Ginger Snaps

My reason for ever going in a Dollar Tree store is to buy cookies. This kind of cookie...

Oh my goodness! Do you like ginger snaps? 

Well, if you do, these are the best, and these Lil' Dutch Maid ginger snaps actually have a little ginger in them. :)  

Lil' Dutch Maid. Cookies made in the U.S.A. This company has been around for a long time, and listen, you can eat 5 and get only 120 calories...except I usually eat 10.

Aw, here's something else, "Mama, and ginger snaps"...

Mama used to tell me about leaving home and going to work in a textile mill in the big city of Ashboro, NC. Back then there were lots of hosiery and textile mills around.

Mama rented a room in a boarding house. Anyhow, she loved tea and ginger snaps. After walking home from work she and a friend would carry their tea and ginger snaps and sit out on the front lawn. 

It was there that she met Daddy. Just so happened that he was working in a mill in Ashboro too.  Mama said the first time she saw him, he was wearing white slacks and had on a white flat cap, or newsboy type cap. He was tall, very handsome. Daddy always wore a hat of some kind. 

well darn, he's not wearing his hat here...anyhow, you can see that he is tall and handsome. Sorry, I've posted this picture a dozen times. (that's me hanging onto Daddy's coat tail).

Oh friends, better get going. Wish me luck. I'm getting a perm today. Yes I am...after promising myself, never again! But my hair needs bounce and body! Will let you know. 

Love,

Henny

The weather and thinking back

We should have left the TV off this morning, but we didn't. It's a habit. Get that first cup of coffee and with the other hand pick up the remote control and turn on the local news and weather. It was the weather forecast I could have done without...the prediction of rain and thunderstorms, today through next Monday. That's right, through next Monday. The weatherman had that little smirk on his face too when he told us, like he enjoyed ruining our days.

One last Iris has opened and it can be our sunshine today! Try taking the shine out of this beauty Mr. Weatherman!

As a child, I remember loving the rain. That was back when folks kept their windows open in the summertime. I loved sitting near an open window watching the rain come down, making pools of water in the yard. Wading in puddles of water in a grassy yard feels different than wading in mud in the ditches. We begged mama to let us play in the rain and occasionally she did. We waded barefoot in mud puddles and I can remember mama yelling to us in that pleading sort of voice to "get out of those mud puddles, you're going to get worms!"

and here are the three of us along about the time we played in the rain and walked in the mud...

Shelby was the oldest and the ring leader! Mama had rolled Shelby's hair on pieces of paper sack the night before this picture was taken. That's why she looks so pretty.

then that's me on my tricycle. That's the very tricycle that I was on one sunny day, riding across the front yard as fast as my bare feet could pedal when the front wheel came off and I fell, hard. Crying I was, all the way to mama.

Mama made our dresses back then. I used to love standing behind the sewing machine watching mama sew, and probably asking her questions. If there was enough fabric left over, mama made my doll a dress too.

and then here's Jackie the youngest of us three.

It was several years then before our youngest brother Randall was born. Jackie was eleven when Randall came along.

While I'm at it, here's an old picture of mama and daddy back when they were young.

Talking about windows being open in the summer, back before everybody had air conditioners...I remember too, mama and us kids being in town or somewhere and it coming a big rain...I can just see us scrambling to get home and mama saying, "Lord, every window in the house is open and I bet it's raining in!" 

Guess I had better get up from here and get busy. Poppy will be home in about thirty minutes.

Love,
Henny

Snow! Plans cancelled!

Post started yesterday 2/24

It's snowing here today! "Why am I not surprised"! Lately every time Shelby and I plan to get together, something happens and we have to postpone. We had planned to go down home today, well not exactly down home, but down to Sanford. Our Dad was born and raised there. Sanford is about an hour drive from Raleigh...going south . Daddy had seven brothers and two sisters. We have lots of relatives there.

Mama and Daddy many years ago...

Shelby and I were going to the cemetery where Daddy is buried. Back in 1942, the year I was born, Daddy had to buy a burial plot...you see, I had a twin sister who died hours after we were born.  Back then, at Shallow Well Church in Sanford, you could not buy just one burial plot, you had to buy five, so Daddy bought five. A bit of information Shelby found out yesterday. Only two of the plots have been used, one for Daddy and one for the baby. Shelby and I were hoping to find the baby's grave and put a marker on it, and visit Daddy's grave.  Then we were to find out about the three remaining plots.

I'm back...

Shelby and I hated to cancel our plans but the snow fell all day long yesterday. Maybe next week. I could sure use  a day away...a break from the routine...a change of scenery!

Poppy was off work yesterday too and since it was cold and snowing he and Eli lounged around...

                      wanna play?

                      you going to sleep?

                                this is boring!

                      Could you move over a little?

We've had a little sunshine this morning but now but the clouds are beginning to build. We could get 4 to 6  inches of snow tonight and tomorrow! I know one thing!!! Spring can't get here fast enough!

Suppose I had better get back to the housework...the washer just stopped. Thank you, if you've managed to stay this long.  :)

Love,
Henny

Decorations along the way

I was looking at Christmas decorations on my way to Henderson yesterday. Yep, some days I turn right instead of left at the end of our path which carries me to downtown Henderson, instead of downtown Louisburg. Henderson has a Walmart too. Same old stuff, different crowd...but they do have a fabric department. :) Henderson also has Belk's and JC Penny.

Some of the decorated houses and yards I saw along the way were beautiful but then others made me appreciate my decorating a little more.

