Memories Return

What is it about autumn
that brings back memories
of childhood joys and tears?

Is it something in the air
that causes me to miss
those carefree days
in Blackwell, Oklahoma,
when to Sunday School
or The Lake
with Grandma and Grandpa?

Visit My Portfolio @ Writing.Com

Autumn Memories

The chill in the autumn air
brings back memories of Oklahoma,
and Grandma's home made cookies.

Every year for Halloween,
she made cookies for the neighborhood children,
who all called her Grandma.

She always made oatmeal-raisin
and peanut butter cookies;
she always knew who
not to give the peanut butter cookies to.

It was a different time,
you knew everyone in the neighborhood,
and knew who you could trust
and who you couldn't.

Visit My Portfolio @ Writing.Com

My Grandmother was a founding member of N. L. W. A. A. M.

Istijlál (Majesty), 13 Jalál (Glory), 168 BE – Thursday, April 21, 2011 about 3:10 PM Pacific Time

This is Thankful Thursday and today I am grateful for the comic Freshly Squeezed by Ed Stein because it brought back memories of my Grandmother Newland. Grandma was a founding member of the National League of Women Awake After Midnight (N. L. W. A. A. M). My siblings and I can remember getting up in the middle of the night and finding Grandma awake.

When we woke up, we found Grandma doing one of two things. She would either be cleaning house or playing solitary. When my brother asked her what she was doing when she played solitary, she said she was playing cards with the devil.

Remembering Grandpa’s House

Istiqlál (Independence), 7 Jalál (Glory), 168 BE – Friday, April 15, 2011 about 5:30 PM Pacific Time

Today the contractor called and they will arrive on Monday to redo the bathroom. This brought back a memory from my childhood. I remember Grandpa Newland adding a storage room to his house in the Smelter Heights. He built the room along the side of the house, so that it we could enter it from either the living room or one of the bedrooms. In addition, he put a door in that entered the room from the outside.

I think some of the neighbors helped him, but he did most of the work himself. Once the spare room was finished, he put a deep freeze in plus some shelves. I know Grandma used the shelves to store winter quilts. I cannot remember what else she stored in that room.

I would like to go back to Blackwell for a visit some day. I know my grandparents’ house is no longer there; however, I would like to see what the city is like. I would also like to visit their grave; perhaps lay some flowers there. Grandma always liked roses; I do not remember what type of flowers Grandpa liked.

Thoughts on Spring-Cleaning

Fidál (Grace), 16 Mulk (Dominion), 167 BE – Tuesday, February 22, 2011 about 9:27 PM Pacific Time

The first day a spring is in March, so my thoughts turn to my Grandma Newland and spring-cleaning. My grandmother always began spring-cleaning in the kitchen dining room combination of her house. She began by washing down all the counter space; once she completed that job then she would take the dishes out of the cupboards and put in new shelf paper. Grandma did not like her dishes touching the wooden shelves.

Grandma never waited until the first day of spring to do the spring-cleaning. She would start that job on either March 1 or February 28. Grandma always did a through spring-cleaning and the rest of the year kept the house spotless, which was not an easy task.

Grandpa and Grandma Newland lived in Blackwell, Oklahoma, in the Smelter Heights. There was a zinc smelter close to their home and the smoke from that settled on everything. Despite the fact that the location of their home did not lend itself to a spotless house, Grandma kept the house spotless. This was a testament to Grandma Newland’s persistence and stubbornness.

No matter which way the wind blew or how much dust came into the house, Grandma was determined to keep the house spotless and dust free. She accomplished this daunting task, while making cooking for Grandpa during the week and four grandchildren on the weekends.

Spanish rice is on the menu today

Jalál (Glory), 10 Sharaf (Honor), 166 BE – Saturday, January 09, 2010 about 10:43 AM Pacific Time

Grandma Newland made Spanish rice. Grandma's recipe was a little different then the recipe I use. Grandma made it with rice, ground beef, and tomato sauce. I make my recipe with rice, salsa seasoning, ground beef, and Salsa Verde (green salsa).

I cook the rice first by mixing the salsa seasoning in the water with a little vegetable oil. After the rice is done, then I cook the ground beef. The last thing I do is mix the rice and ground beef together with the Salsa Verde. You let that heat for a few minutes and the Spanish rice is ready to eat.

Coffee Grounds and Egg Shells

Kamál (Perfection), 18 ‘Ilm (Knowledge), 166 BE – Monday, November 2, 2009 about 6:04 AM Pacific Time

My grandmother used coffee grounds and eggshells to help fertilize her flowerbeds. Grandma had several flowerbeds, so she could rotate the ones she put coffee grounds on; it turned out that she put coffee grounds on the all the flowerbeds about once a week or so, the same thing with the eggshells.

The dirt wasn't that great, but my grandmother always had beautiful plants. The next-door neighbors went to the expense of removing the bad soil in their yard and replacing it with good soil. My grandparents never did that, instead Grandma used coffee grounds and eggshells. In addition, about once every two or three months, Grandpa would clean out the chicken house and put the chicken droppings on the flowerbeds. Grandma always had beautiful flowers and she never spent an excess amount of money to grow beautiful flowers.

I didn't remember about the eggshells and coffee grounds until yesterday when I fixed eggs for breakfast. It's amazing what a person remembers just doing a simple task.

Friday at Last

Istiqlál (Independence), 18 ‘Izzat (Might), 166 BE – Friday, September 25, 2009 about 4:43 AM Pacific Time

When I was a child, Friday seemed a bigger deal then it does today. Perhaps it had to do with being out of school for two days and visiting my grandparents. We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa on the weekends. That's one advantage of living in the same town with one set of grandparents, you can see them more then once a year.

I remember weekends as special, perhaps because we (my brothers, sister and me) spent them with my grandparents. I don't think we did things differently then we did at home. In spring and summer, Grandpa took us to the Lake; I think it was staying with my grandparents that made the weekends special.

The weekends don't seem special anymore. Friday isn't as exciting as when I was a child. I think I'm in a rut. Today I plan to go to the bank, withdraw some money and pay a bill. Wednesday I went to the bank and did the same thing. Thursday I went to the dentist to get my lower dentures adjusted again. Friday just doesn't seem special anymore.

My Grandmother liked the heels of bread

Jalál (Glory), 12 ‘Izzat (Might), 166 BE – Saturday, September 19, 2009 about 8:26 AM Pacific Time

My grandmother liked to eat the heels of the bread, so when we opened a new loaf we would pick begin with the slice behind the heel and live the end piece (the heel) for Grandma to eat. We did it this way and this is a habit I still practice, which explains why I find bread packages in the fridge with just the heels and nothing else.

I opened a new loaf of bread yesterday. I took the second slice of bread without thinking about what I was doing. This morning I took two more slices of bread and noticed what I was doing. As usual, I went past the heel and took the next slice. I stopped, took the end slice and made a peanut butter sandwich.

This incident started me thinking. There are many things I do without thinking because that's the way I've always did them. It's difficult to break old habits, however, there is no reason to continue doing something because that's the way I've always did it or that's the way I learned to do it as a child. The process of transformation requires change.

On the last Day of August 2009

Kamál (Perfection), 12 Asmá’ (Names), 166 BE – Monday, August 31, 2009 about 6:41 AM Pacific Time

On the last day of August 2009, I'm remembering Grandma Newland and applesauce. I opened a can of applesauce for breakfast this morning. The applesauce brought my Grandmother to mind because she made her own applesauce.

When Grandma made applesauce, she would peel the apples, core them and then cut them into slices. After preparing the apples in this way, she would put them in a large boiler, add sugar, and cover them with water. I'm sure Grandma added sugar, I also think she add ground cinnamon. I don't remember how much sugar or cinnamon Grandma added.

After the applesauce finished cooking, Grandma would let each of her grandchildren have a small bowl of hot applesauce. I will eat homemade applesauce hot; however, when I open a can of store bought applesauce I want it cold.

I am a friend To Earth

I am a friend to…

I am friend to Earth
I recycle everything
I can possibly recycle.

That poem could be about my Grandma Newland. Grandma was good at recycling. Grandma was an expert at recycling. She had a ragbag in which she put worn out cloths and used them as cleaning rags. Grandma threw stuff away that couldn't be used or she couldn't think of a way to reuse.

Grandma grew up on a farm. When she and Grandpa Newland were first married, they lived on a farm. Grandma learned to recycle items when she was growing up. I don't remember Grandma calling it recycling, she just called it reusing.

I recycle, but I don't think I'm as good at it as Grandma. I have a long way to go before I'll be as good at recycling as Grandma and Grandpa, but I'm working on the issue.

My Grandmother’s Cat Jay

Jalál (Glory), 7 ‘Azamat (Grandeur), 166 BE – Saturday, May 23, 2009 about 3:09 PM Pacific Time

This afternoon, I am thinking about my grandmother's cat. He was a Siamese by the name of Jay. Grandma found the cat at Lake Blackwell (I think that was the name of the lake near the town we lived in). The people who owned Jay, before my grandmother found him, had two Siamese cats.

