Loyalty, courage, unconditional love ...

Marlene Terry

Taking the day off from my usual fare to remember with gratitude those who gave and still give their all, for the freedom we enjoy — our veterans, and those who are serving us now.

I'm not really from a military family, as someone in every generation of our family, hasn't always served in the Armed Forces. ... But there are many.

When I was a little girl my sisters and I knew that our Uncle Joe had been a pilot in WWII, and that Uncle Dennis was a Sailor in the US Navy.

Their choice to sacrifice everything if necessary, so that we might continue in the life we knew and enjoyed was respected and acknowledged.

Flags flew high at our home on all the days set aside to remember veterans. And even before I was old enough to understand how important their service was, I was taught that men and women who choose to serve like that were ALL very special.

... I still think of all the soldiers I've known, that same way.

My mother wore a certain necklace with pride. The pendant — a white heart with a red rose inside — that hung from a chain around her neck was made from wreckage from one of the planes Uncle Joe flew in.

The story as it was explained to me, was the plane in combat,  was fired on and hit. Pieces of the wreckage scattered throughout the fuselage. 
My uncle and his plane both survived, and later he had one of those pieces of wreckage made into the pendant my mother wore.

It was a remembrance, he said, that his love of family could overcome any obstacle.  

... When my mother wasn't wearing it, the necklace was kept wrapped up in tissue paper in a special drawer in her dresser.

Uncle Dennis came to live with us after his discharge from the Navy.  He was a student at the college in our town and our favorite babysitter.

He never spoke much about his experiences. But the minute our parents left for the evening, he would magically transform our living room sofa into a submarine ... of all things, complete with a periscope.

He was always the captain. And it was obvious that our adventures on that sub were laced with real-life experiences.

Now and then he would become very quiet and sad as a certain memory returned. But he would quickly dismiss the mood by holding all three of us together in a group hug.

"You guys are great," he'd say every time.

Today on Veteran's Day I wish I could shout from my rooftop how truly grateful I am for the sacrifice and service of those in my own family, of course ... but also, of all veterans! Those who have shown by example what loyalty, courage and unconditional love really mean.

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

About a billion more ...

Marlene Terry

I try and keep "In a Nutshell" a few days ahead. So by the time you read this, I'm sure the grounds around my house will be clear and completely cleaned up for winter.

... Well maybe not 100 percent cleaned up. Because we love sitting out and enjoying the fall. So it always takes us awhile, to cover up and store away the lounges and chairs from the deck and patio.

A few days ago we hosted a pumpkin carving party. But before we began, we enlisted the help of our kids and grandkids. And with rakes, blowers and a whole lot of enthusiasm, we attacked the thousands of leaves piled up under our large maple trees in the backyard.

... The best part was when we were done, that feeling that this would be for sure, the last of our 10-12 bag days.

... You know. Those large paper bags that you purchase at a store for fall cleanup. You get them in packages — usually five in each one. And believe me when I say those bags can hold more leaves and lawn refuge than you ever dreamed possible!

... It's hard to believe that dried leaves, no matter how many, would weigh anything. But when we finished jamming them full that day, some were so heavy they had to be dragged to their place, lined up by our tool shed!

We did allow a little time for our grandkids sake (and a few of our kids as well) to jump in the piles and throw leaves everywhere. But after that we joined together to jam those bags full. ... A dozen or so added to the five we already had filled to the brim.

"Brother," I exclaimed, " wiping the perspiration from my brow. "When the truck comes around to pick up the leaf sacks this year, those men are going to be surprised!

"I think we should place them side by side down the street, a block long or so, for a better effect."

My triumphal speech was good but not nearly as profound as what one of my daughters prophesied.

"Mom," she said laughing. "That's just the beginning!"

"I've never understood why you have to get out and rake leaves day after day anyway. You should wait. Tomorrow there's going to be a billion more!"

... And for emphasis, she gestured upward into the tree above with her rake!

... Both comments were soon forgotten as we proceeded inside for a chili dinner and some really fun pumpkin carving. And all of us worn out, but happy, retired to our beds to rest and revel in what we'd accomplished.

The shocker came the next morning.

While we slept, gentle breezes turned for awhile at least, into brisk winds. ... The sight was unbelievable!

I awoke, opened my bedroom curtains and looked out into another gorgeous fall day.

But those bags, thankfully still upright and secure along the shed, weren't what caught my eye. ... It was all those leaves that had fallen during the night that covered the lawn, flower gardens, roof tops, etc., etc.

... She was right. ... There was about a billion more!

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

Those who wait ...

Marlene Terry

I don't believe  I've ever told you about my little tamarack tree.

It's out in my backyard and has grown about a foot just THIS year.

