Family Time

In all my sorting through hundreds of family pictures from many years, I often think, "Why didn't I take more?"  I know, of course.  Family life was busy, it was hard to catch just the right candid shots, and our equipment for photography was not very good.  I take such pleasure in being able to pick up my cell phone and catch a moment of unexpected happiness. We went out house hunting this afternoon, and Ben, Kristen, and Nora took this few minutes to sit for awhile on a bench.  I am passing some of their sunshine on to you!

Family Photo

 Ben, Joe, Sean, Mary Ann and Jeremy on Nana's couch, probably 1979 or 1980

My last posts have been about postcards, but along with all the other saved things, there are plenty of photos in the boxes I have been sorting. I also found a number of 35 mm slides, which Joe has been busy scanning and converting to digital images that we can store on our computers. I am often less grateful than confused at all the techology we use in our home, but I am most grateful for his work on these photo prints and slides.

For awhile after we were married, I continued using my 35mm camera, but then we began using polaroid cameras - great for seeing the photos right away, but terrible for their quality and durability. Then we switched to a very simple point and click camera, which involved developing and negatives. Many of those have faded terribly. I was not a great photographer, and was usually in a hurry to capture a moment, so many of our pictures are poor photos.  I confess to having had very little organization with photo storage, with only a few making it into albums - which certainly makes it hard to organize them after over 50 years of family life.  We want to keep the ones we have in a way that allows us to view them easily, and digital storage allows us that plus ways to organize and share with all our family.

There are so many more ways to turn out great photographs now. My smart phone works better for me than my good camera most of the time because I have it with me, and it is so quick and easy to get good candid shots. I can capture an image of a granddaughter, view, edit, and post it on FaceBook for friends and family to see more quickly than I used to be able to take off my lens cap, focus, and click!  I take more photos, and have learned so much about cropping and editing. These, too, will be stored in files on my computer I am finally organizing pictures!  Old dogs really can learn new tricks.

Builders

The days following Christmas and the turn of our calendars to a new year are full - finishing and beginning, putting away and choosing new starts, savoring what is and planning for change.  I love choosing times to settle, reflect, assess, and value.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the times we stop being busy to enjoy a book and each other!  Nora loves to sit in her Mom's lap and "read." She lifts her arms to her Daddy, delighting in knowing he will pick her up and hold her close. These times, of course, last only minutes for a toddler who is off to explore new adventures quickly. But the minutes are some of the most important in her day, and theirs. She reminds us all of the deep importance of taking time to pay attention to the smallest of needs. I am thankful Nora has parents who give her this attention.  I am also thankful to have one of the laps she asks to sit in!   I am thankful we are builders - doing homework together as a family.

The Builders

All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

Gifts from the Past

This necklace and bracelet of cowrie shells was sent to me from Taraway, Gilbert Island by my uncle, whom I loved dearly. Travis Terrell was serving his country in the Navy in WWII.  He printed my name on the above pictured note, but the handwriting below is my mother's, Opal Terrell Teal. As mentioned, I received the jewelry September 4, 1944. I remember handling the tiny shells and loving the jewelry as a little girl.

Oddly enough, it is only now, well over 70 years later, that I consider the circumstance of how and when my uncle obtained the shells, how homesick he would have been, how much he longed for home and his family. (His 2 oldest children are slightly younger than I).  It would have taken some time for a gift to arrive in Texas, putting the shells very near the months less than a year prior when

More than 1,000 U.S. troops were killed in action and some 2,000 were wounded in only three days of fighting at Tarawa. Word of the heavy casualties soon reached the U.S. and the public was stunned by the number of American lives lost in taking the tiny island.


http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-tarawa

Finally, I am understanding more of the meaning of my gift of shells.

Christmas Collage

If one picture is worth a thousand words, this is a very long (and happy) post!  More comments about our Christmas Day next week, but for now, please enjoy our gathering and celebrating!

Blessed

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone, Advent begins tomorrow. The 2 days are not always so close together, but it seems appropriate to move from the posture of marking gratitude to these next weeks of waiting and expectancy. I love so many things about these celebrations. There is the time set aside for personal reflection and recollection. There is time for family gathering and celebrating. This Thanksgiving has brought a keen awareness of how precious our times together are and how much I appreciate the occasion because it draws people home. The coming year brings great change for all of us, some already known. Jobs and homeplaces are relocating, our grandchildren are growing up. Next year gatherings may be different in numbers and place. So I need to say one more time how grateful I am that all our thirteen of our sons, their wives and our grandchildren were together for hugs and laughter, fun in the kitchen, remembering, and circling our great feast for Joe to pray a blessing and thanksgiving for our family, our food, our being together.  Not many pictures, but so many, many good memories.

Thanksgiving 2015. Blessed.

Maddie mailed me a note with a gift inside and the instructions "Here is a sticker you can add to almost anything..." I grinned as I attached it to the pumpkin on my counter. P for pumpkin, P for pie, but also P for Parker!  Our family has grown to number 13 Parkers (and alot more counting extended family.)  With a grateful heart every day, and Thanksgiving gathering coming soon, I am glad for our times together as a family.  See you soon, Maddie!

200 Things to Throw Away

My kids don't believe me, but I really am working on this.  When I was growing up, I would hear the mantra "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."   I come from a long line of savers.  Not hoarders, not junkies, not even collectors, but just good hard working folks who saved bits of string in a ball, scraps of fabric for quilts, and always leftovers from supper!  Mind you, this same mindset is now sometimes called repurposing, because many times, these saved things do get used.  But it also leads to too many kept things that take up too much room and are not useful again. Ever.  I am determined to simplify our home and what is in it.  One small box or drawer at a time. What of these things is hardest for you to donate or throw away? Comments? Anyone want to join me in this effort?

My next post will offer some of the ways I have shared or donated.  I truly do not like throwing away!

The following list comes from the blog linked here.  Many thanks!

http://tinyurl.com/200Things

1.  Old product boxes (Apple products, TV, etc.)

2.  Hangers from the dry cleaners

3.  Plastic hangers from the store

4.  Expired make up

5.  Half-finished projects…you know the one!

6.  Magazines

7.  Old emery boards (buy a nice glass one and be done with those scratchy things!)

8.  Old paint (Visit Earth911.com to find a place to dispose of it safely)

9.  Ugly undergarments you hate to wear (You have those “just in case” pairs too, right?)

10.  Bills, taxes, paperwork over 7 years old

11.  Socks with holes or without mates…also those lonely socks that have holes too. 

12.  Extra cups and mugs – How many does your family use in a regular dishwasher load?  Add a few more for company and be done with the rest.

13.  Books you’ve never read or will never read again

14.  Old technology (8 tracks, floppy discs, VHS tapes w/o a player, etc.)

15.  Unloved toys

16.Cleaning rags – You only need a few before you’ll wash them again, right?

17.  Tea light candles – Use them or lose them.

18.  Take out menus you never look at

19.  Old greeting cards (Save the super sentimental ones and recycle the rest)

20.  Outdated over the counter drugs and vitamins

21.  Old sneakers (Recycle through Nike)

22.  Plastic cutlery

23.  Old spices – Spices don’t actually spoil but they lose their potency.  A good rule of thumb is 1-2 years for seasoning; 1-3 for herbs and ground spices; and up to 4 years for whole spices.

24.  Duplicate power cords (USB, etc.  We have 3 vTech ones for the kiddos’ toys but only need one)

25.  Bobby pins

26.  Games with missing pieces

27.  Dried up nail polish bottles

28. Video games you’ll never play again

29.  Recalled baby items (carseats, cribs, etc.)

30.  Jewelry you don’t wear

31.  Expired food in your freezer/pantry

32.  Rugs or home decor you haven’t used since you redecorated

33.  Unused perfumes and cologne

34.  Old towels that make you cringe when you look at them

35.  Extension cords (Am I the only one who has a bazillion of these?)

36.  Extra sets of bed linens – two per bed tops

37.  Unused plastic containers – especially those without a lid and those old plastic containers. Avoid containers with recycle codes 3 or 7 as they may contain BPA.

38.  Old bills (Switch to online banking and stop the clutter before it comes in your home)

39.  Paychecks older than 2 years

40.  Stretched out hair ties

41.  Matches you never use (Maybe save a few in case of a power outage)

42.  Old newspapers

43.  Expired Rx meds (Visit fda.gov for proper ways to dispose of them)

44.  Extra pillows

45.  Ticket stubs (Sentimental like myself?  Store in a scrapbook or fill a mug with old stubs)

46.  Make up you’ll try “one day”  If you’ve owned if for more than 2 weeks without trying it, toss it.

47.  Clothes that are more than 2 sizes too small.  Don’t give up on your weight loss dream but WHEN you do lose that weight go and buy new clothes to reward yourself.

48.  Things you’ve bought have haven’t returned yet (Return them, sell, or donate them)

49.  White-out bottles – You know you don’t need it!

50.  Unneeded notebooks

51.  Pens and pencils – Keep your favorites and let go of the rest

52.  Little shampoo bottles from a hotel you went to 5 years ago

53.  Knick knacks that don’t make you smile every time you see them

54.  Cords that don’t belong to anything you currently own

55.  Lose screws, nuts, bolts, etc. unless you happen to be a handy man who would actually reuse them one day

56.  Kid’s old art projects (I have an upcoming post with loads of ideas on this so for now just set them aside)

57.  Old party supplies

58.  Old wedding favors (Keep a few, toss the rest)

59.  Old Christmas cards of your family (Save a few, recycle the rest)

60.  Holiday decor you never remember to set out (Thanksgiving turkey Aunt Sue gave you)

61.  Holiday decor that you use once a year (ex. Easter deviled egg tray that collects dust 364 days of the year!  Buy a lovely one that you can use for other holidays too.)

62.  Cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, shampoo that you used once and didn’t like.  Donate to a local shelter.

63.  Flower pots.  Plant a flower or toss the pot.

64.  Watering cans if you don’t have flowers.

65.  Too small kid’s clothing.  Only save favorites if you’re saving for another child.  Sell the rest while they’re still in style.

66.  Extra buttons (If you don’t sew, toss them all.  Reduce your supply if you will use a button in the next few months)

67.  Old calendars

68.  Unidentified frozen objects (Label ya’ll!  Keep a Sharpie by the freezer for quick labeling)

69.  Movies you’ll probably never watch again

70.  Bags from the mall you might use one day (Keep only 1 if you must)

71.  Multiple pair of scissors (One or two tops, right?)

72.  More ear buds than you’ve got family members

73.  Curling irons, crimpers (ha! flash back), or straighteners you don’t use

74.  Highlighters unless you’ve used one in the past month, then save only that one

75.  Travel mugs that leak, or are ugly, or that you don’t use because you have to hand wash it

76.  Boxes – shoe boxes, diaper boxes, cereal boxes.  Recycle and be free.

77.  Samples of any kind – Use, donate, or trash.

78.  Games you haven’t played in the last year

79.  Tape measures – You know the rule, keep one and toss the rest.

80.  Old phone covers, styluses, screen protectors, etc.

81.  Misc. ribbons or string

82.  Expired coupons

83.  Organizers you bought to get organized that didn’t work

84.  Belts that no longer fit, are worn, or are out of style

85.  Duplicate kitchen utensils – Have you ever used three wisks at the same time before?  Me neither.

86. Cookie cutters unless you’ve used them in the past year and foresee using them again

87.  Rarely used cake pans – Our bakery supply store rents them for $2 a day.  I no longer need to keep any on hand for those rare occasions I bake.

88.  Old teeth whitening trays or strips.  Use ’em up or toss ’em out.

89.  Hard candy that you’re not sure where it came from or how long it’s been there

90.  Unloved stuffed animals

91.  Half used chap stick containers – Buy a new one! I LOVE my new EOS one with coconut milk.

92.  Duplicate measuring cups and spoons

93.  Old day planners (and current ones if you don’t use them!)

94.  Candles – If it’s not lovely to look at and you’ll never burn it, let it go.

95.  Mason jars (or baby food jars, spaghetti sauce jars, etc.) that you won’t use

96.  Expired sunscreen

97.  Staple remover – unless you can make a very compelling argument to keep yours.

98.  Travel alarm clock – We have phones now.

99.  Stress balls

100.  Plug in air fresheners without a refill

101.  Unloved dog toys

102.  Extra USB flash drives – How many does one family need?

103.  Promotional swag

104.  Key chains you don’t use

105.  Recipe books you don’t ever use

106.  Push pins in the junk drawer just waiting for unsuspecting fingers

107.  Keys that you don’t know what they go to

108.  Lanyards, name tags, bags, etc. from previous conferences

109.  Carabiners – Unless you rock climb, trust me, you won’t use them.

110.  Lotions, face washes, serums that you don’t use

111.  Random batteries you’re not sure where they came from

112.  Multiple book marks – Unless you’re a book worm…you know what to do, toss them.

113.  Combination locks – Chances are slim you’ll use one again but if you do, they’re cheap to replace.

114.  Paper weights

115.  Near empty bottles of bubbles or little numbs of side-walk chalk

116.  Completed coloring books

117.  Markers without lids and lids without markers

118.  Goodie bag toys from previous birthday party celebrations

119.  Empty bottles of anything

120.  Puzzles

121.  Old invitations

122.  Travel brochures

123.  Tissue paper/gift bags

124.  Unused sticky notes

125.  Extra shoe laces

126.  Sticker’s from a precious yard sale

127.  Hair products you don’t use

128.  Take out chopsticks – Buy a reusable pair if you use them a lot

129.  Old prescription glasses – Great donation for the Lions Club.

130.  Old sunglasses – The cat eye is coming back but definitely toss those purple hued ones.

131.  Worn out flip flops.

132.  Magnets – Unless they are lovely or useful, discard.

133.  Posters you’ll never display again

134.  Excess decks of cards

135.  Phone books

136.  Broken Christmas lights

137.  Notes/gifts from old romances

138.  Hats you don’t wear or that look like you shouldn’t

139.  Extra bubble wrap (or am I the only one who has a supply?)

140.  Twisty ties (another one that hits close to home!)

141.  Chip clips

142.  Craft supplies for a project that has already been completed

143.  Paper plates – Use them up!

144.  Loyalty cards – use the key ring version or enter your number for even less clutter

145.  Gift cards – go and enjoy them!

146.  Touristy knick knacks

147.  Business cards – Keep an electronic record

148.  Puzzle books you don’t use

149.  Old textbooks

150.  Unused vases

151.  Stockings with runs in them

152.  Fancy serving bowls you haven’t used in the last year – Use them or sell them.

153.  CDs unless you use them regularly

154.  Old boombox

155.  Piles of “scrap paper”

156.  Purses/dufflebags/old luggage you don’t use

157.  Catalogs

158.  Christmas ornaments that aren’t lovely or sentimental

159.  Instruments you’ve given up on mastering years ago

160.  Clothes that make you feel ugly

161.  Instruction manuals – Most are online now.

162.  Calculators – Phones have replaced these for most people.

163.  Remotes that have no purpose

164.  Emergency sewing kits – I own many and have never used one even once.

165.  Dry erase markers without a board and a board without markers (or both if you don’t use it!)

166.  Extra pencil sharpeners – Only one is needed

167.  Rusty tools you’ll never use again

168.  Lawn and garden pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers you won’t use

169.  Fireworks that are unused (Am I the only one?) – They can be soaked in water overnight then disposed of in a plastic bag.

170.  Dried up super glue

171.  Old and ugly t-shirts

172.  Hair accessories you don’t use

173.  One orphan earring

174.  Dried flowers

175.  Extra photo prints

176.  Gifts you don’t love

177.  Scarves you never wear

178.  Damaged/stained clothing

179.  Plastic children’s plates/cups that they’ve outgrown

180.  Junk mail

181.  Address labels – Do you ever really use them?

182.  Extra folders, binders, labels, etc.

183.  Old cell phones – Recycle!

184.  Old fortune cookie fortunes (Someone else keeps the good ones too, don’t they?)

185.  Used ink cartridges – Recycle them for a little money back

186.  Use Unroll.me to rid yourself from pesky email subscriptions (It’s free but I would pay for this fabulous service!!)

187.  Outdated computer software

188.  Old wallets

189.  Dull or duplicate pocket knives

190.  Spare change lying around – Take it to the bank!

191.  Unused picture frames

192.  Old baby gear that you no longer need – Great donation item if you don’t want to sell it!

193.  Kitchen knives no one uses

194.  Old sports equipment from days gone by

195.  Broken clocks

196.  Coasters that go unused

197.  Plants – Yes, plants that don’t brighten your spirits.  Buy ones that do!

198.  Hole punch you never use

199.  Place mats, napkins, table cloths that never get displayed

200.  Ruled notebook paper – I hate to throw it away but I never use it.  Donate it!

Chips and Salsa and More

This post also appears in my blog Kitchen Keepers.  www.kitchenkeepers.wordpress.com
There I usually write about what is happening in my kitchen, and offer both old favorite and new family recipes. This story could so easily have gone into either blog, I decided to post in both!

In 1976, Joe and I and our sons Benjamin, Jeremy, and Sean  (age almost 3, 5 1/2, and 8) moved from North Dallas to the growing suburb of Plano, Texas. From the time we were getting ready to move to our house on Deep Valley until the time we moved from there, our favorite Mexican food restaurant was Tino’s, owned by Tino Trujillo. Even after we moved away from Plano, we tried to make it to Tino’s when we were back in the area. From the location we first visited in 1976, Tino moved to a spot in Plano’s Collin Creek Mall. Later, there was a third location called Tino’s Too. .

I can still remember Tino’s smile, his warm welcome, and his personal greetings to our sons as they grew. When we first began having meals there, Ben was still 2. Once as we left the restaurant after stopping by the front register to pay, Ben began coughing and choking. He had picked up one of the little round peppermints so often found in restaurants and tried to swallow it. We picked him up and turned him upside down and out popped the mint! Tino always called Ben by his full name, Benjamin, but pronounced ben ha min in Tino's lilting Spanish accent.

One of our favorite dishes was Chicken Flautas so I was delighted to get the recipe when it appeared in the Plano Star Courier, our local newspaper. There was a feature in the paper titled Cooking Corner.  The recipe was titled Pollos Flautas and was contributed by Georgie Farmer, a lady we knew whose picture appeared along with a plate of flautas.

Interesting to me when I pick up the now yellowed and tattered newsprint:  It does not say Tino’s Flautas, but I have always called it that. It has been many years since we had a meal with Tino, and he is no longer with us, so I can’t ask him. But these flautas are exactly like the ones I remember enjoying so long ago. We remember you fondly, Tino!

Tino’s Chicken Flautas

3 Tablespoons margarine (use butter now!)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chicken broth

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon parsley

1 teaspoon grated onion

dash each of paprika, ground nutmeg, and black pepper

2 cups finely diced cooked chicken

24 corn tortillas

guacamole and sour cream (optional)

In sauce pan melt butter. Blend in flour, salt, and chicken broth. Cook and stir until the mixture thickens and bubbles. Add lemon juice, parsley, onion, paprika, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir in chicken and cool slightly. Place about 1 1/2 Tablespoons chicken mixture on each tortilla. Roll up tightly.  Fry in deep hot oil at 350 degrees, holding together with tongs for about 10 seconds or until tortilla is crisp. Spoon on guacamole and/or sour cream. We also serve with salsa.

I could have sworn that newspaper recipe was called Tino's Chicken Flautas. Now it is!

Shoes!

One of Nora's first and favorite words is "shoes!"  Pronounced with a special lilt and emphasis! Whether it is used as she looks for her own little pink Nikes, or carries her Daddy's heavy shoe around, it is obvious she loves shoes.  This week I watched as she took her own shoes off and tried again and again to put on my sandals and walk.  I laughed with her as she tried, but my thoughts about the scene lasted for a long time after our giggles. It is a great privilege and a great responsibility to think about her wearing my shoes or following my footsteps.  It is serious business, being a grandmother.

Swinging

 Joe added something important to our garden this week - a tree swing for Nora!  She has not yet been here to try it when it was cool enough to be out there.  106 - 108 degrees this week is forecast!  But it is almost mid August and we are looking forward to swinging and singing before long. We have a front porch swing that all of our granddaughters enjoy.  Recently, Maddie took her root beer float out to sit in that swing.

I remember the swing on my front porch when I was Maddie's age, and also the swings our little boys loved when they were growing up. There is magic in pumping your legs to swing higher and feeling the air rush past. There is such sweetness in remembering the calls to "Swing me higher, Daddy!" and "Please push me." I know our age is one of cell phones and tablets with online games and countless diversions that can be held in their hands, but I so want to offer our sweet girls the choices of spending time outdoors, finding beauty in nature, letting imaginations fill their stories with wonder. I want to encourage them to watch for the caterpillar and chrysalis and butterfly, and which plants are good for that. I hope they will make necklaces from 4 o'clock blooms, crowns from sticky weed, and make mud pies. I want them to love rubbing herbs in their fingers and knowing its name by the way it smells. I long for them to collect rocks and seeds, to feel the wonder of cool wet dew on bare feet,  and listen for cicadas in the trees in summertime. I want to enjoy eating watermelon and popsicles on the back porch with them, watching for bird nests, listening to birdsong, planting Morning Glories and Moonflowers, using a watering can to give the flowers a "shower."  And swinging.

Gathering to Celebrate

                                                          Benjamin Andrew Parker, July 15

                                                     Joe Dan Parker,  July 26

Now that our family numbers 13 when we are all here to celebrate a birthday, celebrations are often so lively my photos are not great, but the smiles and joy they capture certainly are.  Since Ben's and Joe's birthdays are close on the calendar and we spread the celebrating out over various times and occasions, we start sometime after the 4th of July and finish up the month in the afterglow!  Ben's cake was Maddie's creation, using a family recipe called Mississippi Mud Cake. Maddie and Jordann and Skye made a butterfly cake and Reese's cupcakes for Joe's party.  I am happy to have lots of help in the kitchen!