grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Easy Bake Gone Bad

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Sometime between the first televised moon landing and the last Bachelor rose ceremony, the Hasbro folks completely ruined the Easy Bake Oven. 
Gone is the signature turquoise color. Gone is the 100-watt bulb used for cooking.
Easy Bake Gone Bad
Like many toys from my magical youth, the Easy Bake is now constructed in cheap Chinese plastic, outsourced to East Asia only to be recalled in the USA. The worst part—the Easy Bake is now Pepto-Bismol pink. Must every girl thing be pink?

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Barbie, but is she now the CEO of Hasbro? 

44ish years ago…

Sear Wish Book
On Saturday morning after Thanksgiving over giant bowls of Lucky Charms, Staci and I studied the Sears Christmas Wish Book. A three inch tome often used as a booster seat at the dining room table, the pages were stuffed with dreams of things we didn’t know we needed. Things not sold in town at Sterling’s Five and Dime. We thoughtfully discussed the merits of each item before allowing it on our carefully crafted Christmas list. 
This was an annual ritual and colossal decision. Gifts from Santa saw us through to summer birthdays.
The Easy Bake Oven, a novelty at the time, was at the top of the wish list. We both agreed with little discussion. We wanted that oven. Even more than the new Pan Am Barbie or Twister game. 
Easy Bake Oven!
We quickly posted our lists fireside allowing Santa plenty of time for toy building and sleigh packing. Santa was a busy man—almost as busy as Daddy.
On Christmas morning, presents were scattered around the room and the stockings were over-filled with chocolate candy and tiny trinkets, but the Easy Bake was our favorite and most used gift.

Once again, Santa had graciously overlooked our trespasses. Once again, Santa managed to locate our chimney way out in the country between Cottonwood Corner and Athelstan. These details were as amazing as the little turquoise oven. We attributed this continued good fortune to our daily consumption of Lucky Charms. They really were magical. Just like Christmas.

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch, Original 1966 Version

Farm Livin’

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Today I am participating in a week of ThanksBlogging with Arkansas Women Bloggers.  Today’s challenge is to take a photo of something I am thankful for and enhance it with Pic Monkey.

Highway 140, Mississippi County, Arkansas
I am thankful to have been raised on a farm,
where I learned the smell and feel of dirt,
where a traffic jam means being stuck behind a tractor.
I breathe it in, hold it inside, take it with me.
talya
Musical Pairing:


“I know the pleasure of pulling up root vegetables. They are solvable mysteries.” 
― Novella Carpenter

A Beautiful Mind

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Typical Tate Girl Conversation….

Momma: Did you bring that thing?
Me: What thing?
Momma: You know that thing we were talking about when that girl was here.
Staci: What girl?
Momma: You know that girl from town who works at that place over by that road next to the church whose husband graduated with Lesa who was talking about that thing for the lake. 
Me: When?
Momma: The other day.
Staci: Oh that girl.
Me: Her hair looks really cute these days.
Staci: I think so too.
Me: Yeah, I brought it.
Momma: Good.
Do you wonder if you have Alzheimer’s? Early onset? How early is early? When is it regular? Since I read Still Alice, I’m pretty sure my whole family has it. If we have it together, I guess we won’t even realize it.
Our conversations are often a combination of Charades and Taboo. Our most used words are thing and it. It covers everything.
We have a secret family language, finishing each other’s sentences with no proper nouns, very few adjectives and single syllable words and grunts. Like a secret twin language with hand gestures mixed in for emphasis. 
In contrast, my 91 year old mother-in-law can recall details with amazing clarity. She knows the value of each of her stocks to the penny and buys and sells when she sniffs out a good deal. She recommends stock to us along with the best deals at the grocery store. She doles out my father-in-law’s medication like a highly skilled pharmacist…half a pill at 10:00; one pill at lunch; two pills at 2:00; one and a half at supper; one after the first full moon. She never seems to struggle to find a word.

My father-in-law, at 90, has memory problems and repeats his favorite ten stories like an album soundtrack. WWII – when John was born – first driving experience – car wreck – new shoes….repeat….

The mind is an amazing thing.
talya
Musical Pairings:
When I’m Sixty-Four – The Beatles  (ok this is NOT that old….)

“At some point, there would simply be no point. ” – Lisa Genova, Still Alice


Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!