OLD BOYFRIENDS AND CHOCOLATE

Oh sure. Now I have your attention. What is it about chocolate that just makes all women a little crazy. I will totally desert a diet, for a piece of chocolate. I once went out with this boy who came to my door bearing a box of chocolates and a bunch of wildflowers, even though I wasn't really "in to him" as they say nowadays. But he turned my head with my favorite two things. Pure manipulation on his part and my best friend, who was cupid to everyone. He turned out to be really nice though and I dated him for a while. He did have a big drawback for me and I know it is a shallow thing but he was working for his Dad who owned the local funeral parlor. As cute as he was and as nice, I just could not get past that part. I hope he married someone who appreciated him and wasn't quite as shallow and squeamish as me.

I can't reflect on old boyfriends too much on this blog,,you never know who might be reading and some things are just best left to the past. Besides, I found the one who God probably intended for me, but when I get to Heaven, I am going to ask God a few questions.

Like, why this man can not ever find anything in his closet when it is right their in front of him? Why does he constantly keep tyring to have the last word, when he knows it just ain't gonna happen? Why does he stand and stare at meat in the grocery store? What fascinates him so much? I swear the last time we were in there, he stood for five minutes looking at meat while I shopped. Then, I looked over and there were two other men,,in total rapture over the meat case...So if women are attracted to chocolate and just like looking at it, even when we can't have it,,(that perpetual diet thing),,,,then I guess men feel the same addiction about meat. No wonder we have trouble understanding one another.

SMELLS THAT BRING BACK A MEMEORY

Once in a while, there is a sweet smell that wafts in so softly, I'm not sure if it is real or a memory. The smell of lavender comes out of nowhere. I will be reading in my chair by the window or lying in bed, after the lights are out, and there it is. I am sure there is an explanation for this, but I don't know what it is. It triggers a very distant memory of bright white, clean sheets hanging in the Sun on a clothesline. I think it is my Aunt's clean linens I am remembering. Although I can no longer see the face clearly, I still remember scraps of things, from that time spent with an Aunt. I stayed with her during the Summer, because she lived in the country and I loved it. I think of her, when I smell lavender.


The smell of brown sugar reminds me of Saturday mornings and my Mama's homemade caramel rolls. Since Mama worked hard all week as a spinner in a cotton mill, this was the only time we got to spend with her. We were allowed to have coffee to go with our rolls, if we put more milk than coffee in the cup. The smell of that brown sugar and hot, buttery smell, was more than I could bear. I loved her homemade rolls.

Billy says there was a large, red clay, pit down from where our home is now, when he was a child. After it rains, you can sometimes smell the clay...That triggers a memory for me. We used to play on a large red clay, hill, when I was growing up....That hill is huge in my memory but it probably wasn't all that big. We took large cardboard boxes and flattened them out and slid down that hill on our stomachs, rather like those lucky enough to have snow will do with their sleds. Our cardboard sleds were great to us. We didn't know about snow,,,being born in Mississippi...but we knew that a red clay hill was shiny and slick from all the years of kids sliding down it. After a rain, we had to wait for the Sun to bake it again, but in the South, that happens quickly. We would play on that hill all Summer.


The smell of Old Spice shaving lotion, always reminds me of an Uncle. We called him Uncle Dude. I think he got that name because he raised horses and trained them. He would put me up on a horses back once the horse got used to the blanket and lead me around in the fenced in area where he trained his horses. Mama would have killed him if she had known about it. He said I was so light, the horse hardly knew I was there and it got them use to having a rider. I don't know about that, I just thought it was fun. I can smell that Old Spice today, every time I am around horses.

Certain smells brings back pictures as clear as photographs of scenes. Like the smell of cedar brings back my Grandmother's cedar chest to my mind. They have left the conscious mind but they are not forgotten. As long as we have our memories, people and places live on. Maybe we never forget anything. There is no proof that we forget. Maybe it is all still there just waiting for a smell, a taste or sound, to bring it all back.

THAT PLACE WHERE MERCY LEADS

If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age, into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save those who believe
And though their foolish hearts may break, they will find peace
And I'll meet you in that place where mercy leads

-Rich Mullins, Brother's Keeper, "Let Mercy Lead"


I have taken up residence in that place where mercy leads, many years ago. It is a lovely place to be.

MACARONI AND CHEESE SALAD AND JADITE

This recipe came about because of all the tomatoes I have coming out of the garden. I am trying to find ways of using them. It is a change from my regular macaroni salad and Billy really liked it.