Tamaracks aren't a common sight in the Treasure Valley. But if you travel up into the lush hills surrounding picturesque McCall, they're everywhere.

You'll notice them most often in the fall. That's when those evergreen-looking (although they aren't) trees, turn the most beautiful, deep gold color you've ever seen, drop their leaves (those that look just like pine needles), and remain bare, until spring.

When we first planted our tamarack, it was hardly more than a twig. And believe me when I say there were many naysayers.

"A tamarack will never grow here in this heat," was a common comment. "It's just going to wither up and die."

"I think it's against the law to have a tamarack growing in domestic conditions," was another warning. "They're supposed to be left alone in their environment."

... And that environment?

It's as I said, the hills surrounding the McCall area in Idaho, Cascade Lake, and where the altitude is high, and the weather is cool and wet in the summer and very, very snowy in the winter.

That environment was where I first saw them, during a Sunday drive in the fall many years ago. And the sight blew me away.

... Suffice it to  say, smart idea or not, I just had to have one of my own.

... Of course you NEVER, EVER just go to the hills and dig one up. ... I've been told that numerous times as well.

But if someone digs up a tamarack on their private property and gifts it to you, a friend? Then it's OK.

... Even if that friend plants it in domestic conditions, out of the correct environment and the tree is probably going to wither and die anyway!

I 'm kidding of course. But for the first few years, I wondered if those warnings were correct and we really had made a mistake.

After all the tree did struggle with the heat. It's growth was miniscule and when the time came that it should have turned a brilliant color of gold, the leaves just seem to wither and fall off.

Last year though, something happened. Our tamarack began to thrive of all things.

It was exciting to watch and we could hardly wait until fall.

... Same thing though, the fall came and the leaves just withered and fell off.

... But this  year?

I'm sharing a photo of our now about 4-foot high tamarack that is sporting gorgeous deep gold leaves and making me, appropriately for this time of the year, very, very thankful that it's here!

... Guess that old saying is true. Good things really do come to those who wait!

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

Going over the rules ... again ...

Marlene Terry

Back at it after a few decades of inactivity, I'm once again, teaching my baby daughter how to sew.

She's already pretty good at the everyday things such as repairing the occasional hole that shows up in the knees of her little boy's pants. She's also good at any project she chooses to take on. 
Take those rag quilts you see in heritage shops, for instance.

She was college-age when she saw one finished and on display and promptly fell in love with it. ... And she wouldn't quit until she'd taught herself the process of how to create such a quilt and then sewed, unpicked, and sewed again, until the one she chose to make for herself was completed.

Her interest in sewing began during those years when she was just a little girl and I ... had more kids than a budget.

Needless to say I spent hours creating and constructing T-shirts, jeans (every kind imaginable), pajamas, skirts with yards of ruffled tulle underneath, prom dresses, coats, costumes and much, much more.

At first, she was happy to sit at her little table, that was a permanent fixture in my sewing room, and string beads. I'll never forget how her eyes would twinkle every time she produced another amazing crown, bracelet or necklace.

Later, after Santa brought her a child-size sewing machine, she joined me in learning how to sew and started creating items on her own.

She was a fast learner. ... The faster the better. And even though I did try and teach her the rules and the CORRECT way to do things, her "do-it-myself " attitude had her always looking for shortcuts and the EASIEST method.

   

I still have my cute handmade apron from her teen years. It was her gift to me on Mother's Day ...  complete with unhemmed or finished in any way, raw, stringy edges!.

"Hey. The apron is PRIMITIVE style," she'd said laughing when I offered to teach her how to hem.

... The truth is, Mary's creations are always made on her own terms.

1. Guess how big it should be.

2. Cut it out FAST!

3. Sew ONLY the seams you need to sew  ...

... and Voila! ... It's done!

That's why her recent request was such a big surprise.

She and her two adorable children had come for a visit when she suddenly asked. 

"Mom," she said grinning, "I brought one of my baby bibs that's just about worn out for you to look at. And I wondered if could teach me how to make one?"

... It's true she didn't say "I wondered if you'd teach me how to make one ... the correct way, without all those raw edges and strings hanging out." 

... But although it wasn't spoken out loud, IT WAS in her demeanor, her sweet grin and most of all ... that twinkle in her eyes. ... The same one I saw the first time she strung beads!

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

 

What makes us happy ...

Marlene Terry

I know. I know. You're standing there looking at the calendar wondering how in the world it could possibly be November of all things.

The truth is every year it surprises me more ... how fast the time passes by. And despite my resolutions of each new year, I'm always caught "with my pants down" so to speak and unprepared for the upcoming holidays, that although I love the spirit of it all, seem to come two or three times a year instead of just once.

Thanksgiving Day this year is on Thursday of course. But it also falls on the last Thursday of the month, the 28th.

