It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!

Well, not really - but I did sell a lot of cookies back in the day. I also apparently earned a lot of patches. Girl Scouts is where I learned how a toilet works. That Ms. Fix It badge payed off in spades once I became a homeowner :-)

No $300 plumber bills for me! Just $7 at Home Depot gets most toilets fixed.

Funny political statements

I came across a book with pithy captions on pictures of major world events. Can you guess the US stance on communism?


I also found it interesting that even Donald Duck was recruited for political causes.

I wish....

I wish I had listened more.
I wish I'd had more patience.
I wish I'd sorted through those boxes 15 years ago.

I know that hindsight is 20/20. I know I was generally a good daughter. And I know my parents were proud of me - but I can't help but wish that I'd spent more time really getting to know them. Asking them questions. Learning about their pasts. Actually listening to their responses.

Maybe they wouldn't have shared much - but the papers I found gave glimpses to the story.....

I found letters from my dad to his parents during his freshman year of college. He was homesick. He was a chemistry major. He was failing. He wanted to come home.

I found his old homework assignments. Papers that talked about his loneliness and his trouble finding his place. Notes where where his teachers wrote "Are you sure you should be in college if you feel this way about school?" OR after my dad noted that he had trouble expressing himself, a teacher wrote: "You need practice. Lots of it." He triumphed, and graduated from Clarkson with a degree in Accounting.

I found his rejection letters from the state of New York after he passed the Civil Service exam, but then disclosed that he had epilepsy. They denied him a job for "medical reasons." It was 1960. They could do that then. Luckily his local congressman and The Tri-State Epilepsy foundation went to bat on his behalf and he was offered a job. A job he retired from 25+ years later.

I found a letter from my grandparents who were "elated" to hear my "parents news." Though it doesn't say what the news is, the tone implies that my mom was pregnant with her first child. The date is 3 years before either me or my brother was born.

I feel fortunate to have found these glimpses into my parents' lives, despite some of the heart wrenching tales the letters told. My only regret is that I didn't read them sooner.

Had I known, I might have been more tolerant. More empathetic. More respectful. Every family has a story to tell. The secret is to listen.

Missed opportunities for Halloween Costumes

Most years I don't do anything special for Halloween. This year was no exception - but if I had dressed up, I could have been Neptune or a bride using things from my dad's house.

I made this Neptune mask as part of an elementary school art class. They took a plaster mold of your face and then you got to decorate it any way you wished. I guess I had really big eyebrows back then. Thank goodness I discovered tweezers!


Then I came across my mom's wedding dress. We definitely didn't share the same shape, but her dress still fit. It was yellowed and smelly, making it perfect for a zombie bride costume.

Marketing to the Lady of the House

It surprised me to find that the Rochester Gas and Electric Company used to publish a cookbook series, until I was reminded that it helped encourage energy consumption.


But the "Womens Guide to Home Emergencies" book was an even funnier surprise. It wasn't a gender neutral "Guide to Home Emergencies." This booklet was for the fairer sex. The ones who can't chip a manicure or crawl under the sink while wearing a dress and apron.
The year it was published?.....1973!

Cookbook from Kraft

Is that really Salmon flavored Jello? Or is it a decorative mold? We're off to an interesting start here.....


Next they showcase the Miracle Whip topped Jello mold. Hmmm.


I think my favorite part is the "special occasions" recipe section. Just add Velveeta and mayonaise and you've got yourself a real treat. Mmmm. I admit to using Velveeta in certain recipes, but I have to laugh that it doesn't require refrigeration and that the Dutch government finally allowed it to be imported after they realized it didn't have enough dairy in it to cause a threat to their own cheese industry. :-)

The "Choosy Moms" cookbook

One of the things that was evident while looking at my mom's cookbooks was that many of them were branded by food companies. It makes total sense. The more ideas you can give people, the more product you'll sell. The Peanut Butter Cookbook actually had lots of yummy sounding dessert recipes inside, but the interesting items came from the main courses.

First up: The peanut butter and canned ham sandwich. Hmm. Salt and peanuts. Could be good.


Then came macaroni and cheese and peanut butter. Skepticism is growing....


Then WHAM! They pulled out all the stops. Canned tuna, cream of mushroom soup and peanut butter mixed together in a meal called "Polynesian Supreme." I might have to make this sometime just to see what it's really like. I pity my next party guests. :-)