Saturday, May 8th, 2021

TERRY

There is nothing new with Terry.  She is finished reading both the Naples paper and the WSJ for the day and is currently watching Saturday AM programs which are very interesting.  It seems kind of crazy but that is it for today!

 Tomorrow Facebook will be filled with pictures and stories about mothers.  I will beat people to the punch and talk about mine today.  I know that many people claim their mother was the best ever and I will not argue but I would chose nobodies mother over mine.  I am positive that few mothers did so much with so little.  Some of the things I remember her doing:

• She was a master nurse in caring for us kids when we were sick.  Even if our bedroom was upstairs in the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter IF we were sick we could lie on the couch where she would make us a bed.  There she could talk to us and get us whatever a sick person needed.  AS one started getting well the food was often an egg on toast as she was sure that would not upset our stomach!  During 6th grade when I had the mumps I stayed on the couch for about a week.
• In the heat of the summer we would look for the white towel on the barn door if we were working on the land west of the farm.  That told told us it was time to come home for lunch (dinner on the farm).  There we would gas up, eat the simple meal Mom prepared and go out to work again.  I am guessing the meal was often a deer burger, hard boiled eggs or something like that.
• Dave and I would often got into the cellar and bring up a quart of canned peaches when Mom was not home.  We would take a jar and then move all the jars up to the front thinking Mom would never notice.  She never said anything but my guess is she knew and maybe even enjoyed it.
• Nobody, I mean nobody, made fried spring chicken like Mom.  I usually would get that on my birthday.  In the same way Mom's fried pheasant was to die for.
• With maybe a cookie to nibble on she could take out a nail from the foot and place it in water that had Epsom salt in.  She claimed that would fix it and I would never argue.
• How may kids on the farm came downstairs on Sunday morning and noticed their shoes, all the manure cleaned and new polish on them, lined up ready to wear for church?
• I am sure few if any moms could make a delicious meal out of pretty much nothing.  
• She was a great Sunday school teacher.
• During harvest around 3:00 we would see dust in the distance and there was Mom driving out to the field with afternoon lunch.  A pint of steaming coffee for Dad and sandwiches and cold water for us kids.

I could go on and on but you get the drift.  Mom was special as she was an expert at loving and serving others.  Mom, thanks a million.

DAKOTA ATTITUDE

"Sophie's fondest memory during her 27 year teaching career occurred in Wheatland.  I had a student who got burned in the throat and mouth by acid…so he had to redo the fifth grade.  He had a little trouble reading.  One day his hand was the first one to go up, so I let him read the page.  He read the entire page word-for-word.  When he was done, all the kids in the room stood up and clapped"

The schoolhouse furnace was important, and Sophie fired it every morning.  The kids all would bring a potato, brand it----take a pen or pencil, dig into the skin to mark it---and place it down in the ash pit.  She recalls.  At lunchtime everyone had a hot potato to go with whatever they brought in their bucket."

I will call it a day for the blog.  I am on a mission to get papers in order so I have a waste basket, files and chairs to set them on.  Maybe today or tomorrow I will finish the job.  

We are in a heat wave.  We are looking at temps in the 90s for the next many days with NO rain.  I guess it looks like "Welcome to summer in Naples!"

I am finished with the FP so maybe it is time to tackle the papers!

ONE MORE THING

I found this on my e-mail this morning.  If you have any insights please let me know that it was Not intended for me!!!!!!!!