Flashback Friday....Johnny West is Best

My great niece Eliza's latest obsession is everything Cowgirl.

This led to a Cowgirl themed birthday party.

Hmmm, Kid.

It seems that you were born in the wrong era.

I asked around at the Bookstore for cowgirl idea books...and of course, the few modern titles that there are...we did not have. 

(of course, someone will sell them tomorrow, when I'm not looking for them).

Then it dawned on me....

Jane West! 

My favorite cowgirl!!

Yes! I should get her a Jane or Josie or Janice West doll!

But, again...of course the timing was too late and everything on Ebay would not get here in time.
So, I settled for Toy Story dvds and a horse book.

Johnny West!

Thinking about Johnny and the Best of the West Gang by Marx Toys...got me to thinking about my own childhood Cowgirl/boy obsession.

So much so...

that I had to go into the storage cubical in the basement on Main Street to dig out the box of toys that I saved from the shelves from the Basement of my childhood.

Oh My Cowgirlness!

I can't believe how happy these toys made me then

and how happy they still make me feel!

I suppose anyone who knows me, remembers that I was somewhat of a Tomboy growing up.

I did have a few frilly dolls, 

but I loved these Marx Action figures like other girlie girls loved their Barbies.

They WERE my Barbies! 

Oh sure, I had a few hand me down Barbies and a couple new Skipper dolls, but the only time I chose Barbie over Johnny was when Johnny and his family invited Barbie to leave the city and come out to the Circle X Ranch for a Bar-b-que!
(no pun intended). 

I think I inherited Johnny and the Indian. 

They had been passed down through several Vandercar hands....

The Original Johnny

Chief Cherokee

...but the rest of them were added over the span of my childhood and for a long time...

probably until my Honda motorcycle came along...

were my prized possessions and "playing Horses" was my preferred indoor activity. 

Johnny and friends even changed the look of my bedroom.

I remember going with mom and dad to shop for carpet for the bedrooms.

Patty was re-doing and decorating her room for her Home Ec. project and chose all the cool 70's colors and picked out that green shag carpeting.

I wanted to be like Patty and picked out shag carpeting as well (I think it may have been a shocking shade of pink).

I can remember my mom taking me over to show me a giant roll of blue indoor out door type carpeting. I said no, I want my room to be like Patty's.

Mom, very wisely said..."well...just think how much easier your horses will stand up on this flat carpet!"

SOLD!

I also remember a lady visiting with mom at the dining room table.

I was in the back porch pushing my horses around.

The lady said to mom "she plays well by herself."

I remember thinking, "well, who else am I supposed to play with?"

But I didn't mind.

I had Johnny and Jane and their kids.

And the horses, don't forget the horses!

Yes, I loved Johnny West and his whole family!!!

And I STILL love Johnny West!!

I was grinning ear to ear as I pulled these old friends out of that box.

Well, that was until I saw the sad state that many of them are in...

(I never should have abandoned them to the basement...

they survived 6 Vanderkids....

but 16 Vandergrands was just too much for their fragile bodies (bend them at the knee...THEN put them on the horse)!!!

Jamie West survived intact

Josie West survived, but looks more like Linda Blair in the Exorcist

oh, poor Janice West...
so which one of you kids wants to fess up to this?

The Tack shop

But no worries, seeing the state they are in renewed my commitment to clean up, repair, regroup their accessories and replace my friends.
Yes! I will not stop until I have the entire Best of the West Collection.

Susie gave me a head start on this project when she found a minty Johnny...in the box!!! at Kane County Flea Market and gave it to me for my 40th Birthday.

The new Johnny proudly stands on guard on the shelf, right next to Big Boy... 

(oh, but that is a whole different post ; )

So, yes Eliza,

you could say that Great Aunt Nancy approves of your cowgirl obsession!

Directions to here:

Well, hey partner, thanks for stopping by...

now move along little doggies and keep your eyes open in the marketplaces for these friendly faces.

I got a bag o' gold to trade you for them.

Happy Trails to You!

Flashback Friday...The Birth of Sunday Dinner

Every year when Conner's Birthday comes around....

I thank God for Conner and the Birth of Sunday Dinner.

