* Black & White Memories *

This is one of my favorite photos among all the boxes of old prints!

It's my brother Mike and me, standing on our front porch steps. 

I think it might have been after he got home from his first day at school. 

Whether the first day or not, he's holding his red barn lunch bucket

 and his satchel and I'm hugging him. Awww...
(this photo was included in my memoir, too)

I thought I'd post it tonight because I've been searching for the actual print, 

which I haven't been able to find...but was able to print

 one from a digital one on my laptop. 

Thank goodness I took a photo of a photo!

I also decided to post it because Mike's birthday was September 29th. 

He was "X" years old, which is only 15 months older than me!

How time flies. I find myself thinking of old, happy memories more and more. 

I'm sure glad it's the happy ones I remember the most. And when sad ones pop 

into my head, I immediately "change the subject" of my mind!

&

Lastly, a new favorite poem that suits me well. 

Have a fabulous rest of the week!

* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time for Another Nostalgic Sunday

 

~~~

 

This will be a short and sweet Nostalgic Sunday, since it's very close to being Monday!

 

 

 

This picture is one of my favorites, partly because it's probably the only one I have of just my brother Mike, and me, and our dad. But also because we were so happy then. It was Christmas Day approximately 1960. Looks like we were getting ready to go to Mass, or just got home. I vividly remember my outfit, I guess because I loved it so much! It was a gray jumper with a pink blouse. To this day, I still love pink and gray together. Mike is holding his new Chess For Beginners game, and I'm holding my much loved Colorforms! And what is our dad doing? Reading the newspaper, not paying a bit of attention. SO TYPICAL! And he's wearing what I affectionately refer to as his "Barney Fife suit!"....I wonder what's the deal with he and Mike wearing white socks with their suits??

 

Ahh, such a happy time in my life that ended way too soon......

 

 

Happy 2016 everyone! May this be a year of doors opening and blissful encounters for all!

* MEMORIAL DAY - DECORATION DAY *

Every Memorial Day I take time to remember what this day is really about. Many years ago, it was known as Decoration Day. That's because it was the day families and friends laid wreaths and other patriotic decorations on the graves of loved ones....those who died in wars.

Some men come home from wars, but many others do not. I am alive today because of one man that did not come home....my mother's first husband. He was killed during WWII in the Battle of the Bulge, and that was heartbreaking for her and her two young daughters. A few years later she met and married my dad, and so when my brother Mike and I were born, we already had an instant family....one that consisted of two teenage sisters for us.
 
During our barbecues, picnics, and parties that celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, let's remember that in spite of our country's problems, we are free, and we owe so much to all our veterans of wars....deceased or still living.



courtesy: Becky Sept 2011
 at our friends' lake house

 

 

"I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, 'Mother, what was war?' " ~ Eve Merriam



* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

 

It's Time For Another Nostalgic Sunday

 

I just looked back at the most recent "Nostalgic Sunday" and I have a hard time believing I haven't posted one since December 22, 2013. That's just about THREE MONTHS! Well, it certainly is time for a new one now, isn't it??

These photos are obviously from one of those machines where you could get four pictures for about.....50¢? Does that sound about right, depending on the year, of course.

 I LOVE these pictures for so many reasons!

1) The fact that I actually have them. Because my family moved around quite a bit when I was young, and then after I left home, I moved around quite a bit, too, and things just get lost or tossed for whatever reasons.

2) I love our tans and almost-blonde hair due to being outside so much in the summertime. And speaking of hair, I love Mike's crew cut! We were so young and happy and innocent.
Trivia Question: Did I ever wish I had hair that short?! The answer is in my memoir! J

 3) My silly faces! Oh my gosh! I was a goofball even back then! And how do you like my bangs?! My mother could not cut bangs in a straight line. She'd do some snipping, and then step back and look, and say, "Oh, it's uneven. I need to cut a little more on this side." And back and forth until my bangs were ONE INCH long, and still uneven! It didn't take long for me to learn to run when she came toward me with scissors in her hand.

~~~

Between now and midnight, I'm going to attempt to read and leave a comment on as many blogs as possible! If I miss yours, e-mail me and say "Hey! What up?" * Well, I did a very lousy job in commenting. I don't think I made it to anybody's blog! I'll try again later today. Promise. *

 

 

 

"When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind." -- Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

 

 

* It Ain't a Fit Night Out for Man or Beast! *

We're in the middle of what could be a record breaking day or two of snowfall amounts and cold temperatures. I'm not unhappy about it since I love snow, especially watching the snow coming down, and I don't have to drive anywhere today.

