Previously I wrote about the blog "Living on a Dime." I felt that it was a good website that sold a product, but also was generous with ideas, tips and recipes for free.
Another website was suggested to me, Cheapest Family of America. While this is a slick website/blog with a lot of information on it, I left disappointed. Yes, there were a ton of free tips, but these tips tended to be repetitive and sent in by various tipsters. Many were just a twist of a previous tip and makes me wonder if every tip gets posted?
Then there was the blog itself where many of the blog posts, after a scintillating first few sentences, could only be read by paid subscribers.
This website was too slick for me to feel comfortable subscribing, both because of the lack lustre tips, but also the constant up-selling. What if I subscribed and then was told the continuation of a blog post could be found in one of their books?
I realize that The Cheapest Family in America has been seen on the Dr.Phil show and Good Morning America. I wasn't able to see either broadcast, and may-be the books that they have written and pushed are great. I don't know. I'm only reviewing the blog site, which I found very disappointing.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Small Appliances
How many small appliances do you have? Without thinking too hard about it, I can think of five in my kitchen without having to think too hard about it: coffee maker, hot water kettle, toaster, microwave, rotisserie and I have more in my cupboards. And I have had many that haven't been deemed worthy of moving with us: small waffle iron, ice cream maker, pressure cooker. It might sound funny, but I would happily give up my microwave oven too. I use it mostly for reheating, and I don't like the soggy way most foods come out of it preferring to use a non-stick frying pan and pot cover. It's not as fast, but the quality of the food coming out is so much nicer!!! Plus, I don't like the way using my Corning Ware and Pyrex in the microwave makes them shatter instead of break over time.
Among the small appliances that I have and would buy again are:
1. Hot Air Popcorn Popper, with the caveat that the popcorn doesn't shoot out of the machine, which no matter how careful you are to have a bowl under it, still sprays the area and floor with popcorn.
2. my bread machine is worth every penny. True, I don't use it everyday anymore, but it is so easy to use and foolproof, that I know that anyone in my family could use it. The bread machine also gives you the option of replacing some of the wheat flour with oats, rye and many other flours that are being made available these days.
In this same class are the donut makers , which we bought my daughter for Christmas and have been very pleased with. It turns out a bunch of mini donuts without tying up the oven or making a big mess to clean up after.
4. It does take up a lot of room, so it sits in my dining room, but I love my rotisserie! It makes the best rotisserie chicken and roasts. I can use it to cook that night's dinner, or I can use it to cook dinner for a later night, while I'm using my conventional oven.
5. I love my slow cooker for days that I am not feeling good. I just need to spend about 15 minutes to brown meats and vegetables in a frying pan on my stove, then dump all of it into my slow cooker with about a scant cup of water, and bullion cube, cover on medium and dinner is ready that night with no more effort on my part.
6. My husband has a big orbital mixer, but it is too heavy for me to drag out so I love my powerful, little hand mixer for the smaller jobs like beating eggs, mixing pancake batter etc.
What are your favorite small appliances?
Sunday, May 20, 2012
potpouri
Yesterday was national "Take Your Child To The Park And Leave Them There" day. This is a grass roots idea by American parents that feel like today's children are not given enough independence and are hovered over by their parents way too much. So the idea is for parents to bring their children to a pre-picked park at 10 am, offload them, and leave for a half hour, hour or two hours - whatever feels good to the parent. This way, the children can join together for independent play without parents micro-managing everything.
I say the same thing can be done by parents simply sitting on a park bench and reading, which is what I always did.
If you are worried about your child being thirsty, well don't be. Children are always hungry or thirsty, they can be that just as well unsupervised in a park.
Anyone ever here of dehydration or heat stroke?
Worried that your child might get hurt and need help? Well being alone in the park will teach them how to go to a totally unknown person to ask for help, teaching them self-reliance and independence.
Who this kindly, unknown adult will actually be, I don't know, because presumably, all the parents will be gallivanting for an hour or so anywhere except the park.
Abductor or pedophile anyone? And just think, on this holiday they don't need candy or a puppy! The child comes to them!!!!
But heavens, don't worry, child abduction is at a 40 year low!! What is the reason for that do you suppose? Do you think that humans have just evolved in the past 40 years to be nicer people? Or do you think cases like Etan Patz (still missing since 1979), or Adam Walsh (dead) changed society, making us more observant, more vigilant and much less trusting? May-be the statistics need to be interpreted a different way.
And yet, for all that vigilance, we still have had Sandra Cantu (kidnapped from her street in 2009, found dead about a month later), Shawn Hornbeck (riding bikes with friends on a dirt road, kidnapped 2002 and recovered 5 years later), Jaycee Dugard (2001 from her bus stop, recovered 18 years later), Jorelys Rivera (2011, kidnapped from apartment complex playground, found raped, beaten and murdered).
Lastly, as my husband says, if the child that is taken is yours, the statistics don't mean a thing!
What do you think?
Some other blogs and what they think:
http://lerheims.wordpress.com/tag/national-take-your-kids-to-the-park-and-leave-them-there-day/
http://articles.mamaslatinas.com/parenting/102987/i_would_never_leave_my
http://reason.com/blog/2010/05/22/its-take-our-children-to
http://www.whattoexpect.com/blogs/daniiigrlinsidemymindbeware/parenting-methods-take-our-children-to-the-park-and-leave-them-there
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Needed: Magic Pot
It has become painfully obvious to me, what this family needs is a magic pot. A pot that you could place on the stove with moderate heat, throw in a couple of chicken breasts, a cup of water, a handfull of vegetables and abra cadabra!!! A dinner acceptable to every family member is ready in a half an hour.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The Old Foodie: Light-bulb Moments and Solar Cookery.
I just had to share this post from this blog. They were being frugal even in the 1800's!
The Old Foodie: Light-bulb Moments and Solar Cookery.: My recent post on Simulated Baked Goods stimulated a little email and blog correspondence. It clearly triggered childhood memories for a fe...
The Old Foodie: Light-bulb Moments and Solar Cookery.: My recent post on Simulated Baked Goods stimulated a little email and blog correspondence. It clearly triggered childhood memories for a fe...
A Visit to a Back Yard Farm
My son is more disturbed than I am, I think, about the book I just recommended to you called "Slaughterhouse..." He has just about eliminated meat from his diet.
This morning he got up early and drove about a mile to one of the local back yard farms that own about a dozen hens. He got to see the hens, see them foraging through the yard - pesticide free, thank-you - got to see their hay filled, flat, clean nesting boxes and saw their feed - corn and wheat free.
He was very impressed with the cleanliness, the health of the chickens and the feed. It was like what we had when we had our own backyard farm in South Carolina.
Even at the early hour, the woman was almost out of fresh eggs and could only sell my son 6 of them for $4, not an astronomical price. You would know if you raised hens yourself how much time goes into cleaning the hen house and keeping the bedding clean and how much organic, pesticide and anti-biotic feed costs.
His omelet was delicious!! You can not believe how much tastier, how much yellow-er it was!! Truly this is the wave of the future and the end to anemic yellow-ish eggs and cruel treatment to hens that must sit in a wire box, on a slanted floor all of their life.
In fact, if I did not have active cancer, we would have our own little hen house again. I miss our chickens!!
Above all, cruelty free
This morning he got up early and drove about a mile to one of the local back yard farms that own about a dozen hens. He got to see the hens, see them foraging through the yard - pesticide free, thank-you - got to see their hay filled, flat, clean nesting boxes and saw their feed - corn and wheat free.
He was very impressed with the cleanliness, the health of the chickens and the feed. It was like what we had when we had our own backyard farm in South Carolina.
Even at the early hour, the woman was almost out of fresh eggs and could only sell my son 6 of them for $4, not an astronomical price. You would know if you raised hens yourself how much time goes into cleaning the hen house and keeping the bedding clean and how much organic, pesticide and anti-biotic feed costs.
His omelet was delicious!! You can not believe how much tastier, how much yellow-er it was!! Truly this is the wave of the future and the end to anemic yellow-ish eggs and cruel treatment to hens that must sit in a wire box, on a slanted floor all of their life.
In fact, if I did not have active cancer, we would have our own little hen house again. I miss our chickens!!
Above all, cruelty free
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Living on a Dime
As long time readers know, this blog likes the themes of re-use, recycle, and frugality so you can imagine how thrilled I was to find the blog Living on a Dime ! The main theme is frugality, and after spending literally hours on the site, I find that I agree with most of the advice and ideas. The site is written by a mother - daughter team that have experienced hard times and generously share what they have learned to get through them. Through it all, you will not find one ounce of self pity.
The duo has written a few books, available as hard copy books, or as e-books including a housekeeping-recipe book and a grocery shopping book, but unlike other sites that I have encountered, the ladies don't hoard all the advice in their books and use their site as a come on to buy their books. The site has advice columns, recipe sharing, ideas on how to save money from the family finances and even house keeping tips.
