Sunday, October 06, 2013
The Past
Do you remember the smell of fresh perking coffee? Oh, I know, you say, Coffee made today still has that fresh smell. But, I believe that smell along with the perking sound gave us memories that are just not quite the same with today's new pots. Maybe that is why the old fashioned style of Coffee Pots, even the Percolator have been returning to stores to be sold? Perhaps they want to sell Memories just as much as they do Coffee? Now I am not saying that things tasted or smelled better back in the past, but the Memories sure make us think so, don't they? Remember the Maxwell Coffee ads? How about the one at Christmas time for Folgers? AAAh, Good to the last Drop! Coming home again, it gets no better!
How about the smell of Bacon frying? Yummy. Even if you don't eat the bacon, I bet you can remember that smell! Breakfast time, the best part of the day? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But one thing I remember about those days is that people would take the time to sit and enjoy that feast of food before they went about their day. They did not rush off, coffee mug in hand, spilling a bit on the way. Yes, they did indeed work hard. They labored and worked and labored and worked some more. Now I am not saying that people don't work as hard now as they did then. In fact, some work longer hours for less pay than those hard working people did back on the farm when I was a child. (We won't even mention how long ago that has been, thank you very much!)
What about the thrill in the Fall when the leaves start turning and people begin to burn leaves. Ah, what a memory that revives. That smell of crisp leaves as they crackle and burn. Most places won't even let us burn leaves anymore! Not environmentally safe! Still the memory of that smell returns to our brains often this time of the Seasons. Most of us can remember the smell of those wet, damp leaves after a rainstorm too. How about the fun of jumping into them and hiding from one another. Another past lovely Memory, though I would not enjoy doing so now a days!
I remember the smell of cakes baking. the whir of frosting being whipped. Oh what a lovely memory that entails. You see, for a while my Mom baked and sold cakes from her home. I don't remember if she made much money, but I do remember that smell and getting to lick out those pans and to eat the non used sections she would trim off before the frosting began. No cake has ever tasted as good as that memory lingers. She took lessons from a friend of hers in Iowa. We used to go visit there and I could not believe the smell of that house. It was like Heaven to smell. Then to get to taste what she was making too? Wonderful. True, I suppose that might have contributed to my weight gain, but my brothers ate their fair share as well and neither is fat.
How about the smell of marsh mellows melting around a tree branch sharpened to a nasty point? Nothing tasted as good at those Rendezvous Camps as those gooey melted treats smashed up against the chocolate piece and enveloped by that graham cracker crust. Marsh mellows smell really good up close. That burned on crust, burned though it might smell, was just part of it all.
I can remember how the Cow barn smelled too. Or the smell of fresh milk as it is being processed. There were smells in that barn I would rather forget, but it was all a part of the experience. My brother had to milk the cows when my Dad was away earning some extra money. He would squirt milk in the Kittens mouths too. I would help to lock the stansions on the cows and let them out when milked. My brothers and I used to take turns riding on Dad's milk route when he would take our just milked milk to the Creamery in town. We always got to have a bottle of chocolate milk to go with cheese slice sandwiches Mom would make for us for lunch. That smell returns to this day whenever I open a block of cheese. I did not know back then how involved my family had been in establishing and overseeing the local Creamery business. That is a story for another time.
What other smells can you think of that stir up fond memories? Tell me what takes you back. I look forward to hearing. I will add to this list if and when I think of more smells. Have a good weekend and week! From Kate
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
It is fun to remember back when I was little. Some times were good, some not so good. Like the time when I got stung by a wasp. Ouch! It hurt! I can still remember that pain. I also remember when a Bumble Bee got in my car when I was coming home from working at a Daycare. As I turned the last turn to get to our home, the bee got stuck behind me. Of course, he panicked and did what any creature does when trapped. He stung! I really do remember how bad it felt. Yikes. Memories like that always stay clear for some reason.
I remember our place in Missouri very clearly. It was 2 miles from a tiny little town called Louisburg. I also remember Grandma and Grandpa's house in Buffalo. Which place to describe first. Hard choice. I believe I have described our house at one other time, so if this is repeating, please stay with me. We had a big circle driveway. It came in by the house, curved around by the milk barn, then out to the road again it went. There were tall grasses and flowers growing in the green grass in between the driveway and the road. I remember Dad usually cussed that part of the lawn when mowing it. It was difficult to get mowed without taking some chances. He often mowed up snakes there.
