Susan came in today with a magazine Ron had found tucked in the eaves of their attic. It was the Nov.1941 edition of Good Housekeeping, price 25 cents.

The cover was one of a painting of a little girl and her kitten, not photos of rock or super stars like you see now.The inside has so many stories, very unlike the current editions which have only one.

Also, there are numerous ads and when they advertise, the price is even listed.Tangee lipstick, powder and foundation....all for $1. Bras at 69 cents, Mum deodorant 23 cents, but the one that caught my eye was one for tampons...20 for 25 cents or 80 for 98 cents. Can you imagine? Also, they had dresses........day dresses and evening wear and they were from $9.95 to $13.95. Of course, there was a designer dress with the top and a long skirt and a short skirt for "under $25".

There were also ads for Elizabeth Arden makeup, the Tangee makeup, even Avon.There were also a lot of recipes using ingredients I vaguely remember from when I was a kid.

Of course, this was the month before the attack on Pearl Harbor, so there was no mention of war, soldiers, war bonds or victory gardens. Wish he would find a few more issues. Preferably Dec.1941 and Jan. 1942. Oh, the good old days!

My friend Phyllis has been dead for a month now. We had gone to school together for 11 years...one year she went to high school in Martinsville when her dad was transferred there, but she missed GW so much that she came back to Danville for her senior year.

After graduation we went our separate ways, but somehow, about four years ago we both had profiles on 'Classmates' and we e-mailed each other and got back in touch. We went together to the GW class reunion that was held a couple of years ago for all the classes and after that we e-mailed each other quite often and sent a lot of jokes and stuff to each other, and she came by my house a few times when she was in Danville. I knew when I turned on my computer that there would be something from Phyllis that would make me laugh like a crazy person or would make me cry.

Imagine my surprise about six weeks ago when I opened an e-mail with her name and it was her husband WL saying that she was in Baptist Hospital, having been diagnosed with leukemia, but that he was hopeful that chemotherapy would work.

For a while it looked like the chemo was working, but then I got an e-mail from WL saying that she had died peacefully in her sleep.

Phyllis was one of those blonde (natural), blue eyed beauties with perfect skin who was popular with both girls and boys and never pretended to be something she wasn't. She was a cheer leader, in all the "right" clubs, was smart(honor society), but yet was just a down to earth person and never pretended to be otherwise. I never knew anyone who once they met her, didn't like her.

I'm so sorry that so many years went by and we didn't see each other, but I'm so thankful for the last few when we did get back together.

Goodbye, my friend.........I'll keep on missing you!

Thursday night Rebecca went to the bathroom prior to going to bed and all of a sudden she was screaming like a banshee and I didn't know what was wrong, so I went running. There she stood with a piece of glad wrap in her hand. Seems she sat on the commode to pee and discovered that Tommy had stretched a sheet of glad wrap across the commode and then put the seat down. Of course, the person using the commode got a wet back lash! He denied doing it until I pointed out the roll of glad wrap he'd left laying on the heating unit next to the commode. It was funny and a very unique idea!

When I told him to take his bath Friday, instead of the usual reasons for not "needing" a bath, he went ahead and got in the tub and when he came out a few minutes later he was nice and rosy and clean, even his hair. Rebecca discovered yesterday that he had used her whole can of shaving cream.........one I'd just bought for her........I guess to either pretend to shave or just for bath soap because it smelled so good. She was so mad that she called Ginny to tell her what he'd done! Boys! just like men........you can't live with'em and you can't live without'em!

"Damma Maxine, is Anna at your house, or Sanannah?" the little voice on the phone said. "No, not right now, but Savannah will be here in a little while," I told her. "O K, den, can I come see you?" That was Brittany today after not being here for a couple of weeks.

"Hello, Maxine?" a voice said the other day. "This is Peggy, I'm driving from Arizona to Virginia and I hope to see you this time." Unfortunately, we missed each other again.

"Hello, Maxine?" said a voice. "This is Judy, how are you?" "Have you talked to Peggy? She just called me and said she was coming to Virginia." "Yes, I talked to her. She said we'd get together when she got here."

"Hello, Maxine? This is Robbie. How're you doing? How's the weather in Virginia, is it warm yet?" This voice from my past came all the way from Washington state. Don't know how he got my number, but we talked for about three hours and it was nice.