The ladies were asked, what is the best way for the family living paycheck to paycheck to start saving money? The answer was the same as the advice that I've been giving: stop eating out! Have an idea of what supper is going to be that morning, or if you can make a weekly menu, know even a week or more beforehand. Have suppers waiting in the freezer for nights that you are too tired or home to late to cook supper. Remember my advice of making a double sized dinner a few nights a week, serving one and freezing the other? At an average of spending $50 or more for a family of four to get a fast food dinner, imagine your savings!
The duo has written a few books, available as hard copy books, or as e-books including a housekeeping-recipe book and a grocery shopping book, but unlike other sites that I have encountered, the ladies don't hoard all the advice in their books and use their site as a come on to buy their books. The site has advice columns, recipe sharing, ideas on how to save money from the family finances and even house keeping tips.
The ladies were asked, what is the best way for the family living paycheck to paycheck to start saving money? The answer was the same as the advice that I've been giving: stop eating out! Have an idea of what supper is going to be that morning, or if you can make a weekly menu, know even a week or more beforehand. Have suppers waiting in the freezer for nights that you are too tired or home to late to cook supper. Remember my advice of making a double sized dinner a few nights a week, serving one and freezing the other? At an average of spending $50 or more for a family of four to get a fast food dinner, imagine your savings!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Just Disgusted
My son is reading this book: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Slaughterhouse/Gail-A-Eisnitz/e/9781591024507
He told me about it and I read some of it. I am shocked, disgusted, disheartened, teary eyed and in no state to talk about it.
If you have any ideas on what actions the average American can take, please share them.
He told me about it and I read some of it. I am shocked, disgusted, disheartened, teary eyed and in no state to talk about it.
If you have any ideas on what actions the average American can take, please share them.
My Poor Garden!
Way back when the weather was cold, the days were dark and the ground was brown and cold, getting seed catalogues gave me a feeling of hope.
One day, the ground would be warm and green, the skies would be blue and the sun would shine warmly on the earth. And by gum! If I wanted a garden come summer, I'd better pick the right seeds now!
So I did. I picked a packet of indeterminate, old fashioned tomatoes that would mature in colors of red, pink and green. I picked gourds that I could make into birdhouses later. I got a precious packet of about 8 seeds for large pumpkins. They aren't the huge ones that you see winning weight contests, but about as big or a little bigger than the first pumpkin that I ever grew in my life, which was in last years garden, and pictured on some of my blog posts. I bought green beans and they sent me a bonus packet of vine peaches, which I never heard of before, and a type of tomato that grows on 10 ft high stalks.
In April, I put some of the seeds in a special doo dad that you can buy for the Aero Grow. Some grew weakly, some didn't grow at all and some grew quite well. But I'm thinking, maybe I planted them a little too soon, because the tomatoes became leggy despite pinching them and the stems are none too thick.
So now we are in the first week of May, and I've transplanted them. They are not looking too great. I didn't take pictures, but just imagine a bunch of leggy, limp plants.
For all my planning, I might be actually buying tomato plants at Lowes this year.
One day, the ground would be warm and green, the skies would be blue and the sun would shine warmly on the earth. And by gum! If I wanted a garden come summer, I'd better pick the right seeds now!
So I did. I picked a packet of indeterminate, old fashioned tomatoes that would mature in colors of red, pink and green. I picked gourds that I could make into birdhouses later. I got a precious packet of about 8 seeds for large pumpkins. They aren't the huge ones that you see winning weight contests, but about as big or a little bigger than the first pumpkin that I ever grew in my life, which was in last years garden, and pictured on some of my blog posts. I bought green beans and they sent me a bonus packet of vine peaches, which I never heard of before, and a type of tomato that grows on 10 ft high stalks.
In April, I put some of the seeds in a special doo dad that you can buy for the Aero Grow. Some grew weakly, some didn't grow at all and some grew quite well. But I'm thinking, maybe I planted them a little too soon, because the tomatoes became leggy despite pinching them and the stems are none too thick.
So now we are in the first week of May, and I've transplanted them. They are not looking too great. I didn't take pictures, but just imagine a bunch of leggy, limp plants.
For all my planning, I might be actually buying tomato plants at Lowes this year.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
A Daybook Page In May
From my window - rain drizzles down the window pane. Looking further, the woods behind us are a lush green.
I am reading - Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. Before that I was reading Sleeping Murder by the same author. Before that I read Claws and Effect by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown, a Mrs.Murphy Mystery. Mrs Murphy is a striped tiger cat. These are very good books despite a cat being one of the main characters. This is the second book I've read of the series. Before that I read The Distant Hours by Kate Morton which I really whole heartedly recommend. Distant Hours is a modern Gothic, Victorian novel set in the 1990's - so modern times. The author has written another book, titled something like the Secret Garden or the Hidden Garden. I plan to find that book also and read it!
I am grateful - as always for my family. I pray that God blesses them for everyday of their lives!
I am angry - that I have a beautiful flower garden in my front yard that the deer find absolutely delicious!! They come in the early morning, and when their indelicate chomping wakes up my daughter and she yells at them, they don't leave! Humans hold absolutely no terror to them, and my flower garden has some ragged leaves and stems without flowers!!!
I can hear - snoring from our 8 year old Lab Louis, who is fast asleep on the floor near me.
I can smell - nothing! No scented candles, no air freshener, no doggie farts. Sometimes nothing is good!
I am grateful - as always for my family. I pray that God blesses them for everyday of their lives!
I am angry - that I have a beautiful flower garden in my front yard that the deer find absolutely delicious!! They come in the early morning, and when their indelicate chomping wakes up my daughter and she yells at them, they don't leave! Humans hold absolutely no terror to them, and my flower garden has some ragged leaves and stems without flowers!!!
I can hear - snoring from our 8 year old Lab Louis, who is fast asleep on the floor near me.
I can smell - nothing! No scented candles, no air freshener, no doggie farts. Sometimes nothing is good!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
It All Started With Liver Pate
Liver pate doesn't have a great reputation among modern folk. We mostly are chicken and beef eaters, with the occasional foray into pork. When was the last time you ate lamb? For most of us, the answer to that question is sometime in our childhood when our mothers made it for some holiday meal.
I've had a real hankering for Sell's Liver Pate, but my husband had been unable to find it in any of our local grocery stores. So I went on the Internet to see if I could find a store that carried it. That's when I came across a wonderful blog called Daves Cupboard and a blog all about Sells.
The next day I came across another wonderful blog called What's Going On at the Mother House. It reminds me of another blog about natural living the I like called Homesteading on the Internet, but for the life of me, I can't get back to the Mother House blog.
I've searched and searched. I've found a lot of blogs that haven't been written on in literally years. I've come to realize that the blog-o-spere is a vast, vast universe of blogs; some brimming with life, some holding on and some that are just dead-as-a-doornail. Getting there on your own is a crap shoot unless you have a live link. Without being on many bloggers blog list, your blog is but a twinkling planet out in deepest, darkest, coldest space.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
The JackA$$ Parent
Kids prefer the "cool" parent and are annoyed to strongly antagonistic toward the Jerk parent. Therefore most parents would like to be the "cool" parent, and sometimes the Jerk parent can pull off being the "cool" parent for a limited amount of time.
Strive to be the "cool" parent.
How can you tell whether or not you will be the cool parent? I believe that clues to your later parenting skills show up during your childhood to teenage years and even into adult pre- parent years.
For example, if you and your friends were about to go swing on a gate, okay, I see I have to explain swinging on a gate. Back when I was a kid, there were gates here and there among the empty lots that made up our lives. Some were gates from defunct, small family farms and those were useless for swinging on. They were usually made of wood and wire, not balanced, and usually hung one end into the dirt that once made up the driveway. They took a ton of pushing and prodding to move and were more effort than what they were worth to get any kind of a ride.
Then there were the gates that once closed on the front yards of a family home. They were usually made of wood planks placed next to each other and secured by a cross beam top and bottom to keep everything sturdy and secure. They were meant to be secure and last a long time and they were perfect to stand on, push off with a foot and ride that short arc until the latch slammed into the post that completed the doorway with a resounding CLANG! and a bump that told you that the ride was over and it was time to move the gate back to it's first position for another ride. The really good kids, of which I wasn't, could get a toe hold on either side of the gate and get a "swing" from side to side. Except, that usually gave you a ride into the thorny remains of the rosebush that once graced those gates.
It got to the point that I enjoyed "swinging" so much that I once "swung" on the gate of a neighbor's house that was beautifully balanced, gave a great, smooth ride, but the problem was the house wasn't vacant.
"Hey you kid! Stop swinging on my gate!"
