The Event ~ The Perm

Mathilda likes Grandma's perm.  She would like to get her hair curled like that.  Today Mathilda got a perm ~ with Mom's blessing!  Her hair being long, she got a spiral perm.  I hope it is easy to care for and lasts a long time, and makes her feel like a princess.  What a curly girly event!

Event ~ The Sewing Lesson

There is still a place that, in spite of frustrations, I can still remain calm.  That place is at the sewing table.  No matter what goes wrong when I'm working on a sewing project, I seem to always remain calm.  I think it's because I realize that patience is essential when it comes to sewing.

Our beautiful 8 year old - almost 9 - granddaughter is with us for a few weeks, and it's wonderful to have the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with her doing "girl" things.  Together we decided that she should learn to sew.  I started teaching my own girls how to sew when they started 4-H at 8 years old. So certainly Mathilda could do the same.  

My own patience and calmness in this particular "teaching" time surprised me.  And Mathilda's ability to do a good job surprised me as well.  We started off sewing lots of straight seams on scrap fabric.  Using the 1/4" quilters guide and the "slow" position on the machine made it especially easy. 

Mathilda caught on fast and sewed for two hours last nite and another hour this morning.  She even did some straight sewing for me which included straps and pockets for a handbag I was making.  Tonite she is going to make a pillowcase to take to the family reunion as her "auction item" contribution.  I will cut the pieces for her and she will do all the sewing!

However, any new learning experience brings its own unique incidents.  And Mattie's lesson, unfortunately, included a not-so-pleasant incident this morning.  But calm Grandma was nearby!
Mattie was sewing on her scraps and somehow managed to get her finger between the needle and the pressure foot!  Yep, the needle went all the way through her finger - top to bottom!  Ouch!  That DID hurt!

After much consoling, I told her she needed to "get back on the horse" and continue.  She said she never wanted to sew again!  And that I could make her pillowcase for the reunion.  Of course, I was not going to make her pillowcase and we would not need to go to the store to find her trim fabric if she wasn't going to sew anymore.  When she felt better, about an hour later, she announced she would "get back on the horse" and sew again and she wanted to go to the fabric store to get her pillowcase trim!

After finishing the pillowcase, Mathilda sewed together a quilt.  She used scrap blocks cut from all the infant car seat covers that her mom made in recent years.  Janel sent the scrap blocks home with me for some useful future project.  I squared up all these blocks into 6 1/2 inch squares.  Following some instruction from me,  Mattie sewed everyone together by herself.  Then following more instruction, she sewed all the rows together.  An event she should be proud of.  We will get it finished soon.

So far, I find working with her on the sewing machine a very rewarding experience.  Stay tuned to see how long I remain calm and patient!!  This whole event took me back 30-35 years when I worked with several 4-H girls teaching them to sew.  If I could teach a group of  6 - 8 eight year old girls to sew on basic machines back then, I should be able to teach one eager girl to sew now on a machine that can adapt to beginners. An event to reamin calm for!

While Mattie was here, I got out a couple dresses that were Janel's so many years ago.  The dresses were about the right fit for Mattie right now.  What fun to reminisce when Mattie looked so pretty in Janel's pretty dresses!

Mathilda Grace ~ you are loved so very much!

The Event ~ Beet Harvest

The memories came flooding back when we started talking about our beet hauling days while playing the  a card game recently with friends ~ the Kaufmans and the Rahmigs.

It was funny how us three women unanimously agreed we should have driven for each other’s husbands and not our own.  There would not have been nearly as much hostility!  During beet harvest husbands yell a lot at their wives, trying to get them to move the truck closer or back or forward or wherever they want us to be to get the perfect load without spills.

We women tried so hard and sacrificed a lot to be out in those trucks from pre dawn till after dark day after day during beet harvest.  That’s what farm wives did for years, so when Tim and I got married, it was a natural assumption that I would learn to drive a beet truck.  I did just that from 1971 through beet harvest 1985 – till we left the farm and moved to town.

Since that time, beet harvest has transitioned from small little farm trucks to big semi and trailer trucks.  The farm wife has also transitioned from working on the farm to working in town because of the need to supplement the farm income.  Consequently, there are very few farm wives driving beet harvest trucks today.  Oh, there are some, but few. 

Anyway, back to my beet harvest days, we would be in the trucks like at 7 am or earlier, with our lunch packed, coffee and rolls packed, kids bundled up to ride along.  Grandma Stricker would watch the babies until they were old enough to ride along.  Then the kids would spend all day long in the truck with me. 

Back and forth to the beet dump.  Once at the dump, our trucks would often be one of many in a long wait line, as the process to dump was rather slow and truck line would get long.  Us farm wives would jump out of the trucks and congregate along the line, chat, share stories, and describe the yelling antics of our husbands.  Even then we said we should drive for someone other than our own husbands! 

The kids for the most part seemed to enjoy riding in the truck.  Sometimes they would ride in the tractor with Tim.  Usually they would nap in the truck.  Once in school, they would come out and ride for a couple hours after school and on weekends.  Sometimes, they would just go to Grandmas.  In the earlier years of my truck driving, I think we actually stopped for lunch and went to Grandma’s house where she had dinner on the table.  A quick lunch break and then back to the truck till 6:00 p.m. when the dumps closed down.  Sometimes we would load one more time and park the load overnight, ready to go to the dump first thing in the morning.

Anyway, just talking about those days with friends brought back memories that had long been buried.  The farm and family scene has changed dramatically since my harvest days experience.  Farming is no longer a “way of life”, but rather a “business” today.  Beet harvest continues today, but like everything else, it has all changed through the years.

