Just for Fun ~

Meet Mimi from Stowe, Ohio.

She and her Mom were one of the vendors

at the Ohio Pug Rescue benefit

at the Candlelight Winery in Garretsville, Ohio.

It was a beautiful summer day

and there were pugs galore,

in addition to many other breeds of dogs.

Mimi is something of a celebrity.

Her Mom has written a book about her

and Mimi has a better wardrobe than I do :)

She is also one of the top pugs nationwide

in agility competitions.

She is just too cute!

That's Lulu smiling at us
with some of her OPR
brothers' and sisters' butts.

 Jake had a ball.  He found another young boy
to play with and the two of them
 went wading in a creek
 on the winery premises.
To say they got wet is an understatement
but they had fun
and when you're a kid,
that's all important!

* * *
Hiding in these trees is the house that
my Aunt Mary lived in.
I had not been past it in many decades
but I passed it on the way to the winery.
I can't believe it is still standing.
The house had no running water
and as kids we would put a marble
on one side of the kitchen
and watch it roll to the other side.
I remember my Aunt Mary
chasing down any fly that dared
 enter her home.
I think about her each time
I go chasing a fly.



I recall a school being across the street,
but this building looks more like a church.
I don't remember if another structure
was there back then.

I think this is the same slide
we used to slide down as kids.
Looks at all the dings!
We were each given one piece
of waxed paper to help us go down faster.
Oh, what memories.
 

* * *
Now, just for fun . . .

We older people need to learn something new every day . . .

just to keep the grey matter tuned up.

* * *

The next time you are washing your hands

and complain because the water temperature

isn't just how you like it,
think about how things used to be.

* * *

Where "Piss Poor" came from and other interesting history.

* * *

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot.

And then once a day it was taken
 and sold to the tannery.
If you had to do this to survive

 you were "piss poor".

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot . . .

They "didn't have a pot to piss in"

and were the lowest of the low.

* * *

Here are some facts about the 1500s ~ ~ ~

* * *

Most people got married in June

because they took their yearly bath in May,

and they still smelled pretty good by June.

However, since they were starting to smell,

brides carried a bouquet of flowers

to hide the body odor.

Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet

 when getting married.

* * *

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.

The man of the house had the privilege

 of the nice clean water,

Then all the other sons and men,

then the women and finally the children.

Last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty

you could actually lose someone in it.

Hence the saying,

"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!".

* * *

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high,

 with no wood underneath.

It was the only place for animals to get warm,

so all the cats and other small animals

(mice, bugs) lived in the roof.

When it rained it became slippery

 and sometimes the animals

 would slip and fall off the roof.

Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs".

* * *

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.

This posed a real problem in the bedroom

 where bugs and other droppings

could mess up your nice clean bed.

Hence, a bed with big posts

 and a sheet hung over the top

 afforded some protection.

That's how canopy beds came into existence.

* * *

The floor was dirt.

Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.

Hence the saying, "dirt poor".

* * *

The wealthy had slate floors

that would get slippery

in the winter when wet,

so they spread thresh (straw) on floor

 to help keep their footing.

As the winter wore on,

they added more thresh until,

when you opened the door,

it would all start slipping outside.

A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.

Hence: a thresh hold.

* * *

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

* * *

In those old days,

they cooked in the kitchen

with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.

Every day they lit the fire

 and added things to the pot.

They ate mostly vegetables

and did not get much meat.

They would eat the stew for dinner,

leaving leftovers in the pot

to get cold overnight

 and then start over the next day.

Sometimes stew had food in it

that had been there for quite a while.

Hence the rhyme:

Peas porridge hot,

peas porridge cold,

peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

* * *

Sometimes they could obtain pork,

which made them feel quite special.

When visitors came over,

they would hang up their bacon to show off.

It was a sign of wealth that a man could

"bring home the bacon".

They would cut off a little to share with guests

and would all sit around and "chew the fat".

* * *

Those with money had plates made of pewter.

Food with high acid content

caused some of the lead to leach onto the food,

causing lead poisoning death.

This happened most often with tomatoes,

so for the next 400 years or so,

 tomatoes were considered poisonous.

* * *

Bread was divided according to status.

Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf,

the family got the middle,

and guests got the top,

or the "upper crust".

* * *

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky.

The combination would sometimes knock

 the imbibers out for a couple of days.

Someone walking along the road

would take them for dead

and prepare them for burial.

They were laid out on the kitchen table

 for a couple of days

 and the family would gather around

and eat and drink

 and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom of holding a wake.

* * *

England is old and small

 and the local folks

started running out of places to bury people.

So they would dig up coffins

 and would take the bones to a bone-house

and reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins,

1 out of 25 coffins were found

to have scratch marks

on the inside and they realized

they had been burying people alive.

So they would tie a string

 on the wrist of the corpse,

lead it through the coffin

and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night

the "graveyard" shift

to listen for the bell;

thus, someone could besaved by the bell

or was considered a dead ringer.

* * *

And that's the truth.

Now, whoever said History was boring!!!

Inside every older person

is a younger person wondering,

"What the heck happened?'"

* * *

We'll be friends until we are old and senile.

Then we'll be new friends.

* * *

Thanks for stopping by!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren