The House of Love- Daily Challenge #11- Write about where you lived when you were 12

4 Pine Road, that was the place for some of my favorite memories and some of my worst! It was a split level house with a red door. I loved the door!  The bedroom that I shared with my sister was upstairs. Many nights of muffled laughter in our pillows, amidst the fighting over covers! I also remember my sister never failing to have to turn the light back on, cause of forgetting something. My poor eyes would be blinded. It usually was due to her needing to put her chapstick on! A smaller room, was my brother’s. It looked so lonely during the school year when he was off at college, but was filled with life when he would return. Later on the room became like a sanctuary, where I would try to feel his presence. The times when the missing him came unbearable! I can actually almost still smell the scent of the room, and I am reminded of him.  When the storms came one night and it was just us kids at home, we ran to my older sister’s room.  She was the  brave one. We  sat on her bed and sang songs as we huddled close together. Had a feeling of warmth and security!

Moving downstairs we had the family room with a couch that pulled out into a bed. How cool!  Slumber parties, dancing on the bed and listening to music. Playing Princess with my sister. We danced with our handsome princes and ran from the evil stepmother! Watching family movies with the big bowl of popcorn, all was done in that room.

The basement held memories too. Wonderful ones of being surprised by a ping pong table and hours spent having fun with it. Playing with a huge cardboard refrigerator box that I put a pillow and cushion in, was my little getaway. Swinging from a inner-tube, that we had strung from the rafters. A place to run to, when I was in tears and needed to be alone. I remember counting out all the seashells my brother had given me as a gift in a jar. Spilling them on the ping pong table as the tears spilled from my eyes.

If the walls could speak….that is said often, but so very true! A house is more than the furnishings and whether its spic and span. A house is the laughter, the love, the memories and yes even the tears that bond a family together! What the house looked like, the exact colors of the walls and carpet may fade from my mind. But the memories of what happened inside the walls will  never die!

The Duck and the Lawyer

So as I still think about what type of things i am going to post on my blog, I think I will post this and see how everyone likes it 🙂

We were doing some deep cleaning today, fun way to spend a Saturday I know! I pulled out from behind several boxes 2 wooden ducks. The old toys, the ducks  that had wheels and flapped their wings. They were on the end of a stick. We had picked them up at yard sale for our girls when they were just little tots. When I found them a memory came vividly back to me and I smiled as I relayed  it to my daughter. I asked her if she remembered these ducks and she said, Oh yes! I asked if she remembered breaking her sister’s and she said no. Welll…..I said, let me tell you, and she listened in anticipation

Your sister came running in the house crying that you had broke her duck. You came right behind her claiming that it wasn’t your fault. The story your sister told was that the ball you threw hit her duck and cracked it. Yes, you replied it did, but it wasn’t MY FAULT! See Mommy it was like this….

“Tiya wanted to play ball and I didn’t want to, but I was nice and said i would. I threw the ball and she missed it and so it hit her duck, BUT….IF she wouldn’t have suggested we play ball, I wouldn’t have thrown the ball and IF I wouldn’t have thrown the ball, she wouldn’t have missed it and IF she wouldn’t have missed it, it wouldn’t have hit her duck and cracked it! So see Mom, it wasn’t my fault!” ( this was exactly what she said, its documented in my journal :))

My now 12 year old was grinning as I finished it, and told her how  after saying that to me she  just walked away. “From that tender age of 6 is when I knew you were going to be a lawyer,”I said.  She laughed, but said , “No Mom, I don’t want to be a lawyer.”  in all honesty my husband and I still think there is a chance,  Once again I have proof of  of why in the many years of journals that I have ,LOL! For trust me, she hasn’t lost her reasoning like that, its only grown as she has, which is why my gray hairs are starting to show as we enter these teen years!

Look out Stomach! Daily Challenge #10, write about food that holds special memories

Three foods came instantly to my mind when I read this assignment.  Foods  that take me back to my childhood and fill me with  warm memories.

