Growing Up In Iowa

I grew up in a mid-west agricultural, river community before WWII. Our lives revolved around the four seasons. Climate was always a concern. Rain or drought conditions were never far from a farmer's mind as planting and harvesting took place. Local businesses geared their inventories and hours to the seasons as well as the farmer's needs. Hot summers and cold, snowy winters determined our clothing.

In those pre-war days the great depression and the catastrophic dust storms tested the metal of the country's leaders, but in my small town, days repeated themselves with the sameness of the day before.

Of course radio broadcasts and newspapers kept us informed of national and international concerns so we were aware of President Roosevelt's attempts to stabilize the economy and the dire news of Germany and Italy threatening war.

Dad worked for the telephone company from the time I was a baby until he retired after WWII. In the early years with the company, he was transferred from Spencer, Ia to Charles City, Ia, then to Iowa Falls, Ia where we lived until his transfer to San Francisco, Ca after the war started.

I had already graduated from high school and was going to the local community college when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened. After Pearl Harbor, the lives of all Americans changed, including that of our family.

At the height of the depression we moved to a small 7 acre asparagus farm on the edge of town. Moving from town to the country was a big change for us. The house had no indoor plumbing. Water for drinking and cleaning came from a well. The out door toilet, aka, privy, was some distance from the house. There was no second story, all the rooms were at ground level. There was electricity so we had a large refrigerator, but rather than a gas stove, we had a large cast iron wood stove for cooking.

The acreage not only had asparagus, but there were long, wide rows of black berries, red raspberries, a huge strawberry bed, a very large vegetable garden and a back field where we grew field corn for the 2 cows and hogs we raised. We also had chickens. Dad learned from government brochures how to raise bees and we had 7 or 8 hives of honey bees. The car port was a Concord grape arbor.

Dad's parents came to live with us and Grandpa, with Mom's help, took charge of the little farm. Dad went to his office at the phone company everyday.

During the cutting season we all went to the fields before sunrise and worked until all the asparagus had been cut, washed and packaged for delivery to the stores. While the work was being done in the fields, Grandmother fixed breakfast for us and then it was time to get ready for school. Adeline and I walked to school in town. We took shortcuts across a creek and thru pastures to get to the high school. Mom drove my other siblings to and from a country school with only one room and one teacher for all the grades.

During the summer we all worked in the garden and every week day morning, Mom drove us to town to sell vegetables and honey door to door. We each had baskets of fresh picked vegetables and worked both sides of the street. The little ones, Dick and Jerry always sold out and had to come back to the car for more veggies.

During my senior year in high school I worked in one of the local dime stores. I got the job thru a work program at school and got credit as well as earning money. During the summer my hours were increased and I was able to buy some of my own clothes. After graduation, the acreage was sold and the family moved to a house one block from the college, and I started classes there in the fall.

The shocking news of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th was so bewildering we couldn't relate it to it; we just heard that it was some place in Hawaii. Little did we realize how that event would change our lives.

Asparagus Bunches

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

A. Non

A Garden is simply a wonderful thing. Abounding with lush vegetables and fruits, we nourish our hearts, souls, and tummy's with delicious fresh goodies – just picked at peak ripeness and flavor. Sadly, that’s not our update.

Just picture a cornucopia of fresh garden veggies and herbs – all so fantastic for a quick snack or salad. Using just the perfect touch of fresh herbs in those special meals. Nothing is better than eating a juicy ripe tomato or cucumber right off the vine. Imagine lovely and succulent strawberries - so tasty they can hardly get inside the house without being devoured. Sorry, that’s not our update either

The dream lives on however. Our garden still remains a dream. I dream about it constantly, but so far we haven't planted anything in the rock hard soil.... but, I insist that we are actually still only in the 'planning stage', in spite of being gently reminded that perhaps these plans might be better reserved for next year!?. That’s closer to our update.

The lack of a garden reminds me of an old blues song which goes … “ain't no reason to work so hard … when I can live off the chickens in my neighbors' yard” …. perhaps we could reach across the fence to the neighbors lush and juicy tomatoes....IF only they had any too!? Nobody here has a garden, because of the drought and the high fines for watering gardens..

