Friday, June 17, 2016

A FRIDAY CHAT ( about this & that )


Good beautiful sunny hot Friday morning everyone !

This blogging thing has become so sporadic for me that I'm not sure anyone even reads it - I may just be blogging to myself ( much like I talk to myself in real life ) but these random thoughts keep pushing at my brain until I have no choice but to sit down and type them up.........it's the only way they leave !

I know that hair ( chin especially ) is an ongoing theme in my world ( and my blog ) but I've never mentioned the actual hair on my head.
Which grows like weed.

I had it all chopped off last month and it's long again.

I think I'd have to have it cut - and I mean cut not trimmed - at least every three weeks.

Which reminds me.

My Mother used to cut our hair ( and trust me on this - she was no hairdresser ) until we were old enough to hold a small fist up to her nose and hiss " back off lady "

This usually occurred right before school photos were taken - so that in most of my photos I'm smiling with bangs that are cut on a complete angle.

One year she decided to cut my brothers hair the night before the first day of school.
I watched on a stool in fascination knowing this was not going to end well.
It didn't.
He took one look in the mirror - shrieked and ran looking for something to hide it with.
All he could find was a gray woolen winter cap - which he promptly put on and went to bed.
That hat stayed on his head for weeks - he wore it to school everyday.
Looking back I'm wondering why he just didn't put a baseball cap on - but maybe that wouldn't have hidden enough.
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Something else my Mother did - always - was put too much water in our " tang "
Trying to stretch out fake orange juice?
I never knew the difference until one day at a friends house - when I took a sip of hers and realized that we were being ripped off.
I remember asking her why it tasted so different than ours - it was delicious !
" your Mom's putting too much water in hers " she wisely advised me
" tell her and she'll stop "
To which I promptly did.
And to which my Mother reacted by telling me she certainly did NOT put too much water in our tang.
Why the very idea
And that if my friend jumped over a cliff would I follow suit.
Why would I suggest such a thing.
I mean she was REALLY offended by the mere suggestion !

But for some reason it DID stop tasting so watery shortly after.
I wish I'd kept in touch with that friend.
I could use someone with such wisdom in my life today !
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Another thing we used to do back in the 60's ( and I'm quite certain no one does it today but who knows ) was to grab a hotdog from the package - cold - as a snack.
When I told John about this he was absolutely horrified.
I mean disgusted.
John says - How did you all not end up in the hospital?
Suzan says - Huh?
John says - It's raw meat for God Sakes !
Suzan says - It's a freaking cold cut rolled up in a tube !

BUT I had a friend who used to grab a chunk of raw minced meat and happily chomp on it.
I could gag remembering that - but she loved it.
( this was before anyone knew of steak tartare - which is just as disgusting to me )
She would also munch on raw potatoes.
She could have had a complete meal without ever turning the stove on.

AND SHE NEVER ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL.

Where was salmonella in the 60's and 70's ?
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I used to think Salmonella was caused by eating bad salmon.......true that
You know - like Tuna-ella
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I also had a cousin that would eat raw onions like apples.
My aunt would peel it and he'd eat it while tears ran down his face.
Why in God's name my aunt would do this I have no idea but I can tell you he never had a cold.
Not once growing up.
While we all coughed and blew our noses while munching on apples and bananas.
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And now that I'm remembering food from my childhood - I never knew what a decent steak was until I got my first job and went out for dinner with a girlfriend.
She wanted steak -
I wasn't so big on the idea but decided to go along with her.
THE STEAK CAME WITH A BONE ATTACHED TO IT !!!!!!!!!!!

Steak in our house was always this big slab of very unappealing meat cut in half - fried until it was like a piece of liver on our plate.
Served with mashed potatoes and cream corn.
Or green beans ( string - with pimento - hated them )
Vegetables ( unless they were roots like carrots etc always came from a tin )
Anyway I never realized a steak could be so delicious !

I remember telling my mother about it - and telling her that the meat was supposed to be pink !

