Love Rocks at Camp Nana

The weather this past week has been rare for Kentucky at this time of the year, low humidity and temperatures in the 80’s. What a treat! I really enjoyed the breezes as I sat painting all our porch railings, hoping that the weather will be as good when I can finally sit on the swing with lemonade and enjoy my freshly painted porch. I have been painting and painting this summer (not only the porch, but several rooms in the house also), and I needed to take a break. Since school is out and I’m off work for a few weeks, I decided to have the grandkids come for a couple days of Camp Nana. We had a great time! We built Zacharie a tent under the trees, the old-fashioned way with a couple of sheets. He had a blast dragging stuff in to “furnish” it. After he had things arranged just so, he would invite us in to visit him.



Meanwhile, Audrie and I set up a crafting table on the porch. We made red, white, and blue paper lanterns for 4th of July decorations.



Jamie and Poppa worked on constructing a hobby rocket and later that evening we had “the launch”. The rocket achieved lift-off and disappeared out of sight.


We spotted it again on its way down, and watched it land in the highway, where poppa had to run and retrieve it. Of course, being men and enamored of anything mechanical with power, they had to kick it up a notch for the next launch. This time it went so high in the air it truly disappeared. We thought it came down in the neighbor’s field and Jeff went over there to look for it.

While we were waiting for Poppa to come back, the kids and I took a walk down our road. I can never walk down a gravel road without stopping to enjoy one of my favorite hobbies, looking for interesting rocks. The grandkids also share this fascination, and we always look especially for heart shaped rocks. On this particular evening, it seemed as if we found one every few feet. So many of them, in fact, that Jamie felt inspired to rename our driveway as the “love road”. We brought them back and added them to our growing collection.


Our walk was finished just in time to meet Poppa, who returned with the sad news that evidently not everything that goes up must come down – at least not where you can find it!
What a great day we had! And as things started to wind down, I was just glad that Zacharie didn’t ask to sleep outside in his “tent”.
Happy Independence Day! It seems like so much is going wrong in our country now, from the war and the economy, to every kind of natural disaster. More than ever we need to pray for God’s continued blessings on our land and to stop and appreciate the wonderful freedoms we enjoy, freedoms that we can celebrate with our families and friends. We had such a good time at Sarah’s house in Owensboro last year on the fourth, that we decided to go back this year. We’ll grill shrimp and steaks and we’ll have a Happy Birthday America cake and homemade ice cream. Sarah has water balloons and other water games lined up for the grandkids. We’ll walk around her neighborhood and watch all the neighbors setting off fireworks and then go to the Riverfront for the big display. But most of all, we’ll be grateful for all the blessings we have in the good ole USA.