Well actually – at this point I've calculated that we only really need to grow ONE really grand tomato... you know a super monster one ton tomato … kinda like that old folk song … 'Guantanamara' …. which I believe goes loosely like … “one-ton-tomato .. I-ate-a-one-ton-tomato … “ Yum yum. Alas … that’s all the updatin' we can offer for now....

Happy gardening – where ever you are!

Hammer Poem by KimB

Hammer Poem


hammer falls
echo from walls
in a vale where the rivers are dead

horn calls
echo from halls
in a vale where the earth runs red

silence falls
no echo calls
in a vale where the wild ravens fed


KimB 2/2011

Knitting

I recently read an article about the history of knitting and way back when, it was understood that part of a woman's dowry was her ability to knit clothing and blankets for the family and to be able to instruct and oversee the servant's knitting. A wife's knowledge of knitting was not a hobby but a necessity.


Visit Of The Angels by
Master Bertram of Minden

There is a famous Alter piece called Visit Of The Angels by Master Bertram of Minden in the year 1390. The Knitting Madonna is shown picking up stitches and shaping the neckline of a garment.

My paternal grandmother was a knitter as were my aunts and cousins on my father's side. They were proficient at all the needle crafts and my sisters, Adeline, Esther and I learned a lot from them.

But I did not learn to knit until my husband and I lived at Stanford Village at the end of WII. A neighbor had a baby the same age as mine and one day I saw her knitting a baby sweater. I asked her to show me how to knit one. It was knitted from the top down, so all the sweaters I have knitted have been knitted that way. I have never knitted one requiring seams.

Recently my sister, Esther, and I have been knitting up a storm. It had been some time since either of us had knitted anything. We had been occupied with beading projects and sewing muumuus. Before that, quilting. Even as we work on our current knitting projects, we both have unfinished quilting projects waiting for us.

I am contemplating the knitting of a blanket. My daughter has asked me to knit one for her. It seems a daunting task, but the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to knit it. I like to do my own designing, but the trick is to come up with an idea that will make the work interesting and yet simple enough so that it won't take years to finish. When I know what it is, I'll post it on my blog.

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

MrsB

I had to toss one of the avocado seeds rooting in water, leaving 5 of the original 8.

I am using non-soapy water from the kitchen for the spider plants and the Xmas cactus. All are thriving.


KimB

Looking GOOD!


Fresh Tomatoes, Strawberries
and Basil

The tomatoes and strawberries are really starting to pop now! So far the flash tape has been working and no birds have gotten into the berries. The tater plants have just about finished flowering too.

Here's my fresh tomato & basil salad recipe. Adjust all ingredients to the amount of salad you are making and/or add more to your taste.

Fresh Garden Tomato and Basil Salad

Fresh Garden Tomato
and Basil Salad

Fresh Tomatoes – cut into bite sized chunks
Garlic – 2 cloves mince/smashed/coarse chopped
Fresh Basil Leaves – 3-6 large leaves – cut into ribbons with scissors
Olive Oil
Rice Wine Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Ginger - fresh is best
Salt – only if you need it.
Sugar – if using store bought tomatoes then a bit of sugar.

Optional: Fresh cucumber - cut into slices with or without the skin.
Optional: Herbs – Italian Seasoning or Other Mixed Herbs

Put all ingredients into a bowl. Add the herbs and basil ribbons. Drizzle olive oil over all. Add the Rice Wine Vinegar. Add just a dash of Balsamic Vinegar to the mix. Stir and place in the refrigerator. Stir periodically. Chill for 20 min before serving.

The tomatoes will add their juice to the oil and vinegar and make the dressing sweet and tasty.

Fresh Tomatoes, Strawberries and Basil

Cursive Writing

Since cursive writing is being phased out of the schools, does that mean no one will ever have to write their signature on documents?

I can foresee cursive becoming a code and used by secret societies. Perhaps autograph collections will take on a value that suggests one should begin to invest in them. I wonder if a thumb print will replace the signature on a painting or drawing.

At least medical students will now be able to concentrate on subjects like anatomy and not spend time learning how to write a prescription in a legible manner so pharmacists understand them.



D'Nealian Cursive Writing for English



So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

A. Anon

UPDATE on Garden

CORRECTION

Please change the phrase - on page 327, paragraph 4, line 6 of the update log – which reads "he pea'd all over the fence", but should read " he had peas all over the fence "

End of correction


KimB

Wasps. We have wasps in the garden. Yellowjackets to be more accurate.

