Vacation Diary part 1~~~~

Hello Darklings,

I'm making use of the wifi here. 

Well Darklings, I've visited Sterling Winery yesterday and enjoyed several of their reds.  Hard to say which I liked best and I'm reluctant to suggest anything to anyone as it is always a personal taste, in my opinion.

But I did enjoy the Moonlight Dinner on the Napa Wine train Friday night, the food was good, the company excellent,  the wine delicious and the Moonlight on the vineyards intoxicating, it almost made me want to HOWLLLL---but I didn't.   I was lucky to have booked it so far in advance as this one does sell out quickly.   If you are into trains and wines, be sure to check out the Napa Wine Train and book well in advance.

I was staying at a Best Western In At The Vines, lovely place.  But in the next hour I'm going to going to the Whitehouse Inn and indulge in a bit of hedonistic relaxation and stay there for the next 4 days.   I'm planning on a Napa River Cruise as well and I've added another winery on my list.

I've called my baby sitter and my 4 legged baby, Belladonna is doing fine, misses her Mommy but is being spoiled with walks and treats.

I hope to be able to find wifi service and tell you more of what I've seen and done.  But now time to check out and on to my next locations.

Later Darklings.

Taking a vacation trip~~~~

Well Darklings,

I am ON VACATION!!!  The call of the open road beckons me, although I have to leave my dear Belladonna with her babysitter I know she will be well.

I hope to blog at least a couple of times if wiifii permits.

But not to worry I will return, just like a good vampire, no matter how many times one gets "staked" they keep coming back for more sequels.

Until later my Darklings, enjoy Life because it is never long enough and enjoy doing what you enjoy doing the most.


Later, Darklings.

Vampires on my mind~A Cabinet of Curiosities....

Well Darklings,

It seems that I cannot get vampires off of my mind.

I have fun reading “Archaeology” magazine, with articles such as “The hunt for Australia’s Baddest Outlaw” or “Were Neanderthals artists?”  or “Burial Customs: Death on the Roman Empire’s eastern frontier” but I always drift to the “from the trenches” column and was intrigued by a brief article about vampires in Bulgaria.

I know Darklings---“Vampires in Bulgaria??”  Well why not, if Transylvania can have them why not Bulgaria.

It seems that in Bulgaria there are some 100 known “vampire burials”  but this was covering the site of the town of Sozopol on the Black Sea, where two bodies were discovered with metal objects driven into their rib cages and to all appearances as a protection against vampirism.  The two graves are from the 14^th century or mid-1300’s and not much is know about who they were.

However the archaeologists do not know why they were buried this way, as there was no sign of “long teeth.”  ;-)

Of course the case for the legend of the “vampire” goes back to ancient Egypt and Sumner although they were not called as such and all over the world you have different ways of how to deal with them, detect them, protect yourself from them and, most importantly, how to dispatch them.

Although the traditional aspect of the vampire came about in the mid to late 1700’s in Western Europe with eventually John Polidori putting it into story form with his novel “The Vampyre” and everything took off from there.

Just as a joke for my “Cabinet of Curiosities”  I think I’ll purchase a “Vampire Killing Kit”, something macabre to add to my macabre collection, what could be more perfectly Goth than that.   It’s not unusual.

There is a historic house here called the Pardee Mansion, it was built in the mid-1800’s by the father of a former governor of California and no I don’t mean Jerry Brown, whom I refer to as the great, molting bald eagle, and that is giving bald eagles a bad name.  But Governor Pardee was considered the most honest politician in the political history of California, a rarity in politics, but he was against monopolies, and anything that was damaging to one’s health having a half sister and a daughter dying from diseases that could have been easily prevented if the politicians had admitted that there was a disease epidemic.

Pardee’s wife Helen loved to “ramble” and collect things, but being the wife of a politician made travel to exotic places and locals difficult, so various  people on their travels would bring her something unusual for her collection, her cabinet of curiosities, things from baskets to human skulls, now if that isn’t unusual I really don’t know what is. 

Oh and what is a “Cabinet of Curiosities” you ask, my Darklings.