2 cups cooked macaroni
2 large tomatoes, chopped
Cheddar cheese, cut in small cubes( any amount that you like, I used 4 ounces)
2 or 3 chopped green onions
1 &1/2 cups mayonnaise or more,,depends on how wet you like it
2 boiled eggs,,chopped
Bacon bits,,,as many you would like,,,I use 1/4 of one of the small jars
1 level TBS of Italian salad dressing, the dry kind in the envelope
1 level TBS of Ranch, Buttermilk dressing,,the dry kind in the envelope
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Cook macaroni as directed on package, drain and cool. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. Add Mayo to macaroni mixture; toss lightly. Chill and serve.

This makes enough for around 8 servings as a side dish,,,,, it keeps well and makes a great lunch or snack. I think it actually taste better the next day. You can of course, leave out the salad dressing mixes, if you like a less spicy dish, it will still be good.



Another bonus to this dish, is it gives me a reason for showing off my pretty Jadite bowl. Now the bowl is mine, unlike that beautiuful pitcher there. I wish I owned it. It is really hard to capture the pretty color of the bowl with my cheapie camera but I gave it a try. My Sister in law collects Jadite but I only have a few pieces. I remember Mama putting her potato salad in a big Jadite bowl. I have one exactly like hers but I wish I had hers. It was broken a long time ago by two little kids who should have known better than to walk on their Tom walkers in the house. : )

Back when it was produced, Jadite was by no means considered fine china. On the contrary, Jadite “Restaurant Ware” (as it was called) was produced very cheaply and in mass quantities, and it outfitted military bases, school cafeterias, and diners at the time because its durability was unmatched by clay or porcelain dishware.
Anchor Hocking also manufactured less heavy patterns of Jadite for use in the home, and this was often given away in sets as part of promotions in drug stores and department stores. You know, something like, “Buy your linens here at Ricardo's department Store and get a fifty-piece set of Jadite for free!”


It was also given out at service stations as a bonus for buying your gas there. It's a toss up which is worth more today,,,that set of Jadite or the gas!!! Mama wasn't upset at all. She was more upset about the potato salad on the floor. Times do change!

MEMORIES OF ELVIS AND FLOWERS

I have always loved the song "Memories" and Elvis sings it better than anyone. This is a picture of Canterbury bells, a lovely wildflower. I remember playing around these flowers growing up in Mississippi and I'll bet Elvis would remember them too.


Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind
Memories, sweetened thru the ages just like wine

Quiet thought come floating down
And settle softly to the ground
Like golden autumn leaves around my feet
I touched them and they burst apart with sweet memories,
Sweet memories

Of holding hands and red bouquets
And twilight trimmed in purple haze
And laughing eyes and simple ways
And quiet nights and gentle days with you

Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind
Memories, sweetened thru the ages just like wine,
Memories, memories, sweet memories

GRECIAN WINDFLOWERS

Grecian Windflowers are the pretty flowers in this picture. I have always loved Waterhouse, he is a fantastic artist and I love these flowers, so this picture is one of my favorites by him. You may know this better as an anemone and the most commonly available one is Grecian Windflower. Just click on the picture to enlarge.

ON TIRE AND PORCH SWINGS

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside -

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown -
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

Robert Louis Stevenson


I ran across this poem today and it reminded me of the tire swings we had when I was a child. Funny you don't see swings anymore but when I was little, every yard had either a tire swing or a rope swing with a wooden seat. Even the grown-ups had swings on the front porch and used them. They were not there just for decoration, like they are today. I think people in the South still use them quite a bit,,,especially if you live in the country. But you never see anyone in the cities, sitting on their porches.

Swings were once, the place to be, after Supper in the evening. You fought over the swing, otherwise you had to sit on the steps or in a rocking chair. Many a cat had his tail shortened because of rocking chairs,,but that's another story altogether. I think Air conditioners are great but they did stop people from getting to know their neighbors better. When we walked down the street back then in the evening, we could visit with all the neighbors sitting on their front porch to keep cool. Many a romance bloomed in a porch swing afer the grown-ups went inside.

But back to the tire swing....We would swing for hours. I would push a while and then my Sister would push high enough to make me scream...yes she did...she loved me but torturing me was her favorite past time. I am sure I am not the only little sister that was tortured in that way. LOL They boys sat on the top or stood if they were brave and had someone push them. Skinned knees and elbows happened a lot when they fell..but I don't remember any serious damage.