“Look out stomach, here it comes!” This was what was uttered out of my Dad’s mouth at my Mom’s new dish that she had prepared for supper.  It was Chicken Curry. You put rice in your bowl and the curry sauce on top of it, next comes the ingredients that my Dad wasn’t so sure about! Raisins, peanuts, and pineapples get put on top and all mixed together. Well I am glad to say that my Dad’s stomach survived that night and it soon became a favorite meal for us all. To this day we serve it to our families who delight in it as well. You can’t judge a book by its cover or a meal by what it looks like. If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly encourage you to, your taste buds will thank you! 🙂

Chocolate cornstarch pudding is another favorite. A simple dish, but I fondly remember watching my Mom at the stove making it and that is why its such a sweet memory. My stomach would get excited when I would smell it on the stove as I anxiously waited to indulge in it. One thing that there was never leftovers of.

The third dish that brings back warm childhood memories is our supper  pancakes, yes I am sure we are not the only family that had a breakfast dish at supper. We actually had it quite often and none of us minded! What makes this stand out as extra special was that we didn’t use the common pancake syrup. Undiluted cream of mushroom soup was the desired topping! All of us thought it was delicious! This is one meal that has not caught on with my family, but I still make it from time to time and enjoy it all myself! Laughter comes to me as I write this, for something that just recently happened. After eating some pancakes with Cream of Mushroom soup and my husband shaking his head at me; I figured I would ask on facebook how many people liked their pancakes that way. I was shocked at the replies! No one had heard of it before!! I had always assumed it was a Pennsylvania Dutch dish, but it  was not appearing to be that. People were not eager to try it either, tho I said how yummy it was. Apparently you had to have the good memories in order to enjoy it! 🙂  I texted my sister and she too thought it was a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe, so I called my Mom and asked her. The response I got was laughter! Here it was something my Mom had made up! Her Mom had never done it, or my Dad’s, it wasn’t a recipe from a friend. My Mom decided just to try it one night and it became a winner! Well at least with us it did! I still have not convinced my friends and family of how delicious it is. Will you give it a try?

Food…..it is about more than  flavor, it is a keeper of memories. It fills the stomach and warms the soul!

The power of red leaves! Daily challenge #9

Fall was definitely in the air; the squirrels were scampering around gathering their nuts, and the rainbow mixture of leaves were blowing in the gentle wind. The man held his wife’s hand tightly as they walked with slow but purposeful steps. A walk in the park was usually a pleasant experience, they would engage in easy conversation. Today was different tho, the man was lost in his thoughts, “Betty always loved Fall; it was her favorite season, she loved the hayrides and warming  up by the campfire afterwards. Roasting marshmallows was her specialty, just the right shade of brown to them. A tad crisp on the outside while sweet and gooey on the inside.” He proceeded to walk along keeping his thoughts to himself, for his wife seemed lost in her own thoughts as well.

“Its a little bit chilly out here”, thought his wife, as they strolled along. “Glad I wore my sweater.”  With that thought, she had a nostalgic moment, as her mind wandered  back to the time  when she was a child. It was during the Great Depression, and she knew there might not be anything for Christmas that year. She tried not to be disappointed, as she wore her frayed and faded blue sweater to school. The color blue just added to her sadness, she preferred red, but this blue sweater had been  given to her and they couldn’t refuse it. Ir definitely got worn and did serve its purpose, but she still loved the color of red best of all.

As they drew closer to the bench that a woman was sitting on, the man could see what she was intently doing. He started to get choked up and a tear came to his eyes. She was knitting a red sweater, Betty, his twin sister,  had  loved the color red and owned a beautiful red sweater.  When discussing with his other siblings what she should be buried in, they had picked the red sweater, for it was her favorite.  He wiped at his  tears as they drew closer.