And I stopped, because I was essentially a good kid that really hated to be yelled at.
So, if your first reaction to swinging on a gate was to check for splinters or rusty nails, instead of yelling "Yippie! Another gate to swing on!" I think that shows a predisposition to be the Jerk parent instead of the Cool parent.
Or, when taking your younger siblings to the beach during summer vacation, you made sure they were all coated in suntan lotion, and then as a group went searching for sea shells and then building a sandcastle instead of yelling "Only go out into water up to your knees. We'll meet back here at 3." I think you are showing signs of being the Jerk parent in the future instead of being the Cool parent.
I am ............ sad to say, the Jerk parent.
I've been parenting for 30 something years now, so I've had lots of experience of parenting different age groups. I'm parenting adults, new adults, teenagers and a pre- teen. The hardest to parent is the new adult. The pre-teen still is fooled into thinking I am a saint straight from heaven meant to parent her, the teenagers are going through the stages of oh-my-gosh-this-woman-knows-nothing-who thought-it-was-a-good-idea-of putting-her-in-charge-of-cats-let-alone-humans? to coming out the other side thinking not-as-dumb-as-I-thought-fairly-benevolent. But then there is the new adult,
he doesn't think I am all that dumb, but pretty naive. He's benevolent toward me.
He, like everyone else in this house, has a curfew. I know a lot of cool parents are sucking in their breaths and thinking "oooo,hooo. An adult with a curfew. Not good." But I figure it this way, I am, who I am. I need my front door locked and all inhabitants accounted for before I can go to sleep for the night. I'm not making any adult live here, all adults are free to live where they can afford. But for me, this is a house rule.
So the adult missed curfew, and I stayed up another hour waiting. Now, I am good about missing curfew up until a half an hour. After that, I start to get nervous.
My dear husband is saying "Honey, he's fine, you need to go to bed."
Now we've been married long enough that I am not going to snap at my beloved for something he says unless it's reaaaaaaaaalllly bad. In Nate's mind, Bart is fine. In my mind, how do I know he isn't lost from coming home from a particularly tricky location? How do I know that the truck hasn't broken down?
I text him. "You are SERIOUSLY past curfew."
Another hour. I call his cell phone. It gets answered by his voicemail. I leave a message about wanting to go to bed, please call me.
Nothing.
I wait another half hour. I call him get voicemail. Call him again, get voicemail. Call him, get voice mail. Call him and tell him on his voicemail that if he isn't home by the hour, I will then call the police to find him.
Jerky thing to do, right? Didn't I say I am the Jerk parent? Right?
He was home before the hour, and it ended up that his Android phone battery had died before my constant calling of his voice mail.
"Pretty good thing I got home before the hour huh?" Bart grinned before telling me about his night.
Yeah, because I would have called the police.
We both knew I would have.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
I Don't Think I Should Just Write
I've been told that I would always have something to write about if I remembered to always write about something that made me angry something, something that made my blood boil, something that was in the news.
Well the big story in the news these days seems to be either about children being betrayed by adults they should be able to trust or about infidelity between married people. While it's true that these stories to get me angry to make my blood boil and are in the news, so they are current, I just don't want to write about them.So now what do? Have nothing to write about?
What I've decided to do is to write about something that makes me mildly annoyed; the making of supper every single night.
I've been married 32 years, minus the two years I've had cancer and I think it would be safe to say I've made supper seven days a week, four weeks a month, 12 pounds a year for 30 years. Of course that doesn't take into account the nights that I got all off from cooking; the nights I was sick, we ate out, or had the night off for whatever other reason. But how many suppers have I cooked in the last 30 years?
It gets repetitive after a while. There are only so many times that you can make meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, macaroni and cheese, baked chicken, and stew before it all starts to taste the same. And that is when the problems begin.
When Nate and I got married, we promised each other that we would never eat organ meats like kidneys, liver, brain or tongue and never, never ever, lima beans. Those were the parameters and Nate promised never to be a picky eater on until...
He developed a hatred of mushrooms, peas,faux Chinese food. He didn't like macaroni and cheese, hot tuna fish and then tuna fish at all.
One day when I was cooking stroganoff I needed Nate to go to the store and buy the sour cream I had forgotten. He purchased it as I asked, but was in horror that I was going to put sour cream in our dinner.
Now he knew what he tasted in the stroganoff that he didn't like – sour cream!
I can live with not putting ingredients into our food that neither of us like and I've sacrificed not eating mushrooms in our meals for over 20 years but I don't like having to read recipes to him so he can single out ingredients to leave out.
One rare night lately, I was going to make supper. I say rare because since the cancer it has been harder and harder for me to cook. I had the ingredients I was going to use on the counter next to the stove.
"Oh no! Don't put beans in it." Said my son.
"Don't put tomatoes in it!" Said my daughter.
"Okay." I said. "I won't put beans or tomatoes in it, I'll put in onions and frozen peppers instead."
"Yuck! Don't put peppers in, they are slimy and soft." Said my third child.
Then the vegetarian stepped in. "Do you have to put hamburger in it?"
I realized, the only ingredients left were water and two bouillon cubes.
That's when my husband stepped in.
"Cook supper the way you want to cook supper." He said.
And just when I thought he understood, he questioned me on what spices I was going to use!
So these are the new rules for the cooking of supper - 1. Have all the ingredients you need on hand 2. No one gets to stay in the kitchen with the cook and/or comment on the ingredients and 3. No one gets to ask about what ingredients are being used 4. If you didn't cook the meal, you don't get to complain about it!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year to my dear readers! May this year be filled with health and happiness, good fortune and overflowing with cheer!
The Christmas tree has been taken down and all but the most cleverly hidden of decorations have been put away. I feel a bit badly about that since the actual Christmas season has really just started. But with me going for chemo agqin, who knows when I would get the energy to take down the tree if I waited till later? And a Easter Christmas Tree in the spring would really be disheartening!!!
So I'm a bit sad to be losing our elf this quickly, and I've been reassured that elves belong to winter folklore if I really want to keep the elf. I think a clean break is best though, especially since my cats love to kidnap the elf!
Its so sunny and warm, wouldn't it be great if the rest of the winter was this way?
The Christmas tree has been taken down and all but the most cleverly hidden of decorations have been put away. I feel a bit badly about that since the actual Christmas season has really just started. But with me going for chemo agqin, who knows when I would get the energy to take down the tree if I waited till later? And a Easter Christmas Tree in the spring would really be disheartening!!!
So I'm a bit sad to be losing our elf this quickly, and I've been reassured that elves belong to winter folklore if I really want to keep the elf. I think a clean break is best though, especially since my cats love to kidnap the elf!
Its so sunny and warm, wouldn't it be great if the rest of the winter was this way?
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Elf in a ATree
and not on the shelf.
One cold day while I was in school, my mother made her trip to our local 5 & 10.
If you are much younger than I am, you might not know what a 5&10 is. A 5&10 is yesteryears answer to today's dollar store, in which the items inside the store cost between 5 cents and 10 cents. By the time I cam along in the 1960's, there were items that cost dollars and not just cents, but the majority of items cost less than a dollar and in my experience, were of good quality if not of excellent quality. So on this cold day during the Advent season, my mom found an elf that looked similar to this little guy pictured, except that he was all in green and sat on a gold star. A little gold cord loop let you hang him from something as a decoration. My mom decided to hang him from our home's diningroom chandelier over the table. We all thought he was awfully cute, but mom didn't lead any of us to think that this little elf would be monitoring our activities and reporting them to Santa. No, that was the job of the little elves that Santa dropped by our house in the dead of night. None of us knew the night or the time the elves would be dropped off, so we better be good, because the elves were watching and reporting to Santa!!
The facts were, we knew the difference between real elves which no one could see, and a plastic elf from the dime store!
has as a kid, and really liked. They knew, like my sibling and I knew years earlier, that the real elves were tiny and quick and were rarely if ever seen; just may-be their shadows would be glimpsed now and then. The elves would be dropped off by Santa Clause on the first night of Advent, and would be making notes on my children's behaviors to be given to Santa on Christmas Eve, when they would be picked up and bought home to the North Pole. I'm a bit more, okay, a lot more theatrical than my mother, so my kids would hear me occassionally shriek "STOP!! Oh my gosh, Matt! You almost stomped on that elf! Will you please be carefull!" and for a little while, my children would walk slowly, on tip toe, watching for elves. They also would neatly fold Kleenex to make comfortable elf pillows and spread Kleenex over cotton balls to make comfortable elf beds.
One cold day while I was in school, my mother made her trip to our local 5 & 10.
