Summertime Memories in Parma, Ohio

 

This time of year I do like to think back on my childhood summers…who doesn’t remember some of these things?

Mr. Softee….

Everyone swore I was psychic or had incredible hearing, I could hear his truck music blocks away.  The night my folks were finally going to let me get a banana split, he got in front of my house and his compressor caught fire!   My Dad put it out with our hose…

I was crushed…lol  but he was back in a day or two….

Going to  movies …

I cannot believe I found this photo…..sadly it is shut down now…

It was a great time for BBQ’s in the back yard…

 

we would go to a spot and buy fresh corn, and my Dad would soak it in a tube of water and then grill it with the husks on….

We had a tine round charcoal grill back then….something similar to this…

Playing kickball in the street even after the streetlights came on…biking up to the community swimming pool, going to the “mall”  Parmatown….It was only stores connected with a covered walkway…they had the best Woolworths!

Playing Jarts with our folks in the backyard when we got old enough not to do bodily harm…lol

Playing with our Barbie Dolls out in the front yard…this was the one I had, we went to the toy store up at Parmatown and they were all out of the blonde ponytail one, but  I loved my Bubble Cut girl, This is the case I had also…dressing them all different way, and the clothes were so cute!

 

the little hangers…

And the shoes, oh those shoes….I was always losing at least one…lol

 

And the goodies and treats???

Remember when marshmallows came in boxes????

and of course the candy store…

and a special treat was to go to McDonalds….

Once in a great while we even got to go to a family restaurant….

It is still there, after all these years….

I grew up in a very special neighborhood, there was every ethnicity, every income, every kind of job.  The ladies got together once a week for coffee and talk, they called it the “Topps Club”, but it had nothing to do with losing weight. :)  They would each get a “Secret Pal” for the year and buy them little goodies for each holiday, birthdays and such, then at the end of the year they would find out who their “pal” was. it was a lot of fun…every summer half the block ( we didn’t know the other half at all, not sure what that was about) would have a huge summer picnic with games and prizes for the kiddos and all the food you could eat!   Remember what watermelon tasted like back then???  Sweet as candy…..

 

Then the kids would all go to bed, safely, alone in their houses with the doors and windows unlocked and the parents would sit in one of the garages in the backyards ( with no fences either) and enjoy the beer kegerator in the old fridge… it was a good place to grown up, safe and sound and happy…

I was very fortunate to have a happy childhood….what are your favorite memories of summer growing up?

 

The Weekend is here!

 

I am looking forward to tomorrow, I am going to Meri’s  “Paper Doll Card Class”….I know it will be fun!

 

I thought I would share a few items I have gotten in the  last few  months or so through the mail…the tray was a goodie I found while out junkin’ with Meri awhile back…

 

It is a good size, not full but not tiny and really heavy metal…

My friend Lin came over yesterday and brought me these all the way from Georgia!  Too cute! 

I showed this book to Lin and she remembered it from her childhood….did I finally find it Meri?  The one your Mom cut up????

Getting ready for the 4th of July….Wayne is coming home for a whole week!  :):):)

I bought this little guy to go in my vintage birdcage out on my patio…from where you will see him he will look real…I just love Budgies!

I also bought this set of reproduced paper dolls from the 40’s or 50’s….they are wonderful!

A woman sells them on Ebay, you just put in the name of the set and her repros pop up, she has I think all of the Vintage Merrill paper doll sets….

And of course another batch of little vintage Christmas light reflectors….a whole bag for 12.00!

 

What are your plans for the weekend???? This looks pretty, right????

 

well this is what it feels like outside….

lol…enjoy your gardens ladies in the rest of the country! :):)

Early mornings with Maya, out getting her Vitamin D…

There is a shadow on her, she isn’t really that fat! lol but she loves her sun…:)

 

Last Week….

 

Two of my dearest friends lost their only daughters….

First….

