Baby Ruth Called

The other evening, I had just stepped outside to check on Pete.  He had been burning some cedar branches he had trimmed off our large tree by the porch.  While I was out, I got a call.

When I came back in, Bug told me I had a call.  Said she didn't want to get up and lose her place in her book to answer it.  I go over and listen to the voice mail.  I hear a funny little racket and then I hear:  "Mawmaw.  I call mawmaw.  I call mawmaw.  I call mawmaw...."  Over and over she said it until the message cut her off.  

So, I dialed the number.  Candy Girl answered.  I told her I had gotten a call from her cell phone.  She said she hadn't called.  I told her it was Baby Ruth.  

Candy Girl put Baby Ruth on the phone.  I said "Hi, did you call Mawmaw?"  And we talked.  I understood enough to know she was baking cookies with mommy for her daddy.  

Baby Ruth turned two this month.  She talks so big for such a little girl.  Here she is all decked out for Easter before Sunday morning service.

Z is for Zeta, as in Greek Sororities

How's that for a reach to get where you want to go? I attended Stephen F. Austin State University in beautiful, historic Nacogdoches, TX from the fall of 1979 until summer of 1981. I was about three hours short of being a “Junior” when I decided to leave college and go to work if I found a good job. I did and I left.

But while I was at SFA, the first year, during Greek Week, I decided to pledge Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority, Gamma Theta Chapter. Admittedly, I was not the type of person who was into things “Greek” in general. I found much of the Greek culture to be snobbish and against the individuality I cherished. So, I was surprised and impressed when I stumbled upon a sorority who's primary purpose was to unite individuals in sisterhood for service. This appealed to me.

Pledging was silly, fun and hard work. In many ways we were like other Greeks. We had a Big Sisters and Little Sisters, a Brother Fraternity we'd team up with on projects and for socializing. My chosen activity was our adopted grandmother, Mrs. June Summers. Visiting her. Taking her to plays. Taking her to bingo at the Masons Hall. I'm not sure who benefited the most from that relationship, what with me being grandparent-less long before that time.

As a group we had many varied activities. The hardest one was cleaning the stadium after football games. Whew! Who knew how messy folks could be in the stands!

Our group was hit by tragedy while I was there. One of our most beloved sisters, Penny, died in a car accident. It was a hard time. But we bonded together and made the trip to Houston for her funeral.

I stayed semi in touch after I left college. Then those I knew graduated and moved on. Received the newsletter for many years. Always planned to go back and visit during pledge week so the pledges could get me to sign their pledge books and earn points. But I never did. Always seemed like life had me busy or bound to home.

Perhaps one year soon me and Bug will make the trip. Give her the chance to see SFA and allow me to encourage some up and coming Gamma Thetas.

“Gather sisters round and sing.

To these bond we'll ever cling.

For we know we'll always pass the test,

of being the best of all the rest.

We're G-a-m, Gam, m-a, Gamma,

S-i-g, Sig, ma, Sigma

G-a-m, Gam, m-a, Gamma Sigma!”

Were you ever Greek?

Yarn

Yarn can be a tall tale, a story. Daddy was an awesome storyteller. That's where I got my storytelling ability. Daddy always told his verbally. I almost always write mine. If you are visiting my blog for the first time, I urge you to read at least one of my “storytelling” entries. They are so much better than these entries about me. Any of those under “Remembering Family” in my sidebar. Or most anything from the previous two years A-Z Challenges. Or for a funny one, try: Yes, That's My Purse.

Yarn is also fibers you can knit or crochet with. I have never tried knitting. I can crochet a granny square. That's it. That's all. Mama taught me to crochet, to embroidery, to sew. And when I was younger I did it all. What I did do, I did very well. But to me it felt like work, not pleasure. So, I haven't done any of that since Bug was maybe three years old. Now she's about to be fifteen this summer. Maybe when I'm “old” and retired I'll do that stuff. Who knows.

What are your view on Yarn? Either kind.  

XOXO

X's and O's. Or hugs and kisses. In general, I love hugs and kisses! I grew up in an affectionate family. But I have my boundaries.

