A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

This book that I have been reading over the past few days brings back such memories of my first experiences in reading for pleasure that it surprises me I haven't read it since the 1950s.

I tried to explain to Emily how hard it was to be a preteen growing up with a love of reading but being relegated to the children's section of our public library.  

I guess our librarian at the public library was a nice-enough lady, but she didn't exactly contribute to a good feeling when  we visited the little white building behind our elementary school.  She stood guard over the adult section, and it was impossible to venture out of the children's section without getting the eagle eye or warning that we weren't allowed to go in that section.  What were they hiding?!

There was very little to be found between Winnie the Pooh and Earnest Hemingway.  I had read all the Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books and children's classics.  In fourth grade, my teacher saw a book on my desk and picked it up and examined it a long time before she gave it back to me and said she thought that book was too old for me.  I can't remember the girl hero's name, but she was a teenager in the story.  One book from the series was entirely the story of how she wanted a puppy and all the roadblocks that came before she could get one.  There were chapters of her standing longingly outside the pet shop looking in the window at "her" puppy.  Somehow she was allowed to get it and named it Tuck, or Tucker, because there were plenty of dogs named Nipper.  Nip and tuck?  That was a little lost on me, but obviously it made an impression because it's the only thing I remember out of a series of books.  I'm sure there was an after-school job and girlfriend misunderstandings but nothing about boyfriends or serious problems - like racism or poverty - to upset us.  We just weren't supposed to know certain things until a certain age, I guess.

I'm not sure how I got access to the adult section or when, but I was a rule follower, and it was on the up and up when I did.  One of the first books I checked out was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  It was written about the time I was born, but it took place around the turn of the century.  Having just finished it today, I remember descriptions of how much harder life was then than it was even in the 1950s as far as schools and the way children were treated, life during and after the Depression, WWI and WWII - so many things.  Even with the sadness throughout the book, I had to have loved learning things about real life and things that weren't much discussed when we were growing up.  

Parents were pretty much busy trying to work day and night to feed their families and pay the rent, and there wasn't a lot of coddling of children.  Descriptions of the schools were so sad to me because that's where I was the happiest, learning and discovering and having mostly kind teachers.  I can't imagine teachers who punished children for being poor and caused so much pain by blaming them for their situations.  Of course, it went on when I was in school but to a lesser degree and even now but more subtly.  Even though we had very little, we were sent to school clean and with our homework and kept our mouths shut, but I do remember that there was a very distinct class system, and even I noticed the differences in the way some children were treated.  

One thing I did identify with but to a lesser degree was the chapter on vaccinations - the reluctance of parents to want to subject their children to unknown poisons but not being able to send the children to school without them.  It was a scary time for all of us because nothing was explained to us.  We were just lined up on "shot day" in that long hallway smelling of alcohol and fear and pain.  The injections never hurt as much as you thought they were going to, but there were sometimes kids who passed out and always the chance that you would embarrass yourself by crying.  And never given the chance to make your own decisions!

I'm so glad I found this book after all these years.  I've tried and sent back to many books lately that just aren't readable to me.  It's also surprising there is an audio version, and I loved hearing the various accents of the first-generation Americans.  I see that there was a movie made from the book too.  I'll probably not be able to find it, but I'll do a good search and see.  

This is the first weekend of the new year, and I'm wasting it in a lovely way.  I had to go to the office this morning and get the new rent portal straight.  That new method of payment along with a new checking account number was driving me crazy.  I kept receiving notices that my rent payment was declined, but it wasn't hard to solve, so maybe I'm on the verge of having that headache gone.

The girls were able to spend the whole afternoon here yesterday since it was early release day.  They were so excited because they had a "project."  Gray and Kate had given Carly a craft kit for Christmas, and Carly admitted she was having a hard time getting into it.

The worst things about opening one of these kits is all the confusion.  I had already opened this one and found the things they needed and made them little work stations, but there was immediately cries of "I want the ducky."  "I want the bunny."  I wrote 1, 2, and 3 on pieces of paper to see who got to choose first, and however it went, they were all happy.  Gray and Kate also were given a kit too at home, so if they didn't get their first choice, there would be another chance. 

The pompoms were made by winding yarn around the tines of a fork.  I know they would do a better job on the second try, but it was a little hard to understand.  Anyway, we got an orange one for the goldfish, a white one for the bunny and a yellow one for the ducky.

I went back just now to get a picture of the fork method and ended up making one of my own, using probably twice as much yarn.  If they get back into it, I'll have to remember that.  

