Tuesday 4~Home Where the Heart Is

 

Home Where the Heart Is

Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
This week let's talk about home or the house in which you grew up.


1. What do you think of this picture.. the staircase. Do you like how it looks? Does it say "home" to you?
Would you like something that looks like this?

Although I think the staircase is beautiful, I am not fond of the floral carpet on the stairs as well as the floral wallpaper. It's a bit too much.  As far as this saying "home" to me? Well, not really. The home I grew up in did not have any stairs. And I really wouldn't want them now at this stage in life.  They are pretty, but very impractical for old folks like us!

2. Did you love growing up in your family home? Could you live in a house like that today?

This is a picture of how my family home looks today.My father built this home back in 1957, and I lived there until I left home to get married at the age of almost 19.  My parents lived there until they passed on from this life to heaven...my mother died on May 7, 2006, (19 years ago tomorrow!) and my father died on April 19th, 2011...14 years ago. It's hard for me to believe they've been gone that long and that our family home has been in the hands of "strangers" ever since my father died.   I've posted a few links at the end of this with some other old posts I've written over the years about the home I grew up in.  It was very special to me, and YES, I loved growing up there. 

There were six members of our family...my parents and us 4 children:

Here we were on probably our first or second Christmas in this house:

And here we are with our parents many years later in the same location: (you can see that I outgrew my older sister, and that is why I call her my "little big sister" to this day!)

3. What did your bedroom look like when you were a teen?

Sadly, I don't think I have any pictures of my bedroom...if I do it doesn't show much. I shared the bedroom with my sister until she moved out when she got married.  We had twin beds and my dad had built a nice big desk for us, picture a long table top about the size of a door, with a divider underneath with drawers, so we each had our own side of the desk.  My dad was a cabinet maker/woodworker, and he also built us a built in chest of drawers and a closet with cubby holes up above. It was all very neat.  I'm sure there's pictures somewhere, but I don't have them. When we were teenagers, my mother made curtains for our window that were white with big red megaphones sewn unto them, as we were both cheerleaders for our school. So our color scheme was red and white for a while, and then when Doris moved out I changed things to have lavender accents on white. I don't remember what Mom did with the red and white curtains, but somehow we changed them.

Oh, and our house only had one bathroom for all six of us. That was somewhat challenging, but we survived.  My brothers also shared a bedroom, and daddy built the same kind of furnishings in their room.


4. What kind of vibes or atmosphere do you like to foster in your home today? Sophisticated, homey?

(these photos were taken during the winter, hence the blanket on the sofa)

I think you've all seen enough pictures of my current home, and yes, it is very homey and lived in. I want our home to always be comfortable and cozy for anyone, family or friend or guests we've just met.  However, we do have more bathrooms now than when I grew up!  There is a full bathroom on the guest bedrooms end of the house, and then we actually have TWO bathrooms in our master bedroom!  Each bathroom has a sink and toilet, and then one has the shower, and the other one has a garden tub that we never use because it is too hard to get in and out of. The house came that way, which was a surprise to us, but I sure do love it!

These links are here for your interest if you wish, but also for me to be able to return to and remember!

Here is a link to one post I wrote about my old family home.

And Here is a link to more info about the town I grew up in

Here's another one!

I hope that no matter where you live or what kind of home you have, the most important thing is the love that is inside.  

Tuesday 4: Old Times

 

Old Times

Old fashioned church picnic

Hello! Welcome back to our weekly question fest begun by Toni Taddeo and kept in her memory.


Let's talk about old times.....

1. My town had an old-fashioned strawberry festival, a summertime picnic and carnival and the local church went caroling at Christmas time. What did/does your town do? What about your family? 

Our town just had a nice 4th of July parade and fun and games in the park, and finished off the day with fireworks. We did not participate because of the heat and the crowds. We did drive around the town and saw what was going on, but decided we were better off staying out of the heat that day.  Here's a few pictures I borrowed from the Internet from the 4th of July Parade:

This one has Smokey the Bear riding in a bulldozer...

