A bit of Nostalgia rekindles the soul...Santa Fe

Facebook brings people together in more ways than can be described. Family, friends, interests groups and Nostalgia. I recently joined "You know you are old school Santa Fe when...". After observing a small city triple in size in a few years (well...40 years), some people and places remain indelibly in your mind.

Santa Fe is the City Different. Growing up in an eclectic art center brought fascinating people. A town that had many dirt roads that would wind in no real direction. Colonies of artists, writers and simply interesting people walked the square in downtown Santa Fe. Rich in culture and tradition, the city thrives on being the "City Different".

Memories of a small city have taken this facebook page to levels that brings some warm memories of a place that holds special places in our minds.

As with all places, the memories of how it was is only compared to what generations today will say of places forty years from now. The only difference will be...that the names of eating establishments, stores, will likely be the same - MacDonald's, Carl's Jr, Big 5 and more. The days of independently owned businesses are so few and in this writer's opinion are not the same as those of today's generations. We knew the families that owned the businesses. They worked in the business and gave the best possible service to their customers.

Do not think that memories will flourish with today's generations as they did. Perhaps Nostalgia will be replaced with another word, with no frame of reference to what has changed.

Rubber Bands and Maturity

Recently conducted some business, removing papers from my purse with a rubber band around them. The young lady that attended me remarked that she loved how "older" people are so organized. Did I feel mature and organized? She smiled and remarked that older people are always so well organized. They staple, paperclip or use rubber band papers to hold their "stuff" together. I was not sure how to feel, but this was the first time someone referred to me as "older". Did that mean I looked 80? Am quite a few years away, yet a couple generations removed, guess that I am "older". After getting home I looked around to see that lots of papers were in bundles, either clamped, stapled or rubber banded. After looking back a number of years, my memory served me much better in organizing papers without the" gathering attachments."

Got to thinking about this and wondered "am I adding to my maturity further" by using rubber bands, staples, paper clips and clamps? I was amused and flattered by her comment. Being organized lends itself to chronological maturity I guess, or at least someone thought so and decided that the rubber bands, clamps, clips, and stapler should stay.

Concluded that her comment was complimentary and was delighted that I was not fumbling through an old candy box of unorganized papers (guessing that will come later).

In any case, guess it was the first wake up call like the one I remembered being called "that lady is looking at us" (at age 28). That the was the first time I had not been called a girl. So as we move into stages of maturity, our habits change that present illusions of maturing, or maybe just reality.

As we move into different stages of our life, habits change. Guess bundling things in an orderly manner is one of the benefits of not relying on memory. It presents me with more time to do some of the things that I enjoy.

So much for rubber bands and maturity!

Hats for every reason

Always wondered why some people wore hats all the time. Like today's trendy tattoos, I have come to conclude that hats define individuality. My husband has been lamenting the follicles that challenge hair growth with each passing year. It seems to bother him more than anyone else. This past year he began wearing a driving cap, which sometimes goes to bed with him. I try not to chuckle until he has fallen asleep, then remove the cap from his head, without a twitch that might awaken him. Guess when you wear a hat all day, you forget it is there.

Scoring through boxes of old pictures, found that my folks felt a need to place a hat on my head from the time I was an infant to heaven knows when. It might have been the flat spot on my skull that they were trying to hide. Having been graced with lots of hair, I do not believe anyone would have noticed the flat spot.

The 40s, 50s and 60s were hat days, and really did not pay much attention to who wore hats in the late 50s, but remember women wearing all kinds of hats in the 60s. Plumes, net, flowers, felt, woven, scarves, snoods and other couture hats that were simply hideous. Never really had a desire to wear one then, yet I enjoyed entering my Godmother's closet that held dozens of fancy hats. Then there were the gloves that matched the hats - short, long, fancy and just plain awful.