We didn't get first dibs on the tire though. Grandma did. She would cut them in half and use them as watering troughs for her chickens. Someone on my garden blog, mentioned using them as planters. I believe I have seem them somewhere, but they paint them white, I think....If she didn't need it then we got it to roll up and down hills. We would get inside that tire somehow by winding ourselves around inside and then let a buddy roll us down the hill. Then when it was really worn out, we would take it to Daddy and he would make us a swing. He took hemp rope and ran it through the tire and hung it over a strong limb. There it was and not a dime spent.

I saw what passes for a tire swing on the Internet the other day. It was in the shape of a pony and one was in the shape of a duck..they were black and looked like rubber and very expensive. They were trying to duplicate that great swing but the spirit was just not there I am sure the kids who have one of those, love them but not in the same way we did. We were there at the birth of that tire,,we knew it's history.......New ones in the shape of animals are just not the same. Out plan Was to "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"....Paying money for one just seems wrong.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Birthday Blessings


Instead of counting candles,
Or tallying the years,
Contemplate your blessings,
As your birthday nears.


Consider special people
Who love you, and who care,
And others who’ve enriched your life
Just by being there.


Think about the memories
Passing years can never mar,
Experiences great and small
That have made you who you are.


Another year is a happy gift,
So cut your cake, and say,
"Instead of counting birthdays,
I count blessings every day!"


By Joanna Fuchs

I can remember, it just takes longer

Growing old is mind over matter, that's what they say. Well, let's see....I'm getting older. My mind is going; and everything that matters is falling down or falling out. LOL
But growing old does have advantages. A good example is my new found ability to be invisible. Yes, try it, I promise you that you too have it if you are over sixty. Just like the Super Heroes in the comics.
Another advantage to growing old is that day you discover that you do not really give a rat's hind end what anyone thinks of you. Sweet!

Sometimes when I walk in a room, I forget why I am there and that bothers me,,until I remember, the same thing happened to me at twenty or thirty. I have a great memory for the printed word, which helped tremendously in school but I can't and never could, remember where I put my sunglasses. I have spent half my life looking for them. I leave them in stores, in the car, at other peoples houses. So when I forget something,,I just try and remember (no pun intended) that I have had this problem all my life.

Another up side I have discovered, is the ability to watch re-runs and since I can't remember them, they are all new to me. See, it's all good. The other advantage to aging is that people don't ask you to do stuff that they used to ask you to do. They assume a low level of competence and figure that, whatever it is that needs doing, you won't be able to do it. I won't tell if you don't!

Norman Rockwell Summers

"That beautiful season the Summer!
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


"No price is set on the lavish summer;
June may be had by the poorest comer."
- James Russell Lowell

"What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise
of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade."
- Gertrude Jekyll,


I'll admit I am a Little partial to June. It is the month I came into this world. "They" say the month you are born is always your favorite Month. In my case it is true. I love warm weather and blackberries and the honeysuckle wind that blows through your hair while standing on the porch in the evening.... and all that comes with Early Summer. Warm Sunshine and fresh veggies from the garden and birds and bees everywhere. It is a busy time of life. Everything, both man and animal and all the insects are very busy in the early Summer. July and August will be too hot to do anything but lie around in the nearest swing or hammock in the shade and drink ice Tea. When I was a child, we were not allowed to go barefoot until June. I'm not sure why but that was the rule. Oh, how sweet was the feel of the cool earth beneath our hot little feet. By the end of Summer, the bottoms of our feet were so hard, we could have walked across a bed of nails and came out intact.

We played outside a lot in the Summer. All those lovely childhood games like "Crack the Whip" and I was always on the end being the youngest of all the kids in the neighborhood, Kick the can, Tag, Hide and Seek...It took me a while to realize this game was to get rid of me so they could do whatever older kids do when they don't want the little kids along with them. All that fresh air and Sunshine must have done us a world of good. We would sleep like babies.

I feel sorry for the kids today who stay inside and play video games or watch TV. They will never know the joys of playing outside in the evening and watching fireflies. Some of the mean boys would catch them and put them in a jar. Then they would take them to their bedrooms and have little nightlights. I always felt sorry for the little bugs and would help them escape every chance I got. I suppose it is too dangerous today to play outside at night. Such a pity!

Today is World Saunter Day.

So don’t rush it. People rush around too much. They need to learn how to take it easy....Saunter is my regular speed, I am a saunterer. If you live near a beach,,which I am lucky enough to do,,,I live on the Gulf Coast....this is the day to go and saunter a little. None of us know when the sands of time will run out, so enjoy this moment,,this day. As I get older, it seems more and more important to stay in the moment.

