A ‘Grand’ Old Hodgepodge…

Wow, has another week flown by already?  The days are zooming by! Wednesday means it’s time for another Hodgepodge, so here I am checking into blog land.  Thanks so much to our hostess, Joyce, for keeping The Hodgepodge going, thus making sure I blog at least once a week.  These days, I need all the help I can get!  Here are today’s questions:

1. Growing up, were you close to your grandparents? Tell us one or two specific things you remember about them.
There were a couple of times, growing up, when I lived with my maternal grandparents for several  months.  You can’t get much closer than that!   I loved my grandma very much, and wanted to be just like her.  My granddaddy passed away when I was fourteen.

Grandma on her 77th birthday in 1980

The things I most remember about grandma were:  (1) She never had idle hands.  While sitting, if she wasn’t sewing or crocheting (which she loved to do), she’d usually have a tissue in her hands, folding or playing with it. (I tend to do this, as well) (2) Grandma also liked to dip snuff. (I chose not do that!)

2. What’s an item you were attached to as a child? What happened to it?

I think my Barbie and Skipper dolls were my favorite toys.  I was already ten or eleven when I got them, but I still spent many happy hours playing with them.  As for what happened to those dolls?  Why, I still have them, of course, along with lots of their friends that I’ve collected since becoming an adult!  (I collected those dolls I’d always wanted as a child, plus a few more)

3. When you look out your window, do you see the forest or the trees (literally and figuratively)? Explain.

Looking out of my window, I can see the forest and the trees…  I see the large sycamore tree that’s growing in my daughter’s backyard–the yard that used to be my backyard, until 10 years ago when we moved next door–and I remember how Ed fussed when I bought that sycamore tree…  I also see the tiny mimosa tree Ed recently dug up and planted in our current yard, even though he hates mimosa trees.  I also see the large magnolia tree that’s planted between our house and our daughter’s house, and I remember what a little twig it was when we planted it almost 40 years ago. Beyond all of that, I can see the “woods” (southern slang for forest) that surround our property on two sides.  Lots and lots of pine trees!

4. Do you like sour candies?  I used to like sour stuff, but I don’t care much for sour candies anymore.  It’s funny how your taste can change.

Which of the ‘sour’ foods listed below would you say is your favorite?  
(grapefruit, Greek yogurt, tart cherries, lemons, limes, sauerkraut, buttermilk, or kumquats) 

Lemons are about the only thing I like that’s on the list.

 Have you ever eaten a kumquat?  Yes, I’ve tasted a kumquat, but I don’t like them.  Ed’s parents used to have a kumquat tree growing in their yard, so they ate them all the time, in season.

What’s your favorite dish containing one of the sour foods on the list?  Lemon pie, of course!

5. July 1st marked the mid point of 2017. In fifteen words or less, tell us how it’s going so far.

Our July has been filled with lots of rain, gnats, and mosquitoes, as usual.

Random:

Our youngest son, Brad, celebrated his 32nd birthday, on Tuesday of last week.  How can this be?  Time slow down!

Anyway, our family all got together to celebrate with him, last Friday. Here’s one of my favorite photos of the evening:

father and son~sharing a moment together

It’s the little things in life that mean the most, like the father/son moment captured in this picture.  One day, when Brad’s son, Evan, turns 32, he’ll look back at this picture and wonder where the years went, too.

Wednesday Hodgepodge # 258…

Hello Wednesday, and hello Hodgepodge!  Lately, I’ve been experiencing some ‘technical difficulties’ and haven’t been able to see the ‘linky’ on Joyce’s Hodgepodge post, therefore, I couldn’t join the party. Not only couldn’t I see last week’s ‘linky’, I couldn’t see ANY of the previous week’s ‘linkys’ either!  Our son, Brad, tinkered with my computer, last weekend, and finally got the linkys to show up–but he doesn’t really know  how he did it.  Here’s hoping I will be able to see today’s list of Hodgepodge participants, and join in the fun!

1. March is National Women’s History Month. In that vein, who are three women who’ve been influential in your life? How so?

The first, and most, influential woman in my life was definitely my maternal grandmother.  I spent a lot of time with her, as a child, and she definitely helped mold me into the wife, mother, and homemaker I eventually became.

The second influential woman in my life was my mother, but not in the way you might think.  My mother had some problems, and made many mistakes in her lifetime.  I recognized those problems and mistakes, early in life, and vowed not to travel that same road.  Praise the Lord, my life has been very different than mama’s was!

The third most influential woman in my life was Ed’s mom.  She was the mother of five sons, and I was her first daughter-in-law.  She was so happy to finally have another female to spend time with, we did everything together!   We shopped together, we cooked together, and we just plain enjoyed each other’s company! My mother-in-law treated me like the daughter she never had, and taught me many things during our forty-three years together.  I also thank my in laws for setting a great example of what a good marriage looks like.

2. In what ways do you think women have it easier than men?

I’ve always thought I had it easier than Ed because, fortunately, I’ve never had to work outside the home.  The years I chose to work, I did so because I wanted to, not because I had to.

I could never keep up with Ed, physically, either.  Back in the day, the man was a workhorse!  Eight or nine years ago, Ed made a two-hour commute to work, held down a full-time job, and a part-time job, plus spent every extra waking hour actually building the house we now live in.

3. What do you need most right now: faith, love, hope, or peace?

I have plenty of faith, love, and hope, but, often, find myself lacking peace.  It’s always been my nature to worry, even though I know I shouldn’t.  I’m trying to work on that!

4. Do you have a collection? If so, what do you collect and why?

I’m almost embarrassed to answer this question!  Yes, I do collect several things.  I collect “coca cola” items (our home is decorated with various “coca cola” decor  throughout), I also collect [resin] frogs, I collect [stuffed] teddy bears, and dolls.  My doll collection is my largest collection, but my “coca cola” collection runs a close second.

