Toothpicks…something I have always taken for granted. They have always been in the cupboard or on the table and who can not bake a cake without poking a toothpick in to see if it is done?  When hubby and I were first married we would jokingly tease each other on which was better – round ones (that I grew up with and my mom used) or flat ones that he was used to; so I always kept both on hand.

   I bought a box (flat ones) the other day as my supply was getting low. After I had used several, I wondered why there were so many flawed ones in the box. Then I dumped it out and there was hardly a perfect one in the package. This was weird. Where were the perfectly smooth toothpicks I remembered? Then I looked on the side and the package said. “Made in China”! WHAT!!! I couldn’t believe it!

   What has America become that we can not even make toothpicks in America anymore and have to import them? I am going to be looking for a different brand if I can find one that is still made in the U.S.A. And I have come around to my hubby’s way of thinking and now use the flat ones for my teeth but still use the round ones to test my cakes!  :-)

Is it just me or do the winters seem milder now than they did in the 50’s? Perhaps it is just that the means to get through them is so much easier now with snowplows on four-wheelers and snow blowers. For sure, the clothing now can keep a person a lot warmer. Gone are the days of bundling up in those bulky 2-piece snow suits; the ones with the pants that sometimes looked like bib overalls and sometimes were just pants that slipped over your own clothes. Next came the coat on top; with or without a hood and the knitted cuffs on both the pants and the coat that never, ever keep the snow off your wrists and ankles.  If your coat did not have a hood then you wore a stocking cap which never seemed to keep your ears warm enough. Mittens and gloves were another necessary item but I never recall them keeping your fingers and hands warm once they got wet.

      And since the first thing we wanted to do when we got out side was make a snowman, it didn’t take long for them to get wet. Remember those good wet snows that made the best snowmen. Rolling the snow until you got a big enough ball; usually quitting when you started adding bits of dead grass from the lawn underneath.

     We played in the snow and made snow angels and pulled sleds. If we were lucky there might be a slight hill where we could sled down. Then when the pain got too bad from your ankles and wrists being frozen you went in. Of course, you probably went in once in the middle of playing, too because snow and cold together seemed to bring on the bathroom urge.

    The worst part was the goulashes; those of the metal buckles. They were easy to put on when dry but when you came in, the snow had packed into them and made them really hard to get open again before you could get your foot out and get them off and make it to the bathroom in time. :-)

       Blizzards have always been a part of some of my memories of winter. One year of my childhood, when I was 9 or 10, I could not find my yellow kitten, Peaches. I just knew she was outside and would freeze to death and expressed those sentiments to my folks.  I can remember Dad bundling up, going outside and being gone for a long time. Then here he came, carrying her in. I think that will always be one of my best memories of my dad…that he would do that for me. I hope that I expressed my thanks to him.  Other blizzards evoke memories of not so enjoyable times.  

   What are some of your winter memories?