“OH look at that!”, thought his wife, “She is knitting a red sweater!” Happiness flooded her heart at the memory of the joy she felt when waking up Christmas morning. With a gasp of surprise she had spied a wrapped box with her name on it. She unwrapped it, and to her shock and joy, she had  pulled out a vibrant  red sweater! So that is why her Mom had stayed up late so many nights; she was knitting her a sweater! She had treasured that sweater forever, as a gift of her Mom’s great love for her!

The lady looked up from the bench as she saw a couple come strolling by. In her eagerness to get this red sweater finished, she almost hadn’t noticed them.  The delight in her heart was bursting due to the purpose for the sweater; her daughter was in China now, greeting her new toddler. A sweet, 3 year old girl, that needed a home. Her daughter and son-in-law had been thrilled about it! To them this was a mighty answer to prayer, their weeping at night, over their empty home, was now turning into tears of joy, as they were going to fill their house with the laughter and spunk of a precious 3 year old! A tear rolled down her cheek at the anticipation of meeting her granddaughter for the first time. She had to share the joy with someone! Maybe the couple coming would like to sit and chat awhile….and she motioned them over to the bench. As they came over, a strong breeze blew  and shook the tree that was standing right behind the bench. The breeze made more leaves fall to the ground. The couple had sat down next to the woman and the leaves fell in their laps. Vibrant  red leaves! They both picked up a leaf and turned their faces upward, looking at the sky, as they smiled.

The Playground – Daily Challenge #7 . write a vivid description of a place without using adverbs

They wanted to run, but we made them walk hand in hand. Smiling, the adorable 2 year olds  plodded along, some at a faster rate than others. For  some had to stop and watch the bright, yellow  butterfly fly by or look up at the trees, for they were sure they saw something hiding  up there. When the gate opened, they ran with happiness to the toys. Some went to the slide and yes some pushing and shoving occurred as to who would go down first. Others sat on a picnic bench together laughing at private secrets, while others went into the playhouse playing peek-a-boo out the windows.

One little boy sat in the grass crying, longing for someone to pick him up. As he was picked up his body  relaxed and it wasn’t long til his little blonde head was nodding and his  droopy eyes closed in sleep.

“And what would you like to eat”, was the words out of one brown curly haired girl, that I call  Shirley Temple :). “I will have  spaghetti and some pie please.” She was the quickest cook of all, for she  had it all ready within minutes! She didn’t even  forget the drink to wash it down.. Another brown curly haired angel wanted to get in on the fun and asked if I was hungry. “Well I  ate spaghetti and pie, but sure what will it be?”  She wanted to make a surprise, so off she went and returned within seconds. “Here you go”, she said with pride, as she held her hands out with care  so as not to drop the delicious food.

I can say with all  honesty  it was the first time ever for a peanut butter and garlic sandwich!

Running with excitement came another short blonde haired angel, smiling with pleasure. “I am all wet!” she said, “OH NO”, we said, “You will have to stay outside and miss lunch, so you can dry off!” She laughed with glee, “No, I won’t, I am just pretending! See I am not really wet!”

The adorable black haired child is sitting on the merry-go-round, her little round cheeks are just asking to be squeezed. Oh but wait, she keeps throwing the toys in the grass that the tiny brown haired boy is putting on the merry-go-round.  This is causing cries of frustration to come from him. Knowing that soon one of those toys is going to be thrown at the little girl I pick her up and carry her away to another toy, and the little boy is left in peace.

Blonde haired, blue eyed cutie pie is going for a ride in the little dump truck, but OOPS, he took a tumble. Cries emit from him, but more out of surprise,than being hurt. He is picked up and cuddled, and soon off to run with joy again.

OH my leg is getting hugged, no problem, this body will take as many hugs as it can get 🙂

“Who wants lunch?” Soon they come running with anticipation, eager to go fill up their bellies, and the teachers eager for what comes after….NAPTIME! 🙂 where visions of sugarplums will dance in their heads!

The Water Glass

GM!  I started going through my posts from when I first started on here. I started with taking the Writing 101 course, didn’t know what it would lead to!! We were given topics each day and for this topic we were supposed to write about 2 opposing views. Hope you all don’t mind as I share a flashback from the past. Enjoy!

