circa 1977

That's me circa April 1977 (9 yrs. old) if my memory serves me correct, but I'm going to have to look at the back of the photo again to make sure. Although I'm fairly sure because I can still visualise my grandmother's writing on the back. But fairly sure won't do. I'll just have to check it to make sure, because yes I'm a little particular like that. And getting off the subject too.

Seeing her handwriting is something I will always recognise. Isn't it great how specifics like this we never forget. When I see this photo it reminds of many things I will definitely never forget.

1) I'll never forget Hans. He's the little "weiner" dog I'm holding. (Hans II) My grandparent's had a miniature dachsund named Hans. He, Hans I, was killed by a neighbour's dog while they were staying at their property in the desert. I was heart broken, to say the least. Sad story. He wondered onto the neighbour's property to say hello and their big, ferocious dogs didn't like that! Hans was my grandparent's dog but really more my dog, if you know what I mean? My grandparent's brought Hans II home shortly after. He lived 16yrs that little weiner, and oh how I loved him so.

2) See those tin measuring cups hanging on the wall just behind my head to the right. My mum still has those to this day. Old and used and a bit battered but still in working condition. I grew up using those in my grandmother's kitchen. And the spice rack above my head. That was there for as long as I can remember.

3) That tank to the left of me. Yep, that's the water heater. Why oh why was it put in the kitchen? I don't know but that's where it went and I guess that's just what they did it in those days. It always made gurgling and grumbling sounds and thinking about it now it was just part of the atmosphere in that kitchen and without those sounds, well . . .it's hard to imagine. It wouldn't be the same.

4) I was just finishing 4th grade that year. I was in Mr. Disher's 4th/5th grade combination class and he was that teacher everyone liked. One of my favorites for sure, if not the favourite. He was just so cool and if memory serves me correct, I may have had a small crush on him too!

5) That was also my first year on the school drill team. My hometown had a May parade and our little drill team got to march in it. I loved watching it every year. Bringing our blankets and chairs and getting a good spot early. To march in it was a big deal at 9 years old. The May Festival also meant a weekend packed with cotton candy, hot dogs, coin tosses, stuffed animal prizes and rides galore. With the May Festival came the weekend long carnival. Those were some of my most cherished childhood memories.

What are some of the memories you most cherish from your childhood? Please share, or write a post and leave a link here.

*Inspired by Blog About Five Things Week from Frances at Blogjem which I found via Michelle of Bleeding Espresso.

remembering: way back

Inspired by an email from a friend; this brought back some really fond memories. I made a few changes and it goes something like this:

Memories, aahhhh the memories . . . . .

Close your eyes and go back,
before the internet, PC or the Mac

Before semi-automatics and crack

Before PS2, XBOX, Super Nintendo, Sega and yes even before Atari

Before CD's, DVD's, mobile phones, voicemail and e-mail,
go way back

Way, way back . . . . .

I'm talking about Hide and Seek at dusk

Red Light, Green Light

Red Rover, Red Rover send _______ right over

Playing kickball and dodgeball until the
first, no second, no third street light came on

Ring Around the Rosie

London Bridge

Hot Potato

Hop Scotch

Jump Rope

Duck....Duck....GOOSE!!!

YOU'RE IT!!

Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to
come home - no pagers or cell phones

Mother May I?

Hula Hoops (some of us still have it, and I love that!)

Seeing shapes in the clouds (still doing this too!)

Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the
windows open (come on, click the links and sing along, or dance if you want?)

The sound of crickets

Running through the sprinklers

Cereal boxes with that great prize inside

Cracker Jacks with the same thing

Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend

Wait, wait there's more . . . . .

Watching Saturday morning cartoons: Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Pink Panther and Schoolhouse Rock

Watching Sunday morning oldies like Abbott & Costello and The Three Stooges

The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman

The Fonz, "Aaaaaaaayyyyy"

Catching bugs in a jar

Christmas morning

Your first day of school

Bedtime prayers and goodnight kisses

Climbing trees

Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky

Getting an ice ream off the Good Humor Truck

Jumping down the steps

Jumping on the bed

Pillow fights

Sleep-overs

A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were rich

Running 'til you were out of breath

Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt

Being tired from playing outside

Work meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes

Your first crush

Your first kiss; the one where you kept your mouth closed and your eyes wide open

Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or Hangman inside the classroom

Hah, I'm not finished yet. . . . .

Kool-Aid was the drink of summer

So was a swig from the hose

Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars

Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school

Class field trips

Trading your lunch with someone else

When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there

When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance, and
another quarter a miracle

When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him, or use him
to carry groceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to
the fate that awaited you at home

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of
drive by shootings, drugs or gangs

Didn't that feel good to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that"

Well, let's keep going. . . . .

Let's go back to the time when

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"

Race issues meant arguing about who ran the fastest

Money issues were handled by the banker of Monopoly

It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends

Being old, referred to anyone over 20 (Darn! I'm officially old!)

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties

Nobody was prettier than Mom

Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better

It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people"
rides at the amusement park

Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true

Abilities were discovered because of a "triple-dog-dare-ya"

Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for
giggles

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team

Water balloons were the ultimate weapon

Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest
protectors

If you can remember some, most or even all of these, then you have LIVED !

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