I'm not sure why Jay left the woman. It's possible Jay didn't like the woman or the other cat. Also, Jay could have like my grandmother better. Anyway Grandma ended up with Jay and when summer ended, she took him home to Blackwell.

My grandmother had chickens and Jay liked sleeping in one of the nest during the day. He never chased the chickens or stole eggs, which is more then I can say for one of the neighbors cats. Jay was a fighter and very protective of the chickens. As long as Jay lived, Grandma never lost chickens or eggs to the neighbors' cats or any other animal.

I’m getting nostalgic

Jalál (Glory), 5 Jamál (Beauty), 166 BE – Saturday, May 2, 2009 about 6:25 PM Pacific Time

I'm missing my Grandparents. Perhaps it's the time of year, today is the first Saturday in May. This is the time of year Grandpa began taking us to the Lake on weekends. We would go water skiing, boat riding and fishing. All right, I'm not real crazy about fishing basically because I don't care to put worms on hooks. Grandpa liked to fish and I like eating fresh fish.

Perhaps it's just because I'm getting older and thinking about the Good Old Days. I'm not sure precisely what the problem is or even if there is a problem. I've just been thinking a lot about my Grandparents lately. As a child, my mother worked so Grandpa and Grandma took care of us while Mom worked.

Perhaps I should write a poem or story about my Grandparents. That would help with this nostalgic feeling that I'm getting. It's a wistful feeling, like there is something I'm missing. I did write a short piece about my grandparents and Memorial Day. Maybe I need to write something about my grandparents and Mothers' Day or Fathers' Day.

I don't think I've ever written anything about Grandma and Mothers' Day or Grandpa and Fathers' Day. Grandpa was my father figure, so perhaps that's why I'm feeling nostalgic; I haven't written anything about Grandpa for Fathers' Day.

I am allergic to my laundry soap

Kamál (Perfection), 12 Jalál (Glory), 166 BE – Monday, April 20, 2009 about 7:10 AM Pacific Time

I am allergic to my laundry soap. I think I have written about this before, this is a different brand of detergent then before. However, the problem is the same. The laundry detergent has additives in it and I cannot use a powdered or liquid detergent with additives. I have to buy a detergent without additives of any type.

One of the problem, of course, is that my washing machine does not use two rinse cycles. Since I am not going to buy a machine with two rinse cycles, I have to buy a detergent without additives in it. I am also going to read the ingredients on the box or the bottle very carefully.

I remember, when I was a child my grandmother doing laundry. The first machine I remember her using was a wringer washing machine. She would wash the cloths, then she would run them through a wringer into the first rinse. Grandma had two huge washtubs she used to rinse the cloths. After she put them through the first rinse, she would then put them through the wringer again and into the second rinse.

I always thought Grandma used the second rinse because she used bluing to make the cloths whiter. Now I realize that the second rinse also removed soap residue from the cloths. Anyway, what I am saying is that a second rinse is not a waste of water. It is essential to get the soap residue out of the cloths.

The Day of Beauty

Jamál (Beauty), 14 ‘Alá (Loftiness), 165 BE – Sunday, March 15, 2009 about 11:46 AM Pacific Time

Sunday beauty's day
revealing the Lord's glory
to humanity.

I remember my grandmother reading to me on Sunday. I remember grandma reading the bible, storybooks and poems to me. I don't think she every read a haiku, I'm not sure grandma ever knew the different forms poets use to write poems.

When I was a child, my grandmother didn't talk to me about many things. Some of the subjects were those she wouldn't talk about with a child. Some of subjects weren't discussed because I never thought to bring up the question and poetry forms was one of these.

Actually, I didn't realize there were so many different poetry forms until I started editing my poems. Once I begin the process of rewriting and perfecting the poem, I discovered a variety of forms. I use as many of the forms I can to write poems, but one of the forms I like best is the haiku. I suspect my grandmother would have liked it as well.

My Grandmother Made Grocery Lists

Every week on Wednesday or Thursday Grandma Newland would sit down in the kitchen and make a grocery list. Then one either Thursday or Friday, Grandma and Grandpa would go to the grocery store. Grandma never went to the store without a grocery list.

I'm going to have to get into that habit myself. Between rising gas prices and the economy I can't afford to make seven trips to the store every week because I forgot something. A grocery list would also cut down on unnecessary purchases. If I make a list and stick to the list then I won't buy anything I don't need.

I always enjoyed watching Grandma make her list. The first items she put on the list were those she remembered needing. Next Grandma would check the cupboards to see if she had forgotten anything. After that, she went to the laundry room and checked the laundry detergent and bleach. Grandma never forgot anything that she needed.

