It occurred to me today that I haven't been living in Runnemede for over 40 years and yet the memories I have of that town are so near and dear to me.
Of course this time of year evokes so many memories -- good memories -- of those days when I was in residence in that town.
As I sat wrapping oodles of gifts for my grandchildren and children today, I remarked to my husband that it now takes me so much longer to do this than it used to, regardless of the numbers increasing, it still takes me so long to wrap even just one gift.
I also think of my father's perfection at gift wrapping, and mom's -- well let me just say, the gifts were surrounded with paper, most of it wrinkled from use again. She saved the paper each year and used it when she could the following year. Dad -- he always bought new paper, so I guess that's why his gifts always looked to perfect.
I don't reuse paper, much to Alan's chagrin. His family used to do that too. It must have been a Depression Era thing, as well as a lack of money thing.
I am thankful that God has given us enough for our needs and many or our wants, especially at this time of year. My favorite, because I love giving gifts to my family. My dad loved giving gifts to people, even if it wasn't Christmas.
A person could NOT come into our home and leave empty handed. He would either give them a book or a pen or a bookmark -- something to remember their visit with him and/or our family.
I like that idea and whenever my grandchildren visit they get something. I usually send something home with my cleaning crew as well.
This is the season for giving, but I like what my dad did -- he gave year round. Isn't that special?
ttfn
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Christmas tree
We always had one. We didn't get it until just a couple of days before Christmas, although I remember mom asking dad over and over to pick one up, and everyday he'd come home from the post office WITHOUT a tree. I think he was waiting for the price to drop. I mean $5 was a lot of money back then, and he was waiting for the dollar sale. So we usually got a tree, a scraggly tree around December 22 or December 23.
Tinsel was saved from year to year -- back then it was made of aluminum foil, not plastic -- and it had to be draped just so. Dad, the perfectionist, made certain of that. Me? I'd just throw it on the tree. I had no patience for draping.
I recall the beautiful glass balls we had, which are now waiting to be hung on my tree. The box is out which has all these precious oldies, and I'm waiting for a spurt of energy to get me going to add them to my tree.
Do you all like my new border? It's so reminiscent of those days back in the 40s and 50s. The sleigh looks so much like the sleigh which was parked next to Santa's "house" in front of the Municipal building -- which was Santa's second home. His first home was at the fire house. There was no room for anything but his chair at that gathering place.
And the reindeer? I recall so many folks having a similar chach-key in their front yard. The wreath is not unlike what you'd find on many doors in town.
Ah, yes, I loved Runnemede at Christmas time. How many times have I said that? Old people tend to be repetitive, but the love of the small town, the decorations on peoples' lawns, porches, and doors, all are remembered fondly.
They say, "You can't go back." I know that's true. I wonder how the old town is decorated this year.
ttfn
Tinsel was saved from year to year -- back then it was made of aluminum foil, not plastic -- and it had to be draped just so. Dad, the perfectionist, made certain of that. Me? I'd just throw it on the tree. I had no patience for draping.
I recall the beautiful glass balls we had, which are now waiting to be hung on my tree. The box is out which has all these precious oldies, and I'm waiting for a spurt of energy to get me going to add them to my tree.
Do you all like my new border? It's so reminiscent of those days back in the 40s and 50s. The sleigh looks so much like the sleigh which was parked next to Santa's "house" in front of the Municipal building -- which was Santa's second home. His first home was at the fire house. There was no room for anything but his chair at that gathering place.
And the reindeer? I recall so many folks having a similar chach-key in their front yard. The wreath is not unlike what you'd find on many doors in town.
Ah, yes, I loved Runnemede at Christmas time. How many times have I said that? Old people tend to be repetitive, but the love of the small town, the decorations on peoples' lawns, porches, and doors, all are remembered fondly.
They say, "You can't go back." I know that's true. I wonder how the old town is decorated this year.
ttfn
Monday, December 7, 2009
December musings
I know I loved December for more reasons than it was the month of Christmas.
I know I loved snow. I still do. I really don't mind driving in snow, I just don't like ice, and it seems that while in NJ we got snow, out here in N. KY we get ice. It's beautiful, but oh, so treacherous.
