When I thought of the word jumbled, I thought about the word search puzzles and jumbles that Mom likes to do. I have always been a puzzle person....I love crosswords, jumbles, cryptograms, jigsaw puzzles and electronic puzzle games. I always tell myself after sitting for longer than I intended working on these puzzles that I am priming my mind in order to ward off forgetfulness and absentmindedness as I age. I always thought that working on puzzles helped with your memory. I used that excuse to get Mom hooked on Word search Puzzles. She always said she couldn't do crosswords, so I started creating word search puzzles on my computer and mailing them to her to work on. I would theme the puzzles and make them about things that were relative to Mom and her life, the season, or things she liked. She really loved them and after mailing them to her several times, I gave in and bought a huge book of word search puzzles....there are 365, I think. The book is big and the puzzles are easy to see. They too are themed, but they seem much harder than the ones I used to make for her. She is slowly but surely working through this book. She moved it to Florida with her and it sits on the little table by her recliner. I think when she has nothing to do, she picks the book up and works a couple of puzzles. I think it is good for her mind and it keeps her from getting bored. Mom also works the jumbles in the newspaper sometimes. She always wanted to guess the answer to the puzzle rather than actually work on unscrambling the words! Whatever works. Puzzles are fun. 
Another fun and puzzling thing we have is a Shoot the Moon game. Martha and I bought it for Daddy many moons ago (no pun intended) for Father's Day. We got it for his desk along with another wooden puzzle game. I don't know what happened to the other game. I think it broke. It was one of those pendulum ball games where the balls swung back and forth and created a certain motion. Daddy was stubborn and always wanted to figure out how to beat the games. He was persistent and tried over and over to figure out the best way to indeed Shoot the Moon. There was always ways to get farther along than your opponent. If you pressed down real hard with the back of your hand, the game would tilt just enough to make the ball go just a little further! Daddy couldn't stand it if he thought someone was doing this. He called it cheating, and I guess he was right! We still had a lot of fun with aggravating him with our 'cheating!' When my kids came along, they also loved playing this game and it was always a hit when we would go to Shelby to visit. I have it on my hearth right now. When Mom moved down here, I made sure this classic game made it to my house.
Up until this last time when I went to Mom's house to get everything cleaned up and ready for the movers, I stood in her foyer and had thoughts of what all used to be there. There were two things in her foyer that I was remembering and they made me miss Martha very much. They were very artistic and that reminded me of Martha. Not only did Martha love art and art objects, these things in particular were just very Martha. One is a statue entitled "Sisters." Mom bought two of these from an artist she knew at an art show. They are the same piece of artwork but made out of different materials. The one she gave me is some sort of stone and slate. I have it in my living room and I love it. It is a statue of two young girls sitting back to back on a rock. Mom bought them, of course, because they reminded her of Martha and me. Mom's was a darker bronze-like material and it sat in her foyer. She moved it down here and now has it in her dining room. I know whenever she looks at it, it is a reminder of her two girls. The other thing from Mom's foyer that reminds me of Martha was a big wooden statue of St. Francis of Assisi. Martha and Bob gave it to Mom for Christmas the first year they were married.....the first Christmas we had without Daddy. Mom had always admired it at their house, and Martha and Bob knew how much Mom loved it so they surprised her with it. She was indeed thrilled and it sat proudly in her foyer and always reminded me of Martha when I saw it. When Mom moved to Florida, she gave it back to Bob. Although it had been a gift to her, she thought Bob might like to have it back. It is a beautiful piece of artwork.
Another thing that Mom always had at her house was my old Barbie dolls and all their accessories and clothes. When Mom moved to Florida and I was in Shelby packing things for the movers, Madeline called me one day and said, "don't forget my Barbies!" She always loved playing with them when we would go to visit. I made sure they moved down to Florida and they are in my garage packed in a box somewhere. When Madeline moves into her own place, she will need a room just for all her old dolls and stuffed animals along with some of my old stuff!
My old Barbies were so well dressed. Not only did they have genuine store bought Barbie clothes, they had handmade clothes as well. Mom's friend, Betsy Humphries, made them for me and Martha. She was a pretty good seamstress and she would make ball gowns, dresses, pants, bathrobes and all sorts of clothes for our Barbies to wear. Martha and I were thrilled to have all these 'extra' clothes for our dolls. Betsy was one of those dear people who loved life and was always happy to make and do things for those she cared about. She was an amazing artist, and I am pleased to know that I have two of her pen and ink drawings hanging in my dining room. They are drawings of two of the houses that Jim and I owned in North Carolina. They serve as great memories. But, back to the Barbie clothes....I am amazed at how small the clothes are and it makes me realize how difficult it must have been to sew them. Betsy and Mom were good friends for about 72 years! They became friends when they were 16. Imagine. I am saddened that Betsy passed away last week, but I am truly grateful that I had her in my life. I am so happy that I have the beautiful, artistic drawings in my home and that Madeline will hold a small part of Betsy in the clever handmade Barbie doll clothes.
Speaking of clothes, I remember that Daddy went away on a business trip one time when I was little (maybe around 4 or 5). He liked to bring us back a surprise, and this particular time he brought back a unique gift for Martha, Mom and me. They were red negligees with matching robes. Each was a bit different. I remember mine had tiny white pearls around the neckline. They were beautiful. I don't know what made Daddy decide to buy that particular thing for us, but we loved them! I think he was missing us and saw them and thought we would all look great in them! I suppose we did look good in them because we had a very clever idea. We wore our matching red negligees and went to a photographer and had our portrait done in them. It was a beautiful portrait and we gave it to Daddy for Christmas or some occasion. It hung proudly over his bed when we lived on Ridgeview Drive. I can still see it....frame and all. That is the last I remember of that portrait. I have bugged Mom on and off for 31 years about this portrait. It is no where to be found! I am saddened by this, but the optimist in me keeps hoping that it will turn up somewhere someday. Maybe it is behind another picture in a frame. But as I write this, the moving van is en route to Florida, so Mom's house in Shelby is officially empty. And I personally went through every inch and every item in her house, so I know I didn't see it. That is, of course, unless it is 'hidden' somewhere which is my wish and my prayer.
I don't have the portrait of the 3 of us in the negligees, but I do, however, have the actual negligees! Mom cleverly preserved them by sealing them inside a gallon jar! I don't know if all 3 are in there or not. I am assuming it is just mine and Martha's. I did move the jar to Florida, but I have yet to unseal it. When I unpacked it my family wondered what in the world was the red 'stuff' inside a gallon pickle jar! If only they comprehended the memory that will be unleashed when I finally decide to open it.
Another unlikely clothing item that works its way into my jumbled thoughts is another nightgown. This one is truly remarkable to me. And what I love about it is that I really didn't know about it until I was packing up Mom's house to move. It actually moved me to tears. It is a beautiful satin handmade nightgown that Mom wore on her wedding night with my Dad! It is remarkable workmanship.....a true work of art. It is floor length and zips up the back. It is adorned with tiny pearls and lace and is very simple and elegant. I can picture my mom as a young bride in love wearing this gown. When we were packing Mom told me about it and then told me to just throw it out. It had a huge brown stain on it from years of hanging in the closet. I told her she was nuts! No way was I going to throw that thing out! So, I moved it back to Florida and took it to my dry cleaner. He told me there was a risk in cleaning it because of the age of the fabric, but I had to take that chance. I must say, it turned out beautifully! I gave it to Madeline and it hangs in her closet. She doesn't think she will be able to wear it because my Mom must have been awfully tiny! It looks like it would fit a little girl! Anyway, it will be preserved somehow, as I want to save it and continue to pass it down the line. I absolutely love it and I don't think we have any other clothing items that are that old in our family. Talk about memories!