Chatty Cathy collection

some of my older Barbie collection

5. Plaids, checks, polka dots, stripes…your favorite?

For some reason, I’ve always been drawn to polka dots, but, these days, I’d choose stripes.

6. In what ways are you the same as your childhood self?

I’m still shy and unsure of myself, just like I was as a child.  I also still have the same dark brown eyes, and crooked teeth.

7. You’re a contestant on the TV game show Jeopardy. What category will you ace?

None!  Ha!  Jeopardy is NOT my kind of show… My best chance would probably be in a category having to do with music from the sixties or seventies.

Random:

Praise the Lord, my mammogram results came back normal, last week!  What a relief!

In other random news, yesterday, I rode out to the city cemetery for a few minutes. While I was there, I was reminded of the following music video by country singer, Cole Swindell.

Why you ask?  Because Cole Swindell is originally from our little town, and so was his dad, Keith. Unfortunately, Keith was killed in a freak accident  a couple of years ago, when the car he was working under fell on top of him.  The accident happened about the time his son, Cole, got his big break and record deal. Not long ago, Cole came back “home” to make this music video for the song [Cole wrote for his dad], entitled “You Should Be Here”. Those are Cole’s brothers (and their families) in the video, as well as our little downtown area, and, of course, the city cemetery.

Childhood Memories And My Love Of Dolls…

Like most little girls back in my day, I enjoyed playing with my baby dolls.  The first doll that I remember getting for Christmas was a “Tiny Tears” doll.  She came with a bottle, and a bubble pipe.  She could drink, wet, and cry real tears.  She could also blow bubbles with her pipe!  In those days, that was a very big deal!  Unfortunately, I don’t know what ever happened to my “Tiny Tears” doll…so I bought another one a couple of years ago when I began doll collecting.  The first Tiny Tears Dolls were made with rubber bodies, instead of vinyl.  Since rubber deteriorates over time, there aren’t many of those original dolls around, and the ones that survived are worth a fortune!  Mine has a vinyl body, and her face is made from a very hard material.  She cost me about seventy dollars!  Just imagine what a rubber one would cost!  

my tiny tears doll...

The next doll that I remember getting as a child was a “3-year-old doll”.  She was the size of an actual 3-year-old person.  She is also known as “Patti Playpal”.  Mine had long dark hair that hung to her waist, and she would “walk with you when you held her hand”.  I still have that doll in my storage shed, but she’s in terrible shape because I cut her hair at some point in my childhood!  I was notorious for cutting my doll’s hair!  Since my own “Patty” was in such bad shape, but I wanted one to display,  I decided to buy a reproduction.  I absolutely promise that I will NEVER cut her hair!  My grown daughter hates this particular doll, she says she’s “scarey” because she looks like a person.

meet Patty Playpal...

  When I was seven, I got a “Beauty Parlor Doll” that came with her own styling chair, hair dryer, and beauty supplies.  Her knees were jointed so she could actually sit in the chair.  I learned how to roll hair on curlers by playing with that doll!  I could actually roll my own hair by the age of ten. I left my “beauty parlor doll” behind at my parents’ house when I got married.  Years later, I reclaimed her, and she’s in the storage shed along with Patty Playpal.  

In the fourth grade, I got a “Tiny Chatty Baby” doll for Christmas.  She had a string in her back that you pulled which made her talk–and she had beautiful blue eyes.  Her eyes were my favorite thing about her.  She had pretty blonde hair but it was always a bit “unruly” and stuck up. My mother got the crazy idea to glue her hair down…not a good thing to do!  She was never very  pretty after I glued her hair.  I bought two “Tiny Chatty Babies” and two “Tiny Chatty Brothers” for my doll collection.  One of the pairs of dolls was actually still wearing the original turquoise clothing from 1964!  I found a lady who makes “‘replica outfits”, and had her made a red set of clothing for the dolls(to match my bedroom).  I packed the original clothing away for safe keeping. 

Tiny Chatty Brother and Tiny Chatty Baby...

The last dolls that I ever got as a child, were my favorites– Barbie and Skipper.  I got Barbie for Christmas the year I was in the fifth grade(1965).  Once I got my Barbie, I no longer played with my baby dolls.  I was a “Barbie Girl”!  During the following year I got a Skipper to go along with my Barbie.  I played with Barbie and Skipper until I started in the seventh grade!

I always wanted a Ken doll, and a Midge doll, but I never got them.  Money was scarce back in those days.  When I began doll collecting,  I decided to search eBay to find an old  Ken and Midge.  I discovered that there were many other “Barbie friends” that I never knew existed.  I discovered Scooter, Alan(I’d heard of him), Ricky, Francie, PJ, and many more…and so began my Barbie doll collection!  

In the photograph below: Barbie in the gold/white strip swimsuit is my original doll, and Skipper in the red/white stripe swimsuit is my original doll.  The others I purchased through eBay.  Most dolls are wearing their original clothing.  Oh, if only these old dolls could talk, the tales they might tell…of some little girls, somewhere, living an adventure through them so many years ago.

Some of my oldest "Barbie and Friends"

 I’m gonna’ wrap up this post for today, even though I’m not finished telling you about my doll collection.  I’ll save some for another day.  I still haven’t told you about the Chatty Cathys, Ashton Drake babies, or Cabbage Patch dolls.  Did I mention that it’s a bit crowded in my bedroom?

I’m joining in with “Think of me Thursday” hosted by http://www.mrsmamadrama.com and http://www.bellycharms.blogspot .  Thanks ladies, for hosting this fun bloghop!