"Do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matt. 6:34)

Mark Lowry on living through it

I love Mark Lowry the Christian comedian. I was listening to him today and I laughed out loud..It is a good thing to laugh at life, otherwise you could go nuts!..Mark says about life, "If I had known I would live through it, I would have enjoyed it more"....LOL...here is some more of his humor.

"People who say that life is not worthwhile are really saying that they themselves have no personal goals which are worthwhile. Get yourself a goal worth working for. Better still, get yourself a project. Always have something ahead of you to "look forward to" - to work for and hope for."- Maxwell Maltz


NOW that is good advise. I try to always have some project going to keep me looking forward. Last year I was into needlework. I loved doing it but when the mood passes, I need to move on to something else...This year, I decided to have a garden and set up a blog. One blog leads to another as some of you know. Now I am into posting on you tube and setting up fan sites. LOL. It is fun and probably next year I will be tired of all of it and move on to something else. I may keep doing the garden though due to the price of veggies nowadays.

This beautiful flower is a Hibiscus and one of Billy's favorite shrubs. For the life of me, I cannot keep one alive. I had a couple that hung around for a year or two and then just committed suicide. I say that because I was giving them food and water and love but they checked out anyway. I know when to fold them. I give up! Billy will just have to love them from afar.

Wrinkles are not adorable!

"When grace is joined with wrinkles, it
is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age."
- Victor Hugo

Adorable???? Is this man nuts...wrinkles are in no Way adorable. I'm not so sure he is right about the dawn part either. But that might be true..my favorite quote ever since I felt the menacing "dawn" of old age, has been:
"To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful,
reverent--that is to triumph over old age." - Thomas Bailey Aldrich

I think we can triumph over old age if we keep our heart unwrinkled.

Psa 92:12-15...

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;

So get out there today and bear some fruit. Be kindly to someone. Be cheerful even if you don't feel like it. We serve as an example whether we think so or not...Now we can be a good example or a bad example but we all serve as an example to someone even if it is just your dog. It's amazing how our cheerful attitude can make our four legged friends feel cheerful themselves.

The First Color TV?

When I was a kid we didn't have a TV in our house. We watched the neighbors set,,,they had a color TV. Well, not exactly. What they had was a piece of plastic that was blue one third of the way for the sky,,then red for the next third and green for grass the last third...It would work great if the storyline was about a red firetruck on a sunny day, driving over someone's lawn but it made Perry Como look a little sick. LOL. But we thought it was cool. The neighborhood kids took turns coming over and we could only stay an hour. I think my sister and I had Milton Berle night and The voice of Firestone night. It was so exciting and we looked forward to it each week.

I don't remember the first real color TV I saw. I looked it up and the first one came out on December 17th 1953 but it was the mid sixties before they were available to the masses. But nothing would ever be as exciting as that first TV. It was a miracle to us.

The first TV Guide had a picture of Lucy's baby. This was on April 3, 1953 and recently sold for $500 on eBAy.

Travels With Charley

"Travels with Charley: In Search of America is a travelogue by American author John Steinbeck. It documents the road trip he took with his French standard poodle Charley around the United States, in 1960. He wrote that he was moved by a desire to see his country on a personal level, since he made his living writing about it. He had many questions going into his journey, the main one being, "What are Americans like today?" However, he found that the "new America" did not live up to his expectations."
I just wonder what he would think today if he made the same trip. I think he would not recognize the America he would find today. We have not taught our children well, as the song goes by Crosby, Stills and Nash. I fear for the future of those who come after us.

But at the same time, I am also a little optimistic. If we look in the right places, we still find good family values, children being taught right from wrong,,,,and Sunday is still a day of worship. Their numbers may be dwindling but they are there. And the one thing we do know, God is still in control.

I am optimistic and I am convinced this is a nation under God and as long as we recognize that, believe that, I think we'll be fine.

Traveling Through by Jason Castro

Here is Jason Castro singing "Traveling Through"..I love this song.

The Older You Get

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends. I am trying though. I don't think it is fair, that by the time I have my head together, my body is falling apart. I am going to prop it up though for a few more years if I can.
For me, it is all about eating things I like that taste good to me. I do not like rice cakes or just plain green salads. I like veggies with dips so I eat that instead of a salad or plain sliced tomatoes with just a little olive oil and chopped basil. You can have a nice treat today with all the snack things they have. Little Jello and pudding packs are nice and so are all the nice crackers and dried fruits you can get in small packets now. I need something to snack on that is sweet or salty, depending on what I am craving. So these work for me. Just a smear of peanut butter on a few crackers helps and so does freezing the pudding packs.

