Memorial Day--a look back .

This is a revisit of last year's Memorial Day's Post.

 Memorial Day--Leo's Story

Today is Memorial Day in the US--the day we remember the men and women who died while serving their country in the armed services. There are many different stories about these people and I'm going to tell one of them here about Ward's grandfather, Leo.

Leo, 1941

Leo was the son of Polish immigrants and as a young man joined the army is 1929. He became part of the Army Engineer division. Later at a dance, he met a smart and pretty young girl, LeeAnn, and married her in 1932. They soon added a baby boy to the family and two years later they had another. After renting a small home, Leo built a house for his growing family. Being an enterprising young man, he used discarded lumber from a railroad yard for much of the house. (By the way, the house that he built still stands firm today.)

Leo's and LeeAnn's happy life was not affected much when World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. However, the Army started to send units to Iceland to build defensive fortifications to be ready just in case. At the end of 1941, his unit was assigned to go to Iceland to help in these preparations. While they were in New York waiting for their boat, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The US immediately declared war against Japan and her allies, including Germany. The US was officially in World War II.

Leo and his unit continued with their orders to go to Iceland, but they didn't make it. Their boat was attacked in the Atlantic by a German submarine and had to be repaired before it could go any further. During the month that the repairs took, the soldiers got to go back and spend time with their families. No one knew that this would be the last time they would see each other.

Their boat was repaired, and they were finally on their way. They made it to Iceland and completed their work. However, on the way back to the states, the boat was attacked by another German submarine and this time it sank. The seas were rough which made it difficult for many to survive. Most went down with the ship. First Leo was declared missing at sea and later he was declared killed in action. It wasn't until several years later that his family knew the details of what happened because much of the information was classified.

LeeAnn was suddenly left with two young boys to raise on her own. A few months later, the unthinkable happened and her younger son was killed in an accident. Despite the terrible losses, she kept going. With various jobs, hard work, and the help of family she carved out a good life for her and her son (Ward's father).

When I met LeeAnn, these events had happened over 40 years ago, but it was like they had happened yesterday for her. She talked about the surprise that Leo was going to bring her when he got home from Iceland and still wondered what it was going to be. She showed me some of the subflooring that Leo built where you could read writing from the railroad cars. She talked about how long it took for them to declare Leo dead and how that affected her benefits. But mostly she talked about the surprise her husband was going to bring her. She thought that it was going to be something to do with their tenth wedding anniversary that they were going to celebrate when he came home.

On this day and everyday, we remember Leo and the sacrifice he made for his country. We also want to remember all of the other men and women who have died in service and hope that their stories have been told. But most importantly, we want to thank each and everyone of them and their families. Because of their sacrifices, we can live a good life today.

Thankful Sunday--May 24, 2014

I am thankful life's milestones.

Last week my niece graduated from the Coast Guard Academy. Moms and dads, aunts and uncles, cousins and grandpas gathered around to help her celebrate. I am thankful for this graduation and all of the other milestones that bring our family together.

First Jobs--Leo

I'm beginning a new series, First Jobs, in which I ask people about their first work experiences.

Today, I am talking with Leo. He tells about an early job he had during the 1940's. 

Tell me about your first job or an early job that you had.

I'll tell you about the first one that I got paid for. That was when I was about 11 or 12 years old. Before that job, I earned money by picking blackberries at the old gravel pit. I sold them door to door and would pick just enough so I could get money to go to the movies.

So, what was the job that you got paid for?

My friend and I helped with installation a septic field. After it was dug and the gravel and tiles had been put down, we laid shingles to close the top between the tiles. We also hauled cinders to put over the tiles.

How long did the job last?

The work lasted about a week during the summer. At that time, WWII was going on and my father was lost at sea. Also, my younger brother had recently died from an accident so my mother was preoccupied with things. She was happy that I was doing something productive for a little while. I made 10 cents/hour.

Did you think that was much money?

No, I thought I got ripped off. Even though I was a kid, I thought I deserved more. However, as I look back on it, I realize that he provided us with sandwiches every day. I guess that was considered part of my pay.

What did you spend your money on?

I think I spent it on movies and Cokes. That was what was important to me at the time.

Another time, we will learn about some more interesting jobs Leo had when he was in high school.

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--May 23, 2014

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions. 

This Week's Food Waste

a Carrot

One lone carrot shriveled up beyond hope this week. Luckily, the rest in the bag were good, but I promptly used them so they wouldn't have the same fate.

