1/25/10

Fringe Benefits

At this stage of our lives I have a special luxury I am going to document/admit to.

I HAVE A LAUNDRY SERVICE.
MY HUSBAND DOES THE LAUNDRY!

No I didn't go on strike & No, he hasn't ended up with any red items in the white load resulting in PINK UNDERWEAR OR TOWELS.

I think it began when I would ask him to do the laundry whenever we had big projects going on with a party or company coming. In an effort to best use and organize our time with all the house cleaning and yard work I would ask him to take care of the laundry noting that this would be a big help. Now he does it every week!

I wonder if he has noticed I tend to refold certain things like towels that go in my bathroom.

Three Pairs of Jeans-What More Could a Boy Need?

When our family lived in South Arkansas in the late 1970s we had 3 teenage sons and a daughter a few years behind. I recall a conversation with our youngest son as we drove to the local department store to buy a new pair of blue jeans. I was sharing one of my 'back when' stories of my own very lean growing up years and he said "Mom if I had been your Dad I would have gotten you ANYTHING you wanted."

Have you ever heard someone say: "I want to give my children all the things I never had?"

Yes, I understand that sentiment.But is actually doing it commendable?
Consider the end results.

By the very nature of being children, they seldom value being so fortunate.
Have you ever observed the lives of children who have and continue to aquire all the latest games, toys, more clothes than four families can wear, all the trinkets they see and just "have to have"..The more stuff that fills their lives the more they want and the stuff becomes almost like rubbish filling every crevice of their environment-needing places to be stored and do the children look around at their abundance and say 'this is too much, can we share with someone who has nothing?"

My husband had a good job, made a good living and continued to do better with each job advance. I was not working at the time but we did not feel deprived. Our attitude about how many pairs of good blue jeans a teen age boy needed was something like this: He had enough good clothes if he had 3 pairs of blue jeans. Three pairs means You have one pair to wear today, one pair in the laundry today and a clean pair to wear tomorrow. That plan could at times be put to the test when a certain person just grew out of them by the time you got home with the most recent purchase!

1/16/10

A Do Nothing Day-Nice!

I was awakened by a gentle wind & blowing rain~ drip,drip,dripping steadily from the roof's edge and onto the deck floor~I settled back under the cover waiting for the smell of freshly BREWED coffee~ That's my signal it's time to get up before it's shamefully late-rise & shine~Ted's already built a fire in the living room fireplace~coffee/O.J taking zyrtec/ Vitamin D & Calcuim~whispering 'thank yous' for Life, for Comfort, for luxury and `for a husband who is a rock and our Creator who wraps Himself around us daily ~Keep my heart tender & thankful . May I never take Your Provision for granted!

What did I ever do to deserve such a good life? Nothing!
It's all wrapped up in His Grace, His Mercy.

1/6/10

What Was That Called?

The question: Do you remember the corn shuck scrub thing that our grandmothers used to scrub the wood floors when we were children?

I posed this question to some of my piers [PHS class of 1959] and will share their recollections.

[CAB ]"..used one many a time called a SHUCK SCRUB;soap and red devil potash was the cleaning chemicals we used ,the bigger the scrub was the easier to use.weight made all the difference we had one that had 24 holes for shucks 4 deep 6 length ways offset each way nowadays it would be called top of the line...premiun large model ......"the cleaning man"

[Frances]"We had one and how well do I remember my Mother and Dad scrubbing the floors with it. My Mother, who is 93, said she called it "corn shuck scrub." It had a long handle and holes To put the shucks through. It did a great job on wood floors."

[Joan] "I don't know if they had a name or not, but I certainly remember them."

[Glenda] "I do remember!!! We used them to scrub our front porch with pot ash. wow!!! We called it a corn shuck scrubber."

My husband's response was: "Corn Broom" but that just doesn't sound right!

Based on all the [similar]responses I have come to this conclusion: "A thing can be memorable without having a name or label"
[insert laughter here!]

1/1/10

Pondering Simple Pleasures

1. Holding hands with my husband in church
2. A cup of [$]coffee in a local coffee shop "just because'
3. Slipping into MY bed with freshly laundered nice Linens!
4. Opening my front door greeting our children or Grands
5. A pretty cup w favorite tea watching the Christmas tree
6. Shopping plants and flowers at local nursery w my husband
7. A big bear hug when I walk into the kitchen for my first cup of coffee
* Let's stop with '7' that's a perfect number

Looking Forward ~ 2010

BLOG RENOVATION-my excuse for unfinished housekeeping

-[I have to enter something here or it won't "save"]

A Note From Me

I am so glad you stopped by-whether accidental or intentional. Some days my posts will be entirely inspirational and other times quite random but the time we share can be worthwhile. My initial intent was to use this space for my Mobley Family notes { james n mobley line } I know one can only write when inspired to do so. With that in mind I caution you to expect various twists and turns in the conversation as we wander Down the Lane and Around the Curve. If you have a clue what a Lane is then you already know that a walk down the lane can be a solitary walk, ambling without the company of another or it can simply be a leisure experience with someone who's company you enjoy, working out the world's problems or just soaking up nature and God's spectacular creation surrounding you. There is enjoyment either way. I say all that to say this: "Our walk down the lane will be much more interesting if you come along with me from time to time. I am not the only one with something to share so please join in as you are motivated or inspired.
Please know that I have not abandoned my first blog Down the Lane. I still drop in to read comments and check my tracker to see who's reading or even if there might be a new Follower. I have noticed when I check the traffic on Like Gramma's House and come over to DTL I am seeing apparently the same visitors are checking in on both sights..based on the city and state and time frame of the visitors..That's Great! Thank you faithful few who are inquisitive enough to click on the links and come over. Let me explain ...in case you have missed it earlier: This is my original blog. At a point in the process of this project I began to drift in a new direction creatively and hence Like Gramma's House was birthed. By way of continued explanation for what looks like an orphaned blog here..I simply have not come up with a way, an idea for either following through with Down the Lane or closing it out. One cannot write without inspiration. I just don't have a clue where to go with this one. The only glimmer of a creative twist I have is to invite my cousins to contribute to the family stories, pictures with their own quirky takes... looking back Down the Lane.There has been no encouragement leading me to think they would pitch in. They all have wonderful memories to share.. and I am confident it would be worth while. Apparently just don't think what they have to share would be blog worthy.


My Gramma's House~


Time changes so many things. Loved ones are no longer here. Landmarks dissappear from the landscape. Entire communities are seemingly erased. Homes have burned leaving scarcely a footprint in the earth where they once stood. Even so, we still refer back to things 'the way they once were' as being ~Like Gramma's House~ http://mygrammashouse.blogspot.com/

Cousins

Cousins
There comes a time in LIFE when our COUSINS AGAIN become very important. I think that time has arrived. jwh