My diet for today:

Breakfast: Cold ceral (bite size shredded wheat) and a glass of orange juice

Lunch: A tomato sandwich with just a dab of Light mayo on the bread and a few lettuce leaves. I wanted whole wheat but we only had white so white it is. Whole wheat is so much better for you though. I cut it in half and put it on a fancy sandwich plate so I feel pampered. I might have one of those small snack packs of SF fruit,,they are only about 45 calories.

Dinner: Billy is grilling some sweet potatoes slices for me,,,I will add a deviled egg, some sliced tomatoes (from my garden) and a tiny piece of whatever meat he is grilling..He has decided to become The BBQ Champ of the Gulf Coast so the smell of the grilled food is killing me but a diet is a diet.

After Dinner I always have some sort of snack..I make a little more allwance on Sunday. Tonight I will have 1/4 cup of Blue Bell SF Vanilla on top of one half banana.

Getting rid of clutter

If God put me on Earth to accomplish certain things, then I am so far behind, I should live forever. A lot of the reason is clutter. I clean it up and in a month, there it is again. If I want to do a task, I can't find the tool I need to do it. Billy has actually bought a new one of something just because we can't find the one we need. We have a shed full of anything we could possibly need but we can't get to it. The house isn't a whole lot better...Oh you wouldn't know it, if you walked in, the clutter is well hidden, but it is there..

Billy is running away every chance he gets lately because I am Spring Cleaning,,yeah I know,,what can I say...I am behind. I ask him to take some boxes to the shed the other day and he said, "All you are doing is moving them from one place to another"...Duh! I know that but isn't that what a shed is for? To store things you never should have bought in the first place?

That is a great little site called flylady.org that will help you get organized if you have my problem..

Now, when you get all organized, treat yourself to a cup of tea and nice piece of Cherry pie. You deserve it.

Do You Miss The Good Old Days?

I think this pic is interesting. On the one side you see "Ike" the president on the old TV and the old car outside the window,,the old telephone...and the other side of the pic is more modern, with Bush on the TV and all the new electronics everywhere..Were the Good Old Days really the Good Old Days? I know I would miss my gadgets but I also think it has taken away a much simpler lifestyle too. I miss the Good Old Days.

I Kid you not!

I just had to type in those little "lsoty" letters they make you type in so you can create a blog,,,,four times,,before I got it right...It has something to do with,,,so they will know you are not a robot...well at this age,,,64, I'm not sure if I would be telling the truth if I implied I was not. My mind not only wonders at this age,,sometimes it leaves completely. Insanity is my personal means of relaxation.
I get up each Morning just wondering what ache or pain, today will bring. Getting old sucks,,,you hear me...and I know all about the alternative. Yes, it is better than dying but if I had known how long I would live, I would have taken better care of myself. I was living out the legacy of the Hank Williams song, "Live fast, love hard, die young, and leave a beautiful memory"..until I met my DH Billy..he put a stop to that. LOL...


Still growing up in the late sixties was a lot of fun. It was the height of the Hippie generation..The back to the Earth movement..embroidering all over your clothes,,,we put flowers in our hair and sang songs about San Francisco. We didn't have the worries the kids have today. I would be afraid to be a teen today.




I started an exercise routine in February to see if I could become a little more healthy. I started out just riding my Elliptical Machine (a bike that has those handles that work your arms) for two minutes, three times a day. I am now up to five minutes, three times a day..I was feeling all proud of myself until a friend told me her 72 year old Mother was doing a hundred miles a week! Who is this woman, an ex triathlon runner? I never had any glory days when it comes to sports. I played Golf and Pool when I was in my forties and fifties and a little basketball and volley ball when I was younger. I did skate until my friend fell while skating backwards and broke her arm. Mama took my skates away and that was that. Guilt by association, I guess. LOL

But still, I am trying. I am also tyring to eat better. I have a garden this year and it is doing well, so I am eating a lot of fresh veggies and the work,,,which is not much with the square foot garden,,does get me out in the Sunshine and fresh air.
This is not going to be a blog about aging gracefully...It is going to be about fighting to survive. I remember I use to say, "I'll leave the Grace to the old Ladies"..back when I knew it all. I'll still leave the Grace to them. I'm not old, I am just a little travel weary.

Each day is still precious to me. I find myself, while not happy about being old, not worrying about it either. I try to live one day at a time. If I get sick, I go into survival mode until I feel better..actually at this stage,,which might by some, be considered the Fall of my life,,I find I am more an observer of life, than a participant. That's okay, I can live with that. : )