When I was Seventeen

Flowers from our friends of 56 years – Janet, Pam, Deb, and Scott – Thank you!

It was a very good year.

It was when I met Bill.

I told my Mom I had finally met a real “man” because Bill was all of 21.

My Dad didn’t like him.

We were married anyway, three years later.

Today is another anniversary.

Today we have been married 60 years!

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Holiday Time Travel

 

Elsa on the Sidelines – Note: Lovage Herb still growing mid-November!

 

Today is chilly and wet here in rural Virginia.  When we go outside, our new dog, Elsa, confines herself to exploring under the eves of the house where it is still dry.

I too confine myself to the interior to keep warm with wooly socks and comfort foods.

I am contemplating the arrival of Thanksgiving.

However – the stores are already playing Christmas music!

And whole aisles are devoted to holiday trimmings and diabetic inducing holiday sweets.

Time seems evermore meaningless.

Commerce demands earlier and earlier displays.

Maybe it would be a good idea to have Christmas in August for Bill’s birthday.  Why not?

Tree and all.

My friends and I are becoming cynical about the charms of winter.

But then I discovered  a magical snow globe.

• It plays holiday music.
• Turn it upside down and of course there is a gentle snow storm.
• And flip a switch for barn illumination and little colored lights that twinkle in the trees.
• I am transported in time to the sweet charms of Winter.

The little globe has done what no store display could do.

It has inspired me to look forward to a joyful winter season with much to be thankful for.

So no matter what holiday you celebrate, my wish for you is joy

and

warm socks.

 

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There Goes Time

 

October 1989

Bill and I are going to a wedding this Merry Month of May 2018.

It’s the little girl in the photo!

Her name is Suzanne.

We were there to greet her a few days after she was born.

Then she and her family came to visit us often in Rural Virginia.

She created imaginary pizzas with Bill and went on hikes and swimming

with her Dad.

And of course, small town exploring in Lexington, Virginia with her Mom and me.

There goes Time again.

We shared happy days and stories through all her growing up years.

And we were there to celebrate her graduation from a college in Vermont.

And still she came to visit and loved our dogs and the country livin’.

She loved Carrie the Golden Retriever best and walks in the woods

and all the giggles.

And now we will be there for Suzanne’s wedding.

There goes Time.

There goes Time.

 

 

 

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Regarding Regression

Books, Diapers and Vitamin D

We seem to be going backward in time.  Hurrah!   Well, at least Hurrah for some things.

REAL VERSUS FAKE?  BOOKS THAT IS.

There is a pending sense of relief that “real books” (the kind where you physically turn a physically real page) are back in style.

• I still get caught up trying to tap-turn a page in my E-reader with a too heavy hand that flips three pages at a time.
• Besides, E-book editions are now oftentimes higher priced than good old paperbacks.
• E-readers are sending me odd messages too. “We are unable to download the book you just ordered.  Please return to your Library and try again.”  Huh?

What are your gripes about e-readers?  We could write a whole post about just those irritations..

Is there anything good about them?  Maybe we could write a whole post about that.

SUNSHINE VERSUS VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS

The trend is toward natural sunlight which they say encourages your own body to manufacture its own Vitamin D! The benefits of supplements are now listed on the “iffy side.”

I now aim for  20 minutes in natural sunlight with unprotected skin to help Old Sol along.

Falling asleep out there however, is not a good idea.  Just ask my grandgirl, Jess.

CLOTH DIAPERS VERSUS DISPOSABLES 

 

They say disposable diapers are now clogging up the environment with all that in-disposable content.  But cloth can be washed and rewashed.

I didn’t really know it but I used to save the planet like that but almost traumatized my infant son with extreme diaper rash. Are you ready for a Dor-story?  That’s D-O-R – not, D-O-G.

In those ancient days of yore (before Pampers), I was hysterical about poor Corky’s terrible suffering with a constant diaper rash.  Eventually I conferred with an expert.   “What are you washing them in?” asked a helpful friend (mother of 6).  “He has perfectly clean white diapers,” said I, “They are washed in soapy water and bleach!”   And that saved our boy from further agony because my friend said, “There’s your problem!  Urine and bleach don’t work.  Better to have slightly stained diapers.”

Assuming most new mothers today are savvy, the trend toward cloth diapers makes perfect sense doesn’t it?

Meanwhile, I am hoping our son (now a fine man) was not emotionally marred by those early days of a young mother’s ignorance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Too Many Choices

I have a phobia of sorts.

It is shortness of breath when faced with too many choices like shopping in cluttered overstocked stores or having to decide between zillions of television channels

When we were young and living in “remote areas of California” I was happy to do all the shopping at one local general store.

And we didn’t even own a t.v. or a computer or a cell phone.

But there is no accounting for progress.

We moved to the Virginia countryside where life promised to remain simple and uncluttered.  There were only three restaurants, no department stores, and no big box stores.

We put an antenna in the attic to get two clear television channels and one fuzzy station and decided we were living in Paradise.

And time marched on.

And suddenly there was a bigger, wider, more enticing world of satellite television with a zillion optional programs.

We were among the first 20,000 people in the United States to have Direct TV.  There were no installers then (at least in rural Virginia) so Bill installed everything himself.  Imagine the joy in surfing around with a remote thing!  And imagine being given a whole menu of options!  I could feel my breathing phobia kicking in.

And time marched on.

There is no accounting for progress.

I recently learned how to record t.v. programs for later viewing.  For those of you who are still novices like I was, you just push a button that says REC on your remote.  I have gone a little balistic with this new power (but symptoms of my short-of-breath-phobia are emerging too).

I have R E C’d enough programs to keep me recliner-chair-bound for the winter.

• The Young Pope is mesmerizing.
• But then Mercy Street is enticing.
• And Victoria is a must.
• I like the History channels.
• And nature things.
• And all those recommendations we get from friends.
• And we currently also have three Netflix discs on standby.
• And I want to get back into blogging.
• And there is so much to do in cyberspace anyway.

Progress?  I call it “overkill” and there is simply not enough time in a day anymore.

Do I want to go back to three channels on the t.v.?  No.

Well maybe 10 or 20 options max?

As for shopping I sometimes yearn for the good old days.

A visit to Ernie’s General Store in Hayfork, California sounds good, simple, easy.  I could get paint, gifts, clothing, hardware, and maybe even a television set – all in one place.  Those were the days when we rented a trailer from Ernie and it was in his back yard!   That was when we were young and living in the wilder more remote places of California.  It is now many decades later and there is no accounting for progress.  I recently heard Ernie’s store was for sale.  I wonder if it is still there.  

Ernie’s Department Store Hayfork, California

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