My Raisin

It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor.
Seneca

Hope all the fathers out there had a wonderful Father’s Day. A shadow seemed to be cast over the day with the announcement of the death of Tim Russert. He was one of Jeff and mine’s favorite newspeople. If you have not read his book, Big Russ and Me, I would definitely recommend it. Jeff and I listened to the audio version of the book last year during one of our cemetery convention trips. It gave us a lot of conversation material on the long ride. Also, I always enjoyed listening to his political commentary spoken in language I could understand. It says a lot about a man when he is so warmly remembered and spoken of with such respect by all. He was never ashamed of his faith or his pride in his family and gave credit to them both. He never seemed the least embarrassed by where he came from, even when hobnobbing with presidents and popes. I guess that’s what impressed me most about him - his unabashed acknowledgement of being a working class, small town, Catholic and he never strayed far from his roots.
It made me think of my own upbringing and the way I perceived my childhood in comparison with similar families today. In the work I do now as a social worker, I often deal with families that are labeled by the system as underprivileged or poor. I try to give them tools to help themselves to take even the smallest steps to self-sufficiency. In our agency, my co-workers and I often need to encourage one another when dealing with a few people who do not seem to have the desire to change or to better themselves. It is sometimes hard to keep offering ways to acquire the skills needed for employment or budgeting money better, when what they really want is just someone to pay the electric bill for them this month and the telephone bill next month. Many families I encounter are truly down on their luck through no fault of their own or have encountered one too many difficult situations and want nothing more than the chance to get back on their feet. These families, who are often trying to overcome insurmountable odds, are an inspiration to me and are the reason I keep on doing what I do. But there is a minority who do not want to be bothered with any talk of self-improvement; they like the label of underprivileged and all the privileges it gives them! They are the ones who ask for Christmas assistance and when we deliver the presents that others had donated for them, we find a house filled with a big screen T.V.; a wall of videos, and mom texting on a blackberry! The kids rip open the presents and want to know why they didn’t get the Playstation or I-pod they wanted! We were discussing this the other day at work and talking about what is considered “poor” in our country now and comparing that with our own situations growing up. Some of my newer co-workers were surprised to find that I grew up in a household with no indoor plumbing or bathroom until I was almost a teenager. I laughed and told them, “Yeah, we were so poor, we didn’t even have an outhouse or toilet paper, we just used the “ditch” and leaves off the nearest tree”. In today’s society, we would certainly have qualified for food stamps or other government assistance. But the funny thing is – growing up, I never once thought of our family as being “poor”. And I can’t even say it was because everyone around us was in the same boat. In our farming community, most were; but there were many dads who worked at one of the new factories going up in our area who were able to afford luxuries that I knew our family never would. I just remember growing up in a large, loving family with plenty of delicious, country cooking and a ready-made playground on the farm. I knew my parents valued faith in God above all else. They also had a belief that hard work and a good education, along with respect for others, would bring their children a good and happy life. And believe it or not, I think that is pretty much what happened. “Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is not an expression much in vogue in America today. Many government assistance programs make it easier and more lucrative to stay “in the system”. I’m not sure what the answer to all this is; I know I just keep plugging away, trying to empower the ones who want to make it out and trying not to get discouraged by the ones who don’t. And every day, I thank God for my “raisin” and I hope, like Tim Russert, I never forget where I come from!

Decisions, Decisions

Tomorrow is primary election day in Kentucky. Jeff and I will probably head for the polls before we go to work in the morning. The problem is, I'm still not entirely sure who I will pull that lever for. I think I know, but then something will be said or done that makes me wonder if that would be the right decision. It is not very often that the poor little state of Kentucky gets as much attention over a primary election as it has this year when the field is still so muddled and befuddled. By the time our May primary comes around, it's usually all over but the shouting and I usually feel as if my vote is just a perfunctory duty that doesn't really make a difference. Growing up in the shadow of a world famous political picnic and having parents who worked for years at the polls, I feel as if I should be adept at making political choices, not floundering in indecision. I do know that my criteria has nothing to do with who makes the best speech or the most promises or draws the largest crowds; because in the long run, the events that shape our country and the world are not dependent on one leader or their political spin. Even though I know candidate's personal lives should be respected; I believe it is in the individual actions of their private lives that we can see who they really are. With a little practice and the right coaching, anyone can get up and give a soul-stirring speech or make good sounding promises. I look for the character of the person I am voting for. Show me their family life, what they were like as a child, what shaped the principles they stand for, do they still respect their parents? I do not believe we can divorce our private lives from our public professions. We are who we are.
So I will step into that booth in the morning and try to vote for the person that I feel is the best, based on the criteria I have set for my own discernment.

I ran across the following video on YouTube that I find astonishing and very touching and thought-provoking. I plan to reflect on the lesson it portrays as I complete the decision making process for doing my citizen duty tomorrow.

Pictures of Spring in Ky

Today was the sort of windy, warm spring day that blew memories like a gentle breeze in my mind. It was impossible to stay indoors. I thought I would share some of the scenes and memories that this day brought to me.



The tractors were out in the field next to our house this morning, raking the first cutting of the winter hay. I am glad to still be so close to witness the seasons of planting and harvesting. I guess I will always be a farm girl at heart.



Finding roses blooming up in a tree on a climbing rosebush, hidden in the overgrowth, stretching towards the sun; waiting to be spotted and picked for a lovely smelling boquet. The bush came from a cutting off of a beautiful, old fashioned climbing rose that belonged to Jeff's grandmother. I had thought it was dead. It brought back memories of lazy Sunday afternoons spent in the shade next to the garden in his grandma's yard watching Sarah and Nathan play.



Replanting the flowers that I had planted earlier which fell prey to a very mischievious (evil) squirrel who tried to plant acorns in my fresh dirt. It may be war!!!



