Wordplay #6 word prompt: Innocent

Word prompt - Innocent

This word prompt was found at aprompteachday.wordpress.com.  It is prompt 36 - wordplay #6. The challenge is to think about this word and write about what comes to mind.  Your thoughts can be written as poetry, prose, or a story.

Our son was about three years old and loved to be outside in the yard when his sisters and neighbor children were there too, but since he was younger, he often found his own way of entertaining himself.  This particular day he got his wagon and found something he could do that wouldn't require any of their help.

I was finishing up a few chores inside the house and could easily check on the kids, but there was one area in the yard that I couldn't see unless I went outside and around the other side of the garage.  

As I went to the front door to go see what the children were doing, I was greeted by our beaming young son.  I glanced from his smiling face to the heavy laden red wagon he was pulling, and was aghast! 

Along one side of our garage we had put in a raised bed garden plot and had planted a few things, like lettuce, tomatoes, and beans.  It was later in the summer, and there were quite a few green tomatoes growing on our vines, but there wasn't a hint of ripeness to be found.  We were wondering if and when they would ripen.

Our son was so proud of himself for picking all the "apples"  for me!  After all, he'd watched me buy green apples at the store many times.  He no doubt saw all those round green "apples" within his reach and thought he could help Mommy.

(Note:  Green tomatoes can be put in a single layer in a box, covered with paper towels and put in a dark room.  They will ripen as long as they are their full size.  It is important not to forget about them though.  Keep checking on them for signs of ripeness.  Of course, some people love fried green tomatoes.  When I was growing up, we used to eat green tomato slices, dipped in egg and cornmeal and then fried.)

TToT: Ten Things of Significance

For my Ten Things of Thankful post this week, I accepted Kristi's invitation to post instead, Ten Things of Significance, or in other words to share 10 things in our home that hold significance to me.
Many things came to mind, but the following are the ones I chose to share.

I bought this in a thrift shop years ago and it reminded me of one of my favorite scriptures in The Book of Mormon ("And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." 2 Nephi 5:27)  This beautifully stitched work on plastic canvas and discarded by another was just the thing I wanted in my home to remind me and others living and entering our home the importance of having a happy heart.

These days I find it easier to read my scriptures on my iPad, but I love having the actual book too.  Due to arthritis, I find holding the iPad easier to hold.  It is also nice to be able to enlarge the print on the iPad, and quickly look up references and check for similar scriptures elsewhere in the scriptures.

This piano is the one on which I took three years of piano lessons when I was in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades.  Our family didn't have a piano, but my Grandmother (Dad's mother) thought if I learned to play the piano it would help me be popular.  (She was born in 1878 and probably had her reasons for thinking that way, perhaps friends being invited into a parlor to listen to someone play the piano.  ??)  Anyway, Grandma sent money to my folks so they could buy a piano for me.  I'm not sure playing the piano ever really increased my popularity, as it took me a lot of years before I was comfortable playing for anyone other than my family. After I was grown and married and was finally living where we had room for it, the piano ended up with us.  It has been a source of pleasure for me and our family.

When I was an adult and began writing to relatives and asking questions about our family history,  an aunt mentioned  a distant relative that might be able to enlighten me on the subject.  As a result of contacting him, I was able to receive a photocopy of a journal my Great Great Grandfather wrote when in was in his '70s.  The original was written on foolscap paper.  I've posted the first and the last page of his journal here.  I was especially touched by his words on the last page.  Those things he shared in his journal impacted me in so many ways, and when he wrote it, he had no idea if the things he shared would make a difference to anyone.  I'm sure he knows now, as I believe those who have passed on really do know of us who are still here on this earth.  

Quilt made by my grandmother on my Dad's side.   She probably made this quilt using fabric from the printed cotton flour sacks which were common for the time.  (I remember wearing dresses when I was little that were made from cotton flour sack material.) 

This beautifully crocheted bedspread was made by my mother-in-law and given to us as a wedding present.  She crocheted, knitted, and did embroidery work until she could no longer do those things due to arthritis.  Many were blessed to receive gifts of her handiworks.

These ferns in our home started out as one little fern which we got almost 50 years ago.  Of course it has been divided and repotted over the years.  They really seem to like where they are and I can't image our home without them.  There are many benefits to having house plants, besides just how they make a home appear.

After my father-in-law was no longer able to  do hard physical labors, he learned how to do hooked rugs and wall hangings in order to keep his mind and hands active.   This is one he did many years ago and gave to us.  It reminds me one is never to old to develop a new talent, and not to just sit around feeling sorry for oneself.

One of these vases belonged to one of my grandmothers, and the other vase belonged to my other grandmother.    The vases were passed on to me after my grandmothers died. I'm not sure how my grandmothers came to own the vases.  I do know that one grandmother often went to farm auctions, and the other grandmother frequented flea markets.  I do wonder if perhaps there could be some kind of other connection too.  One vase was hand painted in Germany and the other vase was hand painted in England.  One grandmother lived in a boarding house when she was in her teens.  The boarding house was owned by a German couple of whom she spoke fondly.  My other grandmother's mother was from a line that seems to go back to England (but is unproved).  I guess I'll never know the true story of these vases.

