The Other "Family"

 Kitty thinks we are nuts. However, Brie and I have another family.

Many, many years ago, to amuse Brie, I would make up stories featuring her teddy bear Cocoa. This bear is now 39 years old, so he's been around since she was a baby. Anyhoo, Cocoa was her best friend and I would make him "come to life", and he would talk to her and keep her entertained.

As time marched on, we acquired more magical stuffed animals that would also come to life, and they became part of our extended family. Cocoa's best friend was Sherwood, a smart, fancy little bear in a newsboy hat, a plaid vest and spectacles. He had a deep voice for a little bear, and always bragged about his good grades in school.

As the family grew bigger, we got very creative with voices. And names. And histories. Let's see if I can name the key players and give you a bit of background: Cocoa was the first, followed by Sherwood. Then, in no particular order (because I can't remember!) we have Sherwood's cousin Rosie; Foo Bunny and Heather Bunny (twins) and their mother Mrs. Foo; Peter who is the rich bunny who lives next door (and has a chauffeured limousine and an in-ground pool) but for some reason lives with us; Bobo the gorilla, his sister Africa and parents Mr. and Mrs. Bobo; Iggy the Iguana, his father Mr. Iggy who is a 5-foot crocodile (and starred in the movie Lake Placid, among others) and his mother Mrs. Iggy (who is a rabbit); Timmy who is a bear that looks like a clown but isn't scary, his father Mr. Timmy who is a stay at home dad who babysits all of the "kids" when they're not in school, and Mrs. Timmy who likes to sing and drink a little and is a big shot at the hospital; Tommy who is a Tasmanian Devil, and his parents (who we "hear" but don't see). Yes: this took a lot of imagination!

We have moved a few times and the families move with us: I put them into a "deep sleep" so they don't realize they are in a hefty bag and maybe in the basement until I can find a place for them all! We once lived in a very spacious and lovely townhouse; and my master bedroom was so big I had room to line them all up around the room against the walls. I loved seeing them all together! That room also had a walk-in closet, room for a desk, a queen-sized bed and 2 recliners! Boy do I miss that place! But I digress...

Mr. Iggy was my greatest acquisition. We had been talking about him, and his story was he was a movie star in a lot of movies so he didn't get home much. In reality (seriously?) I couldn't find him. I was scheduled to go away on a business trip and was at Price Chopper to buy food for the house until I returned. As I was going down an aisle I happened to notice a huge box with big stuffed animals in it. I took a cursory look and then practically dove into the box. There was a big stuffed crocodile! I put him in my cart and headed to the checkout line.

Now if you know anything about me, you know I couldn't just take him home and trot him upstairs. Oh no: I had to be creative with it. So I got home and rang the doorbell. Brie came to the landing. "Why are you ringing the bell? Do you need help with the groceries?" I answered, "No, but I didn't feel comfortable leaving you and your sister home alone while I travel. So I wanted to introduce you to your babysitter." "Mom! We're too old for a babysitter and will be fine!" I was stubborn. "I insist. Hold on." Barely able to contain myself, I grabbed the stuffed animal, ran back to the stairwell and screamed, "IT'S MR. IGGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She and I were both jumping up and down and then she ran down the stairs to grab him and hug  him. "He'll be the best babysitter ever! And Iggy and Mrs. Iggy will be so glad to see him!"

Yes: we said this as if it was actual reality. That's how caught up in our stories we were. But Mr. Iggy's family was glad to see him after he was shooting on location for so long, ha ha! 

Brie keeps telling me that I need to write a children's book series featuring the stuffed animals. One day I just might do that! I have at least 25 years of stories, so that could be royalty checks forever! Stay tuned...😊

This isn't the original Mr. Iggy. Luna used that one as a scratching post until he was in tatters. This is the replacement Mr. Iggy. I actually bought 2 of them: just in case! One is in my bedroom and the other one is in the backseat of my car. As hard as he was to find: I had to have a spare!

  

Becoming a Lady

 You would think that this is something that would come naturally over time. However, when I was a freshman in high school, I got recruited into a girls' club. Here's how that went:

Tammy, one of my best friends, approached me in Science class one day. "Hey, would you like to join this really cool club that I belong to?" "Sure!" I responded. "What is it?" "It's the Shangri-La Theta Rho Girls Club and you'll love it! You can go to the meeting with me tomorrow night." "Sounds good!"

So the following evening my father dropped me off and I met Tammy at the location. There were two female leaders who were thrilled to have a new member. I didn't know what was going on, but afterwards I discovered that they had sodas in the fridge for a $.05 donation. Sold!

Anyhoo, I came to discover that Tammy hated the club and figured if she brought in another member, she could get out. And she did! What she didn't know was I loved the club! It was the young lady version of a Jewish Organization called the Rebekahs, and they were an offshoot of the men's Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It taught us leadership, how to comport ourselves as ladies, how government works, and had conventions and banquets where you got to wear ball gowns! Oh yes: this was right up my alley, although I wasn't Jewish. But they loved me because I was so into everything they did. The Theta Rho motto is "Happiness Through Service". The colors of the Theta Rho Girls’ Club were Yale blue and light peach. Blue is symbolic of the bluebird and represents happiness. Light peach represents thoughtfulness and taught us to render service to others. A happy day for me was when I received my bluebird pin! (yes I'm a nerd)

It turned out that our particular club was known for it's...for want of a better word...routines that we would perform. Picture a marching band without instruments: that was us! Mrs. Beryl Hungerford and Mrs. Gregory were great at coming up with these routines. And they had a clicker that would let us know when to do the next set of steps so they didn't have to say a word. It was awesome and we were known throughout the state!

The club taught young ladies things like serving in the community, respect for yourself and others, how ladies neither chewed gum nor crossed their legs: you crossed your ankles and turned your legs to the side. These things were really easy when you were wearing a ball gown and feeling like Miss America!

My parents wouldn't let me go to sleepovers at my friends' houses, but they let me go out of town to these conventions for the weekend without a qualm. I could also go to the Theta Rho sleepovers at girls' houses. And if my parents knew what went on: they would have had serious second thoughts! One time a girl snuck in a Playgirl; and that was a bit of education I was definitely not ready for! Mrs. H caught us looking at it and she reprimanded the girls for exposing me to such a thing. She took that contraband, but I always wondered if she and Mrs. G looked at it!  I was the youngest member since Tammy defected, but I didn't care. And I stayed with this club until I graduated high school. I was even nominated and elected to a State Office during my tenure! Whoo hoo!

I also recruited my cousins Denise and Ivy into the club. They were as excited as I was about the weekend getaways. The rest of it: not so much but they were troopers and we really liked doing things together. And one year Denise was nominated to be the Queen. Our club had never had that before. And since we were the only chocolate chips in the cookie: the organization had never had a girl of color as the Queen. So we were doubly excited and knew Denise was a shoo-in.

The last night of the convention Denise looked great in her ice-blue gown and white sandals. Mrs. Hungerford and Mrs. Gregory fussed over her and made sure she looked perfect. Then they were aghast when they realized she was chewing gum! "Spit that out!" Mrs. H said, handing her a Kleenex. "Proper young ladies do not chew gum, at least not in public." Denise obeyed.  Then they began calling up the candidates, and Denise walked like a Nubian queen to the dais with the other contestants and sat down. 

We were all so excited! The crown was in the bag! She stood up to answer her questions, and then sat down. We were all clutching hands and planning the celebration. And then the unthinkable happened: the last time she sat down, she crossed her legs! "Noooo!!!!" was our collective wail. Mrs. H. was pantomiming for her to uncross her legs but alas: it was too late. The judges saw the crossed legs and as you can imagine: Denise did not win.  In her defense she always crossed her legs and old habits are hard to break: no matter how much lady training  you have.