This Week's True Food Confessions

Years ago, Ward's grandmother gave me a set of microwave specialty cookware. She bought it for herself with great ideas that she was going to be doing all kinds of complicated cooking in her microwave. She had never been much interested in cooking, but microwave cooking (fairly new at the time) piqued her curiosity. However, she was already in her 80's and decided that if she had limited energy, she would use it to take care of her collies and tend her gardens. Thus after a little while, she passed the set on to me. I wasn't sure that I wanted it, but I took it anyway. I experimented a little and made potato chips, bacon and a cake in the microwave with some of the pieces  However, I couldn't see myself using it with any regularity, so I gradually gave it away piece by piece. The last to go was the microwave pressure cooker. Now, I am totally comfortable cooking with a pressure cooker, but I had no interest in doing that in the microwave. Quite frankly, I thought that pot was a total waste. That was until I gave it to a friend. She didn't ask for it, but she got it anyway. (That's another story.) And she was thrilled. She didn't use it in the microwave, but soon figured out that it was the perfect pot/dish to take to a potluck dinner. You see, it was a good size--not too big, not too small. It was made from thick plastic that provided insulation to keep the food either hot or cold. And best of all, the lid clamped on so it was easy to transport with no spilling. Who knew it was such a perfect pot? I didn't when I thought of it only as a microwave pressure cooker.  But she opened my eyes and then I wanted it back. However, she won't give it to me. :) I guess instead of the pot, I'll have to satisfied that I was reminded that it always pays to take a second look at things. 

Oh wait, isn't a Second Look another one of my themes? That's a little ironic, isn't it? :)

A Second Look--May 21, 2014

It's been the drama of the birds this week or maybe I should say the confusion of the birds. Or let's try that one more time. It's been the week of my confusion about birds.

The sparrows nest is getting refinements now with pine needles and feathers lining the twig frame. No eggs yet. I'm still torn as to whether or not I should remove the nest and hope for a "better" bird. On the other hand, maybe the sparrows will be happy with their spot and leave other nests alone.

The 4/5 of the bluebird eggs have hatched. However, I'm a little worried because two times yesterday they were "sleeping" when I peeked at them. I think it was probably a protective measure so they wouldn't attract attention to themselves, but they were opening their mouths wide when I looked at them earlier in the week. To tell you the truth, they looked dead to me, but I saw a parent going into feed them later, so I guess that's a good sign.

And the most curious of all were the chickadee chicks. When I checked on them last Friday, I found another nest being built on top of them. It was the same nest material as the first one, so I guessed that it was still a chickadee doing the work. My first guess was that as the chicks were growing, the parents were building up the sides of the nest to protect the chicks. However upon further investigation, I found the nest had been built on top of the babies. I removed the new nest and one of them promptly opened its mouth to be fed. I was gone for a few days, but upon checking the box again yesterday, all of the babies were gone. I hope this means that they fledged. They were certainly not ready on Friday, but things happen fast in the baby bird world. However, whatever was working on the nest before, has been working on it again. I'm going to watch it a little longer to see if it's a sparrow. If it is, there is no doubt that I will clear the nest. However, I'm hoping that it's another chickadee.

If you haven't caught on by now from reading this blog, I like to watch birds, but don't know that much about them. I've learned a lot since we put up a feeder a couple of years ago, but still have a lot to learn. Just ask Aunt Martha, my bird expert. In the meantime, I enjoy watching, learning, and being confused by them. :)

When I'm not preoccupied with the birds, I'm finding new things blooming everyday. I'm hoping soon that most of the trees will be done, and my allergies will improve. We'll see. Presently, the oak are almost done blooming and the wild cherries are just starting.

Update: While doing a little research while writing this, it's possible that the sparrow's nest may be a wren's nest. Did I mention that I still have a lot to learn?

Here are some things I saw this week during a

Second Look.

 

Baby bluebirds. They are a day or two old on the left. Notice the one on the upper right is wrapped around an egg. The picture on the right shows what they looked like five days later.

  

On the left, you can see the new nest being built on top of the old one. On the right, you can see one of the baby chickadees poking its head out after I removed most of the second nest from on top of it.

The sparrow, maybe wren's nest.

More Siberian iris are opening up. However, this is the only bed so far with them blooming.

The first bearded iris has bloomed.

The bees are buzzing around the rhododendron which is in full bloom.

This is the second kind of wild cherry to bloom.

Although their prime blooming is over, all of these flowers are still providing color.