A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

I received this today as an email. Though a few of these are "before my time", I can so relate to most of these remembrances. Very sweet and nostalgic. It makes me miss my childhood...especially my wonderful parents.

Remember When?

A little house with three bedrooms,
one bathroom and one car on the street.
A mower that you had to push
to make the grass look neat.

In the kitchen on the wall
we only had one phone,
And no need for recording things,
someone was always home.

We only had a living room
where we would congregate,
unless it was at mealtime
in the kitchen where we ate.

We had no need for family rooms
or extra rooms to dine.
When meeting as a family
those two rooms would work out fine.

We only had one TV set
and channels maybe two,
But always there was one of them
with something worth the view.

For snacks we had potato chips
that tasted like a chip.
And if you wanted flavor
there was Lipton's onion dip.

Store-bought snacks were rare because
my mother liked to cook
and nothing can compare to snacks
in Betty Crocker's book.

Weekends were for family trips
or staying home to play.
We all did things together --
even go to church to pray.

When we did our weekend trips
depending on the weather,
no one stayed at home because
we liked to be together.

Sometimes we would separate
to do things on our own,
but we knew where the others were
without our own cell phone.

Then there were the movies
with your favorite movie star,
and nothing can compare
to watching movies in your car.

Then there were the picnics
at the peak of summer season,
pack a lunch and find some trees
and never need a reason.

Get a baseball game together
with all the friends you know,
have real action playing ball --
and no game video.

Remember when the doctor
used to be the family friend,
and didn't need insurance
or a lawyer to defend?

The way that he took care of you
or what he had to do,
because he took an oath and strived
to do the best for you.

Remember going to the store
and shopping casually,
and when you went to pay for it
you used your own money?

Nothing that you had to swipe
or punch in some amount,
and remember when the cashier person
had to really count?

The milkman used to go
from door to door,
And it was just a few cents more
than going to the store.

There was a time when mailed letters
came right to your door,
without a lot of junk mail ads
sent out by every store.

The mailman knew each house by name
and knew where it was sent;
there were not loads of mail addressed
to "present occupant."

There was a time when just one glance
was all that it would take,
and you would know the kind of car,
the model and the make.

They didn't look like turtles
trying to squeeze out every mile;
they were streamlined, white walls, fins
and really had some style.


One time the music that you played
whenever you would jive,
was from a vinyl, big-holed record
called a forty-five.

The record player had a post
to keep them all in line
and then the records would drop down
and play one at a time.

Oh sure, we had our problems then,
just like we do today
and always we were striving,
trying for a better way.

Oh, the simple life we lived
still seems like so much fun,
how can you explain a game,
just kick the can and run?

And why would boys put baseball cards
between bicycle spokes
and for a nickel, red machines
had little bottled Cokes?

This life seemed so much easier
and slower in some ways.
I love the new technology
but I sure do miss those days.

So time moves on and so do we
and nothing stays the same,
but I sure love to reminisce
and walk down memory lane.

Take a moment to reflect on your childhood - I hope it brings back wonderful memories and sweet thoughts of your family. If you were not blessed with a loving childhood home, then please know that God loves you more than you can imagine. I hope you have a personal relationship with Him...and if you don't, I would love to talk to you about that.

Blessings!

The Great "Snake-adillo" Adventure

Have I mentioned that there is never a dull moment at my house? "Bizarre" just seems to follow me around. Before I tell my story, I need you to understand that I am married to a Type A personality, while I am a Type Z, (if there is such a thing) with A being the most high strung, serious type and Z being the most laid back, humorous type. You know, they say "opposites attract". I suppose that may be true...

If you would indulge me, I'd like to tell this story in my "author" persona:

(Da-da-da-dum) dramatic music cue -

It was late...time for little Buddy's, the Yorkie, "business before bedtime" walk-a-bout with his mommy, Sandra. Their ritual always included a flashlight to spot all of the creatures of the night. You see, they lived in the wilderness where bears, deer, coyotes, skunks, armadillos, snakes, frogs and spiders roam at night.

On this particular evening, Sandra was entranced by the ten eyes of the deer reflecting in the light as she shined her flashlight into the field. She carefully scanned the flowerbeds, the patio, the yard and was satisfied that all was quiet. A bullfrog caught her attention...then another. As her flashlight swooped across the mulch, something else caught her eye. Coiled up so nice and tight was a beautifully marked, very well camouflaged Copperhead. It was a wonder she ever saw it. "Dang, I think that's a copperhead," she said to herself. "They really are pretty snakes." But, she knew what must be done, so she scurried little Buddy to the back door and went inside to fetch her man.

