Tom Loves Becky

Tom Sawyer & Becky Thatcher impersonators at a street fair in Hannibal, MO

The next moment he was “showing off” with all his might—cuffing boys, pulling hair, making faces—in a word, using every art that seemed likely to fascinate a girl and win her applause. 

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain

To Be Once More a Little Child...

I'd give all wealth 

that years have piled,
The slow result of Life's decay,
To be once more a little child
For one bright summer day.

~Lewis Carroll, "Solitude"~



The other day I ran across this favorite photo of my son when he was little, posing with his beloved pet, Kitten Nugget. He carried that little kitten around so much that it must have thought he was its mother.  Nugget grew up to be the most affectionate, lovable cat I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

To Keep Your Health

Mark Twain impersonator at a street fair in Hannibal, MO.

The only way to keep your health is 

to eat what you don't want, 

drink what you don't like, 

and do what you'd rather not.

~Mark Twain~ 

Ain't What They Used to Be

Things ain't what they used to be 

and probably never was.

 ~Will Rogers

Used now as nostalgic, rustic decoration, I can remember when washtubs such as these were a part of every Monday morning of my childhood. My Grandma ran a boarding house for the elderly and Monday was Wash Day.  I loved to help her with the chore in her shadowy basement where she had an old fashioned wringer washer with two tubs like these for rinse water.  The wringer arm of the chugging, churning machine swung about so that we could wring the clothes and bed linens from the soapy water into the first and then the final rinse water tubs. It was probably a dreaded weekly chore for Grandma, but I hope having a little "helper" made the task less wearisome. One of my most vivid memories of Grandma was her strong but wrinkled hands that always smelled of Clorox.

REPLY TO THE COMMENT FROM ANNE (below): My "reply to comments" feature isn't working. Thanks for stopping by, Anne.  Yes, we often got articles of clothing or towels caught in the wringer --- but I don't remember ruining anything.  Grandma would always warn us kids to be careful not to get our fingers caught in the wringer though!

Purple Rays of Beauty

Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty 

outvalues all the utilities of the world.  

~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844

Forget Your Years

Poster in my room at Mason House Inn Bed & Breakfast, Bentonsport, Iowa

O men, grown sick with toil and care,
Leave for awhile the crowded mart;
O women, sinking with despair,
Weary of limb and faint of heart,
Forget your years to-day and come
As children back to childhood's house.
~Phoebe Cary

Rewards of the Simple Life

To find the universal elements enough; 

to find the air and the water exhilarating; 

to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; 

to be thrilled by the stars at night; 

to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring 

- these are some of the rewards of the simple life.  

~John Burroughs~

Stone Walls Do Not a Prison Make...

Stone Wall, Galena, IL

“Stone walls do not a prison make, 

Nor iron bars--a cage, 

so peril, loneliness, an uncertain future, 

are not oppressive evils, 

so long as the frame is healthy 

and the faculties are employed; 

so long, especially, as Liberty lends us her wings, 

and Hope guides us by her star.” 

 ~Charlotte Bronte~ Villette

Touch a Hundred Flowers

I will be the gladdest thing
under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
and not pick one.
 
~Edna St. Vincent Millay
"Afternoon on a Hill"

A Short History of Medicine

2000 B.C. - "Here, eat this root."

1000 B.C. - "That root is heathen, say this prayer."

1850 A.D. - "That prayer is superstition, drink this potion."

1940 A.D. - "That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill."

1985 A.D. - "That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic."

2000 A.D. - "That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root."
~Author Unknown

Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks are a favorite childhood memory of mine. My grandmother grew them in her backyard, and we would pull off blossoms to play with, because they resembled little dolls with hoop-skirts when you turned them upside down. This year I plan to start some growing in my garden, because they come back year after year.

Stone Lily

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me.
The Carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality
~Emily Dickinson