Birthday Tribute to Daddy

Daddy was much older than most men, being already 50 years old when I was born. He had always wanted a baby daughter, having had 2 sons of his own and finished raising a step daughter and was raising a step son. He had also always wanted his own diner.

He grew up the youngest of seven children of Albert Andrew-Alverson and Alice Elsie (Bunting) Lester in Accord, NY. His parents, hardworking, urged their children to be the same. Leaving school after 8th grade, he worked several jobs always being drawn to diners. He married much too young, tried an unsuccessful stint in the Army, then returned to face his responsibilities. He had a wife and two young sons and was always looking for his place in this world. I have gleaned information from old newspaper articles and know that as difficult as life was for Daddy, God was there the whole time, protecting him from others and from himself. He had a plan for him and nothing stands in God's way. Daddy, successfully this time, joined the US Army and served overseas during WWII as a cook, saying "No one in my unit ever got sick when I was cooking!" My brothers, Bill and Jack also joined the US Army, serving in different capacities during the same war. Though difficult at times, they all grew to love him, even working with him. My brother Bill also found himself leaning towards cooking in diners and owned one for a short time with the help of Daddy. In the late 40's Daddy co-owned the Rockface Diner in Cairo, NY with the Rose brothers whom he knew from his Army days. By the early 60's, Daddy had become the sole owner of the diner.

We started our working years there, eventually wandering off to other local establishments but we knew where our roots were. My brother, Cary and I knew no other way and had nothing to compare it to. We had no choice but to compete with the diner and make the best of it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em and in our teen years that's just what we did as our sister had already done.

But what was it like to have a daddy who worked 14 hours a day; 7 days a week? Growing up in Sandy Plains, we all woke together in the morning and Daddy tucked me in at night. We didn't get to play as afternoons were meant for naps; his, not mine! We joined him at work on Wednesday evenings, as that was shopping day for Mommy. The grocery store where my brother was now working was across the street from the diner. We would have our groceries delivered there and then enjoy a table reserved for us in the dining room and all the sights, sounds and smells a diner had to offer. The waitresses were called to pick up their orders by listening for the buzzer. One buzz was for the dining room waitress; two buzzes for the counter waitress; three buzzes was for me. Happily, I would hurry into the kitchen where Daddy would have prepared my supper and Mommy's, too! I was never allowed to eat it there by him, but I could have my dessert there ... most always home-made chocolate cream pie. Dad would take breaks at the counter where that very pie was made earlier in the day by our baker. It was also where Daddy read the paper, had his supper ... and I had my pie. I would also have the chance to watch Daddy make mashed potatoes in the big mixer, and I would be a big help to him by adding chunks of butter! Mommy and I would enjoy our supper and converse with those who wandered over to our table. Usually, I would hear 3 more buzzes a little later and would scurry to the kitchen to find Daddy smiling with some quarters in his hand for the jukebox. I could choose any songs I wanted as long as I gave at least once choice to Mommy!

Homework was done at that table many nights, especially as I got older, staying after school and then needing a ride home. I could walk to the diner, but walking home was 3 miles and would have been most often in the dark so that was not really an option. Instead, after cheerleading practice I would wander down to the diner, arms laden with notebooks, text books, etc...back packs were not cool in the 1960's. There I would spread out at our table and work away. Sometimes, teachers would come in to eat... and find me busy! This was good for my reputation as my grades were not stellar! At least they knew I was trying. They also knew that Daddy was too busy to help and in those days, many mothers had only an 8th grade education...something they were trying to change.

To be continued...

Generous Blogging Friend

A blogging friend who, without realizing it, prompted me to share my poetry. She has a wonderful story to tell.

http://aboutamish.blogspot.com/2011/02/giveaway-of-copy-of-why-i-left-amish.html

Choosing

Limerick style ... just a little fun poem for the L-O-N-G month of February!



I like summer better than winter
with AC instead of a heater;
when my brain doesn't freeze
and my cold nose can breathe
with my nostrils not sticking together!

