Mamaw Russell

My maternal grandmother, Cleo Douglas Underwood, was born March 6, 1909 to John W. and Barsha Matilda "Lady" Underwood. She was later in life to become the world's greatest Mamaw, at least to Ann, Rick and me.

As a young woman she met and married Hobart Dewey Russell from 'down on the creek'. (Cloud's Creek). She had a job as one of Rogersville's telephone operators...Mayberry had Sarah, Rogersville had Cleo. As a courtesy, she would call different wives at the sound of the noon factory whistle so they would know it was time to put the biscuits or cornbread in to bake in order for it to be done by the time their husbands walked home for dinner. She pretty much knew all the business in town and I mean "all". She knew it because she had to connect all the calls. A lady who ran the local millinery (hat shop) in town was having an affair with a married man. As "hush payment", the shop owner kept Mamaw in the finest and most stylish hats available. (I still have one of those hats!)

She bore 3 children...Fred, Virginia "Gin" (my mom) and H.D. "Dee" and raised them in church. She endured the sending of a son to war, the letting go of a 21 year old daughter to go with her young husband to Kansas for the Air Force and then the tragedy of losing a 17 year old son in car wreck on a cold January night. (She told me she heard "death bells" that night when she turned down his bed covers prior to learning of his death.) She also knew the sorrow in losing a husband by death.

She had a reputation for her delicious cakes and wedding mints. She kept the mint recipe a secret but would graciously share her other recipes. Her peanut butter roll was to die for along with her fudge, pimento cheese and anything else she made.

Mamaw was known for her jovial manner and kind-hearted giving spirit and she possessed the gift of hospitality.

I know of only one time when she 'got mad'. This occurred when women would use a 'dishpan' to wash dishes in. Apparently Mamaw was doing the supper dishes and another woman came to her back door making false accusations about her. Trying to reason with the woman and tell her it was not true what she was saying was making no headway. Finally, the accusing woman called Mamaw a "liar". Needless to say, that didn't set well and Mamaw proceeded to throw the dish water on the woman. That cooled the woman off...literally and no more problems arose.

She taught me to crochet and decoupage. She loved her Home Demonstration meetings, Keenagers, but most of all she loved her family and her Lord. We live in her home....sometimes I can still smell her. I miss her so much. I'm so thankful to have had her as my Mamaw!

In June of 1985, we lost the matriarch of our family. She would have been 105 today. BTW/ her nickname was "Hotlips"!

A Squirrel Tree

Look closely inside the red circles....3 of my 4 bushy-tailed buddies are enjoying this beautiful spring-like day.  They stayed  a very long time there catching rays and getting some well-needed Vitamin D.  I chose just to sit on the porch in the sun...didn't think I could climb the tree.

The Snow

Winter comes...a certain quiet settles over the land. Nature sleeps beneath the snow, waiting for the warmth of spring, when life quickens again.

My hardworking Papaw McConnell used to say that winter was a time for rest, reflection and renewal.  I agree with you once again, Papaw!

Thelma Valentine Hammond McConnell

My paternal grandmother, Thelma Valentine, is the oldest of seven children.  They called her "Big Sis".  She is pictured here with Nannie Lee, Faye and Clay (twin brothers), and Naomi.  Marie and Nila had not made their debut yet.  They were born and raised in Alley Valley in Scott County, VA. Orbin and Mary Hammond raised them in a 3 room house....living room, bedroom and kitchen.

I always thought is was so cool that she was born on Valentine's Day...thus her middle name.

She is pictured here as a courting young woman....sorry Papaw, I cut you out of the picture....

Mamaw loved her cats, dogs, songbirds and squirrels.  When I was a little girl, she had a blind black Cocker Spaniel, named Blackie.  He was the sweetest dog and could get around very well in spite of his blindness.  Mamaw and I would always take Blackie for a walk whenever we would go visit.  She fed her birds and squirrels religiously in her backyard.  She had 'rigged up' a string/wire from her kitchen window down to her feed table.  Tied to the string were disposable aluminum pie pans.  Whenever she saw an 'undesirable' at the table, she would pull that string, making the pans shake and make noise to scare the critter away.  She was happy making garden, tending to her flowers and critters.  She was a no frill cook...just the basics.  I loved her green beans.  Her flare for decorating left a bit to be desired as you can see from the picture.  Who cares if the wallpaper didn't go with the plaid naugahyde couch!!! 

Her favorite chair was at the front window in the corner by the fireplace.   She had her little nest there.  Her Bible, her postcards she faithfully wrote to her out of town family, and whatever book she was reading at the time...she loved to read.  She made quilts...not the pretty and fancy kind but the functional.  She loved to talk and tell stories.  Hmmmm, must be a genetic thing.....

