Christmas on the Farm

For our first Christmases we hung up our stockings—pinned to the side of the daybed in the living room. They were our own long stockings that we wore in the winter-time, not special stockings made of red and green felt. When we got up on Christmas morning, our stockings would be lumpy because there would [...]

Childhood Memories

Playing “Cozy” in the rain

I love the sound of rain. I love the fresh smell of the outdoors when it rains. When I was a little girl, on a rainy day I and my brother liked to gather the pillows and blankets that Mom would let us use. We loved to build a [...]

Some Blake Family Stories

My mother’s name was Ethel Blake. Her father’s name was Alexander Blake and his mother, Mary McClennan, was born in Scotland. When Mary was a little girl the family lived in a sod house. One day she lost her sewing needle. After much searching, they found it stuck in the damp sod that [...]

Another Book Suggestion

The Healing Power of a Christian Mind, Dr. William Backus. Bethany House Publishers, 1996

Janice Learns About Tatting

Tatting is an old craft for making lace and other decorative ornamentation.
Tatting is portable and easy to learn creating
complex pieces with simple stitches.

When I came to California as a newlywed in 1950, I met cousin “Tom,” Glenn’s mother’s cousin. I think her real name was Bernice, but everyone called her Tom.
She did [...]