subject!

After a delicious lunch, listening to a guest speaker, and speaking to so many friends who are in different classes, we have a third subject. The title enticed me to sign up because it is something I want to do. The class is called, “Reinventing Yourself.” Everyone who attends the Shepherd’s Center is retired and most of us are interested in becoming the best we can be in this stage of life.

Friday took me back to Lexington for a preview of upcoming trips for 2020. I enjoy traveling and these travel talks bring many friends together as we sign up for the trips we plan to go on. By signing up at the meeting we get a discount on each one. I had to miss a talk at the S.C. State Library by a friend who has two new books out. Perhaps there will be another opportunity to attend a book signing to hear the presentation.

Saturday’s are always busy. Getting things ready for church is a “must do” because time flies on Sunday morning. I have a line up of programs I watch on Saturday evening. Sundays start very early, around 7:45 AM for me, as our members come very early to class. We have refreshments and fellowship before the lesson begins.

Yesterday, Monday, I attended a meeting of the seniors at a church my family attended when we lived in that area. The regular chores, like cooking, cleaning and laundry go on no matter what else happens.

So, as I look back, I didn’t just twiddle my thumbs while I was on my Winter Break. Things should be back to normal from now until Spring Break! Time flies when you are having fun!

“A Stitch in Time, Saves Nine”….and other gems of wisdom

I may have inherited my love of quotes from my Mother because she always had so many on the tip of her tongue! I have no idea how she acquired them. There have always been expressions in specific areas of the United States, such as, “You guys” up North or “Bless your heart” down South. In the West, you might hear, ” bull headed ” or “sly as a fox” someplace else.

I remember a few of the “sayings” that were used by my circle of “grownup ” friends when I was a child. Some weren’t very complimentary. How could, “She is as ugly as a mud fence,” or “Poor thing, she is as ugly as homemade sin ” or even, “He is as fat as a pig” be anything but rude? And what about, ” She has a face that would stop a clock!” That meant she wasn’t pretty. There were hundreds of those.

Some time ago, I wrote a story about some of the old slang expressions. I need to look that one up. Maybe I will do that and refresh my memory on how those sayings evolved. I never hear things like ,”He is as tight as Dick’s hatband!” now. First, who was Dick? Men don’t wear straw hats with hatbands, unless they are in an old time play or movie these days.

Expressions like, “she is the apple of her daddy’s eye” or “he is a chip off the old block” were ways to impart the feelings of parents about their babies. “You are a sight for sore eyes” might be a way of telling someone you were glad to see them after a long absence.”

It was always nice to have someone tell you, “You are as pretty as a picture,” or “You are as sweet as honey.” My Mother always said, “Pretty is ..as pretty does” If I did something wrong, she would say, “I am going to wear you out!” Then she would send me out to cut my own switch for her to use for my whipping! You had better believe I would “walk the chalk line after that!”

If my brother came to the table without combing his hair when we about ready to leave for school, Mother would say, ” Go do something with your hair, it looks like a rat’s nest” We were “inspected ” to make sure we looked good to go to school. The only busses were for children who lived on farms or in very rural areas, the rest of us walked many blocks, in all kinds of weather, to get to class. On the way home we may jump up and down in a mud puddle or go out into a field to pick berries or golden rods to bring home for Mother. Childhood was so different long ago!

One of my girlfriends at work would get upset about things from time to time and would tell me she was “as mad as a hornet!” If one of her sons did something to try her patience at home, she would tell them, “Behave, or I will jerk a knot in you! ” I thought,, ” Goodness, I know that would hurt!”

Well, these are just a few of the expressions that have come along through the years, but one I never understood, was something I heard Mother’s friend say after they had been to the Gem Theater to see a movie starring Clark Gable. One of the ladies said, “Well, he could put his shoes under my bed anytime he wanted to!” I wondered why a movie star would put his shoes under her bed in the first place. He didn’t even live in town! Oh, the innocence of childhood!

Stiches “in time”…or my childhood embroidery lesson.

Yesterday when I opened the linen closet door, a clear plastic bag fell to the floor. I picked the bag up and saw a large doily that Mother used to keep on the center of the dining room table years ago. I took it out to look at it, as well as the other things that were in the bag.

When Mother died, I was the only remaining child, so it was my job to go through everything in her house and to dispose of it. That was a huge undertaking, to say the least. It took many months

I found places to give the sheets, towels, drapes and many other items. I kept a large painting I had given her for a Christmas one year and some of her new Corning Ware dishes. Much of the depression glass had been given to me earlier when I moved back to South Carolina.