If you are much younger than I am, you might not know what a 5&10 is. A 5&10 is yesteryears answer to today's dollar store, in which the items inside the store cost between 5 cents and 10 cents. By the time I cam along in the 1960's, there were items that cost dollars and not just cents, but the majority of items cost less than a dollar and in my experience, were of good quality if not of excellent quality. So on this cold day during the Advent season, my mom found an elf that looked similar to this little guy pictured, except that he was all in green and sat on a gold star. A little gold cord loop let you hang him from something as a decoration. My mom decided to hang him from our home's diningroom chandelier over the table. We all thought he was awfully cute, but mom didn't lead any of us to think that this little elf would be monitoring our activities and reporting them to Santa. No, that was the job of the little elves that Santa dropped by our house in the dead of night. None of us knew the night or the time the elves would be dropped off, so we better be good, because the elves were watching and reporting to Santa!! 
The facts were, we knew the difference between real elves which no one could see, and a plastic elf from the dime store!
As time went on, I was able to find copies of my mom's elf at yard sales and I put them on my Christmas tree or around the house, but I never told my kids that the elves were real and making notes
of their behavior to report to Santa. My kids knew these were just Christmas decorations that Mom
has as a kid, and really liked. They knew, like my sibling and I knew years earlier, that the real elves were tiny and quick and were rarely if ever seen; just may-be their shadows would be glimpsed now and then. The elves would be dropped off by Santa Clause on the first night of Advent, and would be making notes on my children's behaviors to be given to Santa on Christmas Eve, when they would be picked up and bought home to the North Pole. I'm a bit more, okay, a lot more theatrical than my mother, so my kids would hear me occassionally shriek "STOP!! Oh my gosh, Matt! You almost stomped on that elf! Will you please be carefull!" and for a little while, my children would walk slowly, on tip toe, watching for elves. They also would neatly fold Kleenex to make comfortable elf pillows and spread Kleenex over cotton balls to make comfortable elf beds.
Which is why I don't get today's children's craze of Elf on a Shelf. I read up on the antics of this elf, and he does things like draw mustaches on photgraphs using markers (!), makes snow angels in flour he spills, leaves mini-marshmallows in a big mess on the floor after a fight at night when everyone is in bed. What gives?
Our elves watched our family for behavior that would lead to a reduction on Christmas gifts, or even no Christmas gifts and a gifting of coal. Today's elf watches the kids for bad behavior and then indulges in it at night himself?
Nope, I don't get it.
By the way, there is a very good Christmas Elf book that you might want to hunt down. It is called "Santa Clause" and it is all about the Elves and Santa Clause working at the North Pole getting ready for Christmas. It is written in rhyming prose, and came out in either the late 1960's, early seventies. The illustrations are imaginative and charming. Start looking for it now so that you are ready next Christmas.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Comments I don't want to see!
I love to get comments on my blog! If you want to comment, whether you agree or disagree with what I've written, please feel free to comment.
The comments I don't want to see our comments that are obviously spam. I get comments that praise me for my blog post, but don't refer to anything I've written. I get comments that contain HTML for their site. Sometimes they're selling a product, sometimes it's for a service and other times it is just plain porn.
Which is why it doesn't show up on my blog. I've been at this for too long to just let any comment, unmoderated on my blog.
There's been a swarm of spam to my blog in the last few months, which is why I am commenting now.
And while I'm at it let me remind you that when you do comment, please be polite! If you need to use cuss words, your post will either have them removed or not be published at all. You can think might post are stupid, whiny, prejudiced, or just plain boring and that is fine.
And now back to our regularly scheduled blog!
Thank you.
The comments I don't want to see our comments that are obviously spam. I get comments that praise me for my blog post, but don't refer to anything I've written. I get comments that contain HTML for their site. Sometimes they're selling a product, sometimes it's for a service and other times it is just plain porn.
Which is why it doesn't show up on my blog. I've been at this for too long to just let any comment, unmoderated on my blog.
There's been a swarm of spam to my blog in the last few months, which is why I am commenting now.
And while I'm at it let me remind you that when you do comment, please be polite! If you need to use cuss words, your post will either have them removed or not be published at all. You can think might post are stupid, whiny, prejudiced, or just plain boring and that is fine.
And now back to our regularly scheduled blog!
Thank you.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Giving Till it Doesn't Hurt, Part 2
In my last post, I discussed how to collect money for Holiday giving without an OUCH! factor.Today I want to discuss another idea of how to give without there being an OUCH! factor. Today's idea is PURGE!
If you are like me, you probably have cleaned the house to supply material for the Churches White Elephant Sale, the Book Drive, and your own yard sale. Believe it or not, there probably is EVEN MORE that you can purge. You will be absolutely surprised at how many things work their way into your house without even realizing it!
The Criteria here is the things have to be new, and LOOK new. Impossible you say? Not so, I say.
First, look among the families toiletries. Often times we are given butters, creams, colognes, oils, shampoos, powders, soaps and bath bombs that we haven't used in the sixth months since we've been given the gift and probably won't ever use. They aren't part of our routine. These items would be great to give to a church or community group that assembles gift baskets for the less fortunate at Christmas.
How about looking on book shelves? You'll probably find books that were given to you or your children that you either once had an interest in and don't now, or never had an interest in and never will. As long as the cover isn't scuffed, the pages aren't bent or dirty, it would make a great thing to give for an organization to use as a gift or in it's Holiday Gift Shop for clients. You can do the same thing with DVD's. I was surprised at how many dvds we had that had never been opened.
Now look in your closets. I have found a still packaged, holiday table cloth in the size of a table that I no longer own, some stocking stuffers that I couldn't find after I bought them that are now no longer age appropriate for my family, floating candles and some still in the plastic card games. They might not be the "it" gift of the season, but they would still make nice gifts.
Lastly, look in your pantry. Remember the soup that sounded so delicious, but you couldn't finish the first bowl? It might not be your taste, but it might be someone elses. For example, I love Manhattan Clam Chowder, but I detest the New England Clam Chowder that my husband bought home. It was too much trouble to bring the one can back to the store. That can of soup got donated. The can of fried onions that I was going to use in a string bean casserole that my husband informed me he detested and I decided not to make. Donated. A can of salmon? Nice gift from a offspring I won't mention, but not trying it. Ditto the smoked sardines. The point here is that these foods are not my taste, but they might be someone elses taste. As long as the items are not near or past their due dates.
My dear cousin Bernadette, God rest her soul, did this, but in a different way. She would make up a grocery bag or two for the Holiday Community Kitchen. Bern would put in the essential things like peanut butter, but she'd also put in fun things like chocolate syrup and hot cocoa mix and a big bag of marshmallows. In this vein, another fun thing to put in would be all the ingredients to make a home made pumpkin pie. Things don't always have to be utilitarian or practical, in other words.
OUCH! factor for these ideas? Mostly zilch!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Giving Till It Doesn't Hurt, part 1
It's Advent, and you want to do something in order to prepare for Christmas. That's a commendable thought. So have you thought about what you want to do?How about giving to charity?
I can hear you groan, shift your feet and even react a bit cynically. In the economy, who has money to give to anyone, no matter how needy? We're all familiar with the saying, "Give till it hurts!!" but may-be we hurt already. Or may-be we just finished hurting and we don't want to hurt at all.
I bet you've never heard this saying before, but how about giving till it doesn't hurt? I've been brainstorming some ideas about this, and I'd like to share it with you.
Before we begin though, let me ask you, when you do the giving, are you planning on trying to take a deduction on your taxes for your Christmas time giving? Because if you are, it is really, really, did I emphasize really enough? important that you keep good records of your giving. Keep receipts, and if you aren't given a receipt, you are going to have to insist on one that includes the name of the charity, the date and exactly what you have donated. Which makes this whole endeavor sound more like Scrooge than Santa, but what can you do?
So, how do you give without it hurting? First, promise yourself that no matter who gung ho! you are about this endeavor to begin with, you will not let it turn into an obsession and become a crusading super man or woman. That only leads to disappointment if you don't reach a certain goal, and then to disappointment.
My first no-pain idea is to wrap an empty coffee can with Christmas wrapping paper and put a slit in the flexible plastic top. If you have kids, they could decorate the can and make it look like a gift, or put words like "Donate" or "give" or "change" on a simply wrapped can. If the can is pleasing enough to the eye, then you can leave it in the family living space where it is noticeable and not easy to lose or forget about as the season goes on.
Now, what goes into the can, besides money that is? Well how about coupons that are for food pantry essentials like pasta, baby formula, disposable diapers, soups, meals in a can etc? Make sure the coupons don't expire until the very end of December at the soonest, January would be better. Now start saving for buying the items on the coupons.
So, where does that money come from? Well I have a few ideas on that also.
My first thought is, every bit of change in pockets, under seat cushions, in the car, on dresser tops etc goes into the can. You might be surprised at how much change you find this way, and the OUCH! factor is zero.
