TALKIN' TURKEY

I thought I'd start with my Personal History blurb this week:
PH - Louisiana
I know we were in Flagstaff, Arizona for a little bit after our time in El Paso, but I don't remember anything about it. I know my parents liked it there. But then we moved again for Dad's work to Louisiana.

Louisiana was a whole different story. Louisiana is the thing of legends in my family. My folks call it Lousy-Ana. Don't be offended if you're from and/or have fond memories of it. It's just, Louisiana is not for everyone. And it wasn't for us.

Where to start? We lived in a duplex with a short (like, two feet) fence behind it. Why? To keep out alligators. Seriously. There was some swampy land behind that fence and some interesting critters inhabited it. It harbored all kinds of things: one day my mother found a huge, fat caterpillar in the middle of the kitchen floor. It was big enough to be a pet! Needless to say, we kids didn't spend much time back behind the house.

Mom was pregnant with Meri (1973) at the time and was abjectly miserable. She couldn't handle the food at all. Not only was it overly spiced for her taste, it was just strange. She talks of ward dinners where the tables are covered with bread and they bring in huge pots full of steaming hot crawfish/crawdads. She said they looked like big red cockroaches. People would bite the heads off and suck the insides out. Mom stuck with bread.

The whole place creeped her out. Because the water table is so high, they don't bury their dead in the ground, but in above ground mausoleums. If they put them in the ground, it would only take one good rain storm for the caskets to pop right back up! It was the stuff of nightmares, even to my practical mother!

Then, there was the prevailing attitude about race there at the time. People would chastise my mother for letting me (5 years) play with the children of color. Kids don't know that stuff; they are taught that! I didn't care; I just wanted playmates.

Here's an amusing blurb from my dad's personal history about the racism existing there: Linda was pregnant with our fourth child when we went to Baton Rouge and was delivered during a snow storm, only one of two that year. When she mentioned she was pregnant one of the sisters in the Ward told her not to go to Women’s Hospital because they had no single rooms and she might be lodged in with an African American. Linda just laughed and said she did not want a single room, because she would be bored.

That's my mom. Laugh at 'em.  How ridiculous. And, yes, Meri was born in a snowstorm, on the heels of a heatwave. Shortly after that, my parents had had enough (the construction project had been a tough, crazy mess) and we headed to California for a short time before moving to our next home...Reno, Nevada.

An Instrument in His Hands
Last Sunday, I was concerned. A pregnant sister in our ward with a large family had her baby son in the hospital with RSV and her son with spinal bifida had a swollen foot. She was all-absorbed in getting them better, but Thanksgiving was approaching. Did they have food? Would they be able to have the time to fix it?

A few sisters offered a little help, but I needed to do more. Ken had mentioned that during one council meeting someone had offered to provide food for some needy families. I asked him: was this family one? Yes, and I needed to contact them. Well, I couldn't get through to them Sunday.

I had to pick up a few things from Walmart Monday. As I was there, talking with someone in the Branch, I saw the sister of the couple who had offered to provide. She was so eager and animated (she's a true genteel Southern belle and a darling to boot!) and just planned to get the stuff right then and take it to the family's home. I had even found out from the pregnant sister that her husband prefers ham and this sister was eager to get one of those, too!

Now, I didn't do much. Just coordinate. But let me tell you, the Belle's husband had said NOTHING to her about the food and nobody knew about the ham except I contacted the sister to ask. But the Lord puts everything into place. And when I checked, they'd received the food. I was thankful to be able to do my little part and the Lord spoke to me!

LIGHTS & ACTION
Monday night for FHE we went to the park to see the Festival of the Lights. There was a second reason to go - Analiese is in charge of planning a scavenger hunt for some of the closer wards' youth the middle of December and we were going to take pictures and get ideas.

Last year, Jonathan and I had driven through the park. This year, we walked (and walked and walked) all over the park. There was so much more to see!  Here's some of my favorites:

Reflections in the pond

The famous bridge with guard

I just loved the fact this one was off the ground

Cuz I like popcorn (note the sponsor sign)

Beautiful!

You can see this from the freeway. It is a different color every night

We really liked the 3-D effect on this one.

Park entrance

The local hospital sponsors this Nativity.

This made me laugh; it's by the snack stand and gift shop

I liked the snowflakes the best. It's hard to see, but they were blue & white and twinkled!

Ducks & geese are unphased by the light show

Breathtaking!

