Reminiscing on When a Phone was a Phone

My memories of the phone becoming an important mode of communication are centered around the time I was dating my H. I met him when I was going on sixteen, not long after he had graduated and moved an hour’s drive away to work for his brother. Many a long distance date was spent on the phone that was attached to the wall in the middle of the hallway, close to the bathroom. To my parents’ annoyance, that coiled cord got stretched right into the bathroom so that I could have my conversation behind a closed door, with as much privacy as possible.


Fast forward about 10 years. My H still loves to tease me about my apprehension when we switched to a push button phone. I was concerned that our preschoolers would not learn how to use a dial. What if they’d happen to come face to face with only a dial phone in an emergency?

Ah … yes… I had no clue as to the changes that would be coming, slowly at first, and then picking up speed so that now it’s my kids concerned about me keeping up.

A few weeks ago, he almost had to drag me to the phone place to pick a new one. It was overwhelming to see the choices and terribly intimidating to have to ask how to use a particular phone. What happened to a normal phone? You know, the kind you just make a call with? I would have been happy with that, but the plan covered much more. And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as the kids knew it was in my hands, a message came up. I had no choice but to try to get my stubby fingers to hit the exact right part of each letter and hit send.

Kind of like when I hit a certain publish button almost three years ago . . .and life has never been the same.

I’m learning strange spastic hand movements that make words and pictures grow or disappear and re-appear. I tap a space, and letters come out of nowhere . . . a word, and a new page comes up!

 

It’s a toy that has me feeling a little unsure of what I’m committing to just yet. How much am I willing to change about the way I view this fast paced, let everyone know, instant results, way of life? I’ve been accustomed to the idea that if you are home, you are available . . . but if you are not home, you are busy shopping, at the dentist, working on something, spending time with a friend, out on a walk, away from the feeling of being needed. I kind of like it that way.

But, on the other hand, along with allowing this gadget a bit of a chance comes a strange feeling of being connected . . . when your phone buzzes and there is a message that simply shows someone’s thinking about you . . . when sitting down in a waiting room and being able to go online in a quick instant . . when you can capture a moment with the camera and send it on . . . I’m learning to like parts of this new feeling and will probably be okay with it, with some moderations.

And, funny thing, with this phone I can also make a call … even though at this point I still have to think about what to do when it rings.

Pie Class

We met at Lepp Farm Market a good hour and a half before class began, to begin our preparations. It turned out the attendees came trickling in soon after for the extra bonus of watching Mennonite Girls try to organize themselves. We did some "shopping" for the class and while the ham hock was  simmering, Lovella washed and chopped vegetables for Summer Borscht, and Marg prepared the fruit for pies and Perishky to be demonstrated.

Also, before class began, Kathy and I put our pre-made pies in the oven, so that they would be slightly cooled to enjoy before class was over.

When Class began, Lovella finished up her soup and let it simmer, while the Perishky and pie pastry demos went on.
Julie showed us her quick egg peeling trick . . . a would be big time/ frustration saver. The cooked, sliced eggs were used as garnish for the soup.

Myself, never having tried this soup before, I came to the conclusion that if it had another name, it could be a gourmet appetizer soup in a fancy restaurant. Sorrel, red beet leaves and potatoes cooked in a ham stock . . . served with a dollop of sour cream and cooked eggs.  It was delicious!

Judy showed us how she makes her glaze for fresh fruit pie. Another instant winner . . . along with honeyed apple, sweet nectarine and local blueberry pies warm out of the oven.



As with previous classes, I was so impressed with Charlotte Lepp's friendly, easy going, yet organized mode of operation.  Their farm store is definitely a place to stop this summer, if you are in the area.  The girls she had on to assist us were amazing too . . . hard working, no complaints . . . always ready to pick up dishes to wash or clean up our messes! Our thanks also goes out to Charlotte for inviting us to partner with them in donating the proceeds of the class to Matthew's House in Abbotsford.

We had a lot of fun . . . learning some visual tricks . . . things that are not necessarily written in a recipe . . . and last minute "what to do" if the filling gets runny from standing too long. I had to smile when I saw Lovella trimming pastry around her cookie sheet and adding it to places it was needed . . . just like I do . . . but have you ever read it in a book?

And one of the best parts of all the practicing, demonstrating and taking unused pastry home, is the bonus of having  pies in my freezer right now.

