Remember When

Remember when things were simple, and life just seemed to BE. 

As I am sitting here at my crafty desk working on the album for the Boutique, I have music playing in the background. Not really paying attention to it, but my spirit is. 

I'm focused on the album, placing the things on each page to finish it.  It's all about the details...

I've thought about grandparents today. My parents. My cousins. My siblings. My nieces and nephews. I've thought about grandchildren. My three grown children and each one of my friends. Thinking about each one of these people and wondering how they were. (there are many by the way). I've wondered many times how each one of them was.  Many I have not heard from in days, weeks, months, and even years...

Remember when the phone would ring asking if you wanted to grab a coke, sit and visit? Where did those days go...?

Remember when mothers and daughters would have a leisure day getting their pedicures and manicures done while sitting and conversing with each other. Catching up with each other's life. Where did those days go...?

Fathers would take their sons to the golf course, or the fishing pond. Lessons learned. Where did those days go...?

Remember when grandpa would say, c'mon...let's take a ride on the tractor? I remember my granddad well. He is in my thoughts daily. He was my mom's stepdad. He and my granny (mom's mother) raised me until their deaths in the '70s. 

I don't remember riding on the tractor with granddad, but I do remember him drinking a large glass of tea in a metal bright colored glass with a long skinny spoon and mounds of sugar sitting at the bottom of the glass. He would stir it and stir it and stir it until the sugar dissolved. (I think that is why today, I can't stand sweet tea). His WAS sweet, sweet, sweet! 

Remember when...

As I was working on the two pages above, finishing up the details, I noticed the quote I put on one page and then the other expression on the opposite side of the page. 

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LIVE IN THE MOMENT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GRATITUDE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I am crafting, I am in the zone with the music playing, I am cutting, gluing, pulling this, and putting that. Grabbing this item and looking for that! I AM completely oblivious to everything and anyone around me. I can do this for hours on end and not even realize it. 

I didn't pay attention when I placed the two words on these pages, but today they jumped out at me like a ton of bricks. "LIVE IN THE MOMENT". What does that mean? Remember when life was simple. Where did that go? Life seems complex at times today...

Living in the moment these days is a constant battle of struggling with this or juggling that. Dealing with this and putting that on the back burner. Living in the moment today means we wear our masks when we go out in public. We distance ourselves at least six feet from the next person. Living in the moment today means, we don't have friends over for cookouts or other family members for a festive time of food and laughter. Living in the moment today means wondering if we'll have money to pay a bill or put food on the table. Living in the moment today, means will there be money for necessities such as medications or treatments if needed. 

Living in the moment means I must draw closer to my Heavenly Father. He is the only one who can hold me in the moments of my weakness. 

Living in the moment means I can hold on to God's strength and love when everything around me is in disarray. He holds onto me when I'm in a dark place. He holds onto me when things go crazy around me. He holds onto me when I am walking with my head held high. God is my constant...

Living in the moment. I remember when nothing affected me. I was a child. I spoke as a child, I acted like a child. I played outside. I was on the go all the time. Nothing mattered. Time didn't stop to remember what life would be like 40 years later.  

Living in the Moment. Remembering when my granny and granddad would take me to church. He would throw me up on his shoulders and we would walk down the long hallways. He stood over 6 ft. tall. I thought I could touch the clouds when I was riding on his shoulders... I miss my grandparents. Granny Inez and Granddad. My life was never the same after their deaths. I'm thankful they took me when I easily could have become an orphan. Remember when. 

The second word is GRATITUDE. 

I am eternally grateful for the time I had with my grandparents. They instilled values into my inner soul. They showed me, love. They showed me kindness.  They showed me firmness with a stern voice occasionally. They protected me. They provided for me. They cared for me and my well-being. Had it not been for my granny Inez and Grandad, no telling where I'd be today...REMEMBER WHEN.

That's me with them...I lived with them until I was 10 years old. Granny Inez passed away in April 1971 and Grandad passed away in November 1972. My birthday was in October. Living in the moment, remembering when...life was so simple. Was it really? I'm sure life had its ups and downs with this and that, but I was oblivious. I was protected from it all. Granny passed with Coronary Occlusion and Granddad with Colon Cancer. He was her second husband...remember when.

  

The simple things...being loved. Being cared for. Trusting others to provide for all our wants, needs, and desires. Remember when...life was so simple. 

Gratitude. What are you thankful for today? Breath, a job, food on the table, or possibly family and friends? Could it be, we are thankful for it all? As I sit here and think about this word...I remember when there was a time in my life gratitude didn't exist in my world. I was so angry at the world. At people. At family. At friends.  AT SELF. Remember when. 