Sometimes it seems like we've always had Sunday Dinner....
but the truth is, it is 12 years old...the same age as Conner.

There was a time when I used to stay in Indianapolis on the weekends.
I had either Saturday or Sunday off.
I would go to the "4 corners".... Aldi on one corner...3 Thrift Stores on the other.
I would go to the movies.
I would go out with friends.
Sometimes I would drive up to Lowell for a family event.

Then Matt and Chari got married and a baby was on the way.

We gathered a few times that summer, waiting and wondering and planning with them.

Jeremy and Joe Bob built the motocross track and we went and watched them ride.

Jerry on the motocross track

We went down to Lake Village one weekend to watch the Moore Boys race go carts.

Janet and the Moore MotorSports Boys

We had dinner on a few Sundays that summer and I remember hearing Matt ask...

so are we having the "Sunday Thing" again?

"The Sunday Thing"

on Blurry Film

Grill Masters

"Sunday Thing" at Jeremys

And then that baby came and we couldn't stay away.

We had dinner the sunday after they got home from the hospital 

and we all ooh-ed and ahh-ed over Baby Conner.

Sandy marveling over how small the diaper was.

Everyone had to watch the diaper change!

Then September 11th happened...and it just seemed right to all be together....

And from then on, the "Sunday Thing" became Sunday Dinner.

It's been 12 years and countless Sunday Dinners since that summer.

Over the years, our circle has grown and we've welcomed more babies...

Held them.

Bounced them on our knee.

Waited to see what they would do next.

Watched them take first steps.

Watched them learn to give kisses.

Listened to them say their first words. 

Watched them grow up.

Sunday Dinner gave us a place to get to know our dad.

It has given us time and a place to get to know each other.

A place to laugh and be silly.

A place to cry and be serious.

A place to tell stories.

A place to share memories

and make memories

When I'm at Sunday Dinner, I often think of Mom and how much she would have LOVED to have had these dinners when she was alive. 

I think...WHY didn't we do this when she was here to enjoy them?

But then, I know why.

She was our glue.

She was the one I called on Sunday and touched base with to check in on all of the rest of the family.

She was the link...and when she was gone...
I was lost.

Wandering around Indy on a Sunday afternoon, spending my time at Thrift Stores.

Sunday Dinner gave us a new kind of glue.
Sunday Dinner gave us a place to be together.
Sunday Dinner gave us a place to belong.
Sunday Dinner saved my life.













Whether you are there every Sunday, every other Sunday or only a couple Sundays a year....
it is a place where you belong.

What a blessing for not only for us elders,

 but for that next generation.

That they are growing up knowing that no matter what, 

they have a place where they belong.

And what memories they will have!

Aunts, Uncles...

Moms and Dads...

and cousins, cousins, cousins!

It makes this memory keeper happy knowing that memories we haven't even made yet,
will be remembered years from now....
because our family had a place, a time and a tradition called,

Sunday Dinner.



Directions to here:

I cannot publish this post without giving a standing ovation to the four people who have over and over and over and over put the "Dinner" on the table at Sunday Dinner.
Susie and Sandy (aka Martha & Martha) and Jerry and Dave.....


thank you for your opening your refrigerator, your home and your hearts....
every.single.week.

We love you.

Flashback Friday.....Lowell Labor Day Photo Booth

Directions to here:

Dear 1937 Lowell Labor Day organizers....
Thank you for having a Photo Booth.

Flashback Friday....Signs of Hope

Remembering Delia Jean

Flashback Friday....Mary Lou Ann

Happy Birthday

Aunt Mary!!

Flashback Joey

Extra! Extra! 

Read All about it!!

Front Page Headline:

Joey's getting married today!!!

Flashback Friday....July 26

Flashback Friday...Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim's

The Farmers were talking around Susie's counter and I was half listening.

Someone said "are you gonna get that quote together for them?"

Bobby then turned to me and said, 

"Are you gonna be mad at me if I tear Uncle Jim's house down?"

I normally would have said "Wait, what?"

But I had already heard the rumor that my - always wanted to be future address -  was quite possibly going to become the future address of another family member.

Sigh....

