Over the River and Through the Woods ...

Sunday, November 24, 2013.

"Over the River and Through the Woods ...
To Grandmother's house we go ~ 
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh 
Through white and drifted snow ..."

When I was in elementary grades at school, we would sing it when Thanksgiving Day was approaching. What fun that was! It is so interesting to envision these lyrics of the olden days. Somewhere there is Grandmother's house, and there's always a wood to gallop through before you can see her house. The woods are 'dark and deep' and covered with snow on the pathway through. These lyrics weren't written to describe any place in southern California, were they? Unless there was a mountain or two that would be gifted with snow and cold air, like Old Baldy.  

There might be very few woods without snow in Canada, don't you think? It's rather cold up there, much colder than down here in the United States. I wonder if they have their own special song for Thanksgiving Day. If so, I would like to hear it. 

No matter where we live, it is good to have a Day of Thanksgiving for the many gifts bestowed upon us.  

The pumpkin pie is mentioned in the lyrics of Over the River and Through the Woods, and some people must have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. It is a very old tradition. 

Can you smell the satisfying aroma of Roast Turkey? By Thursday, you will definitely know that turkey meat is roasting everywhere. Sweet potatoes are often served with dinner, mashed potatoes, and many more different kinds of food. Oh, the stuffing for the turkey is very important, so do not forget to make it. 

To everyone who sees this bit of writing, Happy Thanksgiving! May you enjoy being with your families, relatives, friends, and neighbors at this time of year. If you must be alone, have a wonderful day, as you are being thought of by many people.  

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

My Name; When I Was A Child.

November 16, 2013.

By the way, my name ~ every time I hear someone else say my name, 'Anna Mae', I think I am hearing someone saying 'animation' or 'animate'.  I now think that 'anime' is such a nice short-cut for people who are very busy! You can make your phone show simpler things so you wouldn't have to type so much? Someone sent me an email, and that is what they called me. They told me that it is from their phone. I don't know what kind of phone, iPhone, Smart Phone, or Genius Phone? It sure does save time. 

When I was just a kid, my mother would call out in the neighborhood in the coal mining town where we lived near Wilkes-Barre, PA., when it was time to come home, 'Anna Maeeeeeee, but it sounded like 'ENNNNNA meeeeeeeeee'. An older kid, teen maybe, would call me 'Enemy' until she learned my name is 'Anna Mae'.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I remember, it was so much fun when I was growing up: there were the coal-dusty alleys to run through, a large open area to play in, and down the alley was another group of kids who would play kick-the-can (a kind of hide and seek game), and "Mother, May I?" (a game in which you ask the leader of the game if you could take a baby step, a medium step or a giant step, to reach 'home'). I would have to look it up on the internet to know the exact way to play that game.  

There also were games of hop scotch, and a very small ball with 'jacks', which I dearly loved.  

Sometimes when you got bored, you'd go to the lower parts of a culm bank and walk around on those rocks and coal pieces, to find some good coal to take home to Mommy and Daddy. Everyone in the coal towns burned coal in those days in their furnaces. 

All of the kids played outdoors. I definitely do not remember any chubby kids! Running and playing keeps the fat on our bodies from settling down somewhere inside our skin. Riding our tricycles and little red wagons up and down the dusty street was one of our favorite things to do. 

Oh, yes, we also played in the small gutter in front or our homes. Many streets weren't paved yet, and the trickle of household sink water would come down the street in the little ditch. I remember playing there, it was like a baby creek, and all kids love to play in water, don't they? I think I caught pneumonia one year by playing in the ditch. 

Another great pastime is gathering those prickly little burdocks from the weeds, and making little pieces of furniture. I would often do that, and visually remember making a little sofa with those round little burdocks. The couch had three rows of burdocks for the seats, and three burdocks for each of the arms, one little ball for each of the four feet, and then you have to work on the back of the sofa to make it look like a sofa. That was truly great fun! 

One more weedy game is looking for plaintain weeds with the long oval leaves, and the spike in the center that carries the seeds for future plaintain weeds. I would almost fill up a cigar box with those seeds. You have to wait until they are tall enough and the seeds become mature, for them to come off easily. I realize now that these plaintain weeds are healthful and medicinal for us to use. The pioneers took them on their trips across the plains to find a new place to live. 

Mother Nature was so good to us little kids! Just think of an empty lot across the street where the Buttonwood School was! When I'd go home for lunch, I'd stop (of course!) on my way home to pick a fistful of purple violets. That lot had so very many! Oh, what we are missing today! I can still see this in my mind, a house on one side, and on the other side of the lot, a small hill with little bushes on it. There was a house on that little hill. The empty lot would be full of purple violets when they began to bloom, and it was a free place to pick the violets for Mommy. 

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

Did You Watch the World Series? The Doggies Did.

Thursday, November 7, 2013.