Winter Vacation

Frosty faces;frozen laces
children skating on the pond;
sleds competing; saucers spinning
wildly down the hill and beyond.

Snow flakes falling; north wind blowing
winter down each un-scarved neck.
Friendly shoves with snow caked gloves, now
homeward they begin their trek.

Smiles beaming; cocoa steaming;
soothing to their snow stung smiles.
Shower warming; outside storming;
more snow gathering for awhile.

Now they sleep; dreaming deep of
kings and castles, mountains; then
awaken, hasten, breakfast chasing
to capture winter once again.

The week after this one coming, many children and educators will have a week off from school. It was meant for a "recuperation" time so that all the little sniffles, sneezes, coughs and wheezes would go away; all the stomach viruses would, too, hopefully.

I have many friends and acquaintances in the education field who feel the best place to recuperate is any place there is no snow or temps below 50 degrees! Y'all have fun down south, but I'm waiting and hoping for at least one BIG snow storm before spring begins to peak through the clouds. March will be here before you know it and THEN you will find me hastening spring's return by heading south.

Will you be going anywhere special? Praying safe journeys for all my traveling friends :-)

Pricker Bushes

I mentioned pricker bushes a few posts back and said it was for a another story. Well, thanks to my friend Anne, I came across the picture to go with the story. LOL!!! There isn't much of a story and I don't have a poem to go with it but... Once upon a time there was a hill behind Anne's house and a bunch of kids from church who wanted a "winter weekend." So we complied. One of the featured activities was sledding on Morgan's Hill. It was an interesting hill, with bumps and a few little turns and a rocky drop off at the bottom that we never actually reached, but a nice long ride nonetheless. Well, after a few trips down which made the track nice and fast, it was my turn again, and for no good reason, other than it was going to be her turn next, Anne screams, "Peg! Look out!!" Since there was no danger in front of me, there had to be danger coming up behind me so I did the most sensible thing. I bailed from the sled as soon as I could, giving absolutley no thought to where I would land. Anne just happened to have her camera on hand and when she arrived, safely by sled .. she took my picture. She was laughing so hard, I can't believe this picture didn't blur; but it didn't so you can all see what I looked like climbing out of the pricker bushes :-) End of story! Well, not really; I got even with Anne when she was wearing her bunny slippers LOL!!!! but that's another story...

Making Do

Cloudless sky,
deep azure
Seamless ice,
hard frozen
Hatless child,
log sitting
Lace-less skate,
loose fitting
Smile-less owner,
quick thinking
Hopeless scarf,
unraveling
Useless threads,
skate lacing
Scarf-less boy,
fast skating!


A different style of poetry ... I never know how the words are going to form.

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Mr. Groundhog

Oh, what will he do
on the 2nd day
of the month with the fewest days?

Will he scurry right out
and give a big shout
to frighten his shaddow away?

Will he peek o'er the edge
of his hole in the ground
and look to see if it's clear?

Will he blink and look tired
or be bouncing and wired
and start running as fast as a deer? (I doubt it.)

Well, today is no problem
as the skies have snow in them
so pop up and party away

From morning til noon
but remember this June,
from my garden stay far away!

Mittens or Gloves?

Mittens or gloves is the question

the answer to which I am certain

lies on the inside

where fingers and thumbs cry

for comfort, warmth and protection!

Working in the school district full time for over 20 years has allowed me the opportunity to view first hand how parents dress their children. Now, why would parents send their kids to school in the wintertime, knowing there was outside play at recess, with no snowpants, no boots, no hat (or hood on their jacket)and only stretchy gloves, if any, for hand protection? Poor kids used to have to borrow mittens/gloves and hats from the teacher or nurse's office and then stand where it was plowed and just watch the other kids play. What great memories those kids have ... NOT! The rest of the kids would be building snowmen, playing King of the Hill on the snowbanks and making forts. They weren't allowed to throw snowballs at each other but we managed to find a way to play snowbaseball and got away with it and it was my idea! Don't tell the principal.