The house set to the right of the Driveway. It was a two story frame home, very typical of houses then. I see that type of house often in Iowa too. I wonder sometimes if it might be one of those that could be ordered from the Catalog. Will have to look into that. When you came in the back door, there used to be a porch. Soon after we moved there, Dad and Grandpa and Don, Dad's brother, closed in the screened porch and made it into our kitchen. I don't really remember it before the remodel, I was still pretty little then. What I do remember is after they closed it in. Dad splurged and bought some really neat kitchen cabinets. Or got them on a special deal, which was more likely. I wish I could find a picture of cabinets like them. I have not seen them anywhere. Not even when looking in the retro style ads. They had glass doors which were frosted. You could see the form of the dishes and cups behind them, but not clearly. There was a countertop and then the sink. I can't for the life of me remember what color the counters were....but yellow does come to mind. I remember the Refrigerator was Yellow. Really quite stylish for the time! The room was small, just big enough to hold a table and chairs with a little space to walk through or around the table to set it. I got lots of practice doing that, trust me, lol. The table was a pretty one. It had an enamel finish that looked a lot like puzzle pieces for a surface top. It was metal and the legs were curvy. The seats of the chairs were yellow too. I believe there was a little yellow scroll or some such on the table top. Very 1950's. Then along the wall to the east of the table was the place we kept the party line telephone. It was black. That was the only color choice back then. There was a large opening into the living room. Large enough to put our bookcases there. They made a sort of serving bar type area. The cabinets had been pink, but Mom had painted them a sort of teal blue green. I believe that Dad might have even constructed or put the cases together. They may have come in a kit even. The shelves were quite deep about 14 inches by 26 or perhaps a bit wider. They wore on forever, and we got them to use in our new home when we got married. They had sliding corregated doors.
In the living room was the couch. It was a black one with little orange or golden flecks woven in. That couch lasted many years. In fact it was handed down to my brother and his wife and they might still have it. It wore like iron. Even with 3 kids abusing it. Then my brother had 4 kids and it survived them too. I will have to ask him if they still have it. Mom had some knick knacks setting around the room, but Dad really didn't care for the tops of the tables to be cluttered. There was a door into my bedroom and one into the folks bedroom. Mom thought that was just too many doors. So, she had Dad close the one door into my bedroom in with shelves for her keepsakes. He did so, but did not totally close it off. He used some sort of heavy gauge wire. Not chicken wire, but similar. Her what nots looked really nice setting on those shelves. We had some chairs too, but for some reason no picture of them comes to my memory right now. I remember a coffee table that my brother made for a school project. It became a fixture of their living room for many, many years. Mom was really proud of that table! It was beautiful. I don't remember what ever happened to it. I think she might have given it back to my brother when they moved to a smaller place many years later. That room where I ended up had been the original kitchen. We were one of the last ones in the community to get a Television set. When we did, it became the center of our world. Then there were 2 bedrooms upstairs. Then the folks had their own bedroom to the east of mine. My Dad bought my Mom a new bedroom suite shortly before we moved to Iowa. It was a kind of gray and white set. Not blonde, yet not really gray either. It had a Dresser for Dad's things, the bedframe, of course and then the wonderful spacious, wide Dresser that was Mom's alone. She really loved that Dresser and we had it until I was married. Then when she got a new set yet again, my husband and I inherited that set too. I had always loved it, so it was great to finally get to use it! My bedroom was also the Utility room with the makeshift bathroom and the washer and dryer, plus a table to fold the clothes on and an old tall dresser that was probably my folks until they got the Blonde/Gray set.
Now that I think of it, that was a pretty small house! We got by, however. I know I had a bed in their bedroom for a while, until the kitchen redo. My brothers shared one bedroom upstairs while the other room served as a storage place. As the Pot was in my room, I got the lovely job of taking care of that little chore too. (yuck) We would mostly use it just at night, but it was still a pretty gross job. I think back on that sort of thing that we did back then, and I truly appreciate what I have much more. We had a toilet/outhouse a ways from the house, but it was not a very safe place to go, to go. I never knew what kind of critters might be in there when I went to dump the pot. I got stung once by a wasp who thought he should live there and that I should not be bothering him! Not only did he sting me, he put his legs inside my nose to hang on with! He would not even shoo away when I tried. So, that time dumping the pot had an entirely unrepeatable ending. Let's just say Mom was pretty nice to me. She even went out and cleaned up the outhouse for me! I think she felt bad that I had gotten stung. She used to always tell me that the wasps would not bother me if I did not move too fast. WRONG!