Pertaining to the snow "coming down," though.....it's more of a sideways, up and down, twirling around, blowing in the wind, kind of snow!

Poor Vern doesn't quite know what to do when he goes outside, poor guy...and in this weather, all I ask of him is to do it fast! Brrr....

Stay comfortable wherever you are! 

~~~

For the past 50 years or so, (can it possibly be that long ago?!) every time we have really cold days, those words in my blog title pop into my mind. It's a line from a 1933 W.C. Fields movie, The Fatal Glass of Beer. In the movie, W.C. is in a small cabin during a blizzard, with various people coming and going. Every time he opens the door, he says, "It ain't a fit night out for man or beast," and someone off screen belts him with a bunch of fake snow.

And just why do I remember all this? When we were kids, my brother Mike clowned around a lot, and he would imitate W.C., reenacting that scene and always got laughs from everyone around.


P.S. One of my favorite movies is Heidi, from 1937, with Shirley Temple. The first time I saw it, I fell in love with snow globes!

* Nostalgic Sundays *

It's time for another Nostalgic Sunday.

As I said in last week's Nostalgic Sunday, I'm highlighting Christmases past during December.

On Thursday of this week I actually made some homemade Christmas cookies. (Well, if truth be told, they were from a package mix, but at least they weren't purchased at the bakery.) My motivation was because of an invitation to a Cookie Exchange/Chili Luncheon. I love cookie exchanges and I haven't been to one in years, therefore I was excited about doing some baking.

I made 2 dozen Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. I'm dangerous around these cookies...or is it they are dangerous around me?!

Then, I made something I haven't made since my youngest son (age 24) was a little boy. Christmas Cut-Out Sugar Cookies! I used a mixture of old and new tools. My handy-dandy Pampered Chef pizza and dough roller, and three of my mom's cookie cutters! I can't tell you how happy I am to have them.

I've never had cookies turn out so well. Not too brown on the edges or bottoms....

This is the bottom of a star cookie. All I can say is....it must be the parchment paper!

I've never used it before! (I'm sure there are some voices saying, "You haven't?!")

I'm a true believer and will always use it from now on.

Some of the finished product!

I SO thought of my mom while I made these. When I was a little girl she always let me help: Rolling out the dough, pushing a cookie cutter into the dough, learning to put it on the cookie sheet without it tearing, and of course, the sprinkling of colored sugars on top!

I was home alone when I made these, except for Vern snoozing in the family room. I also had some Christmas music playing and I truly had fun. I was surprised at my feelings because I thought I'd be sad making these by myself. I did feel a bit melancholy but I also had fond, happy memories mixed in. I had a major "Aha moment," too, which was quite powerful and I hope it will help with my writing. (You just never know when those epiphanies will occur.)

I was either six or seven here. (1959 or 1960) I'm modeling the new robe I got for Christmas. Behind me is my sister Marian who I thought was so pretty and looked just like Betty Anderson, on "Father Knows Best." I was the flower girl in her wedding around this same time, too.

Here's another picture from the same evening. We always opened our presents on Christmas Eve, after Midnight Mass. Notice my brother, Mike, also received a new robe. I can't tell what he's holding, but it looks kind of like a pocket-watch. I don't remember anything about that. I do remember the chess/checkers game he got and the "Learn to Draw with Jon Gnagy" book. We both got one of those and I loved mine. I vividly remember drawing a dog; a boxer. I also see a couple of books there, which does not surprise me one bit. We grew up with books!

Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon, we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now. (lyrics from Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Martin/Bane)

 

This Christmas song has begun to mean more to me over the past few years....must be that aging thing.

** Happy Birthday, Big Brother! **

No...not the TV Show!! Over the past few years, whenever I see my older brother, Mike, I always hug him and say, "Hello, big brudder!" ...In the way that Sally refers to her brother, Charlie Brown!

(photo courtesy: dvdizzy.com)

I looked for quite a while, hoping to find an image or video of Sally saying that to Charlie, but I couldn't fine one. Instead, I found this darling picture of the two of them, most likely walking to school....in my favorite time of the year.....Autumn!

My brother, Mike, is 15 months older than I am. We were born in the early 1950's, back in the days of cloth diapers, washing & sterlizing glass baby bottles, etc. (Good thing our mother had two teenage daughters to help out. We've been told many times, that they didn't mind helping out one bit. They loved and spoiled Mike and me like crazy!)

In honor of Mike's birthday, please click the link below for a little dancing and singing by the Peanuts Gang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znDRrf7VkCE&feature=related

*I turned off the automatic start on my Play List, so you won't have dueling music when you click the link! *

"Birthdays are good for you.  Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. " ~Larry Lorenzoni