Library Bookie

Explanation of the pictures

2012-01-13T22:39:00.002-05:00

I am participating in the Take Twelve project. My pictures for January, 2012 include:

1. Our twenty percent off clearance Keurig. It was the wrong color for someone, but just right for us.

2. I collected 365 fruit stickers for this poster.

3. Jack ate breakfast at our house on the 12th. We did give him more than a dozen Cheerios.

4. and 5. After breakfast Jack climbed up the stairs. I did not know he knew how. I thought it deserved two pictures.

6. The blond dresser needs some reorganization.

7. We used to teach on the corner where Marc's is now.

8. Richard in the car.

9. Beverly in the car.

10. Passing by Echo Hills School.

11. Our house on January 12th. Now there is snow on the roof. Winter arrived on Friday the 13th.

12. This is what we had for dinner minus the milk that had not been poured yet.

Twelve Pictures for January

2012-01-13T21:52:00.018-05:00

Rotary Resolution

2011-12-03T22:38:00.003-05:00

Someone gave my brother the following document recently. I had never seen it before. It is nice to know that so many people thought my father was a great person.

RESOLUTION BY THE JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB UPON THE DEATH OF
CHARLES M. WATSON

Charles M. Watson was born at Orwell, Ohio, on September 7, 1908. He attended the Ohio State University, receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education in 1931, and a Masters Degree in 1934. He was a teacher in the Ashtabula County school system from 1931-1955, having taught at Edgewood School until 1943. That year he became Superintendent of Schools at Williamsfield. In 1945 he accepted a position as Superintendent of Schools in Jefferson, where he served until 1955. He then moved to Perry Township, where he served as Superintendent until his untimely death on January 30, 1957.
Charlie had that remarkable talent of being able to do many, many things very, very well. He was a friend of and respected by all of the hundreds of students in his schools. He maintained discipline with dignity and without permitting personalities to bias his decisions.
Charlie was a good administrator, carrying out the duties of the office which he held without fear or favor, rancor or prejudice; he never yielded a political expediency. His life was an inspiration, not only to those whose destiny he guided, but to his host of friends who learned to respect his judgment and love his character.
Charlie was always interested in the athletic program of his schools. He was noted for his devotion to fair play, even at the expense of his will to win.
Charlie loved to sing, to be with his friends. He enjoyed a rich, full life and succeeded in packing more living into his forty-eight years than most men can accomplish in three score and ten.
Charlie gave greatly to the life of his community. He produced a succession of Minstrels for the benefit of the P.T.A. in Jefferson. He was always a participant, giving freely of himself and of his talents. He gave hours of pleasure to the many citizens of our community who became regular attendants year after year.
Charles served the Rotary Club in Jefferson as its president. He was ever regular in his attendance at its meetings. He was a Rotarian, in or out of meetings, exemplifying the rotary motto of “Service above Self”. It is often easy to give of material things, but one gives most who gives of himself.
Charlie Watson was a Gentleman.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that with the death of our dear friend, Charles Watson, we, and the great community of mankind, have suffered an irreparable loss; that his death creates a void which will not soon be filled; that we extend out sympathy to his wife, his children, his parents, and to those unnumbered students who will never have the opportunity to enjoy the benefit of his guiding hand.

Adopted by the Rotary Club of
Jefferson, Ohio, February 14, 1957
Signed by Roger Brenneman, Secretary
Robert L. Shoaf
R. A. McNutt
Frank Cornwall

A Bennett boy, a five star handyman, etc.

2011-12-01T07:12:00.003-05:00

This is a picture of one of my first cousins. I think it is either Fred or Harold Bennett, but I am not sure which. I am hoping one of my many relatives/friends on Facebook will be able to clear it up.

Thanks to our friend Ted, we have a handyman who can do just about anything. This week he is fixing our plaster problems, constructing a privacy fence, power washing the deck as well as numerous other jobs.

A golfing friend of Richard encountered a person in Florida the other day wearing an OSU sweatshirt. They struck up a conversation. Ohio people tend to do this shortly after OSU/Michigan games no matter what the outcome. At any rate, this person was the son of the lady who had the boarding house where Richard lived in Washington C.H. when he was first teaching at Miami Trace. I remember Dorothy and her son Jeff, also. She treated her roomers and their girlfriends like family. One time she even lent Richard her Cadillac to visit me in Massillon before we got married. It is a small world and we are all connected.

Construction Finished

2011-11-10T12:01:00.003-05:00

Workmen completed our project yesterday. Shown here are the final results. We had to call the electrician back today since we had no hot water this morning. Hopefully, this problem will be fixed up soon.

Construction Continued

2011-11-09T07:55:00.004-05:00

This is what our room looks like after two days of work. We lost the tan color, so we may get it painted eventually. We like this company. They are still in business after twenty some years. The owner volunteered to replace the screen on our front door without even asking. An electrician is here now. Hopefully, in the future we won't blow the circuits in the bathroom upstairs when we flip a switch in the new room.

After fifty-six years there will be a Watson involved with education in Jefferson again. The citizens there elected my brother to the Board of Education.

Construction Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-08T08:59:00.008-05:00

1. Staying home today is a necessity as we are getting the back room replaced.

2. The spindles on the deck will be replaced and come up to code - so no little heads will get stuck.

2. We did vote this morning before the workmen arrived.

4. As we wandered through the stadium area before the Ohio State game last Saturday, a flying football creamed me. Actually it destroyed the yummy caramel tart sample I was eating - leaving me a sticky, gooey mess. I took it as a message that I should not have been eating that in the first place. I recovered by game time.

5. Richard took my picture with the Jesse Owens statue. I met him at the Akron Canton Airport. He was waiting for his daughter and I was waiting for my father-in-law. We had a nice chat.

6. Richard and I served as communion stewards on Sunday. This was the first time we ever did that. It was a meaningful experience for both of us.

7. Another eleven bags of leaves went out on trash day.

8. Tonight is the Hudson YA book club. I enjoy seeing old friends from Tallmadge.

9. We pass around information about books we like. I will be ready with some information about Any Day A Beautiful Change.

10. I've been carefully rereading a paper about William Morris Stewart written by an Ivy League professor. I found a mistake an editor should have caught - but spell check would not. I am contemplating sending the author an e-mail, but wonder if he would be offended.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-01T09:08:00.006-04:00

1. I watched Lily's Halloween parade. I enjoyed seeing her school.

2. Last Friday night we saw Over the Rhine live in concert for the 9th time.

3. Saturday found us in Columbus. Night games are not my favorite because of the long ride home. This one was worth it. It was really exciting and down to the wire.

4. I saw Lily and Charlie sing at the Presbyterian Church on Sunday. After the children lined up, Charlie said in a loud voice, "I am right here." What a treat to see and hear them.

5. We missed Trick or Treat this year since we were in Columbus. Someone tricked me into buying Whoppers and Milk Duds.

6. A college friend gave us the picture of Richard playing the bass saxophone. The other bandsman in the picture is our friend Wally. He was a pilot and took us flying several times in a tiny rented plane. I never told my mother that one.

7. We filled eleven bags with unwanted leaves on Sunday afternoon. Not fun.

8. It makes me happy to be aware of cousins I did not know I had - Don, Harlan, Cheryl, Marna, Nancy and Jerry to name a few.

9. I've always liked fairy tales. I'm already hooked on Grimm and Once Upon a Time.

10. I am wrapping Christmas presents this week. Since Borders went out of business, you can imagine what people will be getting this year.

Family Stories

2011-10-10T07:04:00.004-04:00

My mother-in-law celebrated her 93rd birthday last week. Thanks to modern technology she connected with many of her relatives. Mom was thrilled to see and talk to grandchildren, great grandchildren and her daughter Pat.

Mom told me some stories during our recent visit to Florida. She does not talk about her past very often, so I really enjoyed hearing these. To avoid confusion I will refer to her as Eleanor as I retell her stories. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Eleanor worked in a department store called Shone-McCallister. Her mother Hazel worked on the floor as a sales person. Eleanor’s first job was to fix price tags. She eventually worked her way up to being a sales lady, also. Times were tough in those days – just as they are now. Eleanor left school early to take this job.

At some point the family spent summers near Elkhorn, Wisconsin at Aunt Gertrude’s cabin in the woods. Eleanor’s father Harry spent the weekdays working near Chicago, but commuted to the cabin on the weekends. At the beginning of the summer, the family took lots of supplies. One year Harry drove the Model T up the hill, but Eleanor, her sister Helen and her mother pulled the supplies up the hill. Evidently, it was too much for the car. The three heard loud horn honking. Hazel said, “ If he thinks we can go any faster, he’s got another thing coming.” But Harry was trying to warn his family that cows were coming down the road directly in their path. When Hazel saw the animals she screamed at the girls to get to the side of the road. Eleanor collided with a barbed wire fence that left a hug gash in her leg. Harry and Hazel rushed their daughter to the nearest town that had a doctor. The wound required multiple stitches. Eleanor said she still remembers the pain when the doctor poured iodine on her leg. Eleanor showed me the long scar on her leg after she told me this story.

Eleanor talked about her father Harry. He had very deformed hands and feet. However, he had beautiful handwriting. He kept books for various businesses in the Chicago area. When Eleanor or Helen would misbehave, Harry took his hand and rolled it around in their hair. It must have hurt, because Eleanor winced when she said it. She ended that story by saying he could not have known how much it hurt.

Eleanor also talked about her grandparents Charles and Lillian Crowe. He was a carpenter and built the house in Riverside that I saw this past summer. He must have had wonderful skills as a carpenter. I still remember the beautiful woodwork inside. Charles Crowe's take on Riverside was that a drunk designed the area. These days it is considered to be a unique planned community.

On Christmas day Eleanor and her family would visit the grandparents in Riverside. During the afternoon Grandma Lillian would excuse herself on the pretense of going to the store. Shortly after, Mrs. Santa Claus made an appearance much to the delight of the children. Eleanor said her heart was broken the year she spied a piece of her grandmother’s dress through the costume. The magic spell broke, but the happy memory of Mrs. Claus remains.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-13T20:54:00.011-04:00

1. We took a walking tour of the Ohio State University campus last Saturday. We went from the other side of the Olentangy River to High Street before the game.

2. The architecture of the Wexner Center features the look of the old Armory.

3. Hughes Hall and Hayes Hall always had lots of atmosphere.

4. I shared breakfast with my brother at a local spot called Mugs on Monday.

5. I met friends for lunch in Madison.

6. My best friend Brenda and I took our pictures at one of those photo booths a few years ago.

7. We saw Contagion on Popcorn Monday. Part of it was filmed in Western Springs. We recognized the building. I had to close my eyes in a couple parts.

8. Today was primary election day in Stow, I hope the person who gets elected as the Mayor of Stow in November will be the person I picked. I have very specific requirements for the job. Only one person on the ballot fulfilled them this time.

9. My Watson grandparents celebrated 50 years of marriage in 1953. I remember the party. I wonder what they were thinking about when this picture was taken.

10. I located a picture of my childhood home taken in 1955.

My old home

2011-09-08T19:15:00.003-04:00

I make infrequent trips to Stark County as there is no one left to visit. But I do go back to see my optometrist. I went early today and hung out at Border's for a while. I only bought seven items. I checked out a few of the other stores on the Strip and still had some time. I decided to go down my old street in Perry Township. 141 looked pretty good, so I stopped to snap a picture. Oops - Busted. A man ran out of the house to investigate what I was doing. I told him I lived there many years ago, and my father was Charles Watson, a former superintendent of schools. He smiled and shook my hand. Although this street is in the Genoa Elementary district, his autistic son attends Watson Elementary. The man said his son is getting a wonderful education in a caring place since his transfer.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-30T20:53:00.003-04:00

1. Today was an incredibly beautiful day in Ohio.
2. The weather inspired me to run 5K.
3. The weather inspired me to mow the lawn.
4. I had to pick up a lot of sticky things in the yard. (Inside joke)
5. I found a picture of Aunt Luella on the porch at her home in Riverside, Illinois.
6. Having lots of children visit us recently made me think of my own childhood.
7. I happened upon a picture of my mother, my brother about age 4 and myself somewhere around 1/1/2.
8. The patterns in the picture certainly reflect the forties.
9. I wonder who took this picture. There was not much film available back then.
10.Football season begins this Saturday at the Ohio State University. Time and change will surely show .....

What I did this summer

2011-08-27T20:22:00.004-04:00

This summer flew by with many varied events and trips. I hope I did not forget too many things.

