It's been awhile...

since I last blogged. As I drive around (I do that a lot as part of my job)I often write blogs in my head, but then can't remember them when I have time to sit at the 'puter. I have been thinking of vignettes of my childhood and how differently things were done 50 years ago. I thought I'd write a few now and then as new generations may be interested later (in 50 more years).

For example, we lived in an old victorian house, built in 1911. The yard was a mess, so my dad would come home from doing hard physical labor 'throwing boards' at the lumber mill for 12 hours and work for a couple more hours, until dark (way before daylight savings time!), to landscape. Now, you might think this was for a home we owned, but no, it was for a rental. Dad was appreciative of a nice place to live and was obsessive with making things look presentable to neighbors. Now there is a downside to all this work, but perhaps I'll go into that later.

We lived in high mountain desert country. So one of the things we did many times, was to take supper, (sometimes bread/butter sandwiches, potato chips and water) to the desert to collect large flat sandstone rocks to stand on edge around the lawn. We made trip after trip. Not in a car, but in one of the flatbed lumber trucks my dad borrowed. Seat belts were unheard of; we bounced over pot holes on fine, sandy, dusty roads, windows rolled all the way down, enjoying the breeze, despite the dust. Only the dog got to ride in the back of the flatbed, tied to a leash (that he almost choked on once), but that doesn't mean my sis and I didn't wish we could be back with the dog!

As to the lumber truck borrowed, dad and his brothers owned the sawmill. It was a complete process business, from cutting the logs, hauling them to the mill, preparing the lumber and selling it and other home hardware/paint, etc., at their store. No middlemen! Yes, they burned the slack from all this manufacturing in a large cone-shaped burner, sending clouds of ash and pollutants into the valleys' air...until those burners were banned everywhere in the '70's.

My sister and I ran around in the desert, helped watch over the dog, and worried about getting 'ticks' on us or finding a rattlesnake. Usually it was my sister the ticks liked most; I always wondered why, but mosquitoes and other insects bothered her more than me...I probably have some 'bad' smell for the little buggers. We never saw a rattlesnake. If we were lucky, we'd find a piece of an old Indian arrowhead or a piece of flint. We also helped load smaller pieces of rock or added our childish energy and heft to helping lift some of the rocks onto the flatbed. Sometimes our 'station' would be to stay on the flatbed and push the rocks toward the front center of the bed. Of course, dad would end up having to help us, as we weren't strong enough for the job. I'm sure those rocks weighed up to 50 lbs and were up to 2 ft. in diameter.

When our lawn was complete, I thought it looked beautiful with the lush, green grass and clover framed by the sandy stones. (And we all worked hard supplying the water to that lawn!) My dreams sometimes saw our house framed with a picket fence, but that was my preference. Of course, I never shared my preferences for, as children, we were never asked what we liked or thought might be a good idea. We were to learn from our elders and have no original thoughts of our own, as they were considered as erroneous silliness that would only come from thoughtless children. (This erroneous thought pattern has led me to honor children as precious treasures now).

Spring, here, reminds me of the lilacs we had in that yard. We had lavender ones, deep violet ones and white ones. For the first few years, my dad kept mowing over the white lilacs until he finally let them grow. The deep violet ones were precious, as the tree seemed frail and sensitive. The lavender ones were prolific and we loved to pick them all and put in vases or just play with them in our playhouses (blanket houses) or in our mud pies. I was into decorating the 'pies' more than getting 'dirty' with all the mud. As I remember, my sister loved the mud making. Maybe that's played out today with her fantastic artistic ability with clays.

Lilacs have always been a favorite flower of mine. I've planted one here and visit local lilac gardens whenever possible. They are one symbol of what was good and pleasant in my childhood, of times spent thinking my own thoughts, playing my own games, growing my 'self'. My fantasy with lilacs was intensified by reading Louisa Mae Alcott's book "Under the Lilacs" in which children were championed and life was idyllic in the end.

Does this spawn your own memories?

Mirror, Mirror on the Floor, Who's the Fairest Cat of All?

Okay, I'm still laughing about this one. I was enjoying the quiteness of a Sunday morning, reading a magazine, when I heard this atrocious revving up sound.....like a small motor wheel. So I put down the magazine and there is Lilo, tail and back totally fluffed, in total defense/offense position, growling this deep throaty growl, nearly foaming at the mouth at another cat: Her OWN REFLECTION! I had set a large mirror on the floor in readiness to hang it on the wall above the mantle. I have a full length mirror on the hall door, but she never recognized herself in there, before. Being an indoor cat; she'd had no intruders!

I slowly went over to her, reassuring her it was alright. She backed down a bit allowing me to get into the picture of the mirror and then petting her. As soon as I was gone, she was back guarding her territory from the 'new' cat! Then she reached out a paw toward the reflection, drew it back suddenly and turned her head sideways, as if to say, 'huh?....wait a minute." She 'depuffed' and sat there staring at her reflection. Tiring of the stare-down, she started to move away and noticed the 'other cat' was following her, so she returned and positioned herself, growling again in the fight stance. Hilarious!!!!!!!! I didn't have my camera close enough to get a picture without interrupting the scene, but I will attempt one.....makes me want to keep the mirror on the floor for entertainment!