YUCK

It sure is going to be nasty around here for the week.  Snow, snow and more snow they say.  FB friends keep accusing Darla of shaking the snowglobe but she denies it.  I do believe she's innocent as she doesn't care for this weather either.  But then I do have to defend my child.  Danielle keeps threatening to move south but her hubby is against it.  Poor baby.  I'll have to find a nice picture to replace the snowy one I have here.  Maybe that's what's holding things up, lol. Frankly I think it's because Jack bought that new snowblower and Mother Nature wants to see he gets to use it. 

My son Jared has a birthday tomorrow.  The boy hits the big 40.  I just don't see how this is possible already.  Time really does fly.  He had a party at a local watering hole and we all had a great time.  Jim made his famous Banana Split Cake and it was a big hit of course.  Jack had not been feeling well, but loyal Dad that he is, he managed to get through the party.  Though we didn't stay as long as many, we did have a good time.

I have been slacking off on that scrapbook I'm making for Carson's play so this looks like a good week to do some serious work on it.  Her birthday is at the end of Feb. and I hope to give it to her then.  I only have about 8 pages done and that just covers the first couple scenes. 

Time to get busy around here.  You all have a good day.  Stay safe in this weather and keep warm.

Another memory

One game we girls always played was ‘house’ naturally. We had a funny way to make a house of rooms. We would take the old push mower and mow sections in the yard to resemble room floor plans then set up toys to distinguish each room. It wasn’t our Dad’s favorite way to mow the lawn, but at least there was a lot less for him to do. The safe streets were good places to ride our bikes as we could go on all of them and visit our friends anytime. Games like ‘kick the can’, Red Rover Red Rover, Tag, Cowboys and Indians‘ are some you all remember too. Making tents over clotheslines with blankets and close pins, and swinging in the back yard on the swings Dad put up between two hickory nut trees. The trees were just perfectly spaced apart with a couple of strong branches opened just right and a huge long hunk of wood sat in the crook of them, both tied and nailed for safety. Though I’m not one for heights now, I remember climbing up the ropes and sitting on that bar. We used to sit underneath and crack and eat the hickory nuts, even though it was quite a task to get enough meat out of them.

With all this, our favorite thing was to go up the street to Grandma and Grandpa’s. We always needed more spoiling you know. Of course they were always willing to oblige.

Grandma made the best pies. My favorite was custard. Haven’t had one since she passed. Mom used to run a little truck stop across the highway from our little community. It was open 24 hours and Grandma made the pies for it. I had my eighth birthday at the restaurant. It was a busy little place that lasted through our teen years, but alas, the I system had all the truckers going elsewhere.
Grandma and Grandpa had one of the first televisions in neighborhood. Jack’s uncle (more on him later) had the other. Needless to say we always wanted to be there and watch the thing. Later we had our own of course, a huge thing called a Hallicrafter. I hope that’s how it’s spelled. It was on this tv I first saw Elvis shake his hips. Mom and Dad laughed and just couldn’t understand how we could like this kid. Much the same way, I suppose, we reacted to the one our kids liked. Some music today still doesn’t make sense to me.

Not all was good and fun. The death of my grandmother on my 11^th birthday was the biggest tragedy in my life back then. Though as a child I didn’t know how bad she had been feeling, I remember Mom telling us not to tire her out. We would spend a lot of time with her, brushing her hair while she sat in her rocker. The month before we had just had the arrival of another sister, Rhonda. Grandma had bought a pair of bib overhauls thinking and hoping it may be a boy, so Rhonda was only a month old when Grandma passed. Jodi came four years later and sadly never had the chance to know this wonderful woman.

Grandma was a short little woman with an Irish temper that she wasn’t shy about using if the need arose, though most of the time she was a quiet smiling and busy lady until she started to ail.
I remember Mom telling about a on of her expressions of anger. Grandpa used to make liquid libation should we say. There was a lady on the other street who not only liked her drink but she kind of like Grandpa too. Well she showed up at the house looking for both I guess, and Grandma greeted her with a broom and chased all the way back to her house with the warning not to show her face around there or him again. Can’t really say as I blame her.
I had an occasion to see it a little. While Sherry and Mom were in Milwaukee and I stayed with them, I got hurt at school. There was a Merry-go-round type playground piece that all the kids would sit on and grab the bars to hang on. The big kids would grab hold of the seat and start running around so it would spin faster and faster. Mind you I was only 6. Well this day they had it really going and I lost my grip. I flew off and all the way down the hill to the bottom of the school yard. It was built on a hill and instead of the thing being put in back of the school it was at the front. Of course I wanted to go home and the principal told me she was calling Grandma to meet me. Well when I walked into the kitchen was Grandma in for a surprise. She had no idea I was coming as no call had been made. The fact that I had to cross a major highway really made her mad. She marched right up to that school and gave that lady an Irish piece of her mind.

