Broken Peach

My son introduced me to a new music group. They are called Broken Peach.

Broken Peach is four talented women. They have a back-up band consisting of guitar, bass guitar, and drums.

At the present time I only know how to access them on YouTube. I look them up quite often. 

My favorite videos are their Halloween videos. They dress like Halloween characters.When they sing they move I am reminded of those huge blow-up dolls you see at car dealerships. They are amazingly nimble.

They also have Christmas songs. They cover many popular American songs. They do such a good job.

Because all the women are from Spain and record in Spain they usually also have Spanish versions of their songs too. 

I have been told that Broken Peach occasionally competes in contests similar to American Idol. In one such contest the judges stopped Broken Peach from performing because they thought Broken Peach was lip-syncing. They were not. Their voices blend together so well. And they are so well rehearsed that they look flawless.

If you enjoy music take a look at Broken Peach.

Horror Movies

Keeping with the spirit of the season we have been watching horror movies. I love a good scary movie. I do not like bloody gory movies. They are not scary; they are just icky.

When they were small my children would stay up late with me watching scary movies. Consequently they like scary movies. They even like some of the icky ones/

When I was a teen-ager our drive-in theater often showed horror movies. There would be three different movies in a single night. Teen-age boys loved these nights for dates. They used a teen-aged girl's fright as an excuse for a quick snuggle or more if they could get it.

I had one boyfriend who fell asleep during the second movie every time. He never made those"moves" on me. I eventually married him.

I am not saying that he did not appreciate a good scare. We had four children. The youngest was still a baby. We had been watching a vampire movie on TV. 

When the movie was over I realized I had no milk for breakfast. My parents lived next door so I ran over to borrow some milk. I knew my husband was going to try to scare me but I went anyway.

As I was going back home with a gallon of milk in my hand I suddenly saw something flapping toward me from between the houses. I knew it was my husband but...VAMPIRES! I screamed like I was in a horror movie. When we got in the house I threw the gallon of milk at him and he laughed at me. My loving parents next door heard me scream and went to bed.

When we were but children my sister and I wanted to see The Blob at the theater. We were never allowed to see scary movies even with our parents so they would not let us go. We pleaded until they finally gave in. After all I was working and would pay for everything.

About halfway through the movie my sister was so scared she begged to leave. I was afraid too and agreed to leave.

It was nighttime and we were afraid to walk home in the dark. We went to the bowling alley where I worked. My uncle was working that night. He laughed at us then walked us home after he got off work.

 So now we watch the movies on TV. No vampire movies. I am afraid of them. I do laugh though. The dog does not like the sounds from these movies. She moves over to sit close to my son for safety. We all need safety at times.

I Was A Pumpkin

As I have said many times my family did not have much money.  I may not have mentioned that my mother could do almost anything. She was artistic and creative. I wish I had inherited some of that. Mom also had the ability to make things. I am still in awe of her.

When Halloween came Mom often made our costumes. The ones in the store were much too expensive.

My favorite was the year I was a pumpkin. Mom used orange cloth and a lot of wire coat hangers. I even had a little hat that looked like the stem of the pumpkin. 

I was the roundest pumpkin you ever saw. When I went to school the day of the Halloween party I could barely get through the door. Sitting at my desk was impossible. 

The thing is that I looked like a real pumpkin. The year that I was an angel I looked like an angel. It was that way every year. And she did that for all of us so Mom had a lot of work.

It has long been a family tradition that costumes are homemade. For several years my youngest brother and his friends dressed up as KISS. They did their own makeup and clothes. They even used blocks of wood painted black to simulate the high boots that KISS wore.

Various grandchildren have also dressed as KISS from time to time. As a matter of fact there are three different live KISS videos in which my grandchildren appear. 

One of my younger brothers dressed as a cheerleader for a party one year. He was a huge hit. I did noy realize he had such pretty legs. 

Halloween is for having fun. Go overboard and have a good time.

Friday The Thirteenth

 My aunt and uncles went to school in a one room schoolhouse in the country. On the last day of school there was a picnic and we always went. The more the merrier, you know. One year it was held on Friday, the 13th.

We set out for the picnic with Mom at the wheel. Daddy had to work. Mom was running late as usual so she was driving a bit faster than she should have. She came to the top of a hill and saw the police car at the bottom. Instead of slowing down she panicked and stopped. When she restarted and drove down the hill she was pulled over. Luckily the cop recognized the car. Daddy was the town marshal and worked with the state police on occasion. Mom received a warning to be more careful and we went on our way.

The car was low on gas so Mom pulled into a station along the highway. In the 1950's the pumps often had big glass globes on the top with the name of the gasoline company on them. They were pretty. When Mom pulled in for gas she realized that she was too far away from the pump. She pulled forward a bit and then backed up a bit closer... whoops! a little too close. She bumped the pump. That beautiful glass globe began to wobble, wobble, wobble, wobble... it seemed to be slowing and coming to a stop. Whew. Then it just fell right off and smashed into millions of pieces.

The man at the station was very kind. Of course we did not have to pay for it; it happens all the time. (Right!) We got our 2 dollars worth of gas. That filled it up back then. And we were off again.

We turned off the highway to the county road on the way to the picnic. We were merrily driving along and Mom missed the turn onto the next county road that led to the school. Not to worry... she just backed up so she would be in position to turn. Somehow we ended up in the ditch. Some of the ditches in Nebraska were like valleys. We were rear end down with the nose of the car pointing up. Now what was she to do?

Here we were with a car full of children sitting in a deep ditch with no chance she could drive it out. As luck would have it a neighboring farmer came by on his tractor. Mom waved him down and he of course was happy to help. He was so happy to help that he could not stop laughing as he hooked the chain up to the car and his tractor. Laughing as he had Mom steer the car while his tractor strained to pull us out of that ditch. He was so happy when we were completely clear of the ditch that he kept laughing. Mom had made him so happy that he was still laughing as he drove off.

Off we went again. Mom successfully made the turn. Believe it or not we made it safely to the picnic. Of course we were extremely late but there were still a few games left to be played. After that Friday, the 13th, was a day that we no longer let Mom drive. As a matter of fact we would not even allow her in the car.

Sing Along

 After the car accident my son and I were in in 2010 one of the things that happened to me was that I lost my ability to sing. By that I mean that even though I felt like singing the words did not come out.

Now as anyone who knows me knows I cannot really sing. If you put a tune in a briefcase and locked it I still would not be able to carry it. I admire and envy those who can sing. Music is important to my life.

Therefore I gave it no thought after I had a mild stroke a couple of years ago. I was not even concerned with not being able to sing along with a favorite song. I thought it was lost to me forever.

Recently I realized that I have been singing with the music I am listening to. Hooray! 

I do not know when it began. I still stop throughout a song. It is not because I do not remember the words. My ability is still spotty. But I can sing again.

It may seem like nothing to a lot of people but I am ecstatic. O sole mio......

Leg Children

I have long said that my four children were leg children. By that I mean that often when we were in public or an unfamiliar place they would grab my leg and hold on. They were never far from me in most instances.

I must say that at times it was annoying trying to move around with children constantly under my feet. At the same time it was comforting to know that they trusted me to protect them.

As they grew and discovered the outside world of school and other activities they gradually moved away from my legs. At the same time I tried to always be available if they needed me.

Now they are all grown. Most have children of their own and one even has grandchildren. They are good parents with not a leg child in the bunch. All are very loved.

One day at lunch with my sister-in-law I was chuckling about my leg children. She began to chuckle too. Then she told me that my husband was one of all the leg children of my mother-in-law. I guess my children inherited it from their father.