Trip to Cheyenne, Wy. the first week of June
Trip to Chambersburg, Pa.
Aeros game with our church friends
Stow United Methodist Church 50th Anniversary committee meetings
July 4th Parade and picnic
Hosted Lily and Charlie while their parents packed up for their move to Ohio
Hosted all the Taylors as they waited to get into their house.
Picnic in Jefferson with Ron and Marion
Outdoor concerts watching Richard perform in Kent and Hudson
Trip to Western Springs to welcome the new baby Genevieve.
Attended church in Western Springs as well as a beautiful organ concert after church
Trip to Cheyenne, Wy. for Frontier Days. This included: the rodeo, the melodrama, the big breakfast in downtown Cheyenne, The Behind the Chutes tour (Incredibly muddy, but fun), a hail storm, The Thunderbirds Air Show with a closeup and personal look at two of the Thunderbirds, lots of kettle corn, two parades, the Homes tour, D.A. Russell Days, going around the circle too many times to count as Bridget practiced with her new bicycle and church at the White Chapel on base.
Fundraiser dinner in Ashtabula for the Lakeside High School Dragons football team
Hosting the Dillows
Trip to the Cleveland Zoo
A picnic with all eight of our grandchildren - Priceless
Popcorn Monday at the Kent Theater. We saw The Help, Bridesmaids and a couple others too awful to be named.
Lily's birthday party - and her Mama's, too
The Johnson Family Reunion in Butler, Pa

Aunt Luella

2011-08-04T07:09:00.003-04:00

Many interesting things happened to me in July. I just was not home to write about them. Hopefully, I will catch up with several posts in August.
My mother-in-law had a wonderful aunt. The two of them were relatively close in age and were good friends as well as relatives. Aunt Luella created many beautiful works of art during her lifetime.
After a lovely day at the beach on my recent trip to Illinois, we drove through Riverside. I said, "Let's go by Aunt Luella's house." Everyone laughed since I did not know the address. But I knew if I saw the street I would remember. I looked up and saw Shenstone on a sign. I called out 325 Shenstone. A few minutes later I saw the familiar blue house still looking beautiful.

Ten Things about My Father

2011-06-19T06:38:00.003-04:00

The older I get the more I think about my father. I did not know him very long, as I was only fourteen when he died. Today I decided to come up with ten obscure facts about him that only reside in the far recesses of my mind.

1. My father loved sports - especially the long jump in track, basketball, football and baseball. He shared this love with me, because I can remember attending Browns' games, Indians' games and even a football game at the Ohio State University.

2. His career as a pitcher ended when a baseball hit him in the mouth during a freshman game at The Ohio State University.

3. My father loved spaghetti, which was never served at our house. My mother disliked tomatoes. Dad went to an Italian restaurant in Ashtabula with the football coaches on Friday nights after the games. He always had spaghetti at these social events.

4. My father was an auxiliary sheriff's deputy in addition to being the superintendent of schools.. He worked the unusual calls like when the gypsies came to town. I don't remember the details of that one - just the phone call.

5. Other jobs my father had included working at the Coca Cola plant, hotel desk clerk and the shipyards at the Harbor.

6. Another of my father's jobs was to pick up the candy for the basketball concession stand at Jefferson High School. Every so often we went to Ashtabula to some place I can't remember, but we would purchase a ton of candy bars. After we made the school purchase, I was allowed to pick out a box. What a sweet memory - getting twenty Hershey bars at one time.

7. Our phone number was 301. We had a private line because he was the school superintendent. One of my good friends had a party line - Blue 602. It was an art to listen in on your neighbors' calls without them knowing.

8. My father loved to sing, dance, play the drums and tell jokes. He put on elaborate shows in Jefferson to raise money for the athletic programs. He tap danced to such grand old tunes as Toot Toot Tootsie and You're a Grand Old Flag dressed in top hat and tails.

9. Dad smoked unfiltered Camel cigarettes. This was before the warnings that smoking can kill you.

10. My father liked to stay up late. He said that he wanted to know what went on in the world between 6:00PM and midnight.

Grandaughters, a cousin, and an uncle

2011-06-09T13:11:00.009-04:00

The Wyoming girls finished a year of school last week. I like taking pictures on the first and last days of school.

My cousin Roy from California sent me a picture of my Uncle Howard in his fancy Buick.

A Visit to the Old Brick

2011-05-27T07:13:00.013-04:00

We traveled to Ashtabula County on the back roads yesterday. Our destination was the Old Brick in Orwell. The eight of us met about 10:00. The party included my brother Ron, my cousin Don and his friend Rosemary, my cousin Harlan, two representatives from the Old Brick Society, Richard and myself. It is a beautiful old house sitting on many acres.The storm that passed through Ashtabula County on Wednesday night caused part of a tree to come done on the circular driveway. This is the second time I've taken this tour, so I attempted to pay attention to different details this time.I examined several old books with a special interest in family Bibles. My grandmother worked in the post office, which operated out of the Old Brick at one time. Orwell did not have many residents as you can see from the post office furniture. Another piece of furniture reminded me of what we call the blonde dresser at my house.The upstairs was blocked off. Rosemary asked if we could please go up. My father was born in one of those bedrooms, so I was glad she made the request. The wedding dress was hidden away in a closet. We saw three ghostly looking folks upstairs. We ended our day in downtown Orwell by having lunch with our tour guides.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-24T16:43:00.011-04:00

1. I visited in Western Springs last weekend. Juliette and I read books, played games, ate ice cream, checked out a nearby park, attended a party and other fun stuff.

2. We met her parents at the train station on Sunday.

3. The drive home included some nasty weather around Toledo.

4. I was back at Zumba on Monday morning.

5. We have new yard art for 2011. It is in honor of the Dillows. We might have given this to them, but it is way too heavy, so it will have to live in our yard.

6. Hopefully, these pictures will be a vast contrast to what the flowers will look like later in the summer.

7. We always have to plant a few of the "death flowers" as so named by our children.

8. The nasturtiums already have a couple flowers on them.

9. The reading fairy is a favorite of mine.

10. On Thursday I will be visiting the Old Brick, which is a museum in Orwell, Ohio.

Advice from my Zumba Instructor

2011-05-11T21:30:00.000-04:00

This morning Christie told us why she had to cancel her class yesterday. She turned on a wash load and left to do errands. While she was gone the hose disconnected from the back of the washing machine in her first floor laundry room. An estimated eighty gallons of water flooded the first floor as well as the basement. I can only imagine the damage it must have done.
The moral of the story is that it is not a good idea to leave home while the laundry is washing. I learned a long time ago not to leave when a drier is going. We were home when ours caught fire. It did make a humdinger of a show and tell for Marie's kindergarten class that day.

Ten on Tuesday on Wednesday

2011-05-03T17:01:00.019-04:00

1. As usual the Jefferson lunch was fun. Donald made a trip from Las Vegas in order to make the event.

2. We love our woodpeckers

3. Katherine, Ben and Juliette have a lovely new house. They look forward to living in in it soon.

4. Here is a picture of my father and his high school basketball team. Can you guess which one he is? Also, pictured are his two first cousins. I'll bet they had a lot of fun together. My cousin Don gave me this picture.

5. Our new faucet looks great. It was a surprise when I arrived home.

6. Jack is a good baby.

7. Jack likes to watch Charlie.

8. The flowers and plants arrived at Marc's today. It is always one of my favorite days of the year, because I know spring and summer are on the way.

9. The Taylors looked great for church on Easter Sunday.

10. Here is a picture of another cute little guy. Charlie is standing in front of his Mama.

Ten on Tuesday about Charles and Robert

2011-04-19T10:59:00.007-04:00

1. The men pictured here are Charles Watson, School Supt, and Robert Shoaf, High School Principal.

2. They were dignified men who did their jobs well.

3. The Shoafs did not have children. My brother and I used to get terrific Christmas presents from them. We could hardly wait until Christmas Day to open our gifts. Actually, my brother usually did not wait - or he waited until no one was looking.

4. Once a year my father put on a different hat. He became the Superintendent of the County Fair. It was fun for me, too, as I enjoyed lots of free passes on the rides.

5. Robert Shoaf also had another job. He owned a concession at Conneaut Lake Park in Pennsylvania. Every summer he and his wife moved to PA. He donned an apron and sold chances on some kind of a game.

6. Robert Shoaf boasted of being a friend of Perry Como, who got his start singing at this amusement park.

7. One summer our family spent a two week vacation living in a cottage at the park.

8. I became an expert driving the Dodgem Cars.

9. We went swimming every day on this vacation. My mother always jumped in the water with us. I never remember my father even wearing a bathing suit. I don't think he ever learned how to swim, or just did not care for it. He watched us from a pier.

10. Every day after lunch my brother and I wandered off to ride the Blue Streak. These were my only experiences with a roller coaster.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-12T14:24:00.006-04:00

1. My father's name was Charles Manville Watson. His middle name came from his mother's brother. I knew this man as Mack Johnson. It has only been in the last couple years that I found out his given name was Manville. Uncle Mack was a horseman. He drove a sulky in the horse races at the Jefferson Fair. My only memory of him is sitting on a cot in the horse barn when my family would visit him during fair week. Thanks to meeting his granddaughter Marna, I feel like I know him better.

2. Marna shared several pictures with us. I had never seen this one of my grandmother Ida and her sister Inez before.

3. The population of my family continues to grow. I recently received an e-mail from an Italian man named Mario. His great-grandfather was William Morris Stewart. That means we share the same great-great grandparents. I find this quite exciting and look forward to communicating more with my newly found cousin. Mario found me because I posted pictures on my blog of his grandfather's grave in Arlington Cemetery.

4. I just read Analysis of the Functions of Money written by William Morris Stewart. He states in the dedication he wrote the book for "the young men and women of the United States who are contemplating matrimony". The dedication has the date April 12, 1898 - exactly 113 years ago today.

5. Yesterday I visited my new otolaryngologist in order to get my ears cleaned out. He did it with the help of a microscope, and it was completely painless. I made a good choice with my new doctor.

6. The Golden Flashes, seeded sixth last weekend in the Ann Arbor Regional, finished second behind Michigan to qualify for the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships, which will be hosted by Kent State at Cleveland State's Wolstein Center, April 15-17.

7. I will be cheering on the Kent State Golden Flashes this weekend.

8. We took turns holding the big spider. You can see how much Elizabeth enjoyed this experience.

9. Maddie showed me her favorite climbing tree.

10. We had some electrical work done today. Does anyone want to guess what we did?

Popcorn Monday

2011-03-21T22:08:00.002-04:00

Popcorn Monday means cheap movie tickets and free popcorn in the next town over. We try to go whenever time permits. Today we saw Limitless. Last week we saw The Adjustment Bureau. Both movies were good. Science fiction seems to have taken over Hollywood. We skipped I Am Number Four, another science fiction movie. This was mostly because of me. The man who wrote the book did not get any financial benefit from the movie. It is a long story, but I did not want any part of my piddly five dollar ticket to go to the wrong person.
There are seldom more than six or eight people in the movie theater on Monday afternoons. The same employee sells the tickets, takes the tickets and passes out the popcorn. They conserve electricity because the theaters are so incredibly dark, we can hardly find our seats. Twice we received free tickets because the reel broke or the movie started skipping. But the popcorn is tasty and we love to go to the movies.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-15T19:39:00.008-04:00

1. Opening Day for the Indians will be here soon. I've been watching a few spring training games hoping to catch a glimpse of my brother. No luck there, but I enjoyed watching the games.

2. Ten years ago we went to spring training. We took my wonderful cousin, Dorothy. She loved baseball very much.

3. Spring training used to be in Winter Haven, Florida. It is probably way too quiet there now. We stayed at the Lemon Drop Bed and Breakfast. I wonder if they are still in business.

4. I met Bob Feller a couple of times. He will be missed around baseball this year.

5. We need to go to see the Aeros more often.

6. It rained extremely hard the last time we went to an Indians game. We went home. the game did not end until about 1:00 in the morning. They had to finish the game because they were playing San Diego with no way to make it up.

7. Can anyone tell me who these two Indians are? How quickly one forgets.

8. The currently unidentified Indians were greeting the fans at the last game a couple years ago.

9. I know it is Progressive Field now, but I still think of it as The Jake.

10. Go Tribe.

It's a 6:12 day

2011-02-26T08:20:00.005-05:00

The sun sets at 6:12 today. When I heard that on the radio this morning, I decided to accomplish more than usual today since I have more daylight.

