Patriotism IS alive and well in America

Granted, I live in western PA, where we think it's a compliment to be classified as people who "cling to their guns and religion." Yeah, we kinda think it's a good idea to defend and value our Constitutional rights. Let me tell you about the America you DON'T read about in the press.

It's already 80 degrees by 10 a.m. The Memorial Day parade in the smallish town is scheduled to begin at 11. An hour ahead of time the sidewalks are lined with a sea of people of all shapes,sizes, and ages, some with lawn chairs, some with dogs, many with strollers, most wearing red, white or blue.

The first marchers in the parade are veterans--there are still a few from WW2 even--and these brave men are greeted with cheers and applause all the way down main street, for the entire length of the parade. Next up is the Junior High marching band, nicely dressed in khakis and white shirts, playing "God Bless America."

Behind them the volunteer firefighters march neatly in two long columns, each looking mighty fine in dress uniform. Yes, they VOLUNTEER to put out fires, and deal with other emergencies in our community, at all hours of the day and night.

Then a few sports cars drive past slowly, carrying veterans who can no longer march. Yes, there is still enthusiastic applause. Last in line is the outstanding local high school marching band, playing patriotic songs to a pumped-up crowd.

Then hundreds of people gather round the shady front lawn of a historic building at the foot of main street, and the brief ceremony starts with a prayer. Yes, a prayer, by a former army chaplain. A 21 gun salute follows and a lone trumpeter plays TAPS. After a couple more speeches, the laying of a wreath, and a closing benediction, the marching band fires up a stirring rendition of The Star Spangled Banner and It's a Grand Old Flag.

Yes, people stand, men with their caps held to their chests, in the 85 degree heat, with the sun beating down, and pay respects to those who sacrificed their tomorrows so that we have our todays.

Several people took free Bibles, fridge magnets and posters with Bible verses from our little storefront church, where we make a point to have the doors open for every community event.

Within a 20 mile radius of my home, there are easily a dozen similar parades taking place today. This is the America you DON'T read about in our national press, and certainly don't hear about internationally.

We really are not a nation of jaded, politically correct wimps and wusses --and if you don't believe me, just make a note on your Blackberry to visit small town USA on the 4th of July this year.

Bring Yer Rubber Gloves

In what has been a season of "When it rains it pours" the dishwasher is the latest casualty. Guests . . . yinz have been warned!

In happier news, two of our daughters were baptized this week. (3 John 1:4 ~ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.) Really, what else compares?

Our son will graduate from high school in a couple of weeks. I can't tell you how glad we will be to have that over!

And . . . the chicken coop is ALMOST done! Just in time too, those chick babies are HUGE now.

Another joy of summer . . .

. . . is the yard sales popping up everywhere. This weekend our family was attending a Bible Conference out of state so I missed out on a couple of great neighborhood sales close to home. So sad! But I did manage to pick up these beauties on Thursday. I paid $1.00 for five of these heavy duty plastic picnic trays. Love the print, and I know we'll use them over and over to carry lunch out to the backyard this summer.

Other friends scored much better than I did. See more Weekend Wonders here!

I wish you could smell them

Lilacs from the side yard in milk glass from the thrift store. What's not to love?

Weekend Wonders

I'm participating in a new meme over at Econobusters called Weekend Wonders. It's a place to showcase and brag on the weekends' yard sale finds. I think it's going to be a lot of fun! Here's my find.

Last fall my friend lent me her Victorio to make applesauce and I was sooo impressed. I know it's going to be great for tomato sauce too. Basically for applesauce, I just washed the apples, then cut them in half, and cooked them, skin, stems and all in a little water.

Then, I dumped the mushy apples in the top of the Victorio a little at a time. We took turns cranking the handle. What happens is that the seeds, stems and skin come out one little chute, and applesauce comes out the other. Tada! No peeling or coring or chopping of the apples. It was a huge timesaver. By the way -- my husband was home and suggested we put the skins and cores through the Victorio again, and it did squeeze more applesauce out--well worth while.

Anyway, I've seen Victorios sold online and elsewhere from $45.00 up to $70.00. I got this one, never used, brand new in the box for $5.00. And yes, I probably overpaid. If my friend was with me should would have asked if they'd take $3.00. But I am THRILLED with it!

Hillbilly Happenings

Strawberries are coming . . . although the bunnies in the neighborhool have been busy, and my strawberry patch is hurtin' this year. Look closely at the trellis my husband was kind enough to hang for me this weekend. He humors my ideas, most of the time. There's another trellis exactly the same on the other side of the gate. Hmm, they're about 7 feet long and 4 feet wide, can you guess what they are? Probably not, so I'll tell you. It's the "guts" of 2 boxsprings. Two of the kids got loft beds and don't use box springs anymore. The box springs took up garage space for a while. They were too old to donate anywhere, so we took all the fabric and stuffing off, and this is what we found. I think it's going to be a great trellis for the morning-glories and moonflowers I want to plant around the patio.

And . . .the chicken coop is progressing, for which I am thankful, since the chickies are growing like bad weeds. We get such a kick out of them. It's cheap entertainment to drop a worm into their cage, and more fun to watch than a basketball game. Whatever chick gets the worm runs and flaps up and down through the middle of the other ones. Then they all start squawking and flapping and chasing each other in circles. You should see all the blocking and dodging and bobbing and weaving that goes on, along with the occasional worm stealing. It is laugh-out-loud funny! That's this weekend's Hillbilly Happenings.

Hoosier (?) Cabinet Questions

I've admired Hoosier Cabinets for a loooong time, so I was pretty excited to find this at a "junk" shop recently. It's in pieces here, because I'm trying to clean it. But I have questions and would love to hear from anyone who knows about Hoosier type cabinets. Obviously the top piece sits on this base. Stenciled on the back of both the base and the top hutch part is "NO 269 SILVER WHITE FORSYTHE. On the underside of the pullout worksurface is stamped "MAR 1939 PORCELIRON" The base has been painted at some point, but the bottom right metal drawer, and the shelves inside the open part are all intact. Now, here's the top, and here's my dilemma. I really intended to scrub this baby up, paint it at creamy white, and USE it in my house. But after some cleaning and stuff, I'm suspecting that this paint and stencil on the top is the original 1939 paint job. The stencil is so art deco looking, and it appears to have been sprayed on. It just seems like it would be a very un-cool thing to do to paint over this. I'm doing a bit of research before I do anything but wash it up more. The roll-up tambour door works fine, as does the flour sifter thing. The door on the left (with the handle on the top) tilts out, and then the whole box thing is metal lined. The housewives of the day dumped their flour in there, and then it was dispensed out of the sifter thing at the bottom by cranking the little handle.

I'd love your input, as I try to figure out whether to paint this or not. Apart from being absolutely filthy it is in good shape - all drawers work fine. Except for the tambour door handle, which is metal, the other knobs are ugly black plastic.

this is a close up of the top part, to show the stencilling.

Look at this filthy water! This was after just an initial wiping down. The entire thing needs to be scrubbed with a toothbrush. But I LOVE it. Please, if you know anything about these cabinets, leave me a comment here. I don't even know the manufacturer. There were several companies, not just Hoosier, who made these. From the little research I did on the web last night I think it may be a Sellers brand, but I really don't know. Looking forward to hearing from someone who knows about this stuff. Thanks!