Weeding the coreopsis, just like dad would have done on his knees (except I didn't pull a pocket knife out of my pocket to help cut the weeds). These are all I have left of the yards and yards of the scattered yellow flowers that dad planted and loved so much.

Resting under the low-hanging limbs of the elm tree in our backyard and remembering all the times I played house under the huge tree at the old place when I was a little girl.

I hope wherever you are, that you have a beautiful spring day, at least in your heart!

By Request

When my good intentions fall prey to the treadmill of everyday life, sometimes it just takes a little push to get me going again. And so by request (thanks, Roger) I want to do a piece to honor my mom on this Mother's Day.

Being a child of the depression, mom believed in saving everything, including cards and letters. And so it is our good fortune to be left with a family history, written in a time before text messaging and e-mail; written in letters and on cards lovingly put away for a time in the future when they would be read again. I imagine she saved every letter and card she received in her life and also letters she had written to other family members, that somehow found their way back into her safe keeping. It is an archivist's dream, and one in which I have been periodically immersing myself, trying to sort out and organize these bits and pieces of our family past. Some of the most treasured letters I have found are those which Mom wrote to her first daughter to leave the nest and go out into the world. Encased in a time capsule of words, mom's wry humor and patient personality shines through as she shares the happenings of everyday life. She relates the details of a time long past, when manual labor was the norm and simpler pleasures were enjoyed. I can sense her satisfaction in a job well done as evidenced in the many, many jars of fruits and vegetables put aside to feed her family. Her words also reflect the pride she feels in the accomplishments of her husband and children, no matter how small. Little pieces of advice and admonishments are thrown in here and there, and you can almost see the worry lines on her forehead as she thinks of all the things that may befall the ones she loves. Above all, her faith in times of trouble and disappointment and her love for her family shine through in every line of every letter. And so, in her honor, and with a grateful heart, I am posting a few of her letters here for everyone to enjoy. The spelling and grammer I left intact, only adding punctuation here and there to make it easier to read.


May 31, 1956

Dear Daughter,

Well, this is mom, dashing off one of her quick letter. Guess you are well settled now. We haven’t received your letter yet, probably will get here this morning. But I guess you got there alright as we haven’t heard of you being lost. It has rained off and on every since you left except yesterday. It is cloudy and is thundering now, so guess we will have another shower. Dad finally got all the tobacco set. He is barring it off now. Started after dinner yesterday and will get done by dinner today if it doesn’t rain. Jerry & Catherine are hoeing and Theresa is carrying out the roots and things. I got 29 jars of jam made Monday and Tuesday out of our part of the berries. Besides the Marshall’s, the Brumlow children & John & Bill picked on half, we also picked 9 qts and let Mary Grace freeze them on half for Leonard. Well you have received three packages since you left. I will send them to you later, but will tell you what they are so you can go ahead and send the Thank you cards anyway. You got a set of earrings and necklace from Sr. M. George similar to the one she gave you Christmas. They are both so pretty, it is hard to say which I think is. Then Uncle Bernard & Aunt Loretta sent a ½ slip like mamma only trimmed a little different and Uncle Charles & Aunt Aline sent a pair of stockings. I will wait a few days to see if anything else comes and then send them, but you go ahead and send those notes. I am sending the addresses. The Social Security card hasn’t come yet unless it comes today. I am not going to seal this until after Dad gets the mail as he can mail this this afternoon as he is going to Mayfield. Took Anastasia for the last shot Tues. It didn’t make her so cross as the other two did. Jerry told her you went away on a shoo shoo train and that is what she says when asked where you are. Ross & Christine came over a while Sunday nite. Bill came over after late Mass. Dad and him had one of their checker games. I didn’t get any peas canned as it rained all day Saturday and by Monday they were too hard. Will close, take care of yourself. Tell Sr. M. George hello and consider my letters to you as hearing from me.

Love & Prayers
Mom & all

Saturday morning

Well this is turning out to be a diary. Dad hasn’t been out anywhere yet and I haven’t any stamps so this is not mailed. They are planting corn today. We finished planting the garden Thurs. and 5 rows of peanuts down by the barn. The girls and I picked the last of the strawberries yesterday morning. It was only 8 qts. I had some for dinner and made 8 jars of jam. Well yesterday James B. & William E. got all the ripe cherries and is Dad mad. He was going to make ice cream tomorrow. I guess that will probably be the way with all the fruit unless he gets rough with them. Unless the S.S. card comes today it will not get here this week. I am hoping to get this mailed at noon as he is going to the post office to get Leonard’s tuition off. Guess Bob is landing today. Be sure you do not lose your two keys. Tell Sr. M. George she will probably think my letters crazy but I still have G. & M. to write. It keeps me on the go.


