Stop and smell the Flowers ….

Just one more tidbit from the lovely Priest who taught us Religion in school… According to him, if a Catholic person entered a Protestant Church they would be “struck down like lightning”. So, if you can lol, imagine this.. A bunch of us little kids, gathered at the door of the Protestant Church down the street, shaking in our shoes – afraid to open the door :). But you know kids… with a story like that we had to find out for ourselves and, since I’m still here today, that was nothing but a big ole’ wives tale :).

     Moving on…  My Oma was born and raised in Bavaria. She had quite a few siblings (no I don’t know how many but it was a few lol). Money was scarce, so what little food they had needed to last for more than one meal. You should have seen all the delicious meals my Oma prepared from a mere Potato, like Dumplings - Potatoes fried with crispy Onions - Potatoes mashed with Carrots - Potato Salad - Potato Pancakes with Applesauce - Ausgeschoepfte... just to name a few. Word ~ for the younger readers... Get those recipes now, while you still have a chance - because “later” will come and go quicker than you can blink an eye.

     I was a pure tomboy. From sunup to sundown you could find me somewhere outside. Perhaps sitting in a Cherry Tree with Cherries hung over my ears like earrings :), in the middle of some bushes pretending (with my imaginary friends) to be a Native American Warrior come to save the day or picking some flowers for my Oma.  Thinking back it’s kinda funny to realize that those “imaginary friends” were actually Spirits…  I just always thought I had a very active imagination :).

     Nature and Animals, I loved them both then and I still love them today. Since we lived in an apartment I wasn't allowed to have a cat or dog, instead I wore my Oma down until she got me a bird. A very bright yellow Canary - I named him Hans. I put his birdcage right in front of our big kitchen window, so he could enjoy the sunshine and sights :0). I would sit there, on my little chair, and try to get Hans to speak… Uh, no lol, I was clueless that Canaries didn't talk. In fact, Hans didn't even sing – he just kinda chirped. Didn't matter though, I still loved him.

     My Oma was always busy at home doing something. She would knit, crochet, sew me clothes on her old Singer Sewing machine, iron Opa’s underwear and our bed sheets… just always doing something. On this one particular day I arrived home from school and found her washing all the windows. The bedroom, the living room and the kitchen windows were all wide open to let the fresh breeze in while she was working. Nope, we didn't have any screens in the windows lol… in fact, I don’t ever recall seeing any screens at all while growing up. So, as was my usual habit, I hugged my Oma then ran to greet Hans.. Opening his cage door, I stuck my little hand in there so he could jump on my finger. I gently lifted him out and proceeded to tell him all about my day. Well Hans, never one to miss an opportunity to fly, took off and started flying around the kitchen and Bam… right out the window :( … to be continued tomorrow.