Lindars' Stories Revisited : Suzy Snowflake (Installment 1)

Suzy Snowflake

Or the Winter Break Folly

In small towns, it’s not uncommon for the youth to tell scary stories. At least it didn’t use to be. But since computers and TVs have become stronger influences, the old stories have been dying out. The children turn instead to patchwork stories told through films and video games, forgetting all too quickly the stories that used to make them shiver in the night. This is where our story commences. In an older house, a short walk from the lake.

There the landscape is dark save for a few lights that shine through a dark houses lower front windows. Upon closer inspection, the light displays to those that would peer in a group of children. They are sitting in the half dark under the watchful eye of their babysitter. They sit there telling tales about their summer exploits. The television sits in front of them, off. It has a slightly mournful air to it. The children were told by their parents that it was broken, and the children in the blind faith that only the young have believed them. The babysitter on the other hand knew the truth. Had the kids simply looked closer they would have found that someone had unplugged it.

But even so tonight was going well. The kids weren’t fighting, and there was a wonderfully light happy playful feeling in the atmosphere. The kids were happy because there was only 2 days left until their winter holiday would begin, and there was a lot of snow in the forecast in the coming days. The babysitter was also happy, curled up on the recliner in a fleece blanket she pondered her own world as she mused about the one the kids were talking about. She really had nothing to worry about for a month. It was about that long anyway when spring semester would start at the college. The only thought in her mind that was slightly problematic was that she only had 5 days left to complete her shopping in. Luckily tonight’s job was going to give her enough money to make that possible.

The kids were starting to run out of stories though, and were getting antsy. They weren’t as content as earlier but they were getting tired. They’d also been entertaining themselves for about 5 hours now, so she didn’t mind that they were getting tired and fidgety.

“Aer! We’re bored! Tell us a story?”

“I don’t know a story that y’all wouldn’t already know.”

“Can we sing Christmas carols then?”

“Sure, that sounds fun enough. Go ahead. I’d like to hear Jingle Bells and the others like that.”

The kids laughed in response and all started to sing loudly. Not all of the words were always correct, but that was ok. As long as everyone was having fun, what did it matter?

As each of the kids slowly dropped off to sleep, Aer would drop a blanket over their form. She also checked the time, sighing as she noted how late it was getting. Soon she would either have to get them up and ready for school or perhaps their parents would do that. She couldn’t remember exactly what the agreement had been in that regard.

She turned around at the sounding of a soft yawn. The youngest child was still awake

“Aren’t you tired Caroline?” Aer asked scooping the five year old up. Caroline snuggled into Aer, as she settled them both into a lounge chair.

“Mhm.” Caroline murmured, her fist nearly shoved all the way into her mouth. “Will you please sing me a song?”

Aer rocked Caroline gently. “Sure I could. Just let me think a bit. There must be some song that y’all forgot about. I would almost swear though that you kids know all the songs that I know.” She kept rocking the chair, humming a bit trying to remember a song.

“That sounds pretty…” Caroline said burying herself in Aers side.

Aer laughed quietly as she struggled to remember the words. They flitted around her mind on the outside of her conscious thoughts. She could almost hear them, in her grandmothers voice, but that had been years ago. “Hmmm la la la…” She had more than a little trouble remembering the words. “Da..da…tumbling down… Suzy Snowflake…”

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally published on one of my livejournals 1/31/2007 https://lindarfenume.livejournal.com/2482.html

What's in the Oven : Grandpa's Family Stuffing

 I don't want to lose this recipe, so I'm going to post it here... family recipes are always a treat. Thank you for sharing Scarlett. From Huck.

Grandpa's Family Stuffing Recipe:

4 Loaves of sliced white bread, about a week old (we use 5-6 loaves for our larger family so adjust accordingly)

Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, light salt & pepper to taste.

3 green peppers, chopped into dice NOT MINCED

3-4 stalks of celery, chopped into dice NOT MINCED

2 medium sweet yellow onions or 1 super large one, chopped into dice NOT MINCED

1 stick of butter, real butter and salted. No substitutes or healthy stuff.

5-6 eggs (about 1 egg per bread loaf) beaten

4-5 cans or almost 3 large containers boxes of chicken broth

1-2 sweet red apples

One week before Thanksgiving, buy the amount of loaves of white bread you think you need. 

2 days before Thanksgiving, cut or hand shred the bread into small cubes. Sprinkle in the seasonings, using your hands to press the seasoning into small cubes. We don't use measurements and go by the smell of the combined seasoning so you'll know by smell.

The day/evening before Thanksgiving, saute the vegetables in butter until cooked.

Drizzle the beaten eggs (2 eggs at a time) over the bread. Mix with a large wooden spoon/paddle.

Start adding the chicken broth. We like moist stuffing so if you prefer yours dryer, you might want to go with only 3 cans of broth.

Just keep mixing and mixing until all the bread is the same consistency and color. 

