Five on Friday: Little Memories June 26 2015

Cleaning out does lead to a lot of memories. Small things that trigger a lot of times gone by and places I've been. I decided to make this post one of those 'save the image' and trash some of the bits. Well, not all the bits...that's just how I roll.

#1 is a little brass chinchook as these geckos are known in Thailand. We had these little lizards all over our house in Bangkok. Most were only about 4 inches long and have little suction cup thingies on their lower parts which keep them securely on the walls as they wander about. We soon learned to be happy with them as they loved the taste of mosquitoes.

#2 is my late mother's 30 year government service pin. Sometimes I think that's about all she got out of all those years of working hard and diligently. She retired in a February because she wasn't feeling well, had cancer surgery in May and died in October. That was in 1981. She only received those few months of her retirement pay and it taught me a lesson. Live now.

#3 is half of one of my own government badges. I liked that photo a lot so instead of keeping the whole badge, I cut it in half. Now days, there is no way you take a badge with you! That was the 90s.

#4 is a 10¢ Euro coin. Not worth much and the kind of coin you find somewhere in a suitcase etc long after a trip and feel too lazy to bother to take it to the bag of €coins you have in a safe place for the next trip. Yet at the same time, you feel that you should. I say YOU but of course I mean I.

#5 is more recent. We ate at my favorite Indian restaurant a month of so ago, a favorite of the Indian community also. On a Sunday, there are lots of family groups and the women may wear some of their better saris. I saw one stunning sari on a woman in the buffet line and told my dh "THAT one is a silk one!" I learned my silk in Thailand and the sheen is distinctive. Later as I used the ladies room after her, I saw a bit of thread on the floor. I picked it up and that wonderful feel of silk thread took me back to many days when I picked though bolts of silk for my next dress. As we were leaving, I complimented the woman on her sari and her eyes lit up. I was really tempted to ask if I could fondle the material, but I behaved and just thought it.

Maybe if you clean out a little Altoid tin or desk cup, you'll find your memory going back. If the memory isn't good, just trash it! That's my advice.  Have a good weekend and I hope to see you back after the July 4th Holiday!!

TBT: Texas 1966

This lad, my former husband, here relaxing just before a wedding down in San Angelo Texas, just had a birthday this week. Birthday boy is now 72. Time does pass, doesn't it. Funnily enough, I now have yellow chairs just like those in the photo.  I bought mine on Craigs List a couple of years ago because they really appealed to me. Now I see why. Yellow metal chairs mean a happy time and I didn't even realize it til today!

TBT: Two Brothers 70 Years Ago

While I told another story about my father's family in WWII, this page relates more to my father.

I have my knee surgery on November 11th and I thought that considering how much my father went through, I can count on his support from above.

Wordless Wednesday: November 13, 2013

10 years ago

Memorial Day Memory

My late father was a WWII veteran. He survived but died of ALS at age 53.  I'm always amazed when I hear of his peers  who are still alive in their late 80s or 90s. To my father and all his buddies, especially those who never came home -

Thank you.

my father is the tallest man, center back row

Five on Friday: March 8, 2013

So what went on this week?

1.  The Snowquester/Saturn snow storm did not leave me with any snow At All. Just rain and winds..yep, that's what we got.

2.  I planned to do some baking while I would be snowed in. So ok, the dreary consistent downpour still made it a great day to turn the oven on. I had the parmesan shortbread prepped and only had to bake it. I should have noticed that the dough was pretty darn soft. Well I did notice but still baked. Epic Fail.

I also think that I will not take the dough out of the fridge for 30 min prior to baking, especially on my soapstone counters which are great for defrosting but not so good for un-chilling shortbread dough.

3. I have been reading "The Forgetting  Tree", having been seduced by the cover, and have found it a pretty slow start. However, once the author gets into the main part of the story, I am seriously confirming my belief not to have any cancer treatment should I be diagnosed with cancer. I reserve the right to change my mind though.

4.  Oh microwave....how I miss you. It died about 10 days ago and in this cold weather, my pot of tea gets cold before I finish it, even with its lovely cozy on. If I could get the bloody new one out of the box, I'd have it plugged in. However, I am not sure I want to risk back strain or breaking the new one while tilting the box to get it out. Yep, 1st world problems again.

5. Even though we never got snow on Wednesday, parts of the county did and it was sure a 'coulda been' one. My exercise class follows the school schedule, so no class. I had very mixed reactions to this. I jumped (figuratively) for joy at the news, just like a kid in grade school! But I also thought...oh I'm missing something that I rather enjoy and know it's good for me. As I waited for my tea to brew that day, I remembered the idea to walk around downstairs as exercise. I include a couple of 'go's round the dining room table, and the kitchen islands in my march. Then I remembered doing this as a small child of 3.  Wow..such a long ago memory.