Ready, Set, COOK!
We got an invitation to have Thanksgiving with another family (One of my Ministering Sisters - MS). She's also pregnant, so I told her she was not to do everything. I had my own stuff planned for, anyway, so we divided our list in half and I planned my week accordingly.

Tuesday was Pie and Rolls Day. I made two dozen rolls, because the other family has five kids and what kid can resist rolls? I nearly messed them up by not putting in enough water at first. I risked it by adding the water later. They turned out all right...what a relief! That was eight cups of flour!

I made an apple pie in the afternoon. The other family is doing a pumpkin pie and a berry pie. I used my mother's recipe with the crumb topping. I forgot to cover the edges with foil, so they got a little overdone. But otherwise...scrumptious!

Wednesday was Sides Day. I made dressing (you do NOT call it stuffing in the South unless you shove it inside the bird) using a box mix (gasp) that I leveled up with my own onions, celery, butter and seasonings. It tasted nearly like if I used fresh bread. I also made a green bean casserole and my super-scrumptious, needs-no-gravy crockpot mashed potatoes. They all went into the fridge to be heated Thursday.

I had to be up by seven Thursday to get the potatoes warming in the crockpot; the dressing and beans went into the oven at ten. Then we packed up the food and some games and drove a short distance to our hosts' home.

It was definitely a feast! She had brined her turkey in apple cider and maple syrup; Ken and Jonathan really liked that. It was very moist and flavorful. She made homemade cream corn, which was a first for me and I liked it. There was also one of those jello pretzel salad that my kids went crazy for! Even Analiese, the anti-berry child ate it and had seconds.

Silly pic with the kids (and the Big Kid)

Sadly, Ken and Jonathan had to leave early (we had dinner at 11!) for work. That left me and Analiese to play games with the dad and kids whilst preggo mom took a nap. We had brought a couple of favorite kids games and taught them. Their three little girls couldn't get enough of me and my lap was always full...sometimes overflowing!

Lately, the mom admitted her kids missed having a grandparently influence. I thought, "Me? A grandparent? I'm a ways off from that!" But then, I do have friends my age who are grandparents and my kids certified that I was definitely "practicing" my future grandmother moves at the other house. One thing, though. My back and neck ached the next day from all the kiddie-tugs!

These two turkeys are supposed to give me grandkids?

Anticlimax

The rest of the week is boring. I cooked my turkey Friday (it was already defrosting when the invitation came), we ate leftovers. Ken was sick; Jonathan had to endure Black Friday - he came home in a BLACK MOOD. 

Analiese started putting up Christmas decorations Friday and Saturday. I'm just not ready for that step, I guess. But it'll be here before you know it.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHICKASHA

SNOW!
The week began with snow. It was never very thick or deep, but, at least on Monday, it was consistent and continual. By Tuesday it wasn't snowing, but it was just COLD. I'm talking 19 degrees plus a feisty wind...Brrrr! Analiese still wanted to go walking during these cold days, so I ended up wearing leggings under my skirt (yes, I walk around the park in a dress/skirt, it's after Seminary!). My legs and feet stayed very warm, but my nose and ears were chilled.

Analiese failing to act "chill" with the snow falling.

Lawn in front of the church across from the park

Our lawn.

To top of these low temps, our heater wasn't working. No matter how high we set the thermostat, it just wouldn't turn on! Tuesday morning, the house was 58 degrees inside. So our PM got a guy out to us late that morning to clean off the sensor. And then we had delicious heat!

By Saturday, the weather had gone up again and it was beautiful, somewhere in the mid-sixties. No coat day! Then the weather turned all around and Sunday morning was 29, never getting about 35 the whole day. Bipolar weather!

BOOKS COME ALIVE
Analiese participated in an activity for the local library this Friday. We've been going to meetings for the past month, planning, designing costumes, and figuring lines. It was a scavenger-hunt kind of thing, with people dressed up as different book characters sharing games and giving clues. At the end, guests would enter the local authors room to meet some of writers from Chickasha and surrounding areas. Analiese played the White Rabbit (of course) from Alice in Wonderland alongside another teen who was the Mad Hatter. They played very well off of each other and really had a good time.

Look at Count Olaf on the right. Her makeup and acting was terrific!

FRIENDS
In anticipation of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for friends. In particular, this week, I've had three friends reach out to me. I felt very blessed when I realized that I'd had so many people thinking of me. I think I really needed that.

One friend I had called about some Seminary business. She then asked me how I was doing and...it all came out. We ended up spending nearly an hour on the phone with her being so solicitous and trying to help. She not only promised her prayers, but said she'd check up on me in a couple of weeks to see how I was doing. She will, too.

