Mom You Fascinate Me

Today's blog prompt from Paula's June Blog Challenge is to write about someone who fascinates you and why.  This is My Mom, she was probably about 16 or 17 here in this picture.

She fascinated me because she and many women of her time did so much.  They married young, had children young, cook and cleaned and did laundry when there no short cuts.  Modern conveniences didn't exist, keeping a house was hard work from sun up til sun down.  They didn't have time or money to have manicures, pedicures, massages, girls night out.  They didn't didn't have "me time".  They didn't belong to the gym to stay fit, they didn't need to.  Working day in and day out was enough exercise.  They didn't talk about being stressed out the way young mothers do today.

Think of the time and effort alone it took to do laundry for a family of 5.  Wringing out the laundry, 1 piece at a time in the wringer washer operating the crank by hand.  Then lugging heavy wet cloths outside to hang them on the line...back inside to start the next load, back outside to take the clothes down etc.  The process had to be repeated many times over.  And because everything came off the line stiff, wrinkled then the long process of ironing, hanging, folding and putting things away.

There were no microwaves to heat something up quick, nor fast food joints around the corner, no frozen meals for convenience.  Every meal had to planned out,  things removed from the freezer and cooked.  There were no dishwashers beyond ones pair of hands.  Garbage disposals came along much later, so wrapping up and taking out the trash was a constant thing.

She sewed most of my clothes, she went fishing with my Dad on his day off, she made things come together with her creativity.  When I think about her, aside from missing her since she's passed 4 years ago; I am fascinated at what she accomplished in a day.  Makes me think that perhaps kids who's relationship wasn't what they wanted with their mothers, might not have realized what all they went through.  I'm fascinated that she did these things every day and still had time to jump rope with me, teach me to knit, play jax sometimes.  Parents weren't kids best friends back in those day, how could they be...there wasn't time for that.  There was work to be done, those light hearted moments of play were very special.

Old Time Christmas

It's time to have fun with Memory Monday.  Pulled this photo from the way back machine.  This was probably a day or two after Christmas, or later in the day on Christmas Day.  My older brother Chuck with Bozo the Clown Punching Bag,  Me with my easel chalk board, and my younger brother Mike...always the cowboy!   My brother Mike would get up in the middle of the night and boot his cowboy boots on...sometimes he'd go back to bed wearing them, he loved being a cowboy.

Grab the badge, link back here, add yourself to the linky and visit others.  Let's share a fun, funny, cute memory.
 And today's prompt from Paula's is to write about your favorite movie.

The first one that came to mind is John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in "The Quiet Man".  We watch it every year around St. Paddy's day, we quote from the memory often.

Friday Everyones Favorite Day

Yippee Skippy it's Friday! (click the badge and join Nancy at Rural Journal and the rest of us)

• I'm still working on my afghan, scroll back to see Sea and Sand, Sand and Sea...I keep forgetting which name is correct, lol  AND I actually think I might get it finished this weekend.  Course I've said that before.
• Super excited with today being Friday, tomorrow is Sat.  Aren't you glad I've got that figured out?  lol  I'm meeting an old grade school friend from the old neighborhood tomorrow.  We've not seen each other in over 50 years!  Thanks to a group about this hometown on Facebook, we've re-connected.  We're going to share pictures and catch up.  We both moved away from said hometown and are meeting each other there to walk around in our old haunts!
• Hubby and I've taken the plunge...we're planning (have reservations) for a trip to Spain.  He keeps telling me to pace myself and not get burned out before the trip starts.  LOL.  It's not til next Spring; but there is a fair amount of planning involved and I'm enjoying the planning.  We have a week booked, and just signed up yesterday with a travel agent in order to better utilize our points for the flight and additional lodging package....all that seems a bit complicated to me so we're leaving that to the experts.  This is our very first trip to Europe.
• Been enjoying the beautiful flowers in the yard and finally...finished my mulching for year.  107 bags!  Think I'm getting to old for this type of yard work.
• Asking you all to join me in trying to get a new linky love/meme off the ground.  It's called Memory Monday.  No one seems to like or look forward to Monday's.  Thought this would be a fun, light hearted way to make Monday a nicer day.  

There's the cool badge I struggled to make.  Select a picture or paint us one, but I do like pictures and tell us about a fun, special, funny memory it evokes.  Add your name and url from your actual blog post and of course link back to the linky.  Got this idea when having fun looking through old photo's.  Your memory doesn't have to be from the way back machine.  If you click on the badge you'll see the last  post where I've tried to get it up and running with my old photo's.