I know I loved finding a gift for my mom and dad. something I hoped they would like, knowing the whole time that my 50 cents didn't go very far. However, when they opened their gift, they always oohed and aahed, and seemed to think that they got the most wonderful gift in the world. At least that's what I remember.
I know I loved wrapping gifts. I have never been good at it. That is, my dad was perfect at wrapping gifts. All the corners were squared off, and the ends of the packages had even triangles taped together to hold the paper tight. My package ends never match, I rarely get the scotch tape to hit correctly on the first try, thus having to put more tape on a package than is necessary. But I love curling ribbon (I wrote about that a couple of years ago).
I never liked addressing Christmas cards, and I still don't. For many years I didn't send any. Then we moved to a community where everyone sends cards to everyone else. I had to "keep up with the Joneses." This year, however, I'm cutting way back. I finally found the cards I bought last year to send out this year, so I hope to get them addressed tomorrow.
I loved to watch my mom bake. I loved to watch her cut out cookies. I loved that she let me put some sprinkles on the sugar cookies. Mom didn't bake much because the ladies in the church always showered us with boxes and boxes of cookies, which I must say were much better than anything my mom baked. I hope to get some cookies made this weekend.
I loved Christmas Eve dinner and caroling with the other teens in the church (when I finally got to be a teenager). I was so glad when my 13th Christmas had arrived, since I envied the teens the caroling events each year. All that cocoa!
And, did I mention, that I loved the snow? Yes, I did, and we had snow back then. Global warming hadn't hit NJ I guess.
Just a few things I remember about December. Hey I made a poem!
ttfn
I know I loved snow. I still do. I really don't mind driving in snow, I just don't like ice, and it seems that while in NJ we got snow, out here in N. KY we get ice. It's beautiful, but oh, so treacherous.
I know I loved finding a gift for my mom and dad. something I hoped they would like, knowing the whole time that my 50 cents didn't go very far. However, when they opened their gift, they always oohed and aahed, and seemed to think that they got the most wonderful gift in the world. At least that's what I remember.
I know I loved wrapping gifts. I have never been good at it. That is, my dad was perfect at wrapping gifts. All the corners were squared off, and the ends of the packages had even triangles taped together to hold the paper tight. My package ends never match, I rarely get the scotch tape to hit correctly on the first try, thus having to put more tape on a package than is necessary. But I love curling ribbon (I wrote about that a couple of years ago).
I never liked addressing Christmas cards, and I still don't. For many years I didn't send any. Then we moved to a community where everyone sends cards to everyone else. I had to "keep up with the Joneses." This year, however, I'm cutting way back. I finally found the cards I bought last year to send out this year, so I hope to get them addressed tomorrow.
I loved to watch my mom bake. I loved to watch her cut out cookies. I loved that she let me put some sprinkles on the sugar cookies. Mom didn't bake much because the ladies in the church always showered us with boxes and boxes of cookies, which I must say were much better than anything my mom baked. I hope to get some cookies made this weekend.
I loved Christmas Eve dinner and caroling with the other teens in the church (when I finally got to be a teenager). I was so glad when my 13th Christmas had arrived, since I envied the teens the caroling events each year. All that cocoa!
And, did I mention, that I loved the snow? Yes, I did, and we had snow back then. Global warming hadn't hit NJ I guess.
Just a few things I remember about December. Hey I made a poem!
ttfn
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Micki
Don't you just love this picture? It's Micki (two years ago) and Alan lovin' on her. He just loves our visits with her.
Well, folks, and some of you in Runnemede might remember her, she had a stroke on Thanksgiving Day. She's in the hospital in rehab and doing quite well. She had a knee replacement in mid-October and was going through her home-rehab, feeling really awful after the physical therapist left.
Thing is: I had called her right after her visit with the therapist and she told me she wasn't feeling well, and that her leg was really numb, but we both thought it was because of the PT she had just gone through. Fortunately, after I hung up, she called her friend and told her she couldn't feel anything in her leg (the one that was supposedly fixed) who came right over and got her to the hospital.
For you in Runnemede: Micki was on the radio (before TV) and had a program coming out of Philly every Saturday morning. I listened to it religiously, and she did make at least one "appearance" at church and sang a few hymns with her guitar.