I remember when the pieces were broken all around me...and the only way I could move forward was by laying it all down at the cross. Gratitude encompasses many things...

grat·i·tude

noun

1. the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Let me pose a question to you...when was the last time you stopped and thought about all you are thankful for? A few years back, I made a Gratitude Journal. It consisted of 365 days of things I was thankful for. Remember when. 

I am going to challenge you today to stop what you are doing and write down 3 things you are grateful for.  Can you do that for me? If you can, I'd love to hear what you are grateful for. If you can't, why not? Are you carrying hurts, unforgiveness, doubt, or fear? Are you feeling hopeless because living in the moment has become exhausting? 

There were times that a specific day only had one word on the page in my Gratitude Journal. Living in the moment...

Sometimes, being grateful and being able to express that gratitude takes a great deal of energy. I would encourage you to be grateful because you want to be, NOT because someone expects it. 

Gratitude...

For me, not only does the word GRATITUDE means being thankful, but it also gives me HOPE.

Gratitude offers me an expectation that I WILL be thankful and appreciative of something each day. For instance, I am thankful that I woke up today. I am thankful that I have breath in my body. I am thankful that I am a wife. I am thankful that I am a mother and a grandmother (regardless of what life has thrown at me). I am thankful that I can create beautiful crafts. I am thankful I am living. I am thankful I can listen to the birds singing. I am thankful I can play with our fur baby. I am thankful I can forgive others AND myself. I am thankful that my sins have been washed away and that my past doesn't dictate my future. I am thankful for change. I am thankful for resolutions. Even if they are not on my terms...

Gratitude means I will stand tall. I can give to others regardless of anything received in return. That is NOT the expectation. Gratitude is from our heart. COMPLETELY...with no reservations. 

Gratitude is not entitlement...it is something that I can extend to another human being or better yet, to myself.  I am GRATEFUL for life...I am GRATEFUL that I CAN live in the moment of today. 

Remembering when living in the moment was carefree and nothing else mattered. 

Remembering when no matter what, I stood tall with my head held high just living in the moment. 

GRATITUDE...no matter what!

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Wordless Wednesday - Day 7

 Day 7 in the Ultimate Blog Challenge

The top photo is of my brother and my great granny Nellie Cordelia (Martin) Chenault. Yes, that's me sitting beside her. I was about five years old I suppose. 

The bottom photo is four generations. Me and my brother (being held by my mom), her mother, and then my mom's grandmother - Nellie Cordelia (Martin) Chenault. 

Walking with my ancestors makes my heart happy...

How many of you knew your great grandparents? How about your grandparents? 

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In The Kitchen with Grandma

Grandma loved cooking. When I asked family members what something was, they remembered her cooking the majority said, "Zucchini Bread". 

I have not ever tried my hand at Zucchini Bread, but if it is anything like Banana Bread - I am sure it is delicious and quite easy to make. I can smell it baking in the oven now. Can you? 

When summer hits, I enjoy frequenting the local Farmer's Market for fresh produce. In my bag of goodies, you can find Zucchini, yellow squash, fresh tomatoes alongside the Honey-dew melons, and from time to time watermelons. 

I remember mom and dad having a huge garden in the back of our house. We called it the back 40. Dad, grandma's son grew several different types of squash, zucchini, corn on the cob, cucumbers, okra, green beans, black-eyed peas, carrots, potatoes, cantaloupe, watermelons and, had a nice bounty of sunflowers. I am sure he gave his mother, my grandma many Zucchini's among other fresh produce throughout the summer months. 

In fact, I remember family (his sisters) coming to harvest their share of the bounty that he grew year after year. 

I enjoyed mom canning the fresh vegetables and freezing them so we would have them throughout the winter months. I will never forget the shelves in the garage lined up with mason jars filled to the brim with yellow squash, green beans, and then some. Mom even made her own pickles out of the cucumber's dad grew. 

I wonder if Grandma would bake a fresh of piping hot Zucchini Bread today if she was still living?  

Grandma Kercher

ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 eggs beaten

1 c. oil

2 c. sugar

2 c. grated zucchini

2 T. vanilla

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1/4 c. chopped pecans

Add oil, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla to beaten eggs. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Add sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir in pecans. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 325* for 1 hour. 

Have you ever had Zucchini Bread? If so, do you bake it yourself? 

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Throwback Thursday - Grandma Kercher

HAPPY 120TH BIRTHDAY GRANDMA KERCHER!!! 

Dorothea Grace Reasor was born on June 18, 1900, in Calhoun, Richland County, Illinois. She died on January 16, 1992, in Amarillo, Potter County, Texas. 

My Grandma Kercher did not know her dad growing up. She learned of half-siblings later in her life. She was able to meet some of them before her passing.

Grandma Kercher and her half-siblings

Grandma Kercher was married two different times. The first man she married was named Harold Severance Moore, I, 1892-1947, and the second marriage was to George William Kercher, 1892-1947. 