I told you Grandma passed on my birthday, but I didn’t find that out until much later, after I was married and had Darla. When Grandma got so sick they hospitalized her (they called it a decaying heart back then) Grandpa called the night of my birthday. Mom, right on answering the phone said “please not on Terry’s birthday”. He told her no but it wasn’t looking good. That was around 11 p.m. A little after 12 he called again and said she had just gone. He figured I shouldn’t grow up with that sadness connected with my birthday. The trouble was, my aunt Dot’s birthday was the next day from mine. I guess he thought it would be easier for an adult to handle.

Unfortunately Grandpa couldn’t deal with the loss of his wife and I have heard he took to drinking. This was kept from us for a long time and only picked up in bits of conversation at gatherings later in life. He was saved from this down turn by a wonderful woman named Dorothy which, much to the dismay of our parents, he married just a little over 6 months later. Mom was devastated and told us we could not call her grandma, only Dorothy. Eventually she saw how good she was and how happy grandpa was and accepted and even learned to love her. We could call her ‘grandma Dorothy’. That he had two great marriages that each last 25 years or more I think is wonderful. We love and miss them all.

Great News

We are all so happy for my niece and her husband.  They are having TWINS,  yup, that's right.  They have 2 boys and were trying for a girl.  Hopefully they get 2.  Rhonda's grandson Aiden got to break the news to grandma and grandpa with his Christmas card to them but they were told to keep it a secret until a special friend was told first.  He drew pictures of his family.  There was daddy, mommy, Aiden, Conner and the babies.  It was so cute.  I told them they could name the babies Terry and Sherry whether they're girls or one of each.  Sherry concurs. LOL

Well our Packers won and are headed for the Super Bowl against the Steelers.  It was a good hard fought game, but I think those are the best kind.  Blow outs are rather dull to watch.  Good Luck to them.

It will return.

The shovel that is.  My mother-in-law informed her daughter about the missing shovel.  It seems that the daughters husband knew just exactly who the guy was that plows the driveway and called him immediately.  He says it was an accident, that he didn't mean to take it.  Just tossed it in the truck when done.  Okay, we'll let it go this time.  It does sound possible and we believe in 'the benefit of the doubt'.

Hubby went out a bought himself a new snowblower.  He has a little one they use to call a 'snow pup' and it's good for small light snows, but hard to use on the heavy stuff.  Now he's happy with his 'new toy' and plans on doing his mothers driveway himself along with the sidewalks.  I think he just needed an excuse to justify buying  one ;-).  My sisters Sherry and Rhonda said they hope it just sits in the garage for the rest of the year, lol.  Even that it would rust from lack of use.  Imagine, denying a man the pleasure of using his purchase.  Bad sisters. 

I am so looking forward to spring.  This cold and snow is wearing it's welcome very thin.  Beth keeps a countdown and she says only 59 more days.  YES!

 You all have a good day out there. 

Dang it

I simply cannot comprehend the thought that if you want something you just take it.  My sister-in-law bought a shovel to keep the porch and sidewalk clear for her mother.  Jack goes up and does it so she can get in and out to see the doctor etc.  There is a progam here where the county helps fix up the homes of those with very little financial income with a very low interest loan.  Dolly just get social security and not much of that as she only worked as a hotel maid on and off.  Under the progam, the county fixes it up and she can pay on the costs or not.  If she can't, when she passes the house goes to them.  They send someone to plow the driveway and whoever came took the shovel.  Now mind you they didn't have to do the sidewalk or the porch so there was even no need for them to get out of the truck.  But took it they did.  Why people feel that it's okay to take advantage, and from the elderly, just makes my blood boil.  Knowing my sil I'm quite sure they will hear about it, but they will probably just deny and try to say anyone could have done it.  I know it's not a major expense, it's the principal of the thing. 

