Friday, October 21, 2011

My Favorite Room in the House

Day 21 of NaBloWriMo (National Blog Writing Month)...

The pine room is my favorite room in the house--oh, if those pine walls could talk. It is still where we spend most of our time when we are at home.

Our house is a small, two-bedroom ranch with a full, finished basement. The pine room was added to the back of the house a few years before we purchased it and was probably the biggest selling point for us at the time. The tall windows on three of the walls and vaulted ceiling gives the illusion of a room larger than it actually measures.

When we first moved in, we placed a desk with computer in one corner. For a while, we had a ping-pong table that occupied the room space--nothing else would fit. An old upright piano made the room its home during the years that my son was taking piano lessons. As a baby in her bouncy seat, my daughter would bounce across the floor while my son played the piano. A stereo sat atop the piano for a while and Space Jam and Sawyer Brown were just two of the very diverse sounds blaring from the speakers of that stereo while darling daughter twirled around and danced as a toddler.

Over the years, we have held family gatherings for birthdays, anniversary parties, Thanksgiving dinners, and Christmases placing two large tables down the middle of the room to accommodate our siblings and parents as we talked and laughed and enjoyed many a great repast.

Today it still holds a desk for our current computer, but there is also my grandmother's dining room table that I inherited after she passed away as well as a couch that belonged to my husband's grandmother, which he inherited after she passed. There is the middle unit of an old entertainment center with a 36" television--this is due to the fact that we upgraded to a flat panel TV for the living room, but since the 36" is still a working television, we couldn't possibly get rid of it. A bookcase holds miscellaneous computer software manuals and partial packages of photo paper and labels and other stuff I'm too lazy to throw away. There are two overstuffed filing cabinets which now hold a plethora of electronics on their dust-covered surfaces. A rocker and three extra office chairs sit in the left over open spaces of the floor waiting for the day we can give them away or use them elsewhere.

Still with all the extra clutter that the pine room now holds, it also holds the memories and warmth of treasured family time.

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Thursday, October 20, 2011

It's a Harvest Time


Day 20 of NaBloWriMo (National Blog Writing Month)...

My garden harvest may be small, but it is my own. Not wind, nor lack of rain, nor meddling neighbors could keep what I planted from growing. I didn't use fertilizer; I rarely weeded, and my supplemental watering habits were few and far between...but look what happened in spite of me!! Thank you nature for providing this bounty...maybe next year, I'll have enough tomatoes for two salads!


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A Recipe That's A-Peeling!

Day 19 of NaBloWriMo (National Blog Writing Month)...

Nothing says fall baking to me more than apple crisp. The recipe I use is one that my mother obtained from an acquaintance of hers many moons ago. I have tasted several different versions of the seasonal dessert, and none compare to this special recipe handed down over the ages!

This time of year, that sweet, heavenly aroma of baking apples warms me to my very soul. The apple-peeler-corer-slicer device I bought for the annual making of the dessert literally cuts the time in half that I once spent preparing the apples. It still actually takes longer to make the delightful dish than it does to devour it. A dollop of ice cream melting into the crevices of the butter and flour topping when it's straight out of the oven is nothing short of sinful, and demands that one serving is not enough.

I think the secret to this recipe is not only the perfectly packed topping but the kind of apples used. A tart apple enhances the sugar, cinnamon, and lemon flavors more than a sweet apple--and whatever you do, don't substitute margarine for butter!! But I've already said too much...this recipe is too good to just give away. For a copy of the recipe, please send a SASE along with a money order for $1,000 to Apple Crisp Better Than Your Mom Makes, 375 Moderate Lane, Nicely Browned Crust, USA.


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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Just Right

Day 18 of NaBloWriMo (National Blog Writing Month)...

Baby Bear has it made--everything is just right...according to Goldilocks, anyway. His porridge isn't too hot or too cold; his chair isn't too big or too small; his bed isn't too hard or too soft. I think I need a Goldilocks to come into my home and figure out what I need to get rid of and what I need to add to make everything just right. Sounds like a job for Martha Stewart, but since we're not currently acquaintances, and short of having a little girl break in to my home while I'm out for a walk to point out my cooking and decorating errors, I'm thinking of looking into Feng Shui.

Tonight at my book study club, we reviewed the book, "Throw Out Fifty Things--Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life" by Gail Blanke. It not only gives step-by-step instructions on getting rid of the physical stuff, but helpful tips for attacking the mental mess as well. A great read and just what I needed to start making everything "just right."

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Politics is for the Politicians

Day 17 of NaBloWriMo (National Blog Writing Month)...

Prompt: Do you pay attention to and/or participate in political discussion? Why or why not?

The prompt for today was very timely since my son had just read me a paper last night that he wrote for his college history course. He had some interesting insights and opinions that, while I never discussed with him previously, I happen to share.

For instance, a particular anarchist and labor union activist that he referenced was George Engel. According to George Engel, who came to America from Germany in 1872 with hopes of prosperity and a fruitful life, "...casting your vote in a ballot box is simply a temporary high intended to make you think that you are helping to shape the future of society. The harsh truth is that our votes will never bring about a society guaranteeing work, food, and a happy life."

What Engel discovered in 1872, in my opinion, is still a harsh truth today. I do not participate in any sort of political discussion, due mostly to not feeling like I have enough knowledge on the subject. The unfortunate reality is that most of time, I just don't care. I know that I should, and you can always find me at the polls on an election day 'voting early and often' because it is my right...but do I think how I vote will do any good? NO!

All the mudslinging and "campaigning" that start way too many months in advance of an election, is exasperating! It doesn't matter what party is declared on my voter registration, in the end, all the candidates from all the parties are just going to make promises they can't keep. I honestly do not know what the answer is, but I do know that our government as it stands right now--even though it was "elected" by the people--is not for the people.

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