Today being a damp day and a good fall day for soup, I stopped by the local Ingles store after getting my flu shot and purchased some lean beef cubes. Whenever I think of good soup I remember when my husband and I first moved to Salisbury Maryland. Our first home there was an upstairs apartment of a retired fire chief and his wife. One day she brought me a big bowl of her home made beef soup. It had little pools of fat on the top and it was absolutely the best soup I had ever eaten !!
So whenever I think of really good soup I think of that day. Growing up my mother would invariably make vegetable soup on wash days. She used a meat base with ground beef. She also used some of her summer vegetables she had canned earlier in the year. It was always, corn, tomatoes and okra. As a child I mostly remember that she also baked two pies on each wash day. One was lemon and the other chocolate. Chocolate being my favorite I would inspect the meringue on top to see which was which. I have always marveled how she had time to make soup and two pies and on a busy day like washing for 10 people !
Another soup we had almost each week was pinto soup beans made with fatback for flavoring. And of course that called for cornbread made in a heavy black iron skillet, the undisputed pan for making crispy, moist buttermilk cornbread !!!! Yum. It was well known in our family that one of my older brothers was crazy about soup beans. His Yankee wife knew this too but would never cook this, saying she did not know how. She was more into elegant desserts. When my brother would be visiting any one of my older sisters they would always make sure that pinto bean soup was on the menu. Much to his delight.
In the 1950's when I lived in Baltimore Maryland my mother came to visit. The occasion was for her to stay with me during a difficult pregnancy. One day we went into the main part of the city to shop and had lunch in one of the big department stores. I ordered soup and noticed something in it that I could not identify so I asked the waitress what it was. She said turnips. I thought it was a good soup so I adopted the habit of adding one turnip to my soup, and this morning I bought one lovely purple top turnip to complete the assortment of vegetables for this soup today.
Something else I put in the soup for the first time today was dried tomatoes. My daughter had taken home some of the plum tomatoes from my garden and dried them. I had not thought to do that with any of the tomatoes I harvested. The plum type was perfect for drying as it had very little juice inside. I had put her dried tomatoes in the freezer to ensure that they stayed fresh, though dried. When I cut them today they were indeed dried and crisp and made a nice crunch when I cut them.
One soup I have not tried but really want to, is cheese soup. Way back in 1972 I was sick with pneumonia and felt just so bad I stayed in bed around the clock. A dear friend who was a Home Economics major made cheese soup for me, a big bowl of it. I was too sick to eat it and by the time I had recovered sufficiently to make use of it, it was no longer edible. What a loss. I know it must have been delicious as everything she cooked was top notch.
Simmering soup can give off an aroma to warm the soul. Books have been written about soup even for children. Stone Soup is a children's story written to highlight cooperation. I have not read it for ages. But it could apply to a lot of things. One that comes to mind is the popular potluck dinner. We do this each month at our church. A lot of good recipes are exchanged after these dinners. This past year the ladies of our church published their second cookbook. We had numerous meetings about this publication. A lot of the recipes from the original church cookbook were included. I made this past Christmas my cookbook year as I bought them for family and friends far and wide. I used one of the recipes yesterday which had been in the old book. It called for a procedure which was new to me, chocolate melted with paraffin for dipping a ball of nuts and fruit. The results were quite pleasing. The books will be on sale at a fall festival nearby. The church ladies each made something from the cookbook and samples will be given out to visitors to our booth. Most cooks like to share their recipes and their favorite foods as well. It is a pleasant way to nurture friendships. Perhaps I will share this soup I am cooking today with one of my neighbors. She may not be planning on soup tonight and it may just warm her spirits.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Fall Tomatoes
As I was returning home yesterday I noticed ripe tomatoes down in the raised beds. So, this morning I took a market basket down and filled it with 30 tomatoes. I had to pitch about 8 of them into the woods as they were split from all of the recent rain and the bugs had gotten into them. Of the 30 I brought up some had blemishes and some splits but I considered them salvageable . I decided to call my neighbor and see if she would like some of the basil in my garden. Her husband said they had a big harvest of it themselves. He was interested in some tomatoes so I took them over. He showed me his new plantings and they all did look very pretty. Since he had a landscaper do his new property it was picture perfect.
He asked me what had happened to my leg. It was all bandaged up. I showed him the bottom of the car door and explained that I had shut the door on my leg. He said "Well, that was stupid".
