NANA'S MEMORIES

A childhood friend's Mother passed away and will be laid to rest tomorrow. I have had Toni on my mind all day and I am reminded of the first time I met her Mother. I was in the second or third grade when I rode the bus to Toni's house with the intentions of spending the night. Although I do not remember where she lived, it seemed like a long bus ride. I usually walked back and forth to school and never rode a bus farther than from Michie school to my Grandparent's house out by the new high school. It is hard to imagine allowing a third grader to spend the night away from home but times were different then. We walked through what I thought was a forest to get to her cousin's house to play until just before dark. Her Mother was in on a trick we planned to play on her Dad and had supper ready and the table set awaiting his return from work. When his car turned into the driveway, we scooted behind the long white tablecloth and waited for her Mother to tell him we had not ma...

Mama had and loved a little green 1964 Chevrolet Corvair she called her puddle jumper. She drove it back and forth every day to work at what then was just called the chicken plant. This was long before anyone knew about Don Tyson.   Mama in her Corvair? No it isn't. It fit her perfectly but I wasn't as fond of the box like vehicle with a clutch, brake pedal, accelerator, and gear shift that all had to operate in sequence. Although, as noted in previous posts, I had difficulty riding a bicycle, I was determined I was going to drive a car. How hard could it be?  After all, I had seen a lot of people driving cars in the movies and on television. One Sunday afternoon, after much pleading on my part, Daddy agreed to begin teaching me to drive. I had visions of long drives with the windows down and the wind blowing my long hair while gripping the steering wheel with one hand and smoothly shifting gears with the other hand. Although I was looking forward to a little...

I am only showing pictures tonight since I am running behind on EVERYTHING.   The following pictures are from the Grandchildren's last Christmas cookie baking. My new kitchen is pretty small so I divided the grandchildren up by cousins rather than siblings. May do it again this year. I have the best Christmas cookie recipe I will share with you as well. Grandma called them tea cakes. Blake and Konstance.  They're great friends and cousins. Cousins Rachel and Sierra. They are so much alike.  Christmas Cookies 3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 and 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup shortening 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, vanilla in large mixing bowl.  Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed ingredients. Form into 2 balls and chill in refrigerator. On floured surface roll dough out 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes. Sprinkle with granulated or colored sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F. 8-10 m...

Do you remember me telling you my granddaughter Rachel loves horses? And did I tell you her Papa keeps her well supplied in them? Well, somehow she ended up with a miniature horse named Playgirl. Although the rest of the horses have been moved to pastures closer to where we now live, Playgirl was left on the old farm to be bred with a neighbor's miniature. As I lost that battle long ago, I did not ask why. Playgirl had rendezvoused with her betrothed a year ago without success and another attempt was scheduled. She spent the allotted time at the neighbor's farm, was returned home, and tucked safely away in the lower meadow until she could be brought down to pasture with the other horses. Alexis and Samson I am reminded of a cute story about one of the other horses. Rachel and her Papa had bought a mare at the horse sale a few years back who, very unexpectedly, delivered a foal a few months later. When trying to determine paternity, the seven or eight year old Rachel...

Here are just a few of the "things" that I like. My tastes change and I may not like them next year but right now I do. And......does anyone have an answer to this question? Why do I like the "things"  from the fifties, sixties, and some of the seventies? Tupperware - does anyone NOT like Tupperware? Mama's pretty little redbird lamp. Excuse the wilting philodendron. Philodendron are so forgiving. My collection of "aqua". I use these "things" Grandma's Christmas Elves that stay out yearlong. Metal toothpick grabber my son bought me because it reminded me of one Grandma had. My drainboard kitchen sink. I know....who cares about a sink? Sweet potatoes in my Harvest Wheat pattern dish sitting on my fifties dinette. More baked sweet potatoes.

My daughter and her family went to Texas to spend the holiday with family there. Poor Blake, my only grandson who was also born on my birthday, had to be taken to the emergency room late last night after a trampoline accident resulted in a fractured arm. Although I am sure it was scary and painful, he was very brave and did not whimper. I think Mama, Daddy, and Sissy were more emotional that Blake. The staff at the hospital fixed him up in a temporary cast until  he can be seen by an orthopedic doctor back here. He is finding it very difficult to do things without a right arm and he is wondering how he will be able to write when he gets back to school next week. He is thinking a touchscreen laptop would be appropriate. We are thankful it was only a broken arm. This is Blake's "Woody" impersonation at Hobby Lobby We had a lovely "too much food" dinner with hubby's family. As a friend said today, I hope you were all warm enough, full enough, and loved...

I have been thinking a lot about food lately. Although I always think about food, this time of the year makes me remember foods from my past. I remember my Grandmas preparing special dishes or foods for the holidays and special occasions. My Oklahoma Grandma made her Thanksgiving dressing with what we called "light bread" instead of the cornbread stuffing I was accustomed to. She always made a German Chocolate cake with a coconut pecan icing for my dad. Although she pretended she did not like him, she bought him Coors Beer too. Because she knew he liked Coors. Because she knew he loved them, Daddy's Mother made him banana puddings for Thanksgiving dinner. The made from scratch pudding was especially good if eaten still warm. Daddy said he also liked my step mom's whipped topping banana pudding.  Grandma made my brother oatmeal cakes with coconut pecan frosting. I wonder if he still likes them? I would make him one if he would come visit. Because I know he loves oa...