Why

That's what I'd like to know.  The senseless tragedies to our fellow human beings.  It breaks my heart just to think of the pain those families go through and for what.  It didn't prove anything.  It didn't solve any of the worlds woes.  It just causes more intolerance and unnecessary blame and name calling.  Yes, we should be more careful of what we say.  There are unstable people in this world who take things literally and act accordingly.  But if I thought for a moment that they were calling for this kind of thing to happen it would make me question the sanity of the entire human race.  Though we do deal with many (Taliban, Al-Quida etc)  I still believe basically that humans are good and only want peace and to live their lives according to their own beliefs, not force them on others.  Enough of that soap box.

Friday is upon us and  another week has flown by.  I didn't even realize I hadn't put up a blog and I can't for the life of me tell what I did this week that kept me from it.  I know I checked on others and left some comments.  I must have had to get off for something and never got back.  I'll have to watch that.

Tomorrow is the big Packer/Falcon game.  Of course I and my friends and family (for the most part as there are a few Bear fans in that group) are pulling for the Packers while our friend Miss Beth is pulling for the Falcons.  We will probably be on fb having fun with each other as the game progresses.   We did that last week and had a great time with Bob who was rooting for the Eagles.  He even changed his profile picture to a Packers logo.  Good boy Bob.  I hope it will be a good game and not on of the one-sided ones by either team. Sorry Beth, but GO PACKERS! LOL

Been working on writing down some more memories of growing up.  It's funny how somethings come up so easy and others are just non-existent.  Will probably put up some more somewhere along the way.

Another memory

You know we can hardly remember things in the early years of our lives. You never know what wonders you missed. There are probably some real nice things that would have been great stories and memories.

My earliest memory is of the addition of another child in the family. Back then they did things so different. I remember Mom being gone for a few days getting my “baby sister”. It was the return home that cemented it in my mind. They brought them home by ambulance. I just stood back, afraid to go near them. Then the strangers were gone and there was Mom and that little bundle making the funny noises. She had the biggest brown eyes and loads of dark curly hair. She looked a lot like Dad. She had one ear that stuck out a little farther than the other, but I thought she was kind of cute. Of course at 3 years old I didn’t know how much attention this thing was going to be. It took her longer to walk than I would have liked. After all, it’s hard to play with someone who can’t follow you around. They finally hit on a bribe. She had this fascination with a certain lamp and they held it out of her reach trying to get her to come to it. Ah! Success! At three it was becoming obvious she limped so a trip to the doctor (one she didn’t like by the way and punched him in the stomach, what a brat, tee hee). X-rays discovered a dislocated hip making on leg shorter than the other. Consequently Mom and Sherry were off to Milwaukee to the Children’s Hospital for surgery and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. That was the best part to me as they spoiled me of course. Anyway, it was a long stay for them and Mom had to get an apartment and job in order to stay with Sherry. Grandma and Grandpa would take me in to see Mom at times and Dad went every weekend as taking off work was not a financial option. I remember while they were gone our cousin Mary was born and after going to see the baby I went back to Grandma and cried because my sister couldn’t see her


When they finally were allowed to bring her home she was in a body cast from under her arms to the tips of her toes and a pin in her leg. All this to make sure everything stayed in place till healing and that no more shrinking occurred. She had to be like that for a few months. Can you imagine a 3 year old confined like that. I can’t. I don’t remember how we kept her entertained and calm. She still has a slight limp that you don’t even notice unless she dances too much, or works too long. The doctors told Mom and Dad she would probably not be able to do a lot of things the other kids did but she would walk normal. Well they didn’t know my Mom. She went a bought a 3-wheel bike that pedaled a little harder than a regular bike to strengthen the leg and she never told Sherry she wasn’t able to do whatever the rest of us did. It worked and she could out swim, out dance out skate all of us.

