Special memories

Aunt Charlene. I think this might have been her graduation picture.

I forgot the time change. I'm here all ready for church and wondering why the Hubs is still upstairs in his recliner chair listening to gospel music when he has to usher today which means we need to be there early. DUH! I guess it must have been all of the Halloween excitement and trick or treaters around here that messed me up. All 25 of them. We live in a mostly older neighborhood with just a few kidsters sprinkled in here and there. Thankfully some kids come over from Sons neighborhood to help fill in. T was a cute little Good Witch and D was some kind of scary looking thing. What happened to princesses and teddy bears?



We moved the boys back to their winter lodging yesterday. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I am not happy. I felt all teary eyed all day and kept trying to think of ways to keep them here just a few more days. It's warm right now so I don't have to worry about their waterers freezing up and pipes bursting but that can change in a blink of an eye so I drained everything and now only have to give their waterer bowls a good scrubbing.



I know they are happy there and get good care but I miss watching them out the kitchen window and being able to walk out at any time to give them a carrot or the apple peelings when I make pies. I love to yell to them to come for their supper and have them come at a gallop and fully intended to have my camera with me to get a picture of that but always seemed to forget. The stable is less then 10 minutes away so I go often but it's not the same. Oh well, winter goes by quickly and then they will be home again. :o)



One of my aunts passed away a few days ago so my sister Jill and I are headed up the pike about 50 miles to go to her wake this afternoon and then tomorrow to the service. It will be good to see family and friends that we haven't seen for a long time but why does it take a funeral to get people together sometimes?

Monday

Well Blogger and I continue to have our issues. This time my whole post disappeared except for the part above this. Sigh..... I seem to be sighing a lot lately!

Anyway, we went to my aunts wake and saw so many folks from the town we grew up in. Some of them I hadn't seen in 40 years. No one knew me as growing up I had long black curly hair and was thin as a stick. Oh how some things change! lol! I recognized quite a few people and the ones I didn't I asked one of my family members who it was and then went over and talked with them.

My aunt was a very special lady. She was a hard worker all her life. She always had a big vegetable garden and I would see her so often out there weeding away. For years she and my uncle sewed shoes for a shoe company down near here but they did it at home, a truck would drop off the shoes, they would sew them together and the truck would come back and pick them up. It was hard work bending over those shoes for hours on end but in our little community of about 400 there wasn't much to do for a job unless you worked in the woods or you wanted to commute down here every day. Her family came first above all, she was devoted to them, they all grew up to be wonderful hardworking people.

She never forgot a birthday. You could always expect a card in the mail with a note written on it. She was so kind to everyone and did so much for those that needed her help in town. Everyone knew they could call on Aunt Charlene when they needed something. I have many happy memories as we lived just up the road a bit from her house and I grew right up with her kids, my cousins. My cousin Glenn and I are the same age and we were just like brother and sister, riding the horses together and playing around our grandparents farm which was right next door.

Speaking of........and I don't think he would mind me telling this story, my cousin Glenn had an interesting experience while we were riding one day. It was in the wintertime and he was on Flicka a little grade mare that we had and they were coming down the dirt road full tilt. They came to the sharp turn in the road and she slipped on some ice. They hit the snowbank, she went down, rolled completely over, jumped back up and he was still on her!!! I was behind them and saw the whole thing and sat there with my mouth hanging open! He wasn't hurt, probably due to the soft snow, and kept right on going! Oh, and we didn't wear helmets back then!

Jill and I will go up today for the graveside service. It will be nice to be back in the town I grew up in. The homestead is still there but my grandparents home burned many years ago. It will bring back many more memories I'm sure. We will miss Aunt Charlene, many people will miss her.