Pink?  She was quite horrified !
You'll get sick - You'll end up in the hospital !
I never did.
Nor have I ever told her that I quite prefer it red today.
Except now I feel so guilty eating animal that I seldom do.
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Lets see now - what other ways did my mother try to save money?
Well there was one year when she felt she hadn't bought enough gifts for my youngest brother for Christmas.
I could split a gut in half remembering this story - I really could.

First of all she always went nuts at Christmas - truly - she never had to add anything but this particular year she felt he needed something more.

Christmas eve came and a neighbor who had just lost his wife brought his son over for dinner ( being Catholic we always celebrated - ate -  went to mass - opened gifts etc on Christmas Eve ) I was already an adult so I remember this as vividly as yesterday ...........my brother in the midst of tearing open presents screamed out -

" Hey - Santa Claus snuck in my room and took one of my old toys and gave it back to me "

O.M.G.

I looked over at my Mother who was shaking with suppressed laughter.

I told my brother that maybe it was the same toy and Santa hadn't known he had it -

No - he assured me - it had the same mark on it from when it fell off his dresser -

" that's why I don't play with it anymore "

" what a rip off " he grumbled

The spoiled brat always got to go to a barber though LOL

Anyway what horrified my Mother most was not that she had squashed my brother's admiration for the man in red but that the neighbor had witnessed the whole Santa fiasco
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Neighbors were very important in our childhood.
Well as much as neighbors were allowed to be.
When things got too loud my Mother would run around closing all the windows.

Not because of any concern for them............but because it was none of their Damned Business what was going on in our house.
Don't ask.
It's an Irish thing............
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When I moved into my first apartment I remember the couple next door in a blow out fight - holy cow - the things they were saying to each other was unbelievable.
I heard every single word.
With a glass at my ear on my bedroom wall -
I'm hear to tell you that little trick works !
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We used to go to a pool when I was a little girl - we'd swim in it for hours - jump in - holding our nose - little bathing caps on our head.
Recently I was in my old neighborhood and passed it.
The water doesn't pass my ankles.
Why we held our noses I have no idea.
And why we wore bathing caps when there was no way we could have gotten our hair wet in an inch of water is beyond me as well.  We'd have had to press our little heads into the concrete to even dampen it.
But those are such incredibly fond memories.
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I meant to tell you the story about having our pool cleaned but now I've gone and talked too much once again - it'll have to wait for another Friday.
John's off to the hairdresser ( he doesn't go to barbers )
I offered to cut it...........you know to save some money - but he wasn't having any part of that
Some things are sacred.
As they should be.

You all have the most wonderful of weekends my friends -
Love to you all
Hugs too
Me,
XOXOXOXOXOXO


36 comments:

  1. Absolutely I read your blog. You brighten up my day (most of the time)--I love the discussions you have with John.

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  2. Please do not stop writing your thoughts as they are a great source of laughter for my sister and I to share. We live 1100 miles apart but the phone provides hours and hours for us to share our thoughts on your posts. They are joyful and sometimes a bit close to home! I think all of us have a bit of "John" living in our homes.

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  3. Ahhhhh, yes childhood, and the misinterpretations of youth. Love your reminiscences. Being an only child, my mom got to pass off all sorts of nonsense on me...because I had no one to conspire/or check facts with. Like most Dads of the 50-60's, mine barely raised his eyes above the paper at night since the house was Mother's domain. I, too---had crooked bangs...and perms...omg, the stinky perms---and hair the texture of brillo pads. Seriously---what was she thinking. Once at 12ish my hair became so entangled because of a perm, I ended up getting it all cut off---ala' Elvis with the duck tail and everything. Boy, I thought I was hot stuff, and I'm sure my mother was horrified to have a 'Elvis' impersonator in the house.

    Good stuff, Suzann ---and keep writing...it's like a bicycle, you never forget how. Sandi

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  4. I love your Friday Chats. I love the thoughts you bring to mind about a simple childhood. I've cut my children's hair. I'm quite sure that counseling couldn't begin to touch the wounds from that.

