Back to the Fifties

 

Imagine going back to  a time of peace, prosperity, and an explosion of new
 designs in fashion, architecture,  and automobiles.  Rock and roll's debut.
 This is what we did at the 30th Lead East,

The  world's  largest  50's Party,

 in Parsippany, N.J., on Labor Day weekend.

 

 A new group of nice kids singing acapella. Look for them on facebook,

The Whiptones, from Whippany, N.J.

Two ladies, coincidentally dressed alike in 50's-style dresses

 

I bought a Walking Taco from an outdoor vendor, for $4.
  All she did was crush an individual bag of chips and open it,
 then put a spoonful of ground meat taco filling, shredded cheese,
 shredded lettuce, dollop of sour cream, chopped tomato
and jalapeno slices right in the bag.  There are lots of recipes online.
  I walked around, eating it with a plastic fork, looking  at all the cars.
 First time I ever heard of them!   It was really good! 
There are lots of recipes online.
Wouldn't it be fun to make  these for a kid's party?

In the booth next to me, it was so exciting to watch Bob Petillo work on his amazing reflections.  His  photorealistic paintings of cars are exquisite.  During the show, he presented a custom-made car portrait to a man for his 65th birthday, a surprise gift commissioned by his wife!
 Click on the artist and see his work!

 

 

Youngsters had their own bobbie-soxers and greasers

 dress-up contest, and danced to the oldies.

Tiffany sells vintage clothing and  fifties decor items.

 My friend, Kat, wears 50's style clothing and is one classy lady!
She's a long-time attendee of Lead East, and started a seminar years ago,
 teaching us about 50's fashions and accessories, and how to get "the look".

 

Charming Jenna, and her date, attending the Lead East Prom.

She  teaches a seminar  about dressing 50's style.

 

 

 

  Plenty of spontaneous Doo-wop singing, and great concerts on stage as well. 

 

 

"A  magic weekend  celebrating the best decade

 in  American history",

well said by Terry Cook, the car show's promoter. 

 It was like one big family reunion, full of music and memories!

 

 

 

You gotta come next year!

 

 

This is more than a car show, and although I worked very hard,

 selling car literature, it was so much fun, going back to the Fifties!

 

I'll leave you with a listen to the fine young acapella  singers I met at  Lead East.,

The Whiptones

 

Love, Linda

 

 

 

 

 

I  joined these great partties!

 

Allie's turn!

Charming!   If I had only one word to describe her, this would be it.
 She is the most loving child and so imaginative, and fun. 

She keeps us laughing with her "Allie-isms", as her mother calls them. 

When she was five, she told me some astonishing fact, and when I asked her how she knew it, she simply replied, "Everyone knows I'm the smartest kid in the world, Grandma Linda!"
A year ago, she informed me that she's not the same girly-girl princess-style little girl any more, "now I'm more into artistic clothes and cool stuff".  She is just funny and lighthearted,  and makes everyone smile!


She loves decorating, designing and she's so creative. Recently she made her own jewelry organizer, from a discarded  doll-house part she found in the basement.  She sews with her other grandma and made an outfit and modeled it  in the 4-H Fashion Show this year.  She's busy now making back-to-school notebooks, embellished with the latest  wild and crazy duct-tapes!

She got an I Phone, and here's the latest Instagram photo she posted!.
"I'm sexy and I know it!"

Now it's her day to shine, she's turning 12!

 

 

Happy Birthday, Allie!

 You are such a delight to all who know you

 and an inspiration to me!

Clearly, her parents are doing a marvelous job!

I thought I'd share this creed.  I had it posted in my
kid's rooms when they were little,  it's timeless,
 and good for Grandma Linda  to read again and practice!

Children Learn What They Live
If children live with....
....criticism, they learn to condemn.
....hostility, they learn to fight
....ridicule, they learn to be shy
....shame, they learn to feel guilty
....tolerance, they learn to be patient
....encouragement, they learn confidence
....praise, they learn to appreciate
....fairness, they learn justice
....security, they learn to have faith
....approval, they learn to like themselves
....acceptance and friendship,
     they learn to find love in the world.
                                          Dorothy L. Nolte

 We are so thankful for this delightful child God has blessed us with!  And I'm
 so lovin' all the grandkid's birthday celebrations we've been having lately!

Hope you're enjoying making special

memories with your families!

