My Aunt Viola….a wonderful lady

I don’t know why my mind sometimes wanders back to happier days, but that is what happened today. It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words. When I came across one of my uncle, aunt and their two small boys, all of a sudden I was back in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

My uncle and aunt lived a few blocks from my family on South East Avenue. Back then almost everyone lived in a house that was owned by Cannon Mill. The houses on my block were not identical, but as a small child I was not concerned about the style of houses. I just knew who lived in the houses. Uncle Rob and Aunt Viola rented two rooms from Mrs. Hutchins because her house had two stories, Mrs. Hutchins was a widow and had a son, Bill, and a married daughter with a little girl, who lived downstairs. I don’t know how I became friends with all the people up and down those few blocks, but I did.

My uncle worked in the mill, just as everyone did on that street. Aunt Viola stayed at home with the children. I would walk up the street to visit them often. I was friends with Mrs. Hutchins’ granddaughter, also. Back in those days people visited each other all the time. I spent a lot of time with Aunt Viola and the children.

In previous stories, I wrote about my family and that we lived with Grandmother and Grandaddy McInnis. In order to live in a “mill” house, someone in the family had to be employed there. When both grandparents passed away, Uncle Rob and his family moved in with us, so that when we moved to Charleston, they could continue to live in that house.

From time to time, my family would come from Charleston to visit our “Kannapolis” kin folks. My Aunt Viola was a wonderful cook. I enjoyed spending time at her house! She crocheted as a hobby. She wanted to make something for her two sons to keep for their lifetime to remember her by, so she crocheted bedspreads for each one. As I grew up and was not old enough to have a summer job, I would go to Kannapolis to spend at least three weeks with my aunt and her family. I slept in the same bedroom I did when we lived there.

I mentioned that my Aunt was a great cook and she taught me so much during my stays with her. She could cut corn off the cob the thinnest of anyone. We would have fresh green beans, seasoned with fat back and cooked with that corn. We had sliced home grown tomatoes and spring onions to go with the green beans. Both Aunt Viola and my mother liked crisp, fried fat back to eat with homemade hot biscuits. Aunt Viola made several desserts l liked very much, so she made sure I had some of each during my stays there in the summer. I can still taste her homemade coconut cake. It was a real job to drain the juice, then crack the shell and grate the coconut meat. But the end result was worth the trouble! Another of her specialties was banana pudding. My mouth is watering so much as I write.

I will always remember my Aunt Viola. She was so dear. She never wanted to buy anything on credit. When her boys grew up, she worked as a sitter at the hospital. She wanted a new bedroom suit, so she saved ever cent she made until she could pay cash for one. I went for my three weeks stay and took her a pair of lamps for the bedroom. She was so happy with them. I got to sleep in the new bed, in the same room I slept in as a child and that was a treat. I had hoped that I might talk her in to crocheting a bedspread for me, but unfortunately that did not happen.

My Aunt Viola will never be forgotten. I cherish the memories of the time I spent with her and for the things she taught me about cooking and about life. Today, I took another walk back in time when my thoughts were happy and life was simple. I love my Aunt Viola so much!

Wednesday….still isolated

There are several terms that describe conditions since COVID-19 became a “way of life.” For the majority of Americans, we have never experienced anything like this. We are spoiled because of never knowing hard times in such large proportions. It is a real wake up call that has shown us how blessed we are.

You never know how much freedom you have to come and go until something happens to change everything. The deadly pandemic has resulted in the loss of so many lives, first of all. Businesses have had to close temporarily, shortages of food and supplies arose overnight, travel plans have been canceled, the need for things like ventilators and masks has skyrocketed. All because of a deadly virus that multiplied so rapidly.

We, who are citizens of the United States, are truly blessed to live here and to have so much medical knowledge and equipment available. I take nothing for granted and am constantly thanking God for HIS provisions.

As of now, the Governor has ruled that schools will be closed through the end of April. Senior proms and graduations have been canceled. Everything is abnormal now. Depression and worries have taken the place of contentment and happiness.

I “attended” prayer meeting at church tonight through my IPad. Many other churches are doing the same, so their members can keep up with things that are happening in the church family. Everyone is praying for the health and safety of each other. God knows all about what is happening. HE does have a wonderful plan for each of our lives. Most of us have heard that statement many times.

