99 degrees Fahrenheit outside in the shade, and indoors, even hotter, with Mom endlessly cooking and canning vegetables and fruits on the woodstove going full blast in the kitchen.
There were hundreds of chickens, turkeys, and geese on the yard.
I could tiptoe or hop when crossing the desert of gray dust on the way to the well, but, coming back, carrying a pail of cold water, I had to plant my feet and diabolical, greenish goose poop inevitably would squish up between my bare toes. Then I’d hobble along on my heels, drop the pail to slosh down in the porch, and reach about for a twig, anything, to swipe the guck out.
The rain barrel looked awfully tempting, but we kids didn't dare climb in -- there
might be dire consequences for polluting scarce soft water.
There were hundreds of chickens, turkeys, and geese on the yard.
I could tiptoe or hop when crossing the desert of gray dust on the way to the well, but, coming back, carrying a pail of cold water, I had to plant my feet and diabolical, greenish goose poop inevitably would squish up between my bare toes. Then I’d hobble along on my heels, drop the pail to slosh down in the porch, and reach about for a twig, anything, to swipe the guck out.
(L to R: Marion Sabeski and Diana)
We didn’t go anywhere
much except for church and weddings.
But I always had books which I enjoyed reading over and over again.
If “the boys” weren’t
working in the fields, they might be tramping about with the dogs
and
finding interesting things like a fawn to bring home!
At another time, we had a shed full of owls, but
Mom drew the line at raccoons. I guess
they had some before I was born that opened up cupboards and made quite a mess.
Before we got too big
for dolls, Diana and I used to scrape leaves aside and lay out sticks to make multi-roomed
“houses” in the woods behind the house.
Then, up until grade
4, Mom would bring out the Eaton’s catalogue to order new school textbooks and
that signaled the end of summer.
I
was always glad to get back to school!
********
I found another
recipe Mom wrote out and her instructions brought back such memories of her making KICTO.
“Roll out these
pieces until you have very thin sheets.
Put a tablecloth on the table, spread sheets of dough out on this cloth
and let dry for a while but not too brittle.
Cut in 2 ½ inch strips and pile 4 or 5 strips on top of each other. Cut into thin noodles.”
I can see her doing this over and over! For special occasions
those noodles would be very, very fine and Mom had pillowcases stuffed with them!
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