Another handmade item that I brought back from Mom's is a crocheted tablecloth. She had offered it to me before, but I just got around to taking it when we moved her. I think I became even more sentimental then (if that is possible) than I have been all my life! I brought it right home and put it on my dining room table. It is perfect and I haven't used another tablecloth since except at Christmas time. I think Mom has decided this tablecloth is at least 75 years old. Jessie's husband, Tony Hammock, gave it to Mom. Mom said that when he bought it and gave it to her, it wasn't quite big enough to fit on Mom's dining room table so he took it back to the lady who crocheted it and had her add more to it. If you look closely you can tell where it was added on, but frankly I would have never known if Mom hadn't told me. As a craftsman myself, I appreciate and respect this beautiful piece of handiwork more than I can express. I trust that as many memories as those Mom had will be created around this tablecloth as we sit around my dining room table for many special occasions to come!
Speaking of clothes, I remember that Daddy went away on a business trip one time when I was little (maybe around 4 or 5). He liked to bring us back a surprise, and this particular time he brought back a unique gift for Martha, Mom and me. They were red negligees with matching robes. Each was a bit different. I remember mine had tiny white pearls around the neckline. They were beautiful. I don't know what made Daddy decide to buy that particular thing for us, but we loved them! I think he was missing us and saw them and thought we would all look great in them! I suppose we did look good in them because we had a very clever idea. We wore our matching red negligees and went to a photographer and had our portrait done in them. It was a beautiful portrait and we gave it to Daddy for Christmas or some occasion. It hung proudly over his bed when we lived on Ridgeview Drive. I can still see it....frame and all. That is the last I remember of that portrait. I have bugged Mom on and off for 31 years about this portrait. It is no where to be found! I am saddened by this, but the optimist in me keeps hoping that it will turn up somewhere someday. Maybe it is behind another picture in a frame. But as I write this, the moving van is en route to Florida, so Mom's house in Shelby is officially empty. And I personally went through every inch and every item in her house, so I know I didn't see it. That is, of course, unless it is 'hidden' somewhere which is my wish and my prayer.
I don't have the portrait of the 3 of us in the negligees, but I do, however, have the actual negligees! Mom cleverly preserved them by sealing them inside a gallon jar! I don't know if all 3 are in there or not. I am assuming it is just mine and Martha's. I did move the jar to Florida, but I have yet to unseal it. When I unpacked it my family wondered what in the world was the red 'stuff' inside a gallon pickle jar! If only they comprehended the memory that will be unleashed when I finally decide to open it.
Another unlikely clothing item that works its way into my jumbled thoughts is another nightgown. This one is truly remarkable to me. And what I love about it is that I really didn't know about it until I was packing up Mom's house to move. It actually moved me to tears. It is a beautiful satin handmade nightgown that Mom wore on her wedding night with my Dad! It is remarkable workmanship.....a true work of art. It is floor length and zips up the back. It is adorned with tiny pearls and lace and is very simple and elegant. I can picture my mom as a young bride in love wearing this gown. When we were packing Mom told me about it and then told me to just throw it out. It had a huge brown stain on it from years of hanging in the closet. I told her she was nuts! No way was I going to throw that thing out! So, I moved it back to Florida and took it to my dry cleaner. He told me there was a risk in cleaning it because of the age of the fabric, but I had to take that chance. I must say, it turned out beautifully! I gave it to Madeline and it hangs in her closet. She doesn't think she will be able to wear it because my Mom must have been awfully tiny! It looks like it would fit a little girl! Anyway, it will be preserved somehow, as I want to save it and continue to pass it down the line. I absolutely love it and I don't think we have any other clothing items that are that old in our family. Talk about memories!
Another handmade item that I brought back from Mom's is a crocheted tablecloth. She had offered it to me before, but I just got around to taking it when we moved her. I think I became even more sentimental then (if that is possible) than I have been all my life! I brought it right home and put it on my dining room table. It is perfect and I haven't used another tablecloth since except at Christmas time. I think Mom has decided this tablecloth is at least 75 years old. Jessie's husband, Tony Hammock, gave it to Mom. Mom said that when he bought it and gave it to her, it wasn't quite big enough to fit on Mom's dining room table so he took it back to the lady who crocheted it and had her add more to it. If you look closely you can tell where it was added on, but frankly I would have never known if Mom hadn't told me. As a craftsman myself, I appreciate and respect this beautiful piece of handiwork more than I can express. I trust that as many memories as those Mom had will be created around this tablecloth as we sit around my dining room table for many special occasions to come!