Let us use this time we have to the best advantage. We can do things that have been put aside until another day. God has told us HE hears and answers our prayers. That is our hope today. We who love the Lord know that we will never be forsaken. We can rest assured that the Best is Yet to Come! God bless!

Things that remind me of my Grandmother…

I was born in my Grandmother McInnis’s house. She helped take care of me from the minute I came into the world. It is impossible to remember things that went on when you are a newborn, but when you are older your parents and relatives tell you about those early days.

It was not unusual for several generations to live in the same house. First, times were hard back then, so it saved money. Second, there were very few modern conveniences, so it helped if several people did the laundry and cooking.

Picture taking was not as common then as it is now, but I do have a few photographs of Grandmother that help me. I was young when Grandmother died, but there are things that I remember clearly. We ate in the kitchen at a rather large table. Mother helped with the cooking. Looking back, I don’t think I could have prepared a meal using the kind of stove they used or with having to do everything the hard way.

There were quite a few to eat at mealtime. My grandparents, my parents, an uncle, my brother, after he was born, and me. There was no separate dining room and my Grandmother kept certain things in the center of the table all the time. There were the salt and pepper shakers, a fancy glass that she kept silverware in, a sugar bowl and a small fancy glass container for toothpicks. The table was covered with a waterproof oilcloth. I suppose that was the name because it was shiny. I don’t recall paper napkins. I think we had cloth ones that we used several times.

Eating has always been important to me and the family. There was a cabinet called a safe, where some leftovers were kept. The safe stood pretty high and had two doors that had insets of copper, in a design with holes to allow air to get in. I know you think I will never get to the point, but I like to “paint word pictures” of things.

To get back to the title about things that remind me of Grandmother, I wanted you to have an idea of what some of the things are. My Grandmother died when I was very young. Some of the depression glass we used every day was her Mother’s, then when my Mother passed away, everything came to me. I keep a lot of it in a china cabinet and I see it every day as I walk past it.

I can visualize the family having a meal together. The plates, cups or glasses would be at “everyone’s place.” Yes, we had our favorite chairs! There was the silverware in the fancy glass, the sugar bowl, creamer, vinegar cruet, butter dish and the tiny toothpick holder. That was there for my Grandaddy. I am able to have these sweet memories of my family eating a delicious hot meal because I kept these very inexpensive glass objects that had been in the family for generations. I just wish I could have another meal with my dear grandparents, Mother, Daddy and Buddy. They are all gone, but I still have the depression glass and my memories.

Yesterday…wondering, today,..wandering

It was raining this morning, but the weather did not bother me. I had no plans to go out. My only venture was to the mailbox and to get the paper from the container on the same post. The temperature fluctuates from hot to cold almost every other day. There is saying about the South, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change!”

I had plans to work inside in the rooms where I still have some things stored since I had a major renovation done inside the entire house. I did not finish the task today, but I doubt that I ever will. If I had a “ real paying job,” I would have job security. It is so nice to have no pressure or a deadline!

I brought a box of photographs that needed to be organized and filed in albums to my bedroom. Some of the prints were extras. There was no order, just a box of miscellaneous pictures that spanned a number of years. The task should have been done long ago, but it is very easy to put unpleasant, time consuming jobs on the back burner.

Instead of being a “chore,” it became an adventure back into the past. There is a saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words” it turned out to be a pleasant way to pass the time. I did sort the photos into groups as much as I could. Then the journey began.

I was president of my Sunday school class when many of them were taken. We had a project when we gave a television set to the Ronald McDonald House in Atlanta and others that were made when we bought a nice microwave oven for the Women’s Shelter. There were several of our Spring luncheon when we were dressed up and the the table decorations were beautiful. Another set was at a casual cookout.We were in shorts and slacks. It was nice to let my mind wander back in time, but it was sad because almost everyone had passed away.

Another batch was made at Shakertown, Kentucky when we were attending an Elderhostel. We were housed in rooms that were replicas of a Shaker home. Our clothes were hung on knobs around the wall, because there were no closets. The bed and chairs were handmade. It was a no frills way of life at Shakertown. We learned the history of their religion. Since they never married, they adopted some children to carry on their way of life, but the religion did die out. The food was delicious. One of my favorite desserts was lemon pie. They sliced lemons so thin, you “ could read the newspaper through the slices.” I would never be able to make pie like that!.