I did not take umbrage to his remark but agreed with him. This was the third time I had ripped my leg open by closing the door when I exited too quickly. The first time it happened it was a deep cut. My son-in-law was here so he took me to the Quick Care office and it required some stitches. That time I did not have on long pants to give my leg some protection. This time I was wearing blue jeans and the cut was superficial I doctored it myself. My son-in-law had put yellow caution tape inside the car to remind me to exit slowly and carefully. That worked for about a year. Today I moved the tape to a different place near the handle of the door. I do not think I am accident prone, but I do need to slow down and I do when I am using the staircase, or rounding corners, or handling knives !!
I was not always so careful with knives. Many years ago, I was living in Decatur and had just come home from the lake. I was hungry and so was my son. I went to the freezer and removed some hamburgers. That was the day I learned to separate items to be frozen. That day I had not separated these patties of beef. I was holding a set of patties in my left hand and I took a knife in my right hand to separate them. Well, disaster struck and blood went everywhere. Fortunately my son was driving then and he took me to the ER at a hospital two blocks away. The doctor I saw knew how to diffuse a tense situation. He looked at my bleeding and slit hand, looked intently at me and said "was this a clumsy suicide attempt". I burst out laughing and then it all seemed funny to me. But I always make sure when I freeze anything it is separated from other items in the package by wax paper.
When I got home from my neighbors house today I started working on the basket of tomatoes, cutting out the blemishes and cooking them in a pot for cooling and later freezing. As I worked I was thinking about the garden at this time of year. The asparagus will need cutting at the ground and some good organic material spread over the bed and turned in. Perhaps I will have the soil tested to be sure it is the right ph balance for a good crop next year.
In thinking of tomatoes to plant next year, I do not think I will plant plum tomatoes again. They did taste okay but for the space they took up a larger tomato would be more useful. I would like to plant the Goliath again and the Parks whopper also. The treatment for the nematodes in the two lower beds should put them in good shape for green beans next year. I like the blue lake snap beans for freezing. Perhaps the best tasting bean is the white half runner, but it also has more prominent strings and if all are not removed it is unpleasant to eat. I would like to try to find a good bean to use for leather britches next year. The one time I made them they were absolutely the best tasting beans I had ever eaten. It has to be a bean without strings for sure. It may be that the drying of the beans as they hang on the strings causes them to have a more intense flavor. That is the only explanation I can think of for such a wonderful flavor.
For this time of year however, I am having a lot of tomatoes still coming from these three plants. I hope we have a long fall and the frost does not come until December. That would be ideal as I could save a lot more of the green tomatoes and enjoy them into winter. In times past when I have wrapped them in newspaper and stored in a box I had fresh tomatoes at Thanksgiving. As I was cutting up the nice red tomatoes today I kept thinking of how I would love to have them in the dead of winter. The closest thing to compare to that is the "vine tomatoes" which are grown in Canada. As a child growing up I could not have dreamed of having fresh tomatoes from Canada in the winter. We are indeed living in a remarkable time when we can enjoy fresh grapes from Chili, blood oranges from Israel and all of the wonderful fruit from the western coast. Yet, nothing can compare with growing your own tomatoes and harvesting them far into the autumn.
He asked me what had happened to my leg. It was all bandaged up. I showed him the bottom of the car door and explained that I had shut the door on my leg. He said "Well, that was stupid".
I did not take umbrage to his remark but agreed with him. This was the third time I had ripped my leg open by closing the door when I exited too quickly. The first time it happened it was a deep cut. My son-in-law was here so he took me to the Quick Care office and it required some stitches. That time I did not have on long pants to give my leg some protection. This time I was wearing blue jeans and the cut was superficial I doctored it myself. My son-in-law had put yellow caution tape inside the car to remind me to exit slowly and carefully. That worked for about a year. Today I moved the tape to a different place near the handle of the door. I do not think I am accident prone, but I do need to slow down and I do when I am using the staircase, or rounding corners, or handling knives !!
I was not always so careful with knives. Many years ago, I was living in Decatur and had just come home from the lake. I was hungry and so was my son. I went to the freezer and removed some hamburgers. That was the day I learned to separate items to be frozen. That day I had not separated these patties of beef. I was holding a set of patties in my left hand and I took a knife in my right hand to separate them. Well, disaster struck and blood went everywhere. Fortunately my son was driving then and he took me to the ER at a hospital two blocks away. The doctor I saw knew how to diffuse a tense situation. He looked at my bleeding and slit hand, looked intently at me and said "was this a clumsy suicide attempt". I burst out laughing and then it all seemed funny to me. But I always make sure when I freeze anything it is separated from other items in the package by wax paper.
When I got home from my neighbors house today I started working on the basket of tomatoes, cutting out the blemishes and cooking them in a pot for cooling and later freezing. As I worked I was thinking about the garden at this time of year. The asparagus will need cutting at the ground and some good organic material spread over the bed and turned in. Perhaps I will have the soil tested to be sure it is the right ph balance for a good crop next year.