The upstairs was pretty small even though it had two rooms. I think it was just barely large enough for twin beds. Unless the boys had a bunk bed. I don't remember that for sure. I will have to ask my brother about that. I see him more often. My brothers are 5 years apart in age. One turned 65 this year, the younger one is just 60. I turned 63. Where on earth did all that time go? I keep on writing that, but it is so true. Time is rushing by so fast, faster every day. That describes the house pretty well.
Then just to the west and a bit south of the house was the old root cellar. There was a big tree that grew up practically right out of the cellar. That was the tree that I had my adventures in. North of that tree was the cistern. (see, I did remember what it was) That area was quite large and built just like a stage. Of course, I was tempted to play upon it. But, my Mom would always warn me off of it. She said it might collapse and I would drown. I was pretty good about minding, but every once in a while she would yell out the kitchen door at me. The root cellar had been there a very long time. It was built of stone with a wooden door. I don't believe Mom ever kept much in there. I don't remember going in there at all. Then next to it stood the double car garage. I remember that Dad did not park the cars in it very often. I think he was afraid it would just tumble down some day. They ended up knocking that entire area down and carting the rocks away later on. Next to that right up next to the wall was that old outhouse. Then about 15 feet south of that was another building that Dad used as his shop. He had his tools in there with parts of things I did not even recognize. We were never to play in that building either. It was a wooden frame building, but still very old. Then the cow barn was just west of that garage door. They milked many cows when we first lived there. Further south and a bit east stood the big old Barn. I know that when we went up in the Hay Mow of the Barn that there were many holes in the floor. Yes, we were not supposed to be there either. The cows would come to this area just before milking time. Sometimes we would have to go out to the other pasture to herd them in, but not very often.
I will tell more about my home in Missouri later on. We returned a few times to see the old place. Later on my husband and I stopped by on our way back to Iowa from a Vacation. The old place had changed so much that I barely even recognized it! Still, the Memories remain in my brain if no where else. We had a good life there. It was certainly different than the next place we lived. Sometime I will describe my Grandparents home also. For now, I need a break. Goodnight Moon! Grandma Kate
I remember our place in Missouri very clearly. It was 2 miles from a tiny little town called Louisburg. I also remember Grandma and Grandpa's house in Buffalo. Which place to describe first. Hard choice. I believe I have described our house at one other time, so if this is repeating, please stay with me. We had a big circle driveway. It came in by the house, curved around by the milk barn, then out to the road again it went. There were tall grasses and flowers growing in the green grass in between the driveway and the road. I remember Dad usually cussed that part of the lawn when mowing it. It was difficult to get mowed without taking some chances. He often mowed up snakes there.
The house set to the right of the Driveway. It was a two story frame home, very typical of houses then. I see that type of house often in Iowa too. I wonder sometimes if it might be one of those that could be ordered from the Catalog. Will have to look into that. When you came in the back door, there used to be a porch. Soon after we moved there, Dad and Grandpa and Don, Dad's brother, closed in the screened porch and made it into our kitchen. I don't really remember it before the remodel, I was still pretty little then. What I do remember is after they closed it in. Dad splurged and bought some really neat kitchen cabinets. Or got them on a special deal, which was more likely. I wish I could find a picture of cabinets like them. I have not seen them anywhere. Not even when looking in the retro style ads. They had glass doors which were frosted. You could see the form of the dishes and cups behind them, but not clearly. There was a countertop and then the sink. I can't for the life of me remember what color the counters were....but yellow does come to mind. I remember the Refrigerator was Yellow. Really quite stylish for the time! The room was small, just big enough to hold a table and chairs with a little space to walk through or around the table to set it. I got lots of practice doing that, trust me, lol. The table was a pretty one. It had an enamel finish that looked a lot like puzzle pieces for a surface top. It was metal and the legs were curvy. The seats of the chairs were yellow too. I believe there was a little yellow scroll or some such on the table top. Very 1950's. Then along the wall to the east of the table was the place we kept the party line telephone. It was black. That was the only color choice back then. There was a large opening into the living room. Large enough to put our bookcases there. They made a sort of serving bar type area. The cabinets had been pink, but Mom had painted them a sort of teal blue green. I believe that Dad might have even constructed or put the cases together. They may have come in a kit even. The shelves were quite deep about 14 inches by 26 or perhaps a bit wider. They wore on forever, and we got them to use in our new home when we got married. They had sliding corregated doors.
