Today is Friday, February 27, 2009. The sun is shining and the sky is blue as can be. I am so happy.
We have been reading Aunt Mabel's Memoirs. Glen reads out loud to me while I stitch on my quilt. Will I ever get it finished? YES !! I am determined to finish it. Right now I am quilting the side pieces. I still have to do the bottom edge and the top. Then add the Prairie Points all around and I am DONE.
Aunt Mabel, Dad Wahlquist's sister, spoke into a tape recorder for about 18 hours telling her story. Marcie, Glen's cousin Keith's wife, completed the transcribing and made it into a wonderful book. Thank you, Marcie!!
It is very interesting to hear all her stories. It has stirred a lot of memories of my own. Mabel was born in the early 1900's and lived until February of 1991. I was born in 1937 and am still alive. Well, somedays I think I am still alive.
As she described their living accommodations through the years, I couldn't help but be reminded of my own. And thinking about our grandchildren - they all have such wonderful living conditions. Each of them live in a nice home with hot running water and central heating. Most of them have never had to ride a train or a city bus. They go everywhere by car. What a plush life and they don't even realize it.
From the time my parents divorced when I was six years old, Mother and I had to walk everywhere we went or ride the city bus. We didn't have a car. Mother had never learned to drive. We couldn't have afforded one anyway. I didn't mind walking or riding the city bus. When we went to the grocery store we bought only as much as we could carry. Mother would carry a grocery bag in each arm. (Bags were the same size as now - all brown paper - no plastic.) And the clerk would fix two smaller bags for me - one for each arm- and we would head off home, about 5 blocks.
I liked to ride the city bus from Independence to Kansas City. We had to walk about 5 blocks to catch the bus and it took about an hour to get to KC. We went over there about once a month - to window shop or go to a movie. Once in awhile Mother had some business Downtown. KC was always referred to as Downtown. If we shopped or went to the movies in Independence it was Uptown.
If we took a longer trip we had to go by train or by the Greyhound bus. I rode the train with my grandmother each summer. She stayed with us during the school year and then went home to Sheldon for the summer. I would go with her - about three hours on the train. That was a great experience in my memory.
And what a wonderful thing hot water is? Coming right out of every tap in the house- bathrooms and kitchen. That is sheer delight every time I think of it. In our house in Independence we had an old water heater in the kitchen. It never worked properly and took so long for the water to heat that most of the time we just acted like there was no hot water. Washing the dishes meant heating a tea kettle full of water on the stove till it was boiling. Fill the dishpan and then cool it down some with cold water from the tap. The dish water would get colder and colder as you went along. We would put the kettle back on the stove and add hot water until we finished. I am sure glad I don't have to do that anymore.
Aunt Mabel mentions counter tops, too. I had forgotten that the old board cabinet top, painted white, was not as wonderful as the formica countertop I have now or the newer types now used in homes. One area right next to the sink was not painted. It was sort of like a big bread board with grooves for the water to drain off into the sink. And of course the dish drainer was metal. Plastics were not invented yet.
Everytime I get into the shower I thank God for hot water coming from the tap. The bathroom at home was a long ways from that old hot water heater. We did run the water long enough to get a bit of warmth in the old tub. And the bathroom was cold, cold, cold in the winter. We could heat it with an electric space heater which we turned on while we bathed. We didn't have a shower, only a big old bathtub with iron legs. That was in our house at 403 South Pleasant.
At least we had an indoor bathroom. Glen didn't have that until he was a senior in high school.
Twice in my life I've had to share a bathroom with other people. When we first moved to Independence in 1943, we had an upstairs apartment - two rooms with a small porch where we hung the clothes out to dry. The bathroom we shared with two other upstairs apartments. Our apartment was closest to the bathroom so it was easy to open the door to check if the bathroom was unoccupied. You had to remember to leave the bathroom door open when you left.
Then, believe it or not, in 1958 when Glen and I got married, we had an apartment in Junction City, Kansas. It was at the front of the house. There was another apartment in the back of the house. And we shared the bathroom. There was an upstairs apartment in the house, too. They were lucky. They had their own bathroom.