I thought I was the one who originated 6:12 in the family by graduating from the Ohio State University on June 12th. Not so. While researching William Morris Stewart, I discovered that his grave at the Laurel Mountain Cemetery was number 612. The stones from this cemetery were bulldozed into the San Francisco Bay in 1940. Thirty-five thousand people were moved to another cemetery in San Mateo County. Now all that marks the grave of Uncle Bill is a brick sized monument with the number 351.

The super tall furnace man aka the super tall air conditioner man visited us last week. He noticed the 20+ years old Please Wear Shoes in the Basement sign. I have no intentions of taking it down anytime soon. The stfm told me he had wanted to be in the Air Force, but was too tall.

I skipped Zumba on Friday because of the weather. I found out later the teacher did not go either.

Flashback Wednesday

2011-02-16T16:32:00.008-05:00

Our dear friend Phil sent us a few pictures today. I could not resist sharing them. The first two remind me of a young Brad Pitt.

Just so no one will get a big head, I included the third picture which came with the caption "Looks like a computer geek
before it was fashionable."

Some on Sunday

2011-02-13T19:27:00.005-05:00

1. The United Methodist Church in Stow is celebrating our 50th anniversary.
2. I seem to have three Scrabble games. Does anyone want one?
3. Yesterday I bought 4 books on CD at Borders for $1.00 apiece. Entertainment for trips to Pennsylvania or Illinois include Losing It by Valerie Bertinelli, It Ain't All about the Cookin' by Paula Deen, The Memory Quilt by T. D. Jakes and In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner. I would not have paid big bucks for any of these, but I am sure they will be interesting.
4. My Organized Simplicity book arrived.
5. The other books I am reading now are Three Rivers Rising; A Novel of the Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards and Christy by Catherine Marshall.
6. I don't usually talk about my cooking, but we had some really good chicken tonight. I used Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal for breading.
7. I came across a picture from the Lenox Homecoming from several years ago. It was the only time I can remember Uncle Howard attending. His son Lee brought him.

Oatmeal

2011-02-05T16:50:00.003-05:00

Those who know me well are aware I eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast - not just a little bit, but the heart healthy serving recommended by the old Quaker. I became very excited when I saw other family members are trying this treat. I immediately searched for and found the steel cut John McCann's Irish Oatmeal appearing on E's picture a day. I compared the nutrition facts with the old fashioned Quaker Oats, and found them to be quite similar. I made it last night in the crock pot. Yum. I added several varieties of frozen fruit. (Pineapple, blackberries, cherries and mangoes) I plan to have it this way every weekend as a special treat. To my way of thinking, it really is one of the super foods.

What's up in January

2011-01-31T18:34:00.004-05:00

1. It has been a busy month with Jackson Henry making his appearance on January 1. I saw him when he was a few hours old.

2. After a few days with the Taylors, I left for Ohio since there was a snowstorm on the way. It caught up with me in Pittsburg, but I made it home okay.

3. I traveled to Western Springs, Illinois to spend a few days with Katherine. Once again I left before the snow arrived.

4. We celebrated Juliette's birthday. She is wearing part of one of her gifts. Thanks, Lisa. She loves to dress up.

5. The battery on my camera gave up, so I don't have as many pictures as usual.

6. One day we went to the Brookfield Zoo. It is fun to go to the zoo in the winter. Only a few people were there with us. We could see everything close up - especially the polar bear.

7. Sunday was Founder's Day at Church. It was part of the 50th anniversary celebration.
Instead of a sermon there was a play which explained the beginning organization of the UMC in Stow.

8. Today was popcorn Monday at the movies. We saw Black Swan. I did not like it at all. One of the reasons I did not like it was that one of the characters had her hand caught in a door. I realize this is an odd reason not to like a movie, but I still remember getting my finger pinched in a revolving door at age three.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-01-18T06:26:00.005-05:00

1. Richard and I spent most of yesterday in Ashtabula County.

2. We could not resist stopping at Trader Joe's on the way.

3. We stopped in where my brother sells used cars. The owner and my brother used to be in the same Cub Scout group in Jefferson. It is all in who you know to get a job.

4. My mother was the Den Mother of the group, so I had to go to all the meetings, too.

5. From there we spent a little time at the Henderson Public Library. I finished reading Revolver by Sedgewick because I found it on the shelf. It is a selection to discuss for the YA group I attend in Hudson. I had put off reading the book, because I don't like guns. However, this book turned out to be quite interesting.

6. Twelve of us Jefferson class members met for lunch with a few ringers in attendance. Richard went with me this time as did my brother Ron.

7. Upon return we hurried over to Kent for Popcorn Monday. We saw The King's Speech. It was a great movie, and I highly recommend seeing it.

8. Today will be another busy one. I had to skip Zumba yesterday, so I am going to a 9:30 Hip Hop class.

9. From there I am going to church for some 50th Anniversary committee work.

10. Book Club is tonight. I am glad I got my reading done.

Some on Sunday

2011-01-16T22:20:00.005-05:00

Today I was thinking about the Presidential Inauguration we attended. It is hard to believe it was two years ago. What a time we had, thanks to Elizabeth's careful planning of the day's activities. We left about 5:00AM and did not return until 4:00 in the afternoon. We spent the whole day outside despite the fact it was a cold January day. We actually walked back from Washington D.C. to Virginia where Matt graciously picked us up at the Air Force Memorial. I am very glad I was able to participate in such an historic day.

Some on Sunday

2011-01-09T20:58:00.009-05:00

Here are a few baby pictures to enjoy.

Ten on Friday

2011-01-07T21:09:00.008-05:00

1. Jack Taylor arrived bright and early on January 1. He was the first boy born in Chambersburg, PA this year.

2. There is not much traffic on the PA Turnpike early on New Year's Day.

3. I saw a cute sign about a bean when I stopped at a Starbucks.

4. Spending time with the Taylor children involves lots of puzzles, games, coloring and music.

5. I went to the bus stop with Lily. She takes G5 about 8:20 and returns about 4:00.

6. I don't know anything about potty training boys. When I asked Charlie if he could put something in his potty, he tossed in a tissue and left the room.

7. I came home from PA a day earlier than planned because of impending snow. I made it through the mountains. The snowplows started gathering by the side of the road about 4:30. I arrived home about 7:30.

8. I listened to vampire fiction all the way. I made it through disc 10 of Breaking Dawn. Unfortunately, it was due today. There was a hold on it, so I returned it to the library this afternoon. I may never find out how quickly Renesme grows up.

9. We ate at the new Triple Crown tonight. It was as beautiful as ever on the inside.

10. I am still working on Christmas cards. I realized how far behind I am when I received a Valentine in the mail today.

11. Thanks to a Christmas gift from Elizabeth, I will be eating lots of fruit this year in order to collect 365 stickers.

2010 Wrap Up

2010-12-31T18:52:00.004-05:00

1. I've missed the last two T on T, but I never committed to do them. For 2011 I will do Some on Sunday.

2. Christmas found us in Chambersburg, PA. The flu hit Lily, Marie, Richard and BJ in that order. Charlie and I escaped.

3. Shortly after our arrival in PA I noticed that Baby Jesus was missing from the Nativity scene. Marie promptly told me he would arrive on Christmas Eve. Sometime in the excitement of Christmas morning, Charlie shouted, "Baby Jesus is here." How sweet. I am glad he noticed.

4. Since the Taylor baby did not appear for Christmas, we came back home. We took an interesting route by telling our GPS not to use toll roads. We began to think we should have brought our passports because we drove so far north before we finally turned west. It was a beautiful drive through lots of small towns. I am glad we did it that way once.

5. My new old book is Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings. Can anyone figure out why why I would want that book?

6. Tonight when I take off my class ring, I won't wear it again for five years. It surprised me how many comments I received about it this year.

7. I started using my new Ohio State gym bag today. I tossed the old germy one in the trash. I found several interesting things when I cleaned it out. One was a note from a boy named Steven who thanked me for helping him find information during his time at TMS. On the same day I saw another boy from TMS who recognized me, but thought I was a bus driver. An interesting coincidence. I am glad I at least helped some students.

8. The snow that came down when we were in Wyoming is just about gone. It almost made the 60's here today.

9. Tonight is the night I start putting away the Christmas decorations.

10. Happy New Year to everyone.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-12-14T22:16:00.008-05:00

1. We are back from Wyoming. It was a week of fun filled activities.
2. We saw The Nutcracker, performed by the Moscow Ballet.
3. One morning we visited a great bakery, followed by a trip to Starbucks.
4. I thought the built in hutch was beautiful. It looked especially nice with the Don Drumm pieces.
5. I had a great view from our second story guest room. Notice the sunshine and lack of snow.
6. Grandpa spent time with these three.
7. Bridget played the drums at a birthday party.
8. We were able to wish Gracie Happy Birthday on the 14th.
9. Security did not seem any different from usual at the airports.
10. It is nice to be back home.

Six on Saturday

2010-12-04T07:36:00.006-05:00

1. The John Trapani concert was last night. It is a great way to get in the Christmas spirit. I loved the Christmas Carols as well as the Kenton Christmas arrangements. I was in the second row, so had a good view of Richard.
2. We have another concert tonight. Over the Rhine returns to the Kent Stage. This will be the 8th time we have seen them.
3. I am enjoying our new Christmas candles from Lowe's. They are smart candles, because they turn on and off by themselves. The best thing is no cords.
4. I have a new pair of pants for Zumba. I noticed I was the only person in class not wearing dark ones. So long to Marie's middle school beige stretchy pants.
5. The other day I saw a lady with two little girls about two years old going in the revolving door at the Nat. This gave me cold chills and a flashback to my first memory. It was getting my finger pinched in a revolving door in Ashtabula when I was three years old. Children sometimes put their fingers where they shouldn't. There is no way to protect four little hands going through one of these doors. By the time I got inside the trio had vanished, so I could not explain my feelings about revolving doors.
6. I have less than a month to wear my high school class ring. On reunion years I wear it every day. This year several people commented on it. I don't think that has ever happened before.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-11-30T15:53:00.013-05:00

1. I missed the ten last week because I was having too much fun with our holiday company.
2.Juliette and Katherine arrived on Sunday. Ben and the Taylors arrived on Wednesday. What fun to see the children play.
3. Our friend Lisa stopped in for a visit.
4. I cooked a fresh turkey from Kirby's. Yum.
5. We had a talent show complete with singing and dancing.
6. We took a two part group photo to get everyone in the pictures.

7. The OSU/Mich. game was Saturday. The weather, the football team and the band were great.
8. Richard conducted the church choir on Sunday as the regular conductor was out of town. He did a fine job.
9. The battery on my new phone was defective. The replacement came today.
10. It is time to decorate for Christmas. I started this afternoon after the vintage toys went back to the basement.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-11-16T22:25:00.009-05:00

1. We spent last weekend in PA. On Friday night we took Lily to her school carnival. She had a great time dancing and doing the limbo.

2. We watched the Browns. After that was over, we played family games.

3. We noticed that the leaves stay on the trees longer in PA.

4. Today was the monthly lunch with the Jefferson Class of 1960. It is always a fun event.

5. Before lunch Ron and I checked out the Colebrook Cemetery. We located an old Watson grave - possibly our great-great grandfather.

6. The Ashtabula Bridge Disaster happened on December 29, 1876. Every year people gather at midnight in the nearby cemetery on the anniversary where most of the victims were buried. Sounds creepy.

7. Speaking of trains, we stopped at the Jefferson Depot, the scene of my second grade field trip on the train to Andover.

8. Speaking of Andover, the Isaly's store in that town exploded on August 10, 1955. That was the day my family moved from Ashtabula County to Massillon. We heard about this on the radio as we checked out our new house on Linway.

9. Ron gave me a magazine today about Ashtabula County history which accounts for numbers 6 and 8 in this list.

10. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays - and it is almost here.

Ten on Tuesday on Wednesday

2010-11-09T22:23:00.007-05:00

1. I went to the Hudson Book Club last night. The selection was Jump by Elisa Carbone, an interesting YA book about rock climbing.
2. The Madrigal singers who perform with the Cleveland Orchestra had a concert at the library, also. It was a busy place.
3. Our dining room table now has a new leaf. We are ready for Thanksgiving.

