Road Trip

Good afternoon everybody.

Welcome to the Petrified Forest.

Can you say Road Trip?

We just got home from our Grand Canyon trip with Blaine, 13 years old, and what a trip.  I will be writing about it for the next few days.

Today I want to write about days gone by.  Look at the old car above.  Just beyond the car are the telephone lines that ran along Route 66, the ROAD, the mother ROAD.  From Chicago to LA.  We can only imagine what a journey people had making that long, hot trip in most dessert without air conditioning.  The hubby shared with Blaine some about his trip when he was 12, just about the same age as Blaine is now.  In a station wagon without air conditioning there were five adults, two 12 year-olds, and a baby, making their way from the middle of Arkansas to LA.  Coming back they added another adult and another baby.  Would you consider making a trip like that today?  I can answer that!  NO!  He said they planned their timing to cross the desert in the middle of the night.

Times are different these days....air conditioned cars, expensive, repeat, expensive hotel rooms, expensive gas, more expensive food.......or so it seems.........compared to the days when we were first married and taking road trips.

Johnny and I and our kids made a lot of trips over the years.  We saved and saved for these trips and thought they were important for the culture of our children.  We set aside our money each month, scrimping by just to make those trips.  (In fact, it was kind of amusing how I managed our money back then, but worthy of its own blog post so I will save that memory for another time.)

We looked for inexpensive hotels (motels as we knew them back in the day) and often we would find one for less than $30--remember this was in the 70s and 80s.  I'd fry chicken before we left and we'd have a picnic everyday along our route.  When the chicken ran out, we'd grab some luncheon meats and bread.  Those picnics gave the kids a chance to run and burn off a little energy before hitting the road again.  If it was too hot for a picnic at noon, then we'd hit up a restaurant and save our "picnic" for our evening meal (spreading out the tablecloth {oh yes, I packed a tablecloth} on the bed, piling on and enjoying the Olympics or a political convention on TV--they always seemed to be on at the time we were traveling.)

We traveled but on a thin dime, but nonetheless, the trips are etched forever in our memories and hopefully in our children.  Times were simpler back then or so it seems.  Maybe our expectations were less and our wonder greater. 

Take a road trip....they are the greatest............

I love you.



Cheers Everyone

Cheers Everyone.  Happy Tuesday to each and everyone of you out there in cyberland.  Just had my first half cup of coffee and I now have one eye open regardless of the fact that I have been up for over an hour.  Speaking of coffee..........did you see the news last night?  Just one cup of coffee helps you live longer and three cups helps by 18%..............so today I will have three cups, please.  Don't quote me on the statistics.  Go look it up.  Oops, my other eye just opened.


I've been told I don't write in my blog anymore so I am going to try to remedy that so I can go on to become the Pulitzer prize winner that I am destined to be.  (And yes, it can be awarded for online journalism.)


So.........this summer has been a very, very busy one for me and I am enjoying it to the fullest.  Soon I will be on my fourth trip (or vacations as my grandchildren like to call them) in as many weeks.  Been so many places, even the credit card folks are calling.  When will this fun ever end?  Never, I hope. 


One thing I have noticed after these trips is how much better I feel physically.  Seriously.....I can walk better, my aches and pains have subsided, and certainly my mental health is way better.  For a few years I have been giving in to a certain kind of depression (I guess you could call it depression.....not a psychologist).  I could only see the disadvantages of getting older.  I assumed we couldn't do anything or travel because we had these ailments and maladies that come to us all.  Well, guess what?  I am seeing the light. 


I have many blessings that I had NOT been counting.  The ability to travel is one of them so with that, get in the car!


There's a commercial that runs on TV that says "a body in motion, stays in motion".  There's truth in that statement.  So here's to another trip..........Cheers everyone.


I love you and thank you for letting me just chatter away on this blog 

Sunshine on My Shoulder

Good morning everyone.  I am up a tad bit early and enjoying a cup.....maybe two......maybe three......okay, three cups of coffee in my sunroom.  It is quiet and the sun hasn't even made its appearance, but I feel a glorious day ahead.  Right now I see flowers that need to be potted so that will be my goal.  Tomorrow it is suppose to rain and rain the rest of the week............so no better time than now to pot them.


I hear the hubby rustling around so my "quiet" time won't be long, but really, I don't want it to be.  My three......count them.......three....... grandkids will be here in less than an hour so they will have me busy.  I told them yesterday that I would take them to the grocery store to stock up on snacks so they will be chomping at the bit (when's the last time you heard that?) to do just that.  Those flowers can wait for a couple hours.........


