Throwback Thursday

I suppose it began at a young age!

Throwback Thursday

I got in the Enclave with Butch the other day and saw this:

Really? Nobody uses cd's anymore! I said something about it and he said, "well, this car still has a CD player." So what? It all has a USB port. We get all of our music from Spotify these days. You can listen to anything you want. In fact, I'm planning to get rid of ALL the 500 cd's we have in an effort to get rid of stuff! We just don't need them. We don't even own a CD player in the house. No need for them.

Actually, cd's do seem pretty recent to be on a "throwback Thursday" post, but they are pretty much obsolete these days.

Throwback Thursday

 I loved Bic pens and cassette tapes. They don't make cassettes anymore, but what about the Bic pens? I don't think I've seen them around. I loved them!

 I had a lot of Tupperware, but this pitcher was not one for me. It was probably too expensive.

 Yeah! Remember the kids who hoisted this up on their shoulder?

 Yep, and then trying to fold it back and putting it back in was tricky!

OMGosh! We did this. We were lucky we didn't tip it over.

 And the smell and the sting when it hit your bare legs!

Yep, you'd slide off and have grass burns too! Anything to get wet!

Throwback Thursday

 This house.

My grandma and grandpa Z. lived in Barnhart, MO---the sticks, the boonies, the country. Nearest neighbors were a mile away. Gravel roads, woods, caves, creeks, railroad tracks, mailboxes all lined up---I can still remember the smell---there's just something about the country.

They had a cistern which made the water taste "irony." They had a basement that had rooms that were dirt for storing vegetables and home canned things. There were so many awesome things about this house.

There were several "out" buildings. This one was called the clubhouse. It was set with picnic tables for huge family gatherings. There was another that had an old-fashioned soda cooler. You'd reach your had in to the slushy, ice cold water and pull out a soda. You never knew what you might get. It could be a Coke, Nehi Grape, 7-Up, Fanta, or Dad's rootbeer. They were always icey cold and tasted so good in the summer.

They had their very own "dump." There was an area on the edge of the woods where all the trash and garbage was dumped. Occasionally, they would burn it. Just standing there looking at all the garbage was surprisingly fun.

 The dining room was laden with cookies and candy of every description at Christmas time.

The eating area adjacent to the kitchen had this nifty pass through. I loved my grandma's depression glass dishes. You can't tell by this picture, but they were green. She always used tablecloths---of which I'm lucky to have two.

There was the room upstairs that we dubbed "the reading room." It was full of books, but it was the National Enquirer and True Romance that we were really interested in.

It was this that was my favorite.
The Porch....

I have such fond memories of this porch. It was hot in the summer for sure. There were fans. Still you'd find the men listening to the ball game out here. There was a daybed that we'd nap on now and then. But what I remember most of all were all the Scrabble games I played with my grandma here. She taught us other games too---Yahtzee, Blitz (she gave us nickels to gamble with) and  Tripoley (another gambling game with pennies). We worked puzzles out here. My favorite was definitely Scrabble. We had homemade peach ice cream while we played. I even had my very first Heath Bar on this porch. You can still see the red painted concrete floor. It was a comfortable, friendly place. It was fun to sit here when it rained and have the mist blow in on you.

We had some good times here. Sadly, the house has been torn down---probably 20 years ago. Still, I'll always remember it. Funny the little things you remember!

Throwback Thursday

So, I'm calling this Throwback Thursday since this place has been around since 1929. Actually, I went for the first time last week!

We had our own frozen custard up north (St. Louis that is), but Ted Drewes was the original. If you've never had frozen custard, you don't know what you are missing! It's the creamiest, richest ice cream you'll ever taste! I like to get the turtle---it's hot caramel, hot fudge and salted pecans!

There's nothing more to say about that!

Throwback Thursday

In my post yesterday about "What I Buy Wednesdays," I mentioned that wrinkled white linen blazer. That got me to thinking...

Does anyone iron anymore? I haven't ironed in about 20 years---well, maybe a touch-up here and there. Butch irons once in awhile---since he bought those crazy pants with all the pockets. I refuse!

Ironing---is there an app for that?

Throwback Thursday

We haven't seen each other in 35 years. My best friend, growing up. We did everything together!! REENIE! This is for you, for friendship, for old times and for US!

 We played softball on the same team for 11 years---she's on the first row far left kneeling. I'm in the middle with the white crew sock (never could stand the feeling of bare feet in shoes). The other sock wear-er is my sister, Janice! I guess it runs in the family.