Okay, so you want to add more money to the can than loose change provided? How about the deposit money from returnable bottles and cans? May-be you and your family don't drink soft drinks enough to make this very lucrative, but a simple request made to neighbors or co workers by way of a cute note asking for a weeks worth of bottles and cans might bring in a few more dollars, without bothering anyone with a long term commitment. Another idea is to go on family walks and pick up bottles and cans along the road. How about knocking on the doors of people who have recycling bins in front of their houses and asking if you can take their returnables, of course never leaving a mess in your wake.
A last idea is to ask a area restaurant to save you their returnable bottles and cans for one weekend, which you will promptly pick up on Monday.
More ideas next time.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Hail and Blest
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. Sunday was the first day of the Season of Advent. My daughter went into my closet and got out the cranberry red, flat glass dish that serves as my Advent wreath these days. I also have three dark red candles in glass that represent the three purple candles of the Advent wreath and one white candle in glass the represents both the rose or pink candle for the last week of Advent and the White candle that is supposed only to be lit starting Christmas Eve, representing the pure Christ Child.
I would prefer my old Advent Wreath that needed to be decorated every year and held the correct colored candles, but as life has gone on, I've learned that things are not always perfect and you make do with what you have. After all, it's more important to actually observe Advent than to worry too much about wreaths and colored candles, within reason of course.
Today is the feast of St. Andrew and today we begin the Novena of Christmas Anticipation. The prayer begins "Hail and blest be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem in the piercing cold." And there in lies the crux of the meaning of all these day of Advent and the day that crowns it all, Christmas, the day that Jesus, the Christ, the anointed, was born.
This season is about preparing our souls, our inner being, for the most magnificent moment in human history - the moment when the Almighty God deigned to join His creation in it's human form. The moment when God chose to join humans in feeling the comfort of a mother's embrace, the joys of friendship, the camaraderie of being part of a family but also in feeling the bite of hunger and cold, tiredness and the stabbing pain of betrayal. Can we ever fully comprehend, completely?
Just like any human endeavor, you have to put in the time and effort to get the reward. Christmas is no different. If you don't avail yourself of the time of preparation that Advent gives us, Christmas will be no more to you than one joyful day of hopefully being with family and friends and giving or receiving presents. It will be a time of Jolly Fat Men dressed in red ringing a bell, snowmen when there isn't even snow on the ground, lights on houses and carols, old and new that are awful, trite and so overplayed that I guess most people don't even here the words that are being sung by sometime in December, considering that the carols get played on radio stations earlier and earlier each year. This year, I started hearing them just after Halloween was over.
Which is a shame, because without Advent, the world stops celebrating Christmas shortly after the 25th of December, which is when the Christmas Season actually does begin. And what a wonderful season it is!
Retailers assume that the Christmas Season starts at the beginning of November and so the real Christmas season doesn't have commercial constantly trying to get you to buy, buy, buy! The Advent Wreath has all it candles lit, and it burns cheerily. Family is no longer bound to the secular "Christmas Season", so getting days off to spend with family is easier and less stressful. Singing songs to the "New Born King" makes more sense after Christmas Day than for 32 days before He is even born.
You must have heard the song by now, "We need a little Christmas! Right this very minute!" but I disagree. We need a LOT of Advent, for the next 25 days.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Compartments
As I am laying here in bed with my husband snoozing beside me, all I can think of is his workbench in the garage. His workspace is not what you would call perfectly clean. There are greasy things there, tubes of adhesives, and there is sawdust. There are cans of paint with so much paint dried on the label that you don't have to guess at the color of the paint on the inside.You know what you won't see? You won't see screws, washers, nails or tools. These things are all put away in drawers or cans or chests. The cans have crude, but clearly written labels on them. Want a washer? It's in that can. Want a ratchet? The ratchet and sockets are in that chest. I'm not really sure what is in the drawers, but I'm pretty sure that Nate knows what is in them.
And that is the way that Nate is. In fact, after having four sons, I'm pretty sure that is the way most men, and some lucky women are. They have drawers that they put events and emotions in when they are done with them.
Teenage angst? Top drawer on the left, the one with the lock on it.
Family drama? Okay depends, if it is off spring or wife drama it's in the top right drawer, the one with a lock on it. If it is drama from any other family member, it's in the chest under the work bench, with the padlock on it.
Financial worries? It goes in the third draw down on the left.
Work problems? Second draw from the bottom on the right hand side.
On and on. Every drama, every worry, every anger has it's place in these mental chests. They get dealt with, they get put away in the right drawer and sometimes they never see the light of day again.
And with all these issues dealt with and neatly put away, Nate slumbers peacefully away ...... while I sit here, my blood pressure slightly raised, issues tumbling around my brain, keeping me awake.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A Page From My Daybook, November
Today is - . rainy and drizzly. It was so dark out that my day slipped away. I was surprised when I looked at the clock and it was already 2 PM
I am thinking about - all my family that have left this world in Novembers passed; both my grandfathers, my great grandmother and one of my favorite Aunts. I am astounded to think that both my grandfather, and his mother, which is my great grandmother, died on the same day, 80 years apart! On that day a niece and nephew were born. It is just coincidence, but sometimes it feels like a message with a secret!
I am thank full - I am thank full that I was able to take a trip to Long Island this week and visit my parents and my oldest sons. I am thankful that we were all able to get together, despite schedules. I am grateful that my father was able to make us his delicious pineapple upside down cake. I am concerned because he looks so much smaller and thinner than when I saw him a year ago.
I am looking forward to - spring! I have had it with the cold, and it isn't even winter yet! I am looking forward to trying my hand at growing a pumpkin again. And trying to grow tomatoes and peppers. Maybe the summer of 2012 we will be left alone, and I can be burdened with "too many zucchini" like everyone else!
I dream of - the day when everyone in my family is settled into a career that they love that provides a living wage and benefits. Including me!!
I am thinking about - all my family that have left this world in Novembers passed; both my grandfathers, my great grandmother and one of my favorite Aunts. I am astounded to think that both my grandfather, and his mother, which is my great grandmother, died on the same day, 80 years apart! On that day a niece and nephew were born. It is just coincidence, but sometimes it feels like a message with a secret!
I am thank full - I am thank full that I was able to take a trip to Long Island this week and visit my parents and my oldest sons. I am thankful that we were all able to get together, despite schedules. I am grateful that my father was able to make us his delicious pineapple upside down cake. I am concerned because he looks so much smaller and thinner than when I saw him a year ago.
I am looking forward to - spring! I have had it with the cold, and it isn't even winter yet! I am looking forward to trying my hand at growing a pumpkin again. And trying to grow tomatoes and peppers. Maybe the summer of 2012 we will be left alone, and I can be burdened with "too many zucchini" like everyone else!
I dream of - the day when everyone in my family is settled into a career that they love that provides a living wage and benefits. Including me!!
Friday, November 11, 2011
A Halloween Story Part Five
"Aren't you creeped out to be home alone on Halloween night? Especially when Reagan acted that weird way before?" Erin asked anxiously.
"No, I wasn't, until you just bought it up." Ria said heatedly. Then she was instantly sorry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
"It's okay, I understand. Sorry if I creeped you out even more than you were?"
"You didn't." Ria lied. She'd actually had been fine before calling Erin, now the house felt ominously quiet.
"Should I ask my parents if I can stay with you at your house until your parents come home?"
Ria gave herself a mental shake. "No really, I'm fine. I need to find Reagan and see how he's doing. Poor kitty!"
"You sure you don't want to stay on the phone until your parents come home?" At Ria's 'no,' Erin continued "Okay, but if you need me, call and I'll be there in minutes!"
Ria could just imagine her friend running down the road in her costume. She chuckled. "Okay Erin. You know you really are a great friend!"
Before looking for Reagan, Ria took off her costume pieces and put them back into the trunk. She didn't bother to take off her face paint before laying on her stomach and looking under her parents bed for Reagan. He wasn't there.
Ria went into the kitchen pantry and got out a can of cat food. Usually just opening the pantry door was sound enough to drive Reagan into the kitchen, rubbing against her leg, the wall and the kitchen chair legs purring, but not tonight.
"Reagan! Here kitty!" she called. Still Reagan didn't come.
Ria ignored the more quietly working, manual can opener for the noisy, electric can opener. As expected, the electric can opener whined and whirred and clunked as it laboriously opened the can of cat food. Usually Reagan would have been driven insane by now. Tonight he remained a no show.
Could Reagan still be freaked out by what he had heard earlier? Ria began to look for him in his favorite hiding places. It was only after she finished checking the last place, on top of the water heater, that Ria noticed the window curtain caught in the back door. She was sure she hadn't left the house with the curtain caught in the back door.
Did her brother come into the house before getting his car and leaving? Had Reagan gotten out?
Quickly Ria checked the usual message centers in the house for a note from her brother saying that Reagan had gotten out. There was none but it was the only answer because she had checked the whole house for Reagan and not found him.
"No, I wasn't, until you just bought it up." Ria said heatedly. Then she was instantly sorry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
"It's okay, I understand. Sorry if I creeped you out even more than you were?"
"You didn't." Ria lied. She'd actually had been fine before calling Erin, now the house felt ominously quiet.
"Should I ask my parents if I can stay with you at your house until your parents come home?"
Ria gave herself a mental shake. "No really, I'm fine. I need to find Reagan and see how he's doing. Poor kitty!"
"You sure you don't want to stay on the phone until your parents come home?" At Ria's 'no,' Erin continued "Okay, but if you need me, call and I'll be there in minutes!"
Ria could just imagine her friend running down the road in her costume. She chuckled. "Okay Erin. You know you really are a great friend!"
Before looking for Reagan, Ria took off her costume pieces and put them back into the trunk. She didn't bother to take off her face paint before laying on her stomach and looking under her parents bed for Reagan. He wasn't there.
Ria went into the kitchen pantry and got out a can of cat food. Usually just opening the pantry door was sound enough to drive Reagan into the kitchen, rubbing against her leg, the wall and the kitchen chair legs purring, but not tonight.
"Reagan! Here kitty!" she called. Still Reagan didn't come.
Ria ignored the more quietly working, manual can opener for the noisy, electric can opener. As expected, the electric can opener whined and whirred and clunked as it laboriously opened the can of cat food. Usually Reagan would have been driven insane by now. Tonight he remained a no show.
Could Reagan still be freaked out by what he had heard earlier? Ria began to look for him in his favorite hiding places. It was only after she finished checking the last place, on top of the water heater, that Ria noticed the window curtain caught in the back door. She was sure she hadn't left the house with the curtain caught in the back door.
Did her brother come into the house before getting his car and leaving? Had Reagan gotten out?
Quickly Ria checked the usual message centers in the house for a note from her brother saying that Reagan had gotten out. There was none but it was the only answer because she had checked the whole house for Reagan and not found him.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
We're worried about 72 days
So it's official, Kim Kardashian's marriage is over after 72 days. Not only is it a personal tragedy, apparently it is a tragedy to all the fans that watch, that invest themselves, into the Kardashian reality show.
C'mon people, get a life!!!!
Really.
You know what divorces worry me? The divorce of a couple that has been married 30 or more years. It's pretty easy to figure why a 72 day marriage didn't work out, but why did a marriage of 35 years break up?
Was it because the marriage only stayed together for the sake of the children, even when they became young adults?
Was it because of the selfishness of one or both spouses going through a mid-life crisis?
Or did the marriage breaking up have a message or advice that those of us in intact marriages could learn from?
The breaking up of long term marriages is what gets my attention.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A Halloween Story, Part 8
The other riders began to arrive and the thundering of oncoming horses began to lessen. From her hiding place, Ria couldn't be sure of how many horses were there. Twenty? Fifty? Were there more? She couldn't be sure. The black horse was still plowing through the woods seeking her. Every so often, the rider would call out in frustration "I know you're here!"
The group parted and from their midst emerged a rider who must be their leader. His horse was as large as any of the others, but the saddle was of a much better quality. It's suppleness shone in the increasing moonlight. He had two lamp carrying riders on either side of him.
"Balfour! What are you doing?"
Balfour immediately stopped his search. "I smelled a human, my lord." There was the sound of muffled laughing from the group.
"Of course you smelled human, you half wit! There's a housing development on the other side of this median!" the leader thundered. "Get out of those woods and get into your position!"
The leader addressed the other riders. "Did you recapture that black cat?"
"No my lord." the other three riders answered almost shamefully.
"No matter, we're sure to come across another one along our ride." He turned to one of his lantern bearers. "Give the signal to assemble. We have far to ride before the moon is at it's height."
The lantern bearer pulled a goat's horn from his tunic and blew. The sound was nothing like a horn and yet indescribable. It made Ria shiver. The original four riders assembled into a column of two, and began riding forward. The other horsemen began riding behind them, also in columns of two, except for the leader who was still flanked by his lantern bearers.
The procession seemed to take hours to pass. Ria didn't stir until the sound of the last horse hoof had faded away. Then she cautiously got up, slowly, still listening, in case one of the riders had stayed behind without her realizing. Ria turned on her flashlight and scanned the woods, looking for the black cat. It was nowhere to be seen.
May-be Reagan had had enough of being outside by this time, Ria hoped. For herself, she had had enough of the woods for one night. She made her way to the dirt road and started to walk home, still listening for the sound of horse hooves.
When she was near home, she hear her name being called. "Ria? Ria!" called her younger sister Katie.
"I'm here!" she began to run toward Katie's voice.
"Ria! What were you doing in the woods on Halloween night? I'd never go in the woods on Halloween night!" Katie gave a shudder.
"I was looking for Reagan."
"In the woods? He was in the shredded paper box next to Daddy's desk. It was like he dug himself down into the paper. He's never done that before. I wonder why he did it tonight?"
I'm sure I know. Ria thought, but she only said "Hmmmm......." as they climbed the steps of the back deck and entered their house.
Every entry on this blog, as well as pictures and photos are the property of Mary Bennett, copyright 2010. Violators will be prosecuted. To use any part of this blog elsewhere, please contact me prior for permission. Items used without prior permission for any reason will be prosecuted. The conclusion of this story may be to mature for younger children. Parents are strongly advised to read these blog posts first before allowing their children to read it.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
A Halloween Story, Part Seven
The moon was supposed to be full that night, but it was still rising as she crossed the thin wooded strip and stood on the dirt road.
"Reagan! Here kitty!" she called in a voice she hated. She could hear her own fear in it.
C'mon girl! she chided herself. Look around. These are the same trees that you've walked past a thousand times! You've sat at the base of these trees and read books.
Still, the woods seemed spooky.
Ria called for Reagan, pointing the flashlight at piles of leaves or among nests of roots as she walked along. She walked along for about thirty minutes before she saw a black cat rubbing itself on the rough bark of a leafless tree. From where Ria stood, she couldn't be sure if the cat was Reagan.
"Reagan?" she called softly. The cat didn't come to her, but it did meow in response. "You've come a long way boy. Why so far tonight of all nights?"
The cat stiffened. Its ears were so tuned into the sound, it seemed to Ria that they vibrated. Ria listened and at first she heard nothing. Then it seemed as though the ground was starting to vibrate. The vibration grew in intensity until it sounded like the thundering of the hooves of many horses.
People occasionally rode horses down the dirt road, although not at night. When that happened, the usual practice was to step slightly off the road for the rider to pass. But this time Ria felt a rising of terror, apparently shared by the cat, because it bolted off the road and into the woods. Ria could hear it's passage as it tore through brambles, making crackling sounds, only slightly ahead of her own frantic flight.
The sound of the oncoming hooves was unbearably loud now, and impulsively, Ria dropped to the ground and wiggled under a pile of leaves and bramble. She was so frightened that her lungs felt like they were burning, and her breath came in loud heaves that she prayed could not be heard over the sound of the horses thundering hooves.
It was only minutes later that the horsemen came in sight. There were six of them. The horses were huge, bigger than any that Ria had ever seen in her life. They seemed more likely to have come out of a nightmare than to be real. The eyes were rimmed with bright red, the eyes themselves were bottomless black pools. Great clouds of steam came out of the snorting nostrils.
The riders had stopped because the lead rider had held up a huge gloved hand signalling them to stop. In the distance, Ria could still hear the thunder of more horses approaching.
"I smell humans." the first rider growled removing his helmet. It was skull shaped with embossing around the brim.
"There are humans living just on the other side of those woods." The rider lifted up in the saddle as if to stretch his legs from a long ride.
"It be a shame if some of them were in the woods now." The first rider replied with a nasty chuckle.
"They won't be. They are busy gathering candy at this time of night. The children are anyway." It was the third rider who spoke. His saddle supported a long pole, from which hung a macabre lantern, a cat skull with a candle inside of it.
"And the mothers are home alone, just on the other side of those woods?" asked the first rider. "Mayhaps we have time for just a little bit of mischief, eh boys?"
They all laughed.
The fourth rider was silent. Ria studied him. He too carried a lantern attached to his saddle, it was a cat's skull, bigger than the first lantern. All the riders were dressed in black leather, but the fourth rider looked darker than the others. Ria imagined it was as dark as a black hole in space would be.
The rider that had removed his helmet slid to the ground from his horse. He was doing some stretches when he suddenly stopped. "I do smell human!" he said ominously.
"I told you, humans...."
"I mean I smell them here!" he interrupted. "Here!" he gestured around the general area. "Not in some neighborhood. Here!"
They all stood still, even the horses stopped their movements.