Molly Jo Pearce, 24, of Longmont passed away June 4, 2013 at Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE. She was born November 17, 1988 in Mesa, AZ to Robert and Melisa Beth (Rice) Pearce. The first of thirty seven surgeries started when she was thirty six hours old, born with an extremely rare and difficult disease. Molly attended Friends School in Boulder, Dawson Academy, Front Range Community College and Santa Monica College in California. Molly married Corey Eaker on June 1, 2013. She moved to Longmont in 1997 from Arizona. She was a student and Vet Tech at VCA in Brentwood, California. Molly had two transplants as a teenager at Nebraska Medical Center that she rejected in 2012; she was waiting for four organs and spent two hundred and twenty eight days in Nebraska Medical Center until her death. Molly was a member of the Unity Church; she had a true love of dogs, horses and the importance of health. She was member of Donate Life.Net. Molly is survived by her husband Corey, her father Robert Pearce, her mother Melisa Pearce and husband Dane Cheek, brothers Cody Waite and wife Kathy and Kevin Cheek. Memorial service will be 2 PM Saturday June 8, 2013 at First Evangelical Lutheran Church 803 3rd Ave Longmont, CO 80501. Cremation was in Nebraska. Contributions can be made to Donate Life.Net.

My son Chris and Molly at a birthday party for Chris when he was little…

Molly and Corey in better times, he took her to Paris….

 

They were married on Saturday and she died early Tuesday morning.....yes, she was that yellow, her liver was dying. PLEASE if you do not have the box checked on your drivers license for organ donation, understand now why it is so important!

 

Then……

Another sweet daughter has passed away with no warning this week....this is my dearest friend Sandy Magness's beautiful daughter Lindsay. When we lived in Carson City in the early 80's....Lindsay and my son Bryan were buddies, basically grew up together for those few precious years we lived there. Lindsay went in for surgery this last week, was sent home the same day. She went to take a nap and never woke up.....my heart is so broken I can hardly breathe.. she was 33 years old. We will never ever forget you Lindsay Lou! — with Lindsay Magness.

When I knew her....

 

Right before she died….

 

She had a OUTPATIENT ( thank you insurance company) gallbladder surgery went home the same day, Lindsay  took a nap and never woke up.  Lindsay had MS, don’t you think that would make her a high enough risk patient for an overnight stay?  My Bryan and her were buddies. I know that her Mom just wants to die....her Dad is so devastated he can't think straight....they have an older son that is having twins in 2-3 months…  twin boys....his folks will never be the grandparents they would have been  a week ago....

As right as it was for Molly to leave this earth it was wrong for Lindsay to…..I am struggling with this but trying to find a way to peace, as I know there are long, sad, lonely days ahead for both sets of parents, and I want to be there for them in any way I can.

 

I am really ready for a better week.

 

She is still with me……

 

Sorry I have been so lax in posting, between taking care of my pup and re-organizing every nook and cranny in my house, I have been busy and exhausted!

I want to thank all of you for the sweet emails asking about Maya….

As you can see there is a small scar….the vet told me that all that is holding that knee together is scar tissue, but it seemed to be really well formed, thanks to the hard work we had done over the last two months, keeping her down and relaxed.  So basically we went through all of this for nothing but a huge vet bill!

She can walk with all four legs but it is a jerky short stride and she lays down….a lot.  I still have Tramadol for her, she gets one a day, but she is off the vet-profen , just way too strong of a drug for her liver.

I have such mixed feeling about this….the vet stated he had never had a dog do this, well now he has and I still think the end of the sutures looked frayed, like they rubbed on a piece of rough bone.  He did have to drill into her bone as part of the procedure.  No proof, but this dog has gone through so much, and this is how she ended up.  When I looked on the internet about this surgery, it is common in dogs and usually very successful…..not for us.

So we enjoy each and every day we get, so far so good….she is a happy girl! And because she is happy, so am I. 

Thank you for the positive thought and prayers, I still have my Maya, so they worked!