Did you watch the World Series this year? I did, at the home of my son and his lovely wife, and loved every minute of it. It was so exciting to watch the game without thinking about getting to my long list of chores I left at my place.

I hadn't seen much of the pre-series games, but I was eager to watch The World Series! When I was in high school, in a rural area, the school bus would take us to baseball games, but I really didn't know a lot about the rules in baseball. I just enjoyed being 'out', and on the bus, and being with an exciting group watching the players out on the field.

I didn't even play many sports, because I was not athletically inclined. If I did play softball, I would get those 'shin splints' when I ran from base to base. Or I'd get a pain in my side. I would even get those 'shin splints' when I would roller skate on the old-fashioned ones, down the street. Were those skates  too heavy for my feet, or was I scared to skate, or was it because I was a bookworm instead of an athlete?

But during the times of those upcoming Series, I would be happy and excited like my schoolmates. I had always liked the Yankees, by the way, because that's all they talked about. The Yankees!

Nowadays, I don't usually watch baseball games, but somehow I was eager to see the World Series
this year. Oh, I know why, now! My son used to live in the Boston area, and liked the Boston Red Sox. He was now thrilled that they would be playing in the World Series. So I guess this contagious disease infected me in a hurry.

I was truly excited to be able to go to their house to see the games, because I do not have a TV hook-up yet. I know that I would be addicted to TV and I don't want that to happen now because of all the 'chores', 'projects', and necessary things I must do.

There are three almost BIG house dogs in their home, and these dogs feel they must be present if the family goes to the living room. Sometimes the family has a music jam, or something on TV is very interesting, or they have a family dinner and everyone goes to the living room after dishes are done.

Anyway, these lovable/loving doggies will lie at your feet if you are sitting on the couch, or will lie  near your shoes so they can rest their heads on/in them when they close their eyes to nap. In other words, they are very much under-foot and loving it. And so, there they were, in the living room with us, so happy to be 'watching' the Series with us, even if their eyes were closed.

Cheering? Of course, cheering! We would scream instantly if there was a run or a really lucky happening! As we did so, the three big dogs who think they are humans, would quickly get up from their lying position. Princess would nervously look for her ball so someone would throw it so she could run after it. All three would be ready to have some excitement!

It happened each time we all would piercingly shriek, yell, shout-out at our team, and some of us would stand up and begin to dance some 'hurrah' steps, throwing our arms up and moving in frenzy and getting that exquisite happy face! The dogs knew immediately that 'all hell' broke loose! They'd mingle so quickly with us, but of course, we had to pay attention to the next play, so the excitement would slow down again for a little while.

The dogs slowed down, too, muttering "DOG-done it, folks, we thought there was going to be a big celebration!" And the same thing would happen each time a player made a run, or better yet, a HOME run, and the dogs just loved every minute of it, too. Lily would always want to be as near as possible, with her head and feet on your shoes. Lucky would almost insist that he had to sit on your lap; he rarely gets that chance, and you have to steel yourself against that beautiful pleading in his big eyes. Princess is the oldest and has an obsession with her ball, always.

And this took place each night of the Series. The shepherd and two labs had a blast, and I did, too. I am so grateful for that opportunity to join in the fun of The World Series!


I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

A Prelude to Hibernation.

November 5, 2013.

Good evening, each and every one of you.

It is 5:06 pm, but it feels like evening. It is so strange to me, these last few days since the time change took place ~ "Fall back one hour" doesn't seem like much time, but actually with our human bodies pretending to be bears, bees, and birds, it feels like a whole evening.  

Each day I have been munching a lot of food during the morning and afternoon, preparing to go to bed when late evening comes, as in hibernation. I don't like to eat before I go to bed, because of the G.E.R.D. situation. I become too uncomfortable to sleep peacefully, so I like to stop eating around four or five o'clock. 

But lately, it feels to me that I should be going to bed between five and six o'clock. The outdoors is suddenly getting so dusky earlier, and quite soon it IS dark out there. I am not enthusiastic to do much, then, and would like to go to bed for the night.  

In the morning, if I wake up around four o'clock, it feels as if it is five or six o'clock, and I'm ready to spring out of bed to begin the day. But after the regular trip to the little room, I get back into bed and may sleep about ninety minutes more. 

And it is getting cooler on some nights, so I must put my flannel blankie over the regular covers. I wonder just when winter will come ~ it has been balking for quite a while now. There are so many warm days, and-not-so-cool nights, that it gets a little confusing. Is this autumn, or is this already winter?

With such strange changes of weather during the last year, or year and a half, we wonder what kind of winter we will have this time. I truly miss the snow very much because I used to live in northern New York and northern Pennsylvania, but I wouldn't want the people of the south to bear very harsh winters. Does anyone know what kind of weather is coming for the next few months?  

Brace yourselves for the 90% chance of showers and thunderstorms tomorrow, the 6th of November. 

It is very dark outdoors now, so I think I shall practice getting into my cave for the real hibernation.

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...