June 13, 1956

Dear Daughter,

Well I wasn’t going to write until about Sunday, being that Leonard wrote last night, but you got these papers from SS Mary’s & Elizabeth’s, so thought I would drop a few lines with them. Dad and the girls are in bed. Leonard & Jerry went over to Bill’s to go frog gigging. Hope you are still making it O.K. and the vaccination & shots have not got you down. Guess you still like the work. It has been pretty hot here but the nights are cool. We need a good shower. Everything is getting dry. Dad has been trying to work out the strawberries. I think he finished this evening, but the ground was very hard. Eulas got the ground broke there by the berries. Dad is going to put corn there.
Leonard looks good. I believe he is a little heavier than at Christmas and a little taller. You know his suit still fit him at Christmas. It is at his ankles now and he has also wore the pants of them out. Chris & Eugene brought a dark suit that Bub had outgrown to him. The coat fits him good but he hasn’t tried on the pants yet. Don’t know if he told you that his bags haven’t got here yet. They are supposed to go back tomorrow and see if they have come in. The agent wrote to Chicago to see if they were still there. Leonard is wearing those western’s that Bob bought & wore when home. They fit him good. He rolls the legs up about 2 inches. Guess if they weren’t here, he would have had to bought some.
Well, we got the check for the highway right of way yesterday, but as usual the Elder luck is not for the good. They were going to Mayfield yesterday to see about the bags and being that the man brought the check just as we were getting ready to eat, Dad decided to try to make the bank. Of course, by them being on Daylight time, he only had an hr. to eat & get up there. Well, as he got down here to the corner by Russelburg’s field; Eulas was coming from the other way and they hit. Didn’t hurt anyone. Broke the highlight and bend up the front of our truck. Anyway it cost over $47 to fix it, so there went some of the check. It tore up a front tire and bent a fender for Eulas. Anyway he came out a little better. They had 8 ½ doz. eggs and it broke over 3 doz. of them.
Dad had told the kids that if we got the check, we would go to St. Louis. Well I think that is all over too, as he said he would have to take the money and finish these two sheds on the barn. I never did get excited about going anyway, as I didn’t believe we would. Altho he hasn’t said we weren’t going, I almost know we won’t as it is only 2 wks or so till the 4th. Yes, tell Sister it will be 25 yrs in July. George will be 23, Bob 21, then you. Leonard 15 and Jerry 13. Catherine 9; Theresa 7; and Anastasia 2. It doesn’t seem 25 years, but time has a way of slipping away.
When will Sister leave for St. Louis? Don’t let her leaving make you blue. Remember time goes fast. Of course, you will miss her, but when a little blue as you say you are sometime, try to say the rosary. You know Our Blessed Mother was lonely too. That is fine that you are getting those things, as it will save you a lot. Thank Sister for doing it for you and us as that will certainly help you.

