Friday, October 16, 2009

Fall Memories

As the weather starts to get cooler and the sense of Fall is actually felt here in Texas I long for certain childhood memories.  Just the other day as I was sitting at work all of a sudden I had a flash of memories that came to mind.  My aunt baking or my grandmother sitting in her rocking chair watching the news or my uncle bringing in the last harvest of vegetables from his garden.  Sweet memories, I can see them so vividly in my mind that it seems so real and I feel I'm actually still there.  The certain smells that hit me when I would step inside my aunt's house, a smell that I was home, it was normally fresh coffee that had been brewed or the clean smell where she'd just mopped or had something baking in the oven, a pie for my uncle since he always wanted dessert with his meals.  Or the smell of Fall just seemed different being at their place for some reason.



My aunt "Sis" and Uncle Reub (short for Reuben) were married 63 years!

Right before my grandmother passed in January of that year, she had always talked about taking a trip.  She said "next year was going to be her year to take a trip and she was going no matter what".  Well she did take the ultimate trip just not the way she planned it I'm sure.  She was always a nervous soul.  She always felt outdone by her sister, who you can remember I talked about in a previous post, about how they lived next door to each other.  My aunt "SIS" as everyone affectionately called her, was a better baker, dresser, house keeper, you name it or so in her mind.  While she may have never been better at things, to my grandmother she was.  My grandmother was the baby and my aunt the oldest.  I'm not so sure why she always felt in competition with her sister, it surely wasn't because aunt made her feel that she was.

Now my uncle, he rarely allowed anything to bother him.  The circumstances just rolled off his broad shoulders.  I can still see him in his ticking stripe overalls, white shirt, and black work shoes.  He was a tall man, a big man, solid and strong.  My youngest son Mark reminds me so much of him.  My uncle could grow just about anything he set his mind to.  I still remember the red potatoes and green beans my aunt would make in a cream gravy.  His last year on this earth, he planted another garden but the doctor told him he was going to have to cut down on his gardening and do less of it because of the heat.  He would stay all day outside, tending to it, or riding his tractor in the fields.  With his last garden, he decided to experiment planting peanuts.  And boy did they produce, probably way more than he could have expected.  I think not being able to garden is what killed him more than the cancer he had.  It was what he truly enjoyed and just laying around thinking about his sickness wasn't good for him.



 Here's my uncle with one of his priced watermelon's that he grew.  He always had so much harvest of vegetables that he shared it with his friends and neighbors.

 This picture was actually take a year before I was born and he never really changed much throughout the years.  He was a master carpenter and build this house, their first house, which they later moved when the new house was built next door and that's where my grandmother lived.

 I miss spending my holiday vacations with them "in the country" as we called it.  They only lived about 12 miles from town but to us it was the country and seemed so far away.  Their house sat on about 40 acres and the land seemed to go on forever.  I always knew on any given Friday afternoon, I'd load up my suitcase and down the road my dad would go to take me to their place for the weekend...

13 comments:

  1. wow- what lovely memories you have to savor. Love the photos of your family, that is some watermelon. To me Fall smell like baked apples..

    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Theresa, wonderful post. We always used to have a Fall Bonfire Cookout that my Dad and Brother tended. Those days are gone, but not the memories! I always love hearing about your family.
    Thank you for your support in the new blog. I'm excited!
    Debra

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello dear soul,
    I absolutely loved this post and it reminds me of my own grandparents and aunts and uncles...there is something so comforting about letting your mind go back to a safe and loving spot so that your senses remember too...the smells, the touch the look of an earlier time with our loved ones...A beautiful post! I enjoyed your old family pics too....especially the one with your uncle and his prized watermelon and then with him so comfy with his shoes off! Thanks for sharing these stories with us...it says volumes about you too!
    Take care, Laura

    ReplyDelete
  4. Theresa, What a great post! Even though I was only 5 yrs. old when my Grandmother passed away, I can still remember her being in the kitchen cooking whatever we wanted. I cherish those moments and will never forget as I'm sure you do too!

    Blessings~
    Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  5. My grandmother would make potatoes in gravy also. It must be a southern or Texas thing. She always served them with lady cream peas...I can taste them as I type. It must be this time of year that seems to take us back...kinda bittersweet, huh?
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great post, Theresa. It's funny, the more deeply I delve into this world of vintage things, I am reminded of how much I miss my grandparents. Each time I pick up an old photograph in a shop, I wonder if my own grandparents are on display somewhere. It's sort of surreal. I don't have any of their things, but I do have sweet memories, and it sure sounds like you do as well.
    Big hugs,
    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey T! I love love lowe it when you talk about your family and show these great photos and share your stories. Thank you. 10 miles around here is a huge difference in worlds - night and day! I'll think of you when I'm in the 'country' this weekend!
    Happy weekend, and Fall sweet girl.
    xo Isa

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your blog. I too love odd things for the garden i call it garden art. Love your blog, cheers from Australia. Katherine

    ReplyDelete
  9. What soulful memories you share! I still make those "creamed new potatos" and the side dishes include lady cream peas(when you can find them)or purple hulls, fried okra, some sort of ham and of course cornbread (not the sweet kind),tomato slices and did I forget some mustard greens!!! You can hardly get any better than East Texas for "country". Happy Fall Ya'll!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awe, I barely new or had any memories of relatives, they all lived in the farmlandsor corn fields of Illinois, so I saw them once a year for a couple of days, I enjoyed them but just don't remember much, thanks for sharing your memories, it felt like something I would have done with my family if I had the oportunity.
    You painted a lovely picture in words. You also made me hungry. LOL

    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  11. these photos are PRICELESS! Hold onto every memory you can!

    ReplyDelete
  12. this is so dear! i love being at this age where i can really see clearly my childhood and all those "ordinary" events that shaped me! thanks for sharing this, i really enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What wonder memories for wonderful people. Are we blessed to have such special, loving people in our lives. It just has everything to do with who we are. I like writing about family too, so I truly can appreciate how you have opened your heart to us all. Thannk you!
    Karen
    Ladybug Creek

    ReplyDelete

I so enjoy your comments and you stopping by!

Thank you so much for following: