At least it started out to be a quiet day!

I got an unexpected 1/2 day off work, got to come home early last night with the result that I was awake and energetic early this morning. I waved at Dad as he headed out to a breakfast Kiwanis meeting, hugged Sis as she left to go babysit the nephews and gave Hubby a smooch as he went out the door on his way to work. I decided that since I had to take a vacation day to cover the hours, I was just going to take it easy - not do much... So then I had a second cup of coffee and satisfied my addiction by checking in here on the forum.

A little later, I wandered out to check the garden - the rain we had Sat and Sun really helped the plants - they're growing like weeds! Unfortunately, so are the weeds, so with a heavy sigh, I set to work weeding the pepper beds. Thought that I would stop there, but decided to do the zucchini...and the beans...and tomatoes. About an hour of pleasant work and the garden was neat again and I had dirt under my nails and peace in my soul - AHHH! Dirt therapy!

Ma-in-law, sis-in-law and niece came out yesterday and picked ten rows of strawberries, so I had eleven left to do this morning. With another heavy sigh, I picked up my big enamel dishpan and an eight quart bowl and headed out to the field. I've learned to set the dishpan about 50 feet from the garden, that way, every time the bowl gets full, I have to walk upright for that distance to dump the berries - really saves on a sore back later!

So after I picked six rows of berries, and made 4 trips to the dishpan, and waved to the neighbor as she passed by, I straightened up and counted. Sigh. Yep, still five rows left to go. "Oh well" I thought, "the jelly and shortcake will taste mighty good this winter". I decided to take a break and walked to the house for a drink, and saw the neighbor at her mailbox. Remembering that they always enjoyed the fresh berries, and have no garden, and there were still five lousy rows of berries to pick, I decided that it would only be neighborly (hee-hee!) to invite her over to pick some berries for supper. She was delighted with the invitation, and I went ahead and got my drink while she ran home to change clothes.

We managed to gossip and laugh our way through those five rows in no time, and as we were walking back to the house, she said she wanted to make shortcake, but didn't have a recipe. Ioffered to write mine down, so on in the house we went. While she washed up, I dumped the berries in the sink to rinse, got out my cookbook, and went to the pantry for sugar and Sur-Jell. I washed the berries and looked at the mound in the dishpan, waiting to be stemmed. Sigh. She asked if I was going to make jam, and commented on how much they enjoyed the jam I had sent over the year before. I felt as though one of those little cartoon lightbulbs went on over my head! I graciously offered to teach her how to make jam with her berries, "No, no - it'll be no problem, I have plenty of sugar and an extra box of pectin. Here, sit down and let me get you a knife, we'll have these stemmed in no time!"

Pop came in about half way through the stemming and pitched in, then mashed the berries up for us. As we were making the first batch of jam, in comes my daughter, with Sweetie and nephews in tow. They wanted to go to the beach in the afternoon and needed $4 to get in and could they have a little extra cash to hit Dairy Queen on the way home?? I was sure that could be arranged...if, of course, they wouldn't mind doing just a few things for me before lunch....

Sis got busy unloading and loading the dishwaher, Sweetie gathered up all the trash and headed for the barrels and the boys were handed the newspaper of berry stems and my coffee can of scraps to take to the compost pile. I was having Sweetie gather up the pop cans to take to the shed when the boys came running back to the house - with their hands full of big fat worms from the compost pile. Fishing was on their mind, but Sis was having none of it - "Beach." says she. The neighbor suggested that her pond had an overabundance of bluegill, and perhaps the boys might like to see if they could catch a few before lunch??

Pop went out to cut down a couple of bank poles into boy size cane poles, the boys took a cottage cheese carton out to the compost pile with orders to get no more than twelve worms, I counted noses and sent Sis to the freezer for some deer burger and garlic bread, and Sweetie to the garden after salad greens. Pop and the boys headed over to the pond, and the neighbor decided she was enjoying this jam making business, so I let her make a couple more batches, while I set about browning the burger and fixing up a batch of spagetti for lunch. Sweetie got the extra leaves for the table and he and Sis put them in and set it for lunch, then headed over to the pond to join Pop and the boys.

The jam and spagetti got done just as the kids came home with 6 bluegill. We plopped them in the stock tank 'til after lunch, and then all set down and enjoyed our spagetti - with plenty of talk and laughter to season it! After lunch, Neighbor took her jelly and berries on home, Pop went out to clean the fish, and I told the boys that they could go to the beach as soon as they crushed a bag of pop cans for me. Turned out that their ball team was collecting cans to help pay for some new equipment, so they crushed all the cans and loaded them in bags to take to town when their Mom came to get them! Pop brought the fish in to the house, then took off for town and the kids grabbed their money and headed for the beach.

