Category: Daily Prompt

Snow

Published on by Wanda2 Comments

Daily Prompt:  Crisp

I hate cold weather.  I hate snow.  Although, when it is falling and drifts appear in the crisp cold air it is indeed beautiful.  That is why several years ago we left Pennsylvania and moved south to North Carolina.

I told my husband that if we still needed a snow shovel, we hadn’t moved south far enough.  I told him that they should not even have to carry them in the stores.  He never minded the cold or the snow, but the fact that we no longer had a son that lived at home to shovel in the winter, he didn’t fight me too hard over the move.

Our first winter in North Carolina, we actually had snow.  I could’t believe it.  However, it snowed at 9 AM and it was gone by noon.  It’s only snowed a couple more times since our move.

As for the beauty of the winter’s snow, I get plenty of it from the TV, and pictures right here on the internet.  And I can keep warm while I enjoy it.

Wanda

Polish or Polish

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Daily Prompt: Polish

When I was a child I moved in with my grandmother.  She was just like a mom to me.  I actually called her mom.  I lost her in 1977 and I still miss her dearly.

Anyway, my mom had so many antiques.  I grew to love them just as she did.  I learned to take care of them and keep house from her.  Along with her antiques she had beautiful silver tea sets and serving pieces she had gotten as wedding gifts.  It became my job to polish them.  Mom had a trick to keep her silver shining longer.  After we polished the silver she covered it with saran wrap.  That way when she knew she would be entertaining, she just had to remove the plastic wrap.

Mom worked full time so she had developed many short cuts to keeping house.  Don’t misunderstand, her home was immaculate.  She was just imaginative in her tasks.

We lived just down the street from my Aunt Bunny and Uncle Bob and my three cousins. My Aunt was first generation of Polish decent.  Her mother was a tiny strong woman who adopted me as one of her grandchildren and I grew to love her too.  Her grasp of the English language was pretty good, however, there was one time that she had everyone holding their breath by what she said.

I had just had my first child and she had colic.  We were at my Aunt’s home to celebrate my cousin’s birthday.  I was trying to sooth the baby and Babciu took her from my arms and said to me “your no good mother”.  As I said you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone thought that I would take offense especially since I was a brand new mother.  I said to Babciu, show me what to do.  Everyone smiled and finally started to breathe.

It wasn’t too long after that we lost Babciu.  Even though this could have been a disaster, it is one of my favorite memories of the time I got to spend with this amazing woman.  I had lost grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins when my mother left my dad and me.  I was truly blessed that Babciu was willing to accept me into her life.

Wanda

 

Miss Marks

Published on by Wanda1 Comment

Daily Prompt:  Natty

Have you ever wound up somewhere completely under dressed?  I’m talking about everyone else looking natty and you are in a pair of jeans and a “good” T shirt.  I remember one time I was supposed to pick someone up from a gathering.  I arrived on time and appeared at the front door of a beautiful huge house.  The door was opened by a maid in uniform and I was told to go on in where the gathering was taking place.

I walked into a room, or I should say ball room, it was so big.  It was elegantly decorated. All of a sudden I felt very out of place.  I had no idea where I was heading when I volunteered to pick up Miss Marks.  That should teach me to always look presentable.

Thinking back on it now, I should have had some idea.  Miss Marks is a very wealthy lady who has always traveled in those wealthy high society circles.  Of course aging doesn’t just effect those of us who are not wealthy, it also gets the wealthy too.  I am not sure why Miss Marks didn’t utilize her own car and chauffeur.  I asked her that on our way to her home.  She told me that she preferred not to have her whereabouts tracked by her distant family.

Wow. I thought that maybe she was being a little hard on her family and I suggested that maybe they were just concerned about her.  She chuckled right out loud at that idea.  No she said, they are just waiting until I die so they can have the money.

I felt very sorry for Miss Marks.  It must be awful to not have a good relationship with your family.  She had never married or had children.  She must be lonely I thought.  We who don’t have that kind of money tend to think that those who do don’t have any problems, but clearly, they do.  I have begun to think that money is indeed the root of all evil.

Wanda

Baking Cookies

Published on by Wanda7 Comments

Daily Prompt:  Uniform

christmascookies
Image borrowed from http://ediblecraftsonline.com/christmas/index.htm

Do you bake Christmas cookies?  I hate to admit this, but I am the worlds worst cookie maker.  See how pretty these cookies look?  Mine are never this nice.  I can’t even manage to get my chocolate chip cookies to be uniform in shape and size.  How pathetic is that?

Through the years I worked at night.  So when it came time for holiday baking, my husband would bake the cookies with my kids.  They hated when I was home to join in because I made such a mess of the cookies.  I can bake pies, cakes, but I just don’t have the magic touch for cookies.

When Gary and I married, his mother gave me all of the cookie recipes she had made over the years.  Many of them were from Gary’s grandmother.  I tried to make them the first year we were married.  My husband, what a trooper, never complained once about the terrible cookies I made for him.  The next year when I had moved to nights at the hospital, he was just a little too anxious to take over the Christmas cookie baking.