Anyway, I was looking at Christmas decorations and remembering mama and daddy.

Natural Bridge, Va. 1940's

It would have back in the early 1950's. We were in the car on a Christmas Eve going up to see Mary and Clyde and their children. It was at the edge of dark, and mama was pointing out all the lighted Christmas trees you could see in the homes along the way. "Oh, look at this one", she would say. "The blue lights are my favorite, blue looks so cold"! Remember those old plastic tiered lights. You could see a little house sitting way off the road with blue candles burning in the front window. I remembered daddy too that same night seeing a deer by the road. He said, "look, a reindeer! That might be one of Santa's reindeer"! Oh the excitement! 

I miss them even more this time of the year. I just may buy a set of those old plastic candles and put blue lights in the front window. Most thrift stores have these old Christmas candles. Speaking of thrift stores, I went in a small one in Henderson yesterday. Didn't find much except this pretty sugar bowl and cream pitcher for $3.00...

You know my plans yesterday were to gather cedar and pine and finish decorating. Well folks, it rained all day. All day! Not even once did the rain let up. At bedtime the rain was coming down even harder. We've had lots of cold, dreary, rainy, windy days lately.

But wait...here's the view from our bedroom window early this morning... 

Wow! That's the sun coming up on this cold wet winter morning!

Better get busy before this day is gone too! Hope to be back soon!

Love,
Henny

A Wedding, Mama and the Piano

I had the pleasure of attending another wedding yesterday!  That makes two in the month of November!  You know what they say about "anything that happens twice"!

This time it was Shelby's Granddaughter getting married.  She was a pretty bride with her naturally curly red hair. 

Now would you believe that I sat through the entire wedding ceremony in the church with my cell phone on!  I shudder to think about that thing ringing as the bride was saying "I do"!!!  They would probably have banned me forever!!!  I am careful always to turn off my cell phone...but not yesterday!

Talk of weddings brings back a memory of mama.  When we lived in Robbins in the 1950's, Daddy bought a piano for the house.  Shelby, Jackie, and I were all given piano lessons.  Of course, Shelby was the only one who learned to play.  You may remember the story of my piano recital from an earlier post...how I wore the beautiful red gown! :)  Shudder again!

Anyway, mama never had a piano lesson, but she could play the piano by ear.  In the afternoon when the house was clean and lunch was over, mama would get a bath, fix her hair and lipstick, and get dressed before daddy got home from work.  She would sit down at the piano.  This is the living room where mama played and sang those old songs...

Even today, I can hear her sweet voice and remember two of the songs she played and sang...

There's an old spinning wheel in the parlor
Spinning dreams of the long long ago
Spinning dreams of an old fashioned garden
And the maid with her old fashioned beau

It seams sometimes I can hear them singing
While the organ's softly playing old black joe
There's an old spinning wheel in the parlor
Spinning dreams of the long long ago


The other song was....

Somebody's tall and handsome
Somebody's brave and true
Somebody's hair is very dark
And somebody's eyes are blue

Somebody came to see me
Somebody came last night
Somebody asked me to marry him
And of course I said all right

The ring is on my finger
Of course, you cannot guess
The one who placed it there
The night I told him yes

Thank you for looking at my blog.

Love,
Henny Penny

Hunting

How exciting to have two new followers.

First..."The Reindeer Keeper".   Her posts bring back memories of my childhood, and teenage years...reminding me of things I had forgotten.  Remembering those days is a favorite pastime of mine anyway, so I am enjoying reading all her great posts, and keeping up with "The Reindeer Keeper"!

Also, "The Maple Syrup Mob".  Reading about their lives with their thirteen rescue cats.  Such sweet stories.  And since Poppy and I have rescued two cats...well I enjoy their stories and pictures.

Thank you both!

Poppy is hunting again this morning.  It's a good thing we were not counting on a turkey, or deer meat for the freezer this year.  This has not been a profitable hunting season. 

Just caught the hunter coming in for lunch.  I said, stop there, I need a picture for my blog!

For Poppy, simply being in the woods with the wildlife, and the peace and quiet makes it all worthwhile.  Lots of interesting stories come from sitting quietly in the woods dressed in camouflage.   I've heard about the covey of Quail that came walking up the dead, fallen tree he was sitting on without the birds even seeing him.  And the hawk that flew straight toward his face then turned abruptly when it got close.  Of course, there have been lots of deer stories.

Mama used to laugh and tell us about the time she and daddy went squirrel hunting together.  This was many years ago, way before it became so fashionable for women to hunt.  I am sure mama didn't wear a cute pink camouflage outfit.  Daddy bought each of them a Remington 22 rifle.  Daddy called his rifle the old silver side.  Daddy was known for being a great shot.  He could shoot a sweet gum ball from the top of a sweet gum tree.  Sweet gum trees grow pretty darn tall. 

Mama said the two of them were sitting quietly on the ground, leaning against a tree, holding their guns...when a squirrel came down the very tree they were leaning against.  Mama thought the squirrel was after her.  She jumped up screaming and threw her gun...daddy was yelling shoot it!!

Mama was always afraid of animals.  Even the pet squirrel we had growing up.  Mama was hanging clothes on the line one day and that squirrel, glad to see her, jumped from a tree and clung to her shoulder.  Talk about being frightened and mad...well, we all heard about it...for a while!

A very young Mama and Daddy...

 Thank you for stopping by.

Love,
Henny Penny