Christmas Memory # 1 – Pets & Presents

Christmas Memory # 1 – Pets & Presents

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For the days up until Christmas I’ll be sharing some short memories of Christmases past that I remember.

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You know if you have pets, like a cat or a dog, and it’s time for Christmas trees and presents, well there will be mishaps.

This one is when we had only dogs – a couple of Basset Hounds, a part Lab, and a part Lab/Basset. They always loved getting into things, and especially at Christmas time.

My daughters had gotten one of those Advent calendars each, and behind each little numbered door was a piece of chocolate candy. I think they’d opened one or two, but then the dogs got into the treats, tearing into the cardboard calendars and eating all the candy. They felt no ill effects from eating the chocolate – and I did kind of worry about that – but they were fine. The dogs showed no remorse whatsoever.

My girls, though, were very upset. That was the first time they’d had one of these calendars, and I can’t remember if they ever got another one after this disaster. 🙂

Here’s the culprit’s pictures from better days: (sadly, they’ve all passed on now)

Ginger

Maggie

Bud

Weasel

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

 

Shady Days – Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Shade

Shady Days – Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Shade

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 30/19

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For today’s SOCS, Linda G. Hill (our host), has given us the prompt word – shade. Thanks, Linda! 🙂

To join in this weekly challenge, and to see other entries, just click the above link. It’s fun.

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Shade shadows on sidewalk

They can move, but cannot talk

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I really like seeing shadows on the sidewalk. There are so many funny ways they look – long and tall, short and squat …

Sometimes though, when there are clouds that obscure the sun, you only get shades of gray, and no shadows of yourself or other things.

Shade may come

Shade may go

Shades of happiness

Shades of woe

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A couple of old sayings I’ve always heard:

You’ve got it made in the shade = all is going great

Shade tree mechanic = one who works on his own car out in the yard

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We had really shady days lately. It was dense fog all day long for two or three days. It cleared up this morning, though, and the sun is out, so I’m sure there will be shadows and shade here and there. Not a whole lot of shade from the trees because most of the leaves have fallen already.

And, that’s it for today.

Hope your weekend is a good one! 🙂

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

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Feeling thankful for all the online friendships here. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your photos, your laughter and tears, that make this close knit community such a wonderful place to get to know each other and your ways of life, wherever we are in the world.

Whatever this day brings, I wish you Peace. ❤

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

 

Lost in a Grocery Store

Lost in a Grocery Store

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Here’s another letter I wrote just for fun. It’s about how the grocery store arranges it’s products, and getting lost in the re-arranged aisles. This one was from 2014.

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Dear Grocery Stores:

What’s up with moving things around?

Do you like to confuse your customers? I pretty much shop at the same nearby grocery store all the time, as I’m sure most people do. I’m a regular shopper, and have come to recognize and exchange pleasantries with the employees. They do the same, as we see each other very frequently.

However, sometimes I go in to the store, and nothing is where I’m used to it being. Over night, it seems, there has been a rearranging of the grocery items. The aisles are completely different, and I have to search up one way, and down another, to find the bread, the coffee, or the canned goods.

Once, our store even split the long aisles into two sections each, then had to provide maps for their customers. They hung a map on each end of each aisle section, detailing where things were. They also handed out the map pages at the front door. Even then, people would have to ask for help finding things. It was a mess, for awhile. It was a bit like a treasure hunt, every time you’d go in there, but the treasure you were looking for was only toilet paper.

So, why do store owners think this is a good idea? Is it to make people walk all over the whole store – maybe to add extra items to their purchases? It may work a little bit, but from a customer’s point of view, it’s aggravating.

Do the owners ever ask for our opinions, suggestions, or feed-back? No, they don’t. Do we customers complain about it to the owners? No, we don’t. No, we only complain to the cashiers, baggers, and stockers, who have had nothing to do with the decision for the change up.

In the end, we get used to the new floor plan, the shelving combinations, and we get back into a familiar routine. We can eventually zip through the store with no problem…until another overnight, secret mission has taken place, with no warning. We walk in to a completely reorganized store.

Then the whole irritating process starts over. Ugh!

Do the stores you shop at do this, too?

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~ Little photo from Free Clip Art Pictures ~

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

Paper Towel Problems

Paper Towel Problems

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This is another of those letters to a company that I of course never sent. Just for fun, I wrote my thoughts about paper towels. I first posted this in 2015, but it’s fun to look back.

We pretty much all use them these days, but am I the only one to have … Paper Towel Problems?

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Dear Paper Towel Companies,

What is up with those sections of your product that won’t tear off? When I want one single sheet of paper towel, I try to tear it off at the perforation, but it never works right. I’ve tried so many times, Sometimes, I pull off half the roll, and it goes bouncing off the cabinet, into the floor, unrolling a long streamer, as it goes merrily on it’s way. Other times, I think I have gotten it just right, but no…at the last second, a corner rips off all jagged looking. That just won’t do, you know?