In thinking of tomatoes to plant next year, I do not think I will plant plum tomatoes again. They did taste okay but for the space they took up a larger tomato would be more useful. I would like to plant the Goliath again and the Parks whopper also. The treatment for the nematodes in the two lower beds should put them in good shape for green beans next year. I like the blue lake snap beans for freezing. Perhaps the best tasting bean is the white half runner, but it also has more prominent strings and if all are not removed it is unpleasant to eat. I would like to try to find a good bean to use for leather britches next year. The one time I made them they were absolutely the best tasting beans I had ever eaten. It has to be a bean without strings for sure. It may be that the drying of the beans as they hang on the strings causes them to have a more intense flavor. That is the only explanation I can think of for such a wonderful flavor.
For this time of year however, I am having a lot of tomatoes still coming from these three plants. I hope we have a long fall and the frost does not come until December. That would be ideal as I could save a lot more of the green tomatoes and enjoy them into winter. In times past when I have wrapped them in newspaper and stored in a box I had fresh tomatoes at Thanksgiving. As I was cutting up the nice red tomatoes today I kept thinking of how I would love to have them in the dead of winter. The closest thing to compare to that is the "vine tomatoes" which are grown in Canada. As a child growing up I could not have dreamed of having fresh tomatoes from Canada in the winter. We are indeed living in a remarkable time when we can enjoy fresh grapes from Chili, blood oranges from Israel and all of the wonderful fruit from the western coast. Yet, nothing can compare with growing your own tomatoes and harvesting them far into the autumn.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Aids in Old Age
I know !! You are thinking of Aids the pernicious disease . But I am thinking of a different kind of aids. Everyone in my family knows that stored in my attic is a bed pan. It is to stay there. The reason being is that if I throw it away, I will surely need it. My reasoning is that as long as it is there I will stay well and mobile and never, no never need to use it. !! The same applies to carrying an umbrella. I keep one in the glove compartment of my car, also a flashlight. So far I have never needed the flashlight on the road so that part works for me.
My son-in-law was chatting with me and he asked me if I had a cane. I told him I had one his wife had given me to carry when I go berry picking. I can stamp it on the ground to warn snakes of my presence, thus they never appear where I am picking. I told him I had thought of putting it up in the attic also. Come to think of it I may just pitch a package of Depends up there too. Also maybe a hearing aid could be put up there. I have never known anyone who uses a hearing aid and was happy with it. They squeal and wake people up in church or interrupt conversations and seem to be a general nuisance.
I could add a magnifying glass to the stash. So far I can read from the telephone directory but not for any length of time, or at least not comfortably for a long time. I use them for driving because of my own fault. Some years ago I went in to get my drivers license renewed. While waiting for the clerk to get on with it, I glanced into the eye test figures and just said them out loud - and not carefully looking at them. She announced to me "You need glasses to drive". I could not dispute her as I had not even paid attention to what I had done. I will admit that it is easier and more restful to drive wearing glasses for distance. I have actually called my sister in Ohio to tell you I had misplaced my glasses and couldn't drive off without them. For some reason this works for me and I always will soon find them, usually where I had looked before.
I have not learned how to avoid misplacing things however and I do not know of any aid for that. Once I called my neighbor and told him not to leave his home until I had found my house keys ! I could not get out of my house without them. I had a key hidden outside for just such an occasion. He complied with my request and it ended happily as I did find my keys inside.
There are probably a lot of aids we would all like to avoid having to rely upon. I suppose it all boils down to adjusting to changes. That is where family is such a valuable asset. They are there to be supportive and encouraging. A role reversal if you will, what we once did for them they are doing for us. That is one aid I would not want to throw up into the attic for I treasure using that support in my advanced years. It give me cheer and joy and adds adventure to my life, a kind of crutch which is needed on occasion and the rest of the time I can walk without it.
My son-in-law was chatting with me and he asked me if I had a cane. I told him I had one his wife had given me to carry when I go berry picking. I can stamp it on the ground to warn snakes of my presence, thus they never appear where I am picking. I told him I had thought of putting it up in the attic also. Come to think of it I may just pitch a package of Depends up there too. Also maybe a hearing aid could be put up there. I have never known anyone who uses a hearing aid and was happy with it. They squeal and wake people up in church or interrupt conversations and seem to be a general nuisance.