It was with my Nana who faithfully listened to "The Breakfast Club" on the radio. Periodically - I saw on line that it was every 15 minutes - there was a call to march around the breakfast table.  I don't recall if Nana marched but she had me doing it. I suspect she was grateful to have anything to occupy me every morning. She had me for three years after I was born while my mother worked at a defense job and my father fought in WWII.  Nana was in her late 40s then...menopause and a toddler??? oh my!

Is anyone as old as I am to remember this show? I may not have The Breakfast Club music, but the periodic marching is still a good idea each morning or for all the times I'm sitting at the computer.  Which of us doesn't need those walk breaks!

Treavel with Me Tuesday - Down Memory Lane

While 'talking with' a woman I've 'met' online, I was reminiscing about my days in Yorkshire England back in the late 1960s.  Our little family of three moved to England in July 1968.  Our firstborn was turning 1 year old the end of August.  There was a house assigned to us but it hadn't been completed as they had thought. So for a couple of months, my then husband and I and our son lived in one large room in a Bed and Breakfast.

house on the left, 2nd floor room with bay window

Our landlady was Mrs. Ellsworth, and a true gem she was. She took in mostly long term boarders like us. I can only recall one other tenant, a young man our age, David,  whose parents were working were out in Bahrain. Little did I know that I would also end up in Bahrain one day. My husband was working rotating shift work so there were days that I had to stay out of the room while he slept. My son and I wandered through the town of Harrogate, but mainly enjoyed our time in the Valley Gardens. As I recall it was a fairly sunny summer, or maybe I had already learned as we were taught..If the sun was out, take advantage of it. 

Mrs. Ellsworth was wonderful to us and oh did she feed us. The English Breakfast was in all its glory then with eggs, bacon, sausage, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, fried bread and a good pot of tea.  While it sounds a lot, the weather wasn't terribly warm to us and with all that walking, at my young age I burned those calories off. As regular tenants, we also had dinner with Mrs. E. I don't recall those meals in detail but I know they were good. Real, fresh food was a given in our years in England. Simple and hearty and delicious. British food had no bad reputation for us! After our meal, we usually sat around and talked, and once in a while Mrs. E. would ask my husband to 'bath the dog.' Old Blackie would reluctantly be led out to that driveway next to the house and get hose downed, soaped up, and rinsed.  He smelled much sweeter and endured these episodes with a British upper lip.  I wish I had a picture of it all.

It wasn't an easy few months but even then we knew it was a good time.

Wordless Wednesday - March 6, 2012 - Happier Days

My Memory Has Arrived

Aha! now to just clear the table so I can turn the Mac over and install. Woohoooooo!

Gone so long...

World Blog Day...oh ...yesterday

I only saw this later in the day yesterday so Belated Happy World Blog Day everyone.

The point was also to list 5 very interesting new-to-you blogs. I am usually so easily led down the yellow brick tangent that is the internet, that it would have ordinarily been quite easy.

But I was caught up in the mixture of my own memories and the delight of intertwining them with lovely Maryam of My Marrakesh .

Wouldn't you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express
They're taking me to Marrakesh
All aboard the train, all aboard the train
Thank you Graham Nash.
While her adventures regarding the starting of their own boutique hotel were interesting enough, it was her memories of her own life abroad that triggered my own. Seeing the little chai glasses is enough to take her back to Iran (me too) and the fact that her purchase was in my last Middle Eastern foray, Mamama, was that second click for me. She is now just another friend I've yet to meet in person.



If the idea of summer ending is depressing you or if you are still in the end of winter, have a look at Maryam's lush ever-summer world and also take time to read her Secret. It will round out the picture. If our dollar ever rises vis a vis the euro, I'd love to stay in her Peacock Pavilions.

On my desk...April 9

(click pic to see large Flickr version with lots of notes - if you are nicely nosey)

Oh look at the other desks at Kootoyoo's list instead.

Aaargh I now know why I put off doing this...too many memories, both good and painful, and the everpresent issue for me of what to do with small bits. I have done this in fits and starts all week, and thought...damn..it's gonna get done today come hell or high water! (I shouldn't say that..we've had a week of rain.)

Well there is a good bit of order actually, a batch for charity, a bunch of silver for my daughter..and still a couple of bits to clear off the table. This was really tiring, physically and emotionally. Enuf.