The restaurant was busy with its morning rush of customers. getting a bite to eat before rushing off to work. No one paid  much notice to the 2 customers sitting at booths opposite of each other. They had ordered different meals, one was bacon and eggs with biscuits smothered in gravy. The other one had oatmeal and whole wheat toast. One thing they both did have, was a water glass that was half full, or was it half empty?? Listen in on their thoughts

“It is so freezing cold this morning, I should have stayed in bed under my warm covers!”

“Oh it is frosty this morning, but I love the change of seasons being in the air, the anticipation of something new. The chill in the air definitely helped me wake up quickly!”

“Can’t believe how heavy traffic was …had to wait forever for the car in front of me to move, don’t people realize I have places to go, people to meet. I can’t afford to be slowed down for anything!!”

” Traffic was definitely slow moving today, but I loved watching the Mom and her little boy on the sidewalk. They were deep in conversation,  her boy was talking so excitedly, seeing the Mom  caress the boy’s cheek…Oh it brought back memories of little Timmy…not so little anymore tho. I  still can’t believe he is in college now! I got so caught up in the memories I didn’t realize that the light had turned green. Than I heard the horn beep behind me…oops!”

“Well look at the time, where is that slow  waitress I need to pay my check and get out of here. Facing  another day of drudgery, working so hard for so little money…UGH!”

“I hope my waitress has a good day, I noticed she seemed in a state of frenzy this morning. I think I will leave a little extra tip today to hopefully bring a smile to her face. I don’t make much at my job, but I do love to give, to make others happy. After all,  isn’t that what life is about, spreading the joy.”

With those last thoughts the customers left, off to their different worlds. Their water glasses still sat on the table….they had  told their story, now its up to you. Which  glass are you going to be today ?

Through his eyes of love! Daily Challenge #6, Write about someone you recently met who impacted your life

He impacted the lives of people as far away as Africa and as close as the feel of his breath.

Innocence exuded from his tiny, fragile body, like a breath of fresh air. Smooth as satin was the feel of his skin. It gave you a feeling of warmth from your head to your toes as you held him. A feeling that all was right with the world, and when he smiled your heart melted. You knew in a instant that you wouldn’t think twice if you had to put yourself into danger to save him. He left that mark on your soul. Through his eyes you saw a fresh outlook on life, a new beginning, someone who has made no mistakes yet and has no regrets. For  a moment you wish you could go back in time to that new beginning.  He may have been small, only 21 inches and 8 pounds, but he left a impact on many and he will continue to do so!

As I cuddled his warm body next to my chest and breathed in the scent of his sweet smell I felt challenged. Challenged to let go of  the regrets of the past and move forward. To embrace each new day, the joys and the challenges that it holds, for that is life. A life that my dear niece brought this little bundle of joy, named Miles into! As he grows,  she and her dear husband will teach Miles about life, but for now he is teaching us in his own small way. Teaching us to hold those we love dearly close to us….not look at their mistakes or what we see as flaws, for through his eyes he sees each of us as perfect. He doesn’t know what mistakes we made  last week, ….he knows the present. That is what is impacting me now, to focus on the present and embrace my loved ones for who they are right here and now. To not dwell on yesterday’s faults or even the ones just made a hour ago. I want to think like Miles who looks at his Mommy and Daddy with eyes of love and gratitude. He could care less what mistakes they may have made.  When they are holding and loving on him,  they are his world and he loves them unconditionally. The same way that they love him!

Go impact someone’s world today by choosing to look at them through the eyes of Miles! Appreciate them for who they are and love them unconditionally!

Thank you!

I want to thank my fellow   bloggers and readers for your support as I have entered this new world of blogging and am taking the Writing 101 course. I am loving taking the time to write again, feeling like something is unlocked inside of me. Was thinking tonight of what will I write on this blog when the Writing course is over. Don’t fear I will continue 🙂 I decided to make Wednesday and Friday regular blog days, Who knows maybe I will surprise myself and be able to keep posting every day. I have special themes for Wednesday and Friday’s,  but for now will keep them a secret. Will start it after the course is over, try not to hold your breath for that long as you wait 🙂

I would love some feedback from as to how often you post on your blog, do you have a regular time set up, or is it pretty much when you want to?