A cousin wanted Mother’s antique bedroom suite to go in one of the bedrooms of her new home. Back when the furniture was manufactured, it was made to last a lifetime. I was so glad that we could find a “home” for it rather than for it to be donated to charity.

Many tables, a sewing machine and much of what was left was given to the University of South Carolina to be loaned to International students to use while they were attending the university.

Getting back to the bedroom furniture, the dresser had two built up sections on each end, with a lower section in between. There was an attached mirror and there were several drawers on each side. It was called a vanity. It had to have been well made to last so long!

The complete set had a double bed, a chest of drawers, the vanity and a stool that went with the vanity. It was popular back then to have a set of small scarves to go on the vanity and a larger one for the top of the chest of drawers.

When I sorted out everything in the bag that fell out of the linen closet, I could hardly believe what I found. There were a few sets of vanity scarves I had embroidered for Mother when I was just a child. I did not remember seeing them until now.

To anyone else it would probably not have been something to get excited about, but just seeing my handwork from long ago brought back many memories!

I was probably six or seven years old when my Mother bought a preprinted set of vanity scarves from Woolworth’s Five & Ten on Main Street in Kannapolis, North Carolina for me, so I could learn to do embroidery.

You had to cut the large piece of fabric into individual squares. Next you had to decide on the colors of thread you needed. The thread was manufactured by J P Coates and cost five cents for two skeins.

I had to have a set of wooden hoops to hold the fabric in place, some needles and a thimble to get started. We bought those things and then she began my “lessons.” She stressed that embroidery required patience and concentration.

I was taught how to do the different kinds of stitches because there were a variety of them. You tried to make the back as neat as the front of each piece. After you had completed the embroidery work, you had to measure each piece so you would know how much lace it would take to go around each one.

Then, before you sewed the lace on, you had to make a small hem on each piece and those hems had to be uniform so the pieces would be the same size. Next to the last step was sewing the lace around each scarf. It had to be neat, but secure.

Once that step was completed, you then washed the pieces and starched them, if you wanted them to be stiff. At last you were ready to iron your “masterpiece ” and put it on the vanity.

Mother wanted to make sure I would do everything correctly. She used to say, “If you do something, you should do it well.”

It took a long explanation to describe each step of my embroidery lesson. I had to be very careful with each stitch to have a nice finished product.

When I saw my handwork of so many years ago, it really touched my heart, that Mother had liked it enough to save my “stitches from a bygone time.” That was just 5be beginning of many embroidered things, such as pillow cases, tea towels and handkerchiefs I would make for her.

We can’t save everything we make, but it was very nice that my Mother had saved evidence that those stitches she taught me how to do when I was a youngster had stood the test of time!

Today is a holiday…Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

It will be a busy day, honoring the memory of a man who was used by God to change the course of history. In Columbia, the celebration will begin with a breakfast, which is always well attended. For many years I attended the breakfast and was involved in other events on this holiday.

I have attended services at a Columbia church, followed by a walk to the State House to show support for legacy of Dr.King. Today, I will have to observe the events by way of television. Changes in health determine what you are able to do, not what you would like to do.

I was fortunate to live in Atlanta for many years, the city that played a major part in the life of the man who is honored today. I was able to visit his boyhood home, the church where he preached and his tomb, where the eternal flame burns.

I lived in another state when the sit ins, the marches and riots were taking place. It was a very sad time in the history of our country.

Life is so difficult to understand. We cannot comprehend the things that happen and why they do take place. God has a plan and HE uses people to carry out HIS plan.

I have always had as many friends of color as I do who are not. Some of my dearest friends, Julia and Wanda, know this. They live in Atlanta, but we keep in touch and I could not love them more if the were my “real” sisters. I feel like they are!

To say that life is simple, is far from the truth. Life is a battle for right. Looking back , through reading the Bible, we know that God planned a perfect world for us. In the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, sin began and that changed everything.

Years ago, we sang a song in Sunday school, as children. The words said, ” Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in HIS sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” That is the way life should be, but because sin entered, it has been a struggle since the beginning of time.

God is in charge, HE uses people for HIS plan. He used Martin Luther King, Jr. to lead the struggle he did and for that reason, we observe this holiday in his honor. God bless you and thank you, Dr. King. You will never be forgotten.