A cabinet of curiosities was (and is) an encyclopedic collection of types of objects whose categorical boundaries were yet to be defined.  They were not necessarily a cabinet, because most of them were entire rooms.   They were also known by various names such as Cabinet of Wonder, and in German Kunstkammer ("art-room") or Wunderkammer ("wonder-room"). Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history (sometimes faked), geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art (including cabinet paintings) and antiquities.

Besides the most famous and best documented cabinets of rulers and aristocrats, members of the merchant class and early practitioners of science in Europe also formed collections that were precursors to museums.    The term cabenet originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture.   Obviously, cabinets of curiosities were limited to those who could afford to create and maintain them.

Now we have museums, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot have our own personal collections---for some people it can take up a room, especially if you are (Heavens!!) a  Barbie Doll collector.   For me I think I’ll keep it in my Library,  I have several locking cabinets there,  they use to call them curio cabinets, a much smaller version for the lower middle class families, to keep birds eggs, sea shells, unusual rocks and the like.

But I think a vampire killing kit, that would make people’s eyebrows rise up in wonder, don’t you think Darklings??

Later, Darklings.

What Television program does an Elder Goth watch?

 I was asked "What T.V. programs does an Elder/Elderly Goth watch or has watched?"

Well Darklings,

I have to confess I do not have cable, satellite, or go on Hulu or what ever means that people use to watch their programs or films.  And for you overseas readers of my blog,  the programs I’m going to mention have been shown here in the United States, but you might be able to find episodes on the internet.

Being an Elder/Elderly Goth and determined to keep some things in my life simple, I remain firmly using the old-fashioned Antenna reception, even if it has gone digital.

Darklings you have to remember I grew up at a time when Television was in its infancy, with programs such as Superman, Hopalong Cassidy, Howdy Doody, the Lone Ranger, Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, Milton Berle, Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Perry Mason, just to give you an idea.

And for some reason even today, I stubbornly remain fixed with Antenna reception, I mean why I should have to PAY to watch programs when I can get it for free, something that a number of people seem to forget, or wait for something to down load.

One thing I do remember, I always enjoyed best programs that talked about mysteries, ghosts, and hauntings, anything that was other worldly.  It was, in a way, a form of storytelling, and I enjoyed that as well when we had family gatherings.

It never failed, one family member or another would tell something funny, sad or spooky about an event or experience either by them or a friend or a long dead family member.

These stories I managed to write down, the funny ones were like some of Mark Twain’s stories as narrated by Hal Holbrook.

So sitting down either in front of the radio (there still were radio programs going on in the 50’s) or in the evening in front of the Television for our session of “storytelling” was a wonderful way to relax.  But that did not prevent us from having family fun night, because there usually was an evening in which there was nothing of interest that was the nights we’d played games or put puzzles together.

The only time we didn’t watch either Television or play games was during Easter, from Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday, no Television nor games, we could read books, but not comic books, I could color in my coloring book, and not until Easter Sunday could games be played.  I remember Grandma being very strict, no Television until after Easter Sunday and no radio unless it was on a classical music station, which made the men folk very unhappy, so they would sneak over to a neighbors’ house to listen to what ever baseball or football game was playing.

Frankly I enjoyed the enforced quiet during that time, it gave me a time to think, reflect to even talk to my parents about family and things, sitting out on the back porch looking at the garden watching the birds come to the feeder or taking a bath or a drink in the bird bath, and I still prefer the quiet to this very day.

But what programs did I watch?   Well I’m going to focus on the ones that were spooky and perfect for the Elder Goth.

Let’s start with Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, this ran from 1959 to 1961 and all the stories had something to do with something supernatural

The Adventures of Ellery Queen—there were 4 T.V. productions, the one’s I remember is Murder is my Business and then two others in the late 1950’s and early 1970’s and always with a twisted solution.

Danger (T.V.) this was psychological suspense—I do not have any idea if there are any surviving episodes.

Science Fiction Theatre with Truman Bradley---I loved all the persudo science as presented in these stories, I rank it right up there with One Step Beyond.

