Standing In Front Of The Stove On a Cold Night

When I was a little person, electricty was not there for us. Blackjack trees, sawed and chopped, little bits of what ever burned to keep you warm, cook the food. I was cold tonight because I am not so well. I am cooking bread in the oven and when I opened the oven door, I was reminded of those days when the stove was the hot spot in the room. Glowing red and exuding heat. It only heated one room for a space.

Going to bed was another thing. Coats on, clothes on, all the clothes on top, frosty breath in the night. It took a brave, brave child (me) to get up and build a fire to go to school.

When I think of those old days, how cold, how the snow was, how it was to build the fire in the stove without light, ...I could feel sorry, but I did go to school, I did learn some stuff.

I burned tumbleweeds along the way to the bus stop. It was a cliche mile or two.

It has been a long way from then to now.

I think about all of us, from Shelagh to LC. How our lives flow on one day to the next. Each day connects. Nothing is too small to remember. Life is the wonder. Whether it is a gift given or the journey from birth to death, it is pretty nice.

Love,
Betty

1/1/2010

Betty.

I wonder is it because we get older, we
begin to hate the cold, yet I only like Autumn,
Spring , I hate hot summers and yet I like the
many different seasons...In the Winter, which is
too long for me, I start getting antsy about spring,
planting, potting all kinds of plants for the patio,
watching the roses grow. I get thrilled when my two
citruses are in bloom, my Meyer lemon has two huge
lemons on it and my calamondin orange has several
small oranges, I can't wait till they bloom again.. Of
course their indoors...

Love Joe

Betty,

I remember the stoves and sleeping under piles of quilts, and not just a my grandparent's farm, although it was certainly a reality there. We had floor furnaces at our house in Orange. On cold mornings, my dad would get up first and light them. Since the house was a raised cottage, the cold air would have the wood floors feeling like ice. I would wake up to the sound of my dad's feet as he hopped along the floor, so that his feet touched it as little as possible, and the little "whump" when the flame ignited. As soon as the furnaces were lit, he would hop along the still icy floor back to bed, and we would all wait until the toasty furnaces had the floors warm enough to walk on, and the house itself feeling comfortable and inviting us to get up and start the day.

Ann

Dear Joe,
I have a myers lemon and a key lime to worry about tomorrow. They are planted in the yard. What beautiful lemons are the myers. I have already frozen the lime's juices but the tree does not like less than 40 degrees.

Tonight it is not supposed to freeze, but the next four day will. I try to save it all. The strawberries, too.

Ann, my friend, I remember those wooden floors. What a cold air blew under the house! I guess I was the kid who did your dad's dance and built the fire. Funny, isn't it.

You know, I had 13 siblings. Not a one of them ever got up to build the fire. Parents either. I used to prepare for it. Go out and find the kindling, the little wood that would that would kindle and fit in the stove the night before. I wonder about these thing on nights like this where my bones hurt and I do not feel quite as lovely as usual. I imagine it is the moon going down or coming up.

I get a nice feeling thinking about your dad hopping along the floor and jumping back under the covers until it was warm in the house. I imagine he went back to sleep and dreamed lovely dreams for that little while. Job well done.

Love,
Betty

1/1/2010

Betty..

I belong to a citrus site and I've read whenever
there's a cold spell, some people put up a plastic tarp
with poles and Christmas lights inside , lit up to keep
warm air around the cirtus trees..Here's their site.

http://citrus.forumup.org/index.php?mforum=citrus


Love Joe

Dear Joe,
Last year, it was 23 four nights running. I put a work light with a 60 watt bulb under a blanket and tied it down to the bottom. The lime and the lemon were blooming at the time. The flowers came through well and produced much fruit. Tomorrow, I will pick the lemons. I will have to move all my impatiens into shelter and my Christmas cactus. I sometimes wish that I had a big baloon canopy to cover my whole yard. But, Florida is fairly kind most of the year.

Love,
Betty