This battered old oak buffet has had quite a life.  We bought it from a family who had experienced some flood damage.  They had an old oak table and this buffet.  We bought both of them.  The buffet has been used to store baby clothes, blankets, toys, dishes, towels, kitchen items, whatnots, tools, and so forth over the years.  The top often seems to be a "drop it here" spot now.  (I had to clean things off to take the photo.)

We received this as a gift from my in-laws years ago.  I love being reminded of the strength and love of families and how every family crisis faced together can make a family stronger.  These are such good words to remember.

Now I am supposed to tag someone to do a TTofT: Ten Things of Significance for next week.  Val of My Virtual Vineyard have you already done a Ten Things of Significance post?  If you haven't, I would love to see your post.

Friday Fill in Fun

Friday Fill in Fun  This blog hop is from Feeling Beachie.  There are four sentences that require one filling in the blanks.

1.  Being able to buy fresh locally grown fruit and vegetables is such a wonderful blessing.

2.  Despite all the years of practice, I still get a little nervous when I play the piano in front of other people.

3.  If I go to a restaurant it must have food without msg.

4.  I wish I had taken a lot more science and math courses in high school.


Fortunately we live in an area where there are lots of fruits and vegetables grown, and there are many  farmers' stands, as well as stores here that are excellent in promoting and selling produce from local growers.

Although I only took three years of piano lessons when I was in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, I have enjoyed playing the piano, and play the piano at the church I attend.  Most of the time I don't get too nervous, but if a piece is a little beyond my skill level, I get nervous which only makes things worse.  Staying calm is best, and of course practice, practice, practice.

This is the piano that my grandmother purchased so I could take piano lessons.  It is now in our home.

MSG and I do not get along.  If it is in the food, I usually know it, and I do not like the way it makes me feel.

When I was in high school, I really didn't know until in my senior year that there was even any hope I would be able to have sufficient money to go to college.  Because of this I took a lot of business classes and some college prep classes just because I could.  (My mother had worked all her life as a secretary and bookkeeper and had encouraged me to take classes that would enable me to get a job right out of high school.)  I had worked summers and had saved money, but I knew the money I'd saved was not enough to cover college expenses.  In my senior year of high school, my father informed me that there was a small insurance policy that could be used to cover some college expenses.  What a surprise!  I had good enough grades that I was able to get accepted at a university, but because I hadn't taken enough math and science classes, I was limited in my selection of majors.  So you guessed it, I majored in business.  I could have taken classes to make up for the math and science classes I was lacking, but it wouldn't have been for college credit, and I didn't want to do that.  Having taken more science and math courses would have opened the doors for me considerably.  The things one learns in hind sight. . .

Haiku: Evening primrose

This week we spent a little time on the coast which gave us a bit of relief from the heat wave we are having in the northwest.  While driving up and down the coast, I noticed a lot of yellow flowers blooming along the roads.  Later I was able to inquire about the name of these flowers and was told that they were yellow evening primroses and that they were on the verge of becoming invasive.

I'm posting my photo and my attempt at writing the haiku posted here.

Tossed by ocean breeze

Yellow evening primroses

Nodding to and fro.

Six Sentence Stories: Very sweet fall

Today I will be posting again to Six Sentence Stories.  The word prompt this time is "fall."

Back in the day when we consumed a large amount of honey, both in baking and in  spreading it on peanut butter and honey sandwiches, or on toast, I kept large jars of honey in the house.

One day a glass container of honey was sitting on top of our portable dishwasher.

Our always hungry little boy came into the kitchen while my back was turned.  He could barely reach the top the portable dishwasher where the honey was, but he apparently was determined to get it.

I turned around at the sound  of a crash, and saw honey seeping over the floor and spreading around the multiple pieces of glass.

The next thing to do was to yell for an older sister to entertain her little brother while I attempted to try not to get too sticky as I cleaned up the mess from this very sweet fall!

Ten Things of Thankful

Ten Things of Thankful

1.  Ripening blueberries.  Gardening has taken a back seat the past couple of years, so it is amazing that there is a crop at all.  There are some other bushes next to the two which are producing, but since the deer seemed to do quite a good job of pruning the tender new growth, we likely will see very few berries on those bushes this year.  We were given these plants about 35 years ago.  I'm not sure how long blueberry plants live, but I'm thinking this is a long life for them. They are taller than me, so I mostly reach up and through, but not too much down.  This works just fine for where I am in my recovery from my back surgery.

2.  Beautiful sounds.  I love waking up to the chirping of birds, although I think some of them are "night owls."  Four o'clock in the morning seems a bit too early.  The sounds of the different birds chirping throughout the day is delightful, and I'm thankful that there is the kind of habitat here where they like to be.

Another sound I enjoy immensely is hearing my aging mother laugh.  I'm glad that there are still things that people say to her that cause her to laugh.