She is now 85 years old. Praying for her would be appreciated. I'll keep you all updated.
ttfhn
Monday, November 30, 2009
What a trip!
I'm posting this on The Fat Lady Singeth as well. Covering all my bases here.
Alan and I just got back from a cruise to nowhere. That's what they call it when you basically wander around in the Atlantic ocean for days on end and enjoy the cruise ship as a resort, instead of getting suffled off the boat every day to try to see sights that you can't possibly see well in the time alloted.
I will get to my ONE TOUR this trip.
The trip was out of Baltimore. This was a first time to use this port and I have to say that for passengers with mobility problems this was the best ever. And our immobility this year was the worst ever. So that's saying a lot.
They were very attentive to our needs and got us to our cabin in good time. Dumb us. We showed up two hours too early, thinking we were on a Miami boarding schedule. Not at all. But that's okay. They were still very nice about our earliness (and we weren't the only ones) and weren't put off by it at all.
We had pre-ordered scooters so we would be able to get around the boat with little or no pain. Well, that worked well for three and a half days, then Alan did a back flip with his scooter -- the back wheels got caught on the ramp through one of the doors to the upper deck -- and he got the wind knocked out of him, bruised several ribs, and was in misery the remainder of the trip. Basically, he stayed in the room for the rest of the time, except for meals when after not liking the room service selection he decided he would join me for meals at the restaurants. Someday I'll write about those mis-adventures, but not today.
Anyway, on Thanksgiving day, we were in Nassau, Bahamas. Now, I've walked from the ship to Nassau several times, and each time it has been a wearying, hurtful process. But I want those free bracelets and other jewelry they hand out at the various jewelry stores there. I now have enough charm bracelets for all my girls, big and small! All free! And I have necklaces for stockings, etc. I'm so excited about that.
Anyway, this trip what normally took me 1 hour to get into town, took only 10 minutes on the scooter. It was so much fun and I could see so much more. Granted many of the shops didn't have ramps, so I couldn't go into them. Their loss, as I was in a spending mood, and I had saved my meager allowance for six months! I bought myself a present for Alan to give me for Christmas -- that's a tradition. I buy it, he pays for it, and wraps it up, and I enjoy it for as long as I live. Then one of my girls will enjoy it. See? Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?
Alan had been complaining and saying he was sure he had shingles, and I kept checking (this was after the back flip) to see if he did have shingles, and I saw nothing, so I decided he needed to get to an ER as soon as we landed. Well, lucky for him, shingles showed themselves for the nasty things they are and now he only has to endure a trip to the doctor's office to get some anti-biotics. He has the pain meds that they gave him on the boat, and the meds he's been taking since his last shingles attack.
You see, with a compromised immune system once you get shingles you never get rid of them entirely. You get rid of the rash, but the pain may lessen some, but it's still there. Sort of like fibromyalgia. And because his immune system is compromised, he can't have the vaccine that is available for singles.
So at the end of the trip -- and I have to say we had the best wait staff ever -- I packed us up, and boy did that hurt, because I had been having to lift Alan from a chair or bed, and I was so totally sore from doing that. I packed us up. Got us all set to get off the boat which was slicker than butter this time. What a difference from other cruises. They wheeled us right up to the taxi. The cab-driver took care of transferring out luggage to our car which was had parked at the hotel in which we stayed in Baltimore, and off we went.
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig!!!!
Alan and I just got back from a cruise to nowhere. That's what they call it when you basically wander around in the Atlantic ocean for days on end and enjoy the cruise ship as a resort, instead of getting suffled off the boat every day to try to see sights that you can't possibly see well in the time alloted.
I will get to my ONE TOUR this trip.
The trip was out of Baltimore. This was a first time to use this port and I have to say that for passengers with mobility problems this was the best ever. And our immobility this year was the worst ever. So that's saying a lot.
They were very attentive to our needs and got us to our cabin in good time. Dumb us. We showed up two hours too early, thinking we were on a Miami boarding schedule. Not at all. But that's okay. They were still very nice about our earliness (and we weren't the only ones) and weren't put off by it at all.