I never mind washing dishes nowadays, with all the hot water I need or want coming out of that faucet. I'm glad I never had to carry water. I am so thankful for indoor plumbing. And, of course, if I want, I can just load the dishes in the dishwasher and be done with it. But I sometimes savor that hot soapy water on my hands and think about the "not so good old days.
Washing clothes, what a wonder! With our easy washing machines all fixed to add water, hot or cold. All we have to do is push the buttons. Growing up, the washing was not so easy. We were lucky. Mother had a nice washing machine. She had washed with a wash board in her young years but by 1943 automatic washers were pretty easy to come by. We used the bathtub for our rinse water since there was not room in the bathroom for the customary square rinse tubs.
Once the clothes had sloshed around in the soapy water, one of us would run them through the wringer into the rinse water. We'd slosh them around until most of the soap was out and then we would run them through the wringer again into the old wooden bushel basket to take them out to the line to hang (in the summer - in the winter we had hanging places all over the house) to dry. There was so much humidity in the air in Missouri that they never got really dry, even in the summer. And the house was so cold in the winter. We had heavy drapes hung over all the doors and kept only the kitchen and the dining room warm with the space heater. Oh my! How I love my washer and dryer! And think of all the young people that take all of this so for granted. I sometimes wonder what memories they will share with their grandchildren. Who would ever dream how things change over the years? I can hardly wait to see.
Just a closing note to say how glad I am for living in this day and age. Aunt Mabel said she was glad to live in such exciting times. Well, me too. Life is good. And that's all for today.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Movies, oh boy!
Today is Monday, February 23, 2009. It is cloudy and cool. Supposed to rain today. I thought the sun was going to shine but not so.
I wrote about movies and then when I went to preview it, it disappeared. Can I rewrite it? Well, I want to try.
We were talking with some friends the other night about movies. It all started when I asked them if they were still going to a movie every Monday afternoon like when they first moved here. Their life has changed and so they don't do it any more. And as we talked we determined that it is getting pretty hard to find a decent movie every Monday.
Quite different from the "old" days. When Glen and I were first married 50 years ago, we went to the movies nearly every week. For part of our lives we went twice in a week, every change of show. We lived in a small town with only one theatre. The theatre was closed on Wednesday. One show started on Thursday and showed Friday and Saturday. The next show started on Sunday and showed Monday and Tuesday. Of course, we didn't go to the movies on Sunday. We always went to Church.
It cost a whole 50c to go to the movie. We'd go on Tuesday night and then again on Friday or Saturday. And every movie was good, clean, and decent. Oh, there were mysteries and such, but not bad language and other objectionable features. We'd take our two little children and enjoy the night at the show.
While we lived there we had two more children and we still kept taking them to the show. All of us love movies. But nowadays it is hard to find decent movies to go see. They all seem to have so much swearing and taking the Lord's name in vain. Or else they are full of bathroom talk. That's offensive, too. I heard someone say once that you wouldn't hold that stuff in your hands, why would you let it come out of your mouth. True, true!
Gone With The Wind was the first movie that used a cuss word and people were so shocked. The trend didn't take over, thank goodness, for a long time. I remember the cuss word that was used in Hello, Dolly. That shocked most everyone, too. But, sad to say, I think that started a trend. DARN!
And nowadays it seems that every movie has bad words and bad scenes. You don't dare recommend any movie to friends because of those offensive parts. One of my all time favorite movies is "Dave." But I can't recommend it to anyone. It has that one scene, one scene, mind you, that adds nothing to the story. In the "old" days the camera would have spanned the clothes strewn on the floor and everyone knows what was going on. But "no," the camera couldn't stop there and leave the rest to the imagination. The story is so great and the most of it is fine. Why, oh, why! Well, another one is Kindergarten Cop. Such a great story. Just one or two things that are offensive.
We search carefully the newspapers and other reviews before we decide to spend our hard earned money on a movie nowadays. Thank goodness there are some good ones but they are few and far between. Some weeks there is nothing showing in town but R rated movies. I don't think we could ever go to the movie even once a week without being offended by the language and the unnessary scenes.
We also talked about being able to walk into a movie and sit through the second showing or whatever part of it you wanted to see. "The Sting" was the first movie you had to see from the very beginning. The theatre wouldn't let anyone in after that show began. And now, if you go in late they chase you out of the theatre at the end. Never again can anyone sit through more than one showing, so, of course, you don't want to be late to start the show.
