Saturday, June 26, 2004
THE CLOSE OF 1966....
After school was underway, aunt Beulah came to visit on her way to Nebraska to see her sister, Mildred. We always enjoyed her visits because no matter what was going on she would hop right in the middle and have as much fun as the rest of us. This particular time Rosalie and I had decided to make a trip to their family farm in Emporia to pick corn for the freezer. Aunt Beulah went along and helped pick and we had a ball. We came right back as soon as we had the station wagon full and unloaded the corn at each of our houses.
It was too late to get into it that day but it was left in the yard where it would be cool until morning. The next day we were hard at it….the kids had to shuck while I heated water to blanch and ice water to cool. Then we cut it off the cobs to package and put away. It wasn’t long until the kids were tired of their job but they were pressed into finishing so we could hope to get done by supper time. I cannot describe my kitchen after we were through. Everything was sticky from the starch in the corn and we were all definitely tired of corn for the time being.
The next day aunt Beulah went on her way claiming she’d had a lot of fun and would see us later. I have a picture of the two of us in front of the open freezer door holding some of the packages…..and behind us were shelves of corn. She and Dale came back that Thanksgiving, along with mom and dad and we had a great time. We did our usual Christmas exchange while we were all together and this year mom and dad had a big surprise for us. They gave us $1,000 to buy a wheel camper with so we could go on some of their trips West. We were totally bowled over !! That is exactly what we did with it and plans were made to go next summer.
Mom brought us a box of nice pine cones she picked up in Montana that summer so George Sr. and I set about making a wreath for the front door. He made a circle out of plywood and holes all over to poke wire through. We used fruit and holly along with the pine cones and when it was finished we sprayed it with a sealer. It was a beautiful thing and we used it for many years. It was always fun to make our own decorations and the children did their own rooms after they were big enough to want to.
This particular December was George Jr.’s 16th birthday so I made a sheet cake and decorated the top with a Match-Box car, a high-way and road signs. It was to celebrate his license and the fact he was now able to drive. Of course he thought it was pretty cool.
I made new stockings for each of us this year and painted all of them. This was when the liquid paint craze was going on. Rosalie had a party and I got the bug while the lady demonstrated all of the possibilities. The children really enjoyed them and made all kinds of gifts that year with the paint. (Place mats, book markers etc;) I made Becky a red velvet dress for the holidays and then we all made Christmas cookies again.
We usually took turns in the neighborhood hosting New Year’s Eve parties. This year Rosalie had all of us over. Our “parties” were pretty tame. It was usually the time when we could all draw a long breath after the holidays and settle down to some punch and finger food…..and just enjoy the friendships together.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
It was too late to get into it that day but it was left in the yard where it would be cool until morning. The next day we were hard at it….the kids had to shuck while I heated water to blanch and ice water to cool. Then we cut it off the cobs to package and put away. It wasn’t long until the kids were tired of their job but they were pressed into finishing so we could hope to get done by supper time. I cannot describe my kitchen after we were through. Everything was sticky from the starch in the corn and we were all definitely tired of corn for the time being.
The next day aunt Beulah went on her way claiming she’d had a lot of fun and would see us later. I have a picture of the two of us in front of the open freezer door holding some of the packages…..and behind us were shelves of corn. She and Dale came back that Thanksgiving, along with mom and dad and we had a great time. We did our usual Christmas exchange while we were all together and this year mom and dad had a big surprise for us. They gave us $1,000 to buy a wheel camper with so we could go on some of their trips West. We were totally bowled over !! That is exactly what we did with it and plans were made to go next summer.
Mom brought us a box of nice pine cones she picked up in Montana that summer so George Sr. and I set about making a wreath for the front door. He made a circle out of plywood and holes all over to poke wire through. We used fruit and holly along with the pine cones and when it was finished we sprayed it with a sealer. It was a beautiful thing and we used it for many years. It was always fun to make our own decorations and the children did their own rooms after they were big enough to want to.
This particular December was George Jr.’s 16th birthday so I made a sheet cake and decorated the top with a Match-Box car, a high-way and road signs. It was to celebrate his license and the fact he was now able to drive. Of course he thought it was pretty cool.
I made new stockings for each of us this year and painted all of them. This was when the liquid paint craze was going on. Rosalie had a party and I got the bug while the lady demonstrated all of the possibilities. The children really enjoyed them and made all kinds of gifts that year with the paint. (Place mats, book markers etc;) I made Becky a red velvet dress for the holidays and then we all made Christmas cookies again.
We usually took turns in the neighborhood hosting New Year’s Eve parties. This year Rosalie had all of us over. Our “parties” were pretty tame. It was usually the time when we could all draw a long breath after the holidays and settle down to some punch and finger food…..and just enjoy the friendships together.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
