Christmas decorations

When I was growing up my parents had rules about Christmas decorations. Our tree was in the middle of the front room so that it was under the lights so the lights could be plugged in. Christmas night my mother would announce that Christmas was over and we undecorated the tree and put things away. We did not have lights on the house so it was indoor stuff. Now we undecorate at New Year's Day and store the things in our attic. My snowmen are going under because of the snow and my daughter Sally's blog shows it today, I think we will undecorate at Easter this year. The indoor stuff is put away but not the outdoor stuff. Maybe we will make it by St Patrick's day.

Snow days

When I was in school they had not invented snow days. I think they are a good thing. I only lived six blocks from school which is not a great distance and the blocks were short but I can remember some days when it was so cold that my hands hurt. Parents picked up kids at school a lot but I remember one day that mother was busy and I looked longingly for a ride but none appeared. I probably would have gone outside if I had been home but this one seemed extra cold. Our mittens were generally on a string that went through your coat so if you had one you had both. I had both but it was sooo cold. It was great to get home. My sister, Helen, was in Junior High so only had to walk across the street but she gave me sympathy that day instead of telling me that she had walked home on colder days. She never walked home alone as she had my sister and then she had me. It is nice when you have company.

A piano

When we were raising our group and they attended the local school--Nieman at 67th and Nieman -- we had a carnival every year to raise money. One year the president ran off with the money--we got it back. The men had to take over the offices as the women were upset. Ray was vice president so did programs. He got great programs and one was a teacher from the Kansas City Conservatory of Music. We decided our children should take music. First we needed a piano so we went to Jenkins Music Store. Then we enrolled them. At that time only three were old enough so they all had the same teacher. I don't know if all three still play but know Susan does. I know Sally's daughters both play. As the years went along the teacher quit at the Conservatory so we went to her house. I think the youngest, Scott, even had jazz lessons. After they were married and had children of their own, our piano moved to Lawrence, Ks to Scott's house for his three children. I think they all have pianos now.

When I was growing up the depression was in full swing. Before it hit, my three older relatives took lessons at Washburn College but I had lessons at the grade school at noon one day a week for twenty-five cents. My own parents had a baby grand they had bought from the widow of the doctor who had delivered us. I played a great "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers". I only had one recital and I just sat there and did not play my piece. I had no other recitals. Now I play the harmonica and do a great "Happy Birthday". I think I would run out of wind if I did "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers".

New Year's Eve

When I was dating Ray I was essential since I do not like to drink. I was the designated driver every year. A boring job. After we moved to Kansas City and had children we did not want small children staying up until 12 so we had New Year's eve the next noon at 12. We had poppers and confetti and a great dinner of ham, etc.
When they were older we let them stay up and Ray had a great time. He always saved some fireworks and at midnight set it off. Fireworks is better than a gun. At least you know where it will go off and who knows where a bullet will land. On New Year's noon we still had the poppers and confetti so we celebrated twice. With the weather so lousy this year I'm not sure when we will celebrate so it may go into the next year a few days. New Year's generally had the added job of putting all the Christmas stuff away including the snowmen from the front yard and the lights off the house. This year they may stay for Valentine's Day. We just won't turn them on. Snowmen look normal in your front lawn in January even if they are wooden. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

White Christmas

I know you are supposed to love a white Christmas but I think that is for ski lodges and such for I do not remembering thinking of it as anything but a bother. This year has been bad since due to the weather we can't get together as a family. I love the Christmas dinner. The only time I can remember not caring for the meat was when my mother decided to cook a goose. It was really greasy. This year I was going to see some family I had not seen for awhile. \Maybe I would have liked it better if I had lived with a hill. Now 13th has kind of a hill but is not great for sledding. My own children did not have a great place to sled so were generally just pulled around on a sled. I remember one Christmas that Ray had a bright idea about a train track. Our house was small and he thought if he made a train board and put it on the wall of our son's room he could pull it up when not in use. Ray was not good with building things but tried. That year he built it in the basement. It was big. When my in-laws arrived for Christmas he had help. He tried putting it on the wall but that was a disaster and he ended moving it to the basement and putting it on saw horses. Later the board became the food boxes for our many camping trips. They were sturdy. The train went under the tree that year.

We have a great deal of snow this year and the streets are covered. The street in front of our house is generally cleared but you have trouble getting to it. The reason that Flint Street is clear is our neighbor's son is the Shawnee City Engineer and he cleans a path from his house--west of Quivira -- to his parents house. They are going there for Christmas dinner this year and I'm sure it will be cleared in time. However most of the streets leading to Flint are not so clear. I think the name of the song should be "The nightmare of snow on Christmas Day". That is my opinion for the day.

Christmas candy

When I was growing up people made candy a lot at Christmas. My mother loved to make divinity which was hard to do. Fudge was not much easier but she enjoyed doing it. I loved eating the failures with a spoon out of a pan. When I got married Ray loved to make Christmas candy. I got pretty good with fudge and with a good mixer I was able to make divinity. I don't know if people still make it but it added a lot to the Christmas spirit. I loved spooning the failures out of the pan.

Christmas socks

I spent a great deal of time waiting for Ray when he covered new stories in our early marriage and I decided it would be nice to have something to do so I learned to knit from a .25 cent book from the dime store. I made baby booties and stuff and entered them at the Topeka Fair. My sister Ethel read an article in the Woman's Home Companion and told me to switch to Christmas socks. I have done over a thousand now and have a nice long list of people who were kind enough to let me knit them. I've never been a great knitter and have made some of them wrong. During the time I have knitted I've met some great people. I knitted one for a family that the baby died but they wanted a sock to remember it by. I knitted two for a grandmother who was dying and wanted to leave them to her two grandchildren so they would remember her. I made one for someone who was shot but recovered and one murdered who did not recover. I have had families break up and return socks of the member who was not around anymore.

I took a long time to knit them. I think the fastest I did was when my first granddaughter was born in Washington, DC and I made her sock on the 3 hour flight to Washington. It is probably a shorter flight now so even if I was good I would not get it done. I had to re-knit one family who stored the socks with candy still in them and a pack rat ate the candy and the socks. I have knitted four for family dogs. Some names are a little long so I have had to go down the side of the sock with the name instead of across. I have had them on the cover of a magazine.

I'm still knitting but I do not knit as well as my daughter, Susan, and at the moment am stuck on knitting the heel. One child lost her sock. She was a neighorhood child and her mother said she could not ask me but one morning I found her 8 year old self outside my door and she said, "My mother says I can't ask you but I want a sock". I knitted her another. It is a fun hobby and I've met a lot of people because of it. I used to knit them on planes but I don't think they allow needles on the plane anymore. The only country I have run into that does not knit is Africa. They crochet.