4. I did some research on Adolph Sutro last week. He spent about eighteen years building a tunnel in Nevada to help with silver mining. After he finished the project he lost interest in the tunnel, went to Europe and bought books. What remains of this library is housed in the Sutro Collection at San Francisco State Library.
5. Over the Rhine returns to the Kent Stage on December 4th.
6. Last week I went to my dermatologist. Despite the fact I don't spend much time in the sun, he removed something from my arm.
7. A postal employee bugged me today, but I just smiled at him. This is the same person who accused me of wrapping a package in brown paper last December, thus causing the address to fall off. That was his reason for a package getting lost. Anyway, when I asked to see the Christmas stamps, he said I should have looked at the display. When I left the counter I noticed the display was in the far corner behind the boxes that are on sale.
8. We now have new phones. No more blank screen for me.
9. I am going to get the gold chair in the basement recovered. Any suggestions what I should do as to color and/or fabric?
10. I am going to play the piano tonight instead of watching TV.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-11-02T21:51:00.004-04:00

1. I voted.
2. I then proceeded to Panera for coffee with my good friend Virginia.
3. I spent a couple hours at the library - mostly reading about Leland Stanford. Why? I seem to be obsessed with western history.
4. Who wants to take a trip to Virginia City with me?
5. Are there such things as ghosts? I say yes.
6. I saw one myself in Columbus many years ago. No one will ever convince me otherwise.
7. It would be a great story to tell at night sitting in a rocking chair on a big porch out west somewhere.
8. Richard saw one in our old house. No one will ever convince him otherwise either.
9. After revealing these ghost stories, people may think the two of us don't have a full set of dishes - as my mother would say.
10. Pictured is one of my father's favorite teachers, according to the back of the photo

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T09:10:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween to the Queen of Hearts, the dinosaur, the Princess, the Statue of Liberty, the chicken and the immigrant boy. I always send Halloween cards, but somehow this year got away from me. I did receive one - which is pictured here.
I am celebrating Halloween on a more local level this year. I am wearing orange and black to church and am ready for Trick or Treat with individual bags of pretzels. I have a hard time passing our candy with my obsessive habits about healthy food.
Listening to Saturday Edition this weekend, I found out I have something in common with Harry Houdini. He died on Halloween of Peritonitis - not drowning in a river which is the urban legend about him. I did not die, but I had a humdinger case of Peritonitis after the botched diagnosis of appendicitis when I was 6.
I hope everyone enjoys Halloween. It still ranks as my least favorite holiday.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-10-26T07:07:00.005-04:00

1. My week in Wyoming included a multitude of activities. I really enjoyed the bookstore in Laramie, staffed by this lovely young lady.
2. There is a park across the street from the new house. I met several neighborhood children - all boys. These boys quickly found out how fast the new neighbors can run.
3. Mile-High Fever: Silver Mines, Boom Towns and High Living on the Comstock Load by Dennis Drabelle is my current book. I sent the author an e-mail to tell him how much I am enjoying a new book featuring William Morris Stewart. He wrote me back.
4. Technology developed during the Comstock era such as braided cable and modular cubes led the way for building skyscrapers. I seem to have developed an interest in architecture since the Wyoming house building project.
5. We left home about 5:00AM to attend the OSU game on Saturday. The Buckeyes were back in charge. Since we have had the same seats for the last few years, we are getting to know the people who sit around us.
6. We had dinner with two of my college roommates and their spouses after the game.

7. I returned to Zumba yesterday. It felt good to be exercising again.
8. Popcorn Monday found us at RED. That stands for Retired Extremely Dangerous. We liked the movie because it starred so many old people.
9. A big storm is on the way, supposedly the biggest since the blizzard of 1977. (No snow - just wind and rain) We brought in the lawn furniture last night so it won't blow away.
10. This storm should bring down the rest of the leaves.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-10-12T16:21:00.008-04:00

1. Beautiful fall days in Ohio continue.
2. The tree in our front yard is a brilliant orange, which is Richard's favorite color.
3. The Hudson YA Book Review group resumes tonight. Two of my good friends from Tallmadge MS are picking me up.
4. The selections tonight are Graceling and Fire, both by Kristin Cashore. Fantasy is not usually my cup of tea, but I found both these books quite interesting reads.
5. We enjoyed a visit from the Taylors last weekend. Charlie said he liked his big boy bed. It was an experiment to have Lily and Charlie sleep in the same room. It worked out quite well.

6. As usual, Lily and I had fun together before anyone else was up in the mornings.
7. I wish the political ads would not be so nasty.

8. Ohio State continues to win football games. Some think they are Number One, but not the BCS.
9. I look forward to seeing the new old house in Cheyenne.

10. Marie and Marian Stewart appear in the old picture. I think the baby is a Bennett, but I don't know who is holding this baby.

Ten on Tuesday on Thursday

2010-10-05T22:22:00.008-04:00

1. We spent six days in Florida. The weather was beautiful.
2. We played golf on Treasure Island. I can enjoy golf without a good score. Every once in a while I have a good shot.
3. After golf we ate an outside lunch at O'Maddy's.
4. We celebrated Eleanor R's 92 birthday on Sunday by attending church and having dinner with her daughter and granddaughter.
5. Paradise Lutheran Church is on Treasure Island. They had a guest minister who delivered a great sermon.

6. We went in the pool a couple times during our stay. Delightful.
7. Marilyn met her half-sister who gave her a picture of Tom that she shared with us. I am getting pretty good at taking pictures of pictures.

8. Returning home on Tuesday brought us back to reality with rain and chilly weather.
9. The Swing Machine played its last concert under Bob F.'s direction. They never sounded better. I hope the band can find a new director.
10. I have lots of TV to catch up on. Project Runway is on tonight, I have to see last week's first.

Ten on Wednesday Afternoon

2010-09-29T16:11:00.006-04:00

1. I missed Ten on Tuesday. Elizabeth inspired me with her Ten on Wednesday Morning.
2. I walked into a large glass masquerading as a door yesterday. It was my own fault as I was looking sideways to see how hard it was raining. Like daughter like mother.
3. I am very pleased with the photo book I made for Grandma R's 92nd birthday. I am sure the second one will be easier.
4. It never occurred to me that I would feel sorry for Michael Bolton, but I do.
5. My nasturians have not done well this year, except for the seed that accidentally went into the geraniums.
6. Our mums are about to explode into blooms. This huge plant is also a volunteer.
7. The Indians are playing their last game of the season tonight.
8. Southwest Airlines bought AirTran. I wonder how service may change at the Akron Canton Airport.
9. I observed a large groundhog wandering around in the yard late this afternoon. I hope he is not planning to move into the neighborhood.
10. The more I read about William Morris Stewart, the more fascinated I am. He hobnobbed with such interesting personalities as Mark Twain, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln and Leland Stanford - to name a few.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-09-21T06:36:00.006-04:00

1. My Perry HS Reunion was last Saturday night. I sat with my old girlfriends, talked to some old boyfriends and was home by eleven.
2. I took a picture of a picture that someone brought. Here you see me dressed as a "Beatnik."
3. Santa attended my reunion. He wore his summer uniform.
4. I'll be having lunch in Madison today with my Jefferson friends. Donald is coming in from Las Vegas. We are sure to have a great time.
5. I made my first online photo book on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully, the next one will be easier.
6. Our church has a Walking with Paul program going on. Yesterday I had 11,987 steps on my pedometer - mostly thanks to Zumba.
7. I played Lexulous this morning. I can hardly wait for Richard to notice I scored 157 points with one word.
8. My brother and I are nominating our father for the Ashtabula County Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a very successful coach in the 1930's. Thanks to his scrapbook, we have the stats. Thanks to Elizabeth for scanning them.
9. The old Stewart farm is being renovated by someone. The three people in this picture are Alice, Rockwell and Howard.
10. In 1871 President Ulysses Grant offered William Morris Stewart a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, but Stewart said, "No, thanks.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-09-14T20:16:00.007-04:00

1. We spent the weekend in Western Springs, Illinois. Katherine officially became the Associate Pastor of her new church.
2. This church has beautiful stained glass windows.
3. We had lots of fun with Juliette.
4. I've become acquainted with several cousins this year. Two of them sent me extensive genealogy information. It all started with Ancestry.com. What an amazing tool.
5. Katherine dropped my phone. Now it has a display again. The Verizon man told me it would never function correctly again. It still hangs together by a thread.
6. I'm catching up on vampire fiction. I'm listening to Eclipse. There is at least one adverb in every sentence.
7. I spent an afternoon at the Kent State Library last week. They have an extensive periodical collection. I found an article on the Internet that I wanted to read. Of course they had the Clothing and Textiles Research Journal from September, 2001.
8. My high school reunion is this weekend. If I have as much fun as the last one, it will be fantastic.
9. I made another mess in the "blue room" tonight. I started straightening the dresser.
10. One of the pictures I found was Elizabeth taking a picture.

Ten on Tuesday about Charles M. Watson

2010-09-07T08:17:00.005-04:00

1. My father, Charles M. Watson, was born on September 7, 1908 at the Old Brick in Orwell, Ohio. The M stands for Manville, which was the name of one his his mother's brothers.That Manville was always know as Mack.
2. He graduated from The Ohio State University with a BS and MA.
3. He liked to sing, tap dance and play the drums. I saw him do all of these things in variety shows which raised money for the Jefferson Schools.
4. Although he was a school superintendent, what he really enjoyed the most were his extra jobs as the fair superintendent and being an auxiliary sheriff.
5. He played and coached numerous sports, but baseball was his favorite. Our family attended football games at Ohio State as well as Browns and Indians games.
6. Until we moved from Ashtabula County when I was twelve, we went to Sunday dinner at my Watson grandparents every Sunday after church.
7. Once I painted CMW on a florescent shiny (ugly) orange tie as a Father's Day gift. My father wore that tie to school on several occasions. That was very nice of him.
8. I have a large doll collection to this day, because he always brought home a doll for me when he took a trip.
9. My father loved spaghetti. He went out with the coaches after high school football games for this treat.
10. I sure loved my dad. I wish I could have know him longer.

Ten on Tuesday on Wednesday

2010-08-31T20:43:00.010-04:00

1. It is such fun to get a family together. The first picture features six first cousins and my mother.

2. The next picture features another set of first cousins. We go back to Rockwell and Lillian Stewart.

3. The third picture is from the Johnson Parker family reunion I attended last weekend. The six people in this picture are double second cousins.

4. My grandfather's sister married my grandmother's brother. That is how we became "double cousins."

5. A lady named Elaine commented on my blog this week back when I wrote about finding the grave of Francis Lithgow Payson. She lived in an apartment in Florence, Italy owned by the Payson family.

6. The Ohio State University 2010 football season begins tomorrow. The Big Ten will soon have two divisions, because they have way more than ten teams now.

7. My garage sale is this Saturday, September 4th.

8. Richard plays in the Sounds of Sousa Concert Band. His alto music is sitting in the living room. I am very tempted to get my saxophone out and give it a try.

9. Our church is having it's 50th anniversary celebration on October 15, 2011. I am on the archives committee, and enjoy looking through documents and pictures from the last five decades.