And this lady is riding a horse and carrying the American Flag!  

There were floats and games and all kinds of activities going on. I am happy our little town does this each year. They also have a similar day of activities and parade at Christmas time.  

2. What things in your life did you love about the past?

I grew up in a small town where we had lots of parades and other activities at our school for kids. I used to march in the parades with the Girl Scouts, Cheerleaders, and one time as a Junior Majorette...which was not my favorite thing. I remember I got blisters on my heels from the boots we had to wear and I ended up having to drop out of the parade about half way through because my feet hurt so badly. I never was very good at twirling a  baton either since I was a lefty and all the routines were with right hands. So I became a cheerleader instead because I was good and loud! LOL.  I loved our small town, where people knew each other and actually cared about each other. I was truly blessed to grow up in a small school and town, with good teachers, preachers, and adults who went out of their way to make our lives more pleasant.  I still keep in touch with many of my friends from school, and we try to get together when we can.   HERE is a link to a post I wrote about my hometown and happy memories.

3. What would you like to bring back that are no longer as popular as they once were? Would you talk to friends about perhaps reviving old traditions?

Not sure how to answer this one. I need to think about it.  I know I hear a lot of people say they wish their churches would sing more of the old hymns. I am happy to say that our little church loves to sing hymns. We also sing a few a the newer songs, but the majority of our songs are hymns. We don't have a band and drums and all that kind of instrumentation (not that there's anything wrong with that)...just a piano that also can sound like an organ. But we sing with our whole hearts and truly rejoice in singing praises to our great God!!  If you click on this link below, you will hear our choir singing "On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand..."

4. Do you belong to an organization of any kind and do they have outings, picnics or pot lucks? What special things do they engage in and what would you like them to do or accomplish? By the way, I looked up the usage of 'old- fashioned vs old- fashion and old-fashioned is the correct usage. and must have a hyphen as well.

Yes, our little church loves to have pot-luck dinners and we also had a lovely Memorial Day Picnic.

Here's some pictures from our Memorial Day picnic. It was a lovely day in the yard of our Parsonage.

(me with my mouth full. LOL)

And here's some pictures from one of our Pot Luck dinners:

There's ALWAYS a lot of great food and fellowship!  We try to do a 5th Sunday Pot luck dinner after church on every 5th Sunday, which will be coming up again on July 30th!

I do love that our little church is very "Old-Fashioned" in many of its ways. We still preach/teach the Bible and believe that God's Word is true and the inspired Word of God:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

AND:

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Yes, we are just an old-fashioned church with old-fashioned values and lots of love for everyone.

I am happy that we have an "Old-fashioned" church and  live in an "old-fashioned" small town that still does things the "old-fashioned" way in many ways, and yet we are still growing and welcoming new people every day. So we must be doing something right!

Oh, and if you happen to be passing through this Saturday, our church will be having a Community Breakfast in the Fellowship Hall from 7-10 a.m.  $6.00 adults, $3.00 children, for a great breakfast with lots of good food! All are welcome!  (We do this every 3rd Saturday)

I hope you enjoyed this Tuesday 4 "Old Times" post today. Now let us go see what others are sharing about where they live and love.

Tuesday 4- Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home

Welcome to Tuesday 4 where we ask 4 questions each with to get you thinking, blogging and getting to know your fellow Bloggers!
We do this in memory of Toni Taddeo who founded it and who was so beloved by so many.

This week, let's talk about your home town or home state.

1. What was your hometown like? Or home state or both!

This is a picture of the Main Street of my hometown in 1957, when we first moved there. On the right is the Doctor's office, Boulware's Drug Store,  Conner's 5 & 10 Cent store, Western Auto, and a saloon.

On the left is the old A&P Store, a Pastry Shop, and various other little stores, a barber shop, and eventually there was a newer more modern IGA Grocery store down the block and then the old A&P store closed. It was VERY small and had wooden floors.

