Good day everyone – do you have secret memories of your grandma?
Her name was Nora and by the time I came along – she was a widow –
Grandpa David Aiken was a big man – I am told 6′ 3″ and a farmer through and through.
That is where I get my middle name and grandma was living with us at the time I was born.
She is what I remember the most from my early childhood and she was a dedicated, TEA DRINKER!
My grandma and my mother taught me this.
But she had “SECRET TREATS” for me – depression-era treats!
The first was a bowl of broken up saltine crackers –
and straight from the farm MILK,
sprinkle on a little sugar and you had “CRACKERS AND MILK”!
I thought that was the best thing!
Grandma and my mother were the reason I was raised Catholic.
The second “LITTLE SECRET” was what she called “COFFEE SOUP”!
Now keep in mind – these were family meals during the Great Depression
when she raised ELEVEN kids on the farm.
She would take a think slice of homemade white bread – warm!
Put it on a plate and poured black coffee over it
add a little farm milk and some sugar and a side of thick bacon or ham!
Today – every time I have my morning coffee I think back to those times of growing up and I see in my mind the picture and the smells of COFFEE SOUP! One of my favorite “SECRET MEMORIES”!
I have not ever had either one of these since childhood again.
But the memory remains with me to this day – it was a “SPECIAL TREAT”
from my grandma “NORA” a kind and gentle lady – who for the first four years of my life raised me.
Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog
GRANDMA gave me the “LITTLE SECRET MEMORIES” OF GROWING UP WITH HER!
The book club has grown – from two book readers to now around 7 or 8 when all attend!
Each month a different book is suggested and read.
The meeting place is determined month to month – this time it was OIB Surf & Java –
right next to Lowes food market in OIB!
While some could not make the short hour-long discussion –
and it was not only the book discussed – but get to know your neighbors!
A comfy setting – great chairs and company.
This time I tagged along – I know this place has great coffee – and I just relaxed and read the paper.
I have belonged to another book club back in Va. – but my reading material differs from these.
I am more a Syfy or a good murder thriller reader.
But – I have collected some five books to help supply the future lending library!
This little library hopefully will be outside at the community center –
Where you can grab a book to read for free and if you have any – leave them there for others to read!
Inside Surf & Java coffee shop.
This coffee shop also has sort of upscale clothing –
sports (surf) equipment – shoes – men and women – and some are marked down.
Large screen TV and really comfy chairs.
View of the items for sale.
The book club is young – and growing – and the next meeting will be moved to another coffee shop to be announced on the Cameron Woods Community Facebook site!
Good company – good books and good coffee!
You can notify Diane or Sherry if you wish to come – to the site.
I will be going back again to just sit back – sip my coffee – read a paper –
My first thing every morning – fix my cup of coffee!
And then it is onto writing my blog – livinglifedoingitmyway.blog !
All this is early – and depends on when I wake up – mostly bathroom! LOL
Once up – it is hard for me to fall back asleep – so I just get up and fix that cup of coffee!
Pushing the garbage can outside before 6 am. which is the time they want it out there!
Sunrises here are really something – the ocean is but four miles away!
This street for construction is almost done – two houses left – right across the street –
and one down two lots from us.
All the rest are down where the corner is and then around the cul-de-sac.
Passwords – I write them down!
Everything today needs a password – and I just can not remember them all – so I have a special place
I keep them safe – where I am the one who knows where to look ( Sherry knows also) !
The entrance to our development – Cameron Woods – Ocean Isle Beach – mainland side.
It is a quiet place except for the on going construction – which by years end should be done where we live.
The new phase is now having the infrastrucure put in and is away from us.
Ocean Isle Beach and our grandaughters – only four miles away.
We choose this area because we are on the mainland side – then the ICW – then the houses and business
of Ocean Isle Beach and the beach itself!
We also are close to Sunset beach – another three miles!
We are near the border of S.C and a lot of golf courses!
All the towns and communities have free open air concerts – running from mid May to mid September!And of course Calabash – the Seafood capital of the world! Only seven miles away – a place we take company!
This area is full of places to visit and dine – all with views!
And another major reason we moved here – golfing – we try to golf once a week – and we have 20 plus courses right where we live to choose from!