The Addams Family---need I say more---there were times when I wished the Addams were our neighbors although my Mother would have been slightly concerned but not too much.  She always said that they appreciated family values even if they were slightly skewered.

Outer Limits ---“We control the Horizontal, we control the vertical….”

Thriller with Boris Karloff---“I promise you this will be a thriller…” and a wink and some of the stories would just blast you out of the water.

You Asked for it (from the 50’s and 80’s)- -- “Remember ‘You Asked For It!’”  some of the things they showed like a woman kissing a cobra, that was part of a ritual, not fake either.  (A side bar on this)  Some years later a friend of mine who deals in books on magic managed to get 16 mm film of almost all of the “You Asked For It” episodes, including the one of the cobra kissing woman, he said that a team of anthropologists were very interested in that episode as it was a verified ritual to bring rain and there were very few filmed segments of it and it was no longer being done.

And there were The Munsters ( I wish I had bought the dolls) , Creature Features, Dark Shadows (T.V.), Ghost Story/Circle of Fear (not to be confused with a book of the same name),  In Search Of…., The Magician, Mission Impossible, Man From Uncle, Blacke’s Magic, Friday the 13^th (TV.), Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Dark Side, Night Gallery, Twilight Zone,  Unsolved Mysteries, The Sixth Sense (T.V.), The “X-files”---oh that was a winner

Of course we cannot forget “Kolcheck the Night Stalker”, everything stopped when this one came on, my Mom and Dad would talk about the stories that were presented and they’d tell me about what they had heard, so some of the stories on this program were based on legends or known myths. 

But when my folks passed away, it was sad for me, I became depressed, I really had no interest in things, no one to talk to who understood these things, not even my siblings, it took me a long time to find other like minded people besides my Great-Aunt, until years later when “Supernatural” appeared on the independent channel, then things got interesting with their satiric take on the old legends.

I’ve found that many of the current programs are boring, all this “reality T.V.” is not “reality” to me, but a forced exaggeration of bad manners and manipulation.  And the vampire TV. programs, again “boooorrrriiiinnngggg” geared to teens and pre-teens.  Nothing I, as an Elder/Elderly Goth, could really “sink my teeth” into.

Since I do not have cable or satellite service, there is no way I can see the ghost hunting programs, until they come out on DVD, and I buy them out of interest.  And I can “tear them apart” as well, some of them, oh REALLY!!  “Dude Run!!!” and you can see the tennis shoes on the fake ghost on that program.

Those T.V. programs for an Elder/Elderly Goth that I listed were all of interest to me.  As a child my Mother never discourage me from anything that was ghostly, she always thought I should have a healthy interest in things unknown.

But Mother always made sure I watched Healthy programs like “Kukla, Fran and Ollie”, or “Howdy Doody” (please give me a break, although as a children’s program it could be fun), but Superman was always interesting and exciting (“Great Ceasar’s Ghost!”), to balance my viewing and she encouraged me to read as well.

My Dad adored the westerns and police dramas like Gunsmoke, Wyatt Earp, Tales of Wells Fargo, Wild Wild West, Dragnet, while I loved The Cisco Kid and Roy Rogers,  some of the comedy radio programs transferred over to television like George Burns and Gracie Allen, The Jack Benny Show, Amos and Andy and of course Ed Sullivan.

One show that my Granny loved to watch was “Life is Worth Living” with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, I’d watch it with her and we would talk about those spiritual matters that Sheen brought up.  I learned about Death from Granny, she told me that the greatest gift was being able to die with dignity.

But please remember, television was not the focus of our lives, it was simply an attachment which we could ignore if we choose and there were evenings when we so choose to ignore it.

Those were family evenings, we’d play games, either board or card games, or put puzzles together and during all that we’d exchange what was happening in our individual spheres, Mom would mention if a repair that needed to be done, or an event that was coming up, my sister or brothers would mention a movie they’d like to see or something at school, Dad would be talking about finances (we’ll see if we can budget for it), and when we had other relatives over visiting it would almost always turn to something wonderfully spooky. 