Just in time for the holidays, I have an addendum or slight modification to The Looking For A Husband Diet. Click here for the original post of Dr. Lane's Diet Per Doctor Lane's orders shortly before Thanksgiving.....one should never  diet on a holiday. A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL **Disclaimer** As a medical professional, I recommend you continue to adhere to medically prescribed regimens.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1 It occurred to me when viewing my post about Grandpa's Henry J, that some might wonder about Grandpa's name. Grandpa was named Jiles David Middleton but usually was called Rosie (or Rosy or maybe Rosey). I heard two different versions of how he got the nickname Rosie. I heard he looked like Teddy Roosevelt and was called Rosie for short. I also heard his cheeks were rosy - therefore Rosie. I do think it had something to do with Teddy Roosevelt though, as Grandma called him Roosevelt - pronounced Rose-velt. He signed my marriage license as his official name, J.D. Middleton. There is a family anecdote that all nine of Grandma's children, according to their birth certificates, had a different father. One had J.D. listed as the father; one had Jiles David; another one with Jiles; one had Rosie; one had Rosevelt; another Roosevelt; one was Giles...and so forth. ...

The farm Grandma and Grandpa lived on, and where most of my childhood memories are from, was torn down several years after they moved back to town. There had been two huge barns, a dark, loud, and scary pump shed, a smoke house, a storm cellar, a hard-to-cross-for-a-kid cattle guard, and green pastures all around the small house I then thought was so big. Grandpa took care of the cattle on the farm for Mr. Wish, who also owned the feed store where Grandpa had worked for years. It stood where the new High School is now. I wonder how long I will call it the "new" High School?  We usually caught the bus at the farm and could see the bus coming down Spadra Road far enough away to get to the stop in time. I would cut through the pasture rather than having to run across the cattle guard and then downhill to the road. That climb back up the hill used to be so much steeper than it is now. I remember missing the school bus one morning and walking with my uncle all the way t...

I have a guest blogger tonight. My oldest granddaughter has had horses since way before she should have. I cannot remember for sure how old she was when she wrote the following horse story. But first, a picture of her taken about a year ago on her favorite horse Jackie. Mother and baby Once there was a mother and a baby Who had no dad so she just had a mother There was a boy horse near by. Who had a baby with him. The mother asked if he would be her wife. (a little gender identification problem) Not sure if this is the baby or mother. So she has a new father The End

My mama was born in Missouri, raised in Oklahoma, married my daddy, and lived the rest of her life in Arkansas. Mama was five years old here. I see her in the faces of some of my nieces. I favored her as a child too. Mama is ten years old here. Isn't she a pretty little thing? She was the only girl with three older brothers and one younger brother. I think they spoiled her and she loved them all. Mama was only sixteen when she married and moved away from her family in Oklahoma. That was not unusual in 1950. I was born one year later.  I only cost them $22.00. My hospital bill shows 2 days at $5.00 a day. $10.00 for the delivery room. $1.00 for lab. $1.00 for baby bracelet. It was paid in full the day I left the hospital. I wonder how long daddy worked to pay $22.00? Mama said I would have starved as an infant if my grandma had not fed me milk gravy off the table. She said her milk was "blue john". What the hay is that? They put me on Pet Milk f...

We have had a good weekend. We had fun visiting with friends and family at my niece Elizabeth's eighteenth birthday party Saturday night. I caught up on those chores I wrote about and will blog about it later...you knew I would. On Sunday, hubby and I found a few bargains at a flea market west of town.  We then went to our poor little house where we raised our children, which essentially has become a storage building for items unwanted in the new house. It was kind of sad there but I found several things I plan to list on my soon-to-be-constructed Etsy store. Can you say Fire King?  I was trying to find my camera's manual when I ran across my Oklahoma City Grandma's Bible. Do you or did your Mother or Grandmother keep little scraps of paper or mementos in her Bible like mine did? Just let me show you some of the things I found in hers. A little scrap of newspaper advertising a dress pattern she must have wanted to try. She was a professional seamstress and made ...

Eighteen years sounds like a long time ago. Eighteen years seems like a short time ago. My baby sister (actually my only sister) I remember what I was doing eighteen years ago today. After weeks of either hospitalization or home bedrest to prevent a too early delivery of her first child, my sister was finally allowed to get out. I took her to Subway for a veggie and cheese sandwich. She said it tasted so good. Labor started later that afternoon and she was re-hospitalized, medicated to stop the contractions, and put on a tilt-table to elevate her feet. She said the veggies were not as tasty coming back up. Despite all efforts, she delivered a ten week early, 2 pound 15 ounces, beautiful baby girl. My sister had to stay in Clarksville while Elizabeth Ann was transported by ambulance to Children's Hospital in Little Rock. I followed behind the ambulance as far as the Knoxville exit and cried as I watched the red glow of the tail lights recede into the rainy and dark night.  ...