My memory helped me understand the importance of good winter clothing and I definitely remember back in highschool wishing I had my mittens instead of my gloves; my wool socks instead of my nylon/cotton blended ones; my hat with little ear protectors built in and my real boots as opposed to my sneakers which were way cooler but definitely not practical .. and my mom did not know I left the house in them, heh, heh, heh! Oh, wait .. the jokes on me :-(

My own daughter in love came to play the other day with our 3 year old granddaughter, Belle, who had on snowpants, a warm hat that fastened over her chin, boots and mittens. Her mommy had a jacket, athletic shoes, no hat and nothing for her hands!! Then she complained about winter time. Helloooooo!!!!! Since I was working, she borrowed my snow boots and mittens and had a great time outdoors with Dad and her daughter, sledding and snowshoeing. Another daughter-in-love dresses very similarly for winter but doesn't complain. She also doesn't play in the snow as she and our son have no children, yet...

A couple of days later, we had our other granddaughter, also dressed for winter, over to play in the snow and had equally as great a time and I didn't miss a thing because it was Sunday after church! The sky was just beautiful and I hope my pics turned out on this page the way they are supposed to. Her mommy, our third daughter-in-love couldn't come but if she could she would be dressed for it as she has snowpants, boots, hats, mittens and now some of our snow shoes so they can trek around and take pictures. I think I'm going to invest in some winter gear for the other girls :-) The family that snowshoes together, drinks hot chocolate together and that sounds mighty fine right about now!

Meanwhile, back to my rant ... parents, dress your kids and yourselves for the weather. It's Feburary! My final words go back to my poem: Mittens are always warmer than gloves since your fingers get to hang out together and share

body heat. I even slip my thumbs out of their little home to be curled up inside my hand and sometimes I even drive the car that way! Just sayin' .. .around our house, mittens makes the difference between happy hands or miserable grandmommy!

End of rant.

Snow Day!

When roads are slick

and sidewalks thick

with ice on a weekday morn;






When radios say,

"No school today!"

when suddenly sleep is done;

When breakfast is eaten

and a shoveled path's beaten

to the shed to fetch the sled;

Then hills in all places

announce winter races

where everyone wins in

The End!

It never fails to amaze me the amount of energy a child (and some adults) have when they realize there is no school due to snow and/or ice! Neighbors of mine would be up at the crack of dawn, which in the winter around here comes close to 7 AM, and would be putting their skiis on top of their station wagon and be ready to go as soon as the last child gulped down their breakfast! Sometimes the car would be ready the night before in anticipation of a "snow day."

I really don't have room to talk, though ... snow days off from school would have me into my snowpants at almost the same time so I could take advantage of the new fallen snow on our community hill before the other kids got there! I liked making the "track" for the saucer and made sure it didn't go into the pricker bushes. Pricker bushes remind of another time but that's another story .....

Things haven't changed much and though I don't regularly go sledding, there is still something pretty magical about waking up to a winter wonderland and hearing Tom and Steve on the radio announce that the schools are closed! I work for the school districts and though I may not get paid for snow days, I get to breathe the cold, crisp, clean air as I help shovel and the anticipation of playing with my grandchidren in the snow is worth a whole lot more than a pay check!

Winter Life

Under boughs of evergreen
beneath cold dirt you'll find
little rooms in tidy nests
for critters of every kind.

Grey mice and squirrels; chipmunks, too,
seek shelter from winter's air
They burrow a furrow and line the end
with some of their soft, warm fur.

They venture out on warmish days
and skitter across the snow
to search for food and stretch their limbs...
then it's back to the evergreen boughs.