Ria wondered if they were sniffing the air too, catching her scent. She almost screamed with fright.
The sound of the other horses was getting louder. They were getting closer. Would they all dismount their horses when they arrived, to scour the woods looking for her? They would surely find her if they did.
The rider mounted his horse again, surprisingly quickly for all the armour and the long cloak he wore. He snatched a lantern pole from one of the riders and urged his horse into the woods.
"What are you doing?" one of them called.
"I said I smelled a human!" The horse walked heavily into the woods. Even fallen logs snapped under his mighty step. Ria froze with terror and began to pray that somehow, those mighty hooves would miss her.
Every entry on this blog, as well as pictures and photos are the property of Mary Bennett, copyright 2010. Violators will be prosecuted. To use any part of this blog elsewhere, please contact me prior for permission. Items used without prior permission for any reason will be prosecuted. The conclusion of this story may be to mature for younger children. Parents are strongly advised to read these blog posts first before allowing their children to read it.
Monday, October 31, 2011
A Halloween Story Part 6
Every entry on this blog, as well as pictures and photos are the property of Mary Bennett, copyright 2010. Violators will be prosecuted. To use any part of this blog elsewhere, please contact me prior for permission. Items used without prior permission for any reason will be prosecuted. The conclusion of this story may be to mature for younger children. Parents are strongly advised to read these blog posts first before allowing their children to read it.
Ria was angry at her brother Thomas for allowing Reagan to get out of the house, especially on a night that was so dangerous for black cats. She grabbed the open can of cat food and a small penlight and left the house.
She checked all the deck furniture before venturing into the back yard. Reagan wasn't in the yard, including his favorite napping spots inside the bird bath or on the wood pile.
Ria checked her neighbor's yard for Reagan before admitting to herself , with a shudder, that the only place left to look for the cat was the woods on the other side of a dirt road near their home.
Their street was the last block built before the building developer had run out of money to build any more houses. Behind Ria's house was woods. On the other side of her neighbor's house was the developers supply road. The road was barely wide enough for a truck to drive on. It was dirt and had sand and ruts in areas. It ran in the woods from the oldest part of the housing development to the abandoned part of the housing development for a few miles.
During the day, the woods were a friendly place for the neighborhood children to play. There were tree forts in some of the trees, and in some of the natural clearings the neighborhood children had picnics. The woods were a quiet place to do nothing more than walk and think about the day.
Even on moonlit nights, the sandy road was peaceful to walk on, and not threatening in anyway.
But on Halloween night? Ria's imagination ran wild, and she did not want to go into the woods at all.
Never the less, tonight she would have to because Reagan was most likely in the woods. Who knew what could happen to him if she didn't.
The last Snippet of the Development
This is the last snippet of Chapter 9, the Development, a book that I am writing. I hope as you have read, you have started to feel the misgivng that Theresa had turn to fear. Please leave a comment, I'd love to know your thoughts! Would it be too much to ask you to share these latest blog posts with your friends?
By the way, are your kids going Trick or Treating this year? I bet now, you'll be going with them!! Bwahahaha!!!!
It was after ten, and Teresa Meyer felt like she had been a good sport for long enough. Mia was definitely taking advantage of her good will now. Whether it embarrassed her daughter or not, she was going to call her cell phone and demand her daughter come home right now! And if it mortified her in front of her friends, good! May-be it would inspire her to use some common sense next time around!
Teresa pushed the send button, and almost immediately Mia's phone went to voice mail.
"Hey! This is Mia, I'll call you right back!" Beep!
Teresa tried again, with the same result.
She didn't understand why her daughter's phone was turned off. May-be she had it set to vibrate so her friends wouldn't know when her mother called? It was so easy to embarrass a teenager.
Teresa made herself a cup of tea, carried it to the livingroom and turned the television to the local news, while she waited for Mia to return her call.
Mia never did. It was now after 10:30. She would do the capital sin of all capital sins in a teenagers life, call Mia's friend's parents.
She called the Adam's home first. What she heard made Teresa's heart jackhammer in her chest, the kids were cold, and had come home a little after nine.
Teresa asked to speak to Steve directly. She knew that Steve had been the pirate trick or treater.
"Steve, she's not here." She said after picking up the phone. "You didn't come here after Trick or Treating, so how do you know that Mia came home?" She was trying to remain calm, not to break down in tears.
Oh God! If only she had listened to her feelings and braved the teenage scorn that Mia would have heaped on her!
"Well the girls got cold, so we broke into groups and headed for home."
"What groups Steve?"
Steve thought for a minute. "Well, I went home with Sarah Rockney, she was the witch and my little sister Selena, she was the washer woman. For some reason, my sister Samantha didn't want to go Trick or Treating this year. Then my friend Bobby Morgan, he was the baseball player and his sister Dawn, she was the waitress went home. The girl in the baby doll outfit was Lilly Hogan, and she lived right next to the last house we Trick or Treated at, so she went home alone."
"What about Mia, in the pink princess costume, did you let her walk home alone?" Teresa fought the panic in her voice that made her voice rise into a shriek. She had to keep calm so that Steve wouldn't freak. He had to think coolly, rationally.
"Oh yeah, she went home with the kid in the screaming ghost costume."
Teresa almost lost her breath. There hadn't been a kid in a ghost costume when Mia had joined her friends. She tried to calm herself. May-be someone had joined the kids while they were Trick or Treating?
"Steve, who was the kid in the ghost costume? I didn't see him when you all came to pick up Mia."
Steve thought for a minute. Teresa wanted to scream in frustration at the long pause but silently counted to ten to keep her patience instead.
"I don't know who it was." He finally said. "He joined us while we were Trick or Treating."
By the way, are your kids going Trick or Treating this year? I bet now, you'll be going with them!! Bwahahaha!!!!
It was after ten, and Teresa Meyer felt like she had been a good sport for long enough. Mia was definitely taking advantage of her good will now. Whether it embarrassed her daughter or not, she was going to call her cell phone and demand her daughter come home right now! And if it mortified her in front of her friends, good! May-be it would inspire her to use some common sense next time around!
Teresa pushed the send button, and almost immediately Mia's phone went to voice mail.
"Hey! This is Mia, I'll call you right back!" Beep!
Teresa tried again, with the same result.
She didn't understand why her daughter's phone was turned off. May-be she had it set to vibrate so her friends wouldn't know when her mother called? It was so easy to embarrass a teenager.
Teresa made herself a cup of tea, carried it to the livingroom and turned the television to the local news, while she waited for Mia to return her call.
Mia never did. It was now after 10:30. She would do the capital sin of all capital sins in a teenagers life, call Mia's friend's parents.
She called the Adam's home first. What she heard made Teresa's heart jackhammer in her chest, the kids were cold, and had come home a little after nine.
Teresa asked to speak to Steve directly. She knew that Steve had been the pirate trick or treater.
"Steve, she's not here." She said after picking up the phone. "You didn't come here after Trick or Treating, so how do you know that Mia came home?" She was trying to remain calm, not to break down in tears.
Oh God! If only she had listened to her feelings and braved the teenage scorn that Mia would have heaped on her!
"Well the girls got cold, so we broke into groups and headed for home."
"What groups Steve?"
Steve thought for a minute. "Well, I went home with Sarah Rockney, she was the witch and my little sister Selena, she was the washer woman. For some reason, my sister Samantha didn't want to go Trick or Treating this year. Then my friend Bobby Morgan, he was the baseball player and his sister Dawn, she was the waitress went home. The girl in the baby doll outfit was Lilly Hogan, and she lived right next to the last house we Trick or Treated at, so she went home alone."
"What about Mia, in the pink princess costume, did you let her walk home alone?" Teresa fought the panic in her voice that made her voice rise into a shriek. She had to keep calm so that Steve wouldn't freak. He had to think coolly, rationally.
"Oh yeah, she went home with the kid in the screaming ghost costume."
Teresa almost lost her breath. There hadn't been a kid in a ghost costume when Mia had joined her friends. She tried to calm herself. May-be someone had joined the kids while they were Trick or Treating?
"Steve, who was the kid in the ghost costume? I didn't see him when you all came to pick up Mia."
Steve thought for a minute. Teresa wanted to scream in frustration at the long pause but silently counted to ten to keep her patience instead.
"I don't know who it was." He finally said. "He joined us while we were Trick or Treating."
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Development, Snippet 3
Please leave me a comment! I'd love to know how you like this!
"Yes. Be careful. No candy before I check it. I mean it!!"
"What's with your mom tonight?" Teresa heard one of the boys ask. Steve Adams, she recognized the voice,
"I don't know." Mia mumbled. "She's doing the mom thing. She's probably reading a true crime book or something."
They'd done a ton of Trick or Treating, and the girls in their short dresses were getting cold.
