FRIDAY-THIS AND THAT- MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!

 

MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!

HAPPY 1st Day of May!

I was born late in my father's life.

He was 53 when I was born-

his first child.

Born on a farm in

Pennsylvania with

uncles and aunts that

owned farms around,

or connected, to ours.

Because of my father's age,

that meant that I grew up 

with cousins

that were almost 

a full generation 

older than I was.

So, by the time I was six or so,

many of my older cousins 

were driving.

Some were already married

or engaged.

On the first of May,

my cousins down the lane

 would come,

along with my Aunt Bessie,

and pick me up.
She never drove a car 

in her life so her

daughters drove.

We would drive 

a few miles to 
a lightly wooded area

where we would pick

MAY FLOWERS.

Today,I know that 

they were simply 
SWEET VIOLETS
in pretty pastel colors.

Oh- How I loved MAY DAY

They spread before us 

in the woods on leggy stems.
We would pick big bunches 

to bring home
and we would plop them 

in jelly jar vases.

source
Then, Aunt Bessie 

would give us each 
a slice of fresh baked bread
slathered with butter 
and homemade strawberry jam.

source

I would go home 

full and happy,
with my hands clutched full 

of wildflowers.
I would be smiling 

when I entered the back door 

to our farmhouse, 

 the screen door slapping shut behind me.

My brother, Charlie, who is 
smiling down from Heaven,
had a special poem
JUST FOR ME.

It went like this:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I thought I was ugly
Until I saw you.

Yes- Oh- the fond memories 
that take me back to childhood.
I would stick my tongue out 

at him and set my
MAY FLOWERS
on the counter
to celebrate the
MAY DAY.

source
So-CELEBRATE TODAY
~ JUST CELEBRATE~
CELEBRATE TODAY IN MAY.
SHOUT IT
loud and clear
MAYDAY!  MAYDAY! MAYDAY!

Did you know that if you shout MAYDAY
three times in a row 

it is 
the international signal 

of distress?

Be careful-
Be.very.careful.

You know what THAT means, 

don't you?
You may get someone 

that looks like 
THIS coming to your rescue!

source

Just never you mind Kris, 

Junk Chic Cottage,
you have your OWN fireman!

HAPPY DAY IN MAY!

REFLECTING ON THE PAST-LOOKING FORWARD TO THE YEAR -2025

 Yesterday as I was thinking-

about this New Year I found

my mind wandering back to

the place where I was born

and raised,

Bradford County, PA.

I don't have many pictures

of my time there,

but I came across some

photos that stopped me in my 

tracks.

Someone working for Google Earth

took stunning photos from our

farm setting and they are posted

for the world to see.

This is taken right in front of

our house- headed North.

Our farm house would have

set to the left about 150'

from the road.

You can see the shed my 
father and neighbor built
in the 50's on the right-hand
side of the road.
I remember playing with the
cut off pieces of wood and
sifting the sawdust through
my fingers.

I walked that road many a thousand  

and one times.

I remember when my father planted

the elm trees on the left and

they were just saplings.

My brother owned the

 old farm property

until he passed.

From our kitchen window this 

is what we saw....

Our Lady of Perpetual Help

and

the graveyard I wandered in

just across the road to the right.

To the far left and just out of sight

are mountains and there

are seven counties visible on a clear day.

There used to be fences on both sides

of the road and the cows would be

pastured on the left side....

another road I walked thousands of

times as a child...one I only walk

in my memory today.

The old church is beautiful.

It's a replica of a larger European church

copied to the most minute detail inside and out.

I didn't go there because we were not

Catholic-but several members of the

families attended mass there.

I have many relatives buried in the

grave yard to the right.

You can never really go home again,

can you?

Yet, I do....in my dreams...

I remember the smell of ham in the

oven on a Sunday morning and

fresh baked biscuits on the sideboard.

There was always a pie or two

for dessert and 

GINGERBREAD for my father.

I remember laughter and love,

 flowing free and easy 

and covering us like a warm blanket.

But....there were also some sad times,

and trials and tribulations.

My parents have both

"gone home" now, 

as has my only brother/sibling.

leaving only myself 

to relive the farm memories.

Leaving me to create my own memories

for the children that will follow me.

Someday they, too, will

"remember when"

and I hope their memories

are as happy as my own.

Happy New Year 2025

to all of you-.

I hope you, too, can look

back and remember the 

good parts 

and that time has

dimmed whatever heartaches

and disappointments you have

encountered along life's path.

I wish you a year of 

Love and Sweet Memories.

I will be back soon with an

update on hubby's trip to 

Mayo and the results.

That Stinking Easter Bunny!!!!!

Some of you know that I grew up

on a farm in Pennsylvania.

I grew up believing in

leprechauns and fairies...

Santa Claus

AND

The Easter Bunny.

When I was little my Father

told me that the Easter Bunny

left my basket under a

stump-and-post fence in the

back field. 

Today I know that he was a

liar because EVERYONE

knows that the Easter bunny

sneaks into your house at night

and hides your basket.

When I was 5 my father told

me that he was going to meet the

Easter Bunny in the back field

after he spread the morning

load of manure-

YES- Manure!

Keep that in mind~

I wanted to go.

He said NO!

I was determined to see that bunny!

My dog, Lucky, wanted to

see him too.

I wanted to ride on the tractor with Dad.

He said NO!

I decided to follow along behind him

thinking he would take pity on me

and let me ride...I kept asking..

He kept saying NO!

Lucky walked doggedly

by my side.

(like how I worked in the word doggedly)?

It was about a quarter mile to the back field.

Every few feet my Father would

turn around and tell me to go home.

I would shake my head NO

and keep walking...so would Lucky.

We got to the place where he needed

to spread the manure.

GO HOME- I have to start the spreader!

GO HOME-

NO DEAL...

I wanted to see that stinking (;>) bunny!

GO HOME.

I kept walking.

He finally turned the spreader on.

I walked right along behind him..

step-by-step,

row-by-row.

Unfortunately, I do NOT have

a picture of THAT for your viewing

pleasure.

After he had spread the load of manure

he headed home.

I walked right along behind him,

manure covered and stinking

to high Heaven!

When we got home he told me

I was the stubbornest kid he

had ever met.

Hmmmpffffff!

I was NOT stubborn..

I was determined.

And as for Lucky?

Well, let's just say that was NOT

his lucky day.

Next year my

Easter basket was

right at on the

breakfast table...

Imagine that!

Moral~

Stubborn means one does not give up

even when presented with 

unpleasant consequences.

Happy Easter-

I will be back to blogging

very soon.

Home Again- Home Again- Jiggety- Jig

It seems all I did for weeks

was work getting the house

ready for sale

so it was fun to get away.

MyHero held down the home fort

while I was gone.

I started out going to 

CARMEL, INDIANA

to watch my grandkids for a few days

so Mimi and her hubby

could go back to Jamaica to celebrate their

10 year anniversary.

It is a CUTE TOWN but 

the monkeys that live there are

even cuter.

CharlesInCharge goes to pre-school 3 days a week.

BrightEyes has one 2 hour session a week.

 Listen, BrightEyes, you are too little to be

showing your legs off!

Put your skirt down!!!!

BigBoy E has homework and does it

as soon as he gets home from first grade.

He loves school -notice he is smiling as he does

his homework!

One day little 

MISS BRIGHT EYES

and I picked up some flowers for her

Mama's homecoming.

She's a happy little soul!

She's even happier since she was

INTRODUCED to

WHIPPED CREAM @ Starbucks.

Mom?  NOT so happy about that!

#Love being a Naughty Nana#

Leaving there I headed back to my 

childhood home in beautiful

BRADFORD COUNTY, PA.

The Susquehanna River runs through the state.

My home would have been on top

of one of the mountains above the valley.

This was the view from our house--

which burned many years ago.

From the church you can see seven counties

(or so they say).

I visited with my dear cousin, Marguerite.

She is 86 and just a riot...seriously...

she could get me in a lot of trouble 

IF I would let her.

Her favorite line is-

"Come on Di-Di"...

that never bodes well for me!

This is Jane (as we always called her) 

and her beautiful great-granddaughter, 

Portia.

Doesn't Cousin Jane just look like trouble

waiting to happen?

I went to the first class reunion I have

ever attended.

It was a two day affair.

I gave a copy of my book to the classmates

that did not already have one.

We did not have a very big class.

I didn't get many pictures there-

I was too busy talking.