My Uncles and Aunts (I loved my Uncles but the women they married were pains in the you know what) lots of time they would talk about my Great-Aunt (whose home I inherited) and in scandalous tones, I felt that a lot of what they talked about was exaggerated.  Although there were times I felt that my Great-Aunt was a little like ‘Prendergast’ the character in the Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child novels.  And when I met her finally, I adored her, although she was honest with me about her personality.  Yes she could be abrasive and manipulative, but in a way that was very helpful.

When she heard that Mother had passed away she was quick to call me and tell me that I was not alone, and it helped me get over the worse of my depression.  I’ll never forget her saying to me “One never gets over the loss of a loved one, one never gets over the loss of a loving parent, only through the passage of years can we even begin to deal with it and even then, when you least expect it we suddenly feel that loss all over again, but then my Dear, That is Love.”   That helped.

Now with ME-TV and RETRO-TV (here in the United States) can I begin to experience some of the pleasures of those old television programs and also Thanks to DVD’s  I am not trapped by the vulgarities of “reality shows” or paying for service, nor cramped by the down loading of HuLu.

But I am always on the hunt for programs or episodes that can send a thrill down my back, more recently I’ve been enjoying “CSI: Las Vegas” and “CSI: New York”, the “CSI: Miami” was interesting until they took a vendetta twist that bored me to death (Yawn).  And “Castle” is a fun program for an Elderly Goth, “Criminal Minds” there is something about going into the depths of depravity of a twisted mind that is morbidly fascinating,  “NCIS” (the original) while not a convoluted as “CSI”, has it’s moments, I think I love the characters of Ducky and the Perky Goth Girl. “Bones” of course I enjoy for its forensic information.  Of course “Supernatural”, but I always thought it was better dealing with haunted legends, going on the Angel course, well I’m not sure where that will end up.   “Nikita” a wonderfully dark spy program, I never know what she is going to do next, but it is the villainess of the piece that I like even better.

One program that I had hoped would continue was “Alcatraz” I really liked the dark psudo-science fiction in that, but it was never given a chance to develop and lift off.

I never discount the informative programs that one sees on our Public Broadcast station such as “Nova”, or our entertaining ones like “Life on Mars”, “Foyles’ War”, “Inspector Morse” and “Midsomer Murders”.  They can be a lot of Food for thought for an Elder/Elderly Goth.

But if one wants to be completely mundane---“Big Bang Theory”,  I have never laughed so hard at a comedy in ages, thoughtful, educational, frustrating with Sheldon Coopers’ attitude, but wonderfully balanced by his Mother’s practical if overboard Christian sensibility---I think where she talks about the Christian Cruise she’s going on was a Hoot with “Gunning for Gun”---where you write your sins on a clay pigeon, spring it and then shoot it down;  the “All You Can East Last Supper” Buffet;  and of course the “Jonah and the Whale Watching” tour, the program is a microcosm of over-thinking, self-centeredness and practicality, as combined by all the characters.

Far better than that stupid comedy about 4 self centered, unthinking people that talk about and do nothing called “Seinfeld”, I know there are people who are “Seinfeld” fans but if I knew people like that I would immediately remove them from my life---they are dangerous---to other people.  The only time the program was even remotely humorous was when the character of ‘Jackie Child’ appeared, as played by Phil Morris.  His development of that character was wonderful.

So what will the new television season bring to this Elder/Elderly Goth??  I honestly don’t know Darklings, but ‘stay tuned’ as they say.

Later Darklings

Couldn't do what I wanted to do***sigh***~~~

Well Darklings,

Sometimes fun comes ahead of work and so I didn't do what I was planning to do on my blog.  Yes, Bad, Bad Girl.

Well it all started when I took Belladonna for her walk, I ran into friends told them what I was planning to do Saturday which was fine.   And today---well "Forget about it" is all I can say.

Saturday we got together at my place and in my Vintage 1940's Ford we went to the Farmer's Market, Oh Heaven!  Is all I can say Oh Heaven, lovely fruits and preserves, yum!  Then I dropped them off at their place on my way home, did some more shopping, stocked my pantry, put the Bay leaves on the shelves, and grinned.  