Grandmother’s pantry…

As I have mentioned several times, my early years were spent living in the same house with my grandparents. In those days, it was a necessity just to exist. Now, I did not know that at the time I was born or even as a child. You think as a child when you are one. It is only when you grow up and take a backward glance at your life, do you realize how fortunate you were to have all the people in your life that you did.

When I was much, much older and saw episodes of the Walton’s on television, I could relate to their way of life. For those who do not know, the Walton family was a poor, hard working family, who lived during the depression in the United States.They taught many life lessons to the generations who were living in the times of plenty. I think the Walton family displayed much more history than anything you could read in a book.

Several generations lived in the same house. Grandfather Walton was wise from his past experiences and was the strong example for his son and the grandchildren. The grandmother was always busy with daily household chores of preparing food, keeping the house clean and the laundry done. There were no machines to makes those chores easy, everything was a slow, time consuming process. Both grandparents were counted on to guide the younger generation in so many ways.

Getting to my Grandmother’s pantry. There was a small room just off the kitchen that had lots of shelves in it. There were rows of glass jars of vegetables and some fruits lined up in neat rows that she and my mother had canned for the winter. The pantry was also the place things like flour, sugar, rice and lard were kept. Kitchens back in those days did not have lots of cabinets and storage like kitchens of today have. I don’t remember the kitchen having any cabinets at that time.

In today’s world, all sorts of machines make cooking easy. Not so, back when I was growing up, as a little girl, I used to watch Grandmother peel apples with a little machine she would clamp on to the table. She had a bowl to catch apples in after she had washed, dried them and peeled them. She would put an apple on a prong of the “apple corer”, then turn a handle that rotated the apple, sliced the peeling off, leaving the apple ready to cook. I don’t know what she did with the peeling, but nothing was ever wasted. She may have boiled it to make jelly.

She kept a coffee mill in the pantry. That was a little machine that looked like a box, with a crank on the top and a small drawer to catch coffee beans after they had been crushed. The coffee beans were used to make strong coffee for the grownups in the family for breakfast. Sometimes I got to turn the crank. I was more trouble than I was a helper.

She kept a “food grinder” or chopper in the pantry on a shelf with all her “labor saving devices.” She ground all sorts of things with that device. It had a variety of blades to choose from. As a very mature adult, some years ago, I loved seeing all the things she kept in her pantry, being used or at least being shown in some of the Walton stories on television.

Everything was done from “scratch” back in the early days of Southern life. The kitchens usually had a pie safe where dishes were kept, as well as left overs from a meal, to be served at the next one. Nothing was wasted. I can still see, in my mind’s eye, the remains of an apple pie or some fried apple pies from lunch. Sometimes, I see a pie safe in an antique shop. The pie safe was a cabinet that had legs and the doors had metal panels, with holes punched into a design, to allow ventilation, as well as to be “attractive.”

Making fried apple pies is still a chore that almost no one does. Every fall, when I go to North Carolina to “pick” apples from a farm, some of the first things I look for is getting a sample of apple cider and buying several fried apple pies to bring home with me. Just holding a fried apple pie, can bring back so many thoughts of my grandmother and the things she kept in her pantry.

How wonderful it would be to spend a day ” helping” my grandmother as she worked so hard, taking the fruits I picked from the trees that grew in our yard. She made the crust, put some stewed apples in the round piece of dough, took a fork and sealed the edges, cut a few slits in the top for air to escape, then deep fat fried the delicacy, which I got to enjoy with a cold glass of milk as soon as the pie cooled.

What I would not give to have that experience today! God bless you, Grandmother! Thank you for the good things you taught me and for the sweet memories I will always cherish.

Getting ready for Winter

The present generation knows nothing about life in the “good old days” and how hard it really was. I have written about my early years several times. I was born “at home” in a house where my grandparents, my parents and my uncle lived. Three years after I was born, my brother came along. I don’t remember details about everything that took place, but I do recall some of the things my grandparents did when I was a child.

As I sit in my warm home tonight, my thoughts wandered back to what my granddaddy did on winter nights before all of the family went to bed. There was no such thing as furnaces, as we have now. The room next to the kitchen was “the middle room” as we called it. There was a fireplace, that was the source of our heat. There were several chairs in the room and a small, single bed that my brother and I took naps on. The family would sit around the fireplace to keep warm.

My granddaddy would make sure there was a bucket of coal on the hearth, along with some kindling so he could get the fire going very early the next day. He would “bank the coals” in the fireplace, so he could easily get the fire started before the family woke up.