I have never had to deal with wasps much before. We had some yellowjackets in our previous home but they never really bothered anyone and built their nests high up under the eaves of the house. From time to time our gardener would knock down the old nests which were small.

Not long after I started the garden, a few yellowjackets started to build nests nearby. The nests were tiny and I dealt with them by driving off the 2 or 3 adults with jets of water and using a flat shovel to smash the tiny 3 or 4 cell nest. They moved on.

Now I notice that they moved on to a spot above a window on the front of the house that has a small overhang. I've been watching them and the nest is getting quite large. I don't think I've seen a nest that big before and they are busy expanding their condominiums. Allen noticed that there is another nest on a neighbor's house that is much much bigger than the one on ours.

The nest is not one of the super-sized ones that have been found and they are not really bothering anyone. According to Wikipedia yellowjackets eat other insects so they are not really all that bad providing one doesn't get stung of course. However, I will be monitoring their construction and expansion plans in case they exceed their building permit.

The Yankee and the Hot Peppers by KimB

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB]

I loved visiting my Aunt Esther and Uncle Vernon in Louisiana. I loved seeing the countryside from the tractor as he drove around the ranch doing chores. The lakes, ponds, trees were so different from the redwoods of California were we lived. My Aunt Esther made wonderful meals unlike any I had ever had. Mud Bugs in Mississippi Water was one of my favorites. Bass coated in cornmeal and fried to perfection – well it didn't get better than that!

They were always so nice and Vernon even took his Yankee Niece fishing but he constantly teased us Yankees to try to out-do or out-hunt or out-fish him. This was never going to happen. Vernon would always have the last laugh and stories of how he pulled-the-leg of Yankee visitors became family classics.

Aunt Esther and Uncle Vernon had a wonderful garden. There were rows of tomatoes and loads of veggies. If something was wanted for dinner, it was step outside and pick it off the vine just in time to be served.

Vernon also had hot pepper plants. I remember him warning us to not touch the hot peppers unless we had gloves on. He would eat these hot peppers and challenge us Yankees to try one. I can tell you, they were HOT! At most, you could eat a tiny tiny piece but the tears would flow and soon a glass of cold milk would be pushed into your hand to help ease the pain.

I schemed and schemed about how to prove to Vernon, that I was as good as he was! So, at home, I practiced eating hot peppers. We were living in Mexico at the time and hot peppers were not hard to come by. Slowly I built up a tolerance to hot peppers... Victory was not far away. It was going to be "Score 1 for the Yankees." I just knew it!

On my next visit to Aunt Esther and Uncle Vernon, Vernon brought out the jar of hot peppers from the cupboard. He took one and offered it to me. With a smile I took the jar and fished out a pepper and ate it. Then I fished out a second and a third and a fourth. I waited for my triumph to be complete. Vernon was just watching me.

After I ate the fourth one I said, "See, us Yankees can eat hot peppers too!"

He replied, "Uh-huh, I see. Well, I didn't expect you to eat half the jar though..."

Then with an appraising look at me, he reached into his pocket and handed me the car keys and some money.

"You'd better go down to the market and get a couple of gallons of milk."

I looked at him for a moment; took the car keys, the money and raced to the market for the milk.

Old Joke told to me by Vernon

A Yankee was given some hot peppers to eat. The pain from the hot peppers was terrible. He was told that ice cream would help ease the pain, so he ate a lot of ice cream.

The next day, he could be heard calling from the out-house, "Come on ice cream!"

Laughing

I have the giggles. I get them from time to time and almost any little thing can set me into a paroxysm.

This morning while talking on the phone, I was bragging on myself as I told my son how pleased I was to learn the Norwegian purl. “Norwegian purl” refers to a knitting stitch but to a person unfamiliar with knitting terminology, it sounds like an alien learning English. He had no idea what I was talking about and I before I had time to explain, he quoted Mark Twain saying, “and the opera is great until they start to sing”. On came the giggles.

Those instantaneous moments when my brain recognizes the crossing of two frivolous thoughts, mine and the other person's, I break into laughter.

The other night I woke myself up from a sound sleep laughing. I don't know what I was dreaming that was so funny, but I was really laughing out loud. On many occasions the remembering of a particularly funny moment can make me start giggling and those around me wonder what in the world I'm laughing about.