My friends came and picked me up Saturday evening and took me to a "Psychic Party",  sort of a pre-Halloween event,  anyway our hostess introduced us to this medium who then had us do psycometry, for us to read what was in a sealed envelope, to give our impressions.  It was very interesting.

But I was cautious because I've heard of "cold readings" so I made sure that I never said anything personal about me or my family.   There was about 25 of us and then after a bit the medium gave readings for each one of us.   I took special pains to not have my face reveal anything.  But this medium gave me a very personal reading, like what my future life choices are, family members who have passed on. 

I was surprised about the accuracy in her readings---it seems that she lives back east in Cassadega, Florida and was visiting some spiritualist churches around here.   

Of course I didn't get home until late, slept in this morning, went to the church rummage sale and found a lovely piece of garden statuary, it's a good thing I was driving the Civic,  it was heavy.  I'll have my contractor take it out later this week.

But again my friends called me up and invited me over to their house, even came by and picked me up, Belladonna went with me of course, and we spent the afternoon talking about what had transpired the evening before.  I have to say the paranormal and the occult have always interested me.   My friends are also curious as well, and have discovered through their hostess, who is a friend of theirs that there is going to be another "psychic demonstration" next Saturday evening at a Spiritualist Church, so out of curiosity we are going to attend.  

I've been to these events before, and since my "boyfriend" Doyle has done what was commonly called "Bunco" or dealing with "con artists" he's going to be attending as well, although he said that when its sponsored by a Spiritualist Church they tend to be "honest" in their own way, no cons but people who want to believe in life after death. 

So it seems I'll be looking into another "dark side" of life, and that is life after death.  I'll let you know what happens Darklings.

Later.

End of the Week Catch up and ideas....

Hello, Hello My Darklings,

I am so finally glad to be home after a long, long day at my job.  Had to be there at 7 (Oh My God it's to D*&%##  early)  A.M.  Sorry Darklings I do have to self censor, one never knows who is underage viewing this site.

But considering that many under 18 year olds have heard worse, I'm not about to perpetuate any further filthy words---even at work the worse I say is "Fudgesickle!!"   Part of the problem is we have a "born again christian" in our midst who put out a "curse" box and we have to put a coin in for each curse word we say.

Of course she's upset with me because I say "Fudgesickle!!" and she can't fine me  because it's a proper word.   And now the rest of the work force has adopted that as well.  

For instance "Pound Cake",  "Oreos",  "Cupcake",  "Bleep, Bleep",  "Bleeping",  "Fudge, Fudge, Fudge---BROWNIES!!!"     Then we have to ask are they being served?   My favorites are "Applesauce" and really down and dirty but clean  "Kiss my Grits!!"  even better "Osculate my Glutious Maximus!"

We have one co-worker who has learned to curse in Latin...So our Born again Christian isn't getting any coins for her 'curse box' so  she can't donate to her church---which sometimes I think of as the Church of the Airy-Fairy Fluff Bunnies---which is really an insult to Fluffy Bunnies,  especially Bunnicula, my neighbor daughters pet bunny.  I think the little girl is secretly Goth but she hasn't released it yet.

Sorry Darklings, I am being silly, but it is soooo good to be home.  Again our weather is warmishly mild, reminding me of my upcoming vacation---which I am soooo looking forward to.

I am trying to type this but Belladonna my sweet little four legged darling is demanding my attention,  well I'll take her out for a walk in a little bit and then it's "Little Caesars" for her. 

I've had some fun in my search for more information on the Vera West Mystery and found only tiny snippets which I will add to my "Mystery of Vera West" Page hopefully this weekend.

But right now I have received in the mail my huge  (and I do mean HUGE) September 2012 issue of Vogue magazine---the poor postman must get a hernia lugging that magazine it is SO huge,  it is mostly ads but I enjoy it as it shows what the upcoming possible styles are coming out.  And as Elder/Elderly Goths we can pick and choose the best of the best out of the worse---I am glad to see that a lot is leather and corporate looks, all wicked and sleek in its own way. 