I was in charge of “picture taking”on our travels. We tried to go to almost every National Park in the United States. One batch was made at Bryce Canyon, which is one of my favorites. I have so many albums that were filed on a timely fashion after we got home, but it didn’t happen after every trip. I spent a fortune on film and developing, but we had not gotten into smartphones and I-phones at that time. They did not exist.

We went to Calloway Gardens every spring. It is such a beautiful part of Georgia. The real “Old timers” will remember The Victory Garden on Public Television. It was located there. There is also a Butterfly House that was donated by Dean Day Smith and is very popular. She did that in memory of her late husband who started the Days Inn Motel chain.

There were others, but I did not intend to write a “book” about a box of photographs. The last batch was made at Lovejoy Plantation. Betty Talmadge hosted a luncheon for a group of my friends from Atlanta. The food was delicious and learning the history of the place was such a treat. In the back yard, there was a row of houses for some of the pets. There was a sign above each one with names of the “occupants.” They were chickens, but were named for characters in the movie, “Gone With the Wind.”

I sort of felt guilty for not doing more productive “work“ but I “wandered” through so many happy adventures, it was a real treat! My time was not wasted, it was therapeutic. We, the world, are in the midst of a terrible pandemic. Everyone has been told to stay at home, if at all possible. Many lives have been lost by the COVID-19 virus. We need to be in prayer for all who have the virus and all the doctors, nurses and everyone who is involved in any way in helping in this unfathomable disaster. I am thankful that for this afternoon when my mind could “wander” back in time when the world was much safer and the days were happier.

Just wondering….

With all the time we have now due to “withdrawal” from the world, my mind wanders…Before the past few weeks of solitary confinement, I was so busy with outside responsibilities or just doing fun things, I didn’t have this problem. My check lists were rather long and I was thrilled when I completed the last item and could put the final check mark on the list. I don’t remember when I didn’t have a full schedule, except when I was “laid low” with shingles!

During the wee hours of February 6, 2011, I woke up with terrible pain in my left breast. It was really bad. I experienced something similar to that kind of pain when I had pneumonia. It was like a knife cutting my upper chest on one side. I thought the heating pad would help relieve the pain, so I turned the heat on, but it did not help.

I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror at the part of my body that was so painful. It was as red as could be and really hurt. I have a very high tolerance to pain, so it had to be bad! I thought I had burned myself with the heating pad. As soon as my doctor’s office opened, I called and was told to come in to be checked.

After the doctor looked at the redness, he said, “I have good news for you. You did not burn yourself, you have shingles!” As it turned out, that was terrible news, because I have never been pain free since that day. Right after the diagnosis, I developed huge blisters that itched terribly. There are no words to adequately describe what a bad case of shingles does to your body.

I have the most wonderful doctor in the world. He prescribed every medicine possible without good results. I even had a pharmacist compound an ointment that had proved to help other patients. A nurse said her husband had used Shea butter for some ailment he had an she suggested that may help me. Nothing helped.

I am not exaggerating, I had to prop on pillows and stay in the bed all the time. I could not sleep lying down or sitting up. My daughter came to spend some time with me and noticed something was terribly wrong. I had been prescribed a medication that is used to treat epilepsy and somehow the dosage was miscommunicated and I was taking seven times the amount I should have been. I found that out when I was running low and called for a refill. I had to taper off the medication because it was not possible to just stop immediately.

I kept the empty bottles as a reminder of the most terrible experience I have had so far, in my life. Years have passed, but the post herpetic neuralgia has not. In the past, I have endured lots of pain with broken bones and other things, but nothing has compared to shingles. One of the things I have wondered about during all this “free time on my hands” has been, “ I wonder if I will ever get over the shingles?”

The message for March 22, 2020 from Shadow Mountain Community Church is a MUST see and to hear a word from God….

I woke up early, as I usually do every Sunday morning. Last Sunday and today have not been typical, to say the least. I ate my breakfast as I looked out my large kitchen window, but today I did not have to rush to get on my way to Sunday school because we are still not having classes. There was no activity on the streets by my house. On a weekday, cars would be rushing off to work, but on Sundays my neighbors, so far as I know, stay at home.