The second friend is my ex-boss from the Altus library. She had gone to OKC for some training and stopped by to see me. I'd forgotten she was going to do that even though we'd texted about it the week prior. We just sat and talked and shared. She was the best friend I had made in Altus, and I really have missed her!

The third friend is a ward member in Altus, the one we call Angel Cousin. He called me Saturday and we talked for nearly an hour. Come to find out, he's been driving past our house there from time to time to see that it's being kept up! Our renter is moving out the end of this month, so we're needing a new one and he's trying to help us. What a blessing he is!

TIS THE SEASON
The Festival of Lights started Saturday evening. We didn't go; Ken is sick and I didn't want to face the crowds. But the whole city is ready. For this week's photo montage, I give you the hay bale art of Chickasha, Oklahoma. Try not to be too stereotypically amused by this.

The Walmart tree has been up since before Halloween!

Pardon the pole

Artists and sponsors

Analiese doesn't call this sculpture. I say it is because it's 3D.

Front and center on the main drag...Chickashan's are Christians!

PH - What little I remember from being little.

I remember moving around a lot. Dad was in construction and a site superintendent, so we moved as he worked on different sites. I even remember moving on a Saturday and I was supposed to have gone to a birthday party. My parents stopped at the party house so we could give the child a gift and we (me & Niles, I suppose) got party favors. I have little recollection of any of the places we lived in until we moved to Cerritos, California. I remember that place a little.

I know we lived in California first, then went to Texas. At one point, we lived in El Paso, close to the Mexican border. Dad was working on a job practically on the border at the time, several miles away - he had to fly home every other weekend -  from where we lived (now my sister Kym was on the scene). My mom recalls taking us to the doctor for a checkup one time; the doctor thought we were anemic. Mom said, no, we were just white (as in, really Anglo-Saxon polar bear white). The doctor apparently saw a lot of Hispanic patients and we looked pretty pale in comparison!

Then, there was this experience my dad recalls:

I had been on the job a few days, when I called the main office in El Paso for something and Gracie, the receptionist, said “Your daughter is doing fine”. After my shock wore off she told me the whole story. The day I had left to drive back to Eagle Pass, Michele was sitting in the wagon watching TV and somehow fell out. This resulted in a broken arm. One of the HBC employees had given me his home number in the case my wife needed help and she had called him. He and his wife took her and Michele to the hospital to set the arm and his wife watched Niles and Kym during the ordeal. I called Linda and found that everything was under control, but she was glad when I got home that weekend since all the kids were sick and she needed my help.

What I remember from this incident is very foggy, but this is what I think (from my child brain) happened: We were watching TV and somehow Niles and I were goofing of (No!). You know how kids like to spin around in circles? I think that's what we were doing. I got dizzy and our little red wagon was somehow (?) in the livingroom which I conveniently tripped over. History will prove I am clumsy. I hit my arm on the end of the wagon and broke it.

I remember going to the hospital. They laid me on a bed/examining table and the doctor kept trying to get my to use my hurt arm to reach for a lollipop he had. I am not stupid; my arm hurt and I kept reaching for the sucker with my other arm.  What happened at the end of that power struggle I do not know, but eventually I got casted and sent home. And I guess we all got sick. Poor Mom!

A FEW MORE PICS

Using 12" TB tortillas, I made these enormous burritos one evening.

Analiese could barely finish one

My Thanksgiving piano.

WHAT A MESS!

Bye-bye Colors

Sadly, autumn leaves don't last. This week saw a lot of wind, so pretty soon the trees were - as Analiese put it - bald. It also meant those leaves ended up on the ground. And on my porch. And on my floor. Between the leaves and dried grass, I cannot keep my carpet clean...and yes! It bugs me. My carpet is a dark color and every little thing shows up on it!

Also, both the front and back yards are swimming in them! It's going to take the whole crew a bit of time to rake and bag them all. No, no fires, that's illegal here. Besides, I think our landlady would freak out about that. I know I would.

The funny thing about the leaves is that they act a bit like snow on the ground. They edge the roads or, in some cases, linger in the center area like natural lane dividers. Some people like to crunch around on the leaves...kids think the sound is fun. 

Sweet Sixteen

Scary to think of, isn't it? Analiese turned sixteen on Tuesday. We had her birthday dinner Monday, but in Seminary on Tuesday morning, her teacher had a card and candy bar for her (wink). She also had the class sing to the birthday girl, which she found embarrassing. Hey, we do it for every birthday!

She received some nice cards and gifts from family far away.