So---lots more to share- 

my granddaughter on homecoming court,

a quick trip to the UP to see the leaves,

a pumpkin patch visit with CJK...

BUT

I won't bore you with all that today.

Hopefully--next week I will open

an Etsy shop to dump sell

some old crap wonderful treasures

that you might want to look at.

I have the shop set up BUT

I need to take pictures and get it

ready to go.

I'll be back......but you knew that...

Meanwhile....

you all be good.

I will be practicing for my big night

later this month.

Sunday Farmhouse Memories

Sometimes it is bittersweet, isn't it

to remember the days when 

people in our lives celebrated

special days with us?

The family unit I knew as a child 

is all gone now.

A father, a mother and one younger brother.

We celebrated 17 years of Sundays  together 

before I left home. 

17 years out of a lifetime isn't much but

 0h! the memories created then..

My parents were not religious people

but they were believers.
I grew up right next to a Catholic church
but never attended there.
This was taken from the road in front of our house
before the road was paved..

I don't remember my father ever 
going to a church service.

My mother took us kids sporadically over the years.

When I was a young teen I 
started going on my own

with some cousins.

A little country church with a marvelous pastor,

Melvin Shultz.

His wife, Thelma, had the voice of an angel 
and I loved

to sit as close to her as I could on a 

Sunday morning..

My father always pared the farm work down

to a bare minimum on all 
Holidays and every Sunday,

doing only the chores that were necessary to 

get by for the day.

My Grandfather, dressed in his Sunday suit,
 would stand here by the
road on a Sunday morning to greet people
on their way home from church.
He lived with us for about 5 years
until I was 6 or so.
I remember when my father planted
the elms on the left hand side
to give some shade to the front yard.
They were mere saplings then.

The big barns are long gone now.
The house burned to the ground 15 years ago or so.

The shed that you see in the picture above 
(that is hidden behind the trees)
is the only building that remains 
of the original farm buildings.
I remember when my Father and two neighbors
built that shed for wood, storage and butchering.

Going the other way, down the hill,
the road makes a sharp curve then leads down 
 to my Aunt Bessie's house.
She, too, is gone these many years.
 I spent a lot of time in the woods
that grew along the road..

Sweet, sweet memories this morning.

Memories of coffee percolating 
on the kitchen counter-

Watching the sun rise and flood the East facing kitchen with light.

Bacon sizzling in the frying pan-

the sharp crack of eggs against the side of the pan-

Biscuits with home-churned butter and honey

from the bees from the hives 
down past the little pond.

Sunday Memories-
Sharp-
Strong-
Stored Forever-

And----just so you don't think I have gone
all smarmy  and  sappy on you
here is what I plan to serve MyHero 
for breakfast this morning if he
doesn't shape up. 
It will go great with a side of
poisonberries boysenberries.

.You can order your very own 
SKULL EGG SHAPER here..

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

We are on our way out of town 
for a cousin's wedding.
I will share details when we get home.  

Fluffed and Stuffed

Chickens For Sale Today!

Chickens For Sale Today!

They are colored and dyed

And my Mother lied

Cuz she said they were born that way.

Yes-It's true.

I grew up in the land of make-believe.

When Easter rolled around on the farm

we were presented with 

rainbow colored chickens.
They came kind of ratty looking but
after a bath they looked like this.

We were told they came from 

colored Easter eggs.

I believed it.

I believed it long past the early 

years of gullibility.

I guess  I thought they came from
eggs like these.

My brother, Charlie, and I each

picked a color and those were the 
chickens we called ours.

I always counted to make sure 

that "my color" covered the 

most chickens.

Yes.I.Did.

After a few weeks their color wore off....

but by then so had our interest in them

and they went into the hen house.

I teach my grandchildren the same thing.

But they are all "onto" me.

How did today's kids get so smart?
Hmmmmm....
So......do you think if I left these 
silk dyed eggs
lying around 
(click on image for link)

the kids might think these hatched?
(click on image for link)

Oh- yes- to be able to go back in time
and believe in the unbelievable again.
But...reality being what it is....
I now know what happened
to those sweet little
FLUFFED COLORED CHICKENS
that I cuddled and loved.

Yep- From Fluffed To Stuffed.
Chicken Anyone?