Today is Pie Making Class!

Tonight I’m switching gears from cooking jam, taking grandchildren to the park and wedding dress shopping . . . to rolling out pastry in front of a live audience.
Truth be told, all week it was never far from my mind and, whether in my mind or in reality, I did enough practicing to be relieved that the day is finally here.

I have no problem with blending lard into flour to make a chunky, crumbly texture … whirling it up with a fork to shape into a pastry and rolling it out. I love piling on the fruity mixture and topping it with crumbs or more pastry. There is something satisfying about pulling a bubbly pie out of the oven.

But when I think of being in the company of my talented MGCC friends … a mirror above me … and TV screens too . . . well . . ..I’m a tad jittery. . .

hoping the dough will roll . . . hoping my fingers will not turn into thumbs . . .hoping my thoughts will be clear . . . my words will make sense . . .

and most of all … hoping we will have a lot of fun!

Although that part is quite certain to come true!

Vintage Photo Albums

 

I've been meaning to share some ideas on what to do with those old black and white (or not so white) photos stacked in a shoe box or, worse yet, disintegrating into some sticky photo album. I've been quite pleasantly surprised how fun and easy they are to work with. Whereas today we take countless photos so that we can fill a few large pages in detail on a given subject . . . in those days, film was costly and you may be lucky to find one photo to remind you of a specific occasion. I thought this would make it difficult to scrapbook, until I figured out that it's actually quite easy if you use a small photo album, using just a couple of photos or, oftentimes, just one enlarged photo per page.



Background colors and paterns are fun to choose, since anything goes with black and white: but I do try to keep it quite plain and simple, focusing on the era and whether it's a feminine or masculine photo album I am creating.


If the majority of photos are quite clearly black and white (not yellowed) I have chosen clean looking colors to co-ordinate with the photos ...



If the photos are more sepia colored, I have chosen cream and brown colored embelishments or accessories.



This combination is a little more masculine looking. If the photos are difficult to remove from an album or if you would like to enlarge and/or crop photos, the best thing is to scan all of your photos. That way you can use your Photo Shop or Picasa to tweak colors to match, make them all sepia colored or crop and enlarge. (If I can do it... it's easy enough for anyone to do it.) If you have a group photo you can crop the main subject to add a second photo to a group photo etc.

I've done albums for several family members now, and like to begin a story with the wedding photo of the parents . . . then continue with baby photos etc.

Simple accessorizing with buttons, rickrack, ribbon or anything that depicts that era and framing photos is all that is needed. Little notes to add to a photo will allow them to have meaning for future generations as well.

If all of your paper is coordinated, you can mix it up any way ... and it will look nice.

For this photo album I used a tan background and accessorized with a small checkered paper, brown ribbon,

buttons and ant stickers ... because there were plenty of those where he grew up.

I photoshopped the color of some of the photos to blend better with the tan background.

The next time you see a 9X9 inch photo album that could work . . . check it out . . . and record your story or give someone a gift that displays their photo story.

Sunday Afternoon at the Cabin

It's been a good weekend.  My favorite being some family time at the cabin . . .

The guys prepared the fire for our dinner.

Some enjoyed their first rock in a hammock.

The smiles . . .

the joy . . .

and shared giggles were contagious.

Begging to be wrapped like a cocoon to be twirled, brought yet more laughter.

Shadows followed them as they walked hand in hand.

Cousins . . . easily entertained.

And I think we saw the beginning of a new connection.

When the burgers were ready

we gave thanks . . .

and continued with the games while eating.

Except for the adults . . . it appears they were quite serious about their burgers. (probably wondering which photo was going to be on a certain blog)



The old highchair was brought out for the youngest one

while someone else was quite happy to not have to sit in there.

Eating while slouching . . . or standing . . . is allowed when eating outside.

As promised, fresh beaver tails came out for dessert.

They passed the taste test . . . but still, for some, came in only second to buns with jam.

Like I said, it was a good day.

Oh Canada!

"O Canada! Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North, strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free !
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee."

words by Justice Robert Stanley Weir

The miniature uniformed Royal Mounted Police characters are our great-nephews,
partaking in a parade earlier this year. Their dad, is an RCMP officer.

I want to fry up some beaver tails
and make sure there are people to share them with.
Happy Canada Day to all!