Love, Linda

I joined the  party at

 

Raging hormones

Two of my granddaughters just turned 14
and I have lots in common with them!
 They are maturing physically.
 So am I,  but  in different ways. Changing.....,yeah, me too!
 While I'm trying to keep young,
they are trying so hard to be older!
 They're searching for answers and meaning in life.
 I've found it and and am trying to find important ways
 to share it and make a difference in their lives.
   While I struggle with hot flashes, new wrinkles and joint pain,
 they fret over pimples,cramps, and what their friends think of them.

I know they need me more than ever now,
 as sometimes  their parents can't reach them,
 and I have a special kind of rapport with them,
 because they are not trying to seperate from their grandma
 and of course, I think the sun rises and sets on them,
and I know they're absolutely perfect, while their folks
are feeling the perfectly normal feelings
 of being at odds with them half of the time.
 My grandmothers were my strongest allies,
 when I was a teenager trying to find myself
 and break away from my parents, so I understand. 




I praised her for singing in the middle school concert.
You have to support the interests that are positive. 

Raging hormones in teens cause ups and downs.  There are hard decisions about sex, drugs, wanting independence and more freedom. Peer pressure and  heavy demands of career planning and school are just some of the stresses on kids.  But old grandma remembers, knows this is all part of life,  has learned alot about looking at the bright side and perseverance and all that good stuff, and is ready and willing to listen and encourage. I tell them always do your best and trust God and everything will be all right.  And always follow your dreams, you can do anything you put your mind to, believe in yourself.   I try to make them confident and hopeful.  I believe with self-esteem and hopes and dreams, they will behave better. But I know these teen years are sometimes turbulent.
Here are some ways I think Grandmoms can help:

• Listen without judgement 
• Remember the advantage you have, they trust you.  You can gain their confidence and influence them.
• Relate to them by telling your story.
• Tell them your philosophy-what worked and what didn't.
• Explain why doing well in school is so important to their future.
• Support their positive interests
• Convince them they have a great future.
• Support their parents
• Have fun adventures together.
• Keep positive, problem-solving approach.
• Develope rituals and social values
• Bring their heritage to life
• Find and share information about careers, jobs, schools, resources
• Don't wait for them to come to you. Reach out and be there. 
• When you can't see them, call, text, comment on FB, send cards! 

My twin nieces and granddaughter hanging out at the park

 Amber was such a good sport,
modeling some vintage fashions
for me for my Etsy shop.
  They were fifties, and eighties clothing,
 and it was a very warm day,
 but we had a fun photo shoot!

She's a lovely model,
 and this was a great opportunity
to praise her, and talk about poise,
posture, and grace.
I also shared about my business
and taught her about vintage styles
which lead to stories about when
 I was her age.

Amber models a sixties gown with grace.

Love to see those smiles!

Abby just finished softball season on a championship team!

These amazing girls were born just  3 days apart!

Happy Birthday,Abby and Amber!

 God bless you and guide you

as you delight in your youth!

Your belief in your grandchild fosters her belief  in herself.

I'm doing my best to make a difference!

I found some great resources!
  www.grandparents.com/go/cor, has two great articles.
8 Things Teens Won't Tell You
Having the Talk-Teens &Sex

and a good book, The Essential Grandparent, by Dr. Lillian Carson
I hope you enjoy your exciting role of grandmother as much as I do!!
Love, Grandma Linda

Thomas turned 2 !

Oh my, we had a big bash!
 I made little goodie bags of kettle corn,

 and Elmo cupcakes.

I love to munch on kettle corn!  It's an inexpensive, sweet and salty treat, that's not quite as guilty as caramel corn!
Super easy, if you have a popcorn maker, like a Whirlypop, or a Popstir,.
 which can be purchased for about $20-$25.
 First,  combine in the kettle, the oil and popcorn, and add the sugar  and salt after the corn begins to pop.  Be careful- the exploding kernels are flying everywhere!

                      Kettle Corn
                   1/2 cup popping corn
                   2 tbsp. vegetable oil
                   3 tbsp, sugar
                   1 tsp. salt    
   Add corn and oil to kettle. Place over medium-high heat.
Once you hear the first kernels popping,  add the sugar and salt and mix well. Crank the handle continuously and lower the heat slightly.  When the corn finishes popping, remove from heat immediately so the sugar won't burn.
 Pour into a large bowl.  Break apart when cooled.