I’m no perfectionist, lord knows, but why do these things happen, every time? After the one roll goes off on the floor, well, they can’t be used anywhere near the food in the kitchen. They are ok for mopping up spills, which is ok, but really, I have a regular mop for that. The ones with the corners torn off, are just frustrating, when I wanted a nice even square. I have to fold it over so I won’t see the damage…it really bugs me.

I’ve also noticed that on your packaging, there are no instructions on how to tear the sheets off, in a non-destructive way. I know…it’s just paper to be thrown away, after all, but for those few minutes I’m using them, I want them to be whole and clean. Most products in the world have some kind of use instructions on the package, even if it is as they say…a no brainer. I know…I’ve read them on everything.

There you are, telling us how awesome your paper towels are, how strong and durable, and how useful for so many wipe-up jobs. There is also, colorful graphics on the package, along with how many plies it has, how many sheets, how many square feet there are per roll, and a warning about the plastic wrapping suffocating someone. Couldn’t you put a few little words on there, letting us know how best to tear a sheet off the roll? Hey, you could even print it on the actual paper…I mean, you print all those pretty pictures all over the front of them. I think this is a good idea.

Well, maybe there are no rules about how to use your paper towels. Could it be that you the producer, have left it up to us, the consumer, to be smart enough to know how, on our own? Thank you for that, at least. We can manage to tear a sheet off, one way or another, however sloppy it looks. I’d just prefer a small hint of the correct way to do this.

So, Paper Towel Companies, do you think any of my suggestions will be a future possibility?

Thanking you in advance, and looking forward to your new designs!

Sincerely,

Miss Messy

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~ Little photo from Free clip Art Pictures ~

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2015 & 2019 BS

Share Your World

Share Your World

https://sparksfromacombustiblemind.com/2019/11/25/share-your-world-11-25-19/

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Time for another SYW, with questions from Melanie, and answers from me!

Join in this fun weekly challenge, and see other entries by clicking the above link. 🙂

Wishing everyone a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving.

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What did you have for dinner last night?

We had a Mexican food TV dinner. It had two enchiladas, re-fried beans, and a coconut pudding.

Would you rather go out on a Saturday night or stay in?

We never go out at night, or ever really. I wouldn’t go out no matter which night it was.

How are you, truthfully?

Just fine.

What’s the best topping/ice cream combination?  If you don’t eat ice cream, what’s your favorite combination dessert?  (Example: pie and ice cream or pie and whipped cream – that sort of answer)

I don’t eat much deserts any more, but I do like a small fruit combo – with cut up apples, some sweet cherries, maybe a grape or two. Peanut butter and apples are really good together. 🙂

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

 

Going to Granny’s (pt. 6)

Going to Granny’s (pt. 6)

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Another few remembrances of when I’d go stay at my Granny’s house in the summer time, when I was a kid.

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Part one is here

Part two is here

Part three is here

Part four is here

Part five is here

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Let’s see … just a few more today and that will be all of these. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my remembrances. 🙂

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Granny had a little puppy named Peppy! It was a small, part poodle that was white and fluffy. He was a fun little dog, and was around for many years. She’d board him at the vet’s place when she’d go out of town. After her passing, Peppy came to live at my mom & dad’s house for a few more years.

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Lot’s of times my Mom, my sister and I would drop by Granny’s house just to visit. Usually it was after we’d had a doctor’s appointment, because the hospital wasn’t far from her house, so we’d make what my Mom called ‘pop calls’. They were un-announced visits, so I don’t know how much my Granny liked us just coming over. But, I always liked going there randomly. She’d always fix lunch for us, and it was all made from scratch – not just a sandwich.

She’d make macaroni and tomatoes, cornbread, biscuits, boiled potatoes with butter & parsley, fresh green beans, and for dessert a yummy cherry cobbler. Some of the best food I ever ate.

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She had a large, ceramic cookie jar shaped like an owl, that was wearing a hat, and glasses. Good cookies in there!

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Later, when I was a bit older, I’d bring some ironing over there that I had to get done. You see, to earn spending money I ironed clothes for other people. I did this from when I was before a teen, until actually a few years ago, when I stopped. I love ironing, though. Anyway, I’d do the ironing over there that week.

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Maybe the last time I stayed for my week’s vacation at Granny’s house was when I was 18. When my parent’s came to pick me up we hurried home to see the first moon walk, which was July 20,1969, on our black & white TV. That was exciting to see that.

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It wasn’t long after that, that I got married. We still went over to Granny’s house quite often, and she’d come to my parent’s house for Sunday lunches. Then a little later, she and my Grand-dad sold their house and moved to Oklahoma City to live with my aunt for a few years. Later still after my grand-dad passed on, she came to live at my parent’s house for a few more years.

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I’m glad I could remember so many good times at my Granny’s house. 🙂

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Flyer/Ad

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Flyer/Ad

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 23/19

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Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “flyer/ad.” Look at the latest ad you got in the mail (if it’s a store flyer, choose the product right in the middle of the page) or choose the next online ad you find, and theme your post on whatever the product is. Do not name the brand if you hate it, unless you add that it’s an opinion/review of the product in question. You don’t want to chance getting sued. Have fun!

