Two Four Six Eight…Who Do You Appreciate?

I’m sure you have been to the mall, visited with Amazon, decked your halls, and started your diet.  Wait, no that’s not for another few weeks, whew!!!

I appreciate my family and friends.  Actually, they are one in the same.  My friends are part of my extended family. Most of my friends live near-by, others are separated by vast miles and states.

I am not going to start a running list of who you are, because you know how dicey that can be!!!  One of my friends however, has been around a very long time, back to simple times when playing outside was the norm for kids and if it was dark outside, it just meant coming into the house if you heard a whistle!

My friend Linda and I met in the 5th grade.  We pretended to be twins. We told people we were sisters, of course no one believed us, but we didn’t care. You probably remember the movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.  That was Linda and me.

She was the tall blonde and I was the short brunette.  Our moms made most of our clothes. It wasn’t hard to go to JC Penney’s yardage and pick out a pattern and fabric that we could both agree on.  Too bad I can’t find some of those pictures of us.

To this day, we are in weekly conversations that run the gambit from kids to pets and everything in between.  This week she had the unpleasant middle of the night task of the doggie bath to remove the skunk squirt to her Lexie’s face and eyes. She just handles it, like always.

Linda has always loved animals.  When we were kids she had Felix the cat and Oscar her rat.  This is not a Dr. Suess story. She continues to be the Dr. Dolittle of the animal world. Most recently she had to put her beloved rat Jerald down. He lived nearly 5 years. And don’t get her started on the girls!!!  Maybe she’ll post a picture of the “hens!”

We can all conjure up childhood memories.  I know everyone didn’t live the “Leave it to Beaver” existence or have a “Father Knows Best” dad.  I was lucky.  I didn’t believe my dad knew best until my 30’s but, it finally sunk in.

Here is the sweet imagine that “binds” my sister to me.  Her mom’s famous Popcorn Balls. A recipe that lives on today!!!  Her mom would be so proud!!

Now this is something to cheer about!!

Funny thing about this picture.  I just noticed the skull and cross bones…that may have to do with the dentist visits that resulted in stuffing our faces with these delicacies.