Lumber Slices

January 7, 2019May 25, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 6 Comments

This post inspired by Ragtag Daily Prompt: Lumber

Five years ago this month, our two prized birch tree clumps had to be taken down from the front yard. They were almost 30 years old…but getting too large to be safe. Especially during high winds. Or bending with the weight of ice and snow in the winter. Branches dying off one by one.

It was time.

We hired a local tree service, who arrived one morning to remove the trees.
It took a while, but down they went.

jan22-13

birch — One of which was treated and preserved.

The last survivor now sits in the living room of our new home.

Homecoming 1964

January 6, 2019 ~ oneletterup ~ 2 Comments

This post inspired by Ragtag Daily Prompt: Homecoming

Homecoming

Prompt questions: Have you ever left home? Have you ever returned?

Answer: Yes and no.

I left home in my mind many times growing up. I had a small knapsack tucked in the back corner of my overfilled closet…containing what I must have considered necessities. Quarters. Tissues. Comb. Toothbrush. Underwear. Perhaps Bazooka bubble gum.
Since I never followed through on my plan, there was never any homecoming.

Coming home from summer camps, summer jobs, college…all happened without much fanfare. And my uneasy life would fall into place once again.

More joyous childhood homecomings were wrapped up with my grandparents, who I adored. One in particular took place in 1964. My widowed great grandmother lived in Ohio and traveled to the East Coast to visit only a few times before she died in 1968. She was sweet and very soft spoken. Her skin…smooth and powdery. Fragile. She was my mother’s grandmother.

When she made the trip, it was a homecoming of sorts as she was able to spend time with her daughter (my grandmother) as well. We always made a very special occasion out of her visits. Celebration meals. Trips. And…lots of photographs.

The 4 generation pose was popular. My sisters, brother and I took turns sitting with my mother, grandmother and great grandmother.

I don’t remember if we were instructed in how to pose.

Photo a Week – On the Horizon

January 5, 2019 ~ oneletterup ~ 4 Comments

Nancy Merrill is hosting a photo challenge. The theme this week: A Photo a Week Challenge – On the Horizon

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO OF HORIZONS (PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, OR OTHERWISE).

Walking along the boardwalk one day in late October.
Late morning. Sun is shining. The beach is deserted.
Found a seat on an empty bench.

What a sight.
Banks of fluffy white clouds cushioning the horizon…
…where ocean meets the sky.

horizon hampton beach

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Floor

January 4, 2019 ~ oneletterup ~ 3 Comments

Here is my entry for this week’s challenge hosted by Frank at Dutch goes the Photo

The theme this week is: Floor

Days before the sale of our home in 2016
***
Looking from part of the living room into the den…

This floor of plywood 1 ¼” thick – covered with a carpet…supported a family…
Standing. Sitting. Running. Jumping. Crawling. Sleeping. Rolling. Walking.
Witness for more than 36 years.

Sometimes it squeaked in mysterious places at certain times,
but it never wavered for…

An infant crawling for the first time. Never minding the spit-up.
A baby, lying quietly, carefully picking out carpet lint. Fiber by fiber.
Popping it into her tiny mouth.
A toddler sprawled out “reading” a board book. And then tossing it aside for the next one.

This floor held…
Three cousins lying face down, chins propped in hands, watching television.
A sister and brother doing somersaults. Watch me mom!
Monopoly games…bank money, hotels, houses and the boy in charge of the bank.
Father and son jumping so hard the walls rattled when the Red Sox won the series in 2004.

Birthday party marching bands parading up one side and down the other.
Jump shots and slam dunks in the Michael Jordan Shoot-the-Ball hoop on a stand. Until it broke.
A young girl’s entire dance interpretation of NKOTB’s “Hangin’ Tough” including costume changes.

This floor remained sturdy when…
Standing for photos against the bifold doors: Easter. Halloween. Prom. Birthday. Group party pics. Or just because.
Teenagers collapsed in hysterics trying to master Twister.
Christmas trees were decorated.
Waiting for the gifts Santa would put beneath it.
No chimney required.

This floor supported a couch…chairs…coffee table…first hand-me-down…and then new.
Piecemeal furniture piled high with books, records, toys, magazines, framed photographs.
All steady and secure on this base for our home.

One might think a floor is just a floor.

But sometimes it isn’t.

Quote of the Day…

January 3, 2019May 28, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 11 Comments

Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do.

Golda Meir

Isn’t that the truth.
Even when I want to say…get me the hell off.

I am not ready for this yet.
For the irrelevance thrust on me.
Rendered invisible. Packed in behind the younger.
Respect once earned upended in the turbulence of senior discounts…
now that you’re 50…60…over 60….doors start to shut. Deaf ears abound.

Forgetting one too many things
Which 20 years ago went unnoticed.
Or commented on.
Not now.

Mask floating down. Got it.
Pulling the life vest cords. Got it.

I tell the younger kin I am not this old inside my head.
They nod. Eyes looking beyond. Already past me.
Uncomprehending…until it’s their aged faces staring back at them.
That’s what she meant.

There will be no mad dash for the exits.
Even in an emergency.
I’m on this ride for the duration. Wind. Rain. Thunder.
Wrinkles. Gray hair. Early dinners. Early to bed.
System slowdowns. Bumpy rides. Love and loss.

Dried up everything, but oozing with wisdom.
Experience.
And ideas. Just ask.
But they won’t.
Whatever.

The longer I’m on this stormy plane ride, the wiser I get.
Not my first rodeo.
So there.

2019…more transitions…
…the next leg on my Golden Years journey.
Seatbelt fastened and secure.
Building up those frequent flyer miles.
Wheels up.

plane window
This post inspired by: V.J.’s Weekly Challenge – Transition

Wordless Wednesday

January 2, 2019 ~ oneletterup ~ 7 Comments

Bologna Pie

January 1, 2019May 28, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 2 Comments

Thanksgiving = Turkey
Christmas = Roast Beef
New Year’s Day = Bologna Pie….say what?

When I was a kid, my parents often hosted an Open House on New Year’s Day. Neighbors and friends streamed in and out all day long. Eating, drinking, laughing, talking, smoking.
Lots of drinking. Eggnog (2 pitchers: labeled “with” and “without”). Punch with fancy shaped ice floating in the center.
Conversations morphing into a dull roar.
Alongside music from my dad’s hi-fi.

My younger sister and I helped prepare the party food the day before…
…and that’s where the bologna pie comes in.
It was (and still is?) slices of bologna with cream cheese spread between each slice.
The higher the stack, the better. Cut into pie shaped wedges – hence the pie label. And there it was.
We always sampled the greasy concoction as we made the pies…and I hate to admit we really liked it.
How times change.

Loaves of miniature rye bread were transformed into chicken or tuna salad mini sandwiches. Sometimes toasted french bread topped with canned crab & cheese dip was on the menu.
Always delicious.

One memorable January 1st Open House was worth an entire diary entry:

I have no photographs of these Open Houses.
Which is probably just as well.

Happy New Year!

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge

December 31, 2018 ~ oneletterup ~ 4 Comments

Cee’s Challenge topic this week is Bicycles, Tricycles, Motorcycles, Wagons

My first 2 wheel bicycle was a pink Schwinn.
Zooming down our neighborhood street – with my sister in hot pursuit on her tricycle – was a common occurrence.