Thursday, December 10, 2009
Keep them coming!
I'm sure the next generation must sometimes think, "Enough!" but I'm with Ann. Those were the days...really good memories...and I love to see the old pictures. Just now I'm remembering chocolate cookies with white icing, anise candy, heavenly hash dessert, all the ladies doing dishes and the kids going to the kitchen numerous times to ask when we could start opening presents, the mounds of presents to open, and then displaying them on the dining room table, everyone with their own little pile. I also remember getting into the rock salt which was for making home-made ice cream and kept in a free-standing cupboard in the second room in the basement. Behind that room was the furnace room and I always loved to sneak in there and look at the old baby buggy. In the kitchen, coming in from the dining room, there was a long closet. What were some of the things you remember she kept in that closet? Or other favorite things in the house? Looking forward to Perry and Carol hosting Christmas once again on the 19th. Hope some of you are coming!
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I'm sure you remember the Christmas "programs" we had each year when we all had to recite our "verses" or show off our other talents. And the Christmas Song singing always leading to "Es Is Dein Wunder" and then Mother singing "Babes in the Woods".
As for the kitchen - do you remember which drawer along the wall you spoke of Judy contained the few toys for us to play with? Or do you remember which was my private drawer which you probably snooped in? And do you remember playing basketball in the kitchen (maybe not at Christmas)with the space above the drawer being the "hoop"? - still can't figure out how Mother let us do that, but it would go on for quite awhile before she made us stop.
I remember playing "airplane" on the stairs. David and Mark were the pilots; Ann and Cathy were the flight attendants (then known as "stewardesses"; and Rhoda and I had to settle for being the passengers. I too had a fascination with the basement but was always a little scared to go down there.
I also remember going up in the attic once with Grandma and we found all kinds of EJKlop Grain Elevator things - accounting books (empty), etc. Rhoda and I played with those for years.
I also remember that whenever Grandma bought us clothes for Christmas, they always fit just right. Mom was always amazed that she could get our sizes so well. It seems like she would get us a piece of clothing as well as a toy.
Does anyone remember the year we all wore long dresses at Christmas? We called them "maxi" dresses back then. Those were the days!
I think I was 5 or 6 when Grandma moved to 8th St. so I really don't have many memories of Christmas in the homestead. I do remember the wonderful huge roll top desk downstairs and playing Airplane on the steps going upstairs. I think it was pretty good that we kids could be on the stairs with both doors into the dining room and living room closed to not be loud for the adults. Larry and Mark were the pilots at the bottom of the stairs, Cathy and Ann were the "flight attendants" at the top of the staircase and Mary and I with several dolls were the passengers in the middle of the stairs.
Ummm, next time I need to read my sister's comment before I post one.
I don't remember the closet very well but do remember playing airplane on the stairs - and Uncle Perry coming out to tell us to be quiet. :-)
I remember loving to go to the basement although there really wasn't much down there. I loved to bang on the old manual typewriter down there. It was ancient even by manual typewriter standards. Seems like there were a few remnants of the grain business down there - note pads, empty ledgers, etc. - and I liked to play "business" also.
My strongest memory of Christmas is having all the presents handed out and then everyone tearing into them at once. All the oohing and aahing - it was really something. And then everyone laid what they got out in piles on the dining room table.
We always left in the evening to go back to Princeville to Uncle Chuck's house for another Christmas with them. I remember looking out the window of the station wagon, being sad to leave family even though there was more to come, and every year seeing three stars in a straight line, and thinking that it seemed like those stars were only around Christmas. Thinking back, I realize that that was the belt of Orion, which I have now taught along with lots of other constellations to eighth graders, for thirty years. But I will always associate Orion with leaving Grandma K.'s house on Christmas night, year after year.
I'm surprised that Ann and Judy, etc. are old enough to remember the piles of gifts on the dining room table following the wild openings. I remember Grandma had a neat bright red hard plastic "stocking" in the shape of Santa and the lid opened up and made music. Does anyone remember the knock on the living room window (after it got dark) from Santa???
It was scary for the younger ones and I never knew who it really was...Lynn, Perry, Alice??..someone please confess.
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