I could add a magnifying glass to the stash. So far I can read from the telephone directory but not for any length of time, or at least not comfortably for a long time. I use them for driving because of my own fault. Some years ago I went in to get my drivers license renewed. While waiting for the clerk to get on with it, I glanced into the eye test figures and just said them out loud - and not carefully looking at them. She announced to me "You need glasses to drive". I could not dispute her as I had not even paid attention to what I had done. I will admit that it is easier and more restful to drive wearing glasses for distance. I have actually called my sister in Ohio to tell you I had misplaced my glasses and couldn't drive off without them. For some reason this works for me and I always will soon find them, usually where I had looked before.
I have not learned how to avoid misplacing things however and I do not know of any aid for that. Once I called my neighbor and told him not to leave his home until I had found my house keys ! I could not get out of my house without them. I had a key hidden outside for just such an occasion. He complied with my request and it ended happily as I did find my keys inside.
There are probably a lot of aids we would all like to avoid having to rely upon. I suppose it all boils down to adjusting to changes. That is where family is such a valuable asset. They are there to be supportive and encouraging. A role reversal if you will, what we once did for them they are doing for us. That is one aid I would not want to throw up into the attic for I treasure using that support in my advanced years. It give me cheer and joy and adds adventure to my life, a kind of crutch which is needed on occasion and the rest of the time I can walk without it.
Rainy Days
Scattered showers are predicted for our state all of this week. I had already determined that I would spend the day at home as I had been out all of the day before and did not get home until after dark. A relaxed day was in order to balance things out.
Spending a day doing whatever one feels like doing is a luxury to me. Even in retirement there seems to always be something waiting to be done. Cleaning out drawers is one chore I put off as long as possible. That chore was now demanded as I needed to put a new package of computer paper in my desk drawer . It had been taking up space on my table for days. In that crowded drawer I found a letter written last summer asking me if I wanted a book returned. I had forgotten who I had given the book to so I had to get busy and write to my friend of around 75 years.
Later I saw some very old letters in a plastic zip lok bag. I had started to read them but had to lay them aside. Now was a good time to finish them. These were letters I had written to my husband in 1969. He was in Atlanta and I was in Maryland. I was busy trying to sell our home there so the children and I could join him in Atlanta. He was busy with his new job and also looking for a house to buy. The letters I had written to him were about that situation plus all of the things that we had been doing in his absence.
It had been a very rainy summer in Maryland where we lived near the Chesapeake Bay. We lived where there was a very high water table and I was having problems with water seeping in under our house. The sump pump was not working properly and my 13 year old son and I spent a lot of time bailing water out of that crawl space !! Not a good scenario when you are trying to sell a home. Trying to accomplish that, sell a house, keep two teens occupied and also keep my sanity made for a very busy time. I wrote to my husband almost every day that summer and he called home each night. Our calls were taken up with matters of house hunting so the family activities were recorded in those letters. He had saved all of those letters and now I am glad that he did.
Some of the incidents I recall, as my daughter and her friend baking a green cheese cake to celebrate Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. And who could forget spending a summer bailing water from under your house ! But a lot of fun things had been forgotten, like taking the children to various activities, a crab feast in the neighborhood and tipsy neighbors becoming a bit uninhibited !! Of course I had to write to my husband about that. We were not drinkers so it was a curious thing to see others out of character.
Along with the letters I found one I had written to my mother when I was away at college. It was my home made Mothers Day card to her. She had written on the outside "save and give back - some day". It was interesting to see after 65 years.
The balance of the day was spent reading family records that went back to the 1700's. These papers had been sent to me by my brother during his genealogy search. I was captivated by some of these papers which were recorded in historical publications. I was so engrossed in them that darkness crept in and when I looked at my watch three hours had passed. It was way past my usual dinner hour so I had to call it a day. And quite a day it was that I had spent in the distant past. Now it was time to come back to the present, but those thoughts will go with me into the future and the letters will no doubt be handed down to a future generation for a rainy day.
Spending a day doing whatever one feels like doing is a luxury to me. Even in retirement there seems to always be something waiting to be done. Cleaning out drawers is one chore I put off as long as possible. That chore was now demanded as I needed to put a new package of computer paper in my desk drawer . It had been taking up space on my table for days. In that crowded drawer I found a letter written last summer asking me if I wanted a book returned. I had forgotten who I had given the book to so I had to get busy and write to my friend of around 75 years.
Later I saw some very old letters in a plastic zip lok bag. I had started to read them but had to lay them aside. Now was a good time to finish them. These were letters I had written to my husband in 1969. He was in Atlanta and I was in Maryland. I was busy trying to sell our home there so the children and I could join him in Atlanta. He was busy with his new job and also looking for a house to buy. The letters I had written to him were about that situation plus all of the things that we had been doing in his absence.
It had been a very rainy summer in Maryland where we lived near the Chesapeake Bay. We lived where there was a very high water table and I was having problems with water seeping in under our house. The sump pump was not working properly and my 13 year old son and I spent a lot of time bailing water out of that crawl space !! Not a good scenario when you are trying to sell a home. Trying to accomplish that, sell a house, keep two teens occupied and also keep my sanity made for a very busy time. I wrote to my husband almost every day that summer and he called home each night. Our calls were taken up with matters of house hunting so the family activities were recorded in those letters. He had saved all of those letters and now I am glad that he did.
Some of the incidents I recall, as my daughter and her friend baking a green cheese cake to celebrate Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. And who could forget spending a summer bailing water from under your house ! But a lot of fun things had been forgotten, like taking the children to various activities, a crab feast in the neighborhood and tipsy neighbors becoming a bit uninhibited !! Of course I had to write to my husband about that. We were not drinkers so it was a curious thing to see others out of character.
Along with the letters I found one I had written to my mother when I was away at college. It was my home made Mothers Day card to her. She had written on the outside "save and give back - some day". It was interesting to see after 65 years.
The balance of the day was spent reading family records that went back to the 1700's. These papers had been sent to me by my brother during his genealogy search. I was captivated by some of these papers which were recorded in historical publications. I was so engrossed in them that darkness crept in and when I looked at my watch three hours had passed. It was way past my usual dinner hour so I had to call it a day. And quite a day it was that I had spent in the distant past. Now it was time to come back to the present, but those thoughts will go with me into the future and the letters will no doubt be handed down to a future generation for a rainy day.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Rocks
It just dawned on me today that, I LIKE ROCKS !! This revelation came to me as I was walking my mile around my house. I have a collection of small rocks on the back of my golf cart and each time I complete one walk around my house I move a rock to a separate pile to keep up with my laps. Twenty laps and I have gone one mile. I began today with a book in my hands and I was reading as I walked. After a bit I tired of this so I put down the book and put my hands in my pockets and began walking and looking down. This reminded me of how I would not allow my little boys to do this as they walked down the halls at school. My concern was that if they stumbled and fell they would not have a free hand to help ease the fall. I was breaking one of my steadfast rules for my young students. So, I took my hands from my pockets and concentrated on looking at the gravel on the roadway. Those thoughts took me to the back of my house where I have a rip rap retaining wall. I had some high school boys help me build this wall. My husband would normally have done this but with his impaired vision he was not up to the job. He did oversee the beginning however, showing the boys how to dig a foundation and how to lay the rocks back gradually to a 12 inch slant. All of this for stability. I had the job of mixing the mortar to use in with the rocks for a secure strong wall. I used a wheel barrow to mix the sand, water and concrete to the proper consistency. Then I transferred it to a 5 gallon bucket. Sometimes I carried it to where the boys were working. That may be why I have strong bones now, from labor like that. I may be partial to this rock wall as I have a personal investment in the building of it.
Beyond this wall, and at eye level is a huge table rock. It is about 5 feet across and around one foot high. It was here when we first came here and no one has seen fit to attempt to move it. That would be an impossible task and I think it is quite attractive as it is with flowers and shrubs near by.
At the front of my house where the walk way begins are two huge rocks, one on each side of the walk. Another case of huge rocks too big to move easily so they were slid over to mark the entrance. Right now they have been covered by the encroaching blue rug juniper planted there many years ago. For years I have had to be careful when parking in front so as not to open my car door and hit one of them. I must write a memo to myself to do some pruning down there.!
Some years ago I had a retired gentleman who helped me with chores around here. He had a creative streak and he suggested I allow him to make a rock wall in front of my house and use it for a boundary for flowers. It sounded good to me so I just gave him carte blanche with my blessings. He used rocks that are large and flat and laid in stacked rows. In between them he built steps so I could go up through the middle of them. At the west end of the wall it is as tall as I am as he designed it to follow the slanting lay of the land. I could not have asked for a nicer flower bed. This wall is like a natural outcropping and it pleases me more as years go by.
Since I was so happy with this creation of his he suggested building a similar wall in the curve of my road. That is what he did and each time I drive out of here I go between these big flat curved walls of rock. The inside curve has been damaged several times when big trucks come in for the first time and misjudge the space for their trucks. This has never happened to the outside curve. These walls blend into the landscape and are a natural setting for perennials.
I miss my friend as he was witty and intelligent and fun to work with. He left behind him a legacy of beauty which has given me much pleasure over the years. Sometimes it makes me sad to think of him and the way he suffered before his death. He left me with many happy memories however which cause me to smile when I think of them.