Thank you for reading Papa’s World – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog email : fitztdf@fitztdf
They have been missing for about five weeks – I would catch a glimpse of them to the left of the lanai
Around the bend and through the shrubs and trees – once in a while
Sometimes I would mistake them for the lone swan –
But then I would see it futher down the lake.
Thought maybe they had a nest and were nesting little ones back in the marsh.
The two mated swans are in the top left of the picture while the lone swan is in the middle right of the picture – the first time I had seen all three in over a month!
But – there were no babies and the geese have tons of babies –
So – I do not know why they disappeared and seemed to glimpse them every once in a while through the trees.
That part of the lake is undeveloped and is marsh – swamp – trees and water – not the type of place you want to wade
through or even boat in there – at least I wouldn’t!
I was disappointed in no baby swans but happy in that the were back!
They still would have nothing to do with the lone swan.
This is as close as they would let it come!
Then – last week – a man showed up in a small skiff – he comes once in a while to fix the fountains –
the one we see that is close to us in the middle of the lake – gets clogged up and quits –
I have watched him a half dozen times come in and go to it and unclog it!
This time as he was coming down the lake – I watched the two swans take flight –
beating their wings against the water and become airborne –
they circled around and headed over the houses to the left –
There is another lake over there – I think they went there as they were frightened by the man and boat.
After that we went for a walk on the beach – and have not seen the two swans since!
Thank you for reading Papa’s World – the one swan remains – mingling in with the ducks – mallards and geese.
I have seen turtles by the hundreds – a otter – some very large fish – a eagle several times -osprey – cranes – herons – egrets – storks –
And the three swans when all here.
A place that when you wake up with the sliding glass doors open – you hear the songs of the birds.
PAPA’S WORLD livinglifedoingitmyway.blog email fitztdf@aol.com
Sometimes you drink a little wine – you do silly things – but you always smile – but – to start my day before some wine is ” COFFEE ” !
My favorite time of the morning
For those of you who do not know me – I have always gotten up EARLY !
Like I am up by 5:00 AM. every morning – I only need 6 to 7 hours of sleep and then I am wide awake.
Have been this way since my youth ! I would wake up – my bedroom was the front upstairs bedroom – and right outside the two windows – was a huge Maple tree.
It would be full of birds chirping in the morning -and that bedroom faced East.
So – the combination of Sun light coming in and the birds singing – well -that was my favorite before I was old enough to drink coffee !
My grand father David & my grand mother Nora
I was raised in my early years by my grand ma – she was a widow and had moved in with us.
My very first time I can remember having coffee – was when she made me ” COFFEE SOUP ” for breakfast – as she called it !
During the depression when she had her farm and family -11 kids – they had to improvise to feed everyone.
And one of the staples living on a large farm was -they had milk from the cows –
they bought barrels of flour ( homemade bread ) – big bags of sugar – and raised pigs for side pork !
So – ” COFFEE SOUP ” became a norm for them – coffee being a treat for the whole house – and she would make bread and rolls – pies and cakes all day long.
She would slice me a big thick piece of home made bread – put it on a plate – a piece of side pork that she fried –
then pour coffee on top of the bread – a little milk and sprinkle sugar on it !
BEEN THERE DONE THAT
To this day I remember that and how good it tasted with that side pork !
That was my introduction to COFFEE all those years ago.
And – another lunch time feature from the depression years – was Milk off the farm and white crackers and sugar mixed together !
Although I have never had either since – I was raised that way !
Today – first thing is fix my coffee – a little flavored cream –
and I try to have flavored coffee – not strong – I tend not to like strong flavors – beer included –
and I do not really like wine unless it is a little sweet !
Nothing better than to sip coffee in public and people watch
Sipping my coffee while blogging –
sitting in public with a coffee and people watch –
between church services – getting a cup of java and talking.
Those are the little things in life that as you get older – you cherish.
Much like I do in my memory of my grandma.
COFFEE became a staple in my life along time ago – and since I am up before dawn –
it is all the more tasteful in the quiet space of peaceful thought !
Sherry does not like COFFEE – she is a TEA drinker
My wife – Sherry – does not drink COFFEE –
she is a TEA drinker – I think that is the SWEDE coming out in her !
I 