Winter Statue

Winter Statue

Eye lashes gathering

Cold nose breathing

Red cheeks feeling

Pink tongue catching

Swirling flakes of winter

Good Reading

Another poem is on the way but first, I wanted to share a blogging friends offer of a give-away. She writes very well and loves to make new friends; now having over 700 reading her blog! Check her out:

http://ajoyfulchaos.blogspot.com/2011/01/giveaway-just-because.html

It Finally Snowed

It wasn't a humdinger of a snow storm, but you could measure it! Six inches at last measure and it's still lightly snowing. The schools stayed open and the busses were only a little bit late this AM. No one has much trouble unless they are going too fast, have poor tires or have someone in front of them matching that same description.

I slid back down the driveway this AM; of course it was not plowed or sanded. I managed to get a running start and was able to quckly check traffic before sliding out into the road. That was it, though; the rest of the way into work today was easy. I forgot I had to be outside for bus duty in the afternoon, though .. and left my boots in the car! I survived.

I think I may make an apple pie tomorrow .... saw a picture of one on another blog and that did it for me.

About Amish: A January Deal... and a Question

About Amish: A January Deal... and a Question

Such an interesting woman and a great offer on her book. She's appearing throughout MA, VT and VA this winter/spring.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! We had a great New Year's Eve at the Glen Glade Country Store with old and new friends; sharing food and playing games. Managed to get home in time to watch the crystal ball drop in NYC to announce the end of the old and the beginning of the new. We updated our facebook statuses, kissed and went to bed. Woke up in the morning to the same dishes and what not ... boring by some people's standards but not to us :-)



Well, I told some people I was going to do it ... so here goes: Poetry time! (short and sweet)



Playing In Winter

Snowsuit stuffing
Huffing, puffing;
Boots too big for little feet

Mittened fingers;
Fuzz balls linger
at the tips where fingers meet

Scarf wrapped 'round;
Hat pulled down;
Two eyes, one nose now showing

All ready for
the opened door
to meet cold wind now blowing!

UhOh

UhOh ... I can't remember my last post! I'm sure it was before Christmas and I'm afraid I may have been whining :-( I was not feeling well for a while, but antibiotics have brought me around and I'm good to go! Good thing, too!

We had a very nice Christmas, with no baking done on my part (I rested a lot) but the tree got trimmed and the presents (bought through Amazon, mostly, 'cause I couldn't shop) were wrapped on time!

Christmas Eve found us at church with Bill and I along with two teens doing a comedic skit on travelers stranded on Christmas Eve (that told the Christmas story in a wonderfully funny way) and then singing in the choir's cantata. I'm so glad I was well enough to participate in all of it! We also had the Children's choir sing with us on a few numbers and they performed a couple of songs with hand bells. The brass ensemble started us off and the praise team finished us up with silent night, everyone holding a candle in the darkness. Praise be to God for His unspeakable gift!

Two days after Christmas, Bill and I headed for Lancaster Co with our 10 year old granddaughter to take in two presentations at Sight and Sound Theatre ... what a super time! She was quite taken by the performances and loved seeing the horses trot right up the aisle. I heard her actually exclaim "OH!" out loud when the first angel showed up in the air overhead during "Miracle of Christmas." ... She loved the music and prefered the CD of that show over "Voices of Christmas" which were familiar carols. She surprised me!

We ate a lot ... too much... at Millers and Hershey Farms but our favorite place was the Bird-in- Hand Bakery; too scrumptious to talk about here as I would drool on the keyboard!

Something new: Found many Amish riding on large wheeled scooters ... very intersting things that can move almost as fast as a bicycle since the wheels are larger than traditional scooters.

Stayed at the Sleep Inn in Ronks that borders on farmland ... perfect for this country girl!

Time for bed ...way too tired for typing and afraid my spelling may have suffered. I already checked to make sure my "wrapped presents" were indeed, wrapped and not warpped. Good night all ... have a safe New Year's Eve.

Where Does the Time Go?