Putting Buddy inside, Sandra and her man ventured out with flashlight/shovel in hand to deal with Mr. Copperhead. Sandra was in charge of the flashlight, which if any of you have ever held this esteemed position with your man, knows that no matter how you hold it, it's not going to be right. So, the tension was already in the air as her man repeatedly said, "Hold the light still!" "Quit moving it around so much!" "What are you doing!" "Don't get so close." "Don't you have any common sense?" (Type A)

As the shovel hit it's mark and the bottom two-thirds of the copperhead was twitching, Sandra glanced away for just a brief second. Creeping up behind her man so close they could have licked his feet were two of the biggest armadillos on the face of the earth! May I digress for a moment?

For weeks now, armadillos had been annihilating their flowerbeds. Sandra and her man had been stalking around quietly with Ninja stealth, trying to catch these creatures of destruction in the act. Nada...never a sighting...each morning revealing more and more damage. So, what's up with this? Her man is banging a shovel, they are raising their voices to one another, making the racket of a battle in progress and two armadillos come running to what...check it out??????

Needless to say, Sandra was completely caught off guard by these creatures sneaking up from behind and was so startled she shouted, "OH MY Gosh! There are two big ones right behind you!"

Did you know that it is of utmost importance to define WHAT is behind a person who is in the middle of chopping a copperhead in two? Well, Sandra didn't either until her man yelled a few choice words and jumped 6 feet in the air. (are you beginning to get a visual here?) He was some kind of mad when he realized that Sandra's warning was about armadillos instead of copperheads. (well, mad in the sense that she nearly gave him a heart attack for nothing, not because he wanted it to be copperheads) He yelled, "There's a huge difference between an armadillo and a copperhead! A copperhead can kill you! And I'm not afraid of an armadillo! You nearly caused me to have a heart attack!" (which is really not too funny because he has had a major heart attack and also has 7 stents) But for some reason the whole scene just struck Sandra as funny and she was nearly hysterical with laughter. Her man did not take too kindly to that. (keep that visual going)

The armadillos ran off in separate directions, so Sandra stayed outside with the flashlight to track them while her man went in to get the shotgun. About 45 minutes later, a few more choice words, a lecture on the "correct" way to panic - "Oh Honey, there are two of the cutest little armadillos right behind you, but don't you worry a thing about it. They are just curious and want to see what you're doing" - and following a midnight clean up operation - Sandra, her man and little Buddy went to bed.

The End.

*Notice there are no pictures included in this post. There is a reason for that, which had something to do with the "common sense" part of the discussion on "Proper Flashlight Holding 101."

Rainy Days and Wednesdays

Good Afternoon Friends!

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but we have needed rain for quite some time now. The pastures are burning up, the outside potted plants have to be watered every day, the trees are all turning brown, (so much for pretty Fall colors this year) and the ponds and lakes are all so low I keep expecting to look out the window to discover fish flopping up here to jump in the pool! But, ALAS! We had a little rain yesterday and today is a lovely, dreary, rainy day! Just perfect for brewing a hot cup of tea, grabbing a handful of shortbread sticks along with a good book, and heading to the back porch for a little R & R.

There are plenty of things I need to be doing, but seriously girls, (and boys if there any reading this) we all need to take a little time to play, right?

I love to sit on the back porch and watch the rain come in. First you see it way off in the distance...
Then you hear the pppssshhh sound ever so softly. That unmistakable, fresh smell of rain fills your nostrils as it grows closer and closer...
The sound begins to grow louder, a sprinkle drops here and a sprinkle drops there, then the downfall is upon you! I do ♥ listening to the the rain!

Finally, a little break in the downpour; the perfect time for Buddy to take a potty break, since he hates going out in the rain! I mosey over to check the rain gauge - the one that looks so lovely attached to our fence. And this is what I see!
The best part is, there is more rain to come!

I notice that I am going to have to talk to Mr. Armadillo again!
As the rain gently starts up again, there is a reminder of the One who sent it.
I almost never experience a rainy day that I don't think of Karen Carpenter's song, "Rainy Days And Monday's Always Get Me Down". (yes, I'm that old) I have been known to change the words to suit my own moods -

"Rainy Days And Wednesdays Always Make Me Smile" - just depends on the mood I'm in...

"Rainy Days And 'Tuesday'sThatIWantToGoSwimming' Always Tick Me Off" hehe

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I'd like to leave you with a very profound quote that I discovered yesterday. It is from Tao Te Ching, which is an ancient Chinese book written around the 6th century BC. Though it has nothing to do with Christianity, with my own Christian thinking weaved into these words, it is so applicable to our lives as Christians. So, think about your walk with Jesus and ponder on these words...

Blessings!