So Darklings if you don't subscribe do go out and buy the September issue of Vogue---Frankly Darklings, only the September and March issues are the one's worth getting, you can forget the rest of the year.

And be on the watch for Vanity Fair as well.  

I also received in the mail my complete Autumn issue from Victorian Trading Company and there are some dresses and coats I am dying to purchase,  it will be worth it.

I've talked to my contractor who has been helping me renovate my Great-Aunt's home and it is shaping up nicely.  I told him about my plans for a freezer in the pantry and he made sure that the electrical outlet in there is capable of handling the load.  So I took one day off this week to go with him to shop for one and we found one that is perfect,  an upright so nothing will get buried, with just the right capacity to hold things for two people,  it is also an energy-star saver as well and is just the right size to fit in the spot in the pantry.
He delivered it and set it up so it looks like I'm in business.

Tomorrow I'll have Belladonna stay at the Doggie Day Care and I'll be doing some serious shopping,  one thing my contractor suggested is I buy these large folding crates and cloth coolers, that way anything frozen or refrigerated will stay frozen or cold for a long time, especially if I have a lot of errands.  A very good idea.

I am also going to a nearby Church rummage sale this weekend, and see what they have to offer, one never knows what one will find.

On my lunch break today I ducked into our local CVS drug store and found two nail polish colors marketed under the collective name of "Spoiled"  one color is a deep, deep blood red all ceramic looking, its called "Pick Your Poison",  the other is sort of a dark, dark blackish brown with some faint red sparkle, in a way it reminds me of dried blood, its called "Bite Me!" 

And I think I have found a goth/vamp web site that has things to purchase for your home and just in time for Halloween---I can't WAIT for the "Spirit Store" to open up and see what lovely tacky Halloween goodies they offer.  Well once I have a chance to check out the initial site I'll give you my take on it and post its web site. 

But Darklings, I cannot stress enough what Victorian Trading Company has to offer, including an Absinthe dispenser,  yes the green fairy of liquors. 

Now I must go, Belladonna is making demands upon me and I really want to have some fun during the "Twilight Hours".

Later Darklings

Autumn is coming ~~~Lots of Thoughts

Hello Darklings,


The other morning when I was leaving for work, I had the sensation that Fall was already in the air, hard to believe when the rest of this country is baking in heat and drought.

But where I live it has been unseasonably cool, with only a few days of any sort of heat, but that morning as I left my home I looked up to the sky and saw so far up, little puffs of clouds like tiny sheep being herded by an unseen shepherd.

There was a soft dampness of breeze that caressed my skin and tickled my nose with the slightest hint of autumn chill and dead leaves and I realized that the next day was the Ides of August, the time closing in for the next to final reaping of the growing crops and the eventual pressing of the new wine, dark flowing like blood, blood of the vine.

In the next few months to follow, the fall crops of apples, pears and fall vegetables would be harvested.
With all that recollection I’ll make plans to take a week or two off in September, and plan to go North to the Napa Wine Country, or (Heaven Forbid!!!) Lodi, (“oh lord, stuck in Lodi again”) it will be for more than just wines, and Lodi is excellent for Zinfandel, it will be perfect to get freshly preserved fruits and vegetables to add to the stock in my kitchen pantry.

One tree that I have in my garden is a Bay Tree and the beauty about Bay leaves is that they keep the small insects out and add a wonderful aroma to the panty area. I remember my Mother and Grandmother doing that to their pantry areas; I cannot smell bay leaves without that wonderful aroma.

I remember those Summer and Fall seasons from many years ago, those hot days and my Mother and Granny sterilizing bottles and the lids, those large pots boiling with hot water, the timing had to be just right, spare tables brought up from the basement that ordinarily were used to fold laundry, doing double duty, now covered with freshly laundered cotton towels, not the fluffy kind for bathrooms, the plain flat kind for kitchens in plain sterilized white, the stove also doing double duty cooking the fruits and vegetables and sterilizing bottles at the same time.