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  5. I do, Suzan...I DO read every post you do.....and I can remember, in the late 40's and 50's, my mom had to stretch things, too...never enuf money....

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  6. I love and look forward to your Friday chats...starts my day (I'm on the West Coast) with a laugh! Thanks for this!

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  7. Cold hotdogs out of the package were the very best snack! Have a wonderful weekend. And I do still love a raw potato with salt and pepper! Yummy.

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  8. Suzan, you had me splitting a gut on this! I mean, too, too hilarious. . .and I can identify with each episode you're relating. Missed reading your blog. Have a great weekend!

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  9. I have been missing from blogging for a while, I am back. I have forgotten your fun stories

    Cindy

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  10. I'm just so glad you are posting again!! You always make my day!

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  11. So many of your memories mirror mine, Suzan. I don't remember my mom cutting my hair, but it always looked like someone put a bowl on my head. I had the prettiest long hair when I was a baby in Alaska. Then we moved to Texas. You know, where it's hot. I got heat rash under the long hair, so mom took me to get it cut off one day after daddy left for work. Man, I think he almost divorced her over that!! couldn't believe his baby's hair was gone!

    We had Tang, too, but all I remember is I didn't like it. We didn't have sodas the way kids do today. We usually had kool-aid. LOVED the lime ! And mom made steaks like you had.... pan fried. She told me later in life that I wouldn't eat meat like that because it looked dirty to me. I would only eat bologna or hot dogs (yep, probably raw, too!)

    Do you know why that kid eating onions never had colds ??? Because no one would get close enough to him to pass the germs along!

    Hey, I'm still reading, so keep 'em coming! sporadic or not.

    Patty
    who cut off 8 inches of hair last month
    from Hotter'n'hell Texas (heat index 111 F)

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  12. Hi there, Stranger! I MISSED you!
    No, you are not blogging to yourself!! I miss your humor and all your lovely creativity! I anxiously look forward to your blogs, esp on Fridays, and love reading every single word!
    Maybe the Mother running around closing all of the windows when things got loud is more of a Catholic thing, (which I guess is the same as being Irish), because my Mum did the very same thing, and we are not Irish, but we are Catholic!
    You are not the only one who ate hot dogs out of the package when you were younger! We did too and we liked them. Tell John that they never were raw, they are cooked already.
    There is a picture of me in kindergarten in my Catholic school uniform with bangs that are askew---so I was also a victim of home haircuts!
    That recycled present Santa gave your brother story is a hoot! I guess your Mother figured he would not remember the toy(?) It's too funny!
    It will be 100++ here in Southern CA inland where we live! Ugh--double Ugh! That means fires, too! God help us we're all gonna burn!
    Please don't stop blogging---you make me laugh and reminisce and "ooh" and "ah" at your creative projects and beautiful decorating! I'd miss good ol' John's goofey reactions to you, and I need that because it makes me realize I'm not the only one with a husband who reacts the way John does!
    Love you, and stay cool!
    Have a wonderful weekend!
    Laura/Ethel

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  13. My mother made us drink a glass full of orange juice every morning. It sat like a cold lump in my stomach and made me queasy. I told her don't waste it on me I'm not drinking it anymore (after a year of this). Great - but the orange juice was replaced with chewable vitamin C. I have never had white teeth as a result of all the citric acid I was forced to take! Not kidding! Hopefully the Tang was artificial enough that it didn't damage your teeth. We had our banges trimmed between trips to the barber (cheaper than a hairdresser). Yup bangs an inch long in all our school photos. My Mom used scotch tape to try to get an even line. Didn't work, then she'd start trimming higher and higher.... Yes, raw hotdogs and hamburger meat. It was the only way to tell if it was seasoned right. Now the meat comes from so many cows they can't clean the cutters between each animal hence the ecoli thing. We definitely have lost things since the 60-70's, haven't we? xo P

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  14. I forwarded your last post to my oldest daughter. She and I definitely related to the chin hair bit. We both decided it's a dirty trick. When my MIL was bed-fast and on hospice care, I was wondering how she kept her chin hairs at bay. She was a very vain woman and one day she asked me to bring her the electric razor from her bathroom. She very happily shaved her whole face, which apparently she had been doing for years.