This is TVM with Black Gal.

I loved to visit them at their home in Kingsport.   They lived in a little red brick house on Dewey Avenue, the street behind McDonalds on Fort Henry Dr.  I would usually go spend a week with Mamaw and Papaw every summer.  She would save up chores she didn't like to do for me....cleaning windows. We would work a little and play a lot.  I liked that and I suppose she unconsciously instilled that in me.  When I became 'of age', she gave me "THE Talk"...need I say more?!  She taught me to spit correctly ~ a trait not many young ladies are taught, I might add! 

She had very long hair.  I loved to brush it for her at night before we went to bed.   She always wore it 'up' or in a braided bun.  It wasn't until she could no longer care for it that she had it cut.

She and Papaw raised 3 sons.  Edmond Cecil "Steamer", Ernest Randolph "Doc", my dad, and Thomas Calvin "Tom" or T. C.  This picture was taken on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Mamaw had to go into the nursing home when her Alzheimers got too bad to be able to remain at home.  We lost our Thelma Valentine a little bit at a time due to that horrid disease.  This picture of Dad, her and me was taken on our wedding day, Dec. 18, 1988 at the nursing home.  She HAD to be in my wedding pictures. 

What a wonderful woman she was....how blessed I am to have been her granddaughter. She was definitely an original 'fun girl'! 

With Valentine's Day approaching, I knew I needed to tell a little bit about "TVM", as she usually signed her name...L.O.V.E.

Chillin' to the Oldies

The 'oldies'...yes, I am a hopeless romantic, so boring and straight and stuck in the '70 and '80's....It's the 'folkish' type genre of music for me.  I never liked the hard rock of that or any other era.  The Doobie Brothers and BTO were about as 'hard' as I got.

A Facebook friend posted a James Taylor link of "The Water is Wide".  That was all it took.
I have been glued to YouTube several hours this evening enjoying James, Carole King, Dan Fogelberg, and or course, John Denver. 

Listening to these songs has caused time travel.  Travel back to my younger days when my life was ahead of me.  I still remember certain people and places that are associated with certain songs.  It makes me long to revisit some of them.  A few of the songs were wishes and dreams.  Some of those have come to be.  Some stir old feelings.  All are a part of the younger me.  A time that was good, fun, free, and spontaneous. 

Yes, John,  "Fly Away....Fly Away"....Now, I have been on the 'road of experience' and have found out who I am, but is there more to me?  Will I ever be all that I should be?  I suppose I will just enjoy the sweet ride and count the blessings on the journey and rejoice in the living day for our '"time has just begun".

Blessed Again

Have settled in the recliner and so glad to be home after 4 days in the hospital ridding myself of cellulitis with the assistance doctors, nurses, IV antibiotics and most of all the good Lord.

Last Saturday morning, I awoke to find rash looking 'discoloration' on my left leg where I had the NF surgery.  My leg felt 'tight' and I had had flu-like symptoms and fever on the previous Wednesday and Thursday.  Knowing how that was similar to how I felt at the onset of the NF, I was scared.  I called one of my dear doctor friends and he gave 'orders' to go to the ER in Kingsport since my doctors were there and they had my records.  So we headed out Saturday morning and I was finally moved to a room late that afternoon.  I stayed 3 more days. 

I had about a total of maybe 5 hours of sleep the whole time.  For some reason, I can NOT sleep in a hospital. Last night I had 3 straight hours of sleep and rest of slumber were naps.   Hopefully sleep will come easy tonight.

So blessed to have a husband and daughter to come pick me up on such a snowy evening.
We got to stop and eat at Fatz and ole Rosy got us home safely. 

Glad Mags and I get to have us a snow day tomorrow. 

Yep, God has blessed again!!!

Tasty Lunch

A "snow day" (without snow/yes, school was cancelled for predicted snow two days ago/1-17) and cleaning out a kitchen cabinet = a homemade lunch for Maggie and me.  I "unearthed" a box of beer bread mix and a box of Chicken and Wild Rice soup mix.  

They both took the same amount of time to bake and simmer so  about an hour later, Maggie and I were warmed and fed by these tasty blessings.  How grateful to be able to prepare (even though easy) these with the conveniences of an electric stove and oven.  No chopping wood or hauling water or grinding corn....yes, I guess I'm spoiled.  Most of us are.  Thank you, Lord.

Saturday Mornings

Saturday mornings have a different "feel" about them than any other morning and I'm not sure what it is.  It's so nice to be in a warm home with my Maggie watching Toy Story 3, one of our favorite movies.