"We'll do this last road, and then head for home." Steve Adams announced. He could have continued trick or treating, but without the others, it wouldn't have been much fun.
"My house is that way." The washerwoman said. "After this house, I'm going home."
The witch agreed. "I'm cold and I have enough candy." Sarah Rockney said. "I'll go with you."
A few of the other Trick or Treaters announced that they had enough candy, and were going home also.
After they had rang the doorbell of the last house, the teens broke into separate groups and headed home.
The pink princess left with the black figure with the screaming ghost mask.
"Yes. Be careful. No candy before I check it. I mean it!!"
"What's with your mom tonight?" Teresa heard one of the boys ask. Steve Adams, she recognized the voice,
"I don't know." Mia mumbled. "She's doing the mom thing. She's probably reading a true crime book or something."
They'd done a ton of Trick or Treating, and the girls in their short dresses were getting cold.
"We'll do this last road, and then head for home." Steve Adams announced. He could have continued trick or treating, but without the others, it wouldn't have been much fun.
"My house is that way." The washerwoman said. "After this house, I'm going home."
The witch agreed. "I'm cold and I have enough candy." Sarah Rockney said. "I'll go with you."
A few of the other Trick or Treaters announced that they had enough candy, and were going home also.
After they had rang the doorbell of the last house, the teens broke into separate groups and headed home.
The pink princess left with the black figure with the screaming ghost mask.
A Halloween Story Part Four
Tina looked as though she was ready to cry. Ria handed her a bit of cloth from her costume to wipe her mouth.
She still looked sick. "I think I better go home." she stammered. "Go ahead and Trick or Treat without me."
"Oh no, I'm walking you home." Ria said quickly and Erin agreed.
"We really have enough candy already. My mom steals candy from my bag, so she'll actually thank you." She laughed and Ria joined her because it was true; parents and older brothers always took candy from the Trick or Treat bags.
Tina gave a half smile. "I don't want to ruin the night on you. Go on with out me. I can make it home by myself."
Her friends didn't leave her side the whole walk home. After making sure that Tina was safely home, they decided to walk to Erin's house together and ask Dave to drive Ria home, but he wasn't home.
"Look, it's not far from your house to mine. I'll walk home as fast as I can, and then I'll call you to let you know that I made it home."Ria decided.
"I don't know........." Erin argued.
"I'll be fine!" Ria said as she headed out the door. "Really, I'll call you in a few minutes!"
Ria saw her brother Tommy's tail lights disappearing down the street just as she was getting home.
'It figured!' Ria thought as she took off her necklace to get to the house key she always wore around her neck.
Once inside she hurried to the phone and called Erin. "Home just fine!"
"Are your parents home?"
Ria listened for a minute and didn't hear a single sound. "Nope, home alone."
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Development, Halloween Snippet
I hope you enjoyed yesterday snippet. Here is today's. Let me know how you like it!
Safety from what? Teresa again wondered to herself. Then she gave herself a mental shake and told herself not to be silly.
"Does this dress look right?" Mia asked, tugging down on the pink gossamer skirt. She was dressed like a fairytale princess, all in pink, even down to her ballet style slippers.
Mia did look like a princess. The way she looked reminded Teresa of her daughter when she was younger, so much younger, when she had enjoyed dressing up and Trick or Treating was done with her friends, parents, and before it got dark.
Teresa missed those days.
"You look absolutely beautiful, but I'm really worried about how thin that outfit is. It's getting cold. Bring a jacket with you and a pair of sweat pants."
"Moooom!" Mia whined. "That will totally ruin the look!"
It would too.
"Fine, but next year, I want your costume to be the Wookie from Star Wars! Promise me you'll come straight home if you get cold?"
"Promise!" Mia replied with a smile and mother and daughter hugged.
The doorbell rang. When the door opened, they saw Mia's friends; a pirate complete with black eye patch and a stuffed parrot on his shoulder, a baby doll in a too short dress - she'd be cold this night too Teresa noted, a baseball player with a bat, his treat bag hanging off of it, a waitress - in a dress that was too short also, a washerwoman, and a good, old fashioned, green skinned, hooked nose witch.
Since most of the girls wore short skirted costumes, Teresa was sure that the girls would be cold and Mia would be home early. They all would be. Then Teresa could start to breath normally again.
Before Mia left, Teresa checked to make sure that the girl had her cell phone, on speed dial to her own cell phone, and that Mia was one of the group that had a flashlight with her.
"Now can I goooo?" Mia asked in that suffering voice that teenage girls have perfected.
Safety from what? Teresa again wondered to herself. Then she gave herself a mental shake and told herself not to be silly.
"Does this dress look right?" Mia asked, tugging down on the pink gossamer skirt. She was dressed like a fairytale princess, all in pink, even down to her ballet style slippers.
Mia did look like a princess. The way she looked reminded Teresa of her daughter when she was younger, so much younger, when she had enjoyed dressing up and Trick or Treating was done with her friends, parents, and before it got dark.
Teresa missed those days.
"You look absolutely beautiful, but I'm really worried about how thin that outfit is. It's getting cold. Bring a jacket with you and a pair of sweat pants."
"Moooom!" Mia whined. "That will totally ruin the look!"
It would too.
"Fine, but next year, I want your costume to be the Wookie from Star Wars! Promise me you'll come straight home if you get cold?"
"Promise!" Mia replied with a smile and mother and daughter hugged.
The doorbell rang. When the door opened, they saw Mia's friends; a pirate complete with black eye patch and a stuffed parrot on his shoulder, a baby doll in a too short dress - she'd be cold this night too Teresa noted, a baseball player with a bat, his treat bag hanging off of it, a waitress - in a dress that was too short also, a washerwoman, and a good, old fashioned, green skinned, hooked nose witch.
Since most of the girls wore short skirted costumes, Teresa was sure that the girls would be cold and Mia would be home early. They all would be. Then Teresa could start to breath normally again.
Before Mia left, Teresa checked to make sure that the girl had her cell phone, on speed dial to her own cell phone, and that Mia was one of the group that had a flashlight with her.
"Now can I goooo?" Mia asked in that suffering voice that teenage girls have perfected.
A Halloween Story, Part Three
Reagan's antics were quickly forgotten. Dave dropped Ria and his sister at their friend Tina's house and left.The girls were stunned by Tina's outfit. She was an ice princess. Her costume had not been put together at home from bits and pieces, but had been professionally made. Her ice blue dress had an overlay by a light tulle that was studded with glass crystals and drops. Her beautiful blonde hair was up swept, and cascaded in curls along the nape of her neck. Her face was made up by a professional hand, probably her mother who was a cosmetologist, and even though her lips were an icy blue, and her eyelashes apparently had ice crystals on them, she looked completely natural.
Erin's red clown lips formed a perfect "o" at the sight of their beautiful friend. "Wow!"
Ria finally found her voice. "You look like you should be going to a party, not Trick or Treating."
"You are stunning! I bet you'd win a prize." Erin agreed.
Tina's face grew red under her white makeup. "Uh, thanks. C'mon, lets go!"
After getting Tina's curfew and saying goodbye to Tina's mother, the three girls left the house.
The neighborhood sidewalks had groups of costumed children. Adults had joined together with friends and guided virtual herds of children from house to house.
The sky was getting darker as the moon was slowly rising. The street lights were coming and Ria noticed that most of the little children were no longer Trick or Treating.
Pools of light came from the un-curtained windows of houses. More and more lit Jack O'Lanterns appeared on the porches of houses.
The girls met up with another group of friends from school and they all began to Trick or Treat together.
"Did you hear about Mrs. Robinson's cat?" Ria heard a scarecrow say.
"Isn't that your neighbor's black cat?" a gypsy asked the scarecrow.
"Oh, that's unique, a black cat story on Halloween. Boooooooo!" a boy dressed like a fedora wearing gangster said sarcastically.
"What about Mrs. Robinson's cat?" prompted a clown that wasn't Erin.
"He's missing. He's been missing since last night. Mrs Robinson has posters up at the supermarket, and she even offered to pay me to look around the neighborhood."
"Did you do it?" asked the fedora wearing gangster.
"I did it for free before I bought my little brother Trick or Treating. I didn't catch even a glimpse of him." the scarecrow replied.
"If I had any colored cat, I wouldn't let it outside anytime near Halloween." opined a girl dressed like a bag of jelly beans. Some of the children agreed and Ria was glad that Reagan was safely underneath her parents bed.
Tina was walking more slowly, and she waited on the sidewalk while the other children Trick or Treated. The second time she did this, Ria and Erin waited with her.
"What's up?" asked Erin. "You look kind of like you are in pain."
"Are your shoes hurting you?"
"No, but I'm starting to feel sick."
"Do you want to go home?" Ria asked.
"I think I'm ..... gonna toss my cookies." Tina said, and then she did.
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