I have no idea if those clubs still exist. It seems like such an old-fashioned premise in this day and age. I don't know if Denise and Ivy ever think about it like I do. But back then I thought it was wonderful, fun and served its purpose. R.I.P. Mrs H and Mrs. G: you did a good thing for us girls.

Mama Judi

 A lifetime ago, when Brie lived on the West Coast, she met an older woman at work named Judi. They got to be good friends and Judi was like a 2nd mother to her, hence the name Mama Judi. From everything Brie said about her, I figured that she must have been a good person and I trusted her to keep an eye on my daughter.

After five years on the left coast, Brie moved back home. But she still kept in touch with Mama Judi, as they were friends. Brie had planned to go back to Washington to visit one day, but hasn't made it back yet. I'm not mad at that!

When Facebook came out, Brie and Mama Judi were able to reconnect on that platform. I took a look at Judi's pictures and she looked like she had a pleasant countenance. After awhile I friend requested her and she accepted. And she was just as nice as Brie had said she was. And when she started reading my blog on Facebook: well that made me think even higher of her 😉 She became one of my biggest fans!

Brie was constantly telling Judi that when she got married, she wanted her to fly out for her wedding. Judi was terrified to fly. She eventually moved to Missouri from Washington state, but she did not fly!  I was hoping someday she would get over her fear of flying so she could visit. 

Sadly, Mama Judi will not be able to attend Brie's wedding when she gets married. She passed away earlier this week. It came as a shock, especially since Brie has lost so many people in the past year. One friend died just last Wednesday 😢 It has been tough, but Brie is tougher. I just regret not meeting the woman who took such good care of my daughter all those years ago.

In her honor, this is what I put on her FB for her daughter to see:

"Judi, you were a 2nd mom to my daughter when she was in Washington. Thanks for watching out for her until she moved back home. I'm so glad you remained friends and that we got to  know each other. You will be missed by many and were loved by all who knew you. God speed and God bless...may you find rest in the arms of God."

During this time keep your friends close to your heart and check in with them. No one is promised tomorrow, and this way there are no regrets.

Sending love to my friends 💛 And as always: thank you for reading.

The Porch

 When my father was alive, one of his favorite pastimes was to sit on the front porch and watch the traffic go by while enjoying a beer. It was a busy street so there were lots of cars to see! People that he knew would drive by, honk and wave. People walking by would wave and sometimes join him on the porch to visit. He really enjoyed that!

When I would stop by and find him on the porch, I would join him before I would go into the house to see whomever I had originally come by to visit. It was a nice porch with a good-sized glider on it. Marie, the plant queen, had a lot of climbing plants that had climbed over the step railing and even up onto the ceiling borders. She had flowering plants in the yard, and bushes surrounding the house. There was so much foliage that unless you were looking for it: you'd barely be able to see a house. Plus it was set back from the street, which gave it a nice-sized front yard.

After my father got sick, I didn't spend much time on that porch. I was inside visiting him at his bedside. Then after he died, I sat out there with Marie a few times, but it wasn't the same.

The funny thing is: I have a large front porch on my own house. But I rarely sit out there. It faces the same street, with the same traffic as with my father. But it isn't the same. Sometimes I take the dogs out  and they sit with me. I think it's the fact that my porch faces theirs, and things are so different. The climbing plants have been cut down, the flowers that used to cover the yard are sparse now, and some bushes are also missing. Along with Daddy Clank...I miss those days, and never imagined that I would get any of that enjoyment back...

Until a random day last week. The house is for sale and the realtor had some papers for me to sign. It was a beautiful day and I met him at the house. We sat on the porch glider and went over the paperwork before I signed. We were finished in about 20 minutes. He looked around and asked about the neighbors, and the different houses, and what it was like growing up in my parents' house. Then he asked, "Do you know who lives in the big house across the street?" I laughed. "I live there." "I guess I should have known. I drive by here almost every day, and should have recognized your car." And then we sat there for almost two hours, just talking. He told me one of the funniest stories I've heard all year, and I reciprocated in kind. I found out a lot more about him, he found out a lot more about me; and it was the best time I'd had on that porch since before my father died. 