Reading sweet birthday message

At home, she received pretty blue crystal earrings from her parents

Believe it or not, her dad picked those out!

and a how-to-draw Marvel comic book characters book from Jonathan.

You know what she likes!

We teased her a bit about being able to date boys now. She teased us about "wouldn't you like to know who" she had lined up! Seriously, who? 

She went with the youth to a barn dance at a farm outside of Noble (past Norman) Saturday evening. There was a barn there, but they danced outside (we've had freezing temps lately, they were COLD, even with a bonfire!)  I asked her afterwards if any young men she knew had realized she was now "prime dating pickings." Nope. Bummer. I just wanted to tease her more. (As it was, I teased one of my students on Sunday because I guess he brought not one, but TWO girls with him to the dance. I guess his parents said he had to because one girl meant a date and he's not 16 yet! LOL.)

Yes, driving is on her mind, too. We had agreed, she kept up with her studies and we would let her take driver's ed. She's been doing great this year with her school work, so, come January, she gets to start. The really nice thing? The cost comes out of charter school funds!

Light 'er Up!

City workers have gotten busy at the park the last week or so setting up the light displays for the Festival of Light, which is held here between Thanksgiving and New Years. Analiese and I discover new ones each day we go walking. She wants us to take an inventory with her for the FHE after thanksgiving because she's assembling a scavenger hunt that our Branch is hosting for other nearby ward/branch youths. It'll be held mid-December. She volunteered to do it and is very excited.

Gearing Up for Winter

The little critters have been busy. Those Kamikaze squirrels are everywhere, zipping back and forth! One morning, on the way to Seminary, Analiese and I actually saw a live raccoon (we see plenty of dead ones on the highway) crossing the road on the USAO campus (we drive through the campus to get to the main road closest to the church). I don't think I've seen a live raccoon since I was a younger girl visiting my grandparents when they lived in Lake Arrowhead.

My landlady was over recently to make sure we covered our outside faucets with foam protectors. We had a night of freezing temps and so have started dripping water. I had Ken put the electric blanket on the bed and the thermostat is turned to heat. 

Yes, I get cold! Not as quickly as others, perhaps, but I do. So I've pulled out jackets and sweaters and throws for the sofa. I also put on socks. My feet have been so dry, one actually cracked on the ball and bled a little in Seminary. It hurt to walk on for a couple of days. So it's lots of lotion and socks. Lotion for my hands, too, and lip balm. I tend to dry out quickly. And my achy turning-arthritic hands need my compression gloves. My pinkie joints in particular do not like the cold!

The Primary Program

Was this Sunday. So what does this have to do with me? I don't have a calling in Primary. Ah, but I do play piano. The last couple of weeks their regular pianist was out of town and asked me to sub for her. They've been working on the program and figured I might as well do it today for the actual thing. They had a couple of special numbers in particular that I was aware of how they wanted it done, so I guess I was stuck.

My favorite was playing "I am a Child of God" for the last number with the kids. One of my Seminary students played the descant on her violin along with us. It was very beautiful.  But then, I love the violin.  I also got a kick out of the two kids and mother singing "A Child's Prayer." At the end, the youngest, a boy, had gotten confused. He looked up at his mom afterwards and said, "I got lost." Right by the microphone. It was adorable!

PH - My Early Years

Obviously, I remember very little of my babyhood and young childhood. I am, therefore, very grateful to my parents for writing THEIR personal histories, so I have some idea of what it was like.

Here's an experience I had as a baby that my Dad records: When Michele was about 9 months old, her mom was feeding her one day in her infant seat and Michele lunged forward and hit her head on the corner of the plaster wall. She cut her head open right on the eyebrow line and was bleeding profusely. Our neighbors took Linda and Michele to the base and a doctor sewed up her head with tiny stitches. He stated he felt sorry for the doctor who had to take out the stitches. A short time later he was on duty at the right time and did the removal also. To this day you can only see her scar if you spread her eyebrow apart.

The way I heard it was that Mom cried harder than I did in the doctor's office. She felt really bad about it. I get it, now that I'm a mother, too. When Jonathan was born and discovered to have club feet, he went to the orthopedic doctor at three days old to have them looked at and casted for the first of many times. As our story goes, Ken held Jonathan (for the doctor) and Mom held me. Ah, new mothers! I've since learned that babies are made of sterner stuff than we think...that's how they survive their siblings!

Now I KNOW there is a photograph out there of me with those stitches in my eyebrow. But my folks have it and I don't. If I ever can get a hold of it, I'll post it. And, yes, underneath the brow hairs, is that scar line from my fall at nine months!

