Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday, this is a meme I haven't participated in a while, but I can truly relate to this one.

If you would like to join in grab the questions from Linda and link back to her.  Have fun.

Do you have any memories of gardens from your growing-up years? Did your parents have a flower garden? Was landscaping important to them? Did they take care of the yard themselves or have someone else do it? What about a vegetable garden? Did your family have one and was it big or small? Any fruit trees? Did your mom (or anyone) "put up" (as we say in the South) or can the bounty from a garden? What involvement did you and any siblings have in planting? Was growing things encouraged, discouraged, or treated with ambivalence? What is your attitude, ability and involvement in gardening today?

During my growing up years, my Dad always planted a garden on Good Friday.  I'm not sure if it was required of us to help, but most of the time I did.    He would show me how to drop the seeds and then he would walk behind me and cover them while I dropped them.   I can remember digging potatoes, picking green beans, and corn.  There were other vegetables in the garden but Mama always cut the okra and picked the cucumbers.  The potatoes were always the first few rows then the peas and beans.  Corn would always be the last few rows.    I shelled many a bean, and peas, and shucked corn.  My maternal grandmother would come sometimes and stay and help get everything put in the freezer.  Then when we would go to her house  on some Saturdays, there would always be beans, or peas to shell.  I don't remember my Mom ever putting them in jars.  It was always bags, or plastic freezer containers.  They would sit on the kitchen counter until they were cool enough to put in the freezer.

But the one thing I regret now is never hanging around to see how they put them up.   A couple of years ago when Scott decided to plant a garden he was surprised that I didn't know how to put anything up to go in the freezer.  I had to call my Mom and learn about blanching vegetables.

There was a pear tree way off to the right of the garden.  It was always loaded down with pears.  My Mama would make pear cobblers, or pear tarts from them.  But my favorite was just to eat them like an apple.  You don't find pears like that anymore.

My Dad, or brothers always cut the grass themselves.  I don't remember anyone ever doing it for us.  I'm sure as I got older I cut my share.  There was a row of azaleas beside the driveway separating it from the where the garden was.  I can remember my Mama out there pulling up weeds around them.  Then we had some kind of purple flowers along the back of the house.  I don't remember the name of them, but I remember cutting them down when we cut the grass and they would come right back.  Finally years later, Mama offered them to a neighbor and they got out there and dug them up.

As we got older and I guess Mama had more time to be outside she started a rose garden.  I wish I had pictures on here because she could grow them so pretty.  Maybe that's where I get my love for roses from, and that's one thing I can grow.  I love roses, but I want colors you don't see ofter, not reds, and pinks.  I have never been able to take flower seeds and plant them and they grow.  I have always had to buy the plants and they would last and do well.

It's strange how memories come back from so many years ago.  I never realized then the importance of growing a garden, but we had vegetables that lasted until the next year by doing so.

Flashback Friday

It's been several weeks since I joined in on Flashback Friday but this week was one I could really relate to. 



Tell about TV when you were growing up.  Did your family have a TV?   Was it color or black&white?    How many TVs did your family have?   Did you have one in your room?   Did your family leave the TV on most of the day or turn it on for specific programs?  Was the TV on or off when you ate meals as a family?  Were there rules about watching TV?   What were your favorite shows?   Are there any particular memories you have of TV in your younger years?



The first TV I can remember was in the living room of our house and was a console black and white.  It was there as far back as I can remember so I'm not sure what year we may have gotten our first one.  That was the only tv in the house for several years.   Until I got one in my bedroom when I was 15 I think.  The best I can remember.  By then there was only my brother and I at home and I can't remember if he had one in his room or not.
I'm not sure if my Mom watched it during the day while we were all at school during the week.  On the weekends and during the summer we were outside most of the day.  I do remember waking up on Saturdays and watching cartoons until we saw other kids outside.  You know that was back in the days that you played outside until  the street lights came on.   I also remember watching Romper Room, Captain Kangaroo, and Mr. Rogers, but I think they were on during the week in the mornings.
Not really rules but Dad controlled the TV if he was home.  He worked shift work, so one week every month he was at work in the evenings.   When he was home I can remember watching Red Skelton, Hee Haw, Petticoat Junction, and always the news.  The local weather had Captain Sandy, he would stick his hand in a clam shell and pull out a card with the weather on it.  My how technology has changed since then.  Later on was The Waltons, Allin the Family, The Jeffersons, and Bewitched.  I'm sure there's many more.
Once I had a TV in my bedroom, must see couldn't miss was One Day at a Time.
 