Voices, whether old friends from many years ago or the baby voices of the present, are always welcome.

Same old, same old. Hot as blue blazes, clouds, but no rain or cooling off.Actually, I'd rather be hot than cold.It's a lot easier to take off enough to get cool than it is to put on enough to get warm.

Same old laundry, same old dirty dishes, same old beds to make, same old grocery list. Same stupid cat yowling every morning when he hears my alarm go off. He's so stupid that he won't eat until I go and shake his food dish. Then he acts like he hasn't had a meal in days, although he has food and water in the basement where he spends the night.

Same telemarketers trying to either get donations or sell something. You can tell because the phone will only ring five times and then it clicks off. Other folks let it ring and ring.

Oh well, what the heck! Same old, same old!!

I was walking down Baugh St. to my house and I could see the kids all sitting on the wall. There was Robert, Keister, Elizabeth, Tami, Randy, Lester, Betty, Bobby and Linda. Dianne was on her porch trying to decide if she wanted to join them on the wall. I kept thinking that any minute one of them would look up and see me and holler something, anything at me but they didn't seem to see me. I walked all the way to them and they never saw me. It was my dream and I saw them, why didn't they see me?

I was walking up a big hill somewhere, I think in Lynchburg and I saw Lillie, Effie, Mama, Uncle Harry, my daddy, Connie, Tom. I kept walking and seeing more and more people and I kept thinking to myself, "But they're all dead!" I was so happy to see all of them, but they paid no attention to me, just kept on what they were doing. Some were eating, some standing around talking, some acted like they were waiting for someone, but none of them paid any attention to me. I talked to some of them, but they just ignored me.

I dreamed I had on this little skimpy outfit and there was a big drum sitting there on the floor and I hopped up on the drum and started tap dancing and my feet tapped out this amazing tune and I wondered why nobody thought it was worth applauding. It was so neat that when I woke up, I was humming the tune and I got up and tried to do my little tap number, but it didn't work without the drum.

I dreamed I was a young mother and the kids were cute and sweet, but they weren't MY kids, at least not the ones I actually birthed. I kept on trying to figure out where my kids were and who the others were. I seemed to be wandering around in a daze and I was really glad when I woke up.

I dreamed I was down on Highland Ct. and everything looked like it did when I was a little girl. All my friends were there and we played hiding and Red Rover and Connie, Harry, Jr. and I played cowboys and Indians. I had my big tricycle and Geraldine kept trying to push me off down the hill.

Why do we dream? Why do I always dream of dead people or things that happened a long time ago? Is that what's in my subconscious? Or am I just a nut case??

Last night when I went to bed it was so cool that I didn't need my fan and I even slept in jammies instead of my thin nightie. Once I was good and asleep, I started to dream.

I dreamed I was in a big, pretty house on West Main St. On the left side if you're heading back downtown. I walked out the door and went over some twigs and little pieces of wood that were laying on the front steps and I looked down and I had on inline skates. Now I know I can't skate on those skates when I'm awake, but I really was good in my dream.

I just glided off down the sidewalk toward town and I was doing all sorts of tricks and stuff on those skates. When I got to the last house on the left before town, I slowed down and looked at the porch and there were several big, glass statues of dogs and cats sitting on the porch and on the steps. They were bright blue, red, gold and green. They were probably 3 to 4 feet high and when the sun shone on them, they glowed. I stopped to admire them and then my skates were gone and I was just standing there on the sidewalk like everybody else.Then i woke up.

I have a recurring dream that I'm a student at the old GW high school. I get to school late and I run to my locker and then to my homeroom and everybody turns to watch me enter the room. I stop and take my coat off and I'm completely nude under my coat. Another one that I've had often is one in which I'm driving along a road that is above a river that has another road beside it. I know I'm going somewhere and when I get to the end of the road, I'll be where ever it is that I'm going. I'm really looking forward to the end of the trip, but I never get to the end. Am I a nut or what?

Since this is Father's day, we didn't have church tonight, so here it is 7PM and Emily has gone and except for the mess she left in the downstairs bedroom, I'm all alone.

The weather cooled down considerably and it's nice and comfortable inside and out. Cindy, Emily and I met Susan at the cemetary to put flowers on Boots' grave. When we got there Susan had cleaned the weeds from around the stone and when we left, she put the customary cigarette at the bottom of the footstone. Long ago, she straightened out a paper clip and used it to hold the cig in place so it wouldn't roll off. Nothing was left of the last one but the filter. Ummmm.....I wonder??

Yesterday I hopped up bright and early and got ready to go to yardsales. Cindy never called so finally I called her and woke her up. So, that meant I would have to go alone. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I only went to the ones in the immediate area, that is, the ones on the northside on streets I knew.I hit Betty's ( my former sister in law) first and ended up with a lot of stuff, but she wouldn't let me pay her. I got a floor lamp, an ottoman, a dress and shirt, velcro tape, a teddy bear and a few other things. Then I went up the street to another one and saw all my yardsale buddies I run into and at that one, I didn't buy anything, but I did find a new $5 bill laying on the ground. I asked this guy I see every week if I should give it to the lady having the sale and he said, "Nope, finders keepers."

I go out searching for books and things that James 'orders', but didn't find anything for James. I did find 2 brand new shirts for Sarah(with tags still attached)and a new shirt for me...from Penneys, with tags still attached! I also found a few books that were priced right and a WBTM mug from way back for Hutch. So, I ended up spending $4 and had more money when I finished than when I started. Now thats what I call a good yardsale morning!

I thought about making a cake this evening, but decided not to. This after I got all the ingredients out. But now that I've re-thunk it, maybe a good ole chocolate cake with hersey bar and pecans would be good. Maybe I will go bake a cake.

Today is Boots' B'day. At least, according to his birth certificate. Actually, his mother told me years ago that she went into labor early on June 21 and the doctor was there all day (this in the time of doctors doing home deliveries), but when he was born, it was actually after midnight, which would have been the 22nd. But the doctor, wanting him to be special, went ahead and put his birth date as the first day of summer.

I remember one year, his 45th birthday to be exact, Geraldine and I decided to have a surprise B'day party for him. I think his birthday fell on either Friday or Sat. so we got presents from every body, got steak for the grill, made salad, B'day cake......every thing to have a nice surprise party. But the surprise was on us. All he had to do was walk up the hill between our house and Geraldine's house, but he absolutely refused. He didn't like parties, especially surprise ones!! So we ate without him. All the kids were disappointed, but eventually managed to have a good time and I took all his presents home and didn't give them to him for three months.

Later in life, he mellowed out and we did have another party for him that he attended.

I look up into the star lit skies,

The moon rides high with feathery clouds

I hear the sound of the night bird cries,

When and how can I make myself heard?

Is it just me or do you feel it too?

Can this puny sound be heard in space

What can I do to show that it's real?

Not just a sound lost with no trace.

Babies cry and mothers soothe the ills

Lasting impressions of pats and burps,p> Whimpers, loving arms, hugs and spills

Then all is quiet and night comes again.

The moon and stars remain in the sky,

Love thats real will never fade

The sounds come and go, time will fly

But quiet dreams are always with you.

Tonight I was in my room with the door closed, the TV on, the computer on and the window fan on high. I had the phone with me in case I got a call from one of my daughters. The phone did ring, "Hello, mama, where's Cindy?" said Linda. I assured her that she was home, but Linda said no, her car is parked beside your house. "How do you know?" I asked. "Cause I'm parked here beside your house, too."

So I went downstairs and there's Cindy. She had come over, came to the front door, knocked, didn't get an answer so she swung for a while, then went to the back door and came in. She said she "helloed", but got no answer, so she had some cake. She was really surprised when I came down the steps, but no more surprised than I.

I asked why they were here and they were meeting at my house to go to the country to see a "haunted" house. So I went with them. Actually the house was just an abandoned farm house out on Ringgold Rd., but it was big and sort of falling apart. We missed the turn off so we had to go down the road and turn around and this time Linda pulled into the drive way and Cindy snapped some pics of the rear of the house from the car and then got out and took some of the front.

Linda decided to take us on the "scenic" tour to get back to Danville. I never saw such narrow, dark, wild, overgrown roads in my life. And so many train crossings with no guard arms. I was glad when we finally came out at the bottom of East Thomas St.. At least I knew where I was then.

I think they are going to go again when they can find a real haunted or at least scary house or place. I might stay home and just look at the pictures!