When my mother took me to Kansas City to see Gone With The Wind, I talked her into sitting through it three times. Can't do anything like that anymore.
I miss the newsreel and the cartoons, too. Of course, with TV I guess people get all the newsreel they could ever want. I don't know too many adults that sit and watch cartoons on TV. It would be fun to see the Road Runner or some of those cute cartoons we used to see in the "old" days.
I'm glad TV broadcasts some of the great shows we watched in the theatres when we were younger. I love all the beautiful costumes and the clear photography - be it western, murder mysteries, musicals, comedies, or whatever. The only problem is I miss the big screen and the atmosphere of going to the movie theatre.
Thank goodness there are some good movies these days but they are too far and few between. I sometimes wonder why they can't make movies that are unoffensive . With all the fantastic equipment and "stuff" we have, good movies could be so plentiful. Don't the movie makers know they have lost a huge audience? I sure wish they'd make more decent shows for those of us who love movies.
I wrote about movies and then when I went to preview it, it disappeared. Can I rewrite it? Well, I want to try.
We were talking with some friends the other night about movies. It all started when I asked them if they were still going to a movie every Monday afternoon like when they first moved here. Their life has changed and so they don't do it any more. And as we talked we determined that it is getting pretty hard to find a decent movie every Monday.
Quite different from the "old" days. When Glen and I were first married 50 years ago, we went to the movies nearly every week. For part of our lives we went twice in a week, every change of show. We lived in a small town with only one theatre. The theatre was closed on Wednesday. One show started on Thursday and showed Friday and Saturday. The next show started on Sunday and showed Monday and Tuesday. Of course, we didn't go to the movies on Sunday. We always went to Church.
It cost a whole 50c to go to the movie. We'd go on Tuesday night and then again on Friday or Saturday. And every movie was good, clean, and decent. Oh, there were mysteries and such, but not bad language and other objectionable features. We'd take our two little children and enjoy the night at the show.
While we lived there we had two more children and we still kept taking them to the show. All of us love movies. But nowadays it is hard to find decent movies to go see. They all seem to have so much swearing and taking the Lord's name in vain. Or else they are full of bathroom talk. That's offensive, too. I heard someone say once that you wouldn't hold that stuff in your hands, why would you let it come out of your mouth. True, true!
Gone With The Wind was the first movie that used a cuss word and people were so shocked. The trend didn't take over, thank goodness, for a long time. I remember the cuss word that was used in Hello, Dolly. That shocked most everyone, too. But, sad to say, I think that started a trend. DARN!
And nowadays it seems that every movie has bad words and bad scenes. You don't dare recommend any movie to friends because of those offensive parts. One of my all time favorite movies is "Dave." But I can't recommend it to anyone. It has that one scene, one scene, mind you, that adds nothing to the story. In the "old" days the camera would have spanned the clothes strewn on the floor and everyone knows what was going on. But "no," the camera couldn't stop there and leave the rest to the imagination. The story is so great and the most of it is fine. Why, oh, why! Well, another one is Kindergarten Cop. Such a great story. Just one or two things that are offensive.
We search carefully the newspapers and other reviews before we decide to spend our hard earned money on a movie nowadays. Thank goodness there are some good ones but they are few and far between. Some weeks there is nothing showing in town but R rated movies. I don't think we could ever go to the movie even once a week without being offended by the language and the unnessary scenes.
We also talked about being able to walk into a movie and sit through the second showing or whatever part of it you wanted to see. "The Sting" was the first movie you had to see from the very beginning. The theatre wouldn't let anyone in after that show began. And now, if you go in late they chase you out of the theatre at the end. Never again can anyone sit through more than one showing, so, of course, you don't want to be late to start the show.
When my mother took me to Kansas City to see Gone With The Wind, I talked her into sitting through it three times. Can't do anything like that anymore.
I miss the newsreel and the cartoons, too. Of course, with TV I guess people get all the newsreel they could ever want. I don't know too many adults that sit and watch cartoons on TV. It would be fun to see the Road Runner or some of those cute cartoons we used to see in the "old" days.
