Zesty

Zesty, jolly, kind, world traveler, all these can describe my Grandmother on my mother's side.
Mamaw loved life and all it had to offer. She took many cruises and always had a whole slew of friends. Mamaw loved putting on parties, her bridge games were no exception. Each one of her granddaughters took turns going to see her when she lived in California as they got older. She would come to Texas to visit us and always ended up taking one of us back with her for the summer.

I remember her telling me about her disco lessons that she took in her seventies.This woman was very petite but you listened when she spoke. She was married several times. After the death of her last husband she moved from California to Texas to be near my mother. (There was one other sibling that died at an early age.)

She always drove with one foot on the gas and the other on the break pedal. It was very hard to sit in the car with her when she drove, always being in a hurry. She eventually had a terrible accident and  almost died. That was the last of her driving. She was in her nineties when she passed. I think of her often.
(photo was taken not long before she passed in her nineties) 

Yankee

I have no idea after all these years why the north and the south still feud back and forth. I have first hand knowledge of this, I being born in the south and my husband in the north. The civil war was a long time ago but yet the feud still goes on. With all the upsets in our country going on now, such as the terrorist attacks, how can they still feud? There are much more important things.
 (photo courtesy of dream time)

X-ray

Most of my adult years I have had headaches. Some a lot worse than others. One of the doctors I went to ordered an MRI head scan. I was dumbstruck when I found out the results. Away I went to a specialist that dealt in these matters. I was told I had a tumor on my brain. The type I have is very rare, thankfully everything is alright. The specialist told me he thought I was born with it and showed me on my head where the tumor is. There was nothing surrounding it so he said I would be fine.
My headaches are from allergies and sinus.
(photo above courtesy of public domain)

Woods

There are forty-three state forests located in Saint Lawrence County. The county is located in northern New York on the border with Canada and along the St. Lawrence River.There are numerous places to hike and explore.
My husband went with his father at a very early age to hunt for the first time in one of these wooded areas, taking the old hunting dog.
Everything changes with time and now you see "posted" signs all over where it was free to hunt years ago.

Vertigo

Vertigo is a very nasty thing to have. I was diagnosed with it a few years back.  I woke up in the night and when I opened my eyes the room went completely upside down.
My husband took me to the emergency room. I was given medication to be followed up by a specialist. The specialist spoke with me and we narrowed down the list of why this was happening. The final verdict was being misdiagnosed when I had a sinus infection. It evidently was a viral infection instead and by not treating it properly I will now have bouts of vertigo for the rest of my life. The specialist did recommend certain exercises to help me and they do work most of the time along with medication.
(photo above courtesy of public domain)

Uncle

I only had one uncle in my family being my father only had one brother and my mother's brother died at an early age. On the other hand my husband had five uncles. I was only privileged to meet two of them by the time I came into the picture. One was out of state and the other we went to see as often as we could.I really liked this uncle. He made me a hanging clothes rack that I still use today. I really do miss him as he is no longer with us.

Thea, 

I thought maybe I would post me up here too since I have most of my siblings.

This picture was taken a few years back. For those of you that don't get snow, maybe you will enjoy this one. It took quite some time to get the perfect coat and boots to stay warm. Ha!

I have been in wind-chills of sixty below since I have lived in New York. Most folks around here think of New York City but we are hours away from it. We are about an  hour from Vermont and 20 minutes from Canada. (5 minutes by boat).

The first year I came here I was fascinated with all the snow. I remember going out and stopping a snow plow so I could take a picture. I was teased about that for years. Then I went and walked out on the St. Lawrence River where it froze and people had put ice shanties out to ice fish. I was so scared the first time I went out there. I look back on this stuff now and realize how silly all of it was.

I will not always live here though, soon my husband will be retiring and we shall move back to Texas or at least close to it, to see my family.

I mention before how I opened a package and saw my name on the book I had published. That was my first. I have written another since (editing) and working on a sequel to the first one.

Sewing

I enjoy working with my hands. All of the quilts I have made were all by hand. The wall decorations were sewn on this old machine that I have. Believe me I have had three other machines but this old one is the best and never breaks down. The bobbin doesn't hold much and it can get frustrating but it does beautiful work. I have made dolls, rabbits stuffed animals and etc...even dabbled in macrame for a while. I won several ribbons on my cross stitch pictures.