It still needs a little (lot) of work, but I think the extra yarn makes all the difference.  

They were pretty patient sharing the one tiny bottle of blue and sticking the little bead eyes on and then punching out the little accessory pieces.  I hope they had fun.  I know I had fun listening to their comments.  Carly:  My bunny looks like the Abominable Snowman.  Gray:  After 2 minutes:  I'm done.  Katherine:  After 15 minutes:  I need to add some spots to my goldfish and put him in a clear cup like an aquarium.  And I've lost my head fin, but I can made another one and color it orange."  Miss perfectionist.  

They set up a gallery and took some pictures.  I'm sure they did a better job than I could have.  I remember trying to make my own pompoms years ago when I made baby bootees for gifts, and it was hard to get them looking round.  Here are some pictures though.  I had a great time even if my tai chi back was still aching and I had to find the ice pack when it was all over.  

Carly made a little hat for hers out of discarded bits of yarn.

Carly had to leave to go to violin, and the others remembered they hadn't raided the snack cabinet.

I think they were watching cat videos - one thing we all have in common.

First Day of 2024

 

My two New Year's deliveries:  A beautiful winter bouquet from my sweet neighbors upstairs on Saturday night and a late-night delivery of good-luck food from Emily last night.

The money is because I knew I needed cash for my class this morning, and I never have any.  I don't even want to go into the nightmare that changing bank account numbers has been, but I hope I will never have to do it again.  It's not like you can wave a magic wand and have all your autopay and direct deposit and references to your bank account changed.  Of course not.  Every bill I pay seems to have a different method of making changes.  One credit card is fine with just telling them your new number, and they'll start plucking out the payments on time every month.  Another one expects me to know that I needed to pay the first month  separately and THEN start autopay.  

It's interesting to maneuver through web sites to find out WHERE to make the changes and if I have to make a phone call to explain things.  Having two holidays and two weekends also didn't make it easier.  So, bottom line is I had no way to get any cash from the ATM or from any business because of having my debit card frozen for "my protection."  

I know these are not real problems, and by the end of the week, I should be all set to go, but I'm so afraid of missing one little step and having to spend one of my valuable mornings on the phone trying to make sure things are going to work as smoothly as they have for the last 8 years.  

My first post here was January 1, 2009, and the common themes were pets, sewing, and my home.  Mike was working in Texas, and Mama was coming to live with us, so there were lots of changes happening.  

  In the meantime, I'm being well taken care of and do appreciate having people who care.  Noreen had offered to cover me, and I imagine the Senior Center would have allowed me to pay by check or credit card - or even with an IOU!  

The New Year's meal has changed quite a bit in the last few years - better for our health but not quite the same taste.  The basics are there - Hoppin' John, turnip greens, and red beans and rice.   There are very few times we've missed having some version of this meal, and our luck has run both ways, no matter what we eat.  We just love our traditions.  

Our small family tradition came from a combination of this recipe of Mike's and one in a Cajun cooking cookbook that I thought I still had in my few remaining cookbooks.  I know I still have it but don't want to take my whole morning looking for it. Or maybe Emily has it.  The first time I made it, the friend who gave us the cookbook, provided all the ingredients and his small kitchen somewhere near Chattanooga - Rossville? - and took it for granted I would be happy to spend my day reading and tending those ham hocks and beans.  He was right.  I'm not sure where the guys went for the day, but I had no trouble following those directions.  At some point, Mike found this recipe more to his liking, and he took over that holiday!

I'm not sure when we started calling the black-eyed peas Hoppin' John, but someone did.  Just a good version of the peas over rice, green onions, a pot of turnip greens, and lots of pepper sauce and hot sauce.  

I don't have hours to waste today.  I'm already running up against a deadline of finding some "loose, comfortable clothing" and getting to our class by 9:00.  It's a start though.  These old memories might be enjoyed by the kids one day - or not.  They're fun to dredge up and think about the good times.  Back later today - maybe.

New Old Blog

 I promised myself I would come back "next year" after thinking up a more appropriate name and being more enthusiastic about writing.  I'm back with no new name and a reluctance to try to keep up with my life, as boring as it might seem.  It seems to have gotten away from me with physical stuff that doesn't seem to go away and just baffles me and all the healthcare people I see.  Labs have ruled out any of the usual culprits that would cause this overwhelming fatigue and sleepiness I have.  A cardiologist and a rheumatologist have refused to take the blame.  I might try a neurologist next, or I might just live with what I can and stop fretting about it.  I'll keep on taking the cardiac meds as prescribed because I do have atrial fibrillation, and it's clear I need to take blood thinners the rest of my life.  The price of them is pretty hard on my heart every time I have to pay for them, but I'll obey.  Instead of taking 1 pill a day plus some vitamins, I'm swallowing a handful of various sizes all during the day.  But, again, I'll obey!  

