Memory Monday: Sometimes Things from the Past Are the Best

SOMETIMES THINGS FROM THE PAST ARE THE BEST

Lately when my husband and I babysit our granddaughter, we’ve noticed that she loves to play with a certain toy—a plush tomato from Veggie Tales. It was our daughter’s when she was much younger. I understand my granddaughter being attracted to that certain toy because she has started eating tomatoes, but only the small, yellow ones. Still, they are tomatoes, or “tatoes” as she calls them. By the way, this can get a little confusing—I’m not sure if she is asking for tomatoes or potatoes.

But I am most surprised by the TV show that she asks to see. We have cable, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, but the show she wants to see the most is from 1956—GUMBY. There is only one season on Amazon, so we have watched it and re-watched it. When other shows come on, she plays with her toys as she watches Little Einsteins, Paw Patrol, Sesame Street, or Thomas the Train. But with Gumby, she pulls up a chair and sits there fascinated by the show.

So, that’s something from my daughter’s childhood that she loves and one thing from my childhood. And as a very loving (but never an indulgent) Grandmommy, I ordered our granddaughter poseable Gumby and Pokey figures from Amazon this morning. They should be here the day after tomorrow—just in time for her to play with them for one day before she starts her first day of Preschool Three. Who knows, maybe those dolls will be passed down to the next generation to be played with as my great-grandchild watches Gumby on whatever will be used to show ancient shows to children.

Throwback Thursday: Little Boy's Birthday

The latest from my "old and known" file...

"Hurry and take the picture. The ants are coming for the cake."

That's my caption. What's yours? Leave it in the comments.

Throwback Thursday: A Baby on a Blanket

The latest from my "old and known" files:

“Mommy! Bug’s on the quilt!"

That's my caption. What's yours? Leave it in the comments.

Memory Monday: A LOT is Happening in February

My Parents-in-Law

A LOT IS HAPPENING IN FEBRUARY

Valentine’s Day is this week, but my husband and I usually don’t do anything special that day—we save our celebration for our anniversary. But that isn’t to say that there isn’t a lot to celebrate this month. As I have said in another post recently, February 15^th is a very special day in our family—today and in the past. My parents-in-law were married on that day 76 years ago. Sadly, they only had 38 years together.

Two nieces also have their birthdays on February 15^th, and I want to hope they have wonderful birthdays filled with love and happiness.

For our immediate family, we will celebrate our granddaughter’s 3^rd birthday on the 15^th. (Sh-h-h, we’re giving her a sandbox at our house and at her parent’s home, plus a few other presents.) As I think of the wonderful parents-in-law that I have been blessed with, I can’t help but think how much they would have loved and treasured their great-granddaughter.

What special memories do you have of Valentine’s Day? Is there anything special in your family that is celebrated in February?

Memory Monday: Child's Chair

Little Blue Chair

A Child's Chair with a History and Maybe a Future

I won’t say our family members are hoarders, but some of the things we keep are used for generations. My husband was an only child, and his mother saved a number of things from his childhood—his story books, his metal trucks, his small record player with records, his little cowboy boots (which no one after him ever wore), his porcelain potty (not the chair, just the bowl), as well as several other things, including the chair above.

Now my mother didn’t save as much, but then there were four of us girls. I still have my last doll which my daughter played with when she was a little girl (see post about the LAST DOLL), a few books that I got through a Weekly Readers Book Club subscription, and a stuffed Jolly Green doll (well, this last one I finally threw away a couple of years ago because it was literally falling apart, maybe because it was over fifty years old).

I guess I have passed on the saving/hoarding gene to my daughter. It showed up in her at an early age. Once when I told her to clean her room, she hauled a large trash bag into the living room filled with books, toys, and trash. When I asked if it needed to go to the dumpster or put with what we would sell in a garage sale, she let me know it was neither—it was what she was saving for her children. Now you have to understand that at the time she was probably only in the second or third grade, so I figure she had heard me say the same thing “way too many times” about something I was saving for my grandchildren.

But there are some things that have been saved (and used) across the generations. The chair pictured above is one of those things. My husband used it about sixty-five years ago when he was a little boy, only it was a deep rose red then. Years later, our two children (who are both in their thirties now) used it. We have discussed the different colors of the chair lately, but neither one of use can remember when it was repainted blue (there is a layer of white between the red and the blue—how patriotic).

The chair is in use again for the newest generation. Our little two-year-old granddaughter sits on it while she plays in our living room. It is just the right size for her. And as well-built as it is, it should be available for the next generation in about another twenty or twenty-five years (and maybe several more generations after that).

Memory Monday: Toy Trucks - Now and Then

My granddaughter and the truck her granddaddy played with as a boy

TOY TRUCKS—NOW AND THEN

I remember my father-in-law talking about the blue glass bottle that he pushed for “miles” as a kid. He pretended that bottle was a truck and he had a lot of fun playing with it. When my husband was a boy, his parents got him several metal trucks—several of which we still have today.
When our children were small, our town was known for its garage sales and I found the “wonder” of shopping at them. I bought (well, maybe over-bought might be a better way of describing it) Fisher-Price little people with all sorts of accessories, like trucks. By the time my children were old enough to stop playing with them, I had a 55-gallon trash bag full of them. Needless to say, my two little ones didn’t care to play with my husband’s metal trucks, so they stayed boxed up for another twenty-five years. Today, my husband is in his late sixties and those trucks have been stored away for well over a half-a-century. They might have stayed that way, except I created my library with a place for future grandchildren to play. I cleaned up those old trucks and put them in the room.
The other day when my precious two-year-old granddaughter came over to play, I pulled out a bag of small finger puppets. She asked for the cow and bunny, then took off. The next thing I knew, she was hauling in one of the old metal trucks into the living room where we were sitting. To be truthful about the matter, I had forgotten about the truck since it was wa-a-ay under a buffet I had in my library. She immediately worked the finger puppets into the seats of the truck and started pushing it—squeaky wheels and all. My husband quickly sprayed the wheels with WD40 and she continued to play with it.
She has been over a couple of times since then and has played with the truck (and finger puppet passengers) over and over.  Funny thing about the finger puppets, she will only use the cow and bunny, trading them out as driver and passenger. And I have over twenty other finger puppets, including “people” ones, but she won’t put any of them in the truck. I really wish I could see into her mind and learn why she does it that way.
Oh well, at least after more than that half-a-century I talked about a moment ago, the wonderful old trucks are being played with again, they will probably last until the next generation, and maybe the next.