I felt a little sorry that the house was on the market out of necessity.  Sitting there that day felt so nice and brought back good memories. So right then and there we made a pact: whoever won the lottery first would buy the house! Sounded like a good plan to both of us 😊 Of course, it would have a better chance of happening if I actually played the lottery. But you just never know what God might have in store. And I'm thankful for having one more nice day on the porch. (Thanks Junior) 😉

When You Know You're the Shizzle

When I was a teenager I had a posse. I'm not talking about in high school: I'm talking about when I went clubbing, and it started when I was 16 and in high school.

However this posse didn't include my high school friends (Lisa J thanks so much for introducing me to the Airport Inn!) but were some older women and my two cousins. When we got together to go dancing: you couldn't tell us jack!

I'm not even sure how it started: my brother Carl introduced me to his friend Vicki, and she in turn introduced me to her cousins Nancy and Joan. Those two sisters were absolutely beautiful. I in turn introduced them to my cousins Denise and Ivy. We all hit it off right away and began going to the Golden Grill Disco  pretty much every weekend. Basically harmless and lots of fun!

Somewhere along the way though: we started to let our egos get the best of us. We had a rivalry with the Saratoga girls so we had to up our game to make sure we got to dance with the hottest guys and sometimes take their guys. Ah, memories!

Looking back: some of the things we did seem crazy in hindsight. But you know me: I'm happy to share! Vicki and Ivy loved to sew so it was nothing for them to whip up a new outfit each weekend. I had a high-paying job (for the late 70s) so it was no issue for me to buy new clothes; and Denise had a retail job so she bought (or borrowed) from her store. So we were always the best dressed. Then I had to take it a step farther. I had great legs (still do, thank you) so one night I decided I was going to wear an over sized white sweatshirt as a dress! It barely skimmed my thighs and I paired it with sky-high heels. Yep: I got all of my dances in that night, along with the rest of my posse!

One of our more interesting nights was when we decided to do a social experiment. As I stated: Joan was a beautiful young woman and men always flocked to her. So we wanted to find out: would she be so popular no matter what she wore? We decided to find out one packed Saturday night.

By this time I was deejaying (I was 17 or 18) and had a great view from up in the booth. I was just waiting for Joan and Nancy to arrive, and they showed up at a little after 11 and I luckily didn't laugh out loud into the microphone. Beautiful Joan was decked out in a yellow rain hat (it wasn't raining), a yellow rain slicker, yellow rain boots and had an open umbrella. She looked like a cross between Paddington Bear and the Gorton's Fisherman! It was the best thing ever! I'm not sure what she was wearing under that get-up, but thankfully no naughty bits popped out or were on display!

She made her way over to our table like she was dressed to receive the Queen. And you know what? Men being men: they still flocked to her! And it was awesome to see her on the dance floor in her rain gear, with the umbrella opened above her head, dancing to "Flashlight" by George Clinton and Parliament. Men are just so easy 😁 There was never any shame in Joan's game.

I have so many great memories of that time. And I miss my posse dearly. Sadly, Nancy died several years ago. But the rest of them are living their lives somewhere. I just hope that every so often, when they hear a particular song, they have fond memories of when we were the shizzle 😊 

Black Fri-Yay!!

I was cleaning out my email, which I do periodically, and happened to come across this blog post that I never finished nor posted. I think this is from 2 or 3 years ago.  So instead of waiting until November: enjoy this in April while we're having November weather 😖 

I had absolutely no intention of doing any Black Friday shopping. After my sister died, shopping on that day was bittersweet, so no shopping that day. Um...famous last words…

Brie had booked a birthday pedicure for me Black Friday morning, so we had to be at the mall by 10. I was very pleased because I got the BEST pedicurist. Poor Brie was not so lucky…but I digress.

