Question of the day! What kid snacks did you eat?

My brothers and sisters and I were "free range" kids. Most kids in the 50s, 60s and 70s were. One of our favorite "ranges" was the corner store where Mom sent us with bottles to hand in for pennies or nickels. That was the recycling program of the time!

We took those nickels and pressed our fingers against the glass case where tri-colored coconut candies, candy necklaces, gumdrops, chocolate drops, wax lips, Necco wafers, chewy fruit slices, lay out on trays. "2 for 1c" or "1 for 1 c", (my keyboard no longer has the slashed "c" symbol that stood for a penny), OR, be still my greedy little soul, "3 for 1c" - at those prices, empty bottles bought us a paper bag of treasure!

Then we moved, much too far to walk to a corner store, too far from any store. So, we foraged for our snacks. Mulberries, wild raspberries, honeysuckle, - spring and summer was a veritable smorgasbord of stuff. Once, we even savored "onion" grass - wild onions with baby bulbs at the end. Once was enough for that snack.

In the Fall we ate the wild pears. So grainy! But still sweet enough for us to enjoy. In the winter, we ate crackers spread with jelly. On Bridge Club nights and the days after, we had pretzels, chips and candy! Popcorn! Oh, we loved popping corn on the stove. And Dad made us a treat he called a Black Cow - root beer and milk - yum! And Mom made an eggless, milkless chocolate cake that we adored. I still make it. Some people call it Wacky cake or Depression cake. I call it delicious.

I loved the fruit slices -Chuckles! - that came 4 or 5 to a pack - gummy candies liberally covered in sugar. I even liked the licorice slice that was always included. Next to that I loved the wild raspberries that will ripen soon.

 So the question of the day is this: What was your favorite kid snack? 

https://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/11/1950s-retro-candy-from-hometown.html

 

 

Question of the day! Doing without.

For Christians, it's Holy Week, the last week of the 40 day season of Lent. 

One of the traditions of Lent is to "give something up", do without something for all 40 days. I have always been totally dismal at this practice. So, here is the question of the day:

Did you ever "give something up" for a purpose? If so, what did (do) you usually give up?

Most major religions fast, or do without, sometime during their liturgical year. In some traditions, religious or cultural, fasting is part of coming of age, preparing for a major life change, or an effort to ensure a desired outcome in one's life. (A vigil before a battle, for instance, or fasting before a major exam, or giving up something during pregnancy.) Liturgically, fasting encourages atonement, empathy, and an appreciation of what the faster usually has. Fasting is considered a form of prayer.

Because I went to a parish school, announcing what we intended to "give up" during Lent was often a classroom activity.  I always gave up candy. Then I did a little mental bartering.  I went from ALL candy to CHOCOLATE candy to SNICKERS. What a cheater! When did I ever have access to Snickers bars?

By the time we entered the middle grades, we added activities to our fasting. "I won't play solitaire during Lent." "I won't borrow my sister's perfume during Lent." "I will not call my little brother a baby during Lent." OR instead of giving something up, we added things. "I will do my chores before Mom reminds me." I will take flowers to my grandmother every week." I will put half my allowance in the collection plate every Sunday."

The worst thing about announcing our "give ups" was that classmates could call us out.  And they did.

This year, I didn't give anything up. But I have decided to TRY really hard to avoid screen games during Holy Week. (This includes the morning word games I get in my email.) Will I make it? I can but try.

Tell me...

Did (Do) you ever give up something for a purpose? If so, what did (do) you usually give up?

The Librarian Always Rings Twice by Marty Wingate

The Librarian Always Rings Twice  by Marty Wingate, 2022

 

Hayley Burke returns as curator of the First Edition Society  and things are not going well. Charles Henry Dill, the only living relative of Lady Georgiana Fowling, the First Editions Society's founder, has wormed his way into being hired to assist Hayley. His only interest is to find a way to get more money from his aunts' estate.

When John Aubrey arrives at the First Edition Society's first open-to-the-public afternoon and announces that he is Lady Georgiana's grandson, it sends people who knew the late Lady Georgiana into eddies of suspicion. Lady Georgiana had no children as far as anyone knew.

There you have the set-up. Someone connected to John Aubrey is murdered. The open afternoons bring in all sorts of people, most dedicated to the Golden Age of Mystery and the authors thereof - Christie, Sayers, Wentworth, Marsh, Allingham - just to name a few. But some visitors may not be what they seem.

 

I finished this book last night. Today, I want to go back into the world of Bath, England and the library of the First Edition Society and the canals that crisscross the countryside and the narrow boats and a new character that exudes an almost fairy tale charm.  

Wingate populates each of her mysteries with several characters that may or may not be the culprit. Some we hope to see again. Most we'd just as soon avoid. This book was a poser. The mystery of the murder was not nearly as consuming as the mystery of who or what John Aubrey was. 

Also, now I have to read Daphne Du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek.  The Librarian Always Rings Twice is a charming book filled with charming people. Read it.