Mother and Granny with their hair tied up and under bandanas to keep hair out of the food, wearing gloves and the heat on hot days, the beads of sweat on their faces, and me with a damp cool face cloth, constantly wiping their faces, peeling, cutting the things to be put up, carefully measuring sugar or something that they needed, washing any utensils, later with careful handwriting the names of what was canned and the date taping it to the jars.

And all with a careful surgical precision to both sanitation and food preparation, then moving the spare tables over to hold the finished products to allow them to cool slowly before being put away like precious jewels to be revealed later in the year as needed. Admiring the hard work, the feeling of accomplishment, then when they were cool enough opening the pantry door to the dark cave of Aladdin’s food, to be discovered later.

Peaches, apple sauce, apple butter, jams, jellies, filling for pumpkin pie, cherries, string beans, apricots slices or jam, pear jam, orange marmalade, lemon curd, potatoes in sawdust, parsnips, turnips, tomatoes either sauce or chunks, pickles, pickled cabbage, picked onions, beets, carrots, corn, and other goodies.

Mother would always go over the list of things she’d always cook for lunch and dinner and she’d know what needed to be put up and if it was more than what was needed she’d trade with someone else who had something wonderful to try.

I’d always wondered why we put them up when we could get them at the grocery store, I asked my Dad one time and he said, “If you knew what the folks at home had to do without while the soldiers were fighting the war (World War II) you’d understand, they grew their own food, put them up, so the soldiers would have plenty of food, women gave up nylons, clothing and food was rationed, Mac and Cheese became a main dish, Jell-O was dessert, or would stretch out foods.

Why do you think your Mom saves buttons and thread on old wooden spools, why do you think that when a sweater is worn out and has holes she carefully unravels it and saves the yarn, sometimes if you ran out of toothpaste you had to brush your teeth with either salt or baking soda until you were allowed to buy your next tube and you had to turn in your empty tube.

If your shoes had holes in the soles or the heels wore down you’d re-heel and resole it, lots of times women and men would have those little metal taps put on their shoes to not wear down the heels.

You walked or car pooled or took the bus, if you were not a doctor or police officer you only got 4 gallons of gas a week, and you could forget about tires, you were lucky if there were any to be had, more than once your grandfather had to drive on bald tires. If a tire blew out you saved it and turned it in, the rubber could be reused.

There were no un-necessary trips, everything had to be carefully planned, the children that are growing up after the war will never know the depravations children and adults had during the war, for example ice cream was a luxury enjoyed rarely if at all.”

Dad looked at me and said “The motto was ‘Fix it up, Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do or Do without.’ And save, save, save, bones, cooking grease, paper, glass, metal, rubber, worn out cloth. Everything was re-cycled nothing was thrown away.”

“Your Mom got recipes for the least used parts of the animal, ox tail bones for soup, tripe, stews made with the very tough cuts of meat, anything to make meat stretch farther. We had ‘Meatless Tuesdays’ and wheatless Mondays and Wednesdays.  On Fridays even if you were not Catholic you had fish. Even now I encourage her to do those recipes, so she would not forget and I would not forget her sacrifice” and he was right, how I remember those meals, and for some reason my Mom seemed happy making them.

For some reason around those meals my parents would reminisce about things and I listened carefully while my younger siblings would moan about it being ox-tail soup, and Mom giving them all the saltines they could eat.

I remembered how Mother would dye faded bedspreads and curtains in this old bath tub that had legs in the farthest area of the back yard, instead of spending money to buy new, and if something got a stain she would dye it another color after removing as much of the stain as possible, it’s no wonder most of her clothes were dark blue and purple as well as Granny’s.

I also remembered how for a long time instead of a modern refrigerator we had an old fashioned ice box, Mother would only buy meat for a day or two, at the small market across the street or send me down to it with a note for two pounds of ground beef, and milk was delivered fresh every day and kept in it.