Grandma and Mr. Moore had eight children. Today, the youngest daughter is still living. She is 86 years old. Out of the eight children, there were two sons and six daughters. One of the daughters died when she was five months old. 

My adopted father was one of the sons of Grandma Kercher. Melvin Royce Moore. He was born on March 21, 1926 and died on April 26, 2009. Family is not always blood-related. 

I have many memories of Grandma Kercher. She worked for the Amarillo Globe-News as a Paper Carrier. She put the newspapers in those paper boxes people would put coins in. 

I recall in the summer going on the paper routes with Grandma Kercher. When we were finished, we would stop at a local hamburger joint drive-through on the outskirts of Amarillo, Texas. We both ordered a Chocolate Shake and a Hamburger.  My burger was with mayo and no onions and Grandma's was a regular hamburger. Neither one of us ate French fries. 

Grandma Kercher headed to load a paper box with newspapers

Grandma Kercher was awarded a Service Award by the Amarillo Globe-News. 

CREDIT: Amarillo Globe-News

Grandma Kercher lived with another daughter named, Roberta Norine. She was never married. They had a nice home on Polk Street in Amarillo, Texas. I will never forget the yard Grandma Kercher had. There were beautiful Rose Bushes along the sidewalk and the side of the house. The yard was huge. In the back of the house, there was a storm cellar, a fenced-in cage looking area. Us kids would always go in there and play. I am not sure what that area was. I always thought it was for animals or something. There were chicken coops and another little shed further back on the property. 

The house had a long driveway. At the end of it was a garage and above the garage was an apartment. I always thought growing up it would be fun to live in there. I never did though. In fact, I think I only went up there one or two times. It kind of creeped me out. 

Back in the day, my Grandma Kercher was a sight to behold. I could imagine her strutting down the sidewalks of downtown Amarillo while gazing through the windows of the different retail establishments. Many of the photos I have of Grandma Kercher are undated. They are priceless! 

This photograph was taken on the Wedding Day of my mom to Melvin Royce Moore. This is my mom's mother, Letha Inez (Chenault) Gordy Schoonover, and Dorothea Grace (Reasor) Moore Kercher. 

Mom and Dad are in the first photo of this cluster.
 Mom is in a Blue Dress

There are many memories of Grandma Kercher floating around in my mind as I write this post. Many family gatherings for the Holidays and special birthdays. Grandma is sitting in the green here.

Grandma Kercher and my dad (Royce) owned a motel together. It was called "The King Motel". I do not know much about the ins and outs of this property, but I remember being there as a small child. That is where I watched Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs for the first time. I was with another one of my Grandma's daughters, Kathleen. We called her Aunt Kaka. 

I have a picture of dad with his Bible sitting in one of the rooms in that motel. I could not put my hands on it though for this post. 

Growing up on Mountain Drive located in Amarillo, we had one of the heavy-duty dryers from that motel in our garage. Dad had fixed it where we had to drop the 'same' quarter into the machine every time we wanted to dry clothes. The memories of Throwback Thursday today are amazing...thank you, Grandma Kercher, for having a birthday on this day 120 years ago. It amazes me how memories are triggered by certain events in our life. The memories of today's Throwback Thursday were awesome! 

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In The Kitchen With Grandma

A few years ago, my brother-in-law sent me a DVD with family photos of my husband's family. I took all of these photos and made a Scrapbook Album for my sister-in-law. She is my husband's sister.

As I looked through the photographs, I was amazed at the images before me. I knew these memories needed to be captured and saved for generations to come. I uploaded the ones we had identified and started asking questions on the ones my husband did not know.

There were pictures of his grandfather as a baby. Photographs of his Uncle on his tour in Vietnam. Also in the pile of pictures was his Grandmother with his mother when she was a baby and other family members with the memories they carried.

Among them was a photograph of his Grandmother in the kitchen cooking a meal. As I sat here over the weekend thinking about the next recipe I wanted to share on my blog, I remembered the photograph of his Grandmother. Her name was Rita.

I asked my husband about her cooking and if there was a meal he could remember her cooking. He told me about something she cooked that had cow tongue and brains in it. He went on to say he was very young at that time. I do not think he liked it much because he made a funny face when he was telling me the story of the cow tongue and brains! 

He went on to say, "she cooked the best Chicken Pot Pie" and "Oyster Dressing". As he was telling me about these memories, his face lit up...you could sense he was enjoying the memories I brought forth in him by talking about the photograph.

Meet Rita, my husband's Grandmother. I did not have the opportunity of knowing her very long as she passed away shortly after we were married. Listening to my husband talk about her cooking, it sounds like she was an amazing cook.