10. The Emmys had a great opening song this year. I soon realized other than Glee, I don't watch sit-coms.

Ten on Tuesday - A Day Late

2010-08-25T21:03:00.006-04:00

1. I dropped my phone yet again. It works fine except that it has a blank screen. This makes it difficult to check for missed calls, the time, etc.
2. My trip to Pennsylvania was lots of fun. Lily likes to get up early which gives us time to do puzzles.
3. Charlie and Lily played dress up while their parents were gone.
4. Marie and I saw Eat, Pray, Love. It was good, but a bit too long.
5. Last Sunday the PARADE magazine had an article "College A-List." The Health Sciences section listed Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. My niece Heather works there.
6. The Willis family did not always wear Dr Pepper shirts when we went to amusement parks.
7. The redheaded lady in the picture is Jessie Berrier. She was my father's secretary in Jefferson. Her brother, Clifford Welser, the man in the middle, was born in Lenox on August 1, 1907. He was eight days older than my mother. I took this picture about ten years ago at the Lenox Homecoming.
8. On Friday we are meeting friends from Washington Court House who will be passing through the area. I am sure this is going to happen because we became friends on FaceBook.
9. I have 106 items inventories for the garage sale on September 4th.
10. My current book is Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-08-17T14:56:00.002-04:00

1. I enjoyed my birthday, especially since it featured an ice cream cake. Notice the lovely table runner from Cheyenne.
2. We spent our anniversary at the Rain Forest.
3. I went to the Jefferson Fair this year. It really had not changed much from what I remember as a child.
4. I had a fantastic milkshake at the Dairy Barn.
5. Ron and I attempted to locate the Colebrook Cemetery, where some of our ancestors are buried. No luck, despite the fact that Colebrook is quite small.
6. We also checked out a garage sale at the brick house we lived in for six months when our family first moved to Jefferson. The owner was quite charming and invited us in to see the kitchen. We discovered we had the same first grade teacher. I guess Miss Knapp taught most everyone in her probably fifty years of teaching.
7. My garage sale is getting closer. Today I cleaned the garage.
8. Yesterday my Jefferson classmates met at the Hartville Flea Market, followed by lunch at the Hartville Kitchen.
9. Pictured here with me is my dear friend, Brenda.
10.I ran a couple miles this morning. It was my annual birthday run a couple days late.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-08-10T14:29:00.002-04:00

1. I just finished reading The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin. It is the title for book club at church tonight. I just received the book on Sunday. It certainly held my interest.
2. Richard attended a concert in Columbus yesterday with a few of his musician friends. The bari player was Bob LeBeau, an old friend of Richard. Bob's brother is Dick LeBeau, a 2010 Inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
3. Bari players always seem to know each other. It is a unique group of individuals.
4. We had the air conditioner checked yesterday by one of the tallest people who has ever been in our house. He asked about the "Please wear shoes in the basement" sign. Fortunately, he was wearing shoes.
5. Speaking of shoes. I have a new pair of gaudy pink and black Nike Air Max. They are what all the "in" people who do Zumba wear. I don't anticipate joining the "in" group, just the "want to be in" group.
6. I hope Kent wins SYTYCD, since he is from Ohio. All three finalists are great dancers.
7. Project Runway is back.
8. Watch out for unsolicited packages in the mail. Things I find in the basement might just have your name on them. I mailed one yesterday via the post office's version of Pony Express.
9. We made plans to go to Florida in a few weeks to celebrate EVR's 92nd birthday. Her parties are always lots of fun.
10. My mother would have been 103 yesterday. She shared her birthday with her Uncle, Senator William Morris Stewart. He was born 185 years ago.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-08-03T07:52:00.006-04:00

1. My Johnson relatives are having a family reunion on August 28th. Thanks to my newly found double cousin Don, I know about this event. Thanks also go to Don for sending me these wonderful family pictures.
2. Don is pictured here at age 2 with his Uncle Earl Russell Parker. Earl will be 86 in November.
3. The other picture was taken at a family reunion in 1922. From left to right are pictured Elton Dean Johnson, Eugene Johnson, Inez Johnson and Carlton Don Johnson.
4. We had a great time on our trip to Cheyenne. The world of cowboys is lots of fun.
5. One of the rodeo queens was on our flight back from Cheyenne to Denver. She looked very queenly with her beautifully tooled leather attache case and cowboy hat complete with silver crest in front.
6. While we were gone, the deer ate our tomato and pepper crops.
7. My bizarre accident of reaching behind the couch for a nail rib injury is better. It must have been bruised, not broken. I went back to Zumba with no ill effects.
8. I am currently reading the number five Maisie Dobbs book. Now I will have to wait until another one gets written. Historical fiction about World War I and its aftermath fascinate me.
9. People in northeast Ohio are getting excited about the Browns. I hope they won't be in for another sports disappointment.
10. I am going to the Jefferson Fair this year for the first time in many years. The last time I went my father was the Supt. of the fair.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-07-20T14:55:00.005-04:00

1. The picture of my Watson grandparents was taken in August, 1954. They must have been on their way somewhere as they are both quite dressed up.
2. The other picture shows Guy and Inez Loveland. Inez was Ida's sister. I don't think I have ever seen a picture of Inez before, but I remember this is what she looked like. Both of these pictures are courtesy of my cousin Don.
3. I had a great time in Jefferson last weekend. I attended way more parties than I usually do.
4. I reconnected with my baton teacher. I told Clarene I still have my costume - including the hat.
5. I saw another one of our former neighbors at a party. She looked at me and asked, "Who am I?" She was pleased that I remembered her without any hesitation. Roberta's family raised rabbits. Her mother would give us one from time to time.
6. I walked down Walnut Street on Saturday morning. We lived on the corner of Market and Walnut. I named the different families as I walked along. It was a different time. I could not name all the people who live on my street now. I knocked on the door of 47 N.Market because it was open. No one answered. The occupant probably thought I was selling something.
7. Someone on the other side of the street was having a garage sale. I stopped for a chat since she was not busy. She lived in the same house as my 4H leader. I told her I had been in that house many times. Then she told me her house was haunted by a young girl. I remember the story. Both this little girl named Mary Lou and I were very sick at the same time. I had a ruptured appendix. I made it, and she didn't. But evidently she is still around.
8. Lake Erie is especially beautiful at the Ashtabula coastline. I hope they figure out a way to keep the Asian Carp out.
9. Two items at my upcoming garage sale might be the Coleman Lantern and Coleman Stove. Neither have been used and we have had them 42 years.
10. A deer, at least I assume it was a deer, ate my tomatoes. What a disappointment.

Sunday Special

2010-07-18T20:03:00.004-04:00

Today I attended the Methodist Church in Jefferson. It has been many years since the last time was there. I couldn't resist getting my picture taken on the same steps as when I was about four. It brought back fond memories of my childhood. I wish the other children could have joined me for this picture.

Ten on Tuesday - Wednesday Version

2010-07-14T15:07:00.007-04:00

1. I scanned some old pictures today. It is fun to look through the old albums.
2. I was about a year old in the picture with my brother and mother. Getting our picture taken must not have been very interesting to either of us children.
3. I am standing in front of the brick house we first lived in when we moved to Jefferson. This one was dated October, 1945. A couple months earlier I wandered off in search of my brother. My father found me standing on a street corner several blocks from our house. That must have been a scary day for my family.
4. My second grade class put on Tom Thumb's Wedding. I am second from the left. Naturally I had to stand next to the petite girl name Margaretta.
5. My father was in Tom Thumb's Wedding, also. He is on the right. The groom and the boy to the right of the groom are my father's double first cousins Carlton and Elton Johnson.
6. Richard cleaned the oven this afternoon. It is good to get that done, but now it is hot in the kitchen. We are going out for dinner.
7. I talked on the phone this afternoon with my childhood friend and neighbor Donald. He is not going to attend the reunion this weekend as his wife has been having some health issues. I will miss him. We love to talk about the old days.
8. I am reading my third Maisie Dobbs novel. The combination of historical fiction and a good mystery keep me interested.
9. I am saving five dollar bills in order to get an iPad. At the rate I am going, it will be third generation. At least they should have all the bugs worked out by then.
10. The OSU Alumni Marching Band is going to the Super Bowl. The trip to China did not happen.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-07-06T10:05:00.006-04:00

1. Our family picnic on July 3rd was a great success. The first thing Lily said the next morning was "Have them come back again soon."
2. BJ was a big hit at the picnic entertaining us with guitar music and vocals as well as playing games with the boys.
3. Another big event on the third was the street festival in Kent. Richard played before and after the fireworks. Before the band played a juggler entertained. He did a great job. It looked like everyone in the whole county showed up this year.
4. The Stow July 4th parade was on the 5th this year. We all had a great time watching from the Troyers and then having a picnic with them afterward. It is one of my favorite days of the year to spend time with these friends and relatives.
5. Three of the people at the July 4th picnic have played a bass saxophone. Hm. I wonder how many people have even seen one of these - let alone play one.
6. Lily got fingernail polish on her white dress. Thanks to advice from the handy Internet, I found out that bug spray and peroxide takes out such stains. I used an old toothbrush to scrub.
7. The Taylors left for home this morning. It is very quiet around here now.
8. The Dillow girls stayed with us one year ago. We took them to the Ice cream Social at Church. It happens again this Sunday. We will miss having them go with us.

9. Today is July 6th. This date was well known in our family because it was Aunt Alice's birthday. She always had a picnic on her birthday. She invited sisters and nieces. I went to many of them over the years.
10. I am off to the Nat now for a good run and a few fitness machines.

A Few on Friday

2010-07-02T06:43:00.005-04:00

1. The Taylors are in Town. We are having great fun with the Taylor Tots.
2. The Legos are a big hit.
3. We need a video camera in Charlie's bedroom. He is able to get out of the crib quietly and entertain himself with his grandpa's technology.
4. At last count there will be fifteen here for our family picnic tomorrow. It will be great fun to see our nieces, great-nieces and great-nephews. It has been ten years since our last get together.
5. We are working on the yard today. We discovered deer droppings for the second time this morning. The deer don't live in our yard, but they certainly pass through it.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-06-15T20:41:00.005-04:00

1. I enjoyed another lunch with my Jefferson friends on Tuesday. The real reunion is next month.
2. I saw one of the many covered bridges of Ashtabula County on my trip.
3. We are hoping for a family picnic in July with our relatives from Colorado, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
4. I sent a random e-mail to someone on Ancestry.com because he added a picture of William Morris Stewart. He responded saying that one of old Uncle Bill's daughters (Mary Isabelle AKA Maybelle) was his great-great-grandmother.
5. Jill has quite possibly the biggest mosquitoes in the world living in her yard.
6. Hot in Cleveland was so-so. Betty White saved the show enough that I might watch it one more time.
7. This Ten on Tuesday is taking me three weeks to finish.
8. Katherine and Ben now live in a lovely small town in Illinois. It will be fun to explore a new area, especially since Chicago is nearby.
9. The train runs through the middle of Western Springs. Richard lived close to the same tracks a few miles from there when he was a little boy.
10. Today I get to meet a cousin for the first time. He lives near Columbus, but we are getting together this afternoon in Painesville.

Seven on Sunday

2010-06-13T11:57:00.005-04:00

1. The Tic Tac Toe game is back in business after an extended vacation. When it went to Virginia, one of the "puffies" stayed there for a few months. Recently I discovered one with missing eyes. The eyes finally showed up and were glued back in place. Now the game awaits in the tree house room for further adventures.

2. Our yard is beginning to get its summer look. Mr. Dumpty moved this season.

3. Today was Green Day at church. Everyone was supposed to wear green. Since I was in California last week, I was unaware of this special day. My ESP was at work. I wore a green shirt this morning after deciding against several other colors.

4. Jean O. and Liz B. are cousins. I never knew this until recently when they both fell within a week of each other. I've known them both for years, and am glad to hear the news that both will eventually be fine.

5. I broke the lawnmower this week. The lawnmower repair fellow said he never saw a lawnmower break in this manner. Humph. The part costs $117, but that is a lot cheaper than a new mower.

6. Richard played an outdoor concert at Kent last week. I knew everyone in the band except one sax player. As soon as I heard his name was Jack, I recognized him. I took private saxophone lessons at a music store in Canton when I was in high school. Jack taught in the next room over from where I had my lessons with Dominic.

7. I am a fan of So You Think You Can Dance. I thought it was mean to get visits for the ones who did not get on the show this year.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-06-01T13:52:00.010-04:00

1. We had a quiet Memorial Day with a picnic on the deck.

2. We are ready for summer, because the outside furniture is all clean.

3. This morning I had an unexpected treat - coffee with my good friend Virginia.

4. Last week I spent a couple days with the Taylors. Lily graduated from pre-school and had a dance recital.

5. Our neighbor had a huge raccon in their tree on Sunday, probably the same one I saw on our deck recently.

6. I've decided to have a garage sale sometime this summer.

7. The choir had new shirts on Sunday. I caught up with most of the men in their new clothes.

8. We have at least three different types of woodpeckers that visit our back yard.

9. I am thinking about getting one of the bikes down. First I need a helmet.

10. My father looks to be about 10 years old in this picture.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-05-25T08:09:00.009-04:00

1. Elizabeth's middle name Anne is in honor of our college friend Anne Droste. I am so glad we still keep in touch. Marie's middle name is the same as her wonderful Grandma Eleanor. Elizabeth picked Elaine as Katherine's middle name. Their cousin Michelle shares this as a middle name as well.

2. My father's middle name was Manville. For years I wondered where that came from. I recently found out he was named after Uncle Manville, his mother's brother. This fellow always went by the name Mack, which explains a lot. Evidently he did not want to go through life being called Manville.

