Collecting things

People like to collect many different things. When I wasa kid I liked collecting stuffed animals. I liked collecting dogs especially. I also liked china statues of different dog breeds. My brother liked coin collecting. We used to help him organize his coins. My Mother In Law used to collect Corn Husk dolls. Her husband would comment some times that this collection always seemed to be growing. They were cute dolls. Some people like to collect records, when we had those. My husband still has a collection of old records from his youth. Today, people collect CD’s- Compact disks. I used to collect different salt and pepper shakers, but lost interest after a short time. Some girls liked to collect Barbie dolls. Boys liked G I Joe dolls. My husband collects cars. Stamps are also a popular thing to collect. There are many things to collect today. You just have to find what interests you. Some things collected can be worth some money if you hold on to them for along time.

Panama Canal trip

On one of my cruises, we went to The panama canal. This was a great port of call. It was interesting how they lowered or raised the water and then opened the locks so that ships could pass through the locks. We didn’t get to go through the locks, because this was not part of the cruise, but we did get to see a ship pass through the locks. You would hear an alarm sound, then the water would lower and raise as it was needed. This process took a while. The passengers on the ship waved to us as they passed through. We walked up a long staircase in order to get to the top of the canal. You could see every thing. We watched for a long time, then we checked out the other sights. My family took lots of pictures. After we were finished, we checked out the gift shop where I bought some memorabilia, of course. I bought a t-shirt since I liked collecting one from every port of call.

Home Economics class

I took a course in school called Home Economics. My sister thought this was a waste since I was learning to cook at home. I thought it would be an easy class to take. I only took the cooking part though. I did not want to learn the sewing part. We learned about shopping and eating healthy foods. We learned about the different food groups. Meat, fruits and veggies, bread and cereal. We made a few delicious foods. One day we made a cake. We each were able to make and decorate a one layer cake, then take it home. Mine was decorated with m n m’s. The family thougt I did a great job and also enjoyed the cake for dessert. When Home Ec. was over I ad made an A. It was a fun course which lasted 18 weeks. Sewing was the next 18 weeks. So if you get a chance to take Home Ec. You will enjoy it.

Spanish class

My first Spanish class was in the eighth grade, actually, my only one. I never took Spanish two as my sister did. I had a lot of trouble in class, but my teacher, Mrs. Juarez helped me a lot. I always enjoyed learning the vocabulary/Spelling words best. We would have a 25 word spelling test every Friday. I would repeat these words over and over again until I knew them by heart. I always made an A on the test. Some of the words were hard to learn. We also had to learn the meanings of the words for the test. This part was usually multiple choice though. We one time had a class Christmas party where we had a pinata. This was a fun way to start our Winter break. We had to also translate Spanish into English. This is where I would have the most trouble. I did enjoy it though. In the beginning, I was thinking of dropping Spanish, but the teacher talked me out of it. I told her I did not think I was doing well. She told me I had a C. After that I worked harder and I brought my grade up.

1st Upside down cake

The first cake I remember doing by myself, with my mom’s supervision was a Pineapple upside down cake. I measured out each ingredient asking for help, if needed. When it was time for baking, I cleaned up the first amount of dishes. When it was time to finish, my mom helped me take it out of the pan. I proceeded to decorate it with pineapple, nuts and maraschino cherries. When it was all done, every one wanted to check it out. We had it for dessert that night. I was very pleased the way that it turned out. My family liked it too. My brother surprised me by saying he liked it also. Usually brothers like to tease about things like this, but h enjoyed the cake along with the rest of the family.

Aunt Marie and Uncle frank

I used to have an Uncle Frank and Aunt marie when I was a young girl. They were actually my Great aunt and uncle. They lived in Palmetto,Fla, not too far from my Grandparents. They were from Indiana originally. They would spend the cold months in Fla. and the warm months in Indiana until they retired to Florida. It was always fun to go see them. Aunt marie always made a very delicious Banana bread that she would bring for Christmas. My dad’s birthday was in February, so she would have us come and fix him a birthday lunch, usually Sloppy Joes. They were delicious. Aunt Marie and Uncle frank had a nice trailer. This trailer park had a nice pond with ducks. We enjoyed riding around on a bicycle and a tricycle and looking at the ducks and some times playing shuffle board. Some times when we arrived, that is what they were doing. My brother did a lot of traveling with them when he was little. He was close to our aunt and uncle. They were some great folks.

Florida history

When I was in 11th grade, I took a course called Florida history. I never liked history, so this seemed like a better choice than the other history choices. I liked my instructor. He was nice and interesting to listen to. One of our history lessons was on a prison field trip that my teacher took. He told us all about how this prison was. He told us that there were different color uniforms for every one. This was a good history day for us to listen about his findings at this prison. We also had a few projects.I remember one project I did. I handed it in early. When he went to give out the grades, he had given me a zero. I asked him about this. I told him that I had turned it in early and that it was missed. I found my project in a corner of the room. I showed it to him and he gave me an A. I was glad to have been able to find it. So Fla history was an interesting class to take since that is the state I lived in.

Candlelight Service

On December 31st, Christmas eve there is a candle light service in many churches. I have been to many of these. It is nice to see all of the candles lit We sing many carols and have the service. At the end of the service, a candle is lit,and then each person takes a turn and lights some one elses candle with theirs. The lights are turned off and we admire the beauty of the lights. Then, more carols are sung. Our Church in Miami had one on Christmas eve. I was in the choir. The candles were being used from a couple of Christmas services prior to this one. They werestill in pretty good shape though. Some candle light sevices are held outside. As long as the wind is calm it is a beautiful place to have candles lit. Several denominations have these services. I have been to two or three different ones.

Putt Putt with friends

One day a while ago, I went putt putt olfing with some friends. One of the friends was a young boy. He enjoyed trying to hit the ball in each of the holes. I even got a hole in one. It was fun. He would watch all of the players, and try to go some times when some one else was putting. We had to tell him to wait his turn. I have done Putt Putt one or two other times. I had some trouble, but eventually got the ball in the hole. I went with my sister one time. She played very well. It’s a fun game. The more you play, the better you get. Like any thing else. We have a putt putt place near Dairy Queen, so this is where every one ends up after their game. Stephen did not know what to think when the ball disappeared. We told him, this is when the game is over. The ball went back to where we got them at first so that some one else could use it.

Marlin’s games

When we were living in Miami, there was a baseball team named the Florida Marlins. They are still around today, of course. Well, we had the opportunity to go to several games. We went on a couple of give away nights. We got drink coolers. One game I remember was in one of the suites. In this suite they had free food and drinks. It was a great night. You could watch the game live, or on a screen. The Marlins team was a good time also one Fourth of July because they had  fireworks display. I went with my family to two of the games. One night Chip and I went on a give away night by ourselves. I think this was tote bag night. It seemed like some people carried around several of those. It was a fun, but late night. I had surprised Chip with the tickets. So we enjoyed our Marlins games experiences.