I looked at lots of recipes online, and  choose this one by Dorie's Lori. 
She has some more good tips, just click on the photo.
 I  got  some cute cellophane party bags at the Dollar Tree.


.
We had hoagie trays,
 salads, chips and cake.
The weather was sunny,
 warm and breezy.
 It was just great to see
the family and friends,
 and celebrate in the pavilion
 at a nearby park
 and playground.    

Some red jimmies,  a few orange jelly beans
and frosting eyes with upside-down chocolate chips for pupils.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little buddy!

I'm so proud of my big grandkids, Gary and Amber,

 and how loving and helpful they are with the

care of our little tyke.  They chased after him
 and  supervised him on the playground equipment.

My heart is full, for I am truly blessed!  It is indeed a simple pleasure
 to be with the children, and  to celebrate with family, but no small thing!

Thank you Lord,  On this second birthday, for this precious child you've entrusted in our care. Help us to nurture and guide him in all the right ways.  We ask you for wisdom and patience, and we thank you for the love and joy he gives us.  Please give him your protection for his mind, body and soul as he grows. 
 In Jesus' name, Amen  

Love, Linda

Party time!

I'm joining the fun at this party!

and the party at  Grandma's Briefs!

and Wow, this party too!

  

After the storm..........

    We had quite a mess here in parts of South Jersey last week.  Trees came down on homes and cars, blocked streets and knocked out power for days.  I was really fortunate, my building had no damage and a dead tree that I wanted removed came down, near the curb, hurting nothing. It was a weird storm, called a "derecho", the most lightening I ever saw in a series of furious thunderstorms, and strong winds, in the middle of the night.  Next morning , everything looked fine  at my house, but  just 20 miles away, we found  shocking devastation.
  

Uh Oh, The road in front of my warehouse is blocked!
Trees are fallen everywhere!

This huge tree toppled and lifted the sidewalk. 
Some neighborhood boys were playing in the rubble

    Today,   I'm reflecting on how kind people were to each other, sharing  cool shelter, water and food and concern.  It was extremely hot this week and many lost food to spoilage.
    I am thinking about how blessed I am not to have expensive repairs to make.  I'm feeling grateful that I and my loved ones are unharmed.  I'm wondering how to be better prepared in case of future disasters.  I'm appreciating the workers that labored in extreme 100 +  weather with little sleep,  to put things back in order.   I'm appreciating  the emergency personnel that served many extra hours in this intense heat.

A Barred Plymouth Rock hen
My friend's chicken coop had some minor damage, and they were
cleaning up branches that had fallen,  but the birds were fine an
 she gave me some beautiful brown eggs.  We've had egg salad,
omelettes, French Toast, deviled eggs, and more!
  I love Mary's farm-fresh eggs!  They are the best- tasting eggs ever!

White leghorn,  and a couple hens

    I  feel  very thankful on this Sunday morning,   as  I'm humming,
"I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses", 
leisurely watering  my flowers, thinking  about things.
 The simple things: my family....dear friends.... my  health and safety,
 my humble air-conditioned mobile home.......  Running water,....
  clean clothes to wear,..... fresh eggs for breakfast,.... my herbs and
 flowers,  things like that!

I knew it was going to be scorching last week,
so I filled up the wading pool in the shade on the patio each day.

Tommy got a new swing set!   His new favorite thing-to-do! 
What joy to play with him, hear him laugh, sing little songs.
 (and now I can bribe him to finish his breakfast,
put on his shoes, whatever I ask, 
so he can go outside on the swings!!)

        Dear Lord, 

                 Please don't let me forget to thank you for everyday blessings. 

 It shouldn't take a crisis for me to remember how much I have to be

 thankful for.     Thank you for keeping me  and my family safe, and for

 showing me again how to appreciate the simple things in life.   Amen

A little boy down at the pond we visit, tried to sell me this baby turtle for $8.00.
They learn early, don't they?

Oh, this was funny!  The hammock was broken, dry-rotted in a couple places,
but Tommy and I liked to rock on it anyway.  Then, all of a sudden,
we were singing,  "Rock - a -bye baby"   and  it totally broke loose
 and we landed on the ground!
 Tommy just giggled and giggled and we just layed there laughing!

 Oh, I  finally figured out how to get the wrong time  and date off of my camera!  Isn't that great!
Silly me!

   Be blessed,  Linda