Transfer to foil lined baking pans, cover with more foil. 4 loaves gets me two 13 by 9 inch pans and one 8 by 8 inch pan. We like to have a LOT of left-over dressing.

Right before putting in the oven Thanksgiving day, peel the skin off the apple and cut it into cubed pieces. Gently push in the cubed apple pieces, spaced out evenly throughout the stuffing and then lightly spread the stuffing over the apple cubes to cover them. 

Then toss it in the oven to bake when the turkey is sitting, resting, and pondering it's fate.

Just Visiting : Shakespeare in Delaware Park : The Comedy of Errors

 The second play of the summer start tonight! I hope some of you will have a chance to head out and see it while they perform. The cast spend a lot of time preparing, and each show is a little unique. Since I'm posting this reminder before seeing the show, I am going in blind as to the theme of the play. (I mean, why spoil it right?)

The Comedy of Errors

Shakespeare in Delaware Park

July 25, 2024 through August 18, 2024

Yes I know you may have read this before but as a reminder please keep in mind the following information.

Generally the shows run Tuesdays through Sunday evenings. They start at 7:30 pm, offering you the opportunity to enjoy an evening of professional theatre more or less free of charge. Bring a blanket or chair to sit on, your own refreshments and someone to enjoy the show with, unless you prefer to sit alone. They do accept donations at the intermission, and it is never a bad thing to support the arts..

Like past years I do recommend that you head to the park earlier than show time to get better seats, as it is frequently crowded. When we saw The Winter's Tale we arrived around 5:45 and the hill was already starting to fill up. There are some restaurants in the area, but I personally recommend bringing something with you to enjoy during the show.

I know I mentioned it in the past, by I will repeat myself because there are only so many ways to say things at times. If you're uncertain as to the part of Delaware Park the stage is located in, it's basically behind the Albright Knox Art Gallery, which is NOT close to the Zoo at all. . Please keep in mind that parking is on a first come first serve basis, so if you wish to park closer to the event you should go early. If you have children there is a wonderful playground close to the staging area so the kids can play before the show if you arrive early enough.

Just Visiting : Shakespeare in Delaware Park : The Winter's Tale

 There are only a few more showings left of The Winter's Tale before they are on break until the second show starts. While it isn't one of the plays I had seen before, It has similarities to some of the others making it very enjoyable. If you have a chance to head out to see it you definitely ought to. We saw the show this past Sunday. 

Being close to the water made it cooler temperature wise than some may have expected.

The Winter's Tale
Shakespeare in Delaware Park

June 20, 2024 through July 14, 2024

Yes I know you may have read this before but as a reminder please keep in mind the following information.

Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm you can enjoy a free evening of professional theatre. Bring a blanket or chair to sit on, your own refreshments and someone to enjoy the show with, unless you prefer to sit alone. They do accept donations.

Like past years I do recommend that you head to the park earlier than show time to get better seats, as it is frequently crowded. There are some restaurants in the area, but it's better to bring something with you to enjoy during the show.

I know I mentioned it in the past, by I will repeat myself because there are only so many ways to say things at times. If you're uncertain as to the part of Delaware Park the stage is located in, it's basically behind the Albright Knox Art Gallery. Please keep in mind that parking is on a first come first serve basis, so if you wish to park closer to the event you should go early. If you have children there is a wonderful playground close to the staging area so the kids can play before the show if you come early enough.

Losing Media : Disney Movie Club

 I am posting this, more as a thought on the current trend I have been witnessing. Where online streaming is replacing hard copy media. People seem to be enjoying the convenience of online movie rentals, as well as audio streaming. But what does that mean for people in the long term?

What happens now with the movie club closing? How do people locate copies of hard to find Disney movies? Are they going to frown on people downloading titles that are not included in the Disney+ line up? What is the actual purpose of closing the movie club? Because in all honesty I don't feel it was really offering the films at a discount. What it did do though was make it a little easier to get copies of hard to find things.

This is where I finally got an official copy of Mr. Boogedy, and The Bride of Boogedy. Previously I had only been able to get a copy that someone transferred from a TV tape of the original airing of the films on the Disney Night Movies. The quality of the official DVD is much better (even though the slight clipping of commercials takes me back to the copy my parents had for us that we watched foreverrrrrr)

I know that right now the Disney company seems to be trying to cut the fat. The movie club really can't compete with Amazon at this point, especially with the Disney+ service being offered. Disney+ makes it much easier to watch the majority of their content.  But not everything is available there.

Anyway, I just wanted to save a screenshot of their goodbye page, as well as the 3 panel image they sent in their goodbye email. Mostly because I am sorry to see it go, even if I only used it minimally. Some things will still be remembered while they are gone. 

My worry now though, is what do we do when physical copies are being made obsolete? They're not making DVDs as readily available at stores anymore, so how are we going to get copies of the movies we love and want to collect for places and times there are no streaming services available? It's definitely something to keep in mind.