Family History...

Today I will do a short family history for the younger family members...Starting with our Mother (Mona's mother)...

Blanche Parkin was married at 16, had 2 girls, Loraine and Barbara, divorced and married Joe (Elmer) Ashton in 1930 in the midst of the "Great Depression."...Joe made his living then, as a cowboy, and a coal miner...After an accident in the coal mine that left him disabled for 3 years, he got a settlement from the mine company, and the family hoping to make a new start, bought a small farm in Porterville, Utah...During this time Joe was unable to work, Blanche raised and sold chickens to keep the family fed...She must have had some help from family and they were able to pay off their debts with some of the settlement, before leaving Wyoming...Some of this history is told by Loraine in Aunt Peggy's (Blanches' sister) book "Precious Gems." Your Grandma Mona has a copy.

In 1940 the family moved to Porterville, where Joe worked the small acreage, and other jobs for wages to feed the family...They purchased milk cows and sold milk for additional cash flow...During the 10 years in Porterville, Loraine, Barbara and George finished school, got married and started families...I arrived on the scene and Mona started school and had blossomed into a teenager, when Mom and Daddy decided to move to Idaho...Mona was not happy about this decision...She was in 8th grade, that was the only school she had known, had good friends and didn't want to start her high school years in a new school...But move we did...The following photos' are from the years in Porterville, Utah...Many Hugs and Love to the Park Family....OWAV:)

Mona & Idella

George, Mona, Idella, just got off the school bus.

Blanche & Joe

Mona

Barbara wih baby, Alan

Loraine with baby, George

Mona 12-14-1936...

 Mona was born on a winter day, her birth overshadowed by the illness and death of her older brother, 2 1/2 year old Joel...Joel died less than a week later, on 12-20-1936, of double pneumonia...Even in their grief, they welcomed this tiny little girl, of about 4 pounds...Small enough that she fit in Daddy's shoe box and was kept in the warmest place in the ramshackled house...The shoe box fit perfectly on the open door of the wood/coal cookstove that heated the house and cooked their meals...In the last week of his life, Joel named this new little sister, Mona...As far as I know, the origin of the name was unknown.

Mona joined older siblings, Loraine 10, Barbara 8, George 5 1/2, Joel 2 1/2..Mona was a happy baby, she grew and thrived in this environment with extra care from the older children and loving parents...What our family may have lacked in material wealth, was more than made up for in love...I don't remember the word love spoken out loud, but we were loved and cherished, and taught by example to love one another...  We were reprimanded by a word, or a look, not by a belt...Maybe a swat on the butt, to get our attention!

Your Grandma Mona, grew up in a world where everyone worked together...There was no "women's" work or "men's" work, everyone just did what needed to be done and many times, I remember Daddy saying, "Lets all help your Mother with the supper dishes, then we can all sit together, before bedtime."It was not beneath him, to put his hands in dishwater or grab a dish towel, because he knew that Mom had worked hard all day,  then helped milk the cows, before fixing supper. ..

Growing up in this way, your Grandma, drove tractor, milked cows, herder cattle, shoveled manure and made sure all animals were fed, watered and had a clean, sheltered place to spend the night, before we all left the barnyard, went into the house and ate the supper that our Mother put on the table...Another lesson we learned at the table, was to eat what was put before us and be damn thankful, that we had food to eat.

Mona used this work ethic her entire life as she and your Grandfather worked together, he working and going to school and she working and taking care of a household, so that eventually they could have a good life...Sending more love and hugs to the Park Family...OWAV:)

Joe, Blanche, Baby Mona

                                                                                        

                              Blanche holding Mona, Barbara Loraine & George 

                               Joe holding Mona, Barbara, Loraine & George 

Memories with Mona...21º

 My heart is heavy today with the news that my sister Mona, passed away yesterday...Mona, 6 years older than me, we grew up together with the usual sibling rivalry, but with the age difference, she became the older sister and I, the new baby, that took her spot as "baby of the family."...As we grew older, she had to put up with me, as I was a general nuisance in her life, wanting to be included with her and her older friends...We managed to grow up with little animosity, and became close sisters/friends in later years.

Mona was outgoing, had lots of friends and boyfriends, was a high school cheerleader, a hard worker, our dad's "right hand man."She loved the out of doors, where she could ride Trixy, and take care of our small herd of cattle, as they roamed 200 acres of timberland...She cared little about book learning and dreamed of riding in rodeos and living on the farm...All of that changed when "a sailor," named Jerry, stole her heart away, in a whirlwind courtship of about 2 weeks and she found herself, married and on a train to Boston, where he was stationed...From Boston, to New York City, to Norfolk, Virginia, she followed her Sailor...When he was stationed at the South Pole, she came back to the farm for a year, but couldn't wait until he got home, so they could continue their life together...During those years, she worked as a clerk, and a nurses aid...Jerry left the Navy to pursue a college education and they started a family...

In the following years they welcomed 5 children, Jerry got several college degrees, Mona continued working,  They moved to Colorado, where they had a business and finally moved to California where Jerry got his Dr. of Chiropractic and then moved to Utah and set up a practice...I asked Mona one day, "Why did you marry Jerry?..She said, "Because he told me he was going to be a Doctor."...Then with a rueful smile, and as an after thought she said, "I just didn't know it was going to take him so long!.. "Sending love and hugs to the Park Family...OWAV:)

PS..More tomorrow, memories made with Mona and Jerry.

Of course I had to be in the photo.

Always a tomboy

Her first love, Trixy

Highschool cheerleader

Daddy's right hand man!

Graduated from High School

                                              

 

Married May 1956

Quiet/Busy Day...18º

 I thought yesterday would be easy, but after I put the turkey breast in the oven, for its 7 hour slow roast, it was just one thing after another until we sat down for dinner at 3pm...The turkey was okay and will make great sandwiches for today (and tomorrow and the next day)...The stuffing was yummy, with leftovers, and gravy to go with it and the pumpkin pie, one of my best...Might have it for breakfast...We did a quick FaceTime with Bobi and family, as they fixed their dinner in Corvallis...Pam and I finished the day with one game of 5 crowns...She managed to beat me in the last two hands but only because I was half asleep!..We had connected via phone with Rusty, early in the morning, it was a good day.

Herb was up early this morning for his 4am cup of coffee, (we have a new coffee maker and are still trying to get it programmed, just right) This digital age is a pain!...Anyway, he emptied the dishwasher and put away all the dishes, pots and pans from yesterday, stoked the fire and just put the flag out for the day...I'm still sitting in my chair (where I might reside for the rest of today) trying to put words on paper that make sense.

I only have one thing that I absolutely have to do today and that is find the instructions to the kitchen stove...Yesterday as I took the stuffing out of the oven and started to put a pan of rolls in, the oven died...It has a code showing in the digital readout (damn digital again), that I will have to find in the instruction booklet...Or maybe I can google it...Anyway, neighbor to the rescue, she came over, took the pan of rolls home, baked them and returned the full pan to our house...Good neighbors are such a blessing!..One last thing, I suppose I should get out of my jammies...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Talk About Non Event...28º

Unlike the last month, when I had canning/jarring to write about and photos' to back it up, I find myself struggling to put words on paper...I looked back on my computer to 2019 for photos and blogs to jog my memory...I have one photo of a pumpkin pie and I wrote 1 blog the entire month of november 2019...So do I make something up, go way back in my memory bank, to Thanksgivings of long ago or just post photos of family celebrations or blather on about the weather, cleaning house or what I plan to do for the next month, before we finally say goodby to 2020?

I do have a few books on my "virtual shelf," one that I can listen to and a couple that I can read, if I so desire...My supply of dipping chocolate is waiting for me to make fondant, add flavoring and do my hand dipped chocolates, something that brings me joy...A pile of fabric and sewing machine awaits me upstairs, where I could make more potholders, or rice filled heat packs or I could even make a quilt, something I haven't done for many years...Maybe it will snow this week, giving me an excuse to be outside getting some exercise and fresh air and clear my head, so I can think straight!...Send love and hugs, wishing you  a safe holiday...OWAV:)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ONE AND ALL!

The best tasting turkey, ever!

Jarring End to Canning Binge...19º

 Finally the last blog about canning/jarring chili...I'm sure none of you are happier than Herb is that this latest marathon (that I said wouldn't be a marathon), is over...As I write he is getting the last jars, boxed up to carry to the cellar shelves...I haven't counted how many trips he has made, but we did over 40 quarts and 30 pints of chili, plus 6 pints of ground beef, (left over from chili recipe)...That is many trips up and down the cellar stairs, plus the canner and special pans that also make that up and down trip...I couldn't do it without him!..Everything is now back in its place.

The last of the pints.

Now it is two days before Thanksgiving, but our celebration will be small...Our kids will spend TG at their own homes in Portland and Bend, with a side trip to Corvallis, where Cienna is still at her apartment, finishing up her last year of college...It seems the smartest thing to do in the COVID pandemic.

As we have on many Thanksgivings', Pam will join us for the day and we will eat, drink and play cards, while we reminisce about the last 30 years that we have taken trips, got our winters wood, had picnics,  celebrated birthdays, spent quiet days and crazy days together...I will try to keep dinner fairly simple, cranberry sauce is made, thinking roasted turkey breast with Bobi's artichoke/sausage dressing for dinner and pumpkin pie for dessert...That's the plan...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Multiplying Chili...16º

 I have a recipe for canning chili, from many years ago, when Mom and I first started canning it...I've changed the recipe over the years, but it never seems to work the same and I always end up with more chili than I planned on...Yesterday we did two canners, total 14 quarts, with more chili mixed up and ready to go into the jars this morning...Herb thinks i'm getting obsessive about all this canning and maybe I am, so will back off a bit, get the chili done and next week kick back, read a book and eat a few bonbons.

Wonder what will be on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner, hot dogs, peanut butter sandwiches or maybe we could grab a couple of jars off the cellar shelve and have turkey/chili soup to go with the traditional, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie...Just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Sorting the beans, before rinsing

 and soaking them.

Mixed up and heated.

Cooled overnight, before going

to the cellar.