Thoughts and Quotes: Freedom is not free. Ronald Reagan
Memorial Day is a time to remember those who paid the ultimate price so that we can enjoy the freedom which we are inclined at times to take for granted. It's also a time to pray that our freedom will continue forever, and that by our example the rest of the world will see the value of freedom and make it their goal.
Nothing stirs my patriotic soul like music. Click HERE. Don't log out at the end of the song. There's more.
You can check out the history of Memorial day HERE. Sorry about the ads.
Memorial Day has become a time to remember not only our servicemen, but all who have gone before us by decorating their graves. I did my circle and clocked it at 92 miles. I live south of Springfield, and my relatives are in three cemeteries which are east, north, and west of Springfield.
My mother died from cancer in 1972, and for a long time she was all alone at the back of a small rural cemetery. She'd be happy to know that she's now in the high rent district. That's her little headstone in the turquoise circle.
All my grandparents are in the cemetery north of Springfield. The paternal set (Grandma and Grandpa) in one place and the maternal set (Granny and Pow) in a totally different area. It's a really big cemetery. Hang with me - this is rather long.
When I moved back to Missouri, I discovered that my father didn't buy headstones for his parents. I don't know if they know what's going on down here, but I knew that if they do, my grandmother would want a headstone. So I ordered stones for both of them. How else would I know where to put the flowers?
When my grandparents lived down on Bull Creek, there was a flagstone walk leading from the driveway to the front door. It was bordered on both sides by lots and lots of daffodils. My grandmother loved those daffodils.
When I was preparing the vases, I was trying to decide what my Grandma would like. I settled on yellow flowers, remembering how she loved the daffodils. And I was thinking that I should have purchased the flowers in the spring when daffodils were available.
I finished the paternals and drove over to do the maternals. As I was walking back to my car, I was wondering to myself whether they knew that I had decorated their graves, and if they knew about the headstones, and if so, did they really care? I looked down and saw this. Yes, it's a daffodil. Not real, of course, but a silk one which blew there from someone's grave. A sign? I like to think so.
And another interesting tidbit. Granny's name is Margaret Russell and her husband (my step grandfather) is James Russell, but for some reason, everyone called him Bert. I never remembered his real name because we called him Pow (my older cousin's name for him when she was trying to say Grandpa). I did remember that he died in 1950, because it was the first death in our family that I experienced.
As I was searching for the grave (always difficult because of the size of this cemetery and also because in those days, most headstones were small and flush with the ground), I found this.
My first thought was that I didn't remember that Granny's death date had never been engraved, and I would see to that immediately. I saw that Wilbur (could have been called Burt) died in 1950. Then I thought, "Wait a minute - Margaret was born in 1924? How could that be? My mother was born in 1914 - ten years before her mother". Then I realized that Margaret is possibly still alive - wrong Margaret.
A little further, but in the SAME row in this huge cemetery, I found their grave. James (Bert), who died in 1950, and Margaret Russell. What are the chances?
My third cemetery is in rural Halltown, west of Springfield. Six headstones here and cars blocking the drive where I usually park. Because I approached from a different direction, I was totally confused. I swore someone moved their graves closer to the drive.
And I even physically buried the ashes in two of these graves. In some of our rural cemeteries, it's legal to bury ashes of loved ones yourself if you follow the guidelines. Missouri is more rocks than dirt, and I didn't want to dig a hole two feet deep. I obtained the name of someone who would do it for a fee. He'd get there early, remove a piece of sod, put the rocks and dirt on a piece of plywood, and wait discreetly in his pickup until I finished and left. Then he'd replace the dirt and piece of sod. Well - good thing he was the one digging the hole. I'd have dug on the wrong side if the headstone into someone's grave. Why do they call them headstones when they're at the foot of the grave? Or are they really at the head, but placed so that you read them upside down?
I told myself that this would be the last year I'd do the graves, as I have lots of things to finish before I'm in my grave, and time is marching on. Now that daffodil has me thinking, so who knows about next year? We'll see.
Talented Friends: I'm surrounded by talented people, and I love it. I thought you might like to share.
Joey's Cherry and Lemon Pies she took to a fish fry.
Linda's cake creations (this one with husband Burt's log cakestand)
A bridal shower
Graduation - sorry I had to blur your faces, Guys.
Birthday cake for a guy whose last name is King; hence, the crown.
Handmade cards from Jean
And Jeanne
And Linda (from her photograph)
Cards by Katie (she's like a little Hallmark factory)
Bev's creative food
Martha's decorating
Mim's blog for widows
Click HERE
Carrie's jewelry creations
Becky's gardens
Lorraine's crafts
Peter's photography
Sarah's skill with wood
If I stick around long enough, maybe some will rub off on me.
Thank you: To Linda for these adorable ceramic placecards. They were handed down in her family, so an extra special and touching gift.
Tasting: In our family, we celebrate birthdays to honor those who have passed in a way which reminds us of the person - usually with food. My mother's birthday was this week, and I usually go out to eat ham, pinto beans, fried potatoes, and cornbread at Rosie Jo's. My mother usually made this on laundry day, and I loved it.
This year I was super busy, but I remembered Jeanne's soup which had pinto beans in it. I had some leftover tri-tip I needed to use, so I substituted it for the hamburger and no taco seasoning, so I used chili seasoning instead. No time to make cornbread, so I used corn tortilla chips. The substitutions in no way diminished my thoughts of my mother on her special day, and they also made a good soup. I prefer the original version, but if you have leftover roast, this is a good way to use it.
SANTE FE
SOUP
Jeanne Nixon
1 lb. ground beef
2 15 oz cans pinto beans
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 15 oz can corn
1 can Rotel
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg original Ranch
Dressing mix
1 cup chopped onion
1-1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
Brown ground beef with onion and drain grease.
Stir in water, salt, taco seasoning, and Ranch Dressing
seasoning.
Add all canned goods and do NOT drain them.
Simmer 30 minutes.
Better the second day.
Top with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and serve with
tortilla chips.
Note: Substitute
leftover cooked beef for ground beef, chili seasoning for taco seasoning, and
Cheddar cheese for Monterey Jack.
Things that Grow: My Red Storm Lilies are blooming beautifully out among my weeds.
The Pepper and Pals Report: No news is good news. No trips to the vet this week. I've washed and put away all the rugs and blankets from the screened in patio and cleaned the carriers. I'm sure the cold has passed by now. I still leave the screen ajar when it rains so the kitties can eat in the patio out of the wet, I really believe that BJ had a litter, because she's so hungry all the time and looks skinnier than two weeks ago, but so far we haven't found babies.
Stormy and Pepper said to tell you that they're being good while I'm working on my blog. Just hanging out in the guestroom.
Trying to Decide: The platform provider for my blog is called Blogger. They keep track of my audience and I can see how many people are looking at my blog at the time, for the day, or for the week. I can also tell from which country they originate. These are my pageviews for last week (they show the top ten).
I've been so busy with my book and my classes, I fear I've neglected the things viewers really want to see, and my numbers are suffering. I'm considering taking a break from blogging until I get caught up and can make things interesting again. I'll let you know.
HONOR OUR FALLEN SERVICE MEMBERS
HONOR YOUR LOVED ONES WHO HAVE PASSED
HUG THE ONES WHO ARE STILL WITH YOU
EVEN THE FURRY ONES
ENJOY THE SUNSHINE
PRAY FOR A SOLUTION FOR THE KOREANS SO THEY CAN HUG THEIR LOVED ONES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LINE ONCE AGAIN
THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE
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