My favorites places downtown were the drug store, where we could sit at the soda fountain and get ice cream, sodas, milkshakes, hamburgers, french fries, and all the good stuff. It was the place to go after school and hang out with our friends until our working parents came to pick us up to go home at the end of the day.

The other favorite place was Conner's 5& 10 cent store, where we could buy all kinds of neat stuff for a nickel or a dime.

2. Did you enjoy where you grew up? Why?

I loved growing up in my little hometown of Tavares, Florida. Back then, in the 1950's-1960's, Tavares was still a small town in the heart of Lake County, the county seat. It was a place where everyone pretty much knew everyone, and people looked out for one another. Although my family lived in the outskirts of town, about three miles out a long clay road that would get very muddy when it rained and hard to traverse, it eventually was paved and now today our neighborhood where my family home was built (by my father in 1957) is a very desirable and growing community. When I was growing up we had very few neighbors and lots of woods, bobcats, occasionally very large diamondback rattlesnakes,  and foxes.  Big Lake Harris was just a stone's throw away. If you liked to fish, large mouth bass were just waiting to be caught from your boat or dock. When I was a little older, we could water ski in the lake, and also there were many places to swim. Back then we rarely if ever saw alligators, but today they seem to be everywhere. To me, it was a perfect paradise.  My sister and I built little forts in the woods, and my older brothers also had forts in the woods where we were not permitted to enter. (but we tried anyway).  

This was how I liked to play when I was little...yes, I was a bit of a "wild thing". LOL.

I also often went home with different classmates after school whose mothers were at home, and who lived in town, since my mother worked, and then she would pick me up when she got off from work.  My older siblings were already in high school and they had lots of after school activities, and my parents didn't want me going home alone. Besides, it was a very long bus ride home and I hated riding the bus.  So it was nice of my girlfriends' mothers to put up with me on many afternoons!  We always had a good time!

Our town basically revolved around county government, school, church, and the citrus industry.  We were in the heart of orange grove country, and the major employer in our town back then was the Lake Region Packing Association., which was a co-op of citrus growers in the county where fruit was processed and packaged and shipped throughout the nation.  Sadly, after 98 years of business, the packing plant closed in 2004 due to the fact that after several big freezes the citrus industry in central Florida began to shut down and property was sold to developers for housing developments and other businesses.  Today our little town has grown into a hub for sea planes and local  tourism.   

My parents lived in the home Daddy built for over 50 years, and then once they were both gone to their heavenly home their house was sold to a local neighbor who loved my parents and was very happy to have the home that Bill & Dorothea built and loved.  Click HERE for a previous post that shows some recent pictures of my old family home.

HERE is another post written about that home.

Of course, I got married at the age of almost 19, and so never lived in this home again from then on. But it was always the gathering place for all holidays and family activities until the day the house was sold.

3. How much did where you grew up shape you?

I have to say probably hugely!!! I don't know how to measure the effect of a lifetime of growing up in a town where we had so many happy connections and activities and memories. Our teachers cared about us personally and made sure we learned not only our 3 R's, but the right way to live life in society.  Our churches played a very important role in our spiritual development as well as helping us to learn to live as good citizens in our community.  Even though I have not lived in this town since I was 19, I still have connections with school friends and even with some of our teachers over the years, until one by one they have mostly all passed away.

HERE is a link to a previous post I wrote about my home church .

And HERE is a link to a post about my school that I wrote recently.


4. What were some of the best and worst things about where you grew up?

When I grew up in Tavares, my mother worked at the Lake County Courthouse, in the Sheriff's Department as a secretary to the Sheriff.   It was quite an eye-opening experience for my "Yankee" mother, who was raised in Ohio and who just wanted to be a farmer's wife in Pennsylvania, where we moved from to Florida in 1956.  My Dad loved farming, but at that time farming was becoming very expensive to do and you either had to go big or get out, so they sold the farm and we moved to Florida for a better life. My Dad at first worked in a woodworking shop, building cabinets for new homes. He was a very talented woodworker, but just couldn't make a good enough living to support our family of six. So he took the Civil Service test and went to work for the USPS, where he continued working until he retired.

I remember going to visit my mother at her office many times after school, and would wait quietly somewhere until the end of her working day.  One of the worst things back in the 50's-60's was that in the deep south segregation was still a very major part of our culture and way of life.  It was probably most evident in this big county courthouse, where we still had water fountains marked "colored" and "white", and you had better know which one to use or you would be corrected immediately. Same thing for public restrooms. There were also different entrances into public buildings for "colored" or "white".  A colored person did not dare to enter a public building through the main entrance, or he/she would be quickly told where they were supposed to enter. There were two distinct parts of town as well...what was known as "colored town" was on the west end of town, and I remember as a child noticing as we often drove through that section of town to get to the road that would take us home that their homes were poor and old and not very well maintained and they did not have nice clean looking stores and buildings like what was in the other part of town.  They also had their own schools and churches.  As long as everyone knew where they "belonged", there was no problem.  But if someone dared to step over that proverbial line, they found themselves in trouble really quick.  As a child I did not fully comprehend all of this and just accepted these things as the way of life there in our town. We didn't know anything different. Although my parents, having been brought up in the north, had never experienced this before and it was a difficult thing to understand and accept.

With the "Civil Rights Act" of 1964, slowly things began to change. One of the first major changes was the beginning of integration into our public schools.  My class was the very first class in our school to receive any black students.  In our sophomore or junior year, five of the very best students from the local "colored school" were brought to our school, four girls and one boy. The school administration selected our class because they thought we would be the group that would be most accepting of these changes.  And I must admit that our class was indeed very welcoming to these new students. We tried our very best to include them in all activities and make them feel a part of our school. It didn't hurt that the boy was also an excellent athlete, and became a very welcome addition to our football team.  As I look back I can't help but wonder how these students felt at that time, being taken from the school they had grown up in and to leave all of their familiar friends, teachers and culture behind to embark on this new journey.  I believe they all assimilated very well and each went on to excel in their own future careers...except for the boy...I heard that he died in a fight of some kind as a young man several years after graduation. That was sad news to all of our classmates. I am still in touch with one of the women on Facebook today, and am very happy to say that after all these years we are still friends.

I think I already wrote about what was the best thing about growing up in my town. I have so many fond memories of growing up in Tavares, it would take a book to write about them all.

Here's just a  few fun pictures from my childhood and youth:

Halloween Party with my girlfriends. I am on the right end with the drum. We were "beatniks".

Campout in our yard with my friends. I am on the right.

This was a friend's birthday party. I am on the second row, next to the last on the right, with the attitude.

6th grade class. I am on the next to last row, in the back.

6th grade class picnic to Alexander Springs. I am the crazy one on the left. I think I have a candy cigar in my mouth. or maybe it's my tongue. I really don't remember...

A little more sane picture. My senior year.

Most of all, because it was a small town,  we had more opportunities to do things and participate in many school activities. When there aren't so many students in the school to compete with for positions, you are able to do things that you would never have had the opportunity to do in a much larger school. 

I loved my hometown, and even though we live about an hour or more away from there now, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Our old High School Alma Mater says:

"In the heart of old Lake County

proudly likes our land;

For our school, Tavares Bulldogs,

we will ever stand.

For our dear old Alma Mater, 

we will sing our praise.

We will fight for greater glory

For her future days!"

Go Bulldogs!!

I hope you enjoyed this little walk down memory lane with me. I do thank God for allowing me to grow up in this special place. I know this place truly helped to make me who I am today...and that is definitely a gift from God.  

Now let us go visit our other friends on Tuesday 4 and see where they came from!