So here I am, all alone again. Gee - it's awfully quiet around here.....

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), June 12, 2000

Answers

Polly I absolutely loved this. Thank you for including us in your day.

Little Bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), June 12, 2000.

Polly! Beautiful, just Beautiful!!! Reminds me of about 50 years ago at home. Nieghbors helping while visiting with each other. It's a rare site to have that happen now. Most people are too busy to take the time to visit anymore. I remember way back when neighbors and friends would have "music" partys. Always on Friday nite, we'd all meet at an old country school house, long vacant of school kids, with baskets and baskets of food. The music would start with everybody playing instruments, those that could play and some who couldn't very well,until about 8 pm. We'd "shutt'r" down for a spell while everybody ate. Man, I can still remember the fried chicken and everything else imaginable. After eating and visiting some more, the music would start again. Folks didn't even consider going home until after midnight. With hugs, handshakes and goodbyes, we'd all head our separate ways until the next Friday night. We'd ususally see most of them Sunday A.M. at church but that was reserved for worship of our Lord. Very short visits at church---unless there just happened to be a big "feed" in the afternoon. I can remember those also--people digging out their guitars, fiddles, mandolins and banjers after the "feed". Almighty God just had to be listening to those old gospel songs and enjoying them as much as we did! Times have really changed now. I miss those old days. Sorry Polly for kinda "taking over" your post but-----ITS YOUR FAULT! YOU GOT ME TO REMEMBERING!!!! LOL. Thanks for the beautiful post! Old hoot, the banjer picker, gibson! Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@otbnet.com), June 12, 2000.

What a neat day, Polly -- thank you for sharing! Hoot, my grandfather wrote about music parties in his book! (No I don't think you are as old as he would be if he was still alive -- I think he'd be 95 this year!!) Anyway, when his folks built their house, they built a big empty room onto one side of it, with a sleeping attic above for the boys (Grandad and his brother, and whatever other boys happened to be around at the time). That big room was built just for the music parties!! People would come from miles around, a lot of them by boat on the river, and have their big party practically all night, then go home in the wee hours of the morning to milk cows and do chores!! Grandad said he would stay up as long as he could, then creep off to bed in the attic above that room -- probably was kind of hard to sleep, though!! They had turkey shoots, too -- one reason Grandad married Grandma was because she was such a good shot at the turkey shoots!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), June 12, 2000.

Join in any time Hoot! And all you others, too. I like to read about what all of you are doing too!

Seems we've always had folks willing to lend a hand. Last summer, Pop was in at the diner (as usual) drinking coffee - told the boys he had to get on home and pick corn for me as I was getting ready to put a bunch in the freezer. Offered to let the fellas come out and pick some for their ownselves. One old gent showed up and after he picked him a sack of corn, he helped Pop pick 4 bushels for me. I handed them a glass of lemonade when they came up to the porch and we sat there and shucked corn while they told stories (big whoppers?!) I took the first basket in and started washing it up, and when they came in with the second, Pop pulled out an Old Hickory butcher knife and started cutting it off the cob. Sweat Bee mentioned as to how it was too bad we didn't have another one of those knives, as he wouldn't mind lending a hand......Without a word, I reached into the cabinet for a cutting board and Pop pulled the other Old Hickory knife out of the drawer!! We had a high old time - while putting up corn, of all things! Pop says that Sweat Bee is already asking when the corn will be ready this year!!

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), June 12, 2000.

Polly, thanks ever so much for including us in your day. Wish more of this type of day occured around here. All of our neighbors are only interested in themselves, the only time we hear from 1 is when they need help with something. Count your blessings, because our neighbors have yet to help when we've asked for an extra hand. Now that the strawberries are ripe, I'm sure some will be comin' for a visit with their hand extended, they also ask for grapes, of which we'll have an overabundance this year, the vines are loaded. Guess we'll be makin' lots of jam & juice this year. Hoot - keep those memories alive! Please keep posting them, your memories have opened up some of my long-ago memories! God bless everyone today & the rest of our tomorrows!

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), June 13, 2000.

Polly, that was great. I got to come into your world and roll around in it. Just great. We've had times similar to that--times of fellowship and community--they're always the best when they're unplanned.

-- Betsy (sassyweitzel@yahoo.com), June 13, 2000.

Oh Polly, what a wonderful day! I'm so glad you shared it with us. And Hoot, I liked your story. I love to hear about how things used to be. Tell us more! Pleeeeeeease! Denise

-- Denise (jphammock@earthlink.net), June 13, 2000.

When I need a quiet day on the farm , I pack up the kids and go to the BEACH !!!

-- kelly (kellytree@hotmail.com), June 19, 2000.