Thursday, March 7, 2024

Thursday Things - March 7, 2024

It's a rainy Thursday here in southwest Missouri and I'm so thankful! We're in much better shape that we had been there for a while, but we still need much rain to get us back where we should be, after the extreme drought conditions of the past few years.



The bridal's wreath bush surprised me this morning. It is covered in flowers, but the rain is already knocking the tiny, white petals to the ground.

As I write this post the wrecking ball continues to pound against the sides of the old elevator. It is taking it down one tiny step at a time. The thud of the ball makes me sick and it happens every few seconds all day long. This picture was taken Monday afternoon...



I wasn't out at all yesterday, so haven't seen the elevator since. I will try to take a picture when I run out to Dollar General here in just a bit.

On Tuesday a friend and I turned a shopping trip into a full-length daytrip. We made a big, ol' loop that took us through many of the places that were near and dear to my heart growing up.

We started off with a stop at the car wash. My van gets so dirty driving the backroads to work, and this time, it was so dirty that I could see nothing out the back glass. The dirt had to go before we did!

Our trip took us out of the heart of the Osage Plains and into the edge of Central Missouri's Lake Region. It is so beautiful there! Sadly, the roads that we took were so narrow and hilly and curvy that we couldn't find a good place to pull over and take a picture. 

The road that we were on took us past Rockville, Missouri. We pulled off the main drag and meandered the streets of the tiny town finding the places where my great-grandfather and great-aunt lived when I was a kid. The last time I remember being there was when Tootsie (my great-aunt, Ethel Mae) passed away in 1991. 

We went past Monagaw Springs (where my dad and uncle used to go caving in the cliffs above the Osage River) and Rosco (where the famous gun battle between a couple of the Younger boys and undercover Pinkerton agents) was fought and, eventually, ended up at one of our many destinations...the Osceola Cheese Company



Our family has made pilgrimages to Osceola Cheese my whole life. As an adult, I still manage to make it there once a year or so (last year it was on the way home from a work trip) to stock up on favorite cheeses and other goodies that are long-time family favorites. 

After Osceola we took a differnt route back across country and visited the old home places at Appleton City where my aunt and uncle and cousins lived when I was young. My parents gardened with my aunt and uncle there and my cousins and I spent many a happy day running, playing, and chasing cloud shadows across the farm fields. This house reminds me of the one they used to live in at the farm...


I showed my friend where the hidden grave is that my cousins and I used to dare each other to touch and, yes, I climbed under the overgrown, and many-branched. cedar tree, to touch it once it again. It's tradition!




After that we went to the Appleton City Cemetery to visit the graves of my great-grandparents, grandfather, great-aunt, aunt, uncle, girl cousin, and my parents. 

After that we finished up our day in Butler. We had a late-lunch, shopped for dry goods at the Amish store, and, of course, finished up with the bulk of our shopping at Walmart. 

While out and about I dumped off a load of stuff at the thrift store. I had gone out Monday to get started on cleaning out the garage and the first thing I saw was five big totes full of old Christmas stuff. It was such a nice day that I dragged them all to the porch to sort though them. By the time I was done I had saved one tote full of stuff, threw away two big trash bags full of stuff, had a big box of items and a Christmas tree to donate, and four empty totes. I was quite happy!

Anyway, the big box of Christmas stuff and the Christmas tree were dropped off at the thrift store while we were out and about. It feels so good to finally be getting rid of some of this stuff that serves no purpose whatsoever other than to rob me of peace and joy. 

Well, it's after noon and I better get started. I hope you've had a good week and that your Thursday is going well. Have a great weekend!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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