Remembering the Olden Days

Today is my birthday.  Usually I wouldn't announce it, but someone sent me a timely reminder of what life was like when I was growing up.   It's an email that's been around a few times, and I'm sure everyone has seen it, but for someone like me who is the first round Baby Boomer generation after WW  II, it was nostalgic to read again.  And it's so true.  Yes, times have changed, people have changed, the nature of the world has changed and that is reality in action.  Everything changes.   Except one thing:   I love my family and friends, and am grateful to be alive.   Happy Birthday to me.  Another year older.   I don't want to go back and live it all over again.

No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us,

 WE ARE AWESOME !!!!

OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF !!!!

To Those of  Us  Born 

1930 - 1979   

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE

     1930's, 40's, 50's,

   60's and 70's!! 

 

  First, we survived being born to mothers who 
   took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, 

tuna from a can

And didn't get tested for diabetes 

while they were pregnant.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our

Tummies in baby cribs covered  with bright colored lead-based paints.
(Marie's note:  Maybe this explains something.)

   

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and 

when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps

Not helmets on our heads.

   

As infants and children, we would ride in cars 

with no car seats, 

no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

 

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck 

on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose 

and not from a bottle. 

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

 
  We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight..   WHY? 

Because we were always outside playing......

that's why! 

We would leave home in the morning

and play all day,

As long as we were back 
when the streetlights came on...

No one was able to reach us all day. 

And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts 

out of scraps

And then ride them down the hill,   

only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. 

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's,

No surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms, no facebook or twitter.

 

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!  

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. 
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, 
and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games

With sticks and tennis balls and,

although we were told  it would happen, 

we did not put out very many eyes..

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house 

and knocked on the door or rang the bell, 

or just walked in and talked to them.  Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.

Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine That.  

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!  

These generations have produced some of the best risk takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

 We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all..

  

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
 

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to

Grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated

So much of our lives for our own good.

  

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know

How brave and lucky their parents were.

  

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARAH DEAR!

Here's to a very happy, merry birthday to Sarah, the best mother east of Rock Springs, Wyoming. She's the most wonderful wife to Jonathon, and daughter-in-law to us, that anyone could dream up. We can't possibly think of enough superlative words to describe her, and even if we could use up all those words, you wouldn't understand how we really feel about her. I thank my lucky stars and every other Source of Good in the universe for Sarah showing up in our lives. We are richly blessed by our association with her, and we thank Jonathon for having the good sense to snap her up when she came along. We love you Sarah! And may you have many, many more happy birthdays.

Family Traditions

We were eating Sunday dinner early today, and I had a moment of nostalgia from the days when church times were split, and we had Sunday School in the morning and Sacrament meeting at night. Since the family was all home in the afternoons, that is when we had our big meal; usually roast, potatoes, and something else I wouldn't eat (I was the picky eater of the world until my children and grandchildren were born...must be genetic).
Well, here is the tradition that brought the attack of nostalgia to me: Sunday evening, after church, we always had grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, and then! TA DA popcorn to eat while watching the Sunday night movie, brought to you by Kennecott Copper. (Big Dramatic Music).
Now you know what my comfort food is. And it only takes a gentle nudge to bring on the nostalgia if I think of grilled cheese. It takes so little to make one happy, doesn't it?
Love to all.

A Fall Trip to Boulder

We squeaked in a last fall journey to Escalante last week, just before the winter weather arrived.
Here is a preview on the road from Torrey to Boulder, which has so many micro-climates, we didn't know what kind of weather awaited around the bend. On one side of the summit it was snowing, and a half mile the other side, it was dry and sunny.
We stayed at Boulder Mountain Lodge, a lovely resort on the Burr Trail, and here is the morning sunrise outside our window.


This is the building our room was in, and you see the dog run to the lower left. Yes, we took the dog, because they had "dog-friendly rooms", and at only $15.00 per day extra, it was still cheaper than putting Champ in doggy-daycare.