Love & Prayers
Mom & all


July 19, 1956

Dear Daughter,

Just a few lines tonight if I don’t fall asleep. I washed today, then when we finished milking, Dad wanted me to walk over to see the tobacco and other crops. He is very disappointed in the way Eulas has handled his this year. It is not the tobacco it was last year. Dad’s air cured is really pretty; he topped it Wednesday. Jerry has already suckered some of his. We are needing a good rain but doesn’t look like we can get anything but a few clouds and sprinkles. We are having corn on the cob and all the butter beans and tomatoes we can eat. I think I will be able to can about 2 gal. of tomatoes tomorrow. I got 12 ½ gal. peaches canned from that tree; the other one beside it is getting ripe now. I’m not going to can any from it, just eat them fresh and in cobblers. It is loaded too. We figured the first tree had around 9 bushels on it. Aline and some of her children have picked blackberries here twice. They picked about 10 gal. They are coming back Monday, then I guess they will be gone.
Dad and the boys are cutting bushes and mowing off the fields. He has got all on this side mowed except the field where the new pond is. They are over in Workman’s (?) today and will finish tomorrow. He is figuring on starting on the sheds again next week. Guess he will sell the 4 hogs Saturday or leastways he is talking about it.
Did you ever get your name tapes? Guess you are still busy. Had a letter from Maxine Wednesday. She said Allen was growing, already had a double chin. He will be 1 mo. old tomorrow. Guess he ought to be growing. I don’t know if they are coming down this summer or not. Thought I would ask them in my next letter. She said her & Geo. were getting along fine. Also had a letter from Bob. He didn’t have much in it, said he had went to a rodeo there, but it wasn’t any good. Said the horses were too tame to even buck. He is welding now, had the job by hisself, one boy was on mess duty and the other was in Japan for schooling. Am sending some clippings. Guess Sr. M. Geo. would be interested in as Rose Ella and Agnes & Sr. M. Geo are cousins. Mildred Ann gets married sometime next week.
Am sending a few of those pictures that Jerry took, but send them back as he wants them. They didn’t turn out very good. Don’t know if we will go to St. Charles picnic or not. Haven’t heard anything more if Daddy & Mamma were coming or not. Guess I better close and go to bed. I’ll have to get up early so Leonard can go to Mass. This morning we slept later, as dad didn’t feel very good yesterday and was restless all night, so I didn’t get up so early. That will make me lazier tomorrow morning. Next week Leonard serves all week, so that means 4 o’clock every morning.
Tell Sr. hello for us. Grandpa & Grandma are doing O.K. I haven’t seen them since St. Denis picnic as I’ve had to go to late Mass the last two Sundays, but Dad & the boys have been up there. They were talking to Billy this evening. He told them old Pluto died this morning so guess Pappy will miss him.

Love & prayers,
Mom & All

Anastasia doesn’t like tomatoes & peaches fresh, but she sure can put away apples. We have three trees of early transparent and she will eat 2 before she stops. I haven’t canned any of them as we will have plenty of late apples and Dad likes them better.


Oct. 12, 1956

Dear Daughter,

Well a few lines tonight to let you know we haven’t died yet, nor forgot you. Guess you’re wondering why I haven’t wrote lately. Just being busy. Since I wrote you, I have canned 91 qts. Of green beans, 42 jars of damson jam and 21 qts. of butter beans and since Monday night of this week, we have peeled and cut off 5 tubs and 1 bu. basket of apples to dry. Yesterday Dad & I started at 8 o’clock and finished at 9:30 last night and with the kids help after school we peeled 3 tubs of apples. We have about 12 ½ lbs. already dried and in the sack. We are just hoping that it doesn’t rain before the others get dry. It will be about 8 lbs. ready to take off tomorrow. Dad put up tobacco scaffolds and laid board across them up between the lilac trees and the meat house. I didn’t get any peas canned. They dried up while I was working with the other beans. I may have another canner of butter beans if it doesn’t frost anyways soon. Dad bought a pressure canner. I wouldn’t take anything for it. I only had to cook the beans 25 mins. and the butter beans 55 mins. If I had used the old water canner, they would have had to boiled 3 ½ hrs. besides they would had to stay on high all time; but with the pressure canner, I put it on 6 and it held the pressure. We gave Aline enough damsons to can 18 qts. and gave mammy a dishpan full. I don’t know what she got out of it. Dad picked the geese this week and got a feed sack of feathers. He also has finished the sheds.
How are you liking school & work now? Hope you are still pleased. Don’t get discouraged if it does get a little hard. Just keep plugging away. You can get it. The children didn’t have school today. It was teacher’s meeting at Paducah.
I don’t know if I have wrote since Mildred’s baby was born or not. I have even forgot when it was born, but it was a day or two before they finished cutting tobacco. It’s a girl, they name it Agnes Barbara, at least Dad said he thought Albert said Barbara. I haven’t seen any of them. Mary Grace is still holding on. Her mother is with her now. I think she has to stay in bed all time or she was having to last week. Had a letter from Sr. M. Geo. She wanted that picture of Bob’s and his address. Said she was going to send him some cookies and a fruit cake. She send Leonard some cookies by Mr. Holler (sp?) the first Sunday. I know Leonard liked that. Haven’t heard from Bob lately. Had a card from Maxine last week. They were all O.K. I owe everyone of you a letter, so am trying to get them wrote tonight. I guess when I wrote you last that is the last I wrote any of you.
Catherine was wanting to write, but Theresa is wanting her to come to bed, so she said tell you she got 100 in Geography. Mission starts Sunday, 1 wk. for women and 1 for men. Guess that will rush us for awhile. I only milk 1 cow of the morning now and 2 at night. Mammy said to tell you hello and to write when you could. Guess I better close if I am going to get any more wrote.
Dot & Dubber were in wk. before last, but I didn’t get to see them. Am sending you the clipping of the woman that won the car. The key was hidden on the Mayfield & Benton Highway about 5 ½ miles from Mayfield.
Anastasia says you are going to be a nurse and shoot the baby. She’s still a corker. Stays out with Dad all time like Theresa.
Will close and maybe I can get to write sooner now that the canning is caught up with, except I have 9 half gallon jars I want to put in apples.