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(Two great memories already.......Easter and Thanksgiving!)
My jumbled thoughts are ending on more whimsical notes.
I offered my friend, Sally, something from Mom's house. I wanted her to have a 'piece' of Mom and the house as a reminder. She came over this last time when Jim and I were there cleaning and doing the final packing of the house. I told her to pick something and she told me she wasn't good at that. So I offered to pick something for her that I thought she would like and I would just give it to her later on. She liked that idea much better! We continued to talk, visit and explore the house. I did offer her boxes and boxes and boxes of taper candles. I don't know what Mom was doing with such a huge supply of unused candles, but she was certainly prepared! Sally was happy to have these as she does entertain a lot and will use the candles. But of course, this wasn't the memento that I wanted Sally to have. After some time passes, she decided to leave and Jim and I walked out the back door with her. She looked down and saw this dusty, cobweb-ridden black dog statue and she said "that's what I want!" I was surprised because it really wasn't something "fine" that I really wanted her to have. But Sally is a lot like me....she likes what she likes and she knows what she likes and this dog was really very 'Sally.' I gladly gave it to her.
There is a story about this dog statue. Homer loved dogs. He wanted one so badly. Anyone who knows my Mom knows that having a dog was out of the question. So, Homer finally quit asking. I guess my Mom felt badly because she knew how much Homer loved dogs so she bought this statue and put it by the back door. She told Homer that at least he would have a dog to greet him each time he came in the door! That compromise worked just fine. There were plenty of neighborhood dogs who came to visit Homer as he worked in the yard every day. He truly had the best of both worlds.
To take this cleverness a step farther, I received an email from Sally one day. It was a picture of the dog statue all cleaned up and sitting on her porch. The dog is holding a basket in his mouth and Sally had put some fresh red flowers in the basket! It is precious and the dog appears to be very happy in his new home. Sally's email read: 'I love my Porter Pup!' That just made my day.
Along the lines of clever and creative names like Porter Pup are some names our family has used for various things. My Uncle Paul had a house a Lake Norman. This house was named The Porter Hole and was printed on a porthole somehow. It has been years since I have been there, so I am just stating this strictly from old memories. I remember thinking it was a cute name. Likewise, his boat was named The Riverbender. This is clever because my Uncle's golf course was named Riverbend Acres. I have always loved to use names like this so creatively.
This lake house has such special memory for me for several reasons. I know that I enjoyed my years going there with my cousins for picnics and special occasions. I learned how to water ski on Lake Norman. Uncle Paul was pretty insistent that we all learn how to ski. He handled me the best way he knew how.....just threw me in the lake, gave me some skis and sent Bill in to help me. I got up and learned to ski and loved it for several years....until I got older and became a big chicken! But those years of hanging out at Lake Norman were very special for me. They are the childhood memories that can never be taken from you.
One summer when I was in Jr. High School, Aunt Margaret wanted to go to the lake and spend a little time. I don't know why, but I went with her. We had several days there alone together and it was a wonderful bonding time. I think that after a few days, some other people came too, but I felt very special going with her and helping her get ready for the rest of the gang!