OYSTER DRESSING RECIPE

8 cups plain bread cubes or 8 cups cornbread cubes

1  1/2 cup celery (chopped)

1 cup onion (chopped)

2 - 8 oz. cans of oysters, with liquid

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup evaporated milk

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Heat milk, butter, and oyster liquid in a small pan

2. Combine bread cubes, celery, onion, spices, and oysters

3. Add liquid and stir

4. Stuff poultry or place in a greased baking dish

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until poultry is done. 

Maybe the next time you make a nice meal, Oyster Dressing will be one of the dishes served. 

I think I am going to try this with a baked Chicken in the near future. (I have not ever had Oyster Dressing). 

Have you eaten Oyster Dressing before? 

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Memories of the Past - TBT

It is Thursday and that means it is 'Throwback Thursday". I always wonder where the slang came from. I suppose I need to research this and report back. Unless of course, you know the answer - you can save me the time of researching and leave me a comment below. Thank you very much in advance! LOL - - I wonder if anyone knows?

Today, I am going to share photos of my Grandmother, Leatha Inez Chenault. She was born on June 1, 1912, in Leonard, Texas, and died on April 26, 1971, in Amarillo, Texas. Her nickname was Meg. To this day, no one that I have talked to knows when or where the nickname came from. That is still a mystery to me. I asked my mom several years ago and she did not know. In fact, she did not even know she had a nickname! 

My Granny (as I called her) and her 2nd husband, R. D. Schoonover, raised me from the time I was born until her death in 1971. After that, I was still very much a part of my granddad Schoonover's life until he died the following year. 

This first picture is of my Granny on her wedding day. She was fourteen years old. Pictured with her is a friend that we have been unable to identify. She married Richard Munroe Gordy, 1904-1962. They had four children. 

Inez Wedding Day, 14 yrs old

Richard Munroe Gordy Family (my mom is in white)

My Grandparents with my mom

My Grandmother in the white dress with her sister, Lola

L to R: my grandparents with my Great Grandparents (Jerome (he is standing behind Nellie) and Nellie Martin Chenault)
also pictured is a brother of my Great Grandfather Jerome.
(I had never seen this photograph until I met a 2nd cousin - daughter of my G.Grandfather's brother pictured here. She sent me many photos of my Great Grandfather Jerome Chenault when he was a young man)

My Grandmother was a seamstress. She made most of my clothes when I was a child. My mom told me I always had matching bloomers and socks that would coordinate with my dresses. My Granny even made a dress for me out of a parachute. (it is pictured below). 

Letha Inez Chenault Gordy Schoonover

My Granny and I, 1962

My Granddad, me and, my Granny -1964

I was two years old in this photo

I enjoy very much 'walking with my ancestors' and learning about family history. I have an extensive family tree on Ancestry and daily, I am looking at my DNA matches and researching in hopes of learning more and hopefully finding new family photos that have not been seen by my family. 

I can lose track of time when I am walking with my ancestors especially if I am on a hot trail. I love reading the documentation, perusing the family photos, and looking at other family trees who may share common names with me. 

Genealogy is one of my favorite things to do. I have learned to take the good with the bad and remember we cannot turn the clock back on time, but we can embrace our future and remember our ancestors. Without them, none of us would be here today...

Have you ever wondered where your family's roots came from? My paternal lines are from Sicily and my maternal lines are England, Wales, Scotland, and other Regions. Genealogy is interesting and fun. Why not start your family tree today? In fact, Ancestry has their DNA kits on sale right now for a fraction of their regular price.

Whether you are an experienced genealogist or just starting out, I would love to hear from you. Drop me a comment. 

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Throwback Thursday - Memories

1st Gordy Family Reunion, August 1951

Great Aunts and their spouses

These photos are from the First Gordy Family Reunion held in August 1951. The Gordy name is my mom's paternal lines. She was a Gordy. I wasn't even thought of during this family gathering. Pictured here though are some of my great Aunts and other family members.

There have been several different spellings of the name. Some of those spellings include Gardee, Gardey, Gordey, and Gordon.

I have my family tree built back to the early 1500s  on the Gordy lines when the name was Gordon. Through the years, it evolved to what it is today.

My Gordon's were in Scotland. The Gordy lines didn't show up in America until the son of Robert Gordon and Catherine Menzies (Adrian) traveled from Scotland to Maryland in 1675. It was through Adrian's name and descendants where the Gordon name changed to Gordy.

Richard Munroe Gordy Family - my mom's family

Through the course of time, the spelling of the name continues to change. I suppose people want to be different. Whatever the case may be, Gordy is my lineage and I am sticking to it!

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Throwback Thursday

THROWBACK THURSDAY

While looking through some envelopes the other day, I ran across several photos of yesterday.

My Granny Inez (Letha Inez Chenault Gordy Schoonover) and granddad Dick (Richard Dudley Schoonover) raised me until their deaths in the '70s. I miss them...

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