Love & prayers
Mom & all

Audrie and I have been working on a project to remember GGma. We are making a little pillow decorated with buttons from mom's button jar. I can't help but smile everytime we work on it and wonder what mom would say if she knew I was teaching Audrie to sew without using a thimble!!!

I enjoyed a near perfect Mother's Day, starting with church with all my family and later being treated by them to a delicious dinner at Olive Garden. And they even brought the Wii over, so that I could sneak in a little bowling!!!

I wish every mother in our family all the joy of the day and the best blessing I can offer you is that you may be the kind of mother that my mom was and that you will know the same love that she shared.

And Roger, thanks for the nudge!

A is for Alligator - B is for Bunny - C is for Contraption

I hope everyone had a happy and blessed Easter. Jeff and I went to Easter Vigil service at church. It was Jeff's 23rd anniversary of joining the church and he always likes to go and welcome the new ones who join each Easter. Then he also was able to go to Easter Services with his mother on Sunday at her church. It was winter coats over Easter finery for everyone because it was very cold. There was frost in the morning and the temperatures never warmed up much during the day. That was OK with the grandkids because for the past two years our Easter Egg Hunt has been indoors. We do it a little different, so even the older ones have fun. They are each given a clue that they must decipher, which leads them to a particular place in the house where their first egg is hidden. All the eggs are color-coded. In that first egg is another clue, which leads them to another hidden egg with another clue, and so on, until they come to the final clue. This leads them to the golden egg with the prize, which lately has been money - better on the teeth :) We also got to have another type of celebration because Easter Sunday was also Jeff's birthday. I think this year is supposed to be the earliest any of us will see Easter in our lifetimes and it just so happened that it fell on his birthday. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23744701/
So we had candles and cake with the Easter ham.
The Saturday before Easter was also cold; however, we spent that morning outdoors. The church youth group that Jamie and Audrie belong to were participating in a fundraiser for our local food pantry that involved constructing with canned goods. The object of the contest was for each participating group to use the donated canned goods they had collected to build some sort of sculpture. Points were awarded for resemblance to object depicted, number of cans used, and originality. Only 10% of the completed project could consist of objects other than cans, such as cardboard, paper, etc. After the judging, all the cans would be donated to the food pantry. The kids were all-enthusiastic, even after their first attempt collapsed; they started over and completed their structure before their time was up. The construction used cans of green beans and peas and they constructed a very good likeness of a big, green, grinning alligator.



Some of the other constructions were a church building, a dollar bill and coin rolls, the great pyramids, and even a transformer. However, it was the alligator that the judges felt deserved the trophy. The youth group kids were ecstatic. The newspaper came to take pictures and then the alligator was dismantled, living on in their memories and many, many pictures!

Besides alligators, we also had plenty of bunny rabbits over the weekend. Or should I say, Rayman Ravin Rabbids. We got the kids a game for the wii for Easter and I thought a game with a bunch of crazy rabbits would be in the spirit of Peter Cottontail and all his kin. The Rabbids remind me of rabbits on steroids who have escaped from an issue of Mad magazine. Of course, if you’ve read the earlier post on my infatuation with the wii, you may guess that I had an ulterior motive in getting a new game on Easter. Since they were at our house most of the day anyway, they could just bring the wii over here and then we could play. I have to say, though, after seeing them play the new Rabbid game and several more complicated games they rented(even though they all involve physical movement), I still enjoy the bowling one the best!