And my truly special memory was spending my Honeymoon at Lake Norman. Jim and I were young and he had just graduated college. After our honeymoon he was heading back to immediately start his career and I had one more year of college to complete. Jim and I had decided to go to Florida to Disney World for our honeymoon and had just planned to get in the car and drive and not make prior arrangements. As I said, we were young and willing to throw caution to the wind. At our rehearsal dinner, Uncle Paul came up and put his arms around the two of us, slipped the key to the house at Lake Norman in Jim's pocket and told us to save our money and go use the lake house for a honeymoon. We were thrilled and delighted and we took him up on his offer. He told us whatever was there was for our use. So, we left our wedding reception and headed to Lake Norman. We arrived and realized how quiet and peaceful it was and what a great retreat to enjoy after the busy-ness of a week of college graduation and a wedding! There were steaks, hamburgers, champagne and all sorts of 'goodies' for us. We were in our glory! We got up each morning and went to this little country diner for breakfast, came back and fished off the dock, then we laid in the sun, swam, floated and enjoyed the sunshine. We fired up the grill and cooked steaks as we watched the sunset and we listened to the sounds of nature. It was a wonderful honeymoon and I am so thankful to my Uncle Paul for giving this to us.
And finally I have some jumbled thoughts of our sun room on Ridgeview Drive. When we first bought the house, we had a covered back porch. Mom and Dad decided to enclose this porch into a sun room and then build a brick patio off of the sun room. It was a beautiful addition and it gave us a place to sit and enjoy our large wooded backyard with a creek running through it. The sun room was lovely and my mom had me paint a cement turtle and frog to use out there for decoration. They have endured the test of time and Porter has them now. I am not sure why he wanted them, but he has them and I am glad they are in good hands. I was in high school when I painted these and they are pretty cute critters, if I must say so myself.
When Mom and Daddy were designing the sun room, they decided at the last minute that they may need to add a little half bathroom so it wouldn't be so far for guests to go to get to a bathroom. The builder was able to add that, but mentioned that it would have to be VERY small. And small it was! It was just attached to one end of the sun room and they had to buy an extra small sink to make it fit. You could actually sit on the toilet and wash your hands! I remember taking a large can and cutting scalloped edges on it and painting it yellow to use as a trash can. That is all that would fit! I don't know whose clever idea that was, but it was adorable. The little bathroom really was kind of cute, but definitely not a place where you would want to spend a lot of time. This room was aptly named The Porter John! The name was engraved on a brass plaque and hanging outside the 'room.'
This sunroom is special in my memory because one of the last times I actually used it was for my wedding reception. We got married at Central United Methodist Church on a sunny Saturday and then came back to my parents' house for the reception. We were all thankful that the weather cooperated because people filtered out of the sunroom onto the brick patio. We had the food on the dining room table and the wedding cake was out on the sunroom table. That is where we cut the cake and I got to enjoy having cake pushed in my mouth by my new husband! Ahh...the memories!
So many bits and pieces of our lives can come rushing back to us in the form of jumbled thoughts. And although these jumbled thoughts may seem to have no connection, they actually do. They all are bits and pieces of what makes us who we are. Some of these things are artistic, creative, clever, handmade and fun and are certainly things that are engraved in our heads and our hearts. And of course, memories are made of this!
There is a story about this dog statue. Homer loved dogs. He wanted one so badly. Anyone who knows my Mom knows that having a dog was out of the question. So, Homer finally quit asking. I guess my Mom felt badly because she knew how much Homer loved dogs so she bought this statue and put it by the back door. She told Homer that at least he would have a dog to greet him each time he came in the door! That compromise worked just fine. There were plenty of neighborhood dogs who came to visit Homer as he worked in the yard every day. He truly had the best of both worlds.
To take this cleverness a step farther, I received an email from Sally one day. It was a picture of the dog statue all cleaned up and sitting on her porch. The dog is holding a basket in his mouth and Sally had put some fresh red flowers in the basket! It is precious and the dog appears to be very happy in his new home. Sally's email read: 'I love my Porter Pup!' That just made my day.
Along the lines of clever and creative names like Porter Pup are some names our family has used for various things. My Uncle Paul had a house a Lake Norman. This house was named The Porter Hole and was printed on a porthole somehow. It has been years since I have been there, so I am just stating this strictly from old memories. I remember thinking it was a cute name. Likewise, his boat was named The Riverbender. This is clever because my Uncle's golf course was named Riverbend Acres. I have always loved to use names like this so creatively.