Our favorite hike was along (and through) the Escalante River, where we viewed a Natural Bridge, an arch and Anasazi ruins, complete with petroglyphs. We were prepared with our neoprene socks and mesh hiking shoes to keep our feet, well, un-sandy from the river bottom.


Here is a view from the petroglyph site, looking down on the Escalante River. The cottonwoods were spectacular, neon-gold, backlit, breathtaking.






We took the slow way home, through Kodachrome Basin, and hiked the Panorama Loop trail.
Here is the view from our lunchtime stop at the wonderful little campground.

We're sure this is the prototype for the gnome in the French movie, Amelie. (no, not John.)
The funniest part was when we got home very late, put the dog to bed, and the next morning, he went outside, ran back in the house, climbed the stairs and put himself back in his cage and wouldn't come out for several hours. I guess he'd had enough of hiking in the cactus. Eight mile hikes each day pretty much did me in, too, and I was envious that the dog could go back to bed.
love to all. xo

Edited post Chocolate Fudge Zucchini Cake (zucchini optional)

After eating all of Jonathon's birthday cake without sharing, I have the guilts, so I thought I'd post the recipe (from scratch, of course). Even without frosting, it resembles German Chocolate Cake, because of the coconut. Don't be tempted to leave out the nuts, unless an allergy is involved. Let me know if you make it, and how you like it.

Cake: Preheat oven to 350, grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan

1 c. butter, melt on low with 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder.
Beat 2 large (or 3 small) eggs with 2 c. sugar, 1 c. buttermilk, 2 TB. vanilla extract.
Add 2c. flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt +/-, and 1 c. shredded coconut.
Add the butter/cocoa mix, 1 to 1 1/2 c. shredded zucchini, and 1 c. nuts, chopped.
Blend well. (My batter was quite thick. You could add 1/4 c. water if your zucchini is dry.)
Pour into bundt pan and bake for 40-45 min. Let cool and remove from pan.

Note: Since the batter was quite dense, it took a bit longer to cook at my high altitude. Also, it raised to the top of the Bundt pan, so make sure you grease and flour all the way to the top. Be sure to let it cool a bit before taking from pan. I didn't, and some of it broke away and stuck to the top of the pan. John loved eating that part before dinner.

Since we don't do frosting here, we ate it without. For those who want frosting, here is the recipe:
Melt 1/2 c. butter in saucepan, low. Whisk in 1/4 c. whole milk, 1/2 c. specialty dark cocoa powder, and 2 c. confectioner's sugar. Whisk until glossy. Add 1 TBSP. vanilla extract, pinch salt, and 1 c. shredded coconut. Pour glaze over cake after it's removed from bundt pan. Could serve with ice cream or real whipping cream. Enjoy!!
(p.s.) For those of you who don't know, Jonathon is in Tennessee, and I'm not, which is why I didn't share.)
I've just had a note from my friend, Mary, who sent a hilarious note about her experience. She took it out of the oven, waited 15 minutes, tried to remove it from the pan, and it fell apart all over her and the kitchen. It wasn't done. So she loaded it all back into the pan, put it in the oven, and finished it. They ate it with ice cream on top, and her guests never knew the difference. Suggestion: Let's try this in a rectangular baking dish....just to be safe....or cook it longer in the bundt pan...well greased. xoxox

Out of hibernation for a day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JONATHON, my first-born son, my favorite son.

I hope your day brings you sunshine, fresh air, health, happiness, success, prosperity, wishes, hopes, dreams, and many, many hugs and kisses from your wonderful family. I made you a chocolate zucchini cake and it was delicious. Thanks for sharing it with us.
....."And many more....."

On Hiatus, Sabbatical, or Summer Vacation

Wishing you all a nice break from this blog. If you are a regular subscriber, you might want to delete this from your feed, since it will be pretty boring with nothing new showing up. Why, you might ask? No reason, except for lack of motivation and inspiration.
Love to all.
M.