A Change of Pace

These are my grandparents, Glenn and Ruth. They were my dad's parents. They met in Sunday School where he gave her a hair ribbon, which we still have (my grandmother kept everything sentimental - I know that's where I got it).

Glenn was a school teacher, then a principal, finishing his career as a district superintendent.
He taught his first class just a couple of years older than his students. Have times ever changed! Ruth was a homemaker but also drove a school bus early in their marriage. Could she cook! I especially loved her Brandied Peaches. I have her recipe but I've never tried making them. It requires a stoneware crock, pickling spices and lots of brandy - and a year soaking in the brine!
This is a family photo with my uncle Cliff (left) and my dad. I love the short pants and stockings. The tie and collar is a real winner, too, but this was in the early 1920's.

My grandmother's father was a minister, and they lived on the Covina plains. This is somewhat between present day Pomona and Pasadena (CA). I remember the big old farm house my great grand parents lived in. To a little child it seemed huge and a little spooky. I remember a huge staircase with dark wooden railings that led up to a landing where I always looked both ways, expecting to see something that I was certain would be from another realm! And what kid is going to stay away from a barn! I can still smell the fresh hay as we searched for kittens and chickens.

My cousin asked me recently if I remembered the "chickies" that our great grandmother would fix us. I hadn't thought of them in ages, until she jogged my memory. She would take leftover biscuit dough, shape it like little chicks, use cloves for the eyes and bake them. She died was I was five or six, and my parents thought it would be a good time to introduce me to the facts of life, so they took me with them to the viewing. Thus began my fear of the dark!

I so enjoyed Sarge's family stories so much that I thought I'd try a few myself.
---to be continued

The Death of a Republic...

(I don't remember where I found the "Reconciliation" picture, so I can't give credit, sorry.)

I'm so terribly angry and saddened that I'm not even going to try to post anything more tonight.

My Mess is a Place!

BEFORE

One of my friend's teen-aged sons had this sign on his bedroom door.

THIS MESS IS A PLACE!

I thought it was funny, considering the state of most teen-aged boys bedrooms, mine included! My house is so torn up right now the refrigerator is now sitting in the den. There are men cutting holes in my ceiling installing an evaporative cooler on my roof, leaving dust (and I mean mega-dust!) particles swarming the air. The kitchen floor is partially finished but you've gotta watch where you walk...

All I can say is "ARGHHHHHH!" We're waiting to see if and when we can get a back-splash in since we yanked out the stove/microwave combo. There were two layers of the ugliest 1970's wallpaper. We replaced the yucky lace curtains w/faux plantation shutters and removed the can opener and coffee pot that were suspended from the cabinets.

It's just good to finally see some improvements. Hopefully, next year - oh, the agony of waiting! - we'll be able to get new carpeting. The present carpet is "light blond," and over 30 years old.

It's impossible to get it clean and is so embarrassing we don't have company.

As most of you know, this move was sudden and unplanned. because I was unable to continue working. We thought we would have the money to rehab but unfortunately, that was not happening. So, after three years, we're starting to see a little glimmer of light at the end of a very long tunnel. Hallelujah!

Cake, Cake and More Cake!

This sign is of Linn's Bakery in Cambria (central California coast)

I have a blogging friend, Levon, who owns a bakery. Now, you know how all of us bloggers just slobber and drool when we think of cake. Well, maybe I should say "salivate," sounds less ravenous. Anyway, please link on over and check out the photos of some of Levon's cakes...

There's one there especially for you cruisers!

When I reached the ripe old age of 17, I decided I was too smart to work for my mom and dad at our store at Knott's, so I ventured out on my own and found a job at Knott's - that's how far I ventured - at one of the food courts where they served buffet, hamburgers, etc., ice cream and a bakery! I worked all of the shifts at each of the sites and weighed about 120. How I managed to stay that weight is beyond me, especially when I would go in at 5:00 a.m. to help the baker set up for the day. Those huge vats of dough looked like swimming pools to me!

I excelled at the bakery. One day I was putting a loaf of bread through the slicer, turned around towards the counter. My boyfriend was standing there, and the sliced bread went sailing everywhere. Another time I was bringing in a huge tray of cookies and guess what. My boyfriend was standing at the counter. Yep, cookies flew all over the place. Funny, they didn't fire me and my boyfriend became my husband...

I hated working at the ice cream counter. This was in the days before polyester, so we wore nylon uniforms. You all know that Knott's is known for boysenberry products. By the time I had served a gazillion boysenberry sundays, floats, splits.... I was sticky from head to toe.

And so - I became a secretary. And now you know.

~~~Happy Days Are Here Again~~~

Finally, I'm "centered!!!"

Now, I have to think of something clever to say. We're trying to get the kitchen renewed. We have abominable carpet in the kitchen that's seen 30 years worth of footprints. I've had so much fun keeping in dirty, like dropping eggs on it. We have some beautiful laminate wood that should be installed by next week. We hauled off the old stove/microwave combo and I have a new beautiful stove I can actually cook on. I was afraid the old one would blow up, and I didn't want my eyebrows singed.

We're trying to figure out how to put a cooler in so we can stay cool in the summer without using the AC. Since our humidity is so low (it's a dry heat), a cooler isn't an issue like it is in the more humid states. The guy hubman talked to said the vents in here are not large enough to accommodate a cooler. A window unit won't work because it would be blowing right on the back of our necks. It seems that nothing we do is easy!

It's been a long slow process - we still have to finish painting, of course we'll wait until the middle of summer to start that again. NOT!

Well, this certainly isn't an entertaining post but it's either this or an anti-Obama rant, and I'm tired of ranting! Have a great Thursday! Give someone you love a big hug...

Help is on the Way!

Sheesh! Now I've lost the background. The woman whose artistic talents I so enjoy, is coming to the rescue! By next week, I'll either be here or start over. This is what happens and why I get to frustrated and quit. I enjoy blogging too much to just walk away. So, the cavalry is coming!