Also, thank you for praying for my friend Jimmy. He had the brain surgery today to remove the tumor, and I've just heard that he came through the surgery very well.  Next he will have radiation.  Very thankful that all went well, and thank you again for praying!

Tuesday 4 - Books and TV

 

Books/TV


Welcome to Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo...



This week let's talk about books and TV programs you enjoy.

1. Are you enjoying a book right now and would you tell us about it?  

I am sorry to say that I have not been doing much reading these past few months. Not sure why...I got out of the habit when the library was closed for Covid, and then when it opened back up I just never got around to checking out any books.  But I stay busy with our Ladies' Bible Study on Monday, studying the book of Joshua and the Bible study guide "Winning the Worry Battle", a Bible study by Barb Roose.  It is taking us many months to get through it as we spend as much time talking about our "worries" as we do studying how not to worry.  When you get 8 or 9 women together to study how not to worry, you can be assured we do a lot of talking about the worries that we shouldn't be worrying about. But thankfully our Bible study guide helps us learn how to handle those worries by putting our concerns and anxieties in God's capable hands. Our key verse for this study has been Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,  for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

2. Do you have a list of books you are looking forward to reading in the near future?  

Not at the moment.  Again, I seem to be stuck in a no-read-mode. I try to keep up with our blogging friends and writing my own posts, and just don't have a lot of "spare reading" time these days.

3. What's on television (or YouTube, etc.) at your house?

Well, I will answer that more completely with the next question.  One thing that is NOT on the TV these days is the news....we have pretty much stopped watching the news except for a little bit in the morning while we eat breakfast.  We might touch base with the news again in the late afternoon, early evening, but if we find it too distressful (which it most ALWAYS is) we turn it off.  My hubby has been watching a lot of ice hockey lately, and other sports. He has some YouTube things that he likes to watch, but I am not much of a TV person. I'd rather visit with you here, or be outside taking pictures with Lily Grace.

4.What series have you followed religiously and why? (can be TV or book series)

Okay, I wouldn't say religiously, but I do enjoy watching Hometown

on HGTV when it is on, and Maine Cabin Masters on DIY. They've been on a little break right now and I am getting anxious for them to start up again. I love that one in particular because we used to live in Maine, and I love to hear them talk and see how they do things because it reminds me of of my son Matthew, who lived in Maine before he passed away, and these people on Maine Cabin Masters just remind me of his friends and they way they all enjoyed life there. Plus I've always wanted a "cabin" or "camp" of our very own and seeing how they do those so wonderfully for people really makes me happy. 

But right now the show hubby and I have been watching the most is the old British series, "The Saint", starring Roger Moore.

We have really enjoyed this old action/mystery/private eye series.  They call him "The Saint" because even though he gets involved in some pretty gritty stuff, he always ends up on the right side and does something good for somebody in the process.  Of course, he really isn't a "saint"...he loved women, gambling, and a little too much champagne for my taste, but the shows are fun to watch and Roger Moore as Simon Templar was pretty good looking too!  I told our son Scott that he reminds me a lot of him as I watch him in action...I could picture him playing that kind of a role if he was an actor.  

But thankfully Scott doesn't have that same kind of lifestyle as "Simon Templar".  

The Saint had six seasons, and we are in the sixth season now, so not sure what we will do when this is over.  We also have enjoyed watching the old Sherlock Holmes series, but there just weren't enough of them!

Well, I know this was a completely frivolous post, probably not in keeping with "Holy Week", but it is fun to do something a little different and fun once in a while.   Oh, hubby just called me from the living room and said it was time to watch "Simon" again (meaning "the Saint").  We usually watch one episode while we eat lunch...so I guess that is also my cue to get lunch ready.  Hey, trust me, it is better than watching the news any day!

I hope you are having a blessed and wonderful week.  The rose from the Memorial Garden is blooming for Holy Week. Just another special blessing from heaven...

Now let's go see what others are sharing today on Tuesday 4.