Sunday Morning

We have a storm rolling in from the west. This morning everything is still serene. I'm sitting here in the living room watching the shadows dance across the windows as the sun filters in through the trees. The dogs are barking. They probably saw a squirrel. And the kitten is curled up in a ball on my tummy, which makes it a little hard to type, but she's cuddly and warm.

We need the rain. It has been a very dry late summer. October is knocking at the door. Soon the heat will melt away into crisp cool autumn mornings and the leaves on the trees will display an array of vibrant colors. This is my favorite time of the year.

My family and I went to a football game yesterday afternoon. The first half of the game we fried. There was no cloud cover, it was windy, but no breeze could get to us, and the sun was directly overhead. After halftime the sun went behind us and was blocked by a building. It cooled off and everyone enjoyed the game more. You could tell because the crowd got louder and rowdier.

On Friday my sister, Karen, and I went to the indoor soccer arena and babysat our great-niece and nephew while their parents played soccer. Of course, Valerie was adorable and Kevin was laid back and calm. At one point in the evening Valerie, who is only two years old, looked up at a four year little girl and said, "I'm Valerie. What is your name? I'm two!" We were stunned. What a smart little girl she is!

One of these days I'm going to enroll, pay the money, and join the soccer team. I've played as a sub a couple times and it is so much fun. The last time I subbed I had a clumsy moment, which is not unusual for me! I'm very klutzy. I tore a muscle in my stomach and couldn't play for eight weeks. It's been a lot longer than that, try months and I'm ready to get back out there and play.

Well, the big fat brown cat is now on my lap. The kitten is staring at me. The dogs have stopped barking. Mom is awake. I hope we get the rain that is predicted. I'm ready for cooler weather. The weekend is almost over, so enjoy what's left. Go to church, read the paper, eat a big dinner, watch a football game or do whatever you do on a Sunday. Have a blessed week.

Indian Heritage

I came across this drawing I did in my college print making class and it got me to thinking about my Indian heritage. My great-grandma Carter-Douglas was recorded as having Osage Indian blood. My dad still talks about how his grandmother had long thick, wavy, black hair past her behind. My dad is in his mid-seventies and he still thinks women are suppose to have long hair like that. I have the same thick wavy and sometimes curly hair. It is so much more manageable when cut shorter, but of, course Dad thinks it looks better when it’s longer.
Mom says that one time when, my Grandpa Douglas was helping with yard work at my aunt and uncle’s house, some neighbors stopped by and ask my aunt, who is that Indian out in your front lawn. She replied, That’s not an Indian, that’s my father-in-law. Truth is, he did have Indian ancestry. He looked so much like an Indian that he got this a lot. In fact, when my oldest sister was born one of Mom’s cousins said, “wow stick a little feather on her head and she looks like a little papoose.” Mom didn’t know what to think!!! I have dark hair, dark eyes and high cheek bones, but other that I look very northern European. I have Swedish, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish ancestry, also.

Grandpa Douglas with horses

Mom Reminisces

As you can see I have been blessed with a great family. I enjoy listening to what they have to say and hearing all of their stories. I have a great aunt that when the families’ house was on fire ran back inside and grabbed the coal bucket. Then, thought well this is silly and ran back into the burning building and put it back where it belongs.

When we are all collectively bored, we will ask mom to tell us stories about the family when she was young. She drums up stories about threshing day, when other farmers would come and help her dad harvest the crops. Her mom would make huge dinners, mounds of mashed potatoes, fried chicken, cooked down green beans, hot rolls and tons of pies. Everyone would eat in the dining room, but they hung a mirror outside on a tree and set up a wash basin underneath so the men could get cleaned up for dinner.

She tells of going blackberry picking with her mom when she was really little. Her mom would tie her sleeves down to her gloves with string and then make her stand there and keep watch for snakes. According to mom my grandma made the best blackberry cobbler in three counties! Her dad had her help milk the cows one time. They went to the barn, he was showing her how, and the cow’s tail swished across her face. “Ewwwe! I don’t like this I want my momma!” He sent her back to the house to be with her mom and all her siblings said that it didn’t matter what the cow did to them they still had to help milk the cows.

Grandpa and his horses

Mom and her Grandma

Uncle Don

Uncle Don was ten foot tall, had hands the size of oven mitts, and was Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman. O.K., not really, but growing up this is what I thought. He was always the comical one. He had a great sense of humor and was always fun to listen to. Donald is the brother closest to mom’s age. Well, he got to be the baby of the family for a long time, eleven years. Then along came mom.

He served in WWII in the Navy. Both of the older kids were in the war and he wanted to go, also, but he was too young. I guess he nearly drove everyone nuts until he was old enough to go. When he finally signed up and was shipped out, Grandma had to make another flag with another star on it signifying that she had three children in the war. Uncle Don made it all the way to San Diego and then never got any farther for the duration of the war, much to his chagrin.

He was a farmer and a firefighter. Then he took his family and moved to Alaska for over thirty years. They would send us canned salmon and tell us stories about moose and bears in their front lawn. Whenever he and his family would visit they would talk about how hot it was here and how much cooler the weather was back home. I hate hot weather and I still threaten to move in with my cousins in Alaska. Uncle Don passed away in 2003.

Uncle Ray

Raymond my mom’s oldest brother loved the Chicago Cubs. When we would visit the relatives up north we would stay with him and aunt Dorothy. I remember him sitting in front of the t.v. with Cub’s baseball games on and looking half asleep, but if you tried to change the channel he would say, “I was just resting my eyes and, yes, I’m watching the game!”