One lady in the neighborhood wore one of those Little House on the Prairie bonnets when she worked in her garden. As a kid it was confusing as to what era we were living in, but heck it was her choice of hat. It did not stop us from jumping the fence to pick green apples off her trees. She would coming dashing out of the house with a broom, hollering, with her bonnet flapping in the wind. We never determined what kind of hair she had or the color. It was only a guess what she was going to do with the broom.

I can fully understand and appreciate a knitted cap that covers the ears and nose in cold weather. That gives much purpose to a cold head and appendages that when cold, the entire body trembles with a desire to be warm.

So much for hats in our lives. If the hat fits, wear it! Just waiting for the trend to turn around when hats are in vogue. Not really sure that I will take to anything but a woven cap in the winter, but hey, they are fun to observe. I still enjoy seeing pictures of the Queen because hats still live on with royalty.

Pea Shooters and Comics Capers

Memories are the one thing no one can take from you. During a gathering of friends on New Years, there was much laughter about crazy times growing up. It is a wonder we all made through childhood, teen years and through the tumbler twenties. No wonder our parents had gray hair, wrinkles and cringed every trip we made out the door.

I was lucky enough to grow up with dozens of cousins. Since we all lived in close proximity, would guess that the neighborhood thought we were a gang. There were gangs growing up in our small city, but somehow we never crossed their paths, nor they ours. Perhaps they knew we existed, but were afraid of us because we could shoot peas out of a pea shooter from the roofs of abandoned buildings with them never knowing from where they got "pinged".

Wandering further than instructed was a secret that was well kept by all of us. No snitches in this group. Every week the comics distributor would tear off the cover of last weeks unsold comics and they were dumped at the city "dump" as it was called then. Today, we know the dump as "landfills". Still find that a landfill is where they collect anything people do not want - a place to dump trash. While the walk was four miles from the neighborhood, it was taboo and punishable to wander this far. Taboo to kids? Are you kidding?

Why buy comics when you could get your fill of Blondie, Archie, and Tarzan minus the cover for free. With ten of us that could carry ten to twenty comics, there was much swapping during the week until the next trip. On the way there, a stop at the local candy store meant we loaded up with all the sugar that kept us bouncing off walls for the next couple of days.

We thought our parents were clueless as to what plans we had for the summer day, but they always seemed to possess a sixth sense, or so we thought. Someone would see us and snitch, so this sixth sense stuff went out the window. Did it stop the comic collection caper at the dump? Not hardly, and punishment was always worth another trip.

There were many adventures that kept us physically fit. Foot power was certainly the only way to get to where we wanted to go. Cannot imagine asking Dad for a ride to the dump to collect comics. While our capers may not have been prudent, they sure were fun.

Creating a Rose Bush tree with recycled stuff

The holidays add juices to creativity. After looking around found much that could be recycled. As a horder of old laces, fabrics, and styrofoam, decided to get busy and make some fun things for the holidays.

Items used: A block of styrofoam (from old packaging), an old lace curtain, lace, wire, yarn, duct tape, pins, a dried bush branch, antique leaf paint. I used a piece of pyracantha - a bit thorny, but sturdy.

1. Cut your styrofoam block then dig a hold in it with the back of a small paintbrush, poking it in about 4 inches.

2. Prep your twig,(about 2 ft) by cutting off the lower branches, to slip it in the styrofoam after you have added a piece of lace curtain around the the stryofoam. Leave enough lace to folder over the top and bottom. I used pins to fix the lace in place. I added the same lace used for making the roses around the top lip of the styrofoam and pinned it. You can use a glue gun, but my preference was to use pins.

3. Cut a piece of cardboard for setting your styrofoam vase. I painted this with green acrylic paint, then took a piece of duct tape, rolled it around, stuck it on the bottom of the styrofoam, and attached it to the base. It can be affixed with a glue gun.

4. Making roses are easier than you think. My lace is 3" wide. Fold the lace in the center, then gather the lace around four times holding the base of the rose. Cut a small piece of floral wire and twirl it around the bottom, leaving enough wire to attach it to the branch. Take a piece of yarn and tie it over the wire, pulling the yarn to stretch it on the sides, giving it a leafy effect.