We had pre-ordered scooters so we would be able to get around the boat with little or no pain. Well, that worked well for three and a half days, then Alan did a back flip with his scooter -- the back wheels got caught on the ramp through one of the doors to the upper deck -- and he got the wind knocked out of him, bruised several ribs, and was in misery the remainder of the trip. Basically, he stayed in the room for the rest of the time, except for meals when after not liking the room service selection he decided he would join me for meals at the restaurants. Someday I'll write about those mis-adventures, but not today.
Anyway, on Thanksgiving day, we were in Nassau, Bahamas. Now, I've walked from the ship to Nassau several times, and each time it has been a wearying, hurtful process. But I want those free bracelets and other jewelry they hand out at the various jewelry stores there. I now have enough charm bracelets for all my girls, big and small! All free! And I have necklaces for stockings, etc. I'm so excited about that.
Anyway, this trip what normally took me 1 hour to get into town, took only 10 minutes on the scooter. It was so much fun and I could see so much more. Granted many of the shops didn't have ramps, so I couldn't go into them. Their loss, as I was in a spending mood, and I had saved my meager allowance for six months! I bought myself a present for Alan to give me for Christmas -- that's a tradition. I buy it, he pays for it, and wraps it up, and I enjoy it for as long as I live. Then one of my girls will enjoy it. See? Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?
Alan had been complaining and saying he was sure he had shingles, and I kept checking (this was after the back flip) to see if he did have shingles, and I saw nothing, so I decided he needed to get to an ER as soon as we landed. Well, lucky for him, shingles showed themselves for the nasty things they are and now he only has to endure a trip to the doctor's office to get some anti-biotics. He has the pain meds that they gave him on the boat, and the meds he's been taking since his last shingles attack.
You see, with a compromised immune system once you get shingles you never get rid of them entirely. You get rid of the rash, but the pain may lessen some, but it's still there. Sort of like fibromyalgia. And because his immune system is compromised, he can't have the vaccine that is available for singles.
So at the end of the trip -- and I have to say we had the best wait staff ever -- I packed us up, and boy did that hurt, because I had been having to lift Alan from a chair or bed, and I was so totally sore from doing that. I packed us up. Got us all set to get off the boat which was slicker than butter this time. What a difference from other cruises. They wheeled us right up to the taxi. The cab-driver took care of transferring out luggage to our car which was had parked at the hotel in which we stayed in Baltimore, and off we went.
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig!!!!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The Hall Light
I KNOW I have never written about this before. And why not? It was so much a part of my daily life in that little house on Second Avenue.
These days you have what is known as a night light. Not so when I was growing up. So my dad, ingeniously, or otherwise, devised his own night light.
The house had two bedrooms, separated by a bathroom room, and a short hall joining the two bedrooms. On the ceiling of the hallway there was a ceiling fixture. Into that fixture my dad put a small wattage (25 watts) light bulb, and that light was left on all night long.
It was a comfort for us children because while the door to the bedroom was closed, it wasn't closed al the way. It was left open a crack, just enough light to keep the children from "dark" nightmares.
And I suppose it was left on so that when mom and/or dad got up in the middle of the night (after four children, I'm sure my mom did -- it's a woman thing) the light would lighten the way to the bathroom. The switch for the hall light was on the right of the hall doorway as you were entering it from the dining room, but it wasn't close enough for mom or day to put the light off when they went to bed ir they knew it was going to be needed in the middle of the night, whether it was because of a child who had the croup or because a child had a nightmare or a parent had to use the facility.
[Note: the location of the switch is murky in my mind, but I know that the thermostat was on the left side as you entered the hall, so I'm thinking the light switch was on the right.]
Some of the comforts of childhood are so obvious that we forget them. Having that hall lit and having just a crack of that light showing through the doorway, was a comfort for the Drexler children.
ttfn
These days you have what is known as a night light. Not so when I was growing up. So my dad, ingeniously, or otherwise, devised his own night light.
The house had two bedrooms, separated by a bathroom room, and a short hall joining the two bedrooms. On the ceiling of the hallway there was a ceiling fixture. Into that fixture my dad put a small wattage (25 watts) light bulb, and that light was left on all night long.