Beet harvest was certainly an eventful experience.  I’m glad I had the opportunity to be part of it for a period of time.    

The Event ~ Listing

For Christmas 2011, my grandchildren worked creatively to personalize for me and Grandpa "Our Book of Lists".  Obviously, it was more "MY Book of Lists", but some of the lists apply to both of us.

The first page was titled "Places You've Lived. . ."

A little pink house in Terry, MT where I grew up

A big white house in Terry, MT where we moved to when I was maybe in 8th grade.

The girls dorm at NCB in Rapid City, SD June 1968-Dec 1969 when I went to college.

An apartment on Sherman St in Denver, CO while working as a legal secretary Jan 1970 - Nov 1970

A two-story house two miles east of Bayard when Tim and I got married Dec 1970 - Spring 1974.

A tiny white bungalow house 1 mile west of Bayard on a farm we boughtt 1974 - 1977.

A big beautiful green house we built on the corner hill on the same farm 1 mile west of Bayard 1977 - Oct 1986.

A blue and grey house on 1906 Ave K in Scottsbluff after we left the farm Oct 1986 - Dec 1989.

An old farm house 2 miles north west of Scottsbluff that we fixed up and we still call home today.  Jan 1, 1990 - present day.   

Page 2:  "Favorite Toys as a Child. . ."

A beautiful bride doll named Roberta.  My Aunt Bertha and cousin Evelyn made her lots of clothes when I took her out to their farm with me and spent a week or two with them.  I gave the doll and all her clothes to a toy collection drive that my FHA chapter was having when I was maybe a sophmore or junior in high school.  I wish I had pictures, because I can still vividly picture her and her beautiful clothes.  My granddaughters would have enjoyed Roberta.

A soft rubbery fat baby doll with curly blonde hair.

Coloring books.  I loved to color as a child, and I was very good at coloring!

A spirograph which I remember doodling with alot.

A metal doll house with lots of plastic furniture.  An heirloom and antique today if I still had it.

A metal dish set used for playing house with my dolls with my red/white table & chair set.

A small suitcase style record player that played lots and lots of records on in my bedroom.

These are the first things that come to mind when I think of the toys I played with as a child. 

I also played alot of pasture softball and hide and seek with all the neighborhood kids.

Page 3:  "American Cities You've Visited. . ."

As I think of them in no particular order. . .

Sacramento, San Francisco, New Orleans, Orlando, Cleveland, Chicago, Mionneapolis, Elkhart, San Antonio, Billings, Cheyenne, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Albuquerque,  Santa Fe, Ft. Worth,  New York, Virginia Beach, Corpus Christi, Miami Beach, Nashville, Daytona Beach, Bismark, Bozeman, Boise, Lincoln, Great Falls, Las Vegas, San Luis Obispo, Skagway, Juneau, Salt Lake City, Boston, Bismark, Scottsdale, Cincinnati, Bartlesville, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Bennington & Burlington VT, little towns in New Hampshire, and many other small cities. . .

Page 4:  "Best Gifts You've  Ever Received. . ."

Pearl ring, engagement ring, 11 long stemmed yellow roses, diamond bracelet, (all from my soul mate!), pink easter dress and white gloves from my Dad, sewing machine for high school graduation,  cards from my kids with personal and thoughtful hand written notes (I still have them all!), a red/white drum majorette form Janel  and a lady pin cushion from  Alexis when they went Christmas shopping  at Western Auto when they were little (I still have both and still use the pin cushion!), surprise fix it projects from Cash in our absence, such as flower beds and painted basement floors.  These are the first things that come to mind, although there are many more that will come to mind from time to time.

Page 5:  "Best Purchases. . . "

An old round oak table and four oak school chairs purchased from a "junk lady" near Bridgeport in 1978.  The table had been used as a shop work table.  I sanded and stained it all and continue to use the set today.  It's the table my family was raised around.  Alot of memories have been made at that table.

Page  6:  "Favorite TV Shows. . ."

Then:  Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, The Waltons, Dallas

Now:  Celebrity Apprentice, The Firm,  Boston Legal,  House Hunters, Design Star, Food Network.

Page 7:  "People From History You'd like to have a Conversation With. . ."

Mary, mother of Jesus,  Martha Washington, wife of President George Washington, My Dad, Noah's family, my grandparents

Page 9 "Things People Should Remember you For. . ."  The cabbage burgers I would cart around the country;  my contentment and calmness;  my conservativeness (some may call it being cheap) and trying to teach my kids financial finess.  I wonder what others would answer on this one!

Page 16:  "Things You'd like to do Before You Die. . ."

Visit Norway,  take a (fun) family destination vacation with all my kids and grandkids,  attend high school and college graduations of all my grandchildren, be a Great grandmother & hold my great-grandchildren, go to culinary school and learn to cook (ha-ha!),  skip the school and just learn to enjoy cooking,  

Page 19:  "Bad Things You Did as a Kid. . ."

I was always a good kid, except when I. . . blew my snotty nose into my nanny's flannel nightgown; stole a pop from my Dad's pop machine in his shop;  waxed my mom's linoleum living room floor with oily dusting polish making it so slick and shiny it was dangerous;  fought all the time with my oldest brother;  knocked my youngest brother against the wall and thought I killed him; 

Page 29:  "Favorite Smells. . ."

Lilacs in full bloom,  fresh baked bread and cinnamin rolls, wood burning in the fireplace, fresh cut hay.

So this is a sampling from "Our Book of Lists".  This requires alot of thought. . .