Kisses (X) are reserved for family. Kisses are on the cheek, unless it's Pete.

On a small child, back of the neck kisses are wonderful!

Hugs (O) I'll share with almost anyone. I usually hug all of Bubba and Bugs friends. At church, I like to hug many of the people I talk to there or greet. (Our church is big on hugs!) To me, it helps us all feel like family...which we are in the Lord.

Where do you draw your boundaries on hugs (O) and kisses (X)? 

Western

My daddy always wore a Stetson.  In the summer it was straw and breathable.  In the winter it was a grey felt one.  The prior years hat would be for work.  The newer one for dress.  He was not a cowboy.  He never wore jeans that I ever saw.  But he was a man and he lived here in Texas.  It was an acceptable and the preferred style for many of his age.


I grew up watching "shoot 'em ups" with Daddy.  Every western ever broadcast over one of the networks.  In fact, my first true love was a rodeo cowboy named Stoney Burk, who Jack Lord played before his role in the original Hawaii 5-0.

My middle sister, Sarah, married into a family that had long run cattle on the south side of town, in the woods and underbrush.  Funny, then I marry into the family that had run cattle in the woods and underbrush north of town.  

In my younger to mid growing up years, both of my sisters and their husbands were involved in a group of trailriders.  I remember Sarah taking me on one with them.  With Edna, we went to the local rodeo arena.  Everything there from bull riding, to barrel racing.  The best hamburgers!  

For many years, the group of riders on horseback was always the largest group in any parade, second only maybe to the high school marching band.  Pete and Hank and then Pete and his Emmy rode in many.

Now the group that is into all of that is seems to be shrinking.  The old hands and cowboys are dieing off.  

In our house now, we still watch anything Western that comes on TV.  In fact, Pete is watching Rawhide right now.

Do you like westerns?  

Values

Suppose you could say I have simple, old-fashioned, Christian values for the most part.  Here's some of what I believe, live and hold to:

God is real and alive.  

There is only one True God and not everyone is talking about him when they talk about God. 

Marriage = One man + One Woman + God

Homosexuality is a sin, more matter how you slice it.  But so is lying, stealing, adultery, murder, etc. 

The husband should do whatever he can to support and care for his family.  And the wife should support him in that.

The wife should care for the home and children.  And the husband should support her in that.

We owe all who serve our country in the military our gratitude, respect and thanks.

You should do anything you can that is legal and not against God to support your family before asking for or accepting a handout from family or the government.

If you give you word on something, whether in business, to a child, or what, you should do everything you can to stick to that word.

You should pick up after yourself no matter where you are.

Children should never be first.  God should be first, then your spouse, then the children.

Sunday should be a day for God, rest and fellowship.

It's rude to be on a phone or a device in the presence of a real person unless absolutely necessary.

Cheating = Stealing

If you say it, mean it.  If not, keep your mouth shut.

I could go on and on and on. But I think you get the idea.

What are your values?

Umbrellas

I admit I have a longstanding love/hate relationship with umbrellas.  

Here is why I love them:  when it there is rain falling straight down and you are in wide open spaces they keep you dry.

Here is why I hate them:

No matter how many you own, one will never be handy where and when you need it.

When the wind blows it is hard to hold them steady over you with one hand.

When the rain comes in at a slant, 2/3rds of your body is getting wet anyway.

Getting into or out of a vehicle with an umbrella is hard.

If you have other things to carry, it's almost impossible to juggle an umbrella too.

If you need to navigate a small passage way (like the chain link gate at work with the three rows of barbed wire on top) the umbrella will never fit.

Small, large, expensive or cheap they all end up with a little broken rib at some point.

So I have abandoned umbrellas.  In the winter I have a wonderful, ugly yellow ski jacket that turns water and keeps everything from the knee up dry.  In summer I just get wet:  who cares!  With the humidity in Texas, I already look a fright anyway.  

With all the advancements mankind has made in the past hundred years, you'd think someone would have come up with something better than an umbrella.  Like a little personal force field app you could activate from you cell phone?   Come on geek squad, get to it!