3.  Learning new things.  This week I learned some more things about using my camera and also how to put a watermark on my photos using iPhoto.   I had been told I'd probably need another application to do that, but with some googling, I learned how to do it without needing another application. (See http://www.ehow.com/how_8744932_embed-watermarks-digital-photo-mac.html.) Yeah!

Thank you to all those who are posting things on their blogs about how to blog.   With their help, I hope to keep learning new skills in this area.

4.  Enjoyable movies.  My husband and I watched a couple of movies this week that we both really liked.  Today I decided to read what reviewers had said about these movies.  One movie in particular didn't have very good reviews, BUT those who had made comments on Amazon gave it a much higher rating.  I'm glad we hadn't seen the reviews by those who do that for a living, because we might have missed out on a movie we both really liked.  One movie is called, The Cobbler, and the other is called Northern Borders, in case anyone is interested.

5.  Finding exactly what I needed.  Somehow the strap on my camera bag broke this week.  I thought perhaps I could just go find the kind of strap I needed, but I wasn't successful.  Today I went to one of my favorite thrift stores and found what appeared to be a brand new, or possibly never used, camera bag.  It was just the size I needed and is actually better than the one I had. The price was right too.

Ten Things of Thankful6.  Fans.  The northwest has been heating up this past week, and more hot weather is on the docket for this coming week.  I've never really enjoyed hot weather.  Temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees would suit me just fine, but I really enjoy the changing of the seasons.  I guess I'd better not complain about a little heat in the high 90's.  We do not have an air-conditioned home, and most of the time we really don't need air conditioning.  Our earth sheltered home keeps our home fairly comfortable most of the year.  When we get a couple of weeks of hot weather, things do begin to heat up inside, and we drag out a fan.  At times like these I'm thankful to have a fan!

7.  Those who respond to emergencies.  There have been a number of highway accidents, house fires, and field and forest fires lately.  Those who respond to these emergencies often put their own lives in danger.  I am thankful for all that they do.

8.  Bamboo wind chimes.  My husband doesn't like the sound of tingling wind chimes, but he does like the sound of bamboo wind chimes.  So do I.  There is something so calming in listening to them.

9.  To live in a country where we are free to choose.  I believe we are responsible for the choices we make and that sometimes making good choices can be challenging and quite difficult.  Freedom is a very precious thing for which I am thankful.  I think we must always remember each person is free to choose his/her own path in life, even if we might not understand that path.

10. Reconnecting with friends and making new friends.  Friendships can be nourished by a visit, a phone call, a letter, or an invitation to do something together.  I'm thankful for the many ways to reach out to others and the ways others reach out to me.

Finish the sentence Friday: Everything felt perfect the time that

Today I'm linking up with Finish the Sentence Friday:  Everything felt perfect the time that...

Everything felt perfect the time that our family was on their way moving from drought stricken California north to a place that had more rain.  It didn't start off feeling perfect though.  I'm not even sure I grasped that we were moving and why.

On moving day I'd been dropped off at school the same as usual.  My second grade teacher had been notified that my Dad would be picking me up a little early, so I didn't need to ride the bus home.  When Dad got there, he told me to tell my teacher goodbye, because we were moving!  There were no individual goodbyes to any close friends, just out the door and on our way.

First we stopped at a nearby town to say goodbye to my grandparents.  This is when it got even harder.  My Grandma had taken care of me different times when my Dad had farm related errands to do, and my Mom was at work.  I think Grandma probably took care of my younger brother also.  Grandma had no daughters, so I suspect she may have been partial to me, or at least that was the feeling I had.  Now her only grandchildren were moving to another state.  My grandparents were getting up in years and unable to travel and knew it would be quite a while before they saw us again.  I had never seen my Grandma cry, but I saw her tears that day as we departed.

We were traveling  northward in the Spring, a nice time of the year to be traveling.  It wasn't too cold or too hot, and I'm sure that my parents were hoping they wouldn't have to drive on snowy roads.  Dad drove the pickup and was hauling a small two-wheeled cattle trailer behind him.  The trailer was packed not with cattle, but with things that couldn't be put in the Bekins Moving Van.  Mom drove the car.  I was in the car with Mom.  I think that my brother may have been riding in the pickup with my Dad, but I don't actually remember.

After we got on our way, everything felt perfect, kind of exciting and adventurous, especially as we got out of the very flat land where we had lived.  As we began navigating up the mountains on the very winding road north of Shasta Dam, I was kind of scared looking out the window and seeing a river far below.  In that period of time, there was no freeway, just a two-lane narrow road without painted lines on the shoulders.  There are more protective railings now too than there were then.  We had to drive a lot slower as we tried to drive through the mountainous area.  Suddenly, as Dad went around a curve, he blew the right tire on the trailer.  The tire headed directly toward our car before careening down the side of the mountain!  Dad was somehow able to safely come to a stop, as did Mom.  Both were visibly shaken.  What could have caused a very imperfect ending was not to be.  We were perfectly watched over, and I think we all realized what could have happened, but didn't.