Our trip to the grocery store was as exciting as a tooth ache. Usually Mom went alone, but on the rare times we were allowed to go with her, we knew better than to ask for ANYTHING! Her list was something like this: 25lb bag of flour (not enriched ground from wheat) bag of potatoes packed in heavy paper bag, Sugar, milk (unless we bought whole milk from a farmer), salt & pepper. No pre-packaged items to heat and eat! Everything was cooked from scratch.
We had a garden. When we bought a small 15-acre farm, Mom had a one-acre garden. I hated helping with the canning, but did it anyway. She canned EVERYTHING that grew. EVERYTHING! We had a cellar that stored all the glass containers for winter. Of course the cellar hid a big crock or home brew, which us kids never dared to try!
One of the fun things about our farm was that it was right between three lakes, all of which had pickerel and black bass, and we had a small boat with oars. At night, we could fish in the lake off the bridge and catch catfish! They were fun! They were fun to catch and a pain to clean. Another name for them is Hornpout, they got that name for the painful horns that could cause problems when stuck, and we got stuck a lot.
The owners of the land across the road permitted us to “tap” the Maple trees, and we made gallons of maple syrup. Back then, in the winter we make maple syrup candy by pouring a little on snow. Couldn’t do that now, the snow wouldn’t be good for you.
We had chickens and raised a bull for meat, too! Our only pets were one dog and cats that appeared from time to time.
Well, that’s it for today, hope your youth was as fun as mine. Today, I’d like to introduce you to one of my children’s book series called “Sleep Travelers.” Most kids have one imaginary playmate. My daughter had three! One day she said, “Mom, why don’t you write a story about them?”
So I did! She couldn’t remember what they were, just their names: Ning, Dog, and Boss. Ning became a Siamese Cat, Dog became a big shaggy dog, and Boss became an African Gray Parrot!
When they go to sleep, they go on adventures together! On these adventures, they can talk to the animals, and they can talk back to them. I love writing fiction because children can be anything they want to be! And they always win. They cannot ever be hurt, and if they find themselves in danger, they wake up snug and warm in their beds. And sometimes Daddy Shirl visits!
This series is available as eBook and Paperback. You can find them at the following: Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Everand, Smashwords, Tolino OverDrive, bibliotheca, Baker & Taylor, BorrowBox, Hoopla, Vivlio, Palace Marketplace, Odilo, Gardners, Amazon in America and in Europe.
Of course, if you live in Kingman, Arizona, and you meet with me at a craft fair, or if you are one of my sewing customers, I will sign one for you.
Let’s talk again, soon….