It was a comfort for us children because while the door to the bedroom was closed, it wasn't closed al the way. It was left open a crack, just enough light to keep the children from "dark" nightmares.
And I suppose it was left on so that when mom and/or dad got up in the middle of the night (after four children, I'm sure my mom did -- it's a woman thing) the light would lighten the way to the bathroom. The switch for the hall light was on the right of the hall doorway as you were entering it from the dining room, but it wasn't close enough for mom or day to put the light off when they went to bed ir they knew it was going to be needed in the middle of the night, whether it was because of a child who had the croup or because a child had a nightmare or a parent had to use the facility.
[Note: the location of the switch is murky in my mind, but I know that the thermostat was on the left side as you entered the hall, so I'm thinking the light switch was on the right.]
Some of the comforts of childhood are so obvious that we forget them. Having that hall lit and having just a crack of that light showing through the doorway, was a comfort for the Drexler children.
ttfn
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Walking to School on a November morning
About this time of year, it was time to give up on wearing the highschool sweater for outer-wear on the way to school. I saved and saved so I could get that sweater. Remember them? They were cardigans, but they were thick-knit and they were BIG, or at least we wore them three sizes too big. Triton's sweaters were red with blue strips on the sleeves. I never got any letters for mine, but that was okay. I liked it "plain." Oh yeah, I paid only $15 for that sweater, but that was as much as a new coat cost back then!
So, it was now time to break out the winter coat and wear it unbuttoned -- because it wasn't quite cold enough for us hardy folk that walked to school in snow up to our waists, uphill, at 20 below, for six miles. My winter coat was an old pea jacket and while they are in style now, and I suppose have always been "in", I hated it. I wanted a leather jacket. I mean all my friends had leather jackets. My friends got a new coat every year. I had mine for two years and it didn't look like I would get a new one this year either. I made a deal with my mom. I would earn some money to add to her Christmas fund for my gift and she could get me a leather jacket. Somewhere I have a picture of my daughter wearing that coat. It lasted that long. And I wouldn't be surprised to find out that one of my daughters still had it in her possession. After all, it is vinitage 50s.
Back to walking to school. I would leave the house at exactly 6:50 each morning, meeting up with Marilyn Groninger and Peggy Gibson as they passed my house. We would walk away from the pike to the end of Second Avenue (where 2nd meets Clements Bridge). We'd cross Clements Bridge Road and walk up Harding which wound around to Shubert Avenue, which is where the school was. Triton Regional Highschool. We'd get there and in the doors at 7:00 a.m. Homeroom started at 7:10 a.m., and the day would begin.
Coming home I was on my own, mainly because either Marilyn or Peggy or I had after-school activities and those activities didn't allow for us to leave school together on most days. That was okay. I knew the way home!
ttfn
So, it was now time to break out the winter coat and wear it unbuttoned -- because it wasn't quite cold enough for us hardy folk that walked to school in snow up to our waists, uphill, at 20 below, for six miles. My winter coat was an old pea jacket and while they are in style now, and I suppose have always been "in", I hated it. I wanted a leather jacket. I mean all my friends had leather jackets. My friends got a new coat every year. I had mine for two years and it didn't look like I would get a new one this year either. I made a deal with my mom. I would earn some money to add to her Christmas fund for my gift and she could get me a leather jacket. Somewhere I have a picture of my daughter wearing that coat. It lasted that long. And I wouldn't be surprised to find out that one of my daughters still had it in her possession. After all, it is vinitage 50s.
Back to walking to school. I would leave the house at exactly 6:50 each morning, meeting up with Marilyn Groninger and Peggy Gibson as they passed my house. We would walk away from the pike to the end of Second Avenue (where 2nd meets Clements Bridge). We'd cross Clements Bridge Road and walk up Harding which wound around to Shubert Avenue, which is where the school was. Triton Regional Highschool. We'd get there and in the doors at 7:00 a.m. Homeroom started at 7:10 a.m., and the day would begin.
Coming home I was on my own, mainly because either Marilyn or Peggy or I had after-school activities and those activities didn't allow for us to leave school together on most days. That was okay. I knew the way home!
ttfn
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