3. My father coached several championship girls' basketball teams in the 1930's. My brother attended a retired teachers' lunch in Ashtabula County. He met a lady who used to play on these teams.

4. I wonder why organized girls' teams disappeared from schools. When I went to high school in the 60's there were no opportunities for girls to play sports except for gym class.

5. Good penmanship used to be an important subject in school. Note the beautiful signature of E. J. Kinleyside, a well known educator in Ashtabula County in the early 1900's.

6. Ben graduated from college in California this week. Three cheers for Ben.

7. I think these children look like they should have been in the movie Christmas Story. My big smile is probably because I am in a picture with four boys

8. I am currently reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

9. I watched The Apprentice this week. I am glad Bret Michaels won, but when I found out that his competition was Gordon's daughter (Sesame Street), that would have been okay.

10. BJ stopped at our house this week. He brought us a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-05-18T21:30:00.008-04:00

1. My grandmother, Ida May Johnson, had a brother named Earl.
2. My grandfather, Thomas Mitchell Watson, had a sister named Myrtie. Myrtie had a twin sister Grace, but that is a different story.
3. Earl and Myrtie married each other.
4. They had twin boys named Elton and Carlton and a daughter named Leah. They were double cousins to my father. Here is an Orwell High School graduation picture. My father is the fellow in the middle of the back row. His cousins are the first two on the left in the front row.
5. Yesterday I received a letter from the son of Carlton.
6. I hope my brother and I get to know him.
7. I met Ron early this morning at a coffee shop in Jefferson. He goes there practically every day to hang out with several friends. One of them told me he grew up with teacher from Stow. It turned out to be someone Richard was supposed to play golf with today. Life is full of strange coincidences.
8. Ron and I went to four cemeteries this morning. We planted eight geraniums to honor relatives. I usually skip the one in New Lyme way out on the Brownville Road, but we found Sadie Miller right away. She was one of the eight Walton children.
9. We also went to the Lenox Cemetery, the one in Rays Corners and Edgewood.
10.After tearing around in the graveyards today, we had lunch with my classmates from Jefferson. They are a lot of fun.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-05-11T10:21:00.010-04:00

1. Someone took this picture of me with our dog Herman around 1954. We still lived in Jefferson as I recognize our front yard.
2. I received a beautiful necklace for Mother's Day. Thank you very much.
3. As a child I enjoyed playing with marionettes. I found at least part of the collection this week. No wonder the girls feared the basement with these crazy things down there. I am ready to sell. I could not find a March Hare on Ebay. There was one Clarabell listed for $99. Clarabell was on the Howdy Doody Show for those who don't remember.
4. I also found this Rick Rack, probably belonging to Aunt Alice at one time. Can you see the price? $.13 was a bargain.
5. My doctor told me to skip the Fosamax for a year. One of my Zumba friends received the same advice recently. That is fine with me as I don't like to take medicine anyway.
6. I am reading Olive Kitteridge for the church book club in June. It must be really popular as all the libraries I visit had holds on the book. I bought it. I love to get a package from Amazon once in a while.
7. The Hudson YA book review group meets at Pad Thai tonight.
8. The Scholastic Book Warehouse sale is going on. I hope to get there. Anyone have any books for me to look for?
9. This afternoon we have a meeting with our financial consultant. Remember the good old days when the fellow stayed so long he stuck to the chair?
10. We saw Iron Man 2 on Popcorn Monday. It was alright, but not as good as the first one. I could not find Mickey Rourke believable in the part he played.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-05-04T11:03:00.004-04:00

1. Everyone who attended the May 4th Voices program received a daisy.
2. The reading fairy moved from the backyard to the front. At least I think so.
3. I recently discovered my Grandma Lillie had seven brothers and sisters. Her parents Henry and Elizabeth Walton were both born in jolly old England.
4. We had a nice visit with Marie last weekend. She has become quite the photographer. The pictures she took at Kent on Friday are much better than the ones I've seen in the paper the last couple days.I would show you some, but you'll have to wait for the book.
5. Today is election day. Hopefully, the library levy will pass.
6. Jim Tressel called me yesterday. I talked his ear off. This made Richard laugh as it was a recorded message about the election.
7. I received a beautiful necklace for Mother's Day from my three wonderful daughters. Allison Sattinger made it. Allison is an excellent jewelry maker as well as being a talented vocalist.
8. We've been shredding old papers. I saw checks written to Apples and Country Counter. I miss those grocery stores.
9. I found out why my grass seed has not even sprouted one blade. We put something on the yard which prohibits crab grass, not knowing it prohibited all grass.
10. The girl who Zumbas on my left side at the Nat graduated from Stow H.S. in 2006. She must think I am 100 because I told her I was the librarian before Mr. Walko.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-04-27T21:34:00.005-04:00

1. On Saturday my brother and I went cemetery hopping. We started out at the Chestnut Grove Cemetery in Ashtabula. Our great-great grandfather, Frederick Augustus Stewart, is buried there. Alas, we could not find him.
2. The Chestnut Grove Cemetery is supposedly haunted. The Ashtabula Bridge disaster was one of the worst train accidents in this country. It happened on December 29, 1876. The train fell into the huge gulf that is next to the cemetery. A large statue sits in the cemetery where the victims were buried. A few feet away from the statue is a creepy looking building where a person named Collins is buried. He designed the bridge and died shortly after the disaster occurred under mysterious circumstances.
3. We also visited the small but ancient cemetery in Amboy in search of Fred's wife Miranda. I think they were living in this town when she died. But, we could not find her either.
4. We ate lunch at the Doxie Dairy in the Harbor.
5. During recent researching on Ancestry.com, I connected with a cousin on the Ritter side of the family. Roy lives in California now. His great-grandparents lived next door to my grandparents in Lenox over 100 years ago. I found them in the 1900 census and the 1910 census.
6. Popcorn Monday had a good movie this week. We saw The Ghost Writer. It has not had much publicity, but we both liked it.
7. Some former Miami Trace students of Richard found him on the Internet with a Google search. It was fun to catch up on what they have been doing.
8. We spent this morning at the Hudson Library.
9. This month I am reviewing Amazing Grace; A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris for the church newsletter.
10. It is time for Glee.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-04-20T19:32:00.005-04:00

1. A bird built a nest on the light by our front door. We are debating as to letting it stay.We enjoy birds in the yard, but has this one moved in too close?
2. Gracie stayed with us last night and most of today. We all had fun swimming at the Nat this morning, especially when they turned on the water sprays.
3. Gracie looked through a couple old picture albums. She commented on the fact that Juliette looks like her mama and Lily looks like her mama.
4. Once again I am attempting to grow grass in the front yard. It looks pretty dismal.
5. The spirit moves me to begin another book. This one will be a biography about William Morris Stewart. I started researching this week by reading about the beginnings of the Erie Canal. William and his brother John played nearby the canal where it passed close to their home in New York. The "Big Ditch,"as some called it, was a fascinating part of American history.
6. I played the piano tonight since I recently found one of my favorite books. It is 57 Piano Pieces Children Like to Play. It is stamped "This Music Belongs to Elizabeth Willis", but since the copyright is 1952, I think it was mine first.
7. My brother told me he met someone familiar with the Walton family of New Lyme. They owned a big farm there in the 1870's. I guess they needed lots of land since Henry and Elizabeth had seven children - Libby, Thomas, Lucy, Henry, Mary, Lilly and Flora.
8. Thanks to Facebook I made connections with several old friends and a few cousins, also.
9. Thanks to Zumba I need new tennis shoes. They still look new, but I've worn out the inside of them.
10. It is time for Glee.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-04-13T09:13:00.005-04:00

This post will be about relatives I discovered or found out more about recently by researching on Ancestry.com.
1. This is a picture of the Walton girls. My grandmother Lillie is on the far left. I am only guessing about Lucy, Mary and Flora. I am reasonably sure the one on the right is Libby.
2. My grandmother Lillian Walton Stewart's parents were born in England. By Jove, that makes me quite British.
3. The Waltons were in New Lyme, Ohio according to the 1870 Census. Along with her parents Henry and Elizabeth, Grandma Walton Stewart lived with her two brothers, Tommy and Henry, and her three sisters, Lucy, Mary and Flora. The oldest sister Elizabeth(Libby) had already married and left home. My grandma Lillie was the second youngest, born in 1858 when her mother was 38 and her father was 46.
4. My mother told me on several occasions that her mother Lillie had ESP. When Uncle Hank (Her brother Henry) died in 1942, she told my mother and another pregnant relative not to go to the funeral. It would bring bad luck. My mother stayed home, but the other lady went. Her baby died the year I was born. This story has always given me cold chills.
5. I used to chat with Helen Green at the Lenox Homecomings. I knew she was some kind of a relative. I found her in the 1920 census as a one year old. She was the granddaughter of Grandma Stewart's brother Tommy.
6. I found Laura Walton as a four year old living with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Mary in the 1900 Census. I think she was a daughter of Tommy, but his wife died and perhaps he thought he could not care for her properly. He has two boys listed living with him during the 1900 Census. They are George, 16, and Oliver who was 11. That sad story continued, because Laura died at 18.
7. Perhaps that story gave my grandfather Rockwell's brother the idea to adopt my mother after Rockwell's passing. Elroy and his wife Kate had no children. Rockwell had six. Grandma Stewart said, "No, you can't have her."
8. As a result my mother Marie had to grow up without too much supervision. Everyone had to be working on the farm. Little Marie did things like rip up the family picture album and drop her mother's diamond ring down a hole in the kitchen floor. I suppose the ring is still there.
9. I have a childhood memory of someone pointing to a white house somewhere in Ashtabula County and saying it belonged to Hugh Gray. I found Hugh in the 1910 Census. He was the oldest child of Grandma Stewart's baby sister Flora.
10. I wish I would have paid more attention to genealogy when I was younger.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-04-06T18:27:00.006-04:00

1. This year is a first for me. One of the DWTS hopefuls is a friend of mine.
2. M. Hazel wrote me a long letter this week. Thanks for the information.
3. Off I go to tell her.
4. We had a quiet Sunday with only my brother with us for Easter dinner.
5. Richard found stale Peeps on sale yesterday. I rolled my eyes. He was ecstatic. We feel differently about them.
6. I took everything out of the closet in the tree house room today. It was nice to see Kristen, Samantha and Molly again. They are waiting patiently to be claimed for a new generation.
7. I would love to have tea at the American Girl store in Chicago. Several of my friends have done this. Hm, this might actually happen at some point in the not too distant future.
8. I have book club at church in a few minutes. This month the selection is The Help by Stockett.
9. The weather was beautiful today. I even did a little yard work.
10. It's time to visit the Apple Store. I want to see an iPad in person, and I don't seem to know any of the million people who already have one.

Happy Spring, etc.

