Scene & Story - December 2017

Sometime in the late 30's or early 40's my grandmother, Nanny, clipped a recipe out of the paper. Betty Crocker published a cake recipe and ran a contest to name it. Nanny never heard what they actually named the cake so she called it The Nameless Cake. She added candied fruit, white raisins and nuts to the recipe and it became the family's traditional fruitcake for the holidays. After Nanny died my mom took over the tradition of baking the cake even though she and I were the only ones that liked it. I always felt a special closeness to mom as we ate our pieces of cake together. After my mom died it seemed pointless to continue the tradition, since I was the only one that would eat it. I certainly couldn't eat the whole two-layer cake myself. 

I'm not sure why, call it nostalgia or the fact that I'm missing my mom, but this year I needed to bake the cake. I wanted it to turn out just like mom's, so I was a little nervous as I mixed the batter. After putting the cake in the oven, I stood back and smiled. The house began to smell of fruitcake and I was flooded with memories of past Christmases.

My daughter and daughter-in-law did eat some of the cake with me, but I don't think it's a favorite for them. Will I bake the cake again? Probably, but it won't be a family tradition as it was in the past. Things change, I accept that and we do have other desserts that are a holiday tradition . . . Fudgie Scotch Ring, Iced Sugar Cookies, and Candy Cane Cookies. 

My Nameless Cake turned out beautiful and tasted delicious, just like I remembered it. I'm glad I went with my heart's tug and made the cake this Christmas. As I said, I just needed to make it.

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I'm linking with Scene & Story hosted

by Sarah and Lee.

This will be the last time that Sarah and Lee are hosting the linkup.

It's been a fun year sharing and reading stories.

I will miss this group.

Scene & Story - June 2017

It was on the ground under the shade of a tree, close to a small lake where geese played and swans glided across the water. It was waiting; waiting to be picked up and a wiggly worm put on its hook. It was waiting for its line to be cast into the lake where it’s red and white cork would bobble in the water until some unsuspecting fish snatched at the worm and the cork would quickly sink under water.

The highlight of many of my childhood summers included a week spent with my Uncle Harry and Aunt June. They had no children of their own, but each summer they welcomed not only me, but several cousins as well. Most summers there were at least six of us. I look back and wonder how they every survived the week!

Among the traditions of the week was fishing in the pond across the road from their house. It was in the middle of a cow pasture, but my uncle always mowed us a path to the pond. The boys would go looking for worms and then we’d all get our poles and hike down the path. I remember . . .

Uncle Harry patiently baiting our hooks,

casting my line,

watching the cork float in the water,

the smell of hot grasses,

cows mooing,

the heat of the sun,

the chorus of crickets and frogs,

straw hats,

itchy legs from bugs and chiggers,

the excitement when my cork began to bobble,

Uncle Harry with his camera around his neck taking our picture when we caught a fish,

and

the smell of frying fish for supper.

But, most of all I remember the joy of being with my favorite aunt and uncle and the love they gave us all. I miss them both so very much. I’m thankful for these childhood summer memories that came flooding back when I saw a pole, a line, and a cork under a shade tree.

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I'm linking today with Scene & Story hosted

by Sarah and Lee.

Join us each month as we choose a photo and tell a story.

The Little Rock Castle

 

Have you ever believed something almost all your life and then found out it just wasn't so? Well, I have!  I just found out that one of my childhood memories is wrong.  I've been thinking recently about fears in childhood. I thought about the fears I had in elementary school; fear of riding the bus with those big kids, fear of not being liked, or fear of being embarrassed. I had all the usual fears, but one year I had a very big fear...fear of a spooky castle.  In the 50's and 60's the threat of nuclear warfare was very high. During this time it was feared that a nuclear bomb could be dropped on our heads at anytime. We were told that in case of a nuclear attack we would take safety in the stone building next door to the school that we thought was a monastery. To me it looked like a spooky castle. The castle was obscured from the highway by large cedar trees, the house itself was covered in English Ivy, and it even had a drawbridge. I remember as we peeked through the tall shrubs and fence, we could see the huge stone castle and watched fearfully for the the monks dressed in black robes wandering around the yard.   I wasn't afraid of nuclear attacks, I was too young to even know what that was, but I was terrified of the castle next door!  

 

 

 

 

After thinking about this castle looking monastery, I did a little research. To my surprise and disbelief it was never a monastery, there were no monks that lived there. They were all rumors told by children to frighten other children.  I didn't make up the monastery story, my sister, who is three years older than me, went to this school and she has the same memories. We both remember monks walking around the grounds. I wonder if they were just people in long coats or if it may have been Halloween?? More than likely, we both just had nightmares of this place!! "The Castle" as it is called has always been a residence, owned by four different families. It was built in the early 1940's by a Little Rock dentist, Dr. Koch. The house was even used in the 70's horror film "So Sad About Gloria."

 

 

 

My husband and I were by there recently, he stopped let me out, and waited down the road a bit while I took a few pictures. The castle looks nothing like it did in my childhood. The huge trees and Ivy are gone and the property is nicely manicured. I was a little saddened by my discovery! It made a much better story when I thought it was a haunted castle with black-robed men wandering around!!

 

Scavenger Hunt Sunday ~ August 5, 2012

Oh my, has it been a hot week!

Temps in the triple digits everyday!

They say, there's a cool down coming next week!