Growing up Burrwood

 Ours was a unique little community in a community. We were not close to town. A dip off the side of the U.S. highway close to the river, nestled in between two cities. It was called “Burrwood Park” and it consisted of four and three quarter streets. It originally began as summer houses, a little vacation retreat (fishing shacks) so to speak. Some families decided to make a permanent homestead.
I grew up having my grandparents and aunts and uncles all around me. Grandma and Grandpa were just five houses up the street with uncle Jim. Across from them were my aunt Dot and uncle Ken, and aunt Pat and Uncle Dale. Next door was uncle Jack and aunt Ceil. Down the road on the river front was uncle Bill and aunt Lucy.  As each grew and married they stayed right in the neighborhood as did a number of other families. Eventually some moved off to other areas, those most stayed within the local town. A few families still have two or three members who have houses here. My mother-in-law lives just up the street. My sisters and I are all within a couple streets of each other and in-laws of theirs also live here.
Things such a roofing parties, yard parties, cookouts etc. were the norm. Someone sitting on a porch was an open invite to sit and chat. If you decided to build a garage, new roof, or addition of some sort, the neighbors were right there chipping in to help. The women fixed food and at the end of the day everyone sat and had eats and a few drinks admiring their handy work.
It was, and to some extent, still is a neighborhood where everyone looked out for each other and all the kids. A reputation for a safe place so known that people from town brought there kids here for trick or treat. Our children enjoy coming here where they feel it’s safe to let their kids ride bikes without an adult with them all the time. Where they can even play catch in the street.
We all stuck together like a big family. The big kids watched out for the little ones. Even if it was from going back and forth to school or just playing ball. All the kids played together and the little ones were given the help they needed to play. From hide and seek, to baseball or football, if you wanted to play, you could. We stuck together like a big family. If we fought among ourselves we worked it out, but heaven help someone who tried to cause trouble for one of us. We banded together like a small army.   I just can’t imagine living anywhere else.
　

　
　
　
　
　

Be Gone Already!

That's how I feel about this winter.  The snow is pretty when it first comes down, but that's quickly replaced with the slippery and cold conditions that follow.  Not only will it be on and off flurries etc. for a few days, it's suppose to be double digits below zero temps with the wind chill factor.  So many of us have expressed our desire for spring to hurry up. 

Started the scrapbook but only have three pages done.  Not bad either.  The trouble is we added extra pages and the book won't shut with the protective cover over the main cover.  So I guess that has to come off.  There are 60 some pictures that have to go into to it tell the whole story so I hope I can get it done in time.  Yeah I know, if I would cut back on the time I spend online I might just do it.  But hey, that would mean withdrawal symptons and we wouldn't want that either.  Did you see the study they did about this with people and they showed the same symptoms as those quiting smoking etc.?  I believe it.  Turning this machine on is the first thing I do when I come downstairs.

This season seems to be filled with more loss of family and friends than usual or those who are ailing or need extra care or who may have to have procedures done.  Prayers out to each and everyone who needs healing and peace, both physically and emotionally.  May God Bless you all.

Starting the year with a Bang!

Just kidding.  Haven't done a whole lot.  I got Carson's play pictures printed and on a disk for backup, then removed them from my computer.  Jack took 70 of them so they can really clog things up.  I plan on making her a scrapbook of them for her birthday in Feb. so I really have to get going on that.  Picked up some embellishments to spice up the pages.  Then I scanned a bunch of family pictures for the albums on fb and put them on a flash drive so they too could be removed from here.  That's about the extent of my few days. 

I sure wish the Badgers could have won, but a Packer win over the Bears is a great way to start the new year.  As I said on fb, I made one resolution this year.  One I knew I could keep---more CHOCOLATE! So I celebrated that win with a Klondike Bar.  Doesn't get any better than that.  Now if they can beat the Eagles I can celebrate again. 

Though we went to the Moose for New Years Eve dinner we didn't stay for the entertainment.  The steaks were delicious but then we didn't expect anything less from the cook.  He always does a great job.  That he doubles as the administrator makes our lodge twiced blessed.  Reports from those who stayed said the magician and band were good, but the comedian was a bust.  Glad I missed him.

Went to have a perscription filled this morning and was hit with a shock.  The drug plan co. I had was taken over by another.  What they failed to tell me when they sent the notice was that I had a $150 decuctable on the first perscription.  Well when the store said $153 I was stunned and left it there until I could called and check.  Now I have to go back and pay for that as that is the important one I need.  A warning would have been nice, so I could have planned ahead or maybe changed drug plans.  Sheesh!  I don't have one of the those Big Public Employee retirement plans they say we all have (I was a public employee but my retirement is only $474).  You can imagine how this shock hit me.  So I will bid you adieu while I head back and pick it up.