Mish Mash

Slowly, slowly, I'm starting to discover things about myself. Like for instance, I have found that I can find my youth just by going to a feed store! Yesterday I went on the bimonthly trip to Weisenberger Mills to buy miller's bran. The door was open to the storage area, and I could smell the corn, oats, assorted feeds, inside. It reminded me of going to Southern States when I was a child to buy salt blocks for my pony. I had to just stand there for a few minutes and breathe deeply the innocent air of childhood. And the day before, I got to take a virtual trip to the horse barn area at the State Fair--they had just mulched the plants in front of the library with denatured horse manure! (They SAY denatured, but the smell says something else.) And I have yet to be able to go into a greenhouse in the spring, especially when tomato plants are waiting, without crying--Daddy and I often bought tomato plants together, and their smell reminds me of him. I'm glad my family doesn't like tomatoes, because I don't have to feel guilty about not growing fresh ones.

I know I already posted about the great afternoon at Libby's. I know I mentioned how great it was to see my cousin Linda, but great really doesn't describe the feelings I had. Now that Linda is getting gray, like me, I look at her and see not just Linda, but her mom, my Aunt Elsie, probably one of my favorite relatives.

Aunt Elsie was so cool. Things I liked about her: She had two Christmas trees, one fancy one in the living room, and one that the kids decorated in their family room. She took the curves in Cherokee Park on two wheels. She wasn't afraid to discipline any of us, her own brood or anyone else's kids who happened to be there. She let me have two Cokes a day when I visited, and she kept them in the refrigerator--she was the ONLY relative who had Cokes in her refrigerator when I was little. She let me have plain spaghetti when she was fixing supper and never tried to get me to eat the sauce. She had a cat who had kittens in the bottom drawer of the dining room buffet. She had two staircases at her house (well, actually one, but it went down into two separate rooms. (I dream about that house!)She had these neat colored aluminum glasses and silverware with plastic handles. And she had the most wonderful smile in the world. Her eyes really did twinkle. They REALLY DID!!! David has an Aunt Mary who is an awful lot like Aunt Elsie--I think that's one of the reasons I really love her.

Enough about Aunt Elsie for now--Good night, and God bless.