This seamstress machine was made over before I got it. The foot pedal was removed and changed to an electric motor.

Remodeling

We have lived in this apartment for over twenty five years. A few years back we were told to get everything out because the owners wanted to completely remodel the place. My husband was working at the time so it was up to me to get the help to get things moved. I will never forget the mess. Everything was moved so quickly. I am still trying to find some things.(I never unpacked everything) We were very glad when the project was completed. It took about six weeks.

Quotations

My grandmother on my fathers side of the family was quite a hard working woman. She would get up early every day and milk the cows, weed the garden, do laundry and then do her own household chores. 
I can still remember some of the things she would say to us. I never liked the crust on bread so I would just peel it off. She would get upset each time and tell me "You will never have curly hair unless you eat the crust." My hair has been naturally curly my whole life. As I grew up I realized what she was trying to say to me "waste not, want not."
Another one of her quotes was "If you keep your eyes crossed they will stay that way." As typical kids we would always try something at least once that we were told not to.
My grandmother always had the attic door locked and walked around with the  key pinned to her dress. I remember once the door was ajar and a couple of us started up those stairs just to see what was up there. We didn't get far and we heard "The jelly man is up there and if you go up there he will put jelly all over your hair." Don't ask me why it scared us not to continue up those stairs. We never did find out what was up there.
Now when I look back, I am guessing she used the space as storage that she didn't want us kids  rummaging through. Do you remember any quotations that you grew up with?
(above picture courtesy of public domain)

Package

Isn't it always nice to see the package you ordered to arrive on time? I watched as the days went by on the calendar. Finally the moment arrived. When I opened the package and saw my name on the cover, I cried. It was my first novel I had ever written, knowing then I was an author. I finally accomplished something to be remembered by.

Oldest Sibling

My oldest sister is a very talented person. Over the years she has sewn many kinds of clothing, jewelry, had her own tie-dye business, as well as written several novels. You never know what she will have her hands in next. I remember even when she was in school she was very talented in art.

I still have this skirt she made for me when I was in the sixth grade and as you can see I have taken very good care of it. This picture was taken recently.

Nails

Last year was the first time I ever went out and got my nails done. I was really surprised at all the different types of manicures there are out there.

My first experience was with some type of gel. I found out later something they used in the gel was toxic. I quickly changed to what they call "ANC". That is using your own nails as a base but adding the tips to them. I chose the french manicure. At first I had them different colors but I ended up with just the natural look.

Mothers

My mother has always taken care of someone her whole life. We grew up on a share croppers farm in Texas. There were seven of us siblings. My mother somehow always performed her magic at meal times to stretch things as far as she could to feed all of us. Daddy's eye sight failed as the years went by. Once again my mother was care giver.

As the years went by and after daddy had passed she moved in with one of my sisters. Mama wanted the company but also wanted to be there for my sister. She had inherited the diabetes from our father.

Now in later years our mother has developed dementia. I am always asking why? This woman took care of someone her whole life. Two of my sisters brought her for a visit a few years ago. That's where this photo was taken. We were playing "chicken foot". A game that is played with dominoes. Considering her state of mind she did very well and had fun.

Lemon Meringue pie

Lemon meringue pie is a type of pie that is baked with a lemon custard filling and a fluffy meringue topping. I have a sister that makes the most delicious lemon meringue pies. You can always expect to see one on special occasions. My husband and I go to Texas to see family when we can. We stayed at Scherri's house while we were there. There was not one time while we were there that she didn't make one of these pies.
(The photo above is of my second oldest sister, Scherri and her family. She is the pie baker.)

Kitchen

I live 2000 miles away from most of my family with the exception of my oldest sibling out in Utah. My mother and two of my other siblings came to see me a few years back. Of course we are the type of family when something needs to be done we all pitch in to do it. This picture is no exception. We went through quite a few meals together while they were here. I wish they could have stayed longer but that is always the case. This is probably the last time my mother will make the trip. She has dementia.