I remember as a child how much I loved Saturday mornings watching cartoons.  That was way before Cartoon Network and all of the other cartoon stations that can now be watched at anytime.  I was usually a very early riser, even on the weekends, so most of the time I was on the couch  (way before Mom and Dad got up) in the kitchen/den watching Quick Draw McGraw, Bugs Bunny, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, The Flintstones and other "tunes" on that old black and white set we had.  You know the one where you had to get up and manually change the channels and you had to wait for it to "warm up" before the picture showed on the screen?!  I remember when we got our first color set....wow!  I honestly thought we were "rich"!   We always had a portable television unlike my Mamaw Russell.  She had a big cabinet tv which was a prominent classy furnishing in her living room. 

I never had a television in my room.  We only had the one which was hooked up to the antennae behind the house.  If the reception was not very good, one of us would go out back and turn the antennae until we heard the person inside watching the television holler, "STOP!" whenever the picture brightened and became clearer.  Our neighbors had one of those gizmos which had a dial on it and it controlled the antennae without having to exit the house.  I admit, I was a bit jealous. 

Our one television provided us with hours of family entertainment.  Mom didn't have to worry about what I might see, hear or learn on the programs I was viewing.  And she certainly didn't have to even consider being concerned about the commercials being shown. Times were different then and I'm glad I got to experience that  era.

Oh my, commercials..... I need to grab the remote and change this channel.... Cialis, HRT, and Trojans just don't seem appropriate for Saturday morning viewing audiences.  But then again, maybe they are!  Today's kids have their phones, ipads, and other techy gadgets.  Maybe it's just us old folks watching Saturday cartoons now!

One Cleaned Out Kitchen Cabinet

I just love it when I actually get something "constructive" completed even though nobody will see it but me....well, maybe Rosy and Maggie.

I cleaned out the base cabinet that is home to the flour, corn meal, and brown sugar along with my Mamaw's stand mixer, her glass pie plates (2 regular and 2 deep dish), and cake pans.  I also forgot I had a small food processor, ice crusher, and coffee bean grinder.  Or course, there were lots of things that had found a home in there that have now been cast into the trash.  Yes, I threw some stuff away!!!  Yay, me!

Now I have a cabinet that will make my baking (yes, I bake so often, cough/cough) less a hassle when I brace myself as I open the cabinet door.  Now, things will NOT fall out and I will be glad to get to things with greater ease. 

Hmmmmm, what kind of cake will I bake now?  Maybe Mamaw's delicious white cake with white icing!  Naaaaaa, I will just enjoy knowing I have at least one cleaned out cabinet.  Wonder how long it will stay that way?!?!?!

(Thanks, Maggie, for getting waaaaayyyyy back in the back for me!)

I Skipped a Year

Good grief...2013 totally passed without an entry.

2013 began and ended rather well, but the middle....well, it was rather 'an ordeal' as my BFF, Georgeanne described it.  Just to mention and not to dwell on it, I fell victim to the flesh-eating disease, Necrotizing Fasciitis.  I was admitted to the hospital on April 1st (no foolin') and spent 39 days in the hospital with having 11 debridement surgeries.  The summer was spent recuperating with home health nurses coming to dress my wound, which when I was discharged from the hospital was 50"x5"x7".  By the end of September, I was completely healed without plastic surgery or skin grafts.  All due to the prayers of family, friends and the healing hand of the Great Physician.  My Rosy and Maggie were so faithful in their care and love.  May God bless them forever for ALL they did before, during and after being admitted to the hospital.  End of story for 2013.

2014 is teasing us weather predictions of snow.  Only flurries and nothing substantial/no 'snow days' for the kids and teachers yet.  We did survive a very brief "Polar Vortex"...some of the coldest weather we have experience in 20 years.  While the vortex was 'texxing', our new heat pump decided to go out.  The windows in my bedroom were literally frosted...on the inside!  Apparently, there was a gas leak in West Hills and it 'sucked' all the gas from us and the heat pump tried to restart and didn't have enough gas to do so.  All it took, thank the Lord, was the heat pump fella coming and flipping 'the switch'!  Wish all things were that simple. 

My baby girl is counting down the days until she turns 18.  Yes, only 3 more months.  Graduation is a mere 4 months away.  Where has time gone?!

Part of my 'excitement' is the visitation of "my" squirrels.  Notchie, Wynken, Blynken and Nod.  Notchie is the most famous.  He has been here a year and a half and trusts me enough to eat nuts from a jar I'm holding.  The others, not so confident, do come to the sidewalk and porch and partake of peanuts, bird feed, apples, popcorn and whatever else I think they might like.   (They do NOT like broccoli!) 

I am blessed in my little corner of the world where I could just hibernate for the winter with my ole tomcat, Oliver, by my side on the arm of the recliner. 

I count my blessings and am so grateful for the grace and mercy I receive everyday.