That means we'll have just two days before Dec. 1st, barely enough time to get the Thanksgiving dinner dishes done and put away.

...  According to Martha Stewart protocol, by then we should also have our Christmas tree up and decorated, our Christmas cards addressed and stamped, and our shopping nearly complete. ... Right!

Guess there's no need to worry about what we need to do this year and can't. Just need to take joy in whatever makes us happy.  

... Like making an especially cute turkey treat this week, and giving it away to neighbors, friends and for me, two cute little grandkids who I'm sure will just love my ...  "Peanut butter turkeys, Nana?"

Hope you saved some of that candy corn from a few days ago. Here's the process.Enjoy!

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com.

Almost fabulous ...

Marlene Terry

Make·o·ver 

Noun. An overall treatment to improve the appearance or change the image of something undesirable.

… At least that’s what a makeover is supposed to accomplish.

And I believe that to be true ... at least temporarily. 

I mean I did think that I looked more fresh and colorful than I had for weeks. … In fact … almost fabulous!

If the truth be known I actually glistened a little.

That is, I glistened after a team of miracle workers, including a Merle Norman employee and two of my cute daughters, worked very hard to minimize my pores (I have no idea what that is) with expensive mineral makeup, arch my eyebrows at the correct place … instead of where my eyebrow pencil got tired and stopped (my technique), and apply lip liner, lipstick and lip gloss, all at once, as well as several shades of eye shadow in order to highlight my older eyes and make them appear youthful, dramatic and gorgeous. … Or so they said.

Have to admit I’d been feeling a little diminished lately. You know, the time in our lives that happens when especially women wake up, look into a mirror and suddenly notice that they're beginning to resemble the grapes in her refrigerator. ... Those that have been there longer than they should have been and have lost their once vibrant color, and are looking a little wrinkled and as if all the juice had been sucked right out of them.

… Believe me when I say, that look is devastating at times ... much more than just growing older!

Needless to say it was really a lift for me to emerge from the makeup chair that day with new hope.

… "Just maybe," I thought, I didn't look as old as I felt!

The best part of that experience was my girls all chipped in and gifted me with everything I’d need to be able to keep up the new look.

... Three lipstick pencils complete with liner and lip gloss to match. A triple combination eye shadow kit to create sexy, smoky eyes, and another for everyday wear, along with lid glitter, highlighter, brow powder, applicators, brushes and … SPACKLE.

… Or maybe the spackle was what I picked up at the hardware store earlier, and it got placed into my makeup bag by mistake. … I just can’t remember.

I was also gifted with some rosy cream blush and an egg-shaped sponge to apply it, along with the entire process, hand-drawn out on a piece of notebook paper by a sweet daughter who I’m sure was happy to see me looking ...  LESS TIRED!

... In other words I had everything I needed!

The only problem?

 … Now that I’m at home alone, with just the memory of that day and expert help that made it happen not readily available … does anyone know how to OPEN an eye shadow compact?

… I’d really like to know!

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com.

An hour or two ... please! ...

Marlene Terry

There are times in your life that are so special you wish they'd last forever. And when they're over and just a memory, then you wish with all your heart that you could go back, even for just an hour or two, and experience it all again.

It never fails that something will trigger a memory and suddenly with your eyes closed, and in your mind ... you're there! 

Thought about just that recently. 

Take for instance that winter day at our country home up on a beautiful hill in eastern Idaho. The kids, all still kids back then, had gone outside.

I looked out the window to the front lawn. And there they were, all safe and sound  and dressed for warmth, as a snowstorm moved in and added to the white piles already there.

Huge, fluffy, white flakes, falling gently to the ground made building a snowman the thing to do. And the sound of them laughing and having that sound linger in the crisp air.

Another time when I was a kid.

Sitting with my dad in the living room on Sunday, watching our brand new black and white TV together and eating peanuts.

The program? "Omnibus," I think it was called ... with Dave Garroway.

... Can't remember liking that program at all. But I loved listening to Dad comment so intelligently about whatever the subject was, and seeing him comfortable and dozing in his chair.

Watching my mom pin up the laundry or bake a pie. She was always beautiful in a dress and apron and wearing high heels. 
And when she baked, she'd always save the leftover dough for us kids. Rolling it out in strips, she'd place it in a separate baking dish, cover it with cinnamon and sugar and smile and wink at us when she placed it in the oven. 

Ice skating in the park with weak ankles while wearing even WORSE skates. The music that played in the background, and cozying up to the little stove inside the ice shack to get warm. 
Hot chocolate that felt good all the way down to my stomach. 
... And me and my little sis hiding under the covers in our bedroom on Christmas Eve, talking and laughing and unable to sleep.

... Yep. An hour or two would be just great!

Today's best quote: “Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” — L.M. Montgomery

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com.