The older I get, the more I ramble.

I used to love to sit at my grandparents' knees as a child and listen to them talk about the days of yore. Now I find myself looking for a captive audience so I can do the same! Not sure if the kids today enjoy my ramblings as much as I used to enjoy my grandparents, but I hope to leave them some kinda of legacy! I may be remembered as that crazy old lady that told "those tales of yore." But I will be remembered.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Motivation?

I've really been slack about blogging lately. Partly lack of motivation, partly lack of time and energy, mostly just too much going on in my life to think about it. Been through the wringer lately health-wise, won't bore you with the details, but I'm well on the road to recovery now and feeling better than I have in years.

I'm in Ohio for awhile visiting family. My youngest grandson is about to turn 7 years old and he was insistent that I be here for his party. How could I say no? When he was born, I moved there to help my daughter out. I was his only babysitter till almost 2 years ago when I moved back to South Carolina. He and his older sister have brought such joy to my life, and their momma, too, of course. I love my children and my grandchildren.

When I started this blog, I intended to blog daily, putting down my memories for posterity. I just need to get back into the habit, I guess, cause if my grandkids aren't enough motivation, what is?

Sunday, January 23, 2011

We Thought We Were Stylin'

My 13-year-old great-granddaughter was telling of this really weird thing she had seen at her friend's grandmother's house. She was shocked at the concept of how it worked and asked, "Wouldn't that mess up your hair really bad?" She was describing the first hairdryer I (well, my family) ever had. The one with the plastic bonnet and the hose running from the bonnet to a little box with a motor which blew warm air up into the bonnet and there were holes in it to let the steam out and it dried your hair. It was so much more convenient than having to get down on your hands and knees and dry your hair over the furnace registers. I loved those old registers, though. In the morning eating breakfast hunkered over a register with a blanket wrapped around me to hold all the heat in. Course, when we had the coal furnace, you could get burned on the register. I'd straddle it sometimes if it weren't too hot, but sometimes I couldn't get my feet close enough to the edges without doing a split and burning something besides the bottoms of my feet. And I wonder why they called me Calamity Jane?
 One time I had just got a new coat for Christmas and we went over to my aunt's house. They had a gas "space heater" type thing. Freestanding, kinda out away from the wall. I was cold, so I stood there with my back to the heater and I guess I was too close because I scorched my new coat. But I have a very clever mom. She cut off the bottom part of the coat (it had been knee-length) and hemmed it and created what later became known as a "car coat," basically a jacket, I reckon. I was so proud of her for being able to salvage my new coat that I had messed up so badly.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

2 Things I Despise - Winter Weather & Getting Older

Compared to where I grew up, it's really not cold outside today (in the 50's). However, I FEEL cold! So I put on my winter coat, walked across the yard to my son's for dinner and some tv, came home, and couldn't get my coat unzipped. That thing wouldn't go up any further and it wouldn't go down any at all; it just wouldn't budge! I had to call my son to come down and unzip my coat for me. So NOW i feel OLD. Old and cold, two things I really never wanted to be. I'm forever having to take jars up to the house to have someone open them for me. I just don't have the strength in my hands that I used to have. On a brighter note -- my 11-year-old granddaughter won the Spelling Bee at her school. Now she gets to go to the County Bee sometime next month. I'm so proud of her and excited for her! My precious little Abbydoodle.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

I only missed two!

This is a test for us 'old kids'! The answers are printed below, but don't cheat.

 
01. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, the grateful citizens would ask, 'Who was that masked man?' Invariably, someone would answer, 'I don't know, but he left this behind.' What did he leave  behind?________________.

 
 02. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. in early 1964, we all watched themonThe_______________ Show..
 
> 03. 'Get
> your kicks, __________________.'

 04. 'The  story you are about to see is true. The names  have been changed to
 ___________________.'

 
 05. 'In the jungle, the mighty jungle,
 ________________.'

 
 06. After the Twist, The Mashed Potato, and the Watusi, we 'danced' under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance  called  the'_____________.'

 07. 'Nestle's makes the very best_______________.

 
 08.Satchmo was America's
'Ambassador of Goodwill.' Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was
 _________________.

 
 09. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking?
 _______________.

 
 10 . Red Skeleton's hobo character was named
 __________________ and Red always ended his television show by saying, 'Good Night, and
 '________ ________.
 
 
 11. Some Americans who protested the Vietnam
War did so by burning
 their______________.

 
 12. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the trunk in the front was called the VW. What other names did it go by? ____________
 &_______________.

 
 13. In 1971, singer Don MacLean sang a song about, 'the day the music died.' This was a tribute to ___________________.

 
 14. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit. The Russians did it. It was called ___________________.

 
 15. One of the big fads of the late 50's and 60's was a large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist. It was called ______________.

