Merry Christmas

This Christmas Card was taken about 1953.  All six of us still, at one time!

Christmas in Atlanta.  Judy, me, Nell, and Santa.  This was taken about 1954, notice Judy's dog tag.  We were going to school at Mary Lin Elementary.  The next picture is of Catherine and Susie in 1976.  This was taken in Hinsdale, Illinois.  The next Christmas card is Michael and Lara, taken in 1987.               

                                                                              

Judy and me 1967

  Judy had the best friends:  Amelia and Brenda.  I always wanted to tag along with them.  They were always having such fun and seemed so worldly!  Here we are when Judy was a first year teacher. She had the most fabulous car, an MGB, and, wasn't it British racing green? or Black?  it was to die for.  My sister was always one of the best teachers Walton County ever had.  She has a natural talent for teaching.

   When we were growing up, lots of times we would walk up town to the Kirkland Theatre to see a show, and Older Brother  would run ahead of us on the way home and jump out to scare us! OH! My! How it worked. I wonder what happened to Mr. Kirkland.  OB never scared him, as far as I know.

For one of the matinees, Lash LaRue was on stage.  I had an autographed 8 x 10 glossary of him for the longest time.  

I remember wanting to go to a horror show with my brothers and sisters and Mom saying that we/I would have nightmares.  Well, she was right.  I think it was about some watermelons that would split open and people would come out looking just like someone else.  Then, of course, there was the Blob.  Ah, Steve McQueen.  That was really a great horror show.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is full of many wonderful memories.  Yesterday we had our very traditional meal.  With us five of us, we have to be careful not to get carried away with the cooking.  We started our celebration with breakfast at my house: Judy's breakfast casserole, and Judy's curried fruit, and, champagne.  Dinner is always planned around the Cowboys' game, and  Dotsy HAS to make her dressing, and I have to make my sweet potato souffle. 

When we were little, Mom always used her silver,  crystal, and the  china that her Mother gave her, for our holiday meals.   I  learned early that the silver had to be counted before it was put up.  This way we were able to find any pieces that had gone astray.  Maybe into the garbage or in with the every day pieces. Grandmother's china was a set of Haviland she bought in New Orleans from an estate sale.  This was probably in the 30's??? 20's?  or possibly even earlier.

 In college, Mike started bringing some of his UGA football buddies to Thanksgiving dinner.   Mom and Dad would cook at least one turkey, a ham, and tons of food.  Pop made his famous punch, that had a motor.  One of the treats we always had for Thanksgiving, was oysters on toast points. Served with champagne.  If the football players were coming, we made sure to eat those early.  To this day, there are never enough oysters on toast points to go around when the Oakes' get together.  

This year, I did make a different sweet potato souffle: cousin Linnie's scrumptious recipe with the praline topping.  I'll never go back to mine.  The recipe I used came from Lunnie Broughton in Monroe.  It served us well for 30 years.   Catherine and Susie liked having Lunnie for a babysitter, and I certainly did.  She would iron, cook, and clean.  When the family would go off for a vacation or just to Hard Labor Creek,  Mom would have Lunnie make dozens and dozens of fried pies.  I think the apricot were the favorite.  Whenever I make sweet potato casserole, I think of  Lunnie.

I'm grateful for many things in my life.  Some are: that Catherine had friends in Maui to have dinner with, and, Susie had friends in Florence to have an American feast with, even if it was on a Saturday.

Avondale Estates

The very first house I remember was our home in Avondale Estates.  I don't remember very much about our time in Avondale, but I do remember that I fell into the community pool and my grandfather, Paw, 'saved' me.  Our home had two bedrooms, and we were very crowded! Mom and Dad, older brother, sister Judy, me, brother Mike, sister Nell, and, Dad's father, Paw.  Mom said she had bunk beds everywhere.  Paw's wife, Nona Corry Oakes, died in 1947 and Dad and his brother Walter were going to take turns having him live with them.  That, of course, didn't happen.  Paw lived with us for twenty three years.  Sometimes he would visit other friends, and at one time Dad had  a place in Lawrenceville for him. 

