American restoration....

While watching the program
American Restoration
An icebox was brought in
To restore, into a wine cooler.
A young man who was helping
To restore it, was puzzled.
Where did the ice come from?
There were no cords
We oldies forget that young people
Never had to use an ICEBOX.
This is my memory of
"THE ICEBOX...."
It was an insulated metal box,
Just like the one being restored.
Once a week THE ICEMAN
Came out to our cottage
In a big Insulated Truck.
To deliver a big block of ice.
I was always so excited to see him
Because he would always chip off
A large piece of ice for me.
That was what kids now call
A Popsicle.
The iceman would carry in the block of ice
And put it in the icebox for my mom.
And that ice would keep our
Milk, meat and eggs
Cold for a week....
~~~~~
Let me add that American Restoration
Did a beautiful job
Turning the icebox into a wine cooler...
They added refrigeration,
Shelving, and a cord.
and the ICEBOX it was no more...

HIGH TOP SHOES...

Back in my day, children wore high top shoes.
Girls white, boys brown.
Because they gave you ankle support.
MOM SAID....

What would mom say now?
High tops are back.
But not for kids
there can't be any ankle support
For they have 7" heels
Some with a zipper up the back
And cut out pointed toes
With silver sparkles
WHAT?
What a difference 70 years makes
Now we should be back into high tops
Girls white, boys brown
Because they give you ankle support...
GRANDMA SAID....

By judy

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY....
A MEMORY OF SPRING....

On the first day of SPRING I would look for the first CROCUS to pop up....sometimes through the snow.

And the GRAPE HYACINTH, oh so little and purple...they would even pop up through the ivy...that strong ivy which took over everything in the yard
.
Nothing smells better than the MOCK ORANGE BUSH. One with dark green leaves and beautiful white flowers, and one with light green leaves and the same beautiful flowers...

And behind the tree, I would find a stray TULIP blooming, stiill in it's ***...Is that the one I threw out last year the one I thought was dead?

The smells of Easter when you walk into a store that sells flowers...LILLIES, TULIPS, HYACINTH, and SWEET VIOLETS.... I worked at Franks Nursery for 7 years and enjoyed those smells every SPRING.

And looking out into the field next door that was filled with the SWEET VIOLETS...purple  clusters and as I walked out to check them out I would find a patch of WHITE VIOLETS.

This special memory of SPRING FLOWERS, is a wonderful memory of hubby. Unfortunately he passed away the day after he planted all his Spring flowers. But for years I would go out to find them blooming, knowing he was smiling down on me.... Now the ivy took over, and I moved away, but never forgetting the FIRST day of SPRING and the FIRST CROCUS to pop up.

A TERM OF ENDEARMENT.....

As a little girl my girl friends dad
Called me BIRDBRAIN....
And that never bothered me.
I knew it was a term of endearment.
Of course back then I didn't know
What endearment meant.
But I knew he was kidding...
His house was the fun house
Of the neighborhood.
His wife was an angel.
We had taffy pulls,
Mrs G made popcorn *****,
And lined up chairs
In front of the television
So we kids could watch
Wrestling....
with a big bubble magnifying glass
And she served us bowls of popcorn.
Always something to do....
I went to the quarry one time with them
Looking for fancy rocks....
Mr. G, Mr. G is this a good one?
No Birdbrain, it's just sandstone...
He was a fancy rock collector...
The name Birdbrain was so special to me...
A name which was spoken with
Endearment....
I'm sure of that.....

By judy

Chirping crickets...

As a little girl....
I remember hearing this sound
In our living room
I ask my mom
Because mom knew everything
What is that?
She called it a cricket
mom thought crickets chirping
Was music to her ears
I remember her saying
Listen! Listen!
It's singing to us
And she was smiling
I never saw the cricket
Just heard it chirping...
BUT
One day as mom moved our davenport
Away from the wall
To dust the mop boards
She found that this chirping cricket
Was eating away at our davenport....
Now that's  what I call
"Singing for your supper"
If only we had GOOGLE back then.

By Judy

St. Patricks Day is when
everything turns green...
Just look down the street,
and you'll see what I mean...
There's green in the windows
and green on the doors...
And people with green shirts
and green hair to adore...
People that celebrate
by drinking green beer...
And laughing and singing
for it's been a whole year...
It's the luck of the Irish
that's what I hear...

by ~ Judy

HOME MADE VALENTINES DAY...

Back in the 1940's when I was young
Valentines Day was so special

Everything was homemade
from the Valentine box,
the Valentines,
and Valentine cookies.

As the room mother one year
my mom was asked to make a large
Valentine Box

I remember the doilies that we
colored in, we had ruffles,
glitter on little hearts,
everything was pink, white and red.

The big Valentine box was put on
the teachers desk
Then as each child came in
they deposited their Valentines
in the beautiful Valentine Box.

I can't remember seeing the teacher
remove the Valentines from the box
but somehow she did, and a couple
of us kids got to pass out the cards.

We took them home in a paper bag.

But first we opened them up....
Always excited to see if we got
a special one from someone special...

Did you get one from Jimmy,
or best friend Sue
Here's  one from the teacher
with a sucker too...

As the years passed by, and I became a mother
I helped my children make their own
small Valentine Box.
With Doilies, red hearts and
the most important part was glitter....
and they came home from school
filled with cards picked up at the
Valentine Store...

But
as years passed on
the Grandkids were more creative.
A Valentine Box
that looked like
a Lady Bug
each year they became more creative.

But
none as beautiful in my eyes
as the big large Valentine Box
my mom made.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY...

by judy