On “normal days” if I come home after Sunday school, I see cars parked in the driveways, so I know folks have stayed in and have not gone to church.The fact that churches are not having large gatherings because of the COVID-19, everyone is staying at home, unless people must go to work due to having an essential job.

I called my daughter, who lives in a small town not too far away, to find out what was happening there. Her husband is the pastor of a church in the area and as most churches are doing, they have canceled services to lessen the chances of the virus being spread. However, some of the deacons were there, outside the church building, as members dropped off tithes and offerings. I watched the service from my church on television and our pastor asked everyone to be sure to make their contributions because the expenses go on whether we are in the building or not.

My daughter who lives in San Diego called to make certain I watched the sermon by her pastor, Dr.David Jeremiah today. It was about the COVID-19 virus. I was able to get the actual live service on the Internet. In 2019, Dr.Jeremiah wrote a book called, “The Book of Signs” in which he wrote about what is taking place now. He did not call the epidemic by that name, but the happenings are the same.

His message was reassuring and comforting, as well as making us aware of the seriousness of the times we are living in. I cannot quote everything he said, but I can urge you to watch that message by going on the Internet to Shadow Mountain Community Church and watch the sermon for March 22. It is time for the world to wake up to what is taking place NOW. Is is understandable that we think the “end times” are off in the distant future, but we need to think again…we are in them.

Drowning in a sea of paper…..

That is how it felt yesterday as I began my project to declutter and dispose of excess “back up” papers. At one time life was so simple! Compared to life today, years ago, I just went to the doctor once a year for a check up and I didn’t have a “medical” folder. My income tax was so simple. I had just enough money to get by on, so an income tax return was easy to prepare. I am sure I saved the current three years. But even that would have been in a small folder.

Another thing that accumulates fast is newspapers. Now, the size has decreased so much, but nonetheless, if you put a few aside to work the puzzle when you have more time, you end up with a stack of old news. Our local paper is now encouraging customers to read the paper on line. That is fine for the millennials, but some of the “ silver haired” generation still like to save copies of obituaries and recipes.

I did cook a lot at one time and was guilty of clipping coupons to save money on food items I used. Quite often I would buy a cook book to add to my collection when we went to a special part of the country. I really enjoyed Amish food. Coupons were big business. Collecting S&H green stamps was popular, also.. I was able to get a lot of nice gifts with them. I even found an old partially filled book of those stamps not long ago! Another confession of a pack rat!

Enough about my shortcoming of being a saver of too many things! But after I have been on a throw away spree and those bags were picked up and taken away by the garbage man, I have needed something I “let go”of. Just saying…it is not so terrible to hold on to some things!

My duties are calling, so I must get going. This current situation of distancing ourselves may be over soon, then we won’t have time to sort and discard useless things we have been keeping for no good reason!

Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill….

Today, I tried to make a molehill from a mountain. It is so easy for papers, magazines, assorted mail and old birthday and Christmas cards to accumulate. I try very hard to discard as much as I can as it comes in, but somehow I lose that battle.

With grim determination, I decided I would tackle the task I have been putting off much too long. After breakfast, I started to organize a new file I purchased last year. It conveniently fits under a desk that is located in my bedroom. It’s original purpose was for only my tax information, so it would be in one place, making it easy to get everything organized for tax preparation.

I had several stacks of miscellaneous items in some boxes I needed to go through and to discard as much as possible. I cannot believe how organizedI was when I worked. I knew where everything was and I did not keep a lot of things I no longer used.

I have been retired a long time and have picked up some bad habits, unfortunately. As I got started on my “ throwing away “ project, I had to take a little time to read what was written on some of the cards. It was time well spent because it brought some good memories to me.

On with the task! I worked on despite those little stops for reminiscing. Lunch time got here fast! I had a lite meal, then back to the drawing board. I kept on with my task so I could complete it today. Finally, I could see the end in sight. I did listen to the daily report on COVID-19 , as I was going through the last batch of statements.

My Mother had so many “sayings” and she used to quote the one about not making a mountain out of a molehill. In other words, you should not exaggerate how large or hard something was when it really wasn’t that bad.