I am making more of an effort to get out more even though just walking to the mailbox makes me tired.  Noreen and I are going to try tai chi starting Tuesday at the senior center in North Bend. 

I think it's hilarious to watch people do it, so maybe we can bring some giggles to those who see us.  I'm hoping it's inside and not out in a park, which is what I always think of when I see people doing it.  I'm not sure I could move very gracefully with 3 or 4 layers on.  Katherine is in a martial arts class every week, so maybe we could share our moves with each other.  She has a cute little white outfit though.

Another friend Mary got me started with Bridge lately and loaned me her Bridge for Beginners book.  I didn't think I would get interested, but I did and got my own book. I remembered a lot, but I'm not sure I played that seriously when I did.  I've played only once with real people and did "okay" even though I was nervous, but I do get in a few games with the robot on line.  I win some and lose some - and lose some very badly.  The bidding strategy is so complicated, and I've just touched on that.  I have so much to learn, but I hope to get involved a little more in that if people will have patience with me.

It's hard not to want to catch up with that hunk of time I've missed, but I'm not going to try to do that.  Emily and Ryan and the girls have had so much fun during the past few weeks, just getting in every exciting thing they can think of and making lots of memories.  I get invited to join in when I feel like it, but they know the winter is my hibernation time and don't press me.  I'll go over and have the usual New Year's meal with them tomorrow.  It's usually red beans and rice and turnip greens.  They've gotten used to the vegan versions of everything, and it's always good.  I think I'm expecting more out of 2024 than I have any year lately.  I've reached the point where I'm ready to be back to a normal state of being, even though I know that physically I'm not going to do much more improving!  I just want to sleep all night AT night and not be wandering around the house from 3 a.m. to 7 and sleeping again from 7 a.m. to 10.  My second sleep.  It just messes up everything to keep those kinds of hours, so I'm going to actively try to improve that.  I'll try to stay up until 10:00 and then refuse to get up or look at my clock when I wake up at 3:30.  

My sweet girls are the reason I want to record our memories, but they're doing so much without me that I can hardly keep up.  They all four plus Woodrow went on a hike today and sent me a bunch of pictures.  There wasn't much sunshine, but it wasn't really cold either, so they had a good time.  Emily seemed shocked that she and Ryan were so tired.  Time is not standing still for them either, but I wish I had all those years to live over again.  It's just such a joy to have them in my life, to talk to at least one of them every day.  The girls are so active after school that I see them very little, and they're pretty engrossed in their big-girl lives.  I love listening to them and watching them and am just in awe at how smart and healthy and beautiful and good they are.  I also have good friends and another family upstairs who has adopted me and given me two more little girls to call me Mimi.  I opened the door this afternoon to Carly holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me - just because.  Maybe I'll have some pictures to post tomorrow.  I don't want to get overwhelmed and take another long vacation.  

While there haven't been any signs of snow or even frost, we have had howling winds for days and days.  It's kind of nice to listen to if you're safe inside, but I hate going anywhere and risk being blown down or having a limb fall on you.  I didn't hear this actually fall the other night, but I'm surprised there wasn't more damage.  It was also garbage day, and garbage and recycling bins were scooting up and down the streets and alleys, sometime turning over and sending their debris to get caught in the limbs.  Wes, the neighbor who usually parks their second car right there was relieved to have, for some reason, parked across the street.

Bowie was insisting on going outside early, so I let him sit on the porch, knowing he would come back in when the garbage trucks started rolling.  He knew something was different but not quite sure what it was.  I wouldn't mind if they did a little more trimming of all those big trees so we could have more sunshine on our street.

We're not supposed to put the bins out in the alley the night before because of the risk of wind and possibly bears, but we all do.  I had to worry all night that my cans would be spilled and all over the place, so about 6 a.m. I raised the garage door and looked out.  There was no mess but no bins either behind the cars.  There were 6 or 8 gray and blue ones near the next building, so I walked up there in my pajamas and bare feet to see if I could find my numbers.  It was warmish and strangely exhilarating walking in the wind, so I pulled mine back and also got our next-door neighbors' too.  Then I had second thoughts about leaving the recycling one out because of it being so light and went back out and brought that in.  Things have settled down now, so maybe the wind is done for a while.  I went to the mail box this morning and walked an extra block or two and got really warm.  Too many layers.

