Fourth of July, 2011

We had a wonderful July 4 weekend. On Sunday, we had dinner with Rick and Darlene at their new apartment. Rick cooked on the grill and we enjoyed their beautiful view. On Monday we went to a water ski show and barbeque at the beach near our friend's house. In the evening, Jaime and Aaron had a cookout for family and friends. There were four dogs, a pot bellied pig, 2 babies and Mia. Jonah is visiting his Dad in Tennessee. It seemed strange for him to not be there. After we got home, Roger and I pulled lawn chairs into the front yard and watched the fireworks over the golf course. A thoughful neighbor aimed some beautiful fireworks just in the right place over the trees. Then we watched the Boston Pops fireworks on the TV in our bedroom. What a great day! I am so grateful for all the blessings in my life.

Mia and Her Teachers

Mia finished her first year of preschool at Head Start. Here she is with her teachers. On her first day I asked if she had any friends. She said, "I have a friend and his name is Ms. Rodriguez!"

More of Mia's Drawings

Mia keeps churning out pictures and hanging them on the fridge and she brings piles of them home from day care. I try to edit, but I have a hard time leaving any of them out.

Mia self portrait. She even signed it.Jill and Mia on a rainy day. Notice they are holding hands. There is a flower and a balloon and they both have jewelry. Jill on her ankle and Mia on her wrist.

Congatulations Aaron!!! EMT License

Aaron has received his EMT Certificate and degree from HCC. He starts fire school in August so that he can become a paramedic. Already I am amazed at how much medical knowledge his has. That, along with his good common sense and cool head, make him a very good person to have around in an emergency. Congratulations, Aaron!

Slice of Life - Chocolate

This is a Slice of Life post. Slice of Life is a weekly prompt to encourage writers to tell personal history stories. Click on the link to participate.

You can have your truffles and your Dove bars and all your fancy chocolate. My favorite is good old Hershey's cocoa. Now it has even been discovered that dark cocoa is actually good for you. Low in fat and high in antioxidents. Of course, you have to add a lot of sugar to make it taste good.

When I think of Christmas, I think of the whole house smelling of warm chocolate and of sweet chocolaty candy full of pecans, kind of hard instead of "fudgy". My mother would cook it to the soft ball stage and then she would add vanilla and butter and beat it until her arm was sore.

I recently tried my hand at homemade chocolate pie from an old family recipe. It didn't look like the picture above but it was good. Homemade crust, homemade chocolate custard and homemade "egg icing" (meringue) - all listed as difficult in my personal cooking catalog. The homemade chocolate pudding may be a lot of trouble but it tastes entirely different from the instant pudding you can buy at the store. In fact, take a can of Hershey's cocoa and make yourself a cup of hot chocolate. If you haven't tried it in a while, it will wake up your senses.

I also love to make chocolate bundt cake with Hershey's cocoa. It is so moist it doesn't need icing. I just add a little sprinkle of powdered sugar on top. From Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) I learned to add a little instant coffee for added flavor.

Click on this link for the official Hershey's site for lots of great recipes.

Slice of Life - Moving Day (Cory's Birthday)

Cory and Me. He is 5 months old.


Two grandmas, Mary and Goldia. 1971


Grandma Collier and Cory


Me and Leanis, wedding, Feb. 5, 1970


This is a Slice of Life post. Slice of Life is a weekly prompt to encourage writers to tell personal history stories. Click on the link to participate.
In the fall of 1971 I was busy packing our one-bedroom apartment to move. My husband was transferring to a railroad job in his hometown in Missouri. I met Leanis in Florida while he was in the Air Force Base but that is another story. Anyway, when he got out of the Air Force, my mother and Aunt Nellie and I drove to Arkansas where he had a railroad job waiting for him so we could be married.
We lived in Arkansas for a year before my husband was able to transfer to his hometown in Missouri. I was a little worried about moving since I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, but we were going anyway. I spent the day filling boxes and I sorted out all the laundry in piles in the bedroom so we could go to the laundromat when he got paid the next day. We packed until late in the night when we decided to take a break and watch a little TV. I made a late dinner of fried potatoes and onions.
I was a little uncomfortable. I had been having occasional cramps off and on for days. I told my husband I was going to call the doctor the next day and ask for a laxative. That was when my water broke. My husband was in a panic but I was calm. I had heard stories about how long it took first babies to be born. I looked through my closet for something to wear to the hospital while Leanis begged me to hurry. On the way down the steps the first strong contraction hit and I wondered if I had waited too long.
The car ride was stressful. I was shaking like a leaf. We raced to the hospital and I was rolling down the hall in a wheelchair before I knew it. I looked at the big clock. It was 12:40 a.m.They led me to a cold little room with a stainless steel table and had me change to a hospital gown. I was shaking uncontrollably and the contractions were really hurting. I began to get scared. I got on the cold table and a nurse came in. I heard her say, "She's 10" which I now know means I was fully dilated and ready to give birth. I had high blood pressure and it was 1971 so the nurse asked me if I was ready to go to sleep. I drifted off in the middle of a painful contraction.

I woke slowly the next morning in a sunny hospital room. I was confused. We didn't have any money but (thank God) we did have good railroad medical insurance. I had not packed a bag. I didn't know where my husband was and I didn't know anyone else very well. My mother was in Florida and had no idea what had happened.

A nurse came in and there was Cory looking kind of wrinkled and red. I had no idea what to do since I had never been around babies. They handed him to me and he gave me a startled look. I felt a wave of love and kinship. Neither of us knew what to do but we would figure it out together. My husband came in with a suitcase and told me he had called my mother.

So, that was the moving day that turned into Cory's birthday. I was really surprised when I looked at the hospital bracelet on his wrist. Cory was born at 1:20 a.m. only 40 minutes from the time I arrived at the hospital. I'm glad there wasn't a train blocking the way to the hospital in that little railroad town.

Jaime's Owl

The grandkids are not the only ones with artistic ability. Here is one of Jaime's paintings - Owl. The scanner size forced me to crop the feet and wings a bit.