She was also going to get her nails done so I was just hanging around with my toes under the dryer. My feet looked and felt fantastic and I was admiring the shiny red polish. I was under there for a good while, chatting with Brie and doing a puzzle in my little word search booklet. I received a text but didn’t look at my phone because it had been going off all morning with Black Friday deals. I was NOT going to shop. But then curiosity got the best of me and I looked at the text message. It was from Payless and said “Everything in the store is half off!” What??? “Brie, Payless has EVERYTHING in the store half off!” “Why are you sitting there? Go get us some shoes!”

She didn’t have to tell me twice! I had been drying my toenails for at least half an hour. I thought briefly about wearing the yellow Styrofoam (or whatever they are made of) flip flops through the mall, but then decided my nails were dry enough. So I hastily stuck my feet in my boots (without my socks, of course) and shuffled to the other end of the mall where Payless was located. I had to get there before all of the shoes were gone!

When I got there, of course I was the only one in the store besides the employees. So I first went to Brie’s size to get her a specific pair of flats that she wanted. Eureka: I found them! Then I went to look for the specific pair of shoes that I wanted. Well of course they didn’t have them. I asked an employee and she said I could go online to order them since the sale was online too. There was no time! So I ended up buying myself a pair of sneakers, 3 pairs of shoes, Brie’s specific shoes, and boot socks for Brie and slippers for me. It all came to just $60! 

And with that: the shopping bug bit me. I shuffled back down to the nail place where Brie was calmly reading a magazine. She saw the bags and said, ”I hope my shoes are in there somewhere.”  “They are but I have terrible news!” “What happened?” “Well, they didn’t have the postman shoes I wanted but that’s okay. However, when I took my foot out of my boot to try on shoes my nail polish got messed up on my big toe!” “Mom! Do you need Kim to fix it?” “There’s no time! Let’s head up to the Outlets!”

I didn’t have to tell her twice because I knew she had gotten the same email I did: everything at Coach was 70% off and some items were an additional 20% off! We threw the shoe bags in her SUV and headed up to exit 20. We found a great parking space right across from Coach, but as we were getting out of the car I noticed the big sign in Yankee Candle: 5 large jar candles for $50! “We must go and buy 5 large jar candles!” So we went into the candle store and I found 5 scents that I had to have. Now mind you: I have probably 12 or 13 big jar candles at home that I haven’t even lit yet: but I needed more! So after standing in line for about ½ an hour to checkout, I had my 2 bags of candles and we stashed them in the car. Then off to Coach, where there was a line out the door to get in! “What is this: Studio 54?” I muttered under my breath. “The line is moving pretty fast so no worries mom.” In the meantime Brie was looking in the Coach window and noticed the exact bag that she wanted. By the time enough people had come out, we were able to go in. Brie made a beeline for the purse she wanted while I looked around for the items with the extra 20% on top of 70% off. I didn’t find anything that I wanted in that special group, but I did find a navy blue bag that I HAD to have. With the 70% off, that bag was $88! Now yes I have 2 Coach Bags at home that I have never used, plus a beautiful red Ralph Lauren bag that I got for my 20th anniversary present at my job. But it was a Black Friday tradition!

However, after walking around and looking around, Brie and I LEFT THE PURSES THERE and didn’t get anything! Why? Because we liked, but didn’t LOVE the bags. So that saved us some money. Ding! Another text. Everything at Lane Bryant was 50% off! So we hustled over to that store, which was conveniently right across from Coach. As the leggings queen, you know I had to stock up on leggings! And trouser socks! And hello b-r-a-s! What a haul! I wasn't even paying attention to what Brie was buying but trust me: she didn't leave the store empty-handed!

Thankfully we were able to hide all of our stuff in the back of the SUV. And after all of this shopping we were famished! So off to the Peppermill we went and it was delicious as always. What a great day that was! Hopefully we can do something like that again this year for Black Friday. What do you say, Brie? 😉