I had mentioned a few things I wanted to get done yesterday while hubby was at his Bible Study.... and for an unknown reason.... he decided he wasn't going. I believe he had told me earlier he had his homework done; I don't know why he didn't want to go. But he didn't. And all my plans for while he was gone went out the window. I can do very little while he is home. If I hadn't been so busy with work, I would have really been bummed. And, of course, when I shut my door for a little while for a meeting with my boss....he came running when I opened it and asked 'did you have a meeting? You shut your door. Who was it with?' Sigh. He does need to get a life that doesn't revolve around me. See why I run away when I can?
I fixed myself a shake for breakfast and wasn't hungry later, but he wanted to take me to KFC ... after all, it was Valentine's day. So instead of telling him I wasn't hungry... I went and had their chicken sliders or whatever they are called. They were actually pretty good. I did try a new and improvised it, recipe for white chicken chili last night and it wasn't bad. I only had one can of northern beans so also used pinto beans - it was still good.
Oh - guess what I bought myself to try! I love things that bring back memories. But there are also things that I just want to do. I bought myself a small butter churn, and it came yesterday. It isn't like they used years ago. It's a glass jar with paddles. From what I have read of the instructions, you use heavy whipping cream and pour into the glass jar. Then you turn the paddles for about 15 minutes and voila! A chunk of butter forms! You take it out, put in ice water. The remaining liquid is buttermilk! You 'massage' the butter in the ice water (oh my freezing hands!) until all the liquid buttermilk is out of it, then pat it into a 'stick'. You sprinkle salt on the top (if you want), and wrap it up and put in the refrigerator. It lasts I think they said a week in the refrigerator and a month in the freezer? Don't remember. I'll have to split it probably cause we don't use that much butter. I just wanted to do it myself!
I can remember helping 'Aunt Margarine' churn butter at Granny's place. Although she lived there too, the old farmhouse will always be 'Granny's' in my mind. We churned butter in a large wooden churn with a pole.... we used fresh milk from the cows. Oh the memories there - we milked cows, fed the chickens, gathered the eggs, fed the hogs, rode the mule... oh those were great times. I can remember even picking up potatoes as they were plowed up in the field. They were growing alfalfa in the field the last time I rode 'old Matt', the mule. Little Mike was in front of me, and we both were riding him. Bareback. Well, ole Matt decided he wanted some alfalfa so went over to the field and it had a couple feet incline... he reached up and knelt down to get the alfalfa, and little Mike and I slid off the back of the mule.... with my little brother landing on top of me and knocking the breath out of me. I was terrified because I couldn't breathe and walked back to the house. I never rode old Matt again.
But my favorite thing at Granny's place was the well. Little Mike and I would run to the well when we got there and drop the bucket down and listen for it to splash when it hit the water. We would turn the handle on the roller and draw the bucket back up to the top. We'd grab a cup and drink the sweetest and coldest clear water that you have ever tasted. Oh the special memories I have of Granny's place!
It's sad that the old homestead that my grandfather built for my grandmother is no longer in the family. Aunt Margarine (Margaret) lived there with Uncle George and her two boys. She had three boys, but the oldest one fell into the pond when he was 5, I think it was, and drowned. One of the boys left home and became a truck driver. The other was mentally challenged, and although he stayed in the house after both Uncle George and Aunt Margarine passed away, people took advantage of him and long story short, he eventually died. The other son by this time had moved to Texas and wanted no part of the farm... and it was sold at auction to an Amish couple. They made the old homestead a chicken roost. The history left in the house, the antiques, the photos, everything was left... my older brother went by there one time and met the Amish couple. They sold him a basket full of photos they found, and some bread, I think he said. It's been a few years since he went back. But he bought the photo basket... and right on top was a photo of our dad with our mom. A photo we hadn't seen before. I don't know how many more photos he found of our 'ancestors'. Probably not many. Most we wouldn't know anyway.
Sometimes it is good to remember our past. And you got all that just by my buying a butter churn for myself. I remember Aunt Margarine's white coconut cake too! And I have a piece of paper in with my recipes that I had her give me her recipe for the coconut icing. It was so good. Of course I've never made it... but maybe some day I will. She kept it in a metal cake holder. Do you remember those? I'm thinking I need to go 'antique shopping' and look for one - just for memory's sake. She always had it setting on the top of the long flat freezer in the dining room. Ah, the dining room table! It was long, and on the wall side it had benches.... and chairs on the end and other side. We kids always loved sitting on the bench side.
There is a story that my mama always told of when Granny was sitting at the end of the table and grace was being said over the food, that mama opened her eyes and saw an angel standing behind Granny, and the angel was looking at Little Mike, sitting on the bench. Mama always said from that moment on she really believed that Little Mike was going to be a preacher. Oh it was so far from the truth, wasn't it! My mama frequently saw angels.
A few days before my youngest brother passed away of a brain aneurysm, he had been living with Mother. She said one morning he got up from the chair and she was watching him. Two angels appeared and stood next to him on either side, holding him up. She watched them walk him down the hall to the bathroom. She always said they had to be 'female' for they let him go into the bathroom by himself, and stood outside the door until he came back out, then each took an arm and walked him back to his chair - and then disappeared. Mother said she knew at that time that Buddy wasn't going to be with us much longer. A few days later he got up from his chair, complaining of the 'worst headache he had ever had'... and fell on the floor and died. The aneurysm had burst.
Oh the memories that have come flooding back just because I bought the butter churn! I probably ought to copy these memories and print out and put in the safe box... some of my children will remember 'Aunt Margarine' and Uncle George with fond memories. Perhaps in time, when they read these, their memories of those times will come back to them as well. Oh - why did we call her Aunt Margarine? Because when my daughter was little she couldn't say Margaret... she always called her Aunt Margarine, and the name stuck. Aunt Margarine loved it.
Ah, I have rambled on so this morning, haven't I! Some memories are good to remember and to share. And with that... I think I will hush for today. Perhaps you have some special memories that have come to mind... I encourage you, write them down and print them, and put in a safe place. Some day your children will want to know 'from whence you came' and the memories you had. Keep the good, let go of the bad.
Blessings!
