Happy Thanksgiving !!

I have been a "bad blogger" of late !! I know there are still many things within these walls of my home with "history" and lots of childhood and early years memories to recall. I will get to more of those things as days come and go. Today, being Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the many good recipes my Mom had. A family favorite has always been this Sunday Coffee Cake. The recipe originated from a newspaper sometime in the 1940's. Mom's friend, Luella, served this at one of those great Sunday dinners that were so memorable when I was growing up. My collection of recipes are not well organized. Some are hand-written on scraps of paper - a few in Mom's writing. This one, among others, so old and used so many times, it is faded and discolored. These are my favorites !!

Douglas' Girls

I've always liked this photo of us four "girls" !! It was taken in the summer of 1995 -- Your Dad's favorite four women in the world !! Making the trip to Iowa is no longer the same with all of the older generation being gone. When your G'ma Ruth and I sat next to each other at her oldest grand-daughter's wedding, she made a statement about she and G'pa Paul being "the old folks, now". I now know how she really felt when she made that statement !!

Cherubs

As I was going through drawers and boxes of stored things,"trying" to find more stuff to put in the garage sale, (and rid myself of clutter), I came across these little plaster of paris cherubs. Actually, the condition they are in, they should have been thrown out years ago. Once again, I will probably place them back in the bottom of one of my lingerie drawers where they have been for at least 40 years !! I was around 5 or 6 years old when I saw them in the "dime store" and Mom bought them for me. My sister picked out something that day also, but, I can't recall what it was. These were hung over the head of our bed that day and always had a place on a wall in my room when I was growing up. Memories of days gone by -- how do I rid myself of tangible evidence that those days really happened ??

Having a Garage Sale

I took this photo last Friday morning before my friend, Sharon, and I opened the doors for our garage sale to begin. Clothes racks and boxes from under the tables were pulled out onto the driveway. Being a couple of retired ladies, we were able to spend several days preparing and setting up. We organized and priced every item and had several comments from attendees as to how pleasant it was to go to a sale that was more than just "piles" of things. It was a lot of work, but, at the end of three days, we felt we had made enough money to make it all worth while. AND, now, off to spend the money on Christmas shopping !!!

A Simple Box

This simple, plain beautiful box is a music box that plays "Impossible Dream". It was a Christmas gift to me many years ago, I think sometime in the 60's, from your G'ma and G'pa Johnson. It has ever since had a spot on my bedroom dresser. I hadn't opened it to play for a long time until a few days ago. I thought it was broken because it wouldn't play, even after I wound it a bit. Seems there is a bit of a secret to begin the music - you must push the little button on the front to the right and hold it for a second or two. I think this box may have been the first in my love of "boxes" !

Where the Tall Corn Grows

At this time of year, back in Iowa, it is harvest time. It was my favorite time of year to go back to visit Mom and Dad and all the other relatives. The weather was always wonderful -- not too hot nor too cold !! AND, once in awhile, I was allowed to drive a tractor again. The machinery used these days is so much different than when I was growing up. We didn't have air conditioned cabs or power steering and power brakes back then. This photo of me was taken in late summer of the mid 70's on one of my visits. It seemed the corn was exceptionally tall that year. With me being a bit over 5 foot, it looks as if the corn is towering near 10 feet. Farmers felt they would have a good crop if the corn was "knee high by the 4th of July" !!

Candy, Anyone?

This pink depression glass candy dish was another one of those "things" that I talked my Mom out of several years ago ! It was something she acquired in the early years of her marriage. I have it filled with seashells and sitting on an end table (actually, the old wicker trunk) in my living area. Most of the seashells came from that trip to Hawaii that you and I took years ago. I realized the other day that I have been posting on this blog for over a year and there are still a few things around my home that have a story to tell. And then, of course, some of those old photos will conjure up some childhood memories. Seems there are not enough hours in the day as I need to accomplish all I want to do these days !!