I really did have a lot of paper to sort through and I felt so good when I put the last sheet away and could take look at my organized file. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy. When I saw how neat things were, I was a happy lady! I hope I can continue to sort and dispose of the unnecessary papers, receipts and cards on a daily basis in the future. I want my mountains to be the ones in Georgia and North Carolina and I definitely do not want molehills on my yard!

What day is it? They all seem the same now.

Things really are different since the Coronavirus became rampant in the United States. Our President quickly took action by getting the most qualified team of people to begin a plan to help our citizens as soon as possible.

Each day there have been detailed reports on television by the team so the public will be aware of what is going on and what is being done.

I won’t try to repeat all that is being done to lessen the effects of this dreaded virus because the coverage is being spread around the clock on television, radio and in the newspapers. It is being updated constantly.

I am so grateful for the knowledge and experience that our President has, as well as the ones who are on his team. Each time I listen to the press conferences and all the reports are given, I am encouraged.

Nothing like this has taken place in my lifetime. We have been given guidelines to help us avoid getting the virus. Some of the things that we were told to do were drastic, but necessary for us to avoid being infected. Since I am retired, it was recommended that I stay inside and to wash my hands often. Those were simple for me to do.

When the schools were closed, many problems surfaced. Childcare was impossible to find for some people. When restaurants were closed, that took away many jobs and made it difficult for those still working to find places to eat. Some factories closed to lessen the chances of mass spreading of the virus and caused problems with lack of income.

Truck drivers are essential to transport goods from place to place, but they have problems finding food to eat if truck stops do not have drive through windows. Drive through windows have not been necessary in the past, so there are none. This emergency has brought about so many life changes, which are temporary, but necessary.

The virus is deadly. Our citizens want to avoid being infected, so I have heard no complaints from my friends. There are always those who criticize change, temporary or permanent. For me, personally, I am busy doing things at home that I kept putting off so I could go places or do things away from my house. It does not matter whether it is Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday . I am so thankful to have the President and all the others who are working so hard to keep us well.

We just ask the Lord to protect us from harm and to have mercy on us. This, too, shall pass!

S

Socially distanced…maybe that is a good thing

On the sage advice of the President, the Vice President and others who are working so hard to keep us as safe as possible during the terrible threat to our existence, we have been advised to stay at home, if at all possible. The COVID-19 virus has taken many lives around the world. One life in Lexington County, where I live, has been lost and over thirty people have been diagnosed with the virus around the state. Additional ones are expected. More and more positive cases are being reported daily, here and around the country. This situation is called a pandemic. It is a terrible threat to mankind.

There have been disasters of many kinds as long as the world has existed. Many times America has escaped earthquakes, floods, lava eruptions and fires. We have not experienced famines as Africa has and many other disasters that have been widespread far away from the United States.

This morning President Trump gave an update on this unbelievable happening. The stock market has had a rapid decline, businesses have been closing and workers were sent home because of no work. Food and supplies have been bought by those who had money to stock pile popular items. There were people who bought most the hand sanitizer from as many sources as they could, so there was none left so that everyone could have one bottle of it. The government did step in to change the intensions of those who wanted to resell the sanitizer for huge profits. After the report this morning, the stock market rallied. That is a very good sign after the losses of the past several days.

Some of the retail stores started allowing limited amounts of items such as toilet tissue and paper towels to be bought at one time, In some areas seniors are being given a roll of toilet tissue when their meals on wheels are delivered.

Free testing for the virus is being given to determine if people are positive, if there is reason to think they might be. Vice President Pence and experts in many areas have worked so hard to have everything organized as rapidly as possible. Major changes have taken place .

The President has plans to provide funds to our citizens so that there will be money for food, lodging, utilities and other necessities quickly. Businesses, schools and churches are closed temporarily. Sports events, concerts, plays, museums and movies are not operating at this time.

Everything that can help keep our citizens safe is being done. The report was very positive, as well as reassuring. We were told in the beginning to stay at home if possible, and to wash our hands often. Those simple steps will go a long way in preventing the spread of the virus

Hopefully, one day we can look back at what is taking place now and think of it as a bad dream. Being socially distanced for a while is not a bad thing, in fact, it has probably been good to stay at home to catch up on things you have been putting off, such as straightening closets and getting rid of things you no longer need.