I suppose you could say he had a permanence about him much like the rocks he worked with. He not only left me with the rock walls and the many memories but of his own volition he planted two grape vines in my vineyard. He thought they would be seedless or almost so. He did not live to see the results of his planting. I wish he could know that they turned out to be really delicious and make a wonderful jelly with a wine like taste.
He was one of a kind like the rocks he worked with and he had the solidness of a rock to match his personality. Is it any wonder that I like rocks.?
Beyond this wall, and at eye level is a huge table rock. It is about 5 feet across and around one foot high. It was here when we first came here and no one has seen fit to attempt to move it. That would be an impossible task and I think it is quite attractive as it is with flowers and shrubs near by.
At the front of my house where the walk way begins are two huge rocks, one on each side of the walk. Another case of huge rocks too big to move easily so they were slid over to mark the entrance. Right now they have been covered by the encroaching blue rug juniper planted there many years ago. For years I have had to be careful when parking in front so as not to open my car door and hit one of them. I must write a memo to myself to do some pruning down there.!
Some years ago I had a retired gentleman who helped me with chores around here. He had a creative streak and he suggested I allow him to make a rock wall in front of my house and use it for a boundary for flowers. It sounded good to me so I just gave him carte blanche with my blessings. He used rocks that are large and flat and laid in stacked rows. In between them he built steps so I could go up through the middle of them. At the west end of the wall it is as tall as I am as he designed it to follow the slanting lay of the land. I could not have asked for a nicer flower bed. This wall is like a natural outcropping and it pleases me more as years go by.
Since I was so happy with this creation of his he suggested building a similar wall in the curve of my road. That is what he did and each time I drive out of here I go between these big flat curved walls of rock. The inside curve has been damaged several times when big trucks come in for the first time and misjudge the space for their trucks. This has never happened to the outside curve. These walls blend into the landscape and are a natural setting for perennials.
I miss my friend as he was witty and intelligent and fun to work with. He left behind him a legacy of beauty which has given me much pleasure over the years. Sometimes it makes me sad to think of him and the way he suffered before his death. He left me with many happy memories however which cause me to smile when I think of them.
I suppose you could say he had a permanence about him much like the rocks he worked with. He not only left me with the rock walls and the many memories but of his own volition he planted two grape vines in my vineyard. He thought they would be seedless or almost so. He did not live to see the results of his planting. I wish he could know that they turned out to be really delicious and make a wonderful jelly with a wine like taste.
He was one of a kind like the rocks he worked with and he had the solidness of a rock to match his personality. Is it any wonder that I like rocks.?
Word Association
This morning I found myself in the fellowship hall having coffee (which I rarely do) and eating a doughnut (something else I rarely do) talking and laughing with a lady whom I rarely talk to.
I had asked her how things were going where she works (the Hall County Board of Education). She spoke of the furloughs that they are required to have this year after Christmas, which led to Christmas gifts and my sister playing a card game of Hand and Foot, to my sister not being able to drive anymore. She commented that some people never learn to drive. I told her that my mother was one of those and how it came about. My oldest sister who was around 17 was attempting to teach her how to drive way back in 1926. I am sure of the date as I was a baby at the time and I was asleep in the back seat of that black, ford, T model car.
As with most new drivers of that era, the gas pedal, clutch and brakes were all difficult concepts to store mentally and activate into their proper functions. Modern cars would have been much easier for my mother. As confusing what to do with her feet caused my mother to suddenly jam on the brakes. I was abruptly awakened in the back seat as I rolled onto the floor and landed on a bed of glass milk bottles. I did not suffer any permanent damage (as far as I know !!!!) but damage did occur as my father was not at all happy with my mother for this incident. He expressed his displeasure by not speaking to her for some days hence. This was discouragement enough for her and also I can image that he kept the car keys in his pocket after that.!!
The laughing with my friend and I came about when I told her that my father had presented my mother with a new car at Christmas !! My friend asked me how she could enjoy that since she did not drive
and I said, "she got to ride in the passenger seat".
It seems true that we tend to give gift to others which we would like to receive. I have to be mindful of that as I tend to want to share my jams and jellies and pickles each year !!
Others at our table had been in the same adult class which we had just left.and We were discussing the conditions under which Joshua and the Israelites possessed the promised land. Someone offered the "eye for an eye" philosophy of the Old Testament. Which made me think that at that time of rugged living perhaps it was the best thing for them to have the rules that they followed. One comment was that "survival of the fittest" perhaps was an unspoken but applicable idea of that time. Someone else said "like the health plan now being considered". This was in reference to negative things being said in the press. Well, it is a good idea to be in charge of one's own health . I believe our government and the health insurance companies are promoting healthy lifestyles for all of us, and the earlier we start the better.