My Grandmother’s Mop

Istijlál (Majesty), 13 Mulk (Dominion), 166 BE – Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:24 PM Pacific Time

My grandmother's mop was a large piece of cloth taken from her ragbag. The mop handle was wooden and on the end was a way to fasten either a cloth or a spaghetti mop head. My grandmother always used a large piece of cloth. I thank the cloth was from an old blouse or dress because when cloths wore out she put piece of the clothing in her ragbag.

I remember my grandmother's mop fondly. As a child, I watched her mop the floor. The way she mopped her floor fascinated me. Grandma always used a rag mop rather then a spaghetti mop. She put a new rag mop in about once every couple of weeks or perhaps once a month.

Grandma filled the mop bucket and then she put mop in the bucket. Before she mopped the floor she would wring the mop out by hand and then mop. She put fresh hot water in the bucket with each room she mopped. Sometimes grandma would put bleach in the water, especially when she mopped the kitchen, laundry room, or the bathroom. However, most of the time she used a pine smelling cleaner in her mop water.

I think I will find a mop handle like my grandmother used and try mopping with a rag mop. I may not like it any better then I like a sponge mop or a spaghetti mop, but it will be a different experience. A rag mop will be a lot easier to wring out then a spaghetti mop. Since I already know three ways I don't like to mop a floor maybe I'll find a fourth way.

At least the cloths dryer is working

Jamál (Beauty), 13 Sharaf (Honor), 165 BE – Sunday, January 11, 2009 about 1:50 PM Pacific Time

At least the cloths dryer is working. All right, other appliances are working as well, but the cloths dryer was the one I didn't think worked. I'm still not sure how well it is working, but it is working.

Grandma Newland never worried about automatic cloths dryer working. Even after Grandpa bought her an automatic washer, she still hung her cloths out on a cloths line to dry. We did have a cloths line here, but it broke and I haven't put a new one up. Until recently I didn't think about it because we had the dryer.

I think I'll put another cloths line up later in the year. The old cloths line wouldn't dry an entire load of cloths at a time. Not that I can dry an entire load of cloths with the dryer, but I'm not sure whether the problem is with the dryer or overloading the washer. Anyway, I have an automatic dryer for now; I think I'm going to have to get someone in to check it as soon as I have the money to pay the technician.

However, before I have anything done with the dryer, I'm going to have to get a refrigerator. The fridge is next to get, so hopefully the dryer will continue to work. However, just incase it doesn't I'm going to have to figure out how to put up a full cloths line in my backyard. Because with a line to hang the cloths on I won't have to drive to the launder mat.

I found my Grandmother's shoe stretchers

‘Idál (Justice), 6 Masa’il (Questions), 165 BE – Wednesday, December 17, 2008 about 4:25 AM Pacific Time

I found Grandma's shoe stretchers. My Grandmother had bunions on her feet and when she got a new pair of shoes she had to stretch them so that they would fit. I'm glad I found them, because I think I have a bunion started on my foot. I haven't talked to the doctor yet because my next appointment isn't until January 30 or 31, 2009.

I'm not going to go for that right now. I know that something can be done for it, but that costs money and I don't have health insurance. If I have to use the shoe stretchers I can, but I doubt I'll use them until I get another new pair of shoes.

I remember seeing the shoe stretchers in a pair of my Grandmother's shoes. However, I never saw her putting them in the shoe, so I'm not exactly sure how it's done. I think you put them in the shoes and let the shoes set with the stretchers in for about 24-hours or so. I'm not going to worry about the shoes I have now because they are almost broken in, but the next pair I'll use the stretchers in.

I Miss my Grandparents

‘Idál (Justice), 9 Qudrat (Power), 165 B.E. – Wednesday, November 12, 2008 about Sunset Pacific Time

I miss my grandparents. I think it must be the time of year. Thanksgiving is coming up and then Christmas. I don't celebrate Christmas anymore, but I have fond memories of Grandma and Grandpa. Those memories always seem to come back this time of year.

Grandma always enjoyed making Thanksgiving dinner. She would bake pies before Thanksgiving and put them in the freezer. Then on Thanksgiving, after the turkey was done she would put the pies in the oven and warm them up.

On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving she would begin decorating the house for Christmas. Grandpa would buy a live tree and we would decorate the tree. Grandma and Grandpa eventually got an artificial Christmas tree, but it wasn't a green tree. The artificial tree they bought was a silver aluminum tree. It looked pretty and you could decorate it just like a real tree.