 The Cosby Show, and Happy days were also some of my favorites.

Flashback Fridays............Birthdays Memories

Have you not heard about flashback friday?  Each Thursday Linda posts what this week's flashback will be.  Then on Fridays we post our answers.  It's a great way to think back to younger days and remember things that we may have forgotten over the years.

What were birthdays like when you were growing up? Were they a big deal or understated? Did you have parties? Get to choose what or where the family ate for dinner? Are there any particular birthday traditions that you remember? Is there any birthday that stands out (good OR bad!), either due to the events surrounding it or due to the particular present(s) you received?

Of course I don't remember my first birthday but I've seen pictures.  So I know I had the traditional cake that I stuck my hands in.  I shared my birthday with my oldest brother.   I was born the same day as he on his 11th birthday.   So you would think that if there was something special about them I would remember since it was both of our birthdays.  
My 29th birthday my oldest brother actually called me and told me happy birthday.  Don't know why that one year maybe it was because it was his "40th".  He will be 60 this year so I guess I need to make sure he knows that he's getting old.  lol
Don't really remember birthdays being a big deal growing up.  I'm sure we probably had cake and ice cream.  I was number five of six children.  We all had the offer of having a party on our 16th birthday.  I can remember my oldest brother and my one sister's 16th birthday.  I guess because of the pictures that were taken keeps the memories alive.
My 16th birthday I do remember having a few friends over and had cake and ice cream.  But as far as any special gifts I don't remember any.  I received my hope chest one year but I'm not sure if it was birthday or Christmas. 

Now that I'm older I say I'm too old to make a big deal of my birthdays. 
But I do try and make my kids birthdays special.  But I won't go into any details in case thats for another flashback friday.

Flashback Friday

Welcome to the debut week of Flashback Friday! This new meme's purpose is to have us take a look back and share about a specific time or event in our lives. It will be fun to see how similar - or different - our experiences have been!




Here's how it will work: Each Thursday Linda  will post a prompt which will give you the subject for that week's flashback. Post your flashback on Friday, and come back here to link up!  Linda will post her own flashback on Fridays as well.



There will be generic situations and experiences common to most people. Hopefully they will resonate with you. Even if it's not a particularly fond memory, I hope you will still participate. You can post about your memory however it suits you - using just words, adding pictures, posting a movie or song clip, etc. The only two requirements are (1) it must be relevant to that week's theme, and (2) it must be family-friendly.



So here we go for this week:



How and when did you learn to drive? Do you have any particular memories associated with getting your driver license? How old were you when you got your first car and what was it? Who paid for it?

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of my first car.  But my Dad taught me how to drive when I was fifteen.  I remember when going for my drivers license I couldn't ever get the parallel parking down enough to pass.  After the third try my Dad took me to the next county where all I had to do is drive around  the block.  Because seriously how often does a person have to parallel park.  Yes, downtown Savannah the area that I lived until two years ago still has it but I very rarely went down there.  Now that we live in the country I don't think there is anywhere that still has parallel parking.
I was 18 when I bought my first car.  I graduated from high school and went to work saving my money for a car.  I saved up enough for a down payment and my Dad took me to look for a car.  I wanted a Mustang so badly, but my Dad was a Chevy person. He said we weren't buying a Ford.  LOL  And we didn't.  We went to the Chevrolet dealership and bought a 1980 Chevrolet Monza.  I don't think they even make them anymore.  But it looked the closest I could find to a Mustang.   My Dad had it financed through the credit union where he worked and I paid him every week.
I can also remember a rebellious stage that I went through and I didn't have a job.  He took my keys from me except for during the day so I could find another job.  He told me he would keep the keys until I could continue making my payments every week as we had agreed.  Most kids now has a car given to them and most don't appreciate them.  But I worked for mine and I took care of it.  I knew what it was to have to work to have it.