In the living room was the couch. It was a black one with little orange or golden flecks woven in. That couch lasted many years. In fact it was handed down to my brother and his wife and they might still have it. It wore like iron. Even with 3 kids abusing it. Then my brother had 4 kids and it survived them too. I will have to ask him if they still have it. Mom had some knick knacks setting around the room, but Dad really didn't care for the tops of the tables to be cluttered. There was a door into my bedroom and one into the folks bedroom. Mom thought that was just too many doors. So, she had Dad close the one door into my bedroom in with shelves for her keepsakes. He did so, but did not totally close it off. He used some sort of heavy gauge wire. Not chicken wire, but similar. Her what nots looked really nice setting on those shelves. We had some chairs too, but for some reason no picture of them comes to my memory right now. I remember a coffee table that my brother made for a school project. It became a fixture of their living room for many, many years. Mom was really proud of that table! It was beautiful. I don't remember what ever happened to it. I think she might have given it back to my brother when they moved to a smaller place many years later. That room where I ended up had been the original kitchen. We were one of the last ones in the community to get a Television set. When we did, it became the center of our world. Then there were 2 bedrooms upstairs. Then the folks had their own bedroom to the east of mine. My Dad bought my Mom a new bedroom suite shortly before we moved to Iowa. It was a kind of gray and white set. Not blonde, yet not really gray either. It had a Dresser for Dad's things, the bedframe, of course and then the wonderful spacious, wide Dresser that was Mom's alone. She really loved that Dresser and we had it until I was married. Then when she got a new set yet again, my husband and I inherited that set too. I had always loved it, so it was great to finally get to use it! My bedroom was also the Utility room with the makeshift bathroom and the washer and dryer, plus a table to fold the clothes on and an old tall dresser that was probably my folks until they got the Blonde/Gray set.
Now that I think of it, that was a pretty small house! We got by, however. I know I had a bed in their bedroom for a while, until the kitchen redo. My brothers shared one bedroom upstairs while the other room served as a storage place. As the Pot was in my room, I got the lovely job of taking care of that little chore too. (yuck) We would mostly use it just at night, but it was still a pretty gross job. I think back on that sort of thing that we did back then, and I truly appreciate what I have much more. We had a toilet/outhouse a ways from the house, but it was not a very safe place to go, to go. I never knew what kind of critters might be in there when I went to dump the pot. I got stung once by a wasp who thought he should live there and that I should not be bothering him! Not only did he sting me, he put his legs inside my nose to hang on with! He would not even shoo away when I tried. So, that time dumping the pot had an entirely unrepeatable ending. Let's just say Mom was pretty nice to me. She even went out and cleaned up the outhouse for me! I think she felt bad that I had gotten stung. She used to always tell me that the wasps would not bother me if I did not move too fast. WRONG!
The upstairs was pretty small even though it had two rooms. I think it was just barely large enough for twin beds. Unless the boys had a bunk bed. I don't remember that for sure. I will have to ask my brother about that. I see him more often. My brothers are 5 years apart in age. One turned 65 this year, the younger one is just 60. I turned 63. Where on earth did all that time go? I keep on writing that, but it is so true. Time is rushing by so fast, faster every day. That describes the house pretty well.
Then just to the west and a bit south of the house was the old root cellar. There was a big tree that grew up practically right out of the cellar. That was the tree that I had my adventures in. North of that tree was the cistern. (see, I did remember what it was) That area was quite large and built just like a stage. Of course, I was tempted to play upon it. But, my Mom would always warn me off of it. She said it might collapse and I would drown. I was pretty good about minding, but every once in a while she would yell out the kitchen door at me. The root cellar had been there a very long time. It was built of stone with a wooden door. I don't believe Mom ever kept much in there. I don't remember going in there at all. Then next to it stood the double car garage. I remember that Dad did not park the cars in it very often. I think he was afraid it would just tumble down some day. They ended up knocking that entire area down and carting the rocks away later on. Next to that right up next to the wall was that old outhouse. Then about 15 feet south of that was another building that Dad used as his shop. He had his tools in there with parts of things I did not even recognize. We were never to play in that building either. It was a wooden frame building, but still very old. Then the cow barn was just west of that garage door. They milked many cows when we first lived there. Further south and a bit east stood the big old Barn. I know that when we went up in the Hay Mow of the Barn that there were many holes in the floor. Yes, we were not supposed to be there either. The cows would come to this area just before milking time. Sometimes we would have to go out to the other pasture to herd them in, but not very often.
I will tell more about my home in Missouri later on. We returned a few times to see the old place. Later on my husband and I stopped by on our way back to Iowa from a Vacation. The old place had changed so much that I barely even recognized it! Still, the Memories remain in my brain if no where else. We had a good life there. It was certainly different than the next place we lived. Sometime I will describe my Grandparents home also. For now, I need a break. Goodnight Moon! Grandma Kate
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