This lake house has such special memory for me for several reasons. I know that I enjoyed my years going there with my cousins for picnics and special occasions. I learned how to water ski on Lake Norman. Uncle Paul was pretty insistent that we all learn how to ski. He handled me the best way he knew how.....just threw me in the lake, gave me some skis and sent Bill in to help me. I got up and learned to ski and loved it for several years....until I got older and became a big chicken! But those years of hanging out at Lake Norman were very special for me. They are the childhood memories that can never be taken from you.
One summer when I was in Jr. High School, Aunt Margaret wanted to go to the lake and spend a little time. I don't know why, but I went with her. We had several days there alone together and it was a wonderful bonding time. I think that after a few days, some other people came too, but I felt very special going with her and helping her get ready for the rest of the gang!
And my truly special memory was spending my Honeymoon at Lake Norman. Jim and I were young and he had just graduated college. After our honeymoon he was heading back to immediately start his career and I had one more year of college to complete. Jim and I had decided to go to Florida to Disney World for our honeymoon and had just planned to get in the car and drive and not make prior arrangements. As I said, we were young and willing to throw caution to the wind. At our rehearsal dinner, Uncle Paul came up and put his arms around the two of us, slipped the key to the house at Lake Norman in Jim's pocket and told us to save our money and go use the lake house for a honeymoon. We were thrilled and delighted and we took him up on his offer. He told us whatever was there was for our use. So, we left our wedding reception and headed to Lake Norman. We arrived and realized how quiet and peaceful it was and what a great retreat to enjoy after the busy-ness of a week of college graduation and a wedding! There were steaks, hamburgers, champagne and all sorts of 'goodies' for us. We were in our glory! We got up each morning and went to this little country diner for breakfast, came back and fished off the dock, then we laid in the sun, swam, floated and enjoyed the sunshine. We fired up the grill and cooked steaks as we watched the sunset and we listened to the sounds of nature. It was a wonderful honeymoon and I am so thankful to my Uncle Paul for giving this to us.
And finally I have some jumbled thoughts of our sun room on Ridgeview Drive. When we first bought the house, we had a covered back porch. Mom and Dad decided to enclose this porch into a sun room and then build a brick patio off of the sun room. It was a beautiful addition and it gave us a place to sit and enjoy our large wooded backyard with a creek running through it. The sun room was lovely and my mom had me paint a cement turtle and frog to use out there for decoration. They have endured the test of time and Porter has them now. I am not sure why he wanted them, but he has them and I am glad they are in good hands. I was in high school when I painted these and they are pretty cute critters, if I must say so myself.
When Mom and Daddy were designing the sun room, they decided at the last minute that they may need to add a little half bathroom so it wouldn't be so far for guests to go to get to a bathroom. The builder was able to add that, but mentioned that it would have to be VERY small. And small it was! It was just attached to one end of the sun room and they had to buy an extra small sink to make it fit. You could actually sit on the toilet and wash your hands! I remember taking a large can and cutting scalloped edges on it and painting it yellow to use as a trash can. That is all that would fit! I don't know whose clever idea that was, but it was adorable. The little bathroom really was kind of cute, but definitely not a place where you would want to spend a lot of time. This room was aptly named The Porter John! The name was engraved on a brass plaque and hanging outside the 'room.'
This sunroom is special in my memory because one of the last times I actually used it was for my wedding reception. We got married at Central United Methodist Church on a sunny Saturday and then came back to my parents' house for the reception. We were all thankful that the weather cooperated because people filtered out of the sunroom onto the brick patio. We had the food on the dining room table and the wedding cake was out on the sunroom table. That is where we cut the cake and I got to enjoy having cake pushed in my mouth by my new husband! Ahh...the memories!
So many bits and pieces of our lives can come rushing back to us in the form of jumbled thoughts. And although these jumbled thoughts may seem to have no connection, they actually do. They all are bits and pieces of what makes us who we are. Some of these things are artistic, creative, clever, handmade and fun and are certainly things that are engraved in our heads and our hearts. And of course, memories are made of this!
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