Life - grace grits and gardening

Leaving the Lake. Leaving Munger Place…

July 26, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

This is our last morning at the lake. The early sun breaks pink through the fog, and the entire view from our porch is ethereal. We’ve enjoyed a great week with family in one of our favorite places. Lots of laughter. Too much food and drink, but that’s part of the fun. I’m ready to be home.

Home.

The word has a different meaning to us right now. Worth Street, our beautiful historic home in Munger Place, won’t be ours much longer. John and I have decided the time is right to sell. Our plan has always been to move home to Arkansas, and this will get us one step closer.

I am excited about this change, yet I will miss Worth Street and Munger Place. The house, neighborhood, friends, the convenience of fabulous grocery stores and Tex-Mex around the corner, my Promise of Peace garden.

The magic of Home Ec class…

July 24, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

The last time I was home on the farm, I found this black and white photo of my mother. On the back she had written made brown dog in Home Ec. junior high 1954. Ahhh, the magic of Home Ec.

See the brown dog on the shelf behind her bed?

Then I noticed the brown dog in the guest bedroom (the room my sister and I once shared). I don’t remember ever having seen it before.

The Bat Cave contains many treasures.

Sweet!

This reminded me of my own Home Ec class in the 1970s. At the time, I thought it was pointless and even tried to take shop class with the boys, but Momma and Daddy wouldn’t hear of it. Home Ec turned out to be one of the most enjoyable classes at Keiser Junior High. During that one hour a day, we learned a bit about cooking and sewing and a lot about ourselves. In a room full of girls without the distraction of cute boys, the hour felt safe and easy. Our young teacher was approachable. There was nothing we couldn’t ask; no topic off limit.

I never learned to sew, nothing more than a straight seam anyway, but I still remember the special time we spent together in the Home Ec kitchen and classroom.

Home Ec is now considered passé. Like cursive writing and hot cafeteria food and the Pledge of Allegiance, so many things have disappeared in favor of progress or technology or political correctness. Gradually. No big deal. Until it makes a big difference in our society.

I say bring back Home Ec.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:
Tim McGraw – Back When

Annabelle and the Dinner Bell

July 15, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

When Lucy had only been with us three or four days, I taught her to ring these bells when she wanted to go outside to do her business. She figured it out very quickly. As we tried to watch football, she rang the bells. As we tried to eat dinner, she rang the bells. Each time we grinned thinking boy, Lucy is a quick learner. And she was. In no time she trained us to jump up and run to the back door each time she rang those bells. For the most part, the bells were brilliant, Lucy became potty trained and all was well.

And then Annabelle came along.

Annabelle thinks this is the dinner bell.

Annabelle is always hungry.

She rings the bells, I open the door, she runs out, runs immediately back in then expects a treat.

Sometimes she is hungry in the middle of the night.

The bells may have to go.