5. When you have finished attaching all the roses you choose, take your twig and place it in the hole you made in the stryfoam. If you are using a thorny twig as I did be sure to put on garden gloves.

6. You can add some glitter to your lace rose bush by brushing on some antique leaf paint on the twig stem and leaves. I also added some gold lace to the tree as a garland.

A fun project and definitely have someone in mind that wanted something pretty for their vanity!

Basics in life - tie wraps, duct tape, post-its, microwave oven

A gathering of friends led to a discussion of those "things" which most people could not live without. Interesting but not surprising results. The general consensus from both genders included a microwave oven, cable tie "ty" wraps, duct tape and post-its. Essentials for every household. Duct tape and cable tie "ty" wraps are rudimentary quick fixes, that ranked highest. Post-its adorn every refrigerator, daily planner, computer and wall in the world. To think, the invention of the Post-it was originally a "mistake".

A microwave to heat food snacks that you need to "energize" for projects that require tie wraps, duct tape or leaving a reminder message to oneself.

The uses for duct tape, its history and the end product has been written in the annals of history. Our own duct tape story is from an offroad rally, straddling a boulder, that pierced the oil pan. Duct tape to the rescue! A bit of clay and duct tape solved the problem to continue running the rally until repairs were made.

Cable ties (ty wraps), have it over rubberbands, rope, string, tape or any other materials used to hold neatly anything together. Rubber bands rot, rope and string deteriorate with weather and time, and "tape" other than duct, dry up or expand.

Duct tape and cable tie "ty" wraps may not be green friendly, but figure that most objects held together in this manner never get taken apart anyway. Seems most folks are storing an item, finding a quick fix for a project that will hopefully be completed in a lifetime. In many cases seems they are used to store or "garage" items in the rafters until the house is sold or hold together those computer wires that are always in the way.

For more duct tape fun - calling this website unique is an understatement! Tim and Jim have taken duct tape to levels that one cannot imagine.

Can't wait for the next life's critical elements discussion with friends. Duct tape, cable ties "ty-wraps", Post-its, and Microwaves rule!

Yuletide Season - the true spirit! Life lessons for ten children

A favorite time to remember, the Yuletide Season was the busy work of a family of ten children. My best friend, the oldest, was appointed Lieutenant in charge. The month of December was filled with daily after school activities to keep ten active children busy.

The goal was to stay within a frugal budget for Christmas and give Mom some respite. Conventional purchases by Mom and Dad were limited to one meaningful gift for each child, although their list may be long. Ten children then drew a name of a sibling and secretly hid the name. Their job was to create a gift that brought meaning to them with their sibling in mind.

Throughout the month of December, the family thrust themselves into creating gifts for each other. Crafty items were purchased and saved during the year. Old and new fabric cut into squares, yarns, ribbon, scrap wood, paper, beads and all that could be salvaged went into this concerted effort.

After school, the children would gather at a large table for a couple of hours. This time not only presented an opportunity to gather as one, but to work selflessly with others. The older children helped the younger children create a sock monkey, rag doll, or paint wooden toys that their father cut.

One week was spent creating new Christmas tree ornaments, stringing popcorn, cut and paste Christmas scenes for refrigerator exhibits.

How else would the matriarch prepare and freeze breads, pies, and other holiday treats? This was truly a family to emulate, living within a frugal budget, and learning important and valuable lessons that would carry all of this wonderful family to great success.

Having come from a small family, my inclusion in their family venture holds an indelible memory.

What I learned from this family venture is that collectively a family can learn that thoughtfulness of each other is pivotal in life.

In a frenzied commercial world, Christmas has lost an element or two. Be it a family of two or three, these same principles can be applied to bring value to the spirit of the holidays! The added value is that Mom is given a couple hours of respite!