I do laugh a lot. Its better than medicine when sharing with another person a hearty laugh over something nonsensical and absurd that that has tickled our funny bone. I even laugh at myself. Reflection of some of my past adventures, opinions, and actions, often brings a smile and if relating them to someone else, will get a big laugh in response.

Thank heaven I got bunched in with a family that has a great sense of humor.

What? Me fly to Hogwarts?

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

A. Non

We actually got one and a half inches of rain about 20 days ago... so that leaves us only 26 inches below normal rain fall to date this year – and with the irony of so much water and flooding in the mid-west. Alas, the drought continues here in the far too sunny south.

Garden Claw

I accidentally found a solution to preparing our over rock hard and baked plot of soil. I was at the swap meet when I espied and bought a used, but 'as new', Garden Claw.

This is the spiffy tool you see on the late night info-mercials, where you stab the claw in into the cement like ground, twist the waist high handles, and – voila – it 'easily' breaks up the soil into perfect garden loam ... like vertical roto-tilling. This looks so easy on the TV.

Boy, they sure saw seen me coming', 'cause the price was so cheap I couldn't refuse to buy it. In spite of that however, I find – too late - this alleged tool is an implement of torture... probably left from the inquisition – it's a back breaker! I can see why it was in virtually 'new' condition!

So, I write this whilst nursing a busted back, having 'tilled' a total of about 8.4 square inches of caliche strength hard-pan drought baked soil. The results?

There is nothing new to report or update – except the medical plan!

Do not despair, as we retain our hopes and aspirations to grow something yet! We have not abandoned the 'concept' of a garden, it's just that it's so much better to write about, than to actually do. Sometimes a garden is better than it sounds, but sometimes not!

Oh, it's the 4th of July, and the corn is knee high – not here, but someplace I'm sure!

Happy Independence Day y'all!

Pets

Pets have always been a part in my life. For the most part dogs were the pet of choice but from time to time a cat would become a member of my pet family.

I was in the third grade when Mom and Dad made arrangements to buy a puppy from an Aunt who bred American Spitz When it was shipped to us, it arrived as a tiny ball of white fur and grew up to be a big ball of white fur.

He was our constant companion, even walking along with those of us who went to school in the mornings, then returning home to keep Mom company until school was out. Mom often said he was a comfort to her when Dad was out of town on company business because he was a good little watch dog.

When I was in Florida as a young adult, one could buy baby alligators packaged in tiny wooden crates from vendors at tourist sites. By writing an address on a tag, they could be mailed to friends and family back home. I sent one home and it was quite a novelty. As it grew we kept it in the bathtub. Once it got dropped on the bathroom floor and we were all too skittish and afraid to handle it. Mom phoned Dad at the office to come pick the thing up. Finally the day came when Mom got tired of having to wait for someone to come take it out of the tub so she could bathe. I have no recollection of how we got rid of it.

One day a squirrel nest fell out of the backyard tree and I took one of the babies and kept it as a pet. It was quite tame and would sit on my lap when I brushed my hair. I used to carry it to the park and let it play for a while then call it and it would come back to me, but one day it refused to come back.

I once had a gold fish that I named George. After spending a couple of years with me, he went to live with my daughter and her husband and lived to a ripe old age at her house.

I used to keep guppies in a big gallon jar on top of the gas stove where the pilot lights kept the water the correct temperature. I could watch the the birthing of baby guppies while sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee.

A few years ago I had a lovely singing canary. I bought him a female companion and before I turned around, I had several cages of singing canaries. I often took one of the cages across the driveway to the folks house so they could listen to a canary sing for an hour or so.

Recently my cat, Mimi, went missing during the super moon. Every day I look out the kitchen door hoping to see a wayward cat who decided to leave some scroungy riverboat gambler and come back home, but as of this date, her whereabouts remains unknown. I keep the toys and scratching posts on the off chance Mimi will come back, but the three pretty parakeets given to me as a pet replacement, are alienating my affections.

Their behavior is amusing. One is a male, but one of the females has become the 'boss'. She monopolizes the swing, and is the first to investigate the new toys I put in the cage. She has chosen one of the seed cups to be her own and rarely lets the other birds eat from it. I notice that she also listens more intently than the other two when I play the singing canary YouTube video.