I'm glad TV broadcasts some of the great shows we watched in the theatres when we were younger. I love all the beautiful costumes and the clear photography - be it western, murder mysteries, musicals, comedies, or whatever. The only problem is I miss the big screen and the atmosphere of going to the movie theatre.
Thank goodness there are some good movies these days but they are too far and few between. I sometimes wonder why they can't make movies that are unoffensive . With all the fantastic equipment and "stuff" we have, good movies could be so plentiful. Don't the movie makers know they have lost a huge audience? I sure wish they'd make more decent shows for those of us who love movies.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Another try
Ohmigosh! I think I did it. I was trying to find the photo of Glen that was taken at the same time as my photo. But I couldn't locate it. I decided to try this one in his Army uniform. I feel patriotic today.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Going Under The Knife Again
Today is Friday, February 6, 2009. The sun is trying to peek through the rain clouds. It rained some yesterday and in the night. We need more rain but I am always glad to have the sun.
It's been an interesting four weeks in 2009. Over the Christmas holidays my left knee became so painful that I have prayerfully made the decision to "go under the knife again" to have my left knee replaced. It's a bit scary but yet I am hopeful, too. Because I have made that decision I have been in several doctor's offices lately.
You know, first I needed to go visit the knee Dr. He is a very optomistic, pleasant Dr. I heard one lady telling a new patient in his waiting room that he is a very charismatic person. And I would have to agree with her.
He has you fill out a survey on a little palm pilot. I decided I didn't want to do that this time. I tend to be optomistic myself when I am answering surveys. I just wanted to talk to him.
Well, that wouldn't do for him. The receptionist wrote on my chart "Refused to take the survey." He said to me, "I am in control of this interview and if you don't fill it out I can't help you." I told him I just wanted to talk first. He let me talk for a very short while. I told him I would gladly fill out his survey. He left to see another patient while I took the little palm pilot. Glen helped me be more realistic than optomistic. It made my "numbers" look more accurate and indicated my level of pain.
I spent more time in his office than I have ever done before. Oh well! His waiting room and office that day about drove me insane. The television in the waiting room - by the way the waiting room was full; every ugly green chair but one was occupied - had a note on it - "Do not change this television."
Well, the show was some talk show where a man and his ex-wife were arguing about child custody. The host- I didn't get his name - was in the fray also. The whole episode was quite disgusting. And it got worse as the show went on. I tried to plug my ears because it was very upsetting to me. I tried to calm myself with cool pleasant thoughts. I tried to shut out the sound. I'm not much into these realistic shows that are on TV nowadays. Give me Bonanza or The Cosby Show or I Love Lucy!
By the time the nurse called me out of the waiting room I was so relieved to be away from that TV, I wanted to shout hurray! The waiting room is kind of a dreary place. The carpet is a dark old greyish thing and the walls are chocolate brown. The chairs are sort of dark green with a bit of a cushion on the seat and back. Thinking about it got me to thinking about the other Drs. offices.
My primary care physician's office is in the Med Clinic and the waiting room services several medical groups. That office is painted white and has big windows that let in lots of light. There is no TV - thank heavens. Not even piped in music - Yeah! And it does have a fairly good selection of magazines. There is a variety of chairs - some overstuffed (very little cushion compared to most overstuffed but overstuffed none the less). Some chairs are straight. The color of the chairs is mauve with some designs. But the chairs in that waiting room are coming apart. I think every seat has a split. I shake my head each time I go in.
I had to have an EKG in connection with my left knee surgery which is scheduled for March 10. That required a vist to another Drs. office. The cardioligist is on the 3rd floor of the Med Clinic building. That waiting room is almost exactly like the one on the 2nd floor. One difference is that the chairs have no splits in the seats. Yeah! And I was in and out of there in about 5 minutes - They are quick about their work.
Each office also has interesting personal dynamics. The receptionists and nurses sure make a difference in how I feel when I have to be in an office. Some are so sweet and friendly, some are all business and quite somber. In one office I have never seen a smile. All business and "get the job done."
I try to smile at them but now that I think about it I don't remember anyone smiling back at me. Hmm! I think I will make a study of that over these next few months when I will be in and out of Drs. offices.