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Today’s prompt for SOCS is to talk about advertisements we get, either in the regular mail or on line. Thanks, Linda, for such an interesting prompt.

To join in this fun weekly challenge, and also see other entries, just click the above link. It’s fun!

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Well, we get some paper advertisements in the mail about once a week. We never look at them, as it goes right from the mailbox to the trash can. Sometimes I feel sorry for the postman for having to deliver all this trash to people. But, it’s a job, and I’m sure they are glad for it.

Since I have no ads to point to a certain item, I’ll just say something about the on line ads I get. Actually, I don’t get very many of these either, at least on my email notices.

Maybe once a month I get a special offer thing for a restaurant that we used to go to. That’s the key words – used to go to. We don’t go there any more, because the food quality has gone way down. When they first opened it was really good, and nothing is really wrong with it, but something happened, and it’s not so good any more. I find that’s true with a lot of places.

Another ad I get on email is for Crayola products. I don’t really look at them either, just delete. I can see why I do get those, though. It’s because I do the Crayola Color Challenge, and have for a few years.

I know this happens, but it is still strange. I’ll mention on my blog, or a comment in a blog about something, and then later go to facebook and I’ll get ads for whatever it was. The latest was about a new type of journal/writing notebook. How do they do this? I know this company doesn’t read my blog, so how do they know what I said? Kinda creepy!

That’s about it for this time. I think we’re going out to shop and for lunch in a little bit. (not at that place I mentioned!)

I’m really tempted to mention the name of the type of blue jeans my husband will be looking for when we go shopping, just to see if ads turn up for them later. But, I’m not going to. I don’t like seeing ads all over the place. 🙂

Hope y’all are having a wonderful weekend! 🙂

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

Going to Granny’s (pt. 5)

Going to Granny’s (pt. 5)

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Part one is here

Part two is here

Part three is here

Part four is here

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Another few remembrances of when I’d go stay at my Granny’s house in the summer time, when I was a kid.

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My granny had a big collection of all kinds of small & souvenir pitchers. I guess she just liked them, and we always knew what to get her for birthdays and Christmas…another pitcher. I don’t know what happened to them all, except for a couple that I have. Every time I see them I think of her.

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I liked washing dishes at my Granny’s house. Well, I just always have liked to wash dishes where ever I am. Mostly because they have different dishes than we did at home, so it was fun.

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In the living room my grandparents had an old timey cabinet stereo. It had a radio, and a turntable that played 78 rpm records.

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Both my Granny & Grand-dad had birthdays in July, so we’d celebrate both by going over there bringing a pound cake & vanilla ice cream.

I know my Granny always had coffee, too, and she’d pour a little bit into a saucer and blow on it to cool, then drink from the saucer. There is an old saying – ‘saucered and blowed’. That’s what she did.

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We always went to Granny’s house for Christmas Eve with my dad’s side of the family. Usually relatives from Oklahoma and New Mexico came in, too. There was good food, presents, and fun. The grown-ups would get out the dominoes for games of 42, while my cousins and I would play card games at the kitchen table.

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And … I keep remembering more things, so one more tomorrow! 🙂

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

Going to Granny’s (pt. 4)

Going to Granny’s (pt. 4)

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Part one is here

Part two is here

Part three is here

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Another few remembrances of when I’d go stay at my Granny’s house in the summer time, when I was a kid.

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We called her the ‘parakeet lady’. She was a neighbor a few houses down from my Granny’s house, and she raised parakeets. She had a whole outdoor bird shelter where she kept the birds. There were a lot of them, and all so pretty – blue ones, yellow ones, green ones, white ones.

We’d walk over there so I could see the parakeets. She took good care of them, and maybe she sold them to the pet stores, I don’t know, but I do know that our family did buy several from her over the years. We almost always had a parakeet or two at home. I had mine and my sister had hers, and we’d name them, and take care of them. I still like birds a lot.

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Looking out the front room big picture window at my Granny’s house at some of the other houses, we could see some funny trees. I don’t know what kind they were, but they were not tall. I called them ‘poodle trees’, because they either grew that way or were trimmed to look like large green pom-poms. To this day, when I see a tree like that, I’m thinking poodle tree.

Across the street was somebody who was building his own airplane. Just a small one, but it was interesting to see it. It was yellow, and probably a one seater private kind of airplane. It wasn’t real big, but I liked going over to see it. I don’t know if he ever flew it. I mean, maybe he did haul it out of the  back yard and out to the airport. I hope so.

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The neighbor girl and I would have lots of fun, but one thing I remember about her, is when she showed me a couple of tricks she could do. One was walking barefoot over a broken light bulb. She claimed it wouldn’t cut you, and she was right. It didn’t. Another was the straight pin trick. Hard to explain, but you take a straight pin, like you’d use for sewing, put it in the crook of your elbow with the point touching your skin. Then bend your elbow so the pin is snuggled in there. It wouldn’t stick you. I’ve done this many times, and It doesn’t stick you at all. So weird to remember these, and I would not recommend trying them.

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That’s all for today. I’m thinking one more for tomorrow and that will be all. 🙂

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS