Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell June 26, 2007

First of all, I would like to say that I was really sad to hear that Virginia Hadley is moving. I never spent much time with Virginia, but in some way I will miss her. I know that it is good to live close to your kids. I wish her well, and hope that Texas realizes what a great woman they have living in their midst.
I was looking at different things on E-Bay and for some strange reason I found paper dolls. Then I put Betsy McCall in the search box I had not thought of her for years. When that paper doll popped up it brought back a flood of memories. I was not aware that there was a Betsy McCall doll that was not paper, but there she was for sale. Even though I was quite a tomboy- Mom always tried to find some sort of maternal instincts in me. When we went to the Grandparents house to do the laundry and it was rainy out or too yucky to play outside- Mom and Grandma would pull out the McCall’s magazine. When I asked if there was something I could do Mom would show me the Betsy McCall paper doll that came in each issue. I remember that I tried to cut her out just right but I seemed to have a little difficulty and usually cut something vital off. If it was not something on the doll - it was the tab on the dress then it would not stay on Betsy. Now I wished that I had kept some of them. I am not sure that McCall’s magazine is still being published. Grandma received all kinds of magazines - She even ordered ‘True Confessions’ but it did not take long before she stopped that periodical. If she would have lived long enough to see ‘Birds in Bloom’ or the ‘Country’ or the ‘Farm and Ranch’ she would have just loved them. I remember seeing the ‘LOOK’ and ‘Life’ I did not ever look at them often, since I was only about 4 it did not hold my attention for very long.
Grandma received ‘The Cappers Weekly’ and somehow she bought a lifetime subscription to it and she received it for many years. Even after she had died she was still getting it even though Mom had tried to stop it- they just kept sending it. I think that it is a Kansas paper and I know that it is still in publication as Mom still receiving it (her own subscription). Dad got a subscription to the ‘The Horseman’ and Bud Liggenstoffer gave me a subscription to ‘The Western Horseman’. But my favorite paper to get in the mail was the comics- I just love all of those funnies- I read my first soap opera - ‘Brenda Starr’- and ‘Rex Morgan’- I never did get ‘Gasoline Alley’ or ‘Lil’ Abner’. ‘Peanuts’ were always a preferred along with ‘Nancy’ - ‘Dennis the Menace’ and ‘Hi and Lois’. As I got older I enjoyed the ‘Lockhorns’ and they added ‘Baby Blues’ and ‘Zits’. I do not think that people enjoy the comics like they used to. When the paper came every day we would always read the comics and Ann Landers. And, of course, we would check over the obituaries. With the internet and everything else that we spend our time on, I just wonder if somewhere along the way, that maybe we have lost a little something.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell

It is harvest time once again. Harvest at our house was not always a happy time. With the repairs, the weather and the long hours sometimes attitudes were a little testy. Mom was nervous for Dad, as it seemed that we were always going to Pratt, or Harper for repairs. Mom and I would go for dad from time to time- that rarely seemed to work out as the parts man would tell us- “this repair that you brought is obsolete- but do not be distressed- we have an adapter that your husband can add on. All you have to do ( you know you are in trouble when they start with “all you have to do”) is to drill two little holes and here are the screws for that and then add this new part to it. I know it looks like it will not work but when your husband sees this he will know exactly what to do.” That was exactly what I was afraid of, he knew what to do all right- one look at the adapter- then he got the look- this was not pleasant- he would start out trying to use the adapter and then sometimes the adapter would end up in the strangest places. But normally - he would just yell a lot.
Sometimes I would get to go with Dad, but it was not a fun trip. We would visit and laugh a little but there was an underlying of urgency. Once Dad had gone to Bucklin to get repairs, the parking lot was on a slope- somehow the pick-up had gotten out of gear and rolled down the parking lot across the highway and hit a road sign and knocked it down. He came barreling out of the store to see that his vehicle was not where he had left it. This was the time of year that Dad did not stop and talk for a long time, he was in a big hurry this particular time as the weather was building and he needed to get back in the field as soon as possible. Just as he found his pick-up some man came up to him and inquired if he was indeed the owner of the truck- He said yes and the man told him he was under “citizens arrest”. Dad thought he was kidding, but then found out that the man was very serious. They had called the sheriff and the sheriff said that since this was a state highway they would have to call the highway patrol. The highway patrolman was a ways off but said that he would be there to see what he could do about this criminal that had been apprehended. So Dad had to wait with the sheriff for 2hours until the patrolman got there. When the patrolman saw what had happened and that it was an accident he told Dad that he was sorry for the inconvenience, and that these things happen all the time and not to worry about it. He did not have to pay for the sign- but it cost him the whole afternoon. By the time he got home he was a little on edge. I think if Dad ever saw the man who put him under “citizens arrest” he might have had to arrest him again only it would have been a different charge.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell June 5, 2007

The puppies are here --- puppies are here!! I would like to announce that Senor Jake Pedroza and Sadie Mae XVI (Josie) are the proud parents of 8 little black bundles of wiggles and yelps four girls and four boys. They arrived May 31, starting at 3:00 a.m. and lasted until 1:30 p.m. This is my first real experience with puppies. It is so different from cows but not a lot different from pigs. I never paid much attention to the pigs process, when we had them, so I was a nervous wreck. But Josie was a trooper- luckily she knew just what to do. She was so calm and tended to business- The only thing is and I still do not know how you know when a dog is finished having her pups. I had gone to a Vet and had an ultra-sound done on Josie about a week before and they saw 7 puppies. Then I talked to another Vet and she told me that the ultra sound was not a for sure thing. And sure enough she was correct. There were 7 alright, but actually there were 10. When we got 8 happy healthy little creatures I thought we were done. They all weighed anywhere from 14 to 24 ounces each. I called my Vet and asked if I needed to bring Josie and the brood in to be checked over. She said that it sounded like we were doing well and with the distance we would have to travel and knowing that Josie hates to travel - she thought that everything sounded like we were doing alright. I love Vets that do not nickel and dime you to death. Josie was eating and the 8 puppies were nursing, life was good at the Blundell’s. Until-- 31 hours later when Josie was not looking so good and she went into labor again. Since I am new at this I called on my very patient neighbor- Andra Rickabaugh. Knowing that she has gone thru this before, she could give me a little advice. Andra was out- but Paul, the good man that he is, told me everything that I needed to do. Just as I got off the phone with him, Josie shelled out two more little stillborn fellows. I felt really bad that I did not know that there were more puppies in there. I guess that I should have gone with my first instincts and that was to take her in and have her checked out. I understand why some breeders just take the dog to the vet’s office and let them deal with the birth. But now Josie is doing very well and the 8 are strong and noisy.
We not only had puppies this past week we got a great nephew, as well. Mrs.Jason Crotts, which is Wendy, my niece, that was at Jeff and Chelsea’s wedding gave birth to a healthy-baby boy- Jackson Wayne. He weighed in at seven pounds and eleven ounces and was 21 inches long. Mother and baby are doing great. The proud dad, Jason, is doing fine, too. Wendy did not take any type of anesthetic what so ever. She is a great deal tougher than her Aunt Vanita that is for sure. Vickie is there to help Wendy for a couple of weeks. Vickie has another grandbaby on the way in Ruidoso. Michael and Hilary Widener are expecting their second child any day now. If you can trust the sonograms the Wideners are anxious to get the first little granddaughter- as of today have 4 grandsons. When you go to Vickie and Randy’s house and all of the kids and grandkids are there it is a busy place and now it looks as if it might get just a little chaotic. So between the Widener grandkids and the Blundell grand pups --Lookout world ready or not here they come.