Old Songbook

I went to a few yard sales today and only came back with one item. I paid a dime for my purchase.

I bought the 1938 song book that Teddy is holding. I love it.  It is filled with old songs. The songs are indexed as Banquet and Greeting Songs, Children's Songs, Christmas Songs and Carols, College and Humorous Songs, Cowboy and Mountain Songs, Home and Folk Songs, Nature Songs, Negro Spirituals, Parting Songs, Patriotic Songs, Plantation Songs, Rounds, Sacred Songs and Hymns, Sea Songs and Chanteys, Sentimental Songs, Singing Games and Thanksgiving Songs.

Here are three songs that are classified as Mountain Songs.

I remember Billy Boy from when I was a kid. When I was young, we had an old record that had this song on it. I used to sing it all the time.

There are many other old time songs in the book. I'll be posting about them from time to time. Some I have heard and some I have not heard before.

One cute song is Prairie Flower. The words are:

I'm a little prairie flow'r, Growing wilder ev'ry hour;
Nobody cares to cultivate me, I'm as wild as wild can be.
I'm as wild as wild can be, Tu-ra-lu-ra, Tu-ra-le.


I'm a little wrinkled prune, May get stewed, and very soon;
If I do, look out for me, I'm as bad as bad can be.
I'm as bad as bad can be, Tu-ra-lu-ra, Tu-ra-le.

I hope you enjoyed sneaking a peek at my book as much as I did.

Posted by Janet Smart at Writing in the Blackberry Patch

A Colorful Spring

Spring has sprung here at the Blackberry Patch. 

Delicate ferns rising like

sea horses from the earthen floor

Violets bring back sweet memories

of children with a fistful of purple

and a wide grin on their face

Green coats and purple corsages

never looked more beautiful

The sweet scent and the soft shades of pink and white 

foretell the coming of rusty golden delicious apples

These baby 'trees' will bring forth

concord grapes, bursting with tart juice

Pink, white and green blend together

in perfect harmony 

Baby pears, tiny and delicate and just the

perfect shade of green.

Go here if you want to watch the baby eagles in Shepherdstown,  WV. They are growing fast!

Posted by Janet at Writing in the Blackberry Patch

Are you Superstitious?

Most people say they are not superstitious, but are they telling the truth?

Most superstitions are just that - superstitions. But, is there a superstition that deep down inside you believe, but don't tell anyone about it?

According to Merriam Webster, the definition of superstition is:  a belief or practice resulting from ignorance,  fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation or a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary.

I think I might say it is when you believe in something you do not understand.

I think many early Appalachian people were superstitious. My grandmother was very superstitious.There were many things they did not understand, so they believed in the superstitions. Some of them were passed down to other generations and they stuck with us. We may know in our minds they are illogical, but we believe in them anyway.

How about things coming in threes. This is one I admit I believe in. I have seen it happen too many times. Usually deaths in the family occur in threes. Accidents, such as airplane crashes, occur in threes. 

My parents would not give you a knife. They would ask for a penny in return.

Whoever opens up a pocketknife must also close it. My husband goes by this, if he hands me one already opened, he makes sure I do not close it before I give it back to him.

How about opening an umbrella up inside the house. I know this could not possibly cause bad luck, but you will never catch me doing this. I about had a tizzy fit one time when one of my kids started to open up one inside the house.

How about stopping a rocking chair from rocking if no one is in it. This is another superstition that is from the old days. They say evil spirits will come in and sit if one is left rocking. Now I know this is not true, call me crazy, but I will stop the rocking of empty chairs. I guess this is just a habit now, not a superstition to me.

I never watch someone leave until they are out of sight. I will turn my head just before they disappear. My mom started me doing this when I was just a teenager.

I know you are aware of many superstitions, I could make a very long list and did so a few years ago on my blog. You can go here and read the post.

But, are there some you believe in and still practice?


Are there any you admit to believing in?


Posted by Janet Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch
©Janet F. Smart

God's Rainbows

Into our lives a little rain must fall.

But, then God gives us a rainbow.

 

©David Smart

Take the time to stop and enjoys the rainbows in our lives.

Posted by Janet Smart at Writing in the Blackberry Patch

©Janet F. Smart

Kite Flying

            Did you fly a kite when you were a kid? I bet you did. This March has been the perfect time to fly a kite. We've had nice weather and plenty of wind. My kid's column in Two-Lane Livin' this month is about flying kites. I thought I would share it with you.

Fly a kite this spring and fill the March skies with a rainbow of colors

March is the perfect month to launch a dancing kite. But, if winds are too strong or too light, it is difficult to fly them. If your kite sinks tail first, there might not be enough wind. If it comes down nose first, there might be too much wind. A good way to measure the wind is by rustling leaves and waving flags. If you feel the wind on your face, there is probably enough wind to fly your kite.

Kites come in many sizes and shapes. Three common types are flat kites, box kites and soft kites. The most common is the Diamond kite.

Box kites fly better when winds get a little stronger (8-25 mph). But diamond kites fly well in light to medium winds (6-15mph).