 That's Reenie on the back row far left. I'm on the front row in the pink dress shading my eyes. You didn't invite one of us to a party without the other!

US today. I teased her about getting "old." But in reality, she looks exactly the same! She just got grey---who am I kidding! Of course---I color!

Can't wait to spend time with her!

Throwback Thursday

Last year:

What a difference a year makes! Good bye prednisone!

What a difference 20 years make!!

Summers Meant Softball

And that meant this crew! Circa late 1960's. Many of us started playing together in the first grade---and continued on for eleven years. I'm the third from the right in front. My sister, Janice is on the far right in front. 

By year three, we were the City/County Champions EVERY year! That's what happens when you start a team from a young age and play together consistently. I played 3rd base for ten of those years. This is what I remember most:

1. We practiced at Mr. Beckman's farm and drank Kool Aid from a big pot with a ladle (quite unsanitary by today's standards---but we were kids and didn't know any better).
2. It was so hot during the summer that sweat dripped in to my eyes and burned, causing me to pray that the ball would not be hit to me.
3. My best friend, Reenie---far left on the front row---broke her ankle sliding in to home plate. I can still hear the crack!
4. The eight grade boys challenged us to a game. I didn't get to go, because I "lied" by omission. I just told my parents that we were having a softball party at Karen's and didn't mention the boys. Back then, you had to have graduated eighth grade to go to boy/girl parties.
5. My mom was one of the coaches---that's her 4th from the right on the back row.
6. Our coach entered us in to a pre-season league. We came up against a team that was so "bad" that they didn't even have any equipment. We had to loan them our gloves and bats. Turns out, they thought they had joined a volleyball league. (We played that too, but softball was our passion).
7. We had our banquet at Romines---known for the best fried chicken.
8. I was not a good batter, but I was a really good bunter.
9. We quit after our junior year. By then we were interested in boys and most of us had jobs!
10. If you notice the picture above I always wore crew socks. I never could stand the feel of feet in shoes without socks. Still can't. Apparently, my sister felt the same way. We didn't seem to care if that set us apart from our friends! I was always confident in my sock/no sock choice!

And that's my "throwback" for Thursday!

Throwback Thursday

Rockin' the dickey and mohair sweater look---while my brother, Ronnie,  rocks the the button up, high waist and high waters.

Kinda looks like he has one leg shorter than the other. Or maybe it's the pants. Yep, it's definitely the pants. And, yes, he's still that skinny!!

Y'all are gonna' have a hard time keepin' up with me this week. On mega mg prednisone!

Throwback Thursday

Everything I know about organizing---I learned from my mom!! She embroidered little x's in to our clothes to tell them apart. I was red! That definitely served us well when we were in high school and fighting over blouses or socks!! 

You can see from the picture above how the twins were able to tell their shoes apart. Of course Ronnie was the sheriff that kept the peace! Me? I just bought them off with money from my "Barbie" wallet!!

Throwback Thursday

I have a couple of things that I came across recently that are perfect for Throwback Thursday.

Coloring Easter eggs. This is Sandy circa 1976?? I'm not exactly sure, but she looks about 4 to me. She was (and still is) the sweetest child!! She was so easy and well-behaved. And as her sisters say, "the perfect one." That about covers it! I love you girlie!!

This is a little plastic folder that all "good" little Catholic girls carried in their purses. You can tell it's old by the phone number---SH-1-5015. Way back when I was little---1950's and 1960's, there was a phone prefix. In this case, it stood for Sherwood. Also, the little "obsessive" me had to write "telephone no." as if people wouldn't know what that was!

Now, believe it or not, this is the one I still carry in my purse today:

That's St. Christopher. But there was some question as to whether he was demoted as a saint. I looked it up and he is still a saint, but due to the number of saints, he has been removed from the liturgical calendar. He remains the patron saint of travelers (just in case you wanted to know).

The main message and the reason to carry these little things is that if I should ever be in an accident, a priest would be summoned. Realistically, there are several reasons that this really won't work.
#1. I seriously doubt someone is going to rifle through my purse to find it. If they need to identify me, they'll look at my driver's license---done. There's no reason to go any further with a search.
#2. Even if they might happen upon this and see the "I am a Catholic, in case of an accident, please call a priest"---what priest could get to an accident scene faster than an ambulance? It'll never happen.

I guess I just need to rely on St. Christopher to take care of me.