It makes me happy to think of Hildebrandts being raised on that hill and grandkids being so close to their grandparents, but as always, seeing the old go away, of course, makes me sentimental.

Cori spent time scanning some slides that Steph and Elden found and came up with this gem:

Thinking about the house and seeing this iconic image, made me start thinking a lot about Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim.

I love looking back and remembering them, but it is not without regret.

It is the age old..."I came along too late to know and appreciate...baby of the family".... issue again. 

I have often said I wouldn't want to trade being the baby of the family, but it does make me sad that I had so little time with the wonderful people who are now our ancestors.

I regret that even tho, I remember them stopping by for many visits...

I was a teenager and was more interested in sitting in my room by myself and listening to records than sitting around listening to them talk. I could never have imagined that I would be sitting here so many years later, longing for just one of those visits back...

so I could just listen, study and memorize their faces and ask them questions and hear their stories.

The other MAJOR regret I have when I think about Aunt Carol, is that I did not go to her funeral.

I know, it sounds ridiculous to me now. She was my Mom's SISTER and I did not go to her funeral.

I was a college student and was in the middle of finals week and did not think I could leave.

My mom said it was okay...stay and take your tests. I wish someone would have told me to call those intimidating professors and tell them I would simply not be able to take my finals that week and reschedule my tests. 

But in spite of these regrets, I have several memories of both of them....and they are good.

I was old enough to realize that they were characters, 

although it wasn't until hearing Dave and Sandy's stories of their "champagne brunches," that I realized they were much more colorful characters than my kid aged mind could grasp!

Steph reveals one of the "colorful" cabinets : )

So, when Steph invited me to come over and go thru the last remaining boxes in the "disaster room"...

I accepted the invite with great joy and honor. 

Granted most of what we uncovered was probably the last odds and ends of a packed away garage sale, but in some odd way it made me feel closer to Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim.

Just being there...walking thru the house...

hearing Steph's stories, her laugh and seeing a few tears, made me feel like I was able to reach in and touch these two people that I had SO little time with. 

We even came across a drawer or two of Aunt Polly and Uncle Harold's cancelled checks (many written to the Log Cabin : ), cards and odds and ends. 

Just seeing Aunt Polly's hand writing...I know it is strange...but it meant something to me. 

Honestly, we pitched most everything...

but I did choose an appropriate momento... a few cocktail and wine glasses and martini pitcher. 

Now, when I mix the drink of the week, I can think of and toast Uncle Jim and Aunt Carol!

side note...

I laughed out loud and almost cried happy tears when I found this.

Proof that mom and Aunt Carol were sisters....

a pine cone nestled away in a vase...

this is SO VERY something that my mom would do.

I will miss seeing that house along this road.

I will miss the thought of these beautiful floors.

I will miss passing it and knowing someone special to me and my mom and our family lived there.

I will miss...wondering what I missed by not being there more.

But, as with all the really special things...house or no house...they live on. 

I will never forget as a little girl, sneaking a peek and wondering what it would be like to not have a thumb on my hand.

Or, Uncle Jim letting me sit in the chair that "moved and shaked" and had it's own remote. How very high tech!

I will never forget the way Aunt Carol walked with shoulders sort of shrugged and that Turner way of holding her mouth and murmuring/whistling thru the teeth.

Or the way Uncle Jim sat at our kitchen table, green work shirt, one hand propped on his knee, saying "Now, Sis...what I want to know is...."

...my mom answers....

Uncle Jim says..."oh, okay..uh uh...I see...alright....well, I just wondered."

Or sisters together at the hospital. 

Seeing my mom's hands rub lotion on her sister's back...both silent...both knowing. 

Their home and who they were and were to us...

will live on in our hearts and in our telling of the stories....

and in this regrets are eased.......and memories are cherished.

Aunt Carol & Uncle Jim Tyrell

Directions to here:

So, Bob...

the answer is no, I won't be mad at you...

as long as you read this and understand that a house is much more than a house.

And when the time comes, you hit it very gently.

Flashback Friday...The Original Sister Weekend

Janet & Susie

Susie, Nancy, (Billy) & Patty

Flashback Friday....America

sparks on Main