A Florida Summer Day from Long Ago

Here I am about 1957 at age 8 or 9 with my cousin, John, and my brother, Rick.
We were visiting my Aunt Nellie in Tampa, Florida very near to where I live now.

 Inside Aunt Nellie's house with my baby cousin, Denny

Rick on Aunt Nellie's porch

 Me, Mom and my baby cousin in Aunt Nellie's front yard.

Mom's hair was in pin curls, but check out what a tiny waist she had.

In 1956 or 1957 my family drove from Oklahoma to Tampa, Florida for a summer vacation. Tampa was a very exotic location to me with the tropical rainstorms, palm trees, and beaches. Aunt Nellie's kitchen was a converted Florida room with slatted glass jalousie windows. There was a banana tree by the kitchen window. I told my granddaughter, Jill, that I had pictures of myself when I was her age. So here they are.

Summer 2012

Jonah spent the summer with his Dad and Stepmom, Shari.

 Jill met up with her cousin, MacKenzie

Roger's two new great grandchildren were born, Briella and Liam

Mia learned to swim without her floogles

Jill and Mia had a schedule this year. Monday - Library with Grandma, Tuesday, Swimming at Cory's, Wednesday, Park with Grandma, Thursday, Swimming at Cory's and Friday, Zoo with Grandma and pizza for supper. Soon school with start and Jonah will go to middle school while Mia starts kindergarten and Jill goes to 4th grade.

Recent Photos

 Jill had a coupon for a free cupcake for her birthday from Barnes and Noble. This one is called Chocolate Blast and was made by Cheesecake Factory.

This is a picture I snapped of Mia in the car as her mom and I were getting ready to run some errands.

Jill's 9th Birthday Party

Birthday Girl

Cookies and Cream cupcakes and ice cream cake

Stephanie and Jill

Jaime and her mother-in-law, Irma. Love Irma. Love the tee shirt.

Jill got a "J" pillow from Justice that she has long admired.

Surprise gift from Irma and Mark. A very fancy telephone.

And she got some clothes. The jeans covered her long legs but were too tight in the waist.

We got together at Cory and Stephanie's to celebrate Jill's birthday. As usual, there will be more than one. We will probably have cake at the park on Wednesday with Jill's mom and friend, Becca. At some later date, Jill will be going to Aquatica with her stepmom and dad and another friend. This time was just for family. We couldn't let the day go by without cake. Jill and Mia helped me make both cupcakes and ice cream cake. We got Edy's No Sugar Added Vanilla and layered lots of crushed sugar free Oreo cookies in a loaf pan to make the ice cream cake. Then we added crushed Oreo's to a white cake mix to make the cupcakes. Happy Birthday, Jillian!

Separ-ate Plate

I love my little separ-ate plate.

It’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.

There are only two of them.

Jill’s is red and mine is green.

Three little compartments on the top,

and a big one on the bottom

hold apples, corn, and carrots

and meat and gravy, if you got em.

I like little cubes of cheese

and pieces of tomatoes,

hot dog rounds, chicken nuggets,

and French fried potatoes.

Ketchup, sauce, or peanut butter,

the little wells are good for dipping

and the sturdy little tray

keeps the food from dripping.

A little plastic mug of milk

with a colored straw for sipping,

makes my little meal complete

and helps me keep from tipping.

Two little chairs and a DVD

at the Tinkerbell table

make the perfect luncheon date

with your cousin if she’s able.

I love my little separ-ate plate

It’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen

I love to see what surprises it holds

and lick the platter clean.

by Grandma

Fourth of July

This is a picture Cory took of another family having an outing at the beach on a different day. I think Jill and Mia are playing in the water. That might be Jaime on the dock.

We had a perfect, peaceful Fourth of July celebration. First, Roger and I met up with my brother and sister-in-law at Mel's Hot Dogs - a landmark in Tampa near Busch Gardens. I have to admit that in 30-some years, I had never eaten there before.

The celebration and ski show at the nearby beach took place so early that we just went over later when all the crowds were gone. Jaime made BBQ pork in the crockpot. I brought some coleslaw, watermelon, and sugar-free chocolate cupcakes. I put marshmallows on top and toasted them in the oven. This worked fine except the little girls only wanted to eat the marshmallow part. Karin and Alan brought some wine and sangria. Aaron had the day off from the Police Academy. We sat at a picnic table in the shade. Jill and Mia were having a ball swimming out to the floating dock, climbing up, and jumping off again. Mia was swimming all the way without the floogles on her arms! We missed Jonah. He was in Tennessee with his Dad.

After our picnic, I went home to take a nap. Jaime, Jill and friends went out to a nearby fireworks celebration. Mia was too tired from all her swimming. Roger and I sat on the porch and watched the fireworks popping all around us on the golf course. Then we went to bed and watched the fireworks and concert on TV from the Macy's celebration in NYC. A happy day.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Jaime and Jonah, 2000

I'm taking the occasion of Jonah's recent birthday to post one of my favorite pictures of Jonah and his mom. Jaime was favoring a short, strawberry blond hairdo at the time which matched perfectly with the red glow on little Jonah's head. That made me think of this picture of me and Cory. He was 11 months old. As I recall, a photographer actually came to the door! I let him in and went and changed myself and the baby. Can't imagine doing that today. But he took a nice picture.

Shari and Cory, 1972

My hairdo made me think of another set of pictures.

Shari, 1969

 Jill - last Thursday