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  15. Oh, Suzan you sure do brighten up one's day.
    I think summer here in Texas has hit us. I's 98 deg. with heat index of 107.
    It's o hot in Texas that 'The birds have to use pot holders to pull worms out of the ground.'

    The potatoes cook underground, and all you have to do to have lunch is to pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.

    Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs.

    You eat hot chilies to cool your mouth off.

    The temperature drops below 95F (35C), you feel a bit chilly.

    Hot water now comes out of both taps.

    You've experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in the toilet bowl.

    The cows are giving evaporated milk.

    The trees are whistling for the dogs.

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    Replies
    1. love this!!! {Sitting in an air conditioned house in southeastern NC...}

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    2. LOL @ Colleen, these are hilarious! I lived in sunny hot humid Florida for most of my life and I can relate to many of these - so glad to be in the mid west now with a little taste of each of the seasons. It still gets hot, but you know there is an end in sight by September.

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  16. Oh Suzan how I have missed your missives in my inbox. :) I laughed out loud about the Santa fiasco. I grew up having "cannibal sandwiches" (steak tartare) and tomato soup for Friday night dinners. And "puppy dog tails" (raw smoked sausages) spread on crackers. No beef-tella or pork-tella in our house.
    Thanks for all the laughter and you are always welcome in my email inbox.
    Hugs, Christina in FL

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  17. Thanks for the laughs - you seriously need to write a book. I'm still wondering how we lived through years of warm bologna and mayonnaise sandwiches in our school lunch boxes day after day.

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  18. Rest assured, people read your blog. Not only read it but laugh our fool heads off. I can sooo relate to the raw hot dog thing. My mom used to do that too. And cutting hair at home. I used to look like my mom put a bowl on my head and cut my hair around it. Oh, the 60's, weren't they fun?
    Looking forward to your next chat.

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  19. Hello, hello ... your stories are so fabulous. Great to hear from you - yes, we all read every word you write!! I well remember eating raw hamburger and cold hotdogs, and I still eat raw potatoes every time I peel them. I've even convinced my husband how good they are with a little salt! Lovely to see your post today.

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  20. I read (and laugh at) everything you write and I'm sure there are lots of us out here waiting for the next instalment of "I Love Suzy!"

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  21. I had the same childhood.... "Raw" franks, veggies from tins, and thin over cooked steaks. All remembered fondly.

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  22. Good Morning, I have just recently, somehow, stumbled on to your blog and I love it!! I get a good laugh every time you post! So "thank you" I'm always looking for a good laugh:)

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  23. OMG Suzan, did we live in the same house!!! One year my Nana made a bird's nest with the top layer of my hair smack dab on the top of my head and the bottom layer was straight with a little flip on the ends. To make matters worse, I was wearing the skirt and vest my Mother crocheted in BRIGHT ORANGE. Oh how I remember the watered down tang. Speaking of watering things down, my Mom used to dump a can of cream corn into a saucepan and fill it with water and call it Corn Soup. The raw weiners - heck ya. The raw potatoes - another heck ya with a salt shaker. Thanks for the memories, Suzan - your post took me right back to the 60's when life was much simplier.

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  24. MMMMM my daughter and I still sample cold hotdogs straight from the package! LOL. Love all your stories.

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  25. Hi Suzan loved reading your Friday chat today. Tang oh my girl I remember that! Remember wearing those white plastic swim caps at the pool too. Ahhh the memories. Have a great week end.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  26. A bunch of memories rekindled for me, reading this chat. Cold hot dogs wrapped in bread, sometimes with mustard, sometimes without; the tang...I'm sure ours was of the watery version because I hated it & have never tried it as an adult; the school picture fiascos-my worst was when mom put my bangs up in these tiny plastic rollers-talk about kinky curls!! No straightening those babies out, either! Love reading your blog & the humor you bring to it. Thanks, Suzan!!

