Castles in Spain

My paternal great grandmother, Sarah Ward Pringle, made this quilt for her son, Arnold (Jack) Pringle. Sorry that is shown on its side. Tilt thy head to the left for full effect. You can see that it is a scrappy quilt. They used what they had to finish a block even if it didn't "match."

This was made in the early 1900's. Arnold was the last of  her seven children. I was told he was a victim of polio that affected his ability to speak. He was a gentle soul and lived with  his older sister Eliza and Fred Hampton until his death at age 64.

Monday

It must be Monday but this is one, dark day. (the photo has nothing to do with the day - just trying to restore peace of mind.)

Have breakfast, read the paper, turn on the computer.

Everything is changed and gone. Gone are all the favorites.

Gone are all the photos and Picasa.

My pass word is required everywhere I try to enter where before it was just a  click and I was there.

Thank goodness for remote control  logmein.....although the indication was that it was no longer available either. Thank goodness that was a lie.

Portland, we salute you for bringing back whatever was lost.

I asked, "What do people do who are dumber than I am." 

Answer:  "Use a Mac."

Ready for October

Smith Market's pumpkins during a past fall season. I do not remember pumpkins with bumps when I was a kid. Maybe they didn't try to sell them then, thinking that was a flaw.
Now they seem almost desirable.

1954

Emporia, KS. We were both taller then. I have shrunk....don't know about J.R.
Metal belts must have been "in."

Chips

I haven't tried Lay's Cheddar Bacon Mac n Cheese, Lay's Wavy Mango Salsa or Lay's Kettle Cooked
Wasabi Ginger but the Cappuccino Lay's is very interesting.

Is This Legal in Kansas?

I hope so. Proud of TAN!

There's a Squirrel in the Tree

Jill sees it. Jack couldn't be bothered. But if the rodent starts moving or chattering, there will be barking from both little dears - sometimes at odd hours of the night. Sorry, neighbors. We hurry to get them back inside! I am glad we aren't the only owners of dogs in the neighborhood. We hear lots of barking, night and day.

And then there is the person who shoots fireworks at some point close to our house! It's sort of illegal except for a few days in July. Minor, I know but irritating.  Mostly it is quiet around here.

The House from Yesterday's Blog in 1946

This is where we lived for only three and a half years - 1944-47. That's my bicycle in front of the bushes. A beautiful curved staircase that my friend said I could walk down to get married; sliding pocket doors from the parlor to the dining room. Those came in  handy when my grandparents came to live with us and that was used as their bedroom. Four bedrooms, all upstairs. Mine had a stairway from the closet to the floored attic. A bathroom with entrances from the hall and two bedrooms so that you needed to be quick to get all those doors closed. A back stairway down to a half bath on the main floor. Crank out windows in the bedrooms. A walk-out door way from the master bedroom on the front to a small porch with railing. A very primitive kitchen with lots of cabinets but a very old sink; a foyer with cut glass windows that made prisms with rainbows when the sun was rising.
Maybe you can tell that I loved that house. I was so disappointed when my dad sold it. He bought it for $4000 in 1944 and sold it for $8000. The buyer brought cash (!) and my dad said, "Let's go to the bank." I think he wanted witnesses to where he had gotten all that money.

An Old House Being Restored

I heard from a Facebook comment that the house I used to live in as a teen is being worked on.
We drove by and they have cleared the trees away and two men are on the roof. I am so glad this fine old house on West 12th Ave. is going to stay around! The porch columns were collapsing and the roof was in terrible shape. It was built by a family who have a school named after them - McCandless. We lived there from 1944 - 1947. Mrs. McCandless told me that when the house was built there was nothing north of it but wheat fields. After looking for the name McCandless on the internet, (www.duckduckgo.com) I have found two persons by that name who settled here around 1872 when the town was established. I'm not sure when the house was built.
Wish I had asked her!

Chinese Pepper Steak

I don't know why this has the word Chinese in the title of this recipe. It is so old that my Royal Portable had a brown ribbon. Why?

Anyway, it is very tasty served over mashed taters instead of rice - especially if they are Bob Evans farm fresh goodness original.

Wisdom for Today

I may be dull and I do not have an immaculate home, but the dogs seem to like it here.

Mr. Manilow

Taken at a concert in the late '70's.

Breakfast

This is a LARGE breakfast that was served in Portland in 1998. (Throw Back Thursday)
This morning we made an unusual trip to eat breakfast 'out' here in Hutch.

Didn't someone say, "There's no accounting for taste?"
I order my French Toast with no powdered sugar and the waitress asks, "Syrup?"  No thanks. Why would anyone put sugar or syrup on something that is dipped in egg and fried?  That's just the way I was raised and our kids still tease me about it.
But this morning I saw something that might be a little bizarre, even to the sugar on French Toast lovers.  An order of biscuits and gravy arrived at the next table. The woman reached for the sugar pourer and proceeded to cover her plate of delicious biscuits and sausage gravy with sugar.

