* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's time again for another Nostalgic Sunday!

Those of you who've read my memoir may remember the chapter titled, "My Sister, My Mother, My Friend," which was about the death of my sister, Jo Ann in 1984, and how the death of Ray Charles in 2004 related to it.

When Jo Ann died, each of her three siblings: sister Marian, brother Mike, and I were given a few things of hers to keep. Somehow I was the one who received a large cardboard box of 33-1/3 record albums, and most of those LPs were Ray Charles records.

At that time I still had a turntable and speakers, and listened to records quite often, but hardly ever listened to any of hers. With each move Ron and I made, the box came along with us of course, and was stored in a basement or closet. As the years went by, I kept thinking I really should get a nice stereo system and play some of those LPs, to honor Jo Ann. I certainly didn't need to listen to them to think of her. No, that happened every single day.

More years went by and I even considered trying to sell some of them, but something inside me just wouldn't allow that.

Fast forward to now - November 2015. Just a couple of days ago, I noticed on a Facebook photo that one of my nephews had a cool looking stereo system and tons of LPs. Knowing his love of a widespread of music (he was in a band in Texas), I asked if he'd like to have some or all of Jo Ann's albums, as soon as I could get an inventory sent to him. Just from memory, though, I knew there were LOTS of Ray Charles albums. He is thrilled to have them, and others that I'll find when I dig through the box. I am so thrilled this all happened, and Jo Ann's records will stay in the family, and be listened to, and loved!


Postscript: I own a few Ray Charles CDs and listen to them mostly when speeding along the highway on a long trip! J



"I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great." - Ray Charles

 

 

* A PINTEREST QUOTE & BOOK GIVE AWAY *

I'm still learning about Pinterest and it occurred to me this afternoon that I could create a board of quotes, beginning with something kooky my mother said to me after I graduated from high school in 1971.

 

It was obviously so memorable I included it all these years later, in my memoir: From Pigtails to Chin Hairs: A Memoir & More. It's at the end of the chapter titled: "That Crowbar Changed Everything"

 

 

Becky - Summer of 1971

Please click on the link below to go to the Pinterest board and read the quote.

http://www.pinterest.com/beckypovich/funny-quotes-by-mothers-to-daughters/

 

 

If you haven't already read my memoir, would you say my mother's quote would inspire/motivate you to want to read it?

 

I'm including a give-away with this blog post. If you'd like to be included for a chance to win a print copy or ebook, leave a comment below about mothers/daughters/quotes and indicate which book you prefer: print or ebook. Give-away will be open until midnight on Friday, October 24th. If you mention this on Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog, you'll get an extra point for each. Feel free to tell your family and friends - - and Good Luck!

* 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'm sharing some photos I've posted during past Decembers.....

These are from 2011, but I baked the [same looking] cookies for a cookie exchange earlier this month. The difference between then and now is that these were made from a Betty Crocker sugar cookie package. The ones I made this year were made from scratch! Yes! I haven't done that in quite a few years, and I also used a recipe I'd never tried before. Pretty brave, daring, or just plain idiotic when participating in a cookie exchange....with people I didn't even know! (except for ONE woman!) Yikes! BUT, I did have a "back up plan," a package mix in the pantry, just in case! ☺

But, everything worked correctly and this year's batch was just as pretty and tasty as 2011. I keep saying I'm going to make more, so we'll have some to take to others, and still have some to hide share at home. I better start today, dont'cha think??

I also posted this in December of 2011. It's a Christmas card holder that I made. (Yep, another astonishing fact!) But, before you start applauding my "talent," let me say that it's a "no-sew" project, and I used my hot glue gun. When I was a little girl, my mother made a couple of these "boots," but they were more elaborate with rick-rack and were actually sewn together. (I mention these in my memoir.) She let me help with some of it and I loved them so much, I decided to make my own. The back material is green felt, and the pockets are light-weight, cotton fabric pieces. Then, just glittery glue for the names.

This is Vern from last year. I've taken new photos, but just haven't gotten them uploaded yet. When he and I were out early this morning, it began to flurry on us, which made us both Happy! (See that wad of peace signs behind him? That's one of his very own blankies!) 

"It's true, Christmas can feel like a lot of work, especially for mothers. But when you look back on all the Christmases in your life, you'll find you've created family traditions and lasting memories. Those memories, good and bad, are really what help to keep a family together over the long haul." -- Caroline Kennedy

* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time Again for Another Nostalgic Sunday

My mind has been racing around in figure-eights and zig-zags, and miles way up high, and then swirling, floating down below with thoughts as many and as unique as the miracle of snowflakes. 

And because of all that, it's been almost impossible to choose which memories I want to include in today's Nostalgic Sunday post. So, I've decided to post random snippets of my memoir.

.....Some of my best memories are the times Dad and I watched TV together. It was more than just sitting, side by side, on our scratchy couch.(What was that material?)

I loved watching him as he watched TV. It was a show all by itself, an interactive one, and I was mesmerized every time...........

Dad would be so busy trying to watch TV while peering over his newspaper and holding his cigarette that he’d be lost to the world. It was as if he were daydreaming. Trying to get his attention during those times was next to impossible. I would watch the long ash of his cigarette hanging on for dear life, slowly bending down farther and farther, until it was the size of a gray wooly worm. Not being able to stand it a second longer, I’d finally yell, “Dad! Your ashes are falling!” I’d usually grab the ashtray and catch them just in the nick of time. He’d nonchalantly glance my way, as if he’d forgotten I was even there. He’d let out a chuckle and thank me for being so watchful. Afterwards, he’d go back to doing it all over again.

~~~

.......“Do you know what this note says?” she asked.

I already knew it wasn’t something good from her face and her tone. “No, ma’am.”

“Miss Mary Ann says you cheated during the times table test today! Rebecca Anne, is that right? Did you cheat?”

 Oh my gosh. I know I’m in big trouble when I’m called Rebecca!

“Uh…well, I uh—”

“I can’t believe this! You know better than to do something like this. You know it’s wrong to cheat. And it’s a sin!”

There it was—the dreaded guilt of sin being laid on me. I’d never seen my mother so upset, about anyone or anything, and here she was angry with me. I guess I was going to go to Hell. Attending a Catholic school Monday through Friday and Mass every Sunday, I knew all about Heaven and Hell and sins. But what I did should only be a venial sin, shouldn’t it? Not the horrible, mortal kind.I started to explain about the paper hanging out of someone’s desk, and how I thought I could do something like that.......

~~~

I hope y'all enjoyed reading those little tidbits of my young life! What else might have happened when I watched TV? What punishment did I receive for my gosh, I'm gullible sin?

*Welcome to my newest follower, Living a Dream. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you so much! *

"Back on its golden hinges, the gate of memory swings. And my heart goes into the garden and walks with the olden things." --  Ella Wheeler Wilcox

* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time for Another Nostalgic Sunday

Cinnamon Sugar = Comfort Food

When I was a little girl, my mother would fix cinnamon sugar toast for me. I seem to remember the only time she did that was when I stayed home, sick, from school. It doesn't exactly sound like a bland snack, does it? I know I didn't get it when I was really ill, like with a fever or upset stomach. No, it was only for that stuffy-runny-nose-and-cough kind of sickness. I associated that crunchy toast, its taste and aroma with being home, covered with a blanket, and feeling the warmth of my mother's love.

That toast, along with her for-no-particular-reason homemade cinnamon rolls throughout the year, signified comfort food. 

I can assure you that after all these years, every cinnamon sugar recipe grabs my attention and any whiff of its magical aroma carries me back to those wondrous days. 

(It doesn't surprise me one bit that I crave cinnamon sugar much more than any kind of chocolate! Show me a huge chunk of chocolate cake, or candy, or fudge, etc. and then a big ol' Cinnabon, and I'll choose that Cinnabon every time!)

I'm getting hungry for an afternoon snack....think I'll look in the pantry and see if I have any cinnamon swirl bagels left! I'm feeling much better than I did on Friday, but I think I still need a bit more comfort food, don't you?!

P.S. While doing....ahem...research for this blog post, I stumbled upon a great recipe on a great site! http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/01/cinnamon-roll-sugar-cookies.html  You know I'll be making these, right??

How about you? What are some of your Comfort Foods?  

Addendum Tuesday, Sept 3rd: I realize I should've specified I was only referring to sweets when I wrote this. My "main dish" kind of Comfort Food is a tie. Pot Roast with potatoes and carrots - OR - Meatloaf with any kind of potatoes! Mmm...

"Food is a lot of people's therapy. When we say comfort food, we really mean that. It's releasing dopamine and serotonin in your brain that makes you feel good." -- Brett Hoebel

Ponderings On a Monday Morning

Vern and I spent some time on the deck this morning, and as he snoozed I sipped coffee from one of many favorite cups! 

Within the first few minutes we were there, five different prop planes puttered across the sky above us. I've never seen that many in such a short period of time. I noticed they were different too, so it wasn't a couple of planes flying in circles, tricking my mind.  

If you're new to my blog, you're probably wondering What's so special about propeller planes? I don't just "notice" them, I'm kind of obsessed with them! They carry a very special meaning to me. You can learn more about it from these two blog posts: 

http://beckypovich.blogspot.com/2012_02_18_archive.html

http://beckypovich.blogspot.com/2012_02_19_archive.html

This time along with the instantaneous, "memoir reminders," other thoughts came to mind.

I don't know if there is any kind of afterlife, but I remember being taught as a young child that when we got to Heaven, we would find out and understand all those unknown marvels; all those mysteries in life that I couldn't understand then....or now. 

As I sat and wondered about those countless prop planes I've seen and heard during the past year, a new thought came to me. IF there is a Heaven, and IF I get there someday, I don't need or want to know all those mysteries of the universe. All I want is to know everything about my parents. But I have some guidelines... (I don't dare refer to them as "rules" in Heaven!) I won't want to know everything right away. No, I want to be able to talk with them individually and hear in their own words why they made the decisions they made, all through their lives. 

Why? Because I never asked the difficult questions when I had the chance....after my parents' divorce.The ones I did attempt to ask my mother were usually shot down with, "Oh, I don't remember about that." -or- "I don't want to talk about that." 

And when I was in my dad's presence, rare as it was, I never had the guts to ask those persistent questions that haunted me for so many years, and still do at times.

If you have the time and opportunity to ask your parents, or any other relatives or friends, those important questions you need and want answers to, please do it while you still can. I wish I had.


“You can find something truly important in an ordinary minute.” 
― Mitch Albom, For One More Day


(Quote from my favorite Mitch Albom book)