There was a garage beside the house, but the family did not have a car, so every fall, a large load of coal would be delivered and placed in the garage in preparation for the cold weather that would soon follow. I don’t know where the kindling came from, but I do remember the bundles it came in.

The family went to bed early because there was nothing to do. There was no television and the radio, as I recall was in the living room. The house was not insulated, so we went to bed and covered up with heavy quilts to keep warm. I remember my grandmother and her friends getting together to make quilts. They had a frame and the ladies would sit around as they sewed the squares together, by hand. Grandmother used scraps from my dresses to make a quilt she called the “sunbonnet Sue” pattern. The quilts were so heavy that when Mother tucked my brother and me in, we could not move due to the weight of the cover.

Winters were very cold and it snowed often in North Carolina. My grandmother would have several buckets of water in the kitchen to cook with and to make a big pot of coffee. Many times it was so cold during the night that the water would be frozen , with the dipper in the bucket. There was a laundry heater, as well as a stove ,in the kitchen. The ice box was on the back porch. Pipes would be wrapped to keep them from freezing, but they froze anyway.

There is so much more I could write about what Winter was like, but I will share some of the other hardships in another story. I feel very fortunate to have lived through all the frigid days and nights back then. But the grownups really had a rough life. I remember how happy we were and since everyone lived the same kind of life, we didn’t know how bad things were. I am grateful to have survived! I am also thankful for heat and air conditioning, lots of lights, electric appliances and a million other things that are available for our comfort.

Had my picture taken this morning…

I got up early so I would not be late for my appointment. Traffic is always heavy on Sunset Boulevard, close to where I live. The road has several names along the way to Lexington. The most common name is Highway 378, but whatever you call it, it is like a raceway.

After inching along, traffic began to move. Once I reached the hospital, finding a space to park was the next challenge. I had to circle the lot twice before someone backed out and I was able to pull into a space.There are many buildings in the complex and lots and parking garages are usually full. You don’t realize how many sick people there are.

I wasn’t going to have a traditional photograph, but an echocardiogram. I had been told to be there early, so I was there. The technician who did the procedure explained everything she was doing and what she saw. It was all positive. The next step was to go to the cardiologist’s office so he could discuss the findings.

My prayers were answered about the condition of my heart. I do not have to return unless the condition becomes worse. I still have the problem that prompted this procedure, but it is comforting to know my heart is strong and healthy.

For some reason I thought of an old commercial that used to be on television for Timex watches. John Cameron Swayze would pound on a watch or put it under water, then hold it up so the viewers could see the hands of the watch move. He would say, “it takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” That is what I can say about my heart….it has taken a licking, but it keeps on ticking!

The kaleidoscope called life….

Do you remember when we used to get a kaleidoscope in our Christmas stocking? That was a long time ago. It was fascinating to turn the tube from side to side to see the different patterns that were formed by the pieces of glass. With each movement you might see a snow flake, a flower or just a beautiful design. I don’t know who invented this simple toy, but it was popular in the distant past before so many plastic action figures came on the scene.

I thought about how the toy resembles life. Each day is different from the one before. No matter how you turn the tube, you cannot recreate the design exactly as it was and the same is true with life.

We have the same number of days in a week and basically we do many of the same things during those seven days, but when we turn the TV on in the morning, the changes begin. We learn about the weather where we live and around the world. Within minutes after tragedies occur, we know about them. I am thankful for the changes so we can prepare for the impending dangers.

Newspapers are quickly becoming obsolete. They will never go away, but they become smaller, with much less news. My newspaper has more information about sports than anything else, it seems. Wednesday is the day all the grocery ads come out. Some people just toss them because the way we shop has changed. I go to Walmart frequently and there is a reserved section in the parking lot for customers to pick up their preordered food items. Inside, the store has a section for the orders to be held awaiting pickup. This is a service for “busy” people, but I still like to select my own produce.

More and more, companies are handling business by computer. You seldom reach a human when you call. The older population may not have a computer and without one, you are left behind.

I am not opposed to progress. I am thankful for the many advances in so many areas of life. It is really mind boggling when you look back at the early days of your life!

Our young people of today have grown up with a different way of life than the previous generation, so all the changes are common place to them.

All this to say, enjoy each day…savor every minute because the happy moments may not be there tomorrow. Our life is a kaleidoscope, ever changing and never the same as the day before!