There was a huge block of ice that would chill the whole thing and a man, who seemed huge to me, but then I was a small 5 year old, would come in through the back door with a huge block of ice on his shoulder that was covered with a large thick pad of leather  to protect him and he would carefully swing it into the ice box with these heavy metal tongs.  For some reason I remember him wearing a bowler hat which made me think of the comic team of Laurel and Hardy.

I remember he’d always apologize to Mom for dripping water on her kitchen floor and she would say “That’s alright, I was planning to mop today” and she did. It wasn’t until I was 7 that Mom and Dad bought a refrigerator, the Frigidaire. We had that for ages and ages before we were finally forced to sucumb to buying a frost free model.

I remember how if there was something to purchase it would be planned on days when we’d be running other errands “to save gas”. After 15 years of doing without or making do from the Depression and the War with the more prosperous 1950’s it was hard to break a thrifty habit and be foolish even just once.
When I think back on those days I realize how lucky we are now and how young people really don’t know what it’s like to do without.

Perhaps with the increase in Gasoline prices, young people will get the idea to be thrifty and careful, but I think it will need something even far more drastic to get that message across.

I went out earlier in the evening and plucked the Bay leaves off of the tree, washed the dust off of them and let the leaves dry, in a few days I’ll put them into the pantry, since it’s only myself and my little Belladonna I don’t need much, but still it’s a nice scent.

I remember also smelling eucalyptus and lavender all throughout my parents home as well as at my Granny’s and lemon polish from polishing the furniture and I’d smell the same scents when I visited my Great Aunt, it wasn’t until I took up the large carpet in the hall (one of the first to be cleaned) that I saw and remembered what my Mother and Granny use to do to keep Moths and Fleas out of the house, eucalyptus leaves and lavender would be sandwiched between the carpet and the carpet pad. Something which I will do again; I have a friend who has eucalyptus growing on her property as a wind barrier, and lavender I will grow a plenty in my front yard, but for now I’ll get the rich scented kind from a nursery that I know.

I found myself last night sitting in my comfortable overstuffed chair with my feet elevated, little Belladonna snuggled in my lap, one hand is stroking her and the other holding a cup of tea, looking out my window at the slowly growing darkness that twilight brings and with it its own form of peace and I think and plan and one of things I think I’ll do is have herbs growing in the garden, besides the lavender for moths, I’ll include thyme, marjoram, rosemary, spearmint and peppermint for teas and basil for cooking. I’ll make use of the large pantry in my Great Aunt’s kitchen; there is space for a freezer with a nice heavy duty outlet, which I think would be good for some things that are worth stocking up on, provided I put a date on it. In fact I’m planning on taking a couple of days off this week to shop for a freezer.

Considering the increase in fuel prices and the corn shortage our food prices will skyrocket, and one can already see the increases in gasoline and some food products.

Right now there is a bargain on pork cuts, because pigs eat corn, now is the time to weed down the herds, soon beef and chicken. So now is the time to look for bargains in meats and poultry.
So although I’m planning a trip in September I know my gas costs will be high, but then for the rest of the year I’ll be using public transportation or going out with friends. And planning on shopping the way my parents did during the war. Hmmm I think I’ll use my vintage car for that.

In a way I’ll be budgeting for a different type of war, a war of economics, for we are heading into dark times my Darklings, these promises of these presidential candidates are just that --- empty promises, so just as my parents and grandparents faced the Depression and the War so too must we face a time of doing without, of a sort of emptiness and we must fill it with purpose.

Yesterday early afternoon, as I drove over to a church were a funeral service that was being held for a relative of a friend of mine (a sad business), I saw the sycamore trees lining the streets, their leaves turning from green to brown, dusty and slowly drying up, Fall is approaching I thought, remembering how my parents and grandparents really gauged the calendar by the scent of the seasons in the air, and then only to confirm any special dates by using the calendar..

I think that now is the time to start preparing.

We must remember “FIX IT UP, USE IT UP, WEAR IT OUT, MAKE IT DO OR DO WITHOUT”-----And one other thing my parents did “SAVE UP FOR IT”, avoid indebtedness if at all possible.


Later Darklings.