Only in the 90's!

Our prompts this week were:

going back in time

something just for me

best part of my day

night and day

look up

Let's get started!

going back in time

I was recently uncovered this old Chinese Checkers game from my childhood. It sent me back in time remembering the sounds of the plinking as we hopped our marbles around the board made of stamped metal. I remember the laughter and the excitement of getting all the marbles "home" and winning. This gameboard was made by Ohio Art; I'm guessing it was bought in the early 1960's.

Here's a little Chinese Checker information.

"The game of Chinese Checkers was first sold in the United States under that name in the late 1920's or early 1930's. But the game is not Chinese, it is not a form of checkers, and it has been played Germany since 1892."

Can you tell I like my Chinese Checkers?

I'll try not to be so wordy on the other prompts!!

something just for me

I was roaming around the yard looking at everything that is parched, brown, and dried from this severe drought we're having. I spotted this brown leaf and noticed the small heart-shaped holes! The little one is almost perfect!  You have to squint your eyes to make the bigger one a heart!  I think this leaf was something just for me to find to brighten my day!

best part of my day

Tough one! I enjoy my entire day!  I guess the best part of my day is when I get to spend time outside with my camera! I try to get out everyday and see what's new in my small world. I found these lovely wildflowers blooming in spite of the heat and lack of water!

night and day

This was a hard prompt for me! I just couldn't come up with much. This is an abstract representation of night and day, dark and light. It's really the side of my husband's utility trailer! I added a cinema frame for effect!!  A big stretch on this one!!

look up

When I look up in this tree, I see persimmons.

Hope you have a lovely week!

Writing, Writing, Writing

In the class Write Now! that I'm taking at Big Picture Classes, I get a prompt everyday that I am using to Quick Write!  What is Quick Write?  I take one minute to think about the prompt and what I want to say about it. Next, I write for four minutes.  When the timer goes off I'm through if I want to be or I  can keep on writing. Quick Write is a daily practice at writing.  There is no grammar police!  There's no worry about editing and sentence structure. I just write!!  I don't even have to follow the topic. I can go anywhere my mind leads me.  It's been a lot more fun than I thought. Here's three examples of my Quick Writing this week.

Topic - Something Lost

I've just recently bought a digital SLR camera and I'm learning the manual mode. A friend I met online gave me the web address of a blog that has a free e-course on operating your camera manually. I printed off the first two or three lessons and worked through them and now I've lost the pages. I really don't want to have to reprint them, they're long and full of pictures and ink is so expensive!  But, I've looked everywhere, in my other class notebooks, in my craft room, through stacks of unread magazines. Now, why do I casually just put something down and not remember where I put it? Is it old age or Alzheimer's? That's a real fear to me, losing my memory to Alzheimer's. My Dad has Alzheimer's and is in the mid  stages. My heart breaks for him. I can't imagine loosing your memory piece by piece. What a helpless feeling. He was a house painter all his life and now he can't remember anything about painting. How sad is that!! I wonder how much longer we have before he forgets us...who we are and what our names are. He's always had a terrible time remembering names and so do I. That's pretty scary. Is this Alzheimer's?? I try so hard to remember names. Sometimes I play the alphabet game - going through the alphabet and concentrating on the person trying to remember their name. You'd be surprised...it works most of the time. It is so frustrating  to forget names and lose things.

Topic - precious stone

I don't know when the tradition started, buy my oldest grandson looks for and collects rocks to give to me. Sometimes they're large rocks he's gathered near his home. Those I bring home and add to my shade gardens. I use them in the borders or strictly as decorations. He's also given me quite a collection of small rocks all different kinds. One has crystals inside and my favorite is about 4", almost a square, that has holes all the way through it. It makes me feel good to know that he thinks about me and picks out special rocks. I have a rock that's bowl shaped and that's where I display all the smaller rocks. One time at the lake we searched for heart-shaped rocks. I found only one, but he found several. I love that he and I have this interest that we share. The rocks are ordinary, but they are precious stones to me.

Topic - The Back Door

The first "back door" that came to mind was the back door at my grandmother's house. There was a small screened in porch right off the kitchen with a door  into the backyard. It was a screen door, the kind that slaps shut with a bang as you run through it.  It's funny, but I still can hear that sound! Beyond the door was a flight of concrete stairs down to the yard. I remember sitting on those steps eating juicy watermelon with my cousins, spitting seeds and laughing. The backdoor was the one we always used, maybe because the front door had many glass panes and our parents were afraid we would slam the door and break one. We'd fly out the back door into their back yard to play. We'd play hide and seek in Papaws many out buildings or the wash house. Sometimes the older cousins would climb on top of the house so they could reach the berries on the china berry three. Don't tell our parents, they weren't supposed to be up there. Anyway, then we'd have china berry fights. Of course, the older guys had the advantage. They always kept more berries than they gave us. The world of fun, play, and many good memories was right outside Nannies back door.

As you'll note I have no picture for this last one, neither does my Mom.  I challenge you right now to go take pictures of your home, your parent's home, your children's homes, or any home that means something to you.  Take the front, the back, the front yard, the back yard, and inside.  Someday, you may wish you had.  I wish I had a picture of my grandparents back door. Their property was sold, the house was leveled and burned and now there are storage units there!  I can't go back and take a picture!!

Hope you enjoyed my Quick Writing!!  If you do let me know and I'll post some more!