Thanks again for your kind words and liking my posts and following my blog. I have enjoyed yours to and am glad i have joined the blogging world!

Going Home……Challenge #5 – You find a letter…make it captivating but brief

The snow was falling as she walked home by the light of the moon in the sky. Her mind was remembering something that had happened earlier that day and then she spied it. There was a royal blue envelope sticking its way out of a snowbank. She reached down and grabbed it, it was open and she couldn’t help but read  from the one sheet of paper inside.

Dear William,

You have been gone from home too long.

All is forgiven.

Please come home!

We love you!

Sincerely yours!

The words touched her heart and  she hoped that William had dashed for home as fast as he could go, dropping the letter in his haste! She couldn’t help but feel a twinge in her heart…..had she been meant to see that letter? Could she return home, or was it too late?

My Tribute….Day 4 challenge – Write a 3 part series about losing someone or something

On August 25th, 1960 my parents welcomed a bundle of joy into their lives. Their first child and my only  brother. He was born blue and I am so glad that he survived, for it would have been tragic to have never known all the joy he brought into our lives!  I was born 10 years later on a winter’s day.  10 years may have separated us, but we were so close in our hearts. I can still see his bright smile and hear his laughter. We laughed often, him and I.

One of our favorite things to do was to wrestle with each other, he was nice enough to let me think I was getting the best of him at times. I remember one incident, where we were wrestling on top of the bunk bed in our camper. Not real smart, for I fell and hurt myself, but the injury wasn’t severe and we had fun. That’s what mattered to us.  Having fun was our goal. One summer  I ended up tearing his t-shirt to shreds, for  wrestling was a serious job and I gave it my all. It was a old undershirt, so no big loss, and it caused us both laughter. For Christmas that year I had the perfect gift for him, his shredded  t-shirt all nicely wrapped in pretty paper. The expression on his face when he opened it was priceless!

Yes we had fun times together, but I also knew as I got older, that he really cared about me and truly looked out for me. I could feel his deep love and it made me feel special and  all warm inside.  He was my big brother and I was so proud of him. Not only did he care about me and my sisters, he cared about people! He was always there to help whoever needed it and to touch as many lives as he could with his warm personality. Young and old alike, he just had a way of relating to them that made them each feel special. I remember him being a EMT and he took the job so seriously. He could be sound asleep when  his beeper would go off and he was out of the house in an instant to go help. Some of the situations were hard for him to handle, they didn’t  always end well. But he kept giving it his all. That described my brother to a T, he gave it his all in  whatever he was doing.

He had the nice balance between taking life seriously and being fun and crazy. He could make people laugh so easily and at the same time they knew he was a dependable, caring guy and they could confide in him. Being spontaneous described him well. Sure, let’s hop on the motorcycle and get a 1/2 gallon of ice cream and see how many toppings we can put on it and ,” What….its gonna make me sick… Nah”! Well…yes it did! For a first trip on his motorcycle lets go from Indiana to Kansas. “What…I may be sore on a long trip like that pushed into a short time…..I may have to ride in the pouring rain, for I gotta make it in time for my sister’s wedding”. Yup, he drove in the rain and yes he was SORE. I still remember the way he walked when he got off the motorcycle 🙂 But hey it was an adventure and that is what he was always up for!

My brother  welcomed me into my teen years adventure with a Ziggy card. He loved Ziggy, the card was a cartoon about being nutty and he wrote on it  how we would see who was the nuttier one when he got home. He wrote, “OH NO, another teenager in the house, Look out!” I laughed and put away the card in a safe place. Would I have laughed or would I have had tears coursing down my cheek if I would have known….if I would have known that would be my last card from him ?