There's lots to do this summer with these kids.............and it is my pleasure to do lots of things with them.  I am blessed.


I love you and hope you have a beautiful day soaking up all the blessings bestowed upon you.


"Sunshine.........
on my shoulder..........
makes me happy........."

Stand By Me

Good evening.  It's been a rather quiet evening.  A perfect evening to listen to Pandora. I happen to choose John Denver Radio. Oh man!!  I have forgotten what a unique voice he had.  "Rocky Mountain High", "Country Roads Take Me Home", and the list goes on and on.  And then there is Elton John, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel............

I hope your evening is as mellow as mine.  I hope you are having a good life.  It has been a longtime time since I have blogged, but I hope to turn this around even if it's only to say hello--like tonight.  Hello!!

Do you miss John Denver like I do?  Time waits for no one.

I love you.

Now for a little "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King.......they don't write them like they used to.

45th Anniversary

Yesterday was our 45th wedding anniversary.  No, we didn't go on a trip, but then again maybe we did.  We took a long ride down memory lane.  We drove down May Avenue.............just drove down May Avenue and talked about some of the great places we shopped or ate back in the day.  I am sure the memories are much sweeter than the actuality at the time, but isn't that what memories are for............sweet memories--isn't that the name of the song?


As far back as our dating, we had fun exploring places. Saturdays were almost always out seeing what OKC had to offer.  Sadly, a lot of these places are no longer; French Market Mall, Continental Theater--actually almost all theaters have closed, Enchanted Doll, Glen's Hickory Inn, Tony's Via Roma, Captains Table, Shepherd Mall.......the list could go on and on.


Yesterday, we even walked through the old Crossroads Mall building.  We could spend hours there and not spend one dime.  Our babies turned to toddlers to children to teens there.  What fun............visiting Santa, window shopping...........people watching............enjoying our lives.  And did I mention, we didn't have to spend one dime there.


Sometime during our nostalgic day, I started second guessing our decision to stay at home for our celebration rather than go on a fantastic trip.  Were we making it special enough?  I even started worrying that the restaurant we chose for this special day wasn't going to be memorable enough.........."was it something to remember?" and that's when the hubby turned to be and said..............


"It's about us.  It's not about the restaurant.  It's not what we do on this day.  It's about us.  We are all we need--each other."  Oh he has a way of keeping me grounded.  I love him.  Happy 45th!


That's all I have.  I love you.

March 7, 1939 Diary

Monday, March 7, 1938 -- Knitted on skirt this morning.  went to classes this afternoon.  Went to town at 4 o'clock.  Got reprints of Kodak pictures at studio.  Came home - played piano, knitted, helped Mother with dishes, put pictures in album.


Tuesday, March 7, 1939 --  Had my P.M.  Went over to see Grace 3 times today.  She seems much better.  Finished letter to Mother & Dad & mailed it.  Mailed baby set to Morton's.  Washed and set hair.  Tried on ne crocheted hat.  Really like it with my hair this way.  Class 12:30-1:30.  Study hall tonite.  Listened to radio.


Those are two entries on a diary I have just finished reading.  I found this diary about 3 years ago at a flea market, put it in a drawer and forgot about it.  While I was cleaning closets a couple weeks ago, I came across it and started thumbing through it.  It was so intriguing that I couldn't put it down.  Last Sunday night I finished it and must say, I was sorry it ended.  I learned so much about the time and what it was like during those two years for a young girl.  My mother was a year older than this young woman so I made lots of mental comparisons and wondered if Mother's life was anything like Cherrie's (diary writer). 


But that's not the end of the story.  We live in internet times and if you dig a little you can be your own sleuth.  We found that she went on to become a nurse at St. Anthony's, right here in the city.  In fact, St. Anthony's published an essay she wrote and it is on Ancestry.com. 


My plan is to transcribe this little diary for my own rereading, but to find her relatives to see if they might be interested in having the diary back.  I'm not sure if her own sons want it back, but I am hoping her niece does, the one who put information about her on the site.


In the next few days, I hope to tell you a few things I learned about how wonderful a simple life can be in a much simpler times........a time when setting out on the lawn visiting can be the highlight of one's week.


I love you.


As a bit of fun, I thought I'd tell you what it was like on:


March 7, 1963.  Dear Diary.  I - dishes.  Went to school.  We had National Honor Society practice last hour.  Cut some more on my dress.  Walked back.


March 7, 1964.  We worked today.  Saturday


March 7, 1965.  Went to church.  Went to Aunt Geneva's for dinner.  Dad let me take car to Prague.  Nancy, Joyce, Karen S. & I went.  Joyce was washing her car.  Nancy was helping.


I had first hand knowledge of these events.  Wink - wink!

My Style

Again with the style............


Been looking for new spring style ideas for a woman my age and no place better than Pinterest.  I love to look at all the styles that folks have posted............some cute.............and some others, not so cute!  Nonetheless, a great place to get inspired.


I now realize that my style reflects the person I am around the most at the time.  For instance, if I am around my daughter, then I tend to dress as she does.  Jeans and a cute tee-shirt.  If I'm around one of my sisters, then I tend to wear or buy something they would like.  I think it all comes down to wanting someone to like what I wear and/or make a comment about the outfit, but a good comment.


After seeing what I like and pin on my Pinterest board, I see a common thread.  1) The model is thin.  2) The model is younger than me.  3) They are wearing high heels even with jeans or wearing really, really, really cute shoes.  4)  The handbag is very cute and most often a larger bag than I carry.  The bags look more high end.  5)  The jewelry is most often costume jewelry and on a larger scale than I wear.  6) They have a cute hair style and their makeup is impeccable.


Now some of these looks I can pull off by making certain modifications; i.e. lose weight, wearing cuter shoes, wearing costume jewelry.  I cannot make myself younger and I dare not tempt gravity by wearing high heels although if I have someone to take my arm, I might give it a go.  Still, after all these years, for my own personal well-being, I have to try to look good.  Still I am discovering my style.


That's all the news from the arm chair.  Hope you have a beautiful day.  Suppose to be 79 degrees in OKC.  Let's make that happen!


I love you.  

Off to See My Aunt

Good morning everybody.  Had my coffee and raring (is that the correct spelling?  No red underline so I guess it is.) to go. 


Have you ever had your day planned and suddenly realized you need to do something much more important.............that you'd (ok, I) forgotten?  Well seriously, I just realized that it is my aunt's birthday and not just any birthday........HER 102nd BIRTHDAY.  I doubt many of us will celebrate our own 102nd birthday so today I am going to celebrate hers.  My day has completely changed course, but without a doubt in my mind, it is going to be a much better day than I had planned at 8:00 this morning.  Yes, 15 minutes ago my plan was to work outside, BUT.....................


sometimes you just gotta (I got the red underline so I do know that gotta is not a word, but it fits my mood) change courses.


I love you and am off to see my aunt.

Rowenta Iron

I got something new yesterday.  A Rowenta Professional 1800 Watt Iron and I LOVE IT!  I've been ironing ever since. 


If you know me, you know that I love to iron especially if the iron is working perfectly; i.e. steaming and not leaking.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have to tell you that this iron STEAMS.  REALLY STEAMS.  In fact, so much steam that my glasses fog over.  An annoyance at times, but well worth the fog to have an iron that puts out STEAM.  This is one of the best QVC purchases I have ever made.  Although it is a little heavier than my old iron, I still give it 5 stars.


I have written about my ironing obsession several times in this blog.  It is a very calming task for me.  Today the house was cool so the steam from the iron was comforting and helped put a little moisture into this dry house.  I was so relaxed..............ironing, remembering back in the day, music playing from Pandora (have you tried Pandora OR Spotify?).  There is such satisfaction in freshly pressed garments and the smell is divine. 


Here's another ironing post.  Hope you enjoy it.


I love you.

An Afternoon at Sears

Hi friends,


The other day we had occasion to visit our local Sears store.  Wow, what a shock!  The Sears store remained open after the mall closed years ago.................but it DID hold on.  Even though it is still open today, the merchandise seems to slowly dwindling away.......the TVs had been moved to another store.  By the number of customers in the store today, they are slowly dwindling away, too.


Hand in hand, we were exploring the store when suddenly a lump formed in my throat.  We looked at each other and just smiled.  So many things are disappearing from our life.  We talked about a few; Service Merchandise--gone, Montgomery Ward--gone, Dillard's in the mall--gone, the whole mall--gone, Street's--gone, Across The Street--gone, Kip's--gone, Girlie Pancake House--gone, Trade--gone, Safeway--gone, Albertson's--gone--gone--gone--so many gone that it would take an hour to type them all, and now it looks like Sears may be going, going, gone soon, too. 


As we were remembering all the choices that have gone away, my hubby asks me if we have had a net gain or a net loss.  The stores and the restaurants we enjoyed together when our family was young are slowing dwindling away.  Trickling away so that we only have pleasant vague memories.  Still we have each other, holding hands, and remembering.  BUT the good news--we're still making memories.


I love you.