When my oldest grew up she began baking the cookies with her dad.  Once or twice I attempted to help and was told that I could line the cookie sheets with parchment paper and the tins that we kept them in for storage.

Absolutely everyone I know can make beautiful, delicious cookies.  I’m not sure where I was when that talent was handed out, but I sure missed the boat.  So after all these years I have decided to forgo the task of cookie baking and just be a taster.

Wanda

Brassy

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Daily Prompt:  Brassy

 

Before when I was little
I used to play outside.
My friends and I would lay in grass
Looking for objects in the sky.
We’d see castles with towers
And animals romping free
Then dream of our futures
And what they might be.

My future is now my present
And not quite what I’d dreamed.
It’s better than I had imagined
Filled with joy and family.
We gather often to celebrate
Our accomplishments every one.
The noise, quite deafening
Sounds brassy to us all.

Beginnings

Published on by Wanda4 Comments

Daily Prompt:  Portion

When we are born into a family, we have no say in who that family is. We depend on this family for all of our needs. As we grow, we develop a relationship with our family and they lovingly teach us everything we need to know about our life.

Soon we learn how to interact with our bigger family. Our cousins, playmates and neighbors. Without realizing it, we are having our personalities shaped by our evolving environment. We learn to make the right choices about who and what we want and like.

Then we begin our formal education. Going to school introduces us to many new influences. Our teachers and classmates all make an impression on us. Sometimes that impression is not acceptable to how our family has raised us. When we share that impression with our parents, they lovingly discipline us.

After learning all of the lessons we have been taught growing up, we are in a position to make decisions on how we wish to spend our lives. What career to choose, who we marry and where we will live. We carve out our portion of life with the knowledge that our family loves and supports us and so we can achieve anything.   This, of course, is the ideal situation.

I realize that we are all not this fortunate. My early family life left a lot to be desired. My grandmother came into the picture and worked hard to give me the love and support I needed to grow into the woman I am today. I do have memories from when I lived with my mother who was not capable of taking care of children due to her issues, but I choose not to permit them to do any more damage to my life. I think that what I can recommend to anyone who has not had the ideal start in life is to not let those circumstances make you bitter and cynical as an adult. Fight to break the chain of unhappiness and reach for happiness and love. It’s not easy, but it’s so worth the struggle.

Wanda

Genealogy

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Daily Prompt:  Trace

Several years ago my youngest daughter gave me a genealogy program for Christmas. It was her plan that we would work on our family tree together. I started fooling around with the program myself and immediately got hooked on tracing my ancestors. Unfortunately, my daughter wound up not working on it with me. She had just graduated from college and was getting settled in her career.

After a few years I found that the program she had given me was outdated. It was then that I transferred all of the research I had done to Ancestry. After my daughter married she and her husband joined me in working on our heritage.

There isn’t much more that excites me than tracing my ancestors across Europe. I have gotten back to the eleventh century in England on my father’s side. I find that so exciting. On my mother’s side, I have hit two brick walls one in Germany the other in Ireland. I dream about traveling to those places one day to find my ancestors there.

If you have never tried to trace your ancestors, I highly recommend it. You might be surprised at who you are related to.

Wanda

Happy Memorial Day

Published on by Wanda3 Comments

Daily Prompt:  Detonate

If you live in the United States you are more than likely celebrating Memorial Day.  Today we remember those who have served our country to preserve our freedom.  It also signifies the beginning of summer.  There are parades, picnics and in Miami Beach this weekend there is an air show.

My son lives in South Beach right on the beach.  He called me yesterday to tell me about the air show going on right along the beach.  While we were on the phone, I heard a loud boom.  It sounded like a bomb had been detonated.   Gary told me that a stealth bomber had just passed by his building and he was standing on his balcony watching the show.

I was sorry I was not there to see those planes in action.  He went on to tell me that there were numerous boats anchored right off shore to watch the show.  I was concerned that my granddaughter, who is only fifteen months old would be frightened by the loud noise. Thankfully she was with her mommy at a birthday party away from the beach.

I really think it would be cool to take a ride in one of those stealth bombers.  It would certainly be the ultimate amusement park ride, don’t you think?

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to those who have served.

Wanda

 

Smile

Published on by Wanda1 Comment

Daily Prompt:  Radiate

Of all the physical characteristics we humans have our smile is the one which shows our inner self the most.  It radiates our warmth, our happiness and our determination to achieve what makes our hearts soar.  It shows our fellow man our acceptance, our sense of humor and our joy.

I cannot imagine what our world would be without our leading with a smile.  Even in sadness, our smile pushes through as we see hope through that sadness.  That’s what our smiles are mostly, an outward sign of hope.  Hope in the future.  Hope in our indomitable humanity.  Hope in our faith of what is to come.

Wanda