Where Memory Lane Crosses the Birthday Path

Ever get the feeling that the universe is conspiring against you. That no matter what actions you take some other force seems to lead you down paths you would rather not have to travel.

In my case, I am not one for walks down memory lane. I have no idea what is lurking there that I do not want to be forced to recall. A dread comes over me and warning bells start pinging in my head each time I am led near something that is connected with my past.

My 86 yr old mother is on the left and her 92 yr. old sister is on the right.

I am next to my cousin in the middle, we always said that fate switched

us at birth since we seem to have the personality of each other's mom.

Earlier this month we took a trip down south to escort my mother on a visit to her surviving siblings and to also attend the dedication of a monument the SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) were erecting in a cemetery in Brundidge, Alabama to honor my mother’s great-great-great-grandfather who fought in the American Revolution. That ceremony sparked new interest for a cousin researching our family history and, as a result, it was discovered that one of my mother’s lost first cousins had recently died in a city less than fifty miles from where I live, leaving children and grandchildren that none of us knew existed. As the oldest of my mother’s children, she now wants me to arrange for her to meet these new relatives.

Mom at the memorial ceremony

Yesterday, the need for the Old Salt to see a specialist took us back to what was the nearest big town when I was growing up. A town I lived in just after high school and were I got my first job, also the town where I married my first husband. I had not visited there in over thirty years. This was not just a drive to the medical building and then home again. It was necessary for me to wait 6 hours while my husband was tested. Since it also happened to be the first nice day in weeks, I was able to get out and enjoy the sunshine. I walked to the house where I used to live and strolled down changed but still familiar streets that were once part of my life. While it is true that you can’t go home again, usually because the home you remember isn’t at all the same. Nevertheless, I was able to see enough clues to bring back memories of when I was young and all of life was before me.

Me looking out at my home town from the medical building

Since our trip I have been keeping old memories at bay by staying too busy for them to intrude. But, since my walk down the streets of old town in St. Charles yesterday a great feeling of melancholy settled in that I can’t shake. My sleep last night was restless and my dreams of the exorcist variety; dark and sinister. Today my sense of dread has me wanting to hop a train for unknown parts in hopes that I can outrun what I do not care to face. I am kicking myself for taking all those walks down memory lane of late.

I lived here for two years after high school in a rented sleeping room

It might just be that since those trips coincided with the arrival of my Medicare card, the combination has me felling old and cheated. Being the oldest of thirteen children forced me to mature quickly and I always held out hope that at some point in my life, I would get to make up for the youth I never had. Perhaps, I am just feeling sorry for myself and realizing that is one wish which will remain forever on my bucket list.

Ruby Tuesday and Rednesday --- Christmas Red part 2

We made the ninety minute drive to visit the Old Salt's brother for Christmas. We spent the night and traveled home late the next afternoon. With the cruse control set at seventy, we were making good time on Interstate 70 when I saw sometime odd on the side of the highway. It went by so quickly I didn't have time to take a photo even though the camera was in my lap. I ask the Old Salt to get off at the next exit and travel back down the outer road so that I could get a better look and a few photographs.



This evergreen tree grows on the side of the highway between the east bound lanes and the south outer road. Someone had decorated it for the holidays with some sparkly tinsel garland and a big red bow. Not something you would expect to find on a busy interstate highway. I took this photos from the outer road looking across the divided lanes of the highway. I would love to know who went to all this effort when there is not a single house in the area of the roadway.



This is my Christmas Tree for this year. I posted this earlier this month but wanted to share it with all those who follow the memes devoted to the color red. The only color on my tree comes from lots of red birds.

Lastly, I wanted to share this shot of my eighty-five year old mother, giving her thumbs up to the christmas gift she received this year from her secret pal at our family Christmas party. She has thirteen children and is the matriarch of a family that will soon be going into triple digits.

I am linking this post to Ruby Tuesday and Rednesday.

Mary at "Work of the Poet" hosts Ruby Tuesday. Rednesday is a Wednesday meme hosted by Sue at "It's a Very Cherry World." Both memes are dedicated to the color red. To join the fun or just check out what Red others are excited to share visit Mary and her friends at Ruby Tuesdayand Sue and her friends from Rednesday

Surprise! I’m back!

The calendar hanging over my monitor tells me that summer will end in just nine short days. Actually, I can’t remember summer ever arriving. The last time I felt comfortable taking part of my day to sit down and write a post, or spend time browsing the blogs of all my friends and followers was early spring.

As I wrote in previous post, my life has been a bit hectic this summer. My camera seldom made it out of its case. But, hopefully, the pace will soon slow down. The last of my major projects is almost done.

What have I been up to for the last five months? How do you relay in a few short paragraphs the events of months? Should I just make a list that includes how many outfits I have had to pitch because of stains, carloads of potting soil hauled, rooms painted, parties planned, miles traveled; graduation, first communion and birthday parties attended?

Or just tell you about the big time consuming things like: How I gave The Old Salt and my daughter Carrie a combined summer birthday party because both had milestone birthdays in August.

You may remember that last year, I jumped in at the last minute, to replace my sister as chairperson for our family reunion. Well, that led to my taking on the job again this year. Which happened to be the 100th anniversary of the wedding of my grandparents, making this our centennial year as a family. So naturally, it required that we have a few more bells and whistles than on normal years. That grand event took place last weekend and now I just have some loose ends to tidy up, like ordering and shipping commemorative tee shirts and finding someone to take over for next year.
I have always heard that events come in threes and that was certainly true this summer with three each of funerals, births and weddings in our extended family. The cycle of life was well represented in my family. In between all of these activities and events the Old Salt and I made two trips out of town, one to attend my mothers 85th birthday party and another to celebrate my birthday with one of my sisters who shares the same birth date.

I even got to attended my first Cardinal ball game in our new stadium. Which would not be a big deal except for the fact that the last time I attended a ball game was two stadiums ago.

We tried to take the barren yard that came with our new condo and turn it into some sort of colorful and flowering masterpiece. I’m still kicking myself that I did not get around to taking any photos.

I became friends with the young family that used to live a few doors down and have adopted them into my life. So, I have been enjoying playing grandma to their children and helping refurbish the old house they found this summer.
It is getting late so I have to run. I will try to post more details and catch-ups over the next few months. But, first the Old Salt and I are going to take a well earned vacation next week. Then I will get back on track and once again join all of you in Blogland. But, to narrow the time before I return I have scheduled a post for this Saturdays “Pink Saturday” so come by and check it out.

Color Carnival #17 ---staying warm

Color Carnival is a Sunday meme where we celebrate all the colors in God's rainbow.

The nights here are starting to get chilly. Since my 83 year old mother is easily chilled, she always has something handy to wrap up in. At our family reunion last weekend her jacket made for a perfect color carnival addition. By the way, this lady is the mother of thirteen children (of which I am the eldest) and is now the matriarch of a family that numbers into the seventies.



Soon we will need to add that extra quilt to the bed. I found this quilt on display in our local coffee shop. The shop features the work of local artisans on a rotating schedule and the last time I visited, this quilt decorated the wall.


join the fun or to check out all the colorful entries of other players, visit Martha and her friends at Color Carnival.

Mellow Yellow and Blue Monday come together

I have an extremely heavy schedule this week and my computer time will be very limited so I am going to do a two-fer for today.
I have a photo that will be perfect for both Mellow Yellow and Blue Monday.

The picture below is of my eighty-three year old Mother. The photo was taken at Silver Dollar City in Branson Missouri. My sister insisted that Mom pose in this costume because Mom's maiden name is Griffin.

And, yes I know that the emblem is a rampant lion. But, I learned years ago that many people confuse it with a griffin. Apparently, my sister is one of them.



MY mother still rides a bicycle to church (7 miles round trip) and won 14 gold medals in the last senior Olympics. She is now in training for the upcome senior events. Mom wants to beat her last years record time of 2 min: 21 sec in the 100 meter swim.


Just so you will understand just how remarkable this lady is I have added a picture taken on her eightieth birthday with her thirteen children. When you add the spouses and children you have a total of 75 family members.



To join in the fun visit Drowsey Monkey and the Mellow Yellow shots here

If it is Smiling Sally and Blue Monday you are seeking they can be found here.

Photo Hunters ---- Purple

Welcome to Saturday’s Photo Hunt by Tn. Chick. The theme this week is purple. This should have been a very easy one for me. Purple is my favorite color and half my closet is in some shade of purple. Put, I actually planned to post several photo’s of some purple houses I found during our travels.

Regrettably, my PC crashed this week. I was not as careful as I should have been about backing up my files so all my photo’s are now in Limbo waiting for our local computer whiz to have time to try an retrieve them. Only time will tell.

So I had to go back to some old CD’s looking for some purple. These shots are all several years old but I like them and hope you do too.

First is my Mother dressed for a costume party as a bunch of grapes. By the time this was taken a few of her grapes had been picked, err, I mean popped.


Next is some purple flowers I found at the botanical gardens in San Diego. I had never seen them before or since. They look like cabbage to me. Can anyone name them for me?

To join in the fun or just enjoy all of this weeks shots visithttp://tnchick.com/