Well, I am scared and hopeful that by the end of this year I will be able to run marathons. Wait! I've never run a marathon in my life. Am I really going to start now? Probably not but I am sure hoping I can get around better with less pain and can go back to all my volunteering activities - like the Temple and the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse.
In the meantime I have not minded being at home. It is sort of my "hermit phase" of life. I still go to Church every Sunday, to the Family History Center every Monday and to the store - to ride around on a cart - once a week. Life is good. And Glen takes good care of me.
That all for today.
It's been an interesting four weeks in 2009. Over the Christmas holidays my left knee became so painful that I have prayerfully made the decision to "go under the knife again" to have my left knee replaced. It's a bit scary but yet I am hopeful, too. Because I have made that decision I have been in several doctor's offices lately.
You know, first I needed to go visit the knee Dr. He is a very optomistic, pleasant Dr. I heard one lady telling a new patient in his waiting room that he is a very charismatic person. And I would have to agree with her.
He has you fill out a survey on a little palm pilot. I decided I didn't want to do that this time. I tend to be optomistic myself when I am answering surveys. I just wanted to talk to him.
Well, that wouldn't do for him. The receptionist wrote on my chart "Refused to take the survey." He said to me, "I am in control of this interview and if you don't fill it out I can't help you." I told him I just wanted to talk first. He let me talk for a very short while. I told him I would gladly fill out his survey. He left to see another patient while I took the little palm pilot. Glen helped me be more realistic than optomistic. It made my "numbers" look more accurate and indicated my level of pain.
I spent more time in his office than I have ever done before. Oh well! His waiting room and office that day about drove me insane. The television in the waiting room - by the way the waiting room was full; every ugly green chair but one was occupied - had a note on it - "Do not change this television."
Well, the show was some talk show where a man and his ex-wife were arguing about child custody. The host- I didn't get his name - was in the fray also. The whole episode was quite disgusting. And it got worse as the show went on. I tried to plug my ears because it was very upsetting to me. I tried to calm myself with cool pleasant thoughts. I tried to shut out the sound. I'm not much into these realistic shows that are on TV nowadays. Give me Bonanza or The Cosby Show or I Love Lucy!
By the time the nurse called me out of the waiting room I was so relieved to be away from that TV, I wanted to shout hurray! The waiting room is kind of a dreary place. The carpet is a dark old greyish thing and the walls are chocolate brown. The chairs are sort of dark green with a bit of a cushion on the seat and back. Thinking about it got me to thinking about the other Drs. offices.
My primary care physician's office is in the Med Clinic and the waiting room services several medical groups. That office is painted white and has big windows that let in lots of light. There is no TV - thank heavens. Not even piped in music - Yeah! And it does have a fairly good selection of magazines. There is a variety of chairs - some overstuffed (very little cushion compared to most overstuffed but overstuffed none the less). Some chairs are straight. The color of the chairs is mauve with some designs. But the chairs in that waiting room are coming apart. I think every seat has a split. I shake my head each time I go in.
I had to have an EKG in connection with my left knee surgery which is scheduled for March 10. That required a vist to another Drs. office. The cardioligist is on the 3rd floor of the Med Clinic building. That waiting room is almost exactly like the one on the 2nd floor. One difference is that the chairs have no splits in the seats. Yeah! And I was in and out of there in about 5 minutes - They are quick about their work.
Each office also has interesting personal dynamics. The receptionists and nurses sure make a difference in how I feel when I have to be in an office. Some are so sweet and friendly, some are all business and quite somber. In one office I have never seen a smile. All business and "get the job done."
I try to smile at them but now that I think about it I don't remember anyone smiling back at me. Hmm! I think I will make a study of that over these next few months when I will be in and out of Drs. offices.
Well, I am scared and hopeful that by the end of this year I will be able to run marathons. Wait! I've never run a marathon in my life. Am I really going to start now? Probably not but I am sure hoping I can get around better with less pain and can go back to all my volunteering activities - like the Temple and the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse.
In the meantime I have not minded being at home. It is sort of my "hermit phase" of life. I still go to Church every Sunday, to the Family History Center every Monday and to the store - to ride around on a cart - once a week. Life is good. And Glen takes good care of me.
That all for today.
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