I think someone else said, "Well, it takes all kinds."

Middle School 7

This used to be Sherman Junior High's location. This was a very good idea in our small town - to bring together all the students in town into one location for grades seven and eight.
Middle School 8 is where Liberty Junior High used to be. Now all the members of Hutchinson High have been together for two years before they reach their freshman year.
No more regional inferiority or superiority because of where you went to "junior high."

I also wonder what is inside that circular part of the building....

Purify Our Air

I bought this tile because I thought he was adorable. And I liked his message too.

Wedding Photo

Recall all those wonderful wedding pictures people  have - taken by professional photographers and presented in an album?  This is ours. Bless Barb, Darline and Carlene for being outside the manse with a film camera that they forgot to advance in their excitement of seeing the first one of the gang to get married. 1952. Mom's in the front seat of the Hudson. Dad too, but he didn't make it into the frame.

Grandpa and PN

A week late for Grandparents Day but better late than no post at all.

Ron's Quilt

When one of our co-workers at SWB, Ron, was injured in an explosion, the rest of us made blocks to put into a quilt. Any design, embroidery, fabric paint - whatever one wanted to use. As I remember, it was like pulling teeth to get them all collected by a certain date. Charlene and Barb were our leaders and they managed to get them sewn together and quilted.Ron was surprised and pleased.
To be the only male operator in a room full of "number please" women was quite a challenge. Although by this time, we didn't say that old phrase. We used our first names (!) but can't remember if we added, "May I help you?" In the early '80's mobile phones were just becoming popular and the quality of sound on some of them was very bad. I did not like those calls because they were handled differently and who likes different? 
I made some friends there and that lasted until the strike. The office closed locally in 1986 and all people and equipment transferred to Wichita, Kansas City or Oklahoma.

And now we are all our own operators.

Bee on the Moonflower

It was cloudy and cool today (58 degrees.) The Moonflowers seemed to remain open during the day so I went out to get some photos. I also found a single bee who stayed close to this blossom for quite a while, finally crawling inside and resting at the base.

I wonder what is eating the leaves! 

Early Driver

This is the first photo I entered into a contest. It was in The Hutchinson News. We had it cropped to cut out the clutter in the background and won first prize one week!  $10.00.  It wasn't posed and MN was just riding the car at Clowntown. I think he was about two and a half here.

Masking out the viruses

Prepared.

Another Old Car

This tag has what looks like SAL 23 reading vertically between the numbers.
That's my mom and Aunt Connie on the back.

Photographs

Still sorting photos of parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, kids, grandkids, kids of friends, vacation spots, quilts.

If we had never owned a camera, we might be richer today.

Yesterday Annie's Mail Bag had a letter from a woman with twenty-four boxes of old photographs from her parents. Many were from generations ago with no name or date on the back. One family member wanted to keep them but did not have room to store the boxes. Some relatives thought they should be thrown away. Suggestions?  Rent a storage unit and split the cost. Give the unknowns to a museum to see if they have any historical value. Scan them to a computer to share with all relatives.
And the last piece of advice: "People, write names and dates on the back of your photos. Your descendants will thank  you."  (Same applies to quilts - a label, please!)

1965 Buick Station Wagon and three cousins

It must have been a cold day in 1968.  The two MLNs look about nine....and PN about 7.

Photo in oils

This is a photo made to look like a painting. It is of my second cousins,  Wayne and Marcheta.
He fought in WWII in the Battle of the Bulge at age 19, came home and became a professor of philosophy. She was like the sister I never had and was a mother of seven, an activist and a liberal fighter for rights for everybody. I miss them both.

Grandma Wright and grandkids

Two of the grandsons were cut out of the picture on the left. There were actually seven grandchildren and two great grandsons. Someone thought they were getting us all in but the old box camera should have been turned on its side. I am Miss Saddle Shoes.

Farm Scene

Another photo with people who are not known to me. I love the three horses lined up in the back ground. What can the large wheeled conveyance be? It's amazing how the women in these old pictures resemble each other.

Wright-Brown Wedding

My mom and dad, May 11, 1928.

Aunt Connie

This is the future wife of Art in the photo yesterday,

Connie Amos. I love what she did with her pompoms, scarf, hair?  1920's  Halstead, KS. She was a dear friend of my mom. In those days many of us were taught to call these friends "Aunt." So she was Aunt Connie to me. She was so kind and a fun person to visit.

Drugstore Cowboys?

Art Carter and a shorter friend...Halstead KS in the 1920's.