I Belief it's Wednesday, Big Linky Day

Wednesday Work in Progress Time with Tami, What are you doing Wednesday with Susan
I am knitting the last section of this time consuming long time work in progress feather and fan style afghan.  The final dark gray edge.  Then will need to work in the edges...think about whether or not I want to crochet an edge around it?  I'm hopeful I won't run out of the gray.  The ball you see isn't very big and I have another one about the same size.  The final edge of course has additional rows the other sections don't have...so fingers crossed.  I love the look, love the way the colors came together even though the design changed several times based on what yarn I had.  It's called Sea and Sand and will be donated to Homeless Families Foundation through my charity, Bridge and Beyond.

AND today over at Paula's, June Blog Challenge, our prompt is to write about your beliefs.  Had to think about that, as we already wrote about religious beliefs, so this sorta seems like a repeat.  Perhaps this prompt is an attempt to be more general?

• I belief in people.  Despite all the negative things you see on tv and read on facebook, I belief most people are good and want to do good.  I belief the few extreme loud mouths get the news cover which sours everyone.
• I belief family is important.
• I belief people should slow down and smell the roses and quit making lists, like bucket lists, to do lists, things to accomplish or buy lists.  Live each day and be happy for the day, it's a gift.
• I belief people need to learn contentment.
• I belief people shouldn't expect everything to go 100% there way all time, and learn how to adjust and move forward.
• I belief everyone should do what they can for others, and not judge people who have trouble making it on their own.  I belief it's our Christian duty to care for others.
• I believe...I best get linked up and start visits or I'll never get done.........cause the list of I belief could go on and on.

INVITING YOU ALL, from all the linky's above to join me on Monday's for Memory Monday.  Click here to see what it's all about and be sure and mark your calendar to come join the fun.  It's a new linky, and we're just trying to get going...so please help out.  We all moan about Monday, let's put some life and fun into that day.
(JC6, S4, T13)

Main Stream Music

Today's blog prompt, tell us your views on Main Stream Music.(click the badge and join us over at Paula's for the June Blog Challenge)

What is Main Stream Media?  According to the Urban Dictionary

"Music that's usually on the radio, Top 40 and is well known to the general public. Usually criticized by fans of the previous mainstream generations, and people who prefer bands and/or genres that aren't apart of the mainstream popularity of the time."

 In a word.....RePuLSive!  The above two are not special people, they've not cured cancer, they are not good hearted, kind people.  While one is still alive and one dead, they aren't courageous or people who deserve fame, in my opinion.  Madonna is obscene...as was Michael when he was alive.  They both are extreme personalities.  I didn't care for their music and generally turned off the performance if they showed up on TV.  They both took advantage of people, used foul language and lead lives I consider pathetic.  I do not know why people like this are in the news all the time, nor do I understand why people continue to honor them.  My opinion of most main stream music...........is why I do not play the radio, buy CD's, watch u-tube video's, or have the sound on my computer.

I like older music, like Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Any Williams.  I like Motown.  I like music you can sing to, know the words too, words that aren't filled with nasty happenings.  Dean Martin's music would have been called main stream music in his time, and he and the other Rat Pack lead some pretty wild lives too, I think the difference is they weren't considered people to mold your lives after, and they did NOT pretend to have sex on stage and appear half naked. 

Why is was deemed necessary for Michael Jackson to be on every channel all day long for days and weeks after his death is well beyond me.  He was not larger then life.  He was someone I wouldn't care to have any of my loved ones around.
(JC6)

Homemade Halloween Costumes

It's time for another Memory Monday post.  A look back with a smile.  Don't forget to link up and share you memories.  Let's make Monday more fun.  This is from a Halloween...back in the day when Mom mad our costumes.  Left to right, me, younger brother Mike, and older brother Chuck.  Halloween in Marion Ohio was a blast.  

You can see a small part of the family t.v. behind us.  The round shaped screen.  Remember when t.v.'s were in fact family t.v.'s?  When there wasn't one in everyroom?  When it was a piece of furniture?

Share your memories.  Write you post, add your blog post link here...visit others on the linky and enjoy.  Be sure and add the new Memory Monday Badge to your blog and or blog post, with a link back here.  Mark your calendars and come back next week.

If  you missed last Monday's Memory...it's HERE
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