The last few days were quiet days. I embroidered and watched tv and also found some fabric so that I may quilt my latest quilt. I may put it together today and ready it for the quilting. I haven't been outside in a couple of days except to feed the birds. The snow is melting slowly and I hope that before the next cold snap that is it all gone. I believe today is supposed to be near 40 so that my help.

Now for some more memories of growing up. I went to school at Monroe School. It was 6-8 blocks away. I remember in kindergarten my first day I didn't want my mother to leave. I cried and hung onto her and when she finally got out the door I cried for a few minutes. This went on for about three days and then I didn't want her to walk me to school anymore. I had made new friends. Our kindergarten classroom was interesting. It had a fountain in it with a fish head where the water would come out of it into the pond. There was a staircase over that pond so it would be like walking over a bridge. Many of the kids ended up in the pond either by tripping or being pushed into it. I also remember going up some stairs to another room or loft area. That is where all the toys were. It was a fun place to be.

As I got older when I walked home for lunch as that is what we did in those days. Most of the kids went home for lunch. I would cut down the side streets as it seemed faster getting home. Eventually there were a couple of bullying boys that would chase me down the street. I was so afraid of those boys that I would not walk home that way again. I would take the longer way. I wonder if they were bullies all their lives.

Another thing I remember about school is when it was raining no one ever picked me up like the other kids got picked up. My mom never got me in the rain and I always would look to see if she was there and then when I didn't see her I would walk home. I always felt like I was the only one that had to walk home.

I made a lot of friends in school and occasionally with have birthday parties or Halloween parties with all of them invited. I remember very little about the parties except for seeing them in pictures.

My first kiss was in second grade. The boys name was Mills Only. Mills became a Jesuit Priest as he got older and I heard that he died of AIDS. So much for my choices in men. LOL I only went to Monroe School through part of the 4th grade. I then moved to Chicago for the next 6 months.

I remember on Saturdays my mom baking and cooking for the company we were having on Sunday. We were the only ones living in the country. All the aunts and uncles and grandparents lived in the city. I remember during the summer mostly the whole family coming over. My mom used to get mad sometimes as she felt we had no time for ourselves. I remember one Sunday going to the Tivoli to a movie (Mom and Dad hoping to get away from the relatives) only to find them waiting for us to come home. We had a lot of Barbeque's in those days. I remember running through the sprinklers when it was hot. When I was about 5-7 my aunts started having their families so Teddy Boy (Aunt Fran and Uncle Ted's son. Kathy came later) was there and also Ricky Lou (Aunt Rose and Uncle Rick's son). I had quite a bit of older cousins. There was Chuck and Shadow (Aunt Mae's and Uncle Chas kids) Aunt Anna had a boy and a girl but when she divorced she lost custody of her children so they were not around too much. I don't remember their names. She used to say as they got older, the only time she saw them is when they needed money. Aunt Sylvia who died within a year after childbirth had Carmen. Carmen was I believe around Chucks age. On my mom's side there was Richard Thurston (Sylvia's son from first marriage) and Donald McClure (Aunt Lil and Uncle Jesse) Maryann came after I was born. Sure hope I didn't leave anyone out.

My Dad was from a large family. There was Mae, John, Rose, Frances, Dorothy, Frankie, Lillian, Sylvia and I heard that there was a set of twins who died in childbirth but not sure if that is true. My Dad lived in Chicago on 25th and Central Park right next door to the beginnings of Kraml Dairy. The Kraml girls opened up a restaurant in Hinsdale called Country Kitchen. It was on frontage road (Now Burr Ridge) around Madison Street. They were good friends of the family. My father was born in Bohemia. When he was about 18months-2 years he came by boat to the United States with his parents and his sister Mae. I always am amazed that the family traveled from Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) to Germany to catch a ship to go to the United States. There were no cars in those days. The trip had to take them along time to get to Germany and then a long time to cross the ocean.

More to come at a later date.