Now and Then by Nancy Kline: LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE by: James Whitcomb Riley (1...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE  by: James Whitcomb Riley  (1...: LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE    by: James Whitcomb Riley  (1849 - 1916)     Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay, An&#3...

LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE

 

 by: James Whitcomb Riley  (1849 - 1916)

 

 

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,

An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away.

An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,

An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;

An' all us other children, when the supper-things is done,

We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun

A-list'nin to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,

An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

Wunst they wuz a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers,--

An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,

His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl, 

An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!

An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,

An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;

But all they ever found of him wuz jist his pants and' roundabout:--

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch Out!

 

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,

An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an' -kin;

An' wunst , when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,

She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!

An' then as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,

They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,

An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

An' Little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,

An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!

An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,

An' the lightenin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--

You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachers fond an' dear,

An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,

An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,

Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

This is a poem that all the little girls in the Kline family had to memorize.  It was handed down from one generation to another.  I remember listening to all the little nieces and my daughter recite the poem way before they were three or four years old. Their grandmother taught it to them just as she had learned it as a child herself.

 

Have a Delicious "Candy" and Safe Halloween! 

 

 



 

 



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: HIDDEN SECRETS I had two antique dressers that wer...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: HIDDEN SECRETS I had two antique dressers that wer...: HIDDEN SECRETS   I had two antique dressers that were in storage several years. Both needed painting and a few other things to bring ...

HIDDEN SECRETS

 

I had two antique dressers that were in storage several years. Both needed painting and a few other things to bring out the beauty of these old treasures.  They were moved to my garage to be cleaned and repainted.  The time came that I needed to get to work on them as the painters who were repainting the inside of my house got a little bit ahead of me.  So the project began.  The drawers were removed and the paint was going on.  I decided to go ahead and paint the outside of the dressers.  I lifted one of them up by the corner to put some plastic underneath so I would not get too much paint on the garage floor. This dresser is not pictured.  It had three mirrors, a large one in the center and two side mirrors that are on hinges and can be angled.  Lo and behold the whole dresser fell over and the big mirror was shattered while one of the side mirrors fell out but was not broken and glass was all over the garage.  My husband gladly had a solution to the project.  Just haul both of the dressers off to the dump.  He is not too fond of old things anyway.  I was certainly not in favor of getting rid of them.

My solution was to go to the glass company and inquire as to whether or not new mirrors could be cut for both dressers.  The mirror in the dresser pictured was not broken but had several very ugly spots on it especially around the edges.  I had gotten by for several years using artificial flowers to cover the bad spots.  I thought maybe I might be able to get new mirrors if there were two projects for them to work on. The glass company said they could consider doing the mirrors and came to the house to measure. 

The glass man decided to just take the mirrors off the dressers and take them in to his shop to get the right measurements on both.  When he took the big round mirror off the dresser pictured there was a tiny picture of a little girl that had somehow gotten behind the mirror.

My daughter had bought the dresser at a garage sale in Shreveport, Louisiana about thirty years ago.  When she tired of it she gave it to me.  The picture is real tiny, at 1 1/2 by 2 1/4 inches in size. 

We have no idea who this adorable little girl is but she surely was cute and must have been greatly loved by whomever had owned the dresser many years ago.  Would love to know who she is.

 

By the way, both dressers have new mirrors and are relocated in bedrooms but still do not have that fresh coat of paint as yet.  Will get to that some day. 

 

You Never Know What You Will Find in Old Furniture !







Now and Then by Nancy Kline: Wandering JewMy grandson and his wife gave me a s...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: Wandering Jew
My grandson and his wife gave me a s...: Wandering Jew My grandson and his wife gave me a start for my Wandering Jew several years ago.  Every fall when the weather starts to...

Wandering Jew

My grandson and his wife gave me a start for my Wandering Jew several years ago.  Every fall when the weather starts to cool down and we get frost warnings I take a few cuttings from my plant which I keep on the deck and place them in water in a canning jar and keep until spring comes. I like to keep my Wandering Jew on the deck so it can get sunlight and is easy to water without making a mess in the house.  I am not much on indoor plants anyway since I have ruined carpet, floors, tables and other things with watering them.  Wandering Jew comes in many different colors and variations. The purple one is pretty but I prefer the green one as it looks so good against the pink on the outside of my house. 

These are the cuttings I have in my kitchen.  It is so much fun to watch the little roots form in the glass jar.  By the time spring arrives the jar will be filled with the little white stringy roots that are so easy to insert into the soil.  I have gotten in too big of a hurry to start them outside only to find another freeze sneaking in.  And then there I am out on the deck in my pajamas trying to cover the little cuttings with a blanket or towel.  For several years though I have been lucky and kept the plant going. 

Once There Were Three Wandering Jews!





Now and Then by Nancy Kline: Lemon SquaresYour Old Jolly Blogger has been taki...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: Lemon Squares
Your Old Jolly Blogger has been taki...: Lemon Squares Your Old Jolly Blogger has been taking up Room and Board with Urgent Care and The Dentist for the past three weeks.  Thre...

Lemon Squares

Your Old Jolly Blogger has been taking up Room and Board with Urgent Care and The Dentist for the past three weeks.  Three rounds of antibiotics and a pulled fractured tooth makes sinuses and tooth pain go away.  Happy to be feeling normal again and back to baking goodies.

This recipe is one I have had for over thirty years. A very dear friend shared it with me and it has been a favorite of my family and friends.  Easy and quick to put together!

Recipe: 
1 cup melted butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
Mix and press into bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes

4 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
6 Tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or in the bottle)
If you use fresh lemons you might want to add a little ground lemon rind
Mix and pour over the baked crust and bake for 20 minutes at 350.

Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and cut into squares

Something To Warm You Up On a Brisk Fall Day!



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: FROSTING ON THE PUNKIN CAKEAfter baking this pumpk...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: FROSTING ON THE PUNKIN CAKEAfter baking this pumpk...: FROST ING ON THE PUNKIN CAKE After baking this pumpkin pound cake I decided to put a little color in the frosting.  Woops, a little too...

FROSTING ON THE PUNKIN CAKE

After baking this pumpkin pound cake I decided to put a little color in the frosting.  Woops, a little too orange for me.  So I mixed up a little white frosting and dribbled it on top of the orange frosting and the result was "Frosting On The Punkin Cake". 

 

When the Frost is on the Punkin

 

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,

And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,

And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,

And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence:

O, it's then's the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,

With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,

As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

 

James Whitcomb Riley


Now and Then by Nancy Kline: FOG There is something enchanting and beautiful ab...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: FOG There is something enchanting and beautiful ab...: FOG   There is something enchanting and beautiful about fog as well as something a bit eerie and frightening.   This time of year in ...

FOG

 

There is something enchanting and beautiful about fog as well as something a bit eerie and frightening.   This time of year in the Ozarks we wake up to dense fog on many mornings.  The sun usually burns its way through in an hour or so but until it is gone we sometimes just sit back and enjoy.  And so the fog comes and the fog goes.

 

FOG

 

The fog comes

on like little cat feet.

 

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

 

Carl Sandburg