Just when you think you have everything under control, the clock AND the calendar speed up! So much to do but I refuse to get stressed out :-) Years ago I caught on to the fact that cookie baking could take place AFTER Christmas, when the kids were home from school (and I was, too) and would enjoy them freshly baked from the oven. Computer generated address list/labels made doing my cards much easier and more fun ...no hand cramps. However, buying presents still took a lot of time ... til last year when I discovered Amazon!!!



These were just a few quick thoughts running around my head and thought I would share them. I would also like to share a link from an online blogging author who is offering a free copy of her book in a drawing. She has a very interesting, heartbreaking yet heart warming story to tell. I will enjoy reading her book whether I win or purchase it for myself! You can find her at http://aboutamish.blogspot.com/

"We're Havin' a Heat Wave ... a Tropical (well, not really....) Heat Wave"

Here me singing? I think Bing Crosby sang this ... It was a balmy 35 degrees here today which so SO much better than the 3 degrees I had yesterday morning!

I finally finished my outdoor decorating tonight ... I've been sidelined by a cold/layrngitis and with temps in the teens, decided the decorations could wait! I'm hoping for a little snow to brighten the lawn and then I'll take pictures.

An absolutely delicious Christmas Party tonight at the home of some friends from church. Everyone brings a dish to pass and there is always such an assortment of good things to eat. We brought Wasabi Peas ... pretty enough with red, green and white. Had a label made so no one just popped a few and got surprised :-) They were a hit with those who like hot/spicy/horseradish type things.

Did not get anything accomplished today ... overslept to begin with but Bill got up early to go hunting with a friend back in his hometown. We'll be eating venison this winter ... I can taste the steaks and gravy already!

Busy tomorrow with Church, Sunday School, birthday party for a little boy and then our choir will perform at the nursing home. We then go back to church for our play practice and then the evening service. Tired, already!

Snow Flurries!

It's been snowing all day but there's nothing to show for it. Lots of flurries, some of the flakes quite huge, have been cascading past my windows but appear to be blowing into the next county! I love the snow but hate the cold. Isn't that quite a combination? It's pretty hard to have one without the other, but all I ask is that God hold back the frigid temps and the wind! Please!

I still have to finish my outdoor decorations (just a bit) and our front yard will look very festive. I'll post a picture when it's ready.

Right now, I'm battling my first cold of the season (Zicam works great) and feel pretty good... good thing, too... I'm about to go help with the children at Bible Club. I take them into the gym to play dodge ball, tag ..etc. You know, quiet games :-) I'm sure I'll lose my voice but get it back in time for substitute teaching tomorrow!

My blogging friend has another cool giveway! http://ajoyfulchaos.blogspot.com/

Busy, Busy, Busy

This AM Mom Pitcher called to see if I would like to have lunch with her, Dad and Aunt Doris ... oh, yeah! What a great day! We met at Michael's, a very nice restaurant around the corner from The Red Lion Inn and enjoyed eating, talking, talking and talking! Amazing how fast the time went by ... but it did and we had to say our goodbyes. Aunt Doris will be leaving this week to spend the winter in California .. a much nice climate for her to spend the winter in. Her family lives there and she is sure to have a great time! God speed, Aunt Doris, and we'll see you in the spring!

A crisp, cold night here in NY and we spent some time in a live Nativity for the village of Northville :-) It's one of the few towns left that encourage this type of participation .. of course, it helps to have a Christian on the board for the Association! It's more of a "tableau" where we are "frozen in time" at the stable and not really acting. But it's fun to listen to parents as they explain to their children who all the characters are. Not quite in keeping with the Biblical account, we also have 3 wise men at the stable, though they really appeared later, after they saw the star and traveled "to the house" where the young child was. But nevertheless, I was a shepherd, Bill was a wiseguy and we managed to stifle our shivering for 30 minutes!

We were able to warm up by the bonfire afterwards with some hot cocoa and cookies but didn't stick around long enough to watch them turn the lights on the Christmas tree. The best pizza in town was calling me ... we enjoyed eating and then wandered back to where we parked our car at our church. A delightful evening.