Back to Avondale.  Avondale Estates, just outside of Atlanta, was a master planned community, founded by George Francis Willis in 1924.  Mr. Willis purchased the entire village of Ingleside and renamed it after Stratford-upon-Avon.  The downtown buildings were all designed in a Tudor style, and many of the houses also.  There were tennis courts, a lake, a community pool and clubhouse.  The first Waffle House opened in Avondale in 1955.

After the War, Dad had a hardware store, in East Atlanta, and was able to carry a line of  washing machines.  Washing machines were a rare commodity at that time.  The only one he had was a floor model, which he immediately brought home to Mom.  (This is not a picture of Peaches.)  Mom was very grateful for her new wringer machine, as the maid was probably doing the wash in a wash tub. Older brother was a very inquisitive young man, as Mom and Dad found out.  One day, he took her wringer washing machine apart.  I don't know if it ever worked the same again.  About the only other exciting thing that happened in Avondale was connected to older brother.  He tried out a hammer on Paw's head.  Paw didn't think it too exciting.  

There were lots and lots of children on our street; the war boom babies were just starting in 1946.   

Update on the Limoncello!

Well, I was very surprised, but the limoncello was a hit!  Very Tasty!  Yes, with a capital T.  Dotsy and I made a lot pizzas for Peaches and Troy.  The Peach Pits and Sub-Pits were there, and Troy's golfing buds.  The Pits are playing bridge again this Wednesday! And, the golfers are out now as I type!!!  When we were growing up, there were always a lot of birthday parties.  My sister Judy and Older Brother shared a party for many years because they were born one day and one year apart.   Mom does like to say that she had 6 children in 8 years and Dad was away in WWII for 2 years.  She also likes to say that they all had the same Mother.  

Oldest Brother was born in Oakdale, LA, in 1943.  Dad was in the army and  training in Oklahoma.  So, Mom was staying with her parents when O. B. was born.  At about 6 weeks old, he had to have surgery for pyloric stenosis.  Mom said the doctor couldn't use an anesthetic because O.B. was so young, and, there may not have been any available during the War.  Back in Atlanta, Mom was saving grease for the War effort.  Nannie came to visit and  wanted to know how she was going to get the grease out of all of the Coca Cola bottles.  

  Peaches and Papa were married secretly for about a year, in 1940, but had an 'official' marriage in 1941 in her parents living room.  All the relatives were there and Mom had on a beautiful pink suit.   After the wedding, when Mom and Dad were getting ready to  leave on the train for Atlanta, Mom asked her sister Dottie how to cook.  Dottie told her to get a can of Spam, and open the can, stud the Spam with cloves, and bake it.  Dad would tell us that Peaches cooked Spam for him when he came home from the War.  He said that was all he had eaten for two years.  They didn't have Spam after that.

Papaw and Nannie weren't too pleased with the match, but came around when Dad had a vasectomy after the sixth child, little Dotsy, was born in 1951.  Nannie came to Atlanta to help Mom with the latest edition, and while she was there,  Dad had his 'procedure', and for the first time Nannie hugged his neck.  She also didn't mind if he had a drink in front of her, even though she hated drinking more than the Devil hates Holy Water. 

Hair Day!

Thursday Mom's Hair Day.  Every Thursday, and that is also our day for the grocery store and other errands. For as long as I can remember she has gone to the beauty parlor once a week.   It usually is $10.00, but recently went up to $12.00.  Today, our friend Gloria was also having her hair done, and is going to show me how to do a yarn over next week! When we lived in Atlanta on Fairview Road, I can remember going with Mom to Kurt's.  I remember he was on a side street somewhere in Atlanta, and then moved to Peachtree St. across from Brookwood Station.  There was a wonderful deli next door.  the best pastrami sandwiches.  When we moved to Monroe in 1954, Mom still made the trek to Kurt's but not every week.  Hwy 78 was being widened into a 4 lane and it took forever to get to Atlanta.  Kurt eventually moved across Peachtree  and down a block, and Mom probably went to him until the late 80's.???  

Today my sister Judy is having eye surgery. All of us are wishing her well and a speedy recovery. She will have to be very careful for the next month, lie face down and not move around.  Maybe she will start a blog while she is recuperating! Someone told me that she had an 'immaculate hole', but it is really a macular hole.  Ah, the scrambler.