That wasn't so painful, writing a few paragraphs.  I hope I'll do more!

Swimming and Other Activities

 We have a whole week behind us on swimming lessons and just starting the second with one more to go.  I can see a world of improvement, especially with Graysen.  I'm not a judge of good or bad form, but she is going from one side of the pool and back and looking like she's supposed to. 

Last week, they had classes with at least  5 other kids.  I'm not sure what they could actually learn in 30 minutes that way, but they did get a little more confidence in themselves.

Last week was hard on me, because we had so far to walk, and this "condition" of mine with the weak muscles and aching back made walking agonizing.  Once we got there, we can hardly fit ourselves on the bleachers because of the number of parents and other kids - half of them wet.  The air was so hard to breathe, and my camera fogged up immediately.  Then when we left, the girls were wet and cold, and I was ready to get off my feet.

This week, private lessons start at 9:10, and since it's earlier we had our choice of parking places in the little swimming parking lot.  Nice bonus.  Also when I went out the door, there was just one person on all the bleachers, so I sat where I wanted and didn't get wet or too warm.

They like their teacher a lot.  He has just the two of them, and they are doing whatever he tells them with a lot more energy and confidence.  

When we get home, Graysen takes a shower, and they both put all the wet things in the laundry room so I can dry them.  I love that they're so much help.  They want to earn tickets to trade in for money so they can buy a Calico Critters piece - a treehouse or something.  

Yesterday, after reluctant math practice, Katherine mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors, and Graysen swept the front porch.  

The most fun was the simplest - trimming the hedges  - those straggly little sick boxwoods that insist on coming back and pretending to be a hedge.  Looks like we won't be getting any landscaping done this year.  They started off trimming some barberry (I think) bushes along the walk beside the apartment.  They have sharp thorns and will stick in any part of your body that gets near.  They, along with Carly, our neighbor, did a pretty good job but got too fond of it.  I had to take their scissors away finally!  I was never sure it was safe enough for them, although they're 8, 9, and 10.  I had them cutting on different bushes so there was no chance of cutting each other but I was still nervous until they were done.

A few more pictures.

Reading in the backyard at home.

An art class at the Snoqualmie Library.  A little too crowded to really enjoy and not the right paper for transferring the design so that it tore and wrinkled coming out of the water.  But they learned a new concept and enjoyed doing it.

More reading

I love so much having the girls over every weekday.  They teach me so much and make me laugh a lot.  They are vegetarian and parents vegan, and I'm getting more and more familiar with what they want to eat and what they don't.  No more corn dogs and hamburgers, although Burger King does have an Impossible Burger that we all like.  I needed to cook some chicken yesterday and apologized for cooking it so they could smell it.  Katherine said, "I just feel sorry for that chicken."  

They did a dinner theater for me yesterday where they served snacks and reserved me a seat and did interpretive dancing to four songs.  I love their imaginations.

I believe the last one was Romeo and Juliet, some version.  They found a piece of navy fabric with stars in my sewing room and used that for the backdrop and used a flashlight for the lighting.  It kept them busy for a long time, and I love to hear them laughing and chattering and sometimes fussing over their productions.

I wish I were younger and in better shape.  I've started taking some Advil for my painful left knee and using ice packs for my back..  It has made a big difference.  I still can't stand or walk any amount of time, but at least I'm not in pain, and I think I've worked on my sleeping schedule to be more like a normal person.  I'll be back bugging my doctor on August 1st to see if she has any new ideas.    

Meanwhile, I'll try to leave early enough on swim mornings to get a close parking place and keep the ice packs ready..  

I Hear It's Summertime Somewhere

 I wrote this last week and was going back to correct typos and just never got to my computer.  We have had some beautiful days since then.  It starts off really cool, which is fine with me, and then warms up to about 4:00 when the temps start falling.

Emily took the girls swimming one day, knowing it might be too cold, but it turned out to be nice.  Her goal is to only go when the sun is shining on the pool and get out when the sun goes behind the trees and cools things off.  

They had the pool to themselves for a while except for a group of young teenage boys who wanted to be rowdier than they were but thankfully were conscious of the little girls and toned it down.  It looks like Emily is ordering them out here.

The girls did fine as long as their noodles were nearby, and Emily was able to get out and relax a little. 

