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“K”indergarten
Memories of kindergarten and less than 6-degrees of separation. Amazing!
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#AtoZChallenge: Tractor
Photo © Diane Weidenbenner Have you seen the “American Pickers” show that “follows expert antiquers as they scour the country’s junkyards, basements and barns for hidded gems?” (according to History.com) Well, my friend Sandy and I are the Indiana/Illinois Pickers. We go for country drives and we never quite know what we’ll find. We have followed highways, byways, side roads and back roads in search of the unappreciated or forgotten treasures. One time we followed a dirt road right into the middle of a corn field. No, really! Thus far, one of my favorite discoveries has been this Ford tractor. First, my dad loved the Ford brand. He always bought…
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Baking and Christmas memories
My family doesn’t have many Christmas traditions but I treasure the ones we have. Baking sweet treats during the holiday is one of my favorites. My Grandma Rose was the master baker in our family. She played bridge with ladies each week and they took turns bringing a dessert. Between her friends and Grandma’s eagle eye for yummy recipes in the newspaper, she acquired the best recipes imaginable. When I was little, I’d sometimes stay overnight with my grandparents on Friday, and Saturday morning my Grandma and I would make cookies together. This was after she served her famous Swedish pancakes (crepes) for breakfast! She knew most of the recipes…
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A to Z Challenge: “U”pside down, over and under
Roller coasters have been a part of my life since I was little. I am terrified of them, at least the large ones that flip you upside down with no respect for what you had for breakfast or lunch! My family went to Elitch Gardens amusement park in Denver. When I was small, I loved the boats that I could captain around the pond, the train that circled the park, the Tilt-a-Whirl, the Haunted House and many other rides. I have such fond memories of it. One of the country’s top 10 roller coasters was Mister Twister which opened at Elitch Gardens in 1964. It was a 96-foot-tall wooden coaster…
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Blogging A to Z: “H”-istory is awesome!
Photo by Diane Weidenbenner, 2015, Indiana. Who remembers drive-in movies? I took this photo in Indiana on one of my country drives, and it brought back fun childhood memories of times spent at our favorite drive-in movie theater in Denver, Colorado. The movie theater that we frequented was the Cinderella Twin Drive-In movie theater, which opened in 1973 near the Cinderella City mall (aerial view below). It had two screens, ran first-run, double feature movies, and could support 800 cars total (which translated into thousands of viewers). It was about 10 minutes from our house and when the weather was good, it was the place to be! It operated March…
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“M”ail
This mailbox belongs to a good friend of mine, and her cat Galley, of course. I think he’s waiting for the Petsmart circular. © 2013 by Diane Weidenbenner My dad was a mailman. He actually delivered mail come rain, snow, sleet or sun. It was during the days when you knew your mailman by first name and he received Christmas presents during the holidays, like baked goods, fruit baskets and of course money. As kids we preferred the baked goods! During the summer my mom would take us to visit him on his route. We’d deliver a cold Pepsi to him or eat lunch with him. He was one of…
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“E”arth
I love visiting the mountains and although I grew up and lived most of my life in Denver, I never spent enough time admiring nature. I was always working or traveling elsewhere. Trees in foreground, snow covered mountain in background “Long’s Peak from North, Rocky Mountain National Park,” Colo. The U.S. National Archives. My dad liked to go fishing with his work buddies or go camping with the Boy Scouts. Sometimes my brother and I would go along and hike the trail before the entire troop went camping overnight. Again, I wish I had spent more time in the mountains when I lived nearby. One of my first Colorado mountain…