This beings me to a cartoon that came to me via an email. It showed a very old lady sitting in front of a birthday cake with numbered candles on it. The numbers were 101 and each was lit. The lady was bending over to light her cigar on the candles.
So, perhaps living healthy has its own rewards. When you live to a really ripe old age you are free to do whatever the heck you want to do !!!!!
I had asked her how things were going where she works (the Hall County Board of Education). She spoke of the furloughs that they are required to have this year after Christmas, which led to Christmas gifts and my sister playing a card game of Hand and Foot, to my sister not being able to drive anymore. She commented that some people never learn to drive. I told her that my mother was one of those and how it came about. My oldest sister who was around 17 was attempting to teach her how to drive way back in 1926. I am sure of the date as I was a baby at the time and I was asleep in the back seat of that black, ford, T model car.
As with most new drivers of that era, the gas pedal, clutch and brakes were all difficult concepts to store mentally and activate into their proper functions. Modern cars would have been much easier for my mother. As confusing what to do with her feet caused my mother to suddenly jam on the brakes. I was abruptly awakened in the back seat as I rolled onto the floor and landed on a bed of glass milk bottles. I did not suffer any permanent damage (as far as I know !!!!) but damage did occur as my father was not at all happy with my mother for this incident. He expressed his displeasure by not speaking to her for some days hence. This was discouragement enough for her and also I can image that he kept the car keys in his pocket after that.!!
The laughing with my friend and I came about when I told her that my father had presented my mother with a new car at Christmas !! My friend asked me how she could enjoy that since she did not drive
and I said, "she got to ride in the passenger seat".
It seems true that we tend to give gift to others which we would like to receive. I have to be mindful of that as I tend to want to share my jams and jellies and pickles each year !!
Others at our table had been in the same adult class which we had just left.and We were discussing the conditions under which Joshua and the Israelites possessed the promised land. Someone offered the "eye for an eye" philosophy of the Old Testament. Which made me think that at that time of rugged living perhaps it was the best thing for them to have the rules that they followed. One comment was that "survival of the fittest" perhaps was an unspoken but applicable idea of that time. Someone else said "like the health plan now being considered". This was in reference to negative things being said in the press. Well, it is a good idea to be in charge of one's own health . I believe our government and the health insurance companies are promoting healthy lifestyles for all of us, and the earlier we start the better.
This beings me to a cartoon that came to me via an email. It showed a very old lady sitting in front of a birthday cake with numbered candles on it. The numbers were 101 and each was lit. The lady was bending over to light her cigar on the candles.
So, perhaps living healthy has its own rewards. When you live to a really ripe old age you are free to do whatever the heck you want to do !!!!!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Dealing With It
This morning I had a recorded message from the county sheriff's office asking all to go outside and search their yards, cars, area for a missing woman who apparently was a victim of Alzheimer's disease. Later I read online about a 115 year old woman in California who had just died. One of our church members is a lady who has attained the age of 101. She comes to worship at special times only as it is a supreme effort for her to get dressed and make the trip. She is mentally alert and has lived longer than she wanted. She often says she does not know why the Lord is keeping her here. She lives with her daughter and son-in-law who both sing in our church choir. She feels she is a big burden for her daughter who has some health problems of her own.
Recently I heard a discussion at a gathering about the high cost of living in retirement homes. My own sister is living in such a retirement home. Her daughter calls it the "Taj" ( for Taj Mahal ) because it is a beautiful place. A friend of mine is in the process of looking for such a place to live and I think she has made her decision for a home which has assisted living benefits. I am well acquainted with this home as another friend lived there for several years.
The preferred solution for most older people is the status quo. However that is not always the best answer unless one is able to live alone in good health. Learning to play with the cards you are dealt is a wise endeavor or as I have heard someone say "get over it" or "deal with it", "make the best of it", "turn your lemons into lemonade", or just simply accept it. So much has to do with one's health and attitude toward life in general.
Being the person on the sidelines of a family in such a situation is not easy. Once a person has "passed" as they say in the south, an adjustment must be made by those close to that person. Dealing with a loss in the family is difficult at best. Knowing a lot about the person who has "passed" can help. With my own mother I knew her philosophy and also I knew that she was "ready" as her impaired vision had taken away her main joy, reading. She had the talking books service from the library however and that extended her interest in events . The fact that she just did not wake up one morning spared her from a long time of suffering. It helped to know that the day before she had danced through the house in a new red dress that her daughter had made for her. She was essentially a happy, joyful person who once told me that death was like slipping into a pair of comfortable old shoes.