This was July 5th, I think, before it got warmer.  == After a long wait and a few warm-ish days, I thought we could put away sweaters and certainly coats, but here I sit on the front porch in a fleece jacket at almost 2:00 in the afternoon.  I'm only out here because the girls are all playing at the park across the street, and I cannot stand not watching the intersection where they cross.  It's one of the safest corners in town with a good view both ways and no tricky vegetation.  Cars drive too fast on this street, and I worry that they'll be chattering to each other and forget to make eye contact with the stopped driver.  I know they're old enough, but they are still my babies, and I'll watch them as long as I can.  They're almost ready to walk from their house to mine.  They want to walk downtown to the Swirl for their weekly treat, but I don't think this summer will be the time.  Besides cars driving down the street, there are always motorized bikes and scooters sneaking up behind you - and some of these kids are not watching for people.

Today was the beginning of the first real week of activities, and we did fine this morning.  It's so hard to keep them at the table to talk to them about what's going on this week, but we have to have regular meetings and write things down, or we'll forget half of what we need to do.

They filled in their library paper for minutes read, and we talked about what books we were going to get to read to each other and which ones they can read alone.  They spent way too much time decorating their little notebooks with stickers and playing with my new "tiny timer".  Its big enough to allow them to keep up with how many minutes are left on whatever they're doing.  

I'm loving Graysen's new haircut.  Emily originally cut 10 inches off to contribute to Locks of Love, and she had a long on the front, shorter on the back haircut.  She then took her to Great Clips, and the man kept cutting until he had what Em called a "Buster Brown" cut.  It's hard to get used to her with short hair, but I think it's cute.  She has enough fullness or whatever you call it so it doesn't look limp, and it's so easy to wash and dry.

Katherine thinks she'll be ready to donate hers when it gets long enough, probably before she's 10.

I stocked up on snacks and lunch things and hid a lot of them.  Itt\'s too easy to graze all day and ask for food every 15 minutes.  Meatless meals are so hard for kids.  They're used to eating a lot of vegetables, so lots of fruits and some carrots and English cucumbers are on the menu this week.  I had a little cheese pizza for them, pretzels, carrots, cucumbdtrs, nectarines, and bananas.  I saw where one of them had taken a few bites from an apple, but I wrapped it up for later today.  Nice surprise for the afternoon.  

I got all these fruits and vegetables plus a few more from Amazon Fresh, along with whatever else I needed.  Sometimes I just don't want to get out and go to Safeway.  I've heard people worry about the produce, but I've always had good luck with mine, and I think the prices are comparable.  

Except for this orange.  I hope it tastes better than it looks, but I have my doubts.  (It was fine.) The other things that I've tasted are great.

Emily brought over a bunch of food - leftovers mainly - but the best watermelon, a little thing called a Yumi.  And it was very yummy. 

I asked the girls what these were - chickpeas?  Lots of giggling, and they said, "Capn Crunch for a snack!"  

They do well eating fruits for sure.  They love them all.  Except cherries, of all things.  I had a nice treat because of that.  Vegetables - they try everything, but you never know who is liking cucumber this week and who isn't.  

Vegetarian friendly.  It's hard not to have a hamburger or hotdog every once in a while, but I did find gluten-free corn dogs that they think they like, so we'll try that soon.  They love the Impossible Burgers from Burger King..  So do I.  They taste like the real thing - maybe even better.  I think they're $10 apiece thought, so we don't do that very often.  They're so big  they can usually half one if you add some fries and a milk shake.

Graysen's new soccer league is going to involve three evenings a week and a tourney about once a month out of town. That and swimming lessons every morning for three weeks are going to present a challenge.

 We won't get much done around that, but we'll try to do some fun things.  We're going to walk up to Ri9o Bravito downtown for lunch one day.  They've found some meatless goodies there and love it, and I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding something good.  The Swirl, the frozen yogurt place, is on their list of places to visit too.

This was our visit last week.  We kept having to put it off, so when we finally did go, it was a treat.  

I can't keep up with what they get - 2 or 3 flavors plus toppings.  I don't usually get one, but it was so hot after our walk that I was tempted by this one, and I can't even remember the name of it.  Blackberry something, I think, and those are Boba Balls in it.  So delicious.  I wished I had gotten a full cup.  I never thought I would like something made from tapioca starch!  I might try bubbla tea in there one day, but that yogurt was extra good.

Katherine showing off one of them after a morning of painting.

I have to stop now, or my Saturday morning will be gone.  There are probably still typos left.  

I'm enjoying sitting here with the door and windows open listening to the birds.  Just last week, I had a fire, and this girl showed her appreciation.