The Cook's Helper

Needless to say, I think you were probably better equipped to put a meal on the table when you got married than I was. I don't remember when you did NOT want to help in the kitchen. And, I must have had a lot more patience when I was younger !! It does not seem to be one of my virtues as I have grown older as I am often accused of not having any !! Anyway, I am always proud to say that you could put a meal on the table as well as I could before you were even a teenager !! This photo was taken around '62 in the kitchen of the duplex we rented in Ogden after your Dad got out of the Navy. You needed a step stool to reach the counter.

What's Cookin' ??

Despite the fact that Mom taught us girls a lot about cooking and we had Home Economics classes in high school, I still had a lot to learn about putting a meal on the table when your Dad and I got married !! Little did I know that my new husband didn't really care for all the same kinds of foods that I was used to having when I was growing up. I soon learned that he was a "meat and potatoes" man and not willing to give in to any "fancy" meals. What comes to mind is the day I tried a pork chop recipe where the chops were browned and lain atop sliced apples, then baked in the oven. I thought it was wonderful and it was very tasty, but, I was informed that I didn't need to use that recipe again !! Of course, your Dad was not a big fan of pork chops to start with, so that didn't help the situation. The things I didn't know about how long a roast should be cooked or any other basics, I could find in this wonderful cook book that was a wedding shower gift from one of my high school girlfriends. That makes this book almost 51 years old now !! The cover is faded, the pages are worn and aged. I have not turned to it for "help" in many, many years, but, it remains on a shelf in the credenza along with other old favorites.

Tippy and Spot

This photo was cut and stuck into a glass furniture caster to be used as a paper weight. Every Christmas in country school, the teacher would pick a project for us to make gifts for our parents. The photo was taken around 1950, so it was probably a gift that Christmas. The teacher furnished the materials so the parents wouldn't know what the project was, but, we had to come up with the photo we wanted to use. The paper weight was on Mom and Dad's desk forever after and it is now on mine. Mom always had these caster cups under the legs of furniture, whether is was on carpet, wood floor or linoleum. I think they are now considered antique !! Tippy was the runt of a litter of rat terriers when we adopted him from family friends. Spot, who was totally white with one black spot on a shoulder area, appeared at our farm one day. No one ever came looking for him, so he became ours. We always thought someone had dumped him off nearby, knowing we would take care of him because they couldn't.

Box of Rocks

Anyone that comes to my house will ask "What's up with the box of rocks ??" and I have more than one answer to that question !! The rocks have been collected from various places around the world. Most of them, of course, have come from fields in Iowa. The collection just sort of happened and there are only a few that I can tell someone exactly where they came from. The box was a planter in which I tried to grow real flowers once upon a time, but, my "green thumb" is not very green. The rocks ended up taking up residence a few years ago !! You know one of your Dad's favorite "isms" when someone did or said something entirely wrong was "they were just dumber than a box of rocks". So, this is always a reminder of him and when I catch myself doing something "stupid", I can go look at the box and hear him talking to me !!

The Johnson Kids, circa 1947

There is something about those old professional photos taken back in the '40's that are so charming and "real". No props, plain backgrounds, and just get those kids to smile, all at the same time !! And, those "cardboard" decorative frames !! Your Dad is standing while "big" sister is holding onto baby brother. G'ma Ruth once told me that all of her children were "planned" -- there is approximately 5 years of age between them, so, I never doubted her statement. Joan has said that she was never given the chance to pick out her own apparel until after she was married and on her own. Her clothes were laid out for her to wear to school each day. I wonder if G'ma Ruth was raised in that same manner by her mother. Were the boys given any choices in what they were to wear ?? Your Dad never said that he wasn't !! I like to think he would have chosen a black shirt versus this white one , though !! He rarely shopped for his own clothing as an adult. He relied on me to pick, choose and purchase. Maybe, I just took up where his mother left off !!

Decorative Scents

I counted the miniature perfume bottles that I have collected over the years and they number over 80. Most of them are miniatures of the real perfumes, but, a few are pretty little decorative vials and they are my favorites. This one measures about 4" tall and has a home in the china cabinet. I purchased it at an antique store in Pahrump on one of my visits there to see Hilery and Adem a couple years ago. I don't avidly search for these vials, but, once in awhile, one will speak to me when I am browsing the antique stores.

Baby's Bonnet

A wonderful vintage, baby's bonnet hangs in the collection of photos in my stairwell !! This was a gift to your Great G'ma Rose at a baby shower when she was expecting your G'ma Ruth in 1916. A friend to Minnie, Toxey Jones, tatted the little bonnet. The silk handkerchief was another gift at that shower from a relative, Susan Trealor. I wrote down this information that day in 1994 when G''ma Ruth was "showing and telling" as I knew I would never remember those details. She was going to put them back into the box when I suggested she let me take them and have them framed. They were just too precious to not be where they could be seen. After framing, I returned them to her. When she moved to the Eastern Star Home, they came back to our house to stay !