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  27. Oh haha, my mother watered down the spaghetti sauce! I never knew it was supposed to be rich and tomatoey until I left home. And those thin slices of lunch meat, we were only allowed one on our sandwich. And yes, Mom cut our hair too...a piece of masking tape across our too long bangs then she'd cut along the top edge of the tape. My bangs were always way too short. Looked awful. Oh man. We're definitely sisters. :-)

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  28. Checking in from southeastern NC where it's hot and I'm inside with the air conditioning!

    I remember Tang, but I think we got to mix it ourselves. We probably put too much in!

    It's always a pleasure when your blog entry pops up. I know I'm probably in for a laugh. You also stir up those childhood memories.

    Here's my story: For some reason, my mom and dad were gone, and my grandma was with us. {She didn't visit often, so I think maybe my sister was being born.} Anyway...it was raining, and there was a large piece of plywood plopped up against the house. My sister and I were sitting under it. Grandma made us some Kool-Aid and brought it out to us in little cups. My sister and I agreed it tasted odd. I don't know if we told my grandma or just drank it. We found out later that grandma didn't add the sugar! It isn't like she would have made Kool-Aid in her own house, so I guess she just didn't know.

    My two sisters and I ended up with pretty straight bangs. Mom did it herself. I would remember her combing them down and then fluffing them up to see what they looked like. I don't know what she was checking for, but it was about the time we didn't want to sit there any more! Today, I go to Great Clips. I have them use an 8 on top and 6 on the sides and to leave the braid in the back alone. I hate getting my hair cut, so getting it really, really short gives me about 2 months before I have to suffer through a cut again.

    Thanks again for the laugh.

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  29. Ok. I read your blog so of course there are others out there reading too! Which means we're laughing and shaking our heads saying, Yes me too!
    I ate cold hot dogs right out of the frige, baloney too. And raw hamburger, my fave, I loved getting the spices right into my mouth. But the raw potatoes, my grandmother called me the potato girl. She would make them for me and I'd be eating them as she was cutting them. She said I'd get "worms" cause you now how potatoes change colors when left out. I still est a piece of raw potato now and then. But not raw hambuger, the health kooks make me feel guilty. I love Tang, if it was good enough for the astronauts like the commercials said, and you know everything on T.V. back then was true, then it was good enough for me.
    Keep it up, we all need to feel normal when we read your posts.
    Barbara Ann

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  30. I also read your posts and especially look forward to the random chats on Fridays! We were not Catholic, but still a pretty good sized clan with 3 brothers and myself wedged in the middle of them. My mother saved money by sewing most of my clothes and some of hers as well. I remember as I got to the middle school age, waiting for the Back to School issue of Seventeen magazine and then Mom and I would head to the pattern books and try to find something comparable to the things I liked. Pick out the fabric and she would start sewing when she got home from work in the evenings. I used to eat cold hot dogs out of the fridge too - makes me shudder now to think about it. Mom and Dad treated themselves to a steak dinner from time to time - it was grilled however in the backyard on charcoal...the four of us kids dined on "tube steaks" aka hot dogs when they did splurge on steak. Life was a whole lot more simpler then, lots of great memories!

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  31. Oh my gosh Suzan..we could have been sisters..we also drank Tang, we went swimming daily with hair caps (oh how I hated them, hair all the way to our waist and try and get it in the cap..lol) Mother couldn't cook a steak either (still can't) I hated steak till I started dating my husband..but it's so delish when cooked/grill right and yes I love it red also! oh and we also ate raw hot dogs!! Wow you just brought me down memory lane especially with the Tang hee hee hee

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  32. My mother loved to give us girls "perms" the night before school pictures were to be taken! I could've used your mother cutting off that frizzy mess.

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Due to a large amount of spam ( that I'm tired of going back to posts and deleting ) I'll be using comment moderation from now on !!!
Can I beat these spammers at their own game? Probably not - but I'm going
to try my damnedest !!!
xoxo