I remember it well way back in my mind

A quick glance at the kerosene lamp on the table. Oh yes! I remember it well way back in my mind – our evening meals. It made me smile.After the clocks were turned back in the Fall of the year, we made it a point of eating supper by lamplight. Well actually, in the first year or so we used candles but it became way too expensive. We’d linger at each meal chatting about the day and just enjoying each other’s company. Our supply of candles was soon depleted so out came the old lamps and that’s what we’ve used ever since.

How we looked forward to those times – so peaceful; so special. We never tired of it even though it was an every day occurrence from November to March each year for more than 40 years. Such wonderful memories!

And I’ve been thinking … why stop?  There is absolutely no reason not to continue, so I do and I will.

Next to reading, writing has to be the very best hobby one could have, don’t you think? Somebody asked me how I get started and how I know what to write about. Gosh! When it was put like that, it really got me thinking.

“How do I come up with the things I write?”

So for the next few days I paid attention. When I heard a particular phrase or somebody talking about something interesting, I noticed I’d reach for pen and paper.  When I saw an object that triggered a thought or took me back in time, I’d file it away in my mind with the hopes of remembering it. Then later, I’d jot it down.  When I heard a piece of music or the lyrics to an old song, it would take me back or cause me to reflect on something currently happening – in the world, in my life, in whatever – and, I’d jot it down.

Before long all these little bits and pieces would come tumbling to the forefront and I’d get the urge to write. Now find the notes will you! Scraps all over the place. And then, the squirrel comes into play and my head goes madly off in another direction.

Yesterday, I was driving and listening to an old CD by The Flummies.  Tunker Campbell, my brother-in-law, is a part of that band – has been since its beginning.  One of their songs, The River, had been recorded and it was what got me started on this blog.

As with most of their work, the song tells a story and as I listened I could picture the man as a young boy, down by the river with his buddies.

When I was a boy there’s a place we would be
It was down by the river, my buddies and me
It’s a place we would go just to pass the time
and I remember it well way back in my mind.
by the Flummies

Apple Cores and the Labrador Retriever

As I was writing this, I found a random piece of paper with the words ‘apple cores’ scrawled across.  It related to memories so I just had to include it here.

I was baking an apple the other day and it made me think of old friends, Vanessa, Leslie and Sandra.  It was Christmas or early January a lifetime ago and we were getting together for a meal and to celebrate.  Once a year, four of us would make it a point to do that, each one taking a turn as host. That particular year it was up to Vanessa.

I remember she had made macaroni and cheese for the occasion and was preparing an apple dessert when I arrived on the scene.  There was a mound of apple wedges on the counter. But it was the apple cores that grabbed my attention.  First of all, I had never seen an apple corer before. It was such a neat idea ($2.00 at the Dollarama, by the way). Her beautiful black Labrador Retriever was sitting patiently nearby, waiting for this special treat.  Imagine – a dog loving apple cores!

It was a delicious meal, for us as well as the dog, and such fun to get together.  Each one of them are storytellers in their own right.  Vanessa would have us in stitches as she recounted tales of what happened on a particular ‘day in the life of’ – things about Gerry the cat, exploding milk cans, garbage day, John, the toilet seat and the Javex story. Leslie, likewise, would keep us entertained for hours, while Sandra would start a story and laugh most of the way through with us trying desperately to pick out the words in between her laughter.

I wonder if my friends remember?  By the way, since that day an apple corer has been a standard gadget in my kitchen.