The summer I was nine years old we had a family reunion. My grandma was a little crippled up, so my uncle Ray went out and bought a used van. It had the Iowa Hawkeye’s emblem all over it. He must of got it from an alumni. I remember it being huge! My mom says it was very comfortable for grandma and that he did this for their mom.

He was a mechanic and a truck driver. He owned a trucking company.



He served in WWII. He trained out in Golden, Colorado. I’ve read an old letter that he sent to grandpa and grandma, stating that, "Mickey Rooney came and visited the troops and it was swell. And, by the way, me and Dorothy, his high school sweetheart, got married this weekend. Just thought I should let you folks know." He was military police in the Army. He was at battles in France and Okinawa, Japan! I never heard him talk about the war. It was just one of those things he didn’t talk about. He passed away in 1998, four days before his sister, Margaret.

Aunt Margaret

Today is the first day of fall. Soon the weather will start cooling off and the holidays will be here before we know it. For some reason this got me to thinking about my mom's sister, Aunt Margaret. She was a very cool aunt. She would send me expensive cards that had puzzles and games. I remember one thanksgiving card that she sent, where there was a punch-out section that had you build the Mayflower. There where also pop-up Halloween cards with ghosts and black cats jumping out to say, Boo" and big felt Santa Clauses, some of which we still put out during Christmas. My Birthday is six days before Christmas and she would send me big fun birthday cards, too. She signed every card with a green felt tipped pen with her precise script.
Aunt Margaret served in World War II. She was in the WAVES and was stationed in Florida. There is a funny story about her. She was leading the ladies in a drill, marched them right around the corner, and straight into a wall. When she got out of the WAVES, she decided she wanted her pilots license. So she learned to fly a plane. Then she moved to California and bought a motor scooter. She drove this to and from work every day. She always wore bright red lipstick. She was visiting my great uncle who served on the local volunteer fire department. While she was there a call came in signalling a fire. As my uncle was rushing out the door, Aunt Margaret said, "wait, I want to go with you, but I have to put on my lipstick!" Aunt Margaret passed awayed the first week of September 1998 four days after her brother. She was 74 years old.

Mom and her sister, Margaret

Ho Hum

After work yesterday, I went to the plaza art fair. My sister and my niece came along, too. We saw all the tents and went to Panera Bread for some coffee and diet cokes. When we left it was pouring down rain, so we hoofed it to the car and drove home. There is not much of anything else going on. I work all day today.

My Nephew Jacob

About Jacob:
My sister and I went down to watch our nephew, Jacob, do his "coaching" job at the college he is attending. Right now, he is an equipment manager. Last year he washed the teams' laundry. Next year he moves up to another position. When he is all finished he will be placed at a college level coaching position. He's a good kid and we are all very proud of him.

Dorky History/Lit Geek

Ha! I'm a dorky history/lit geek and I work at a library...how surprising!

Good Morning

I'm up early every morning now, because I have a new alarm clock and her name is Mrytle. Our new kitten likes to wake me up every morning by licking my face and hands. If I turn myself into a mummy with the sheets she will take her head and with all the the might she can muster pushes on my neck until I move. Then jumps in and starts licking me again! She starts in a six thirty in the morning. She will eventually give up and fall asleep across my head!

Last night my sister Karen and I babysitted our great niece and and baby great nephew. They are so cute! At one point in the evening we couldn't get baby Kevin to settle down and stop crying. So, Valerie grabbed his binky and shoved it in his mouth and gave the two us a duh look, like "don't you guys know anything! This is the plug to make him stop!" It was pretty funny, too. We finally got him settled and Valerie and I played with her Barbies.

This afternoon we are going to watch another nephew coach college football. He is attending a state school here in Missouri and is in some accelerated program for coaching students. Once he's graduated they will place him in a college level coaching position, but for now he helps coach football where's he's attending school.

Autumn

I'm so excited that the temperatures are finally dropping. My favorite season is autumn. This is the time of the year when summer’s hot fury comes to an end. We are greeted each morning with a cool, crisp kiss of fresh air. Our trees finally show their true colors and we are blessed with nature’s bounty of freshly harvested produce. All the flavors and colors of the season become richer and we are allowed to enjoy the sensations of the changing season. With this change comes the pleasures football, campfires, apples and pumpkins, and cozy sweaters. We open our doors and windows to enjoy the cooler weather. We curl up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket and wrap ourselves in the warmth of the new season. We invite friends and family over for soups, chillis or hot apple pies. We take country drives to see the foliage and enjoy the crisp breeze on our faces. We warm our hands up with cups of hot chocolate and coffee. Our children come home from school smelling of sharpened pencils, chalk, and sweat and it brings to mind our old school days. They talk of old friends and the new friends they have made. We take long walks and catch up with old friends. We enjoy the outdoors and bring part of it with us when we come home. We make fun fall crafts with leaves and acorns, pick pumpkins to put by our doorsteps, and place scarecrows in our front yards. Fall is definitely a fun season to be enjoyed by all.

We're Home!

We all got back from our vacation safe and sound! Mom has fallen in love with the ocean! I enjoyed both the Smoky's and the ocean, but this was Mom's first time to visit the beach! I've got to get back into the old routines again! It was nice not to have to do all the chores for a while. Well, I was the pack mule on vacation. Everything was loaded onto my back and I carried it in and out of all the hotels. That's O.K., though, because we also ate a lot of food and I sat in the van for a very long time so, I needed the exercise!