Happy Halloween

By Ronnie

The word, "Halloween", actually has it's origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from the term of, All Hallows Eve, which is November 1st, ("All Saints Day"), a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints.

It is believed that on that day, the spirits of those who had died throughout the year would come back in search of living bodies to possess, being their only hope for the afterlife. So on the night of October 31st, villagers would dress-up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and loudly parade throughout the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible, in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess. They went from door to door collecting food for the dead very successfully, as everyone knew if they refused to give, it was a sacrilege. If treats were not given, terrible tricks were done.


I have so many fond Halloween memories of all the fun, costumes, activities, and of course, the goodies. Those were the days when we got popcorn balls from the lady on the corner, caramel apples from the lady two doors down, and then there was the lady that always gave out a nickel. My brother and I always tried to make two trips to her door, but she kept remembering us. When we got home after all the trick or treating, my mother always had a big pitcher of hot apple cider waiting for us to drink while we dumped our goodies on the table and made piles of the things we liked best. Then the trading would begin. Every year, my daddy would tell us how awful chocolate was for us and he'd volunteer to eat it so we wouldn't get sick. He was so funny with that serious look on his face.

And this, My Dear Owl Friends, is one of my favorite, but shortened, trips down Memory Lane, and I would love to hear some of your stories.

BOO,
Ronnie

Who is that Lady?

by Ronnie

It has finally happened.....my Mother lives in my mirror.

I was in my doctor's office the other day and asked him about these little brown dots on my hands, and he said these things should be expected , as WE grow older. Seems that they are called 'liver spots'. WTH? On closer inspection, these are not my hands at all, but those of my Mother. What kind of 'Quack' is this, my liver is not in my hands!

So I return home and run to my mirror, this would be the high-powered magnifying one in my bathroom. Lo and behold, here is my Mother's face staring back at me. Now don't get me wrong, I loved my Mother so very much, but I really don't think she needs to be hanging out in my mirror. I see she has a puppet friend with her named, Howdy Doody, who has two little lines from the side of his lips heading toward his chin. What's going on here, and when did all this happen?

Upon further examination, just where did this 'wild hair' on my chin come from, it wasn't there yesterday? I guess Grizzly Adams will be showing up next. It's probably time to attach a tweezers to a chain and hook it through a belt loop for these kind of emergency's, while I'm out and about.

To put it all in a nutshell, there's a party of old people going on in my mirror, and the YOUNG Ms. Ronnie was not invited. I pluck, I wax, I moisturize, I mud-pack, I dye, and look again. I'm still not there. Maybe a little make-up will help, but am I supposed to put it on my hands too? By the way, I won't even discuss little pot-belly's, trying on bathing suits, or the beginnings of a double chin... Mmmmmk?

I've always taken good care of my body, but I realize, this is just a preview of the lovely things yet to come. Actually, not too bad, considering the alternative, for I have laughed, and played in the glorious sunshine for many years, with no regrets. All and all, I have had the richest of treasures by earning these graying hairs and wrinkles, and smiling all the way to my grave someday.


I now know why my Mother called her make-up bag, her 'Bag Of Tricks".

What's going on in YOUR mirror, and how do you contend with it?

Wishing my friends the happiest of days, as I begin removing mirrors around my home.

Food Disaster's

IT'S ALL IN THE PRESENTATION

by ronniegirl

Years ago when I was a young bride, my hubby and I wanted to have our families over for our first dinner all together since the wedding. Knowing everyone liked ham and sweet potatoes, (we're from the south), I decided to "fancy" it up a bit. This was BFN (before Food Network), but I did know presentation was important. I took three large cans of sweet potatoes, mashed them into a lovely orange icing and 'iced' the ham before baking.

We were fortunate enough to have a hand-me-down table, which I set using our wedding gifts. Next I prepared the pink boxed cake mix and pink canned frosting. I then iced my hot cake and watched it melt onto the cake stand. That was okay, it was pink and matched the candles and flowers. I didn't have dressing for the salad, so I squeezed lemon juice on top.

After our guest's arrived, I announced dinner was served.

As I entered bringing in the ham, my brother started laughing, Dad cleared his throat and told him to stop, all the while controlling his own huge grin. My mother just kept looking down at her lap. Hubby "carves", or butchers, the ham and serves, as I pass the lettuce and tomato salad. We toasted our Mogan David and Dad asked if I selected the wine, as everyone made pleasant conversation.

Dinner over, it was time for dessert.

Hey.....it was PINK, and my dripping cake matched my table. As I came through the kitchen door, my brother, who hadn't said a word during dinner,
gave out a loud bwahahaha, after which he said, "I think y'all better stick to living off of love".
He was excused from the table by my father.

After hugs and good-byes, we closed our front door, but I could hear my brother's bwahahaha and my dad's loud voice coming from our sidewalk. I looked at Hubby, he smiled and said he was proud of me, and that's all that really mattered.

This a true story, and I'd bet my brother's life on it.

Have you ever had a cooking disaster, attended someone's home and they served you theirs, or something you didn't like and maybe put it in their flower pot? I feel some good stories coming on.....bwahahaha...(that's from my brother, he's so good at it)

Ronnie

Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place!

a first for ronnniegirl
here is her daily blog!

Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place

by ronniegirl


Watching a program tonight that took the place of Boston Legal, my memory was jogged about a situation my husband and I were thrust into years ago.

We, and our best friends Dorothy and Joe, had boat stalls next to each other at a marina in Galveston. One morning my husband and I decided to do a little work on it, and as we approached our stall, we noticed Dorothy and Joe's boat was not there.

We worked a few hours and lo and behold, here they came in. As they were backing into their stall, I noticed that, THAT WASN'T DOROTHY SITTING NEXT TO JOE. It was some young blond, giggling Bimbo I'd never seen before. Joe tied off as we said hello, gave the Bimbo his keys and told her to wait for him in the car, never acknowledging her presence to us. I then watched my best friend's husband walk down the pier to his car, and waiting Bimbo.

Needless to say, I was FURIOUS. We talked about it on the way home and I was asked not to say anything to Dorothy, because he wanted to talk to Joe first.

Well, Joe went home and told on himself. He knew me well enough to know what just might happen. I'm glad I never had to choose to tell, or not to tell, because it could have backfired and cost a friendship. Oh yeah....the boat was sold, they divorced three years later, and we haven't seen Joe in years.

Have you ever been put in an uncomfortable position, or wished someone would have told you something?