 
 
 ANSWERS :
 01.. The Lone Ranger left behind a silver  bullet.
 02. The Ed Sullivan Show
 03. On  Route 66
 04.To protect the innocent.
 05.The Lion Sleeps Tonight
 06. The limbo
 07. Chocolate
 08. Louis Armstrong
 09. The Timex watch
 10. Freddy, The Freeloader and'Good Night and God Bless.
 11. Draft cards (Bras were also burned.
Not flags,as some have guessed)
 12. Beetle or  Bug
 13. Buddy Holly
 14. Sputnik
 15. Hoola-hoop

I think I need a Temp to come in to help File.

My word! My daughter, bless her heart, and a friend of ours, Laurie walked me slowly and as patiently as possible through the whole process of entering for a blog party on Monday evening. It seems very complicated and I have to ask a lot of questions and make a few mistakes, but after about 5 hours of intensive coaching, she finally pronounced me ready for the party, then told me I could come back and make like 30 comments for that many more entries into contest. Seems like a lot of work just to go to a party where I ain't won nothing yet. Course, my daughter has won several things, but I guess she has a faster system than the one she showed me . That's some complicated stuff. I'm sure she showed me the least complicated one, but it surely wasn't very "least." So glad I have friends and family who care enuff about me to spend a little of their precious time helping me learn new things. I'm really enjoying it except for the fear of being too dense and making my teachers mad at me, but they reassure me from time to time, so I'm encouraged.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Losing Things - Maybe My Mind???

I don't know what it is lately. It seems I have a ferret or something hiding in my house and stealing things. I can never seem to find anything any more. From a half bottle of medicine to my brand new watch to my keys. It just seems that once I lay something down, it goes away. I can sit here at my computer and not move except to go to the bathroom, and something's gone. I even lose my wireless mouse half the time. How many times should I have to ask someone help me tear my place apart looking for things that seem to have just "walked off"??? Yesterday I really about panicked when I started to refill my weekly pillbox and my bag of prescription meds weren't where they always are. I eventually found them, but they were nowhere near where I usually keep them, and I don't remember putting them there! Oh, yeah, and I live alone, so who else coulda done it? Sometimes I just feel like it's ME that's lost and the "things" are just somewhere else lol.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Did I forget to mention mass confusion?

Well, I thought I'd pretty well figured out what I was doing here. I keep forgetting that I don't get paid to think! I tried to change my background this morning, and everything disappeared. No posts, no followers, no background, nothing. I gave up. Went out to eat. Came home, attended a Twitter party, then came back to see if I could figure out a way to fix it. When I went to the URL (hee hee imagine ME with a URL) the blog was here, with the same old background, the same old posts, the same young followers. I figured out how to change the background, found a really nice one just seemed suited for "Nona's Ramblings" .. then went to my granddaughter's blog and realized I had chosen the very same one she had. So, I changed back to the original background and now I'm really rambling.

I blame it on my friend, Betty. She got me started last night. Asked me what year I was born and I told her. She hemmed and hawed around and finally said something like, "I'm only 20. I've always been interested in history and stuff. What do YOU remember that your grandkids are probably reading about in their history books?"

Poor child. She didn't know what she was asking for. I rambled on till 6:00am remembering everything from the JFK assassination to the Apollo 11 moon landing, to segregation/desegregation, to pre-color TV. Bet she doesn't ask me any more questions for awhile lol. But she did follow my blog, so I guess it wasn't too boring for her.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Old brain + New technology = Just What Ya See

My daughter has been guiding me through the process of learning such things as blogs, tweets, fb, contests, etc. I'm a slow learner, I reckon. But I think I've finally grasped a bit of the concept of tweeting and I think I like it. But sometimes my incoming tweets come to my phone and sometimes they come to my computer ... even when I'm ON the computer. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I really don't think I want them to come to my phone because I haven't quite mastered the art of surfing the web on my phone yet. Don't laugh, I told ya I was a slow learner! Funny thing is, I used to be considered somewhat of a "computer whiz" but that's been a few years ago. Technology has way passed me somehow. My granddaughter created an awesome blog of her own. It is way more professional-looking than mine.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

I hate WINTER!

I moved back to South Carolina because I hated the cold and ice and snow in Ohio. This year, Mother Nature has fooled me. We have got 2 good snowfalls so far this year. Not sure if she's trying to tell me I shoulda stayed in Ohio, or if she's telling me to go further South! The kids around here are enjoying the "snow days" off school, and making their snowmen, etc. I'm just holed up in my little trailer with plenty of heat and extra blankets and hoping the power doesn't go out from the ice on the trees and power lines.Even Myrtle Beach had sleet and ice yesterday. In Florence, we got 3-4 inches of snow followed by sleet and ice. 10-15 miles away in Darlington, my youngest boy got 9 inches of snow followed by sleet and ice. I just can't believe that mess followed me so far South!!!!! I don't like it one bit. I wish it would all just go away!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Wow ...

A week ago I didn't even know what a Blog was. Today I have my own. My daughter #dreamfog has been trying to coach me from 600 miles away. Bless her heart, she has her work cut out for her, just keeping me up-to-date on the world somehow lol.