1st Grade and Beyond!

Tonight my grandson called me because he had to do a report on a relative about their experiences in 1^st grade. His mother told me that her children like to call me because I always give them good stuff! She was probably being kind with that statement.

The thing is, I remember a lot about my elementary school days, but 2^nd grade is a bit of a blur. I think it is because my mom made me go see Theda, to have my hair permed. My curls were so tight – and UGLY! I hated it and tried so hard to comb out my hair for school pictures. It is OK if your curls are natural – but to cause your hair to be unnatural is just wrong. As you can see, 1^st grade was just fine, don't have my 2nd grade photo scanned - then 3^rd grade came along, and it was a little more tamed down.

My daughter was surprised that the elementary school I attended had about 800 students! K-8, with 5 classes in each grade of 30+ kids – yep – it was that big. It was a great school, with lots of happy memories and of course a few not so pleasant! We had quite the diversity then; Mexican descent, Indian descent, African-American descent and Caucasian. I wouldn't be able to tell you what the percentages were because we were all friends! I am sure there was racism, but we never knew it. None of us knew our families were just getting by, because most all were in the same financial situation. There were a few girls that had store bought clothes, but the majority of us had mothers that made all our clothes. The girls wore dresses to school, the boys wore jeans and shirts. Nothing fancy. By the time you were in 5^th grade you had PE everyday and had to take showers! But then living in Yuma, AZ and playing outside, a shower was a good thing for stinky kids! I do remember the locker room smelling a little rank some days! We had choir programs and band, home economics, wood shop – but no organized sports. However, my grade had a great girls softball team, I played pitcher or shortstop. It was quite the competition with the older girls – we usually won!

We had an assembly every week, with Mrs. Price leading the singing. We learned so many great songs, of which I can't remember any now! Mrs. Price was a 3rd grade teacher. She was quite flamboyant. I had her for 3^rd grade, and for Easter we got to visit her home where she had peacocks roaming the yards. We would try to catch them, but only got a peacock feather for our efforts. I diverged…we also had the best Halloween carnivals in the whole city. The gymnasium was transformed as well as classrooms. The cafeteria served their famous homemade chili. All in all it was a great fund raiser for the school. Then in the spring we would have our annual BBQ event and talent show, where the students had to sell tickets. For several years I was the top girl ticket salesperson! Then for my 8^th grade year, Mrs. Price decided she wanted to teach 8^th grade. She got to produce a couple of shows, the Christmas program and a musical with the 8^th graders. Lucky me, I got leading parts in both shows! But she returned to 3^rd grade after that year – it wasn't the same.

Well, I could ramble on about my memories, but I will stop.

YA WANNA TALK?

I used to love visiting on the phone, that is, before we got rid of the cell phone and installed MagicJack.

I am lucky to speak with one child twice a month – DING – I am never around, nor have a phone for her to call me and chat! I guess I should resort to letters.

But then – do I have time to chat? This semester I don't get home till 7:00 pm and all I do once home is get something to eat and do homework – little time to talk and discuss the world's problems let alone anyone else's problems.

Then we have MagicJack! HATE IT! The connections are terrible. Which week will it be that you have to reinstall all the upgrades? Others talking to you only hear static, and cutting out of your voice. You are lucky if you get a voicemail within 24 hours of it being recorded – so you miss messages – that sometimes are important.

Results – no one calls me. I think I am forgetting how to speak to others. Messages through email are great – it helps me keep in touch – but only for those who read their emails.

I think it is time to get another cell phone. I miss visiting with my friends and family.

Ring, Ring, Click - Ya wanna talk?

My Baby is Married!

So here she is with her new husband, Garrett. He is great, and we are happy he is a part of our family.



A quiet moment.



Dang it - they all have to be goofy! Are they ever serious?


More pictures later....

New Decorative Art Form

During the time K&G got married--we had lots of people congregating at our home. Rather than use plastic throw-away cups, we all seemed to have our own. This is where they all liked to congregate.

There is an anaolgy to life - we are all different; we all congregate around a light source and we all drink from the same living water...OK...I know this is a stretch, but we had to capture the cups in the window - it was funny at the time!

Thought I Knew what I was doing - Ha!

I have been going to school for the past year with plans to major in Public Relations. I applied for the major a few weeks ago. Sad to say, I did not make it in. I really thought I had a chance. But as the day goes by, I have plan B and plan C. So it is on to plan B - FACS major - Family and Consumer Science Education. But dang - if I just had done that in the beginning, I wouldn't have 47 more credits to finish up with!

But the bright side of this is that when I finish, I will not be using antiquated equipment and technology in my labs - that is if we still have public schools.

APPLE SEASON

So we have a neighbor that moved, leaving behind two apple trees. No one was picking those yellow and red deliciousness. So we went and picked apples yesterday :) We would have picked more - but that would mean I would have to can them or do something with them - and I have little time.

Von picked up an apple peeler from the Mending Shed. This is his new toy! Such a wonderful invention.

Tonight we canned 14 qts. of apple pie filling and made one apple cobbler. Though it is work - I like the results of this type of work. It makes my cupboards look good - and the fruit was free! I like those type of savings.

Here is the recipe if you want to make your own pie filling. My neighbor, Sheri F.,from Carlsbad gave this to me:

APPLE PIE FILLING

Syrup:
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cornstartch
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Stir together in large pot. Add 1 tsp. salt, then add 10 cups of water. Heat till bubbly and thickened. Add 3 TBSP. lemon juice and 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring and stir to mix.

5 1/2 to 6 lbs. of cored, peeled and sliced apples

Pack sterilized jars with apple slices. Pour syrup over apples, being sure to adjust for air pockets (meaning you need to eliminate them!). Leave 1" head space in top of jar. Wipe down jar and lip of jar. Put on heated canning lid and ring. Process jars in boiling water bath. Quart - 20 minutes; Pint - 15 minutes.

Happy Birthday Middle Child!

Today is my first middle child's birthday. I am not going to share how old she is, other than she was born in 1980. Really? That doesn't seem that long ago – only yesterday. I remember the day so well. Living in Mesa, AZ, over-due by a week when the nurse calls to say the doctor had a opening for me to come in and be induced. Later the nurse chastised me because it was Sunday. At that point I didn't care. And then – after being induced - 1^st middle child comes flying out. Mind you, the doctor never showed up, they actually had to pull in a doctor walking by to be in attendance! Of all my deliveries – she was my easiest. I will have to admit that I was in "shape" before she came, but then being my second smallest – I am sure that helped too.

This child was easy to love. Every morning she was so bright-eyed and eager to be awake. She always seemed to have a smile on her face. We called her our little squirrel because she was always burrowing into the covers with all her treasures. My neighbor made a quilt for her (which she has to this day), she affectionately called "blankie." Every corner was sniffed before going to sleep. Some corners were her favorites! It was hard to sneak the blanket away to wash, she would throw a fit that the "smells" had disappeared. I don't even want to know what she did to establish her "smelling" territory again!! She also had a pacifier, "binkie," that had a squeaky bulb on the end. She was quite attached to it, and her sisters liked to tease her by squeaking it often. I loved it because I always knew where she was. Her favorite book was about Care Bears. She had the book memorized

This child was one of my smallest – and still is. She was sick quite a bit with ear infections, which led to other health challenges as a child. Thank goodness she outgrew all those discomforts. She also had to wear corrective shoes – which did their job. However, if you were holding her and she decided to kick – watch out! Those shoes were hard and they hurt. She literally slept with her boots on!

One of the things that I loved about this child was that she LOVED baby dolls and Barbies. Her older sisters could care less, so it was nice to know that finally I had a daughter that loved the things I loved as a child. She also had "best friends," something that seemed to elude my other children. I wouldn't say any of my children were "Drama Queens," but I would venture to say this 1^st middle child did have her moments – maybe it was because she was the MIDDLE Child and needed more attention – who knows!

I have never thought any of my children were like me, so one day, to satisfy my curiousity, I asked my sister if any of my children had my temperament. She said my 1^st middle child seemed to be more like me. So I have watched her grow up, and I have seen many similarities, one being that I can explain something to her and she can envision what I am trying to say (and I admit there aren't too many that can do this!!!). And we tend to get a little spazzy once in a while! But she is also very much like her father, especially when you start from the feet up (very cute feet I might add!). Then you see she was blessed with my shapely knees and my once good-looking calve muscles J And of course she is like me when it comes to exclamation points!!!

I have truly been blessed with children that are special, and this 1^st middle child is no exception. She is resourceful; she is creative; I think she is a great wife and mother; she has a happy countenance; she wants to be of service to others; she has been blessed with many talents, such as creative writing and a desire to learn all the world has to offer. She also has several musical gifts. She has the ability to remember all the words to songs and she loves arpeggio's – meaning piano pieces that go fast! When she has an idea in her brain – she is ready to go – she is moving fast! Her thoughts and actions are geared to moving forward, ever learning, ever improving.

What wish would I give to her on this her birth-day? Be patient, be faithful, be prayerful, and be believing that someone mightier than you is mindful of your every need. You are a wonderful daughter, valiant and good. Your father and I are very pleased with who you are and who you are becoming.