When it is your life mate who is no longer there each day a completely different adjustment is called for and one must find his/her own best way of dealing with the loss. For me it was simply wearing his pajamas. They were pale blue and white stripe with a tie belt. I wore those for years then kept them in a drawer for much longer. Our church supported a "Clothes Box" for foreign missionaries to choose from when they returned to this country. That is where I took my husband's clothes. When I did decide to do that however, it had a negative physical result which sent me to my doctor for extensive tests. Some medications helped but a broken heart is not cured with medicines. Time and activity involving helping others is probably the best medicine. I was able to find that in providing transportation for families who were living at Villa International in Decatur, Ga. They had accompanied their husbands/fathers who were here studying at the Centers for Disease Control . Teaching a Sunday School class kept me occupied along with being the parent of two teens. Also I continued to take classes at Mercer U. in Atlanta which would update my teaching certificate from Maryland. That was a lot of being busy !!
In this day and time I can think rationally about such things. When one is in the middle of a crisis it is much different. That is when friends and family can "be there" for help. Often just being present in person can be comforting. I recall going across the street to thank a neighbor for something she had sent to me. Of course we were discussing the sudden change for me and my children. My husband and I had purchased a new home and had not even moved into it when we were plunged into this crisis. She had asked me how my children were doing. I spoke of their involvement in our church (the one my husband had chosen for us as he thought the children would like it ) and of their activities at their school. I was torn between going to my family in another state or staying in Atlanta. When she said to me "if your children are happy here I would not rock the boat". That one statement helped me to focus on my best plan of action, which was - do nothing. So when someone is trying to "deal" with a crisis your counsel can mean more than you could imagine. Just a few words may help someone make a critical decision which is plain to you but is hidden from the one who is in the middle of the storm.
Recently I heard a discussion at a gathering about the high cost of living in retirement homes. My own sister is living in such a retirement home. Her daughter calls it the "Taj" ( for Taj Mahal ) because it is a beautiful place. A friend of mine is in the process of looking for such a place to live and I think she has made her decision for a home which has assisted living benefits. I am well acquainted with this home as another friend lived there for several years.
The preferred solution for most older people is the status quo. However that is not always the best answer unless one is able to live alone in good health. Learning to play with the cards you are dealt is a wise endeavor or as I have heard someone say "get over it" or "deal with it", "make the best of it", "turn your lemons into lemonade", or just simply accept it. So much has to do with one's health and attitude toward life in general.
Being the person on the sidelines of a family in such a situation is not easy. Once a person has "passed" as they say in the south, an adjustment must be made by those close to that person. Dealing with a loss in the family is difficult at best. Knowing a lot about the person who has "passed" can help. With my own mother I knew her philosophy and also I knew that she was "ready" as her impaired vision had taken away her main joy, reading. She had the talking books service from the library however and that extended her interest in events . The fact that she just did not wake up one morning spared her from a long time of suffering. It helped to know that the day before she had danced through the house in a new red dress that her daughter had made for her. She was essentially a happy, joyful person who once told me that death was like slipping into a pair of comfortable old shoes.
When it is your life mate who is no longer there each day a completely different adjustment is called for and one must find his/her own best way of dealing with the loss. For me it was simply wearing his pajamas. They were pale blue and white stripe with a tie belt. I wore those for years then kept them in a drawer for much longer. Our church supported a "Clothes Box" for foreign missionaries to choose from when they returned to this country. That is where I took my husband's clothes. When I did decide to do that however, it had a negative physical result which sent me to my doctor for extensive tests. Some medications helped but a broken heart is not cured with medicines. Time and activity involving helping others is probably the best medicine. I was able to find that in providing transportation for families who were living at Villa International in Decatur, Ga. They had accompanied their husbands/fathers who were here studying at the Centers for Disease Control . Teaching a Sunday School class kept me occupied along with being the parent of two teens. Also I continued to take classes at Mercer U. in Atlanta which would update my teaching certificate from Maryland. That was a lot of being busy !!
In this day and time I can think rationally about such things. When one is in the middle of a crisis it is much different. That is when friends and family can "be there" for help. Often just being present in person can be comforting. I recall going across the street to thank a neighbor for something she had sent to me. Of course we were discussing the sudden change for me and my children. My husband and I had purchased a new home and had not even moved into it when we were plunged into this crisis. She had asked me how my children were doing. I spoke of their involvement in our church (the one my husband had chosen for us as he thought the children would like it ) and of their activities at their school. I was torn between going to my family in another state or staying in Atlanta. When she said to me "if your children are happy here I would not rock the boat". That one statement helped me to focus on my best plan of action, which was - do nothing. So when someone is trying to "deal" with a crisis your counsel can mean more than you could imagine. Just a few words may help someone make a critical decision which is plain to you but is hidden from the one who is in the middle of the storm.
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