 

More Pics

Analiese playing a dart & balloon game in Seminary that one of my students' devised.

Pom, the Tuft-y one, got a good brushing on Saturday.

Look at all that fluff! It's very soft, though.

COLOR-FALL

New Traditions
My family really enjoyed Disney's movie "Coco." I, in particular, was inspired by it. Yeah, I cried; it's a very mushy movie. But also very family-centric. I've had strong positive feelings about Dia de los Muertos for years. I think it's a more positive, sacred holiday that Halloween and I'd love to replace the latter with the former. I think DdlM is a wonderful way to think about our ancestors and encourage family history.

Analiese and I had been plotting this for weeks: we were going to do a FHE about family with a DdlM flavor (can't you see I hate retyping big strings of titles?). So we set up a small "ofrenda" (not really an altar, just a memorial) in our living room and dedicated this first FHE DdlM attempt to my paternal grandparents: Niles and Alma Carr.

Small picture in the center of the black tissue is Grandma & Grandpa. It was all I had.

A traditional Mexican "ofrenda" has several crosses on it. I decided that we'd have pictures of the risen Savior instead, representing our hope and faith in the Resurrection and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I also put a few things representing things about my grandparents on it - popcorn (Grandma loved it in spite of her dentures!), fabric for her sewing all the time, and fake roses to represent Grandpa's love of roses and gardening. We had peach cobbler for dessert which was something Grandma would make purposefully for me if she knew I was coming to visit!

We spent the evening reading out of a book that was published from interviews taken of my grandparents before their passing. We talked about the memories we had (Ken had some, but most were mine) and laughed at some of the fun things we learned. It was one of the sweetest, spiritual FHEs we'd had in a long time! 

So we're resolved to do it again, but we'll research more (and longer) with a different ancestor(s).
Also, it's made me realize that this blog is part of my personal history and so, from time to time, I'm going to do a little PH sections from my past to make sure its included in this record. Also, it gives my parents and siblings an opportunity to read it, correct me on anything, and HOPEFULLY add to those stories. We all have had rich life experiences to tell and they should be told.

PH: In My Beginning
My parents were supposed to have wed in September of 1966, but the Vietnam draft came in for Dad, so they were married on May 14, 1966 in the Los Angeles, California temple. After a short, sweet honeymoon and establishing their home life, Dad was off to basic training in New Jersey and Mom was adjusting to being an army wife. Her in-laws, according to reports, took good care of her in Dad's absence.

Somewhere, in the back-and-forth of training, leaves, etc., they managed to conjure (like it was magic, ha!) me. By the time I was ready and ripe for harvesting, Dad and Mom were somewhat settled in Monterey, California on the Fort Ord Army base. I made my appearance September 19, 1967 in the army hospital. Certifiable Army brat.

Here I am! Ta-Da! On the right, I thought I'd get you a photo of Dad in uniform. Handsome!

To be continued...

Halloween in Chickasha

I'd been planning to do something fun for my Seminary kids for Halloween for a while. Not too much, I'm poor, plus I didn't want to take away from the Spirit of the class. So we did cocoa - three flavors to choose from: Regular, Mint, and Pumpkin Spice - with ghost or pumpkin marshmallows. I have one student who adores milk in all its forms and he was ecstatic! 

I tried some of the pumpkin spice cocoa when I got home. Okay, not my favorite, but definitely in the spirit of things!

The rest of the day was uneventful. We watched "Hocus Pocus" in the evening and had our porch light on, candy ready. But we didn't get any trick-or-treaters. We're in a secluded area, so I didn't expect any, but I was prepared. Most kids go off to the affluent areas plus every church in town has some sort of activity that they can load up on candy and goodies. I guess it's safer, but it sure is different from when I was younger!

LEAVES IN ALL THEIR GLORY

Altus was a drier area with fewer trees. Some did change color, and I loved to see it. Here, it's been

a glorious display of every color imaginable. I will forbear talking more about it and just show you:

This is Big Ol' Oak in our backyard. Not terribly colorful, but he's busy dumping a truck-load of leaves!

The park is beautiful!

My favorite, on the USAO campus. My picture does not capture the amazing depth of the orange glowing from it!

More pics

It was just a plain old week, really. But here's our documentation of the life of it!

Pom, the climber, on top of my desk, looking out at the yard.

I swear, she thinks she's a parrot. Yes, she put herself there!

Look who absconded with my phone!

Rockin' the leather jacket.