Wind blow where you may but, please, not here today.

We have owned these rockers almost as long as we have lived here. These rockers are very old and very heavy, made of wrought iron and wood. They have sat on our patio, rocking in the wind, for years. But today? Well, today was another super windy day in our little corner of the world. The chairs not only rocked but a very strong gust blew one of them over. And it was sitting  up close to the house.

We have had a lot of wind this winter. Sure hope it blows itself out by the end of this month and April brings those much needed April Showers.

Hang on tight and don't blow away,

Rose

And life gets busy.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, we got married September 1, 1962 after a  six month "courtship". Needless to say, there were adjustments to make for both of us. We have had our ups and downs, don’t all married couples, but we have managed to survive. Our first daughter was born in August of 1963, our second, September of 1964. Very busy years. We were living in a one bedroom apartment above hubby’s folks. It was time for a bigger place to live before our third daughter was born. One day, a fellow came into my father-in- law’s place of business, he owned the local locker. He always had coffee on so it also was a place for people to stop and chat a minute. Anyway, we had been looking at houses but nothing to our liking was available in our small town. Taxes had just gone up on property and this fellow was very upset about the amount the state had raised his. He said to John” for two cents I would sell our house and move to the retirement home in Walnut.” Well, John said he knew just the right couple for the place. We went up to see it the very next evening. It was just what we wanted. Not perfect but large. It had four bedrooms up, one possible bedroom down, two full baths, a eat in kitchen, a dining room and a large living room. It also set on four lots. Big yard for a growing family. Hubby and I knew we had to buy this place that night or we would lose out. We were in the basement checking the furnace and hot water heater and trying to figure out what we should offer. We had decided on 5000 dollars. Doesn’t sound like much but you got to remember this was over 50 years ago and a very old house in need of some work. Well, the fellow says to my hubby, “Would 2500 be too much”. Oh my goodness. We both were shocked. Hubby managed to say we would take it. Then the fellow says if we wanted he would leave all of the bedroom furniture, linens, pots and pans, dishes and almost of the things in the detached garage ,including the lawn mower, for an additional 200 dollars. We were coming from a one bedroom apartment and didn’t own much. We jumped at that offer. We moved into our house in June, 1965 and our third daughter was born October, 1965. Very busy time in my life.  In the spring of 1966, the pork plant where hubby worked went on strike. So now we had a house, three kids and no income. Lucky for us, the interstate was going in a mile outside our town and hubby was able to get a job helping put the interstate in. He worked till the weather got cold and was once again laid off. Now what? The local tavern was in need of a bartender, so he took that job. The owner wanted to retire and asked my hubby if he would like to buy the tavern. My hubby said yes but I wasn’t so sure. So, we rented the tavern for a year with the option to buy. On January 1, 1968 we became the official owners of the Corner Tavern.  And in July, 1968 daughter number 4 was born. So now I was a wife,  the mother of four girls under the age of 5, a business owner/bartender.  Now you talk about busy, that we were.

Have a good week,

Rose

Homemade bread and a beer.

Hope everyone had a relaxing Sunday. The change to daylight savings can sometime be hard to adjust to. I don’t look for that to be a problem this year. Since we are both now retired, we don’t have to get up any special time. And that does help adjusting.

Last week a reader asked why after my blind date wasn't all that great, did I go out with hubby again? I have been thinking about that off and on all week. You, know there wasn't any real reason. We just had fun together. I had planned on cancelling that second date, a dance in a town near his hometown. But for some reason unknown, I didn't. I can tell you though, as the day worn on I wondered if maybe I should have. First off he was supposed to pick me up around 4. I had planned to go shopping with friends and decided I could still go. I would be home around 3. Plenty of time to get ready before he showed up. Well, I got home around 1:30 and there he sat, eating homemade bread and having a beer with my mother. He had come early and made himself at home. Mom liked him from day one. This was a real surprise. I don’t think she ever liked any of my boyfriends. This was a first. Most were sacred of her. She was very strict. And maybe that is what she didn't like about them. He wasn't sacred and he was friendly. Because he wasn't from the “neighborhood” or even from our town, he didn't know about my mother’s “reputation”. There the two of them sat, chatting. Since we had a lot of time to kill, we, or he, decided we could go to his home and I could meet his folks. Boy, I tell you. If I could have twitched my nose and turned the clock back, I would have. I was thinking what have I got myself into. And I repeated that thought again as he introduced me to his dad. His dad pulled me onto his lap and said” so this is the gal that is going to me my new daughter-in-law”. I wanted to yell “take me home”. But I just sat there smiling.  We went on to the dance, met Mary and Ron and had a really fun time. I got home on the late side and figured mom would be waiting up for me, sermon in hand. lol But she wasn’t. Now I knew she really did like him. And till the day she died, hubby could do no wrong in her eyes. They always were friends. At one time, when they were both watching All My Children during lunch hour (he had an hour lunch break) they would sit and discuss that darn show. Sometimes things are just meant to be and I figured that is why I went out with him again, spiders and all.  We got engaged in April and got married in September, six and a half months after we met. And this September, by the grace of God, we will celebrate 52 years of marriage.

Take care,
Rose

No Words Needed

                    I took these two pictures Sunday evening. No words needed.

See what a blind date can lead to.

 One of my best friends when I worked at Mutual was Mary Jane. Her

boyfriend, Ron,had a friend that just got out of the Navy and they wanted me to go out with him, blind date, double date. Took her a couple of weeks to talk me into it. We decided we would go bowling the evening before George Washington’s birthday. We had the next day off so we wouldn't have to get up early for work. As luck would have it, we had a big snow storm the day before and roads weren't all that great the night of our double date. Mary Jane, Ron, and Jerry were supposed to pick me up 8 for an evening of bowling, then a burger and home. While picking up Mary Jane at her apartment, Ron got the car stuck in a snowdrift. It took them a couple of hours to get out. Mary Jane kept calling me with progress reports. After a couple of calls or so, I told my mom I was going to bed and if they called tell them I changed my mind. Well, no more call, just a knock at the door. And luckily, I had changed clothes and gone off to bed, yet. By this time, it was 10:30. We bowled a couple of games. The whole time, I was wishing I had gone to bed. This guy, my future hubby, had spider tattoos, one on each hand and was very friendly. Too friendly for me. I guess I should have thought about that since he was a sailor. lol Anyway, he insisted on sitting too close to me. Every time after my turn to bowl, I would sit on as far away from him as possible but after his turn, there he would be as close to me as possible. All I wanted was to go home. And to top it off, when we got done bowling we couldn’t find any place to eat but a donut shop. Thank goodness they had glazed donuts, too. On the way home we dropped Mary Jane and Ron off at her apartment and he took me home. Needless to say at this point, I wasn’t too keen on that idea but had no say. When we go to my house, he wouldn’t let me out of the car till I promised to go out with him again. I said yes so that I could get out of the car and go to bed. I figured I could cancel the date and all would be well.  Sure didn’t work out that. All I can say is this blind date turned into 51 plus years and counting. More on those dating months next week.