2010-04-03T14:48:00.006-04:00

We started cleaning out the "gray room" today. The chicken returned to the spot under the tree that keeps her from blowing away. There are a few flowers in bloom in the front yard.
This morning at the Nat little children enjoyed an underwater egg hunt. These little ones were having so much fun. It reminded me of the year we had an egg hunt in our back yard.
Speaking of eggs, the local newspaper had an article on the art of boiling eggs, Here are a few highlights. Eggs should be in a single layer with an inch of cold water covering them. Heat the eggs until they are almost boiling. Remove the eggs, cover them and let them stand in the hot water about fifteen minutes. Cool the eggs completely under cold running water. Have fun coloring them. They will last about a week in the refrigerator.
Tomorrow is Easter. Richard is accompanying the choir on his Efer, better known as a soprano trumpet.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-03-30T07:03:00.002-04:00

Since this is Holy Week, I decided to list my ten favorite hymns. They are in no particular order. I just like all of them.
1. For the Beauty of the Earth. I had this for a piano lesson. It had four flats, and I memorized it.
2. The Old Rugged Cross. The choir sang it on Sunday. It's always been a favorite of mine. This is what gave me the idea to make this list.
3. Standing in the Need of Prayer. I especially like this one with a lively tempo.
4. Amazing Grace. This one always brings tears to my eyes.
5. A Mighty Fortress. The Stow Band played this at an outside Memorial Day service many years ago. The sound was incredible.I will never forget it.
6. Lord of the Dance. Becky B. and Katherine sang this as a duet.
7. Just a Closer Walk with Thee. I like this one with a clarinet in the arrangement.
8. Precious Lord, Take My Hand. A guest minister at our church explained the story behind this hymn as his sermon. The Thomas Dorsey story is sad, but inspiring. I love to hear Marie sing this.
9. Christ Arose. This is another one that I appreciate when it is sung with enthusiasm.
10. Christmas Carols. I could not leave this area out, so I just lumped them together.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-03-23T22:47:00.003-04:00

1. My Grandfather Watson is the third from the left. I think the other men are also relatives, but I'm not sure who they are. The picture was taken at Lake Shore Park in 1939.
2. We are getting a leaf made for our dinner table. The more the merrier.
3. I am doing spring cleaning albeit sporadically.
4. The California cousin I found recently has spurred my interest in genealogy.
5. We went to Starbucks this morning. It was free pastry day. I checked the nutrition content of what we ate. Oh joy.
6. We did have a good workout after.
7. Charlie will be joining his cousins soon in the two year old club.
8. The Wizard of Oz has left the building. It was a good run.
9. I get a haircut tomorrow.
10. We did not see a movie on Popcorn Monday. We are waiting for another good one to come out.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-03-16T06:59:00.005-04:00

1. Popcorn Monday found us munching and watching Alice in Wonderland. We thought it was good, but way too scary for young children.
2. Alice went to China at the end of the show. Humpf.
3. I have two appointments today, This morning I check with the hand doctor. I predict he will say this. "If it is not broken, we won't fix it." This afternoon I will meet with old Jefferson friends for lunch. They "adopted" my brother, so he will attend, also.
4. Speaking of my brother, here he is pictured with his new car.
5. What fun I have been having finding relatives on Ancestry.com this week. I concentrated on Stewarts for a long time. Now I am now turning my researching toward the Watson/Johnson side.
6. Richard continues playing The Wizard of Oz, although he has had Monday and Tuesday off.
7. His practicing tempts me to get out my saxophone.
8. We think this year's house project will be updating the electricity. It would be nice to have an outside light that does not blow a fuse when turned on.
9. I watched the Bachelor program on TV last night. This show summarized the last eight years. I only watched this regularly one year because a friend of a teaching colleague was one of the girls. That year included local updates, and made it very interesting.
10. We had a fun visit with the Taylors last weekend. Charlie will be two soon.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-03-09T08:59:00.005-05:00

1. I purchased a picture of the Stewart Castle on Ebay. It will go with my collection.
2. I started reading The Wednesday Sisters this week.
3. We have some new towels. They are the kind that are supposed to dry fast. I think they make me feel wet and cold when I use them, The jury is still out, but I don't think I will buy any more. Guests will get to try them out.
4. I am mulling over in my mind whether to get a community garden this year. I am not sure I will have time to tend it.
5. It is spring training time for the Indians. It was a beautiful day in Ohio a couple days ago. The gain in Arizona was rained out. Go figure.
6. The Beacon did an article on product testing. They said to "snap up" something called the Swivel Sweeper. I did, and it seems to be as good as the article said.
7. D is busy playing The Wizard of Oz at a local high school. March is going to fly by for him.
8. We traveled to Pittsburgh last Saturday to meet Marie and Jeanette for lunch. We also did a big book switch in the IKEA parking lot.
9. I found out the reunion for my Perry class will be in September.
10.Tonight is book club at the Hudson Library. Tonight we talk about Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-03-02T06:36:00.008-05:00

1. Here I am in a "TaylorTot" with my dark-eyed brother next to a house in Ashtabula a long time ago.
2. I came across the next picture in a card when I was roaming through the basement recently. Ohio State friends sent it after a Concert Band Reunion.
3. Buzz Aldrin will be a contestant on the new season of Dancing With the Stars. I'll be cheering for him.
4. This week we saw Crazy Heart on "Popcorn Monday." A few of the people in the theater could easily have appeared in that movie.
5. Jeff Bridges should get the Academy Award for his performance.
6. Last weekend I stopped at an estate sale because the ad mentioned a doll collection. This person must have had every Barbie there ever was - as well as many other kinds of dolls. It was mind boggling. The model train collection was quite extensive, also. I did not buy anything. I just looked.
7. I need to get more stuff out of the basement. Attending estate sales inspires me to clean and organize.
8. We saw the sun yesterday. The snow is starting to melt.
9. This morning I am talking to Suzy Orman. D said he was going to hide.
10. I discovered this week that Reminiscences, the autobiography of William Morris Stewart is online. Enter his name at http://openlibrary.org and start reading.

Runaway

2010-02-25T20:35:00.003-05:00

At the age of three I moved to this brick house in Jefferson, Ohio. We only lived here six months. I remember nothing about the house other than what I've been told. We lived in the bottom half, and the Jefferson Postmaster and his family lived on the second floor.
One day shortly after the move, my brother took off riding his bicycle. I decided I wanted to go with him. So I left to find him without telling my mother. I don't know how long I was gone. Of course, I did not find my brother. My father hurried home from school, and drove around until he found me standing on a street corner several blocks from our house. I see a lot of Bridget in this picture, so watch out.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-02-23T09:59:00.004-05:00

1. I lived in northeast Ohio snow belt country as a child. I did plenty of outdoor sports like sledding and ice skating. Mostly we sledded at a big hill in the local cemetery.
2. Elizabeth mentioned she doesn't remember much sledding. What happened to my great interest in this fun sport?
3. We used to be advisors for the church youth group. Once on a winter retreat, someone landed their sled in a tree. The teen was ultimately okay, but not before a scary trip to the hospital. I guess that is what happened to my interest in sledding.
4. This week we saw Shutter Island on Popcorn Monday. I am not recommending this movie, but I found it interesting for a bizarre reason. In the 1950's my father was an auxiliary deputy sheriff. Part of his job was to escort people to the state mental hospital. Our entire family would go on these trips, and I always sat in the back seat next to the poor lady who had to go. The grounds in Shutter Island very much reminded me of my previous experience.
5. My favorite Olympic events are ice dancing, ski cross, curling and half pipe.
6. The scenery is so beautiful in Vancouver that I want to go see it in person.
7. Richard drank some orginal Dr Pepper this week. He did not like it as well as he thought he would.
8. I am reading Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork by Mick Huckabee. I bought it at Big Lots for Three dollars.
9. We ordered our 2010 Ohio State Football tickets this week. I hope the Buckeyes have a good season.
10. I think it is about time my blog had a makeover. I am getting tired of these dots.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-02-16T05:19:00.008-05:00

1. My brother Ron and I took a trip to Jefferson yesterday. He rented a town house a stone's throw from the old brick house we lived in when the Watson family moved to Jefferson in 1945.
2. We drove through Ashtabula. It was a sad sight to see the house where Grandma and Grandpa Watson lived once upon a time. It had broken windows and a keep out sticker on the front door. During my childhood we always went there for Sunday dinner after church.
3. I looked through the 1931 MAKIO from Ohio State this week. It contained a four leaf clover, an invitation to a dance and the pictured certificate.
4. Last Sunday the pastor mentioned a school friend who moved to Cheyenne. The city named a building after his friend, Jeff Wardle. I want to find this building.
5. Lake Erie is frozen over. It was quite a site. I forgot it looked like that in the winter.
6. I made potato soup this week. That was a first for me.
7. Today I am having lunch with my friends from elementary school. We always have a fun time when we get together.
8. I need to post some old birthday photos featuring people with big glasses. I was not the only one to wear those.
9. My friend Anne suggested we take a trip to China. What would Suzy say?
10. My two very best friends in elementary school went to the lunch today. What fun to see both of them.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-02-09T19:17:00.003-05:00

1. We have been playing some of our old games lately. When we opened up James Bond 007, we found a note written in 1990.
2. It is another snowy day in Ohio. My YA book group at the Hudson Library was canceled.
3. I usually clean the basement in January. I slipped up this year.
4. The equipment trucks for the Cleveland Indians left for Arizona this week.
5. We saw Avatar at Kent on popcorn Monday. The special effects were great. I predict it will win a few Oscars.
6. My brother is coming to visit from Arizona. He will have to get used to northeastern Ohio winter weather quickly.
7. Here are the lyrics to Fray Felipe as requested:

Fray Felipe, Fray Felipe
Duermes tu? Duermes tu?
Toca la campana
Toca la campana
Tan Tan Tan
Tan Tan Tan

8. I forgot how to make an upside down question mark on the keyboard.
9. The Cavs won another game tonight.
10. It is still snowing.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-02-02T17:33:00.003-05:00

1. Our car started despite sub zero temperatures when we returned to Ohio. We felt badly for the man who could not remember where he had parked his car.
2. I returned to my Zumba class on Friday morning. I visited the Falls Library and located Graceling by Kristin Cashore. It is a YA book that no doubt will become a series.
3. Saturday night we attended a Mystery Dinner at church. Ted R. waited on our table. We had to select items without knowing what they might be. This led to many humorous situations - like too much silverware for one course and none for another.
4. We went to an instrument repair place on Monday. The former Rootstown band director happened to be there. We had a nice chat. He left the same year I did, and now has a music store in PA. I chaperoned one of his band trips to Virginia Beach.
5. Since it was Monday we went to the show in Kent. We saw Extraordinary Measures with Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser. We thought it was good, but very much a tearjerker.
6. As we exited the movie we saw practically all the teachers from TMS. They had gone out to dinner and were going to see It's Complicated. It was such fun to see these old friends.
7. Speaking of TMS, the school where I taught for six years is now a pile of rubble. It had such a wonderfully arranged library. Someone bought the property and did not want the building.
8. My University of Michigan educated hand doctor gave me a shot in the hand today. Ouch.
9. We are new fans of the PBS show Pickers. Thanks, Matt.
10. My brother is coming to town next week. He plans to find a place to live in Ashtabula County.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-01-19T13:10:00.004-05:00

1. Pictured is the showcase the Archive Committee produced recently.
2. I saw a young man at the bank who had Grand River Academy on his jacket. I told him my brother taught there. I did not tell him I used to go to dances there back in the dark ages.
3. Grandma Watson's cowboy hat is headed back to the west.
4. I have a fat lip. When I knocked icicles off the garage the other day, one hit me in the mouth.
5. My favorite football team for the 2010 playoffs is Minnesota. I cheer for old quarterbacks.
6. Jim Tressel makes more than three million dollars a year as the OSU football coach. That's a lot of money.
7. I am currently reading We'll Always Have Cleveland by Les Roberts.
8. We introduced some of our friends to our favorite ice cream this week. Velvet Buckeye Classic is the best.
9. Playing Lexulous is my new hobby.
10.The Superkids are back. Check them out at http://www.Superkidsreading.org

Ten on Tuesday

2010-01-12T16:18:00.002-05:00

1. We received our H1N1 flue shots today. They were free at Stow Munroe Falls Public Library.
2. We visited our Borders Express for the last time. We had to say good-bye to all our friends who worked there. Okay. We also bought a few things at 90% off. Richard took them some toffee.
3. Tonight is the YA book review group at the Hudson Library. I plan to go with a couple of my TMS friends.
4. We leave for Cheyenne in nine days. I need to start making lists to be prepared.
5. We saw Leap Year with Amy Adams yesterday on popcorn Monday at the Kent Theater.
6. I have no cavities, at least I did not this morning when I went to the dentist.
7. When I finished the Happy Trails, I researched the Roy Rogers family to fill in the gaps since 1979. The Roy Rogers Museum closed in Branson, Missouri in December, 2009.
We went there when it was located in Apple Valley, California forty years ago. I guess I thought it would still be there.
8. A cable guy stopped in to see us tonight. He reminded me of my childhood friend Donald.
9. I am meeting my good friend Virginia for coffee at Panera tomorrow.
10.I had an assignment to get a picture of Stow High School in the 1960's, because the Methodist Church met there before building.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-01-05T09:25:00.004-05:00

Since other people I know are trying to do Ten on Tuesday this year, I am inspired to do it, also. Here goes:
1. When our most interesting repairman looked at our washing machine yesterday, he said,
"It's broken." We knew that. He fixed it in a few minutes. He also told us our eighteen year old Maytag is a great machine and should last for several more years.
2. When I see pictures of Juliette, her eyes so remind me of my brother when he was a little boy. Pictured here is Ronnie about four. I noticed he is sitting on my piano bench. I recovered the cushion many years ago, but I know it is the same one. It is brown velvet under the current red material.
3. Good news. Richard saw on the STRS website that his Nat membership will be free this year.
4. Bad News. The Nat told us they ended the program January 1 with Richard's insurance. We joined up anyway for both of us.
5. I have a new friend. His name is David, and he is a frame drummer. I found him on utube when I was looking for alternative ways to fix tendinitis. He has a podcast of several hand exercises. My wrist and hand feel so much better that I emailed him to tell him so. He emailed me back saying he was glad they worked and Happy New Year.
6. We have a lot of snow here, but not as much as Portage and Ashtabula Counties.
7. I am greatly enjoying Elizabeth's class on inspiration for scrapbooking. Since I will be at her house the last week of class, I threatened to use her supplies. I have memories and tons of pictures but no paper supplies.
8. This month I am reviewing Happy Trails by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans for the church newsletter. I think this book was in every high school library I worked in, but students never read it. I have always been a fan of Roy and Dale, so I hope to generate some interest in checking this one out from the church library.
9. I am going to wear my high school class ring during 2010. I wear it on reunion years, and this is a big one. I remember it cost $35, and I am sure my mother could not really afford it.
10. We are off to the Nat now - and then maybe Starbucks for coffee.