The grandkids also had to work on school projects over the weekend. Jamie’s science class is learning about simple machines and their assignment was to construct a Rube Goldberg type contraption. www.rubegoldberg.com This is right up Jamie’s alley and he enlisted poppa’s aid to help him flesh out his ideas. After he drew his sketch he scoured the junk drawers and old toy parts for pieces that he turned into a machine that even Rube himself would be proud of. It was the highlight of our weekend when after several test runs, everything fell into place and his “Running Goal” ran through from the first move to the last. Now if he can just get it transported to school and recreate it in the classroom without breaking it or losing pieces!

Scrappin' in the Snow

Ask many different people about their idea of a perfect getaway and you will get many different answers. Some may dream of a quiet paradise with warm breezes, blue waters and white sand. Others may prefer the fresh air and brilliant colors of the mountains in the fall. There are those who yearn for the peace of solitude and others who wouldn’t be happy without their loved ones along. I have experienced all of these types of getaways, but twice a year if you ask me what my idea of the perfect retreat is, I have a very definite answer – a weekend crop. For those who are uninitiated to the paper crafts, a crop is not unlike the quilting bees of days past where women gathered together to piece and quilt fabrics into practical works of art. Except the scrapper’s medium of choice is paper and photographs and our finished products are scrapbooks of cherished memories. This past weekend was one of those getaways of choice for me. Twice a year a group of women who, like me, are addicted to all things “scrappy”, rent a cabin at the lakes and spend the weekend doing what we love best – scrapbooking. We arrive with vans and SUV’s loaded to the max with all the necessary supplies of our craft. We bring our favorite munchies and the ingredients to make potluck recipes to share with each other. We spend the weekend talking non-stop as we cut, arrange, glue and admire each other’s finished products. The attire of choice is comfy p.j.’s and outrageous slippers. Some of us stay up all night and crash in the mornings for a few hours of sleep before going at it again. We were young and old; married, widowed and single; employees, and stay at home moms. But as someone said this past weekend; it was about more than just completing pages or forgetting about diets and make-up; it was about sharing and encouraging, listening and advising; it was about making connections and de-stressing. A study done at Harvard Medical School – The Nurses Health Study – found that the more friendships a woman developed the healthier she became. This was confirmed by research done at the University of California at LA
http://damesbond.com/ucla_study.pdf
Whereas, men experience the fight-or-flight reaction when they encounter stressful situations, women use a “tend and befriend” response. All of this is supposedly influenced by the different types and amounts of hormones we have coursing through our systems. Whatever the scientific reasoning behind it, I had a very enjoyable, relaxing and productive weekend.
However, the getaway had a very stressful start and almost didn’t happen at all. Once again our unpredictable Kentucky weather decided to play games with us. Last Friday was our biggest snowstorm of the season. Driving was extremely hazardous with blizzard conditions; blowing snow caused whiteouts and drifts along the road. I am one of those drivers about which other drivers say, “People like that should stay off the road.” So I do everyone a favor and stay out from behind the wheel as much as possible especially in icy, slick conditions. If I had had to drive myself to the lakes, I wouldn’t have gone. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who laughs at dangerous snowflake accumulation and doesn’t mind hauling me and my stuff into the wilderness during a blizzard. Sarah, being the strong, pioneer type woman, that she is, also braved the weather to join all of us die-hard scrapbook enthusiasts. She drove down from Owensboro, which got even more snow than we did. It was wonderful to spend the entire weekend with her free of everyday responsibilities.
Our final snow total (measured on Saturday morning by the eldest member of our group, in her houseslippers, with a ruler) was 4 ½ inches. Further east and north of us, in Elizabethtown and Louisville, they received 9 and 12-inch snowfalls.
There is something about a heavy snowfall that brings out the childish side in all of us and we ladies were no exception. We built a snowman on the deck using buttons and ribbon for his face. With my hat on his head, he made quite a sight. Of course we all had our pictures made with him for future scrapbook page material. I went for a snowy walk down by the lake and watched the geese landing on the water. It was beautiful and peaceful. The sun came out brilliantly on Saturday and soon the snow and the snowman were melting. By the time Jeff came to pick me up on Sunday afternoon, there were hardly any traces of the treacherous conditions of the previous Friday. This week the temperatures are reaching the 60’s. Our weather is never boring!

Here are some of the snow scenes from my getaway weekend.