Tails on kites help them remain stable. Small kites and flat kites may not last long in the air without tails. But if you want your kite to roll and pitch, then try one without a tail. Use lightweight material or brightly colored ribbons so you can make a longer tail. You can also use a long string with lightweight ribbons tied every 10 inches or so. Tails look pretty fluttering and twirling in the sky above you.

 

Never fly in lightening or rain. Find a nice open field without any power lines overhead. A happy kite is a kite with a lot of room. But, like Charlie Brown, you must beware of kite-eating trees.

 To launch, stand with your back to the wind and hold your kite up as high as you can. Make sure the nose is pointing up and let go. Do not throw it into the air; just gently release it into the wind. If the breeze is strong enough, the kite will start to rise. Slowly let out on your line and the kite will fly back. Before it reaches the ground, tighten your grip on the line and it will start to rise again. Repeat this process until the kite gets up into steady winds.

If your line becomes slack, bring it in a little. If the kite begins to pull too hard or act unstable, let some line out. To increase altitude, gently pump the line. Each time you pull in, the kite will rise a few feet. Do not be tempted to let out too much line. If your kite gets too high, it is harder for people to see and enjoy it. And, it takes longer to wind in when you are finished.

It takes practice, but soon you will be flying your kite like a pro.

UP IN THE SKY

The wind blows past

My kite and I

And lifts it quick

Up in the sky.

With its long tail

It flutters by

And sails about

Up in the sky

With skill and grace

My kite climbs high

And twirls around

Up in the sky.

What kind of kite do you remember flying when you were a child. I flew the simple diamond kites.
Here is a neat PBS site to go to with instructions on how to make a simple kite.

Posted by Janet Smart at Writing in the Blackberry Patch.
©Janet F. Smart

Weekend Happenings

I haven't accomplished much this weekend except getting sick and snuggling under this warm  WVU throw. Thank goodness for the JGH Clinic at Walmart being open on weekends. I don't think I could have waited until Monday.

 

 I like to turn out the overhead light and turn on my motion lamp.

Do you remember these from the 1950s and 1960s.

I love them. When I was young, I remember that we had one with a lighthouse on it.

This one is of waterfalls and I was lucky enough to get it at a yard sale quite a few years ago for only $3.

  They are so soothing to watch.

I finally got around to cracking a big bag of black  walnuts that had been out in the garage since December. I got a quart bag out of them and put them in the freezer. I love black walnuts, they are my favorite nuts to put in fudge, brownies, etc. Wish I had a batch of brownies with black walnuts in them right now.

And, last but not least, we discovered a bullet hole in our house! Seems it hit one of our big front porch columns and then swerved and landed in our siding near the garage door. If it had been an inch to the left, it would have  missed the column and went into our sliding glass doors of our family room. Right where I sit at my computer!

We don't know when it happened, but it had to be within the last couple of days (or nights). 

It's a little scary. We could have been outside when it happened and that would have put quite a scare in me. The Sheriff's Department came out and then talked to a few neighbors from the direction of the bullet. They seem to think it might have came from people shooting at coyotes on the ridge. 

We were very lucky that the bad weather missed us on Friday. We got a bad storm that only lasted fifteen or twenty minutes.

What's been happening in your neighborhood.

Posted by Janet Smart at Writing in the Blackberry Patch.
©Janet F. Smart

Ancient Artifacts

Ancient artifacts, West Virginia style.

We moved where we live now in November 1980. We were a young married couple with a newly built house, a 7 1/2 month old son and ancient artifacts beneath our soil. Our land was flat, which is unusual for West Virginia. They had to bulldoze our land a little so there would be a gradual slope away from the house. We kinda smoothed out our little acre and planted grass seed. This was in early November, so we never really had much grass until the following spring.

When walking around in our yard we started finding Indian points here and there. But by the following year our yard was covered with grass and we no longer were able to make  any finds.

We planted a garden and that is where most of these were found. Every spring, after plowing and tilling, the artifacts would show up in the soil. You had to have a keen eye and be on the lookout, though, because most people wouldn't even notice them.

  

close up

close up

Here are a few more 

I find chips of flint all the time

I found these just this week, while walking through our garden spot. Our neighbors probably think I am  crazy as they watch me slowly walk through the garden with my head down. But, that's okay. I'm prospecting.

I once had a comment on one of my blog posts about these. The commenter said I have an Ashtabula point dating at least 4000 yrs old and an Adena point around 1800 years old. He said that the notched points, with a flared out base separated by two notches are from the Archaic period which dates from 10,000 to 3000 B.P.. The points with the straight stem or base that narrows are from the Woodland period,which dates from 3000-1300 B.P.

He said that when you see a lot of flakes, it is not only possible that they knapped the arrowheads there, but they could have also processed game there. The flakes being a result of resharpening to give a sharper cutting edge to cut fat, bone and the like.

One of the best times to look for them is right after a rain.
Flint chips are interesting to me and I pick them up every time I see them, no matter how small they are.

Last summer I found quite a few points and lots and lots of flint chips!

Have you ever found any ancient artifacts?
Check out your plowed garden spot this spring and summer, and  I bet you just might find some.

Go here to see my other posts about my finds.

Posted by Janet Smart at Writing in the Blackberry Patch
©Janet F. Smart

Traveling West Virginia - The Mound

I didn't have to travel very far yesterday when I traveled West Virginia, because this landmark is fairly close to where I live.


I walked up these steps . . .

 

up and up. . . 

  

to the top of the South Charleston Adena Mound. It is called the Criel Mound because that was the name of the family who owned the farm that it was located on. This is the second largest burial mound in West Virginia. The top was leveled in 1840 for the erection of a judge's stand that was used for horse races that were conducted around the base of the mound.

  

Here is what it looked like inside when the Smithsonian Institute excavated it in the late 1800s. They recovered artifacts and 13 complete skeletons.

This is what it looks like when looking down D Street in So. Charleston. 

 

And what it looked like in 1909.

  

Be sure and visit the Interpretive Center just down the street from it at 313 D Street. It is filled with artifacts from the area. Joe greets you at the door and is just about the friendliest guy you would ever want to meet. That is my husband, Charley, gabbing in the doorway with him.

 Displays are throughout the Center . . .

  

 

You know I love looking at Indian artifacts. I have a collection of my own and talked with him about them.  

 If you are ever in the area, park and have a look around. Free 2 hour parking spots are right beside of the mound.

Here are a few links to info about the mound:

The Adena Indians "Mound Builders"
Criel Mound
Criel Mound - Wikipedia

posted by Janet Smart at Writing in the Blackberry Patch 
©Janet F. Smart

Snowbirds!

We had our first substantial snowfall yesterday here at the Blackberry Patch. 

We are low on seeds, but I put out some before the snow set in. 

This morning I also put out some peanuts for them to eat.

  

The wind is very brisk and our woodpecker holds on.

 

 So does this female cardinal!

 

The snow on the ledge looks like clouds on the horizon.

 

 

Cute couple!

 

Junco sitting on his snowy mop perch.

 

Of course, the bluejays found the peanuts!

Did you get snow?

How do you Pinch Pennies?

Penny pinch! I would say that all of us do it at some time or other. How do you pinch pennies?

My husband is retired now. I have never worked outside the home since we were married 33 years ago. So we are used to pinching pennies. Though we did not have as much coming in as some families, we watched what we spent - we had to. We also tried saving money when we could. We wanted our kids to be able to go to college and we wanted to save money for when my husband retired.

By me not working, we never had to pay for daycare or a baby sitter, we didn't eat out much and when we did we usually  bought off of the $1 menu (and still do), I shopped sales and used coupons, bought at yard sales and thrift stores.

Even though he is drawing Social Security and a pension, I was very surprised to see when looking at our W2 forms for 2011, that we lived on 52%  of what we lived on in 2010. That is a big difference! A big dent in our income is that over $800 is taken out of his pension check each month for health insurance. When I noticed this, I told my son that we must be pretty good  penny pinchers!

Do you use coupons?
Do you buy generic brands in food and medicine?
Do you have money direct deposited in your savings from your check?
Do you shop at thrift stores and yard sales?
Do you grow vegetable gardens and freeze or can your surplus food?
Do you have yard sales to get extra cash?
Are you driving less to save gas?
Do you cut your children's and husband's hair?
Did you drop your home phone when you got a cell phone?


Please leave comments and tell us how you pinch your pennies.

Let us help each other with our ideas.

Displaying Mom's Old Camera

As far back as I can remember, Mom just about always had a camera in her hand.
She loved taking pictures, though we sometimes kidded her about the pictures she took.
They often came back blurry or with the top of someone's head cut off.
But that was okay, she loved taking pictures.

I have her old SPARTUS camera with the flash attachment.
You held this camera in both hands and looked down into the opening. You did not hold it up to your eye to look into it.

It has been sitting on my shelf in the living room for the longest time. I thought it looked like a face with two eyes and a nose looking back at me.

I have a collection of craft books, called From Trash to Treasure, that I picked up at a yard sale a while back. They have some of the neatest ideas in them. I got this idea from one of those books.

Gather together wire (I used 22 ga. but you could use 18 ga.), wire cutters, pictures and an old camera.

 

(Don't you think it looks like a little square face staring back at you?)

Cut the wire into 15" lengths (more or less) and shape the ends in order to hold pictures. 

 

Now in the book they tell you to hot glue the ends of the wires onto the camera, which you can do. But, I didn't do this because I wasn't sure whether or not it would hurt Mom's camera. I gathered the ends of the wires together and took one of them and coiled it tightly around all the others. I did this to the bottom inch or so of the wire. Then I tied a thin black ribbon around the coiled wire, tied the ribbon  around and around the back of the flash attachment, and voila. . .  it holds it nicely in place.

 

from l. to r. -  me in the middle surrounded by two of  my cousins, my 5th grade school picture, 

Mom and Dad as sweethearts in August 1945, 

Mom sitting on a stump holding me, and my two sisters standing beside of her.

I like how it turned out.

You can change your display of pictures any time you want.

I was thinking, if you don't have an old camera, you could also put 'stems' of photos in bud vases.

Make the wires different heights and display a bouquet of photos.