Games, Games, Games

2009-12-30T14:28:00.003-05:00

The Taylors like to play games. They always have the latest, most interesting ones. Last night we played Pandemic. It sounds gruesome, but it was actually fun to try to cure epidemics across the world.
We pulled out the cool games we used to play. They are Mr. President and Stocks and Bonds. We are ready to try them again after a respite of twenty or thirty years.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T07:16:00.002-05:00

A Few Saturday Thoughts

2009-12-19T12:48:00.005-05:00

We have a new Christmas tree this year - the kind that already has the lights. It was not easy because we had to take the first one back. Some of the lights did not work. So far so good on this one.
Jessica and her mother Connie attended Saturday morning Zumba along with me. I was Connie's HS librarian a few years ago.
We have a dusting of snow in Stow. That's enough for me.

Cyber Monday Surprise

2009-12-04T07:26:00.003-05:00

I had a Cyber Monday surprise this year. For no particular reason other than my wrist brace was looking pretty ratty, I ordered a new one last Monday. Thanks to all those leaves in our yard, my wrist started hurting again. I located one exactly like my University of Michigan educated hand doctor gave me last spring. Although I did not see the soggy box on the porch until yesterday morning, the invoice was half of the cost I expected. I did not realize Cyber Monday specials included medical supplies.
I promise not to speak of the leaves again - or possibly not the University of Michigan either.

Monday Morning Thoughts

2009-11-23T06:45:00.007-05:00

The Beacon is having a contest featuring interesting Christmas ornaments. Pictured is my entry. Wish me luck.
The Taylor tots came to see us over the weekend. Thanks, BJ, for bringing them all the way from PA. It is fun to have an early morning breakfast with the grandchildren. Their parents always seem to miss this activity.
We attended the Community Thanksgiving service last night. One local pastor played God Bless America on the trumpet, and another played the clarinet during the offering. They both did a great job, and I told them so. It must have been National Pastors Playing their Instruments Day.
I finished my Christmas shopping for this year. Almost every gift is coming from the Willis gift closet. So if you happen to be on the list, I apologize for the strange things you will be receiving. I must have liked them once.
D joined FaceBook. Can you believe that.

Bonus from the Church Archives

2009-11-15T18:56:00.007-05:00

The Stow United Methodist Church is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2010. I am a member of the Archives Committee. When we meet, we go through old papers, pictures, etc. What fun it is. I am not a Charter Member, but have been attending the Stow UMC since the late sixties. I borrowed a couple pictures to scan. They show Elizabeth, Marie, Katherine, Nancy and Tom on their Confirmation Days. We have barely scratched the surface of all the materials, so there will be more to come. Part of the challenge is to label the pictures. Anyone who would like to fill in names for me on these pictures would be greatly appreciated.

Veterans Day 2009

2009-11-11T07:06:00.004-05:00

Thanks for my father's love of music, I have a way of celebrating Veterans Day. I honor all the members of my family who served in the military. When I started making a list, I realized there are a lot more than I thought. The God Bless America sheet music has a 1939 copyright date, and the American Patrol copyright is 1942. I will try to play both songs today.

Some on Saturday

2009-11-07T20:44:00.004-05:00

1. It was a beautiful day in Stow. We dealt with the leaves for the fifth or sixth time. We are almost done for this year.
2. The neighbors, also doing yard work today, told us there were four deer in our back yard last night. Their dogs barked to tell them something was up. I wonder if they were the same ones we saw last winter.
3. The Buckeyes knocked off Penn State today. Go Bucks. We will be there next Saturday to watch them play Iowa.
4. I beat Richard at Nerts tonight. That was a first. He must have been operating in slow motion.
5. We went to the Hudson Library yesterday afternoon. They closed at 1:00, so our plans had to change. How sad that public libraries have lost so much funding.

Alice's doll

2009-11-02T13:23:00.004-05:00

Aunt Alice had a doll. It was a family treasure. She eventually passed it on to my mother, so she could play with it. This morning the doll escaped her box, and made a trip to the public library. I took her on this field trip so the antique expert could take a look at her. According to the expert this doll came from Germany between 1890 and 1900. That would make sense as Aunt Alice was born in 1893. The doll had her hands replaced at some point, but still has her original feet and shoes. Here is a picture of the Stewart family doll.

Notes on a Game Day

2009-11-01T07:07:00.002-05:00

1. It rained all the way to Columbus. The rain stopped as we pulled into our favorite parking lot at 7:00am.
2. We wandered around in search of breakfast. The only one we found was at the Blackwell. It cost $18.95 per person, and I think you had to be staying there to even have permission to eat. We left hungry, but did rub elbows with Jim Tressel as he was leaving for the St. John's team visit.
3. We noticed four buses with Wyoming license plates parked next to the Blackwell. Did the New Mexico team come on these buses? Did four busloads of people come from Wyoming to see this game? I guess we will never know.
4. Our food search caused us to sit in the balcony of St. John's for the Skull Session. The band had some great arrangements for a unique Halloween show.
5. We left for home during the 4th quarter. We had another fun day in Columbus on football Saturday.

Filling a Request

2009-10-22T12:04:00.009-04:00

I had a request to post the rest of the house pictures I took in Ashtabula County. We did not live very long in the two houses on East 44th St. The first one belonged to Uncle Lawrence and Aunt Austa. My parents rented it from them. The young Watson family purchased the second house on East 44th St. We sold that one to Alan and Dorothy Sheppard. The third house is in Williamsfield, a small town near Andover. The 4th house, a red one in Jefferson was also a rental. We lived on the first floor, and the Postmaster of Jefferson lived on the second floor. When I was about three, I decided to go find my father by myself. He found me crying on some street corner later that afternoon. It just shows to go that one never knows what children will do.

Covered Bridges, Old Houses and a Few Memories

2009-10-21T21:12:00.007-04:00

On Tuesday, October 20, my brother and I took a field trip to Ashtabula County. It is the largest county in Ohio, and I think we covered most of it. Ron showed me various houses we lived in. Suffice it to say they were all old, so I will only insert one picture. My Watson grandparents lived in this white house in Saybrook Township. I do remember the enclosed porch on the side of the house. I had to stay with my grandparents at the age of three when my mother had pneumonia. They were nice to me, but I did not enjoy the visit. I guess I missed my Mom.

Next I saw two houses on East 44th Street. I knew I lived on this street, but did not recognize either house. I came home from the hospital to one of these houses. No wonder I did not remember. After this part of the tour we crossed over the longest covered bridge in the United States.

We traveled to Jefferson and watched the ongoing demolition of the Jefferson schools we attended from elementary school on up through the time we left that town in 1955. I wish I could have walked though the building before they tore it down.

We stopped briefly at the Court House, the Jefferson Historical Society and the Congregational Church before joining my school friends for lunch at the Wild Side. It was the same location where I went with my date for toasted cheese sandwiches after dances in the 7th grade. What were my parents thinking? I did not need to be dating in 7th grade - let alone hanging out in a bar. It had a different name then, but still a bar.

The lunch was fun. Ron knew several of the attendees. My friend Donald can tell some pretty funny stories about his escapades. This group of friends meets every month for lunch somewhere in Ashtabula County. I go whenever I can. It is nice they include me as I moved away before high school.

After lunch we took off for Williamsfield. I'm not sure I could find that town again even though I was just there. Ron showed me another old house of ours. We lived there for two years. A chicken pecked my hand in the backyard in Williamsfield. I did not remember the house, but I surely remembered that chicken.

When we returned to Jefferson, we noticed that the Methodist Church was serving a free dinner that day. We thought it would be interesting to see the inside of the church we attended before switching to the Congregational Church. The dinner was delicious, and we enjoyed meeting the pastor. Ronnie pointed out the pew where my family sat. I had a twinge of recognition.

Ten hours after we left on our field trip, we returned to Stow.

Fall Update

2009-10-13T10:38:00.007-04:00

I planned to do more blogging in October. So far that has not happened. I've been far busier than expected of late. My lovely sister-in-law Linda passed away in September. We saw her last March when we visited in Arizona. I certainly did not think I would return so soon.
After the trip to Arizona, we went to Florida to wish Mom Rinehart a happy 91st birthday. We celebrated by listening to music and watching the sunset on the beach at Treasure Island. We also saw my cousin Don while in Florida. He will be 93 in December. His mission in life is to make someone else feel better every day. I think that is great.
The Taylors came for a visit last weekend. We made smoothies for Lily and Charlie when their parents were someplace else. They went over well.

A Second Grade Story from the Past

2009-09-09T20:54:00.003-04:00

All the talk about going back to school or school for the first time reminded me of one of my elementary school adventures. Pictured here is my second grade class on September 26, 1949. We traveled to Andover from Jefferson on a train. How exciting. It was a very special day for me because my father, the Superintendent of the Jefferson Schools, went with us.
As I look at the picture we appear to be trying out for parts in Our Gang Comedy movies.

Nice Hair

2009-09-06T19:20:00.003-04:00

Our pictures appear in random order on the screen saver. When I noticed this one, I had to look more closely. If I could photo shop, somebody's daddy would have really long hair.

Summer Harvest

2009-08-30T08:29:00.002-04:00

Here is a picture of the crops I harvested this morning. I learned several things about gardening this summer that I apparently forgot since my last garden.
Four tomato plants grow a lot of tomatoes.
I need to plant more carrots.
Four broccoli plants worked, but I needed to pick more often.
Weeds are incredible. They grow so fast, and there are so many different kinds of them.
I did not mark my garden well enough. I thought I would remember where I planted everything.
Next year I want to plant lettuce. I see lots of nice crops of lettuce in other people's gardens. I might try beets, too.
I enjoyed the garden, and will definitely sign up for another next year.

Some quotations I remember

2009-08-27T08:57:00.003-04:00

This is a list of things I've heard or said myself during my lifetime. I am probably paraphrasing most of them, so I'm not giving much credit and only a little bit of explanation here and there. They definitely are not in chronological order.

"Eat that hot dog."
"Off I go to tell her."
"It's a good thing to spend money on quality art."
"Ruffled potato chips make your mouth bleed."
"Tweet. Haven't heard that one for a while."
"Be nice to your sisters. Someday you will live far away from each other."
"Carry an extra comb. Loan that one out if someone needs it."
"That person doesn't have a full set of dishes."
"Judas Priest." (This is what my father said when he got mad. I guess it was his form of swearing, but I've never heard anyone else say this.)
"Want a cracker?"
"Don't answer that. They want money."
"No one can ever take your education away from you." (Rockwell Stewart. He made sure his five daughters and one son went to college in the early part of the 20th century.)
"Start with what you do believe in."
"You can't use someone else's religion. Find your own.
"Let's have these two fat girls have a race." (Spoken by someone my father talked to on the street in Ashtabula. I've often wondered if the other girl was as offended as I.
Okay. I was fat. But it still was a mean thing to say.)
"You get the watch. She gets the ring because she has pretty hands."
"Pick out one of these fur coats. It's yours." (I was the first to choose and got the only pretty one. I still have it, but can't bring myself to wear former animals.)
"Look at that bug on the broccoli."
"Your brother just ran over my saxophone."
"This is the hand." (I chased my brother for years after I accidentally stuck my hand in dog do.)
"Your front teeth look like mine." (Spoken by a poor excuse for an Easter bunny)
"I'm going to buy you a new pair of patent leather shoes."
"Sure you can stay home from school today to paint a picture."
"Comb your hair and tie it back"
"Welcome to the Mongoose Beauty Salon."