I hope you won't be disappointed, but I've postponed today's cocktail party post. We'll get back on schedule tomorrow. Today, though, I wanted to post my own material for one very special reason. This is my 200th post!
For those of you that are new around here, you probably haven't seen many of my own posts because I've been hosting the cocktail party. Unless you've been paging through my archives (does anybody really do that?), you may not know what I blog about. In general, I like to talk about things I find amusing or thought provoking, share recipes and projects, and pose an occasional challenge. Whatever is on my mind on any given day is likely to show up in my blog.
I've been blogging since December of 2008, and I honestly can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. When I started my blog, I wasn't sure anyone would be interested in anything I had to say. My first followers were the incredibly supportive friends that I met through the Recipe Exchange at Allrecipes. Their feedback meant, and still means, the world to me. Since then, I've also met many wonderful new bloggers who make me laugh and cry, make me think, and expand my world. I love that all of you stop by my little piece of cyber real estate and leave your thoughts and ideas in my comments.
To celebrate my 200th post, I'm going to tell you 200 things about me. As if! I can't (and don't want to) think of 200 things anyone, including myself, would find interesting. Instead, I'd like to cover a topic I find endlessly fascinating. Memory. Not as it relates to my blog, but in general.
My daughter and I have this discussion often. We like to talk about our earliest memories. She's nine, so hers are quite a bit more recent than mine. Most of her earliest memories are from the time she started preschool, about age four. I can remember a little farther back than that. I recall bits and pieces from when I was about three. I also have a fuzzy memory that may go back a little bit farther.
My first memory doesn't have much detail. I remember my mom spreading a blanket out on the floor in front of the television and sitting on it with me. I don't remember what was on, but I remember her pointing to the screen and telling me to watch. That's all about all there is to it. When I asked her what that might have been, the only thing she could think of was the broadcast of Apollo 11 and the first moon walk. I would have been just shy of 16 months old at the time. Could my memory really go back that far?
My most detailed childhood memory is incredibly funny to me now. I don't know why, of all things, this should stand out in technicolor detail, but it does. I was about three years old and I was sitting on the couch in the living room of our old house. I remember that the couch was blue, and sort of Danish modern (no, I didn't know the style back then). I was watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on television and trying to eat a Hershey bar with chopsticks. The chopsticks were black with mother of pearl inlay and had their own ornate storage box. (My dad bought them as a gift for my mom when he was stationed overseas in the army. My guess is that she didn't know I was using them to eat a candy bar.) It must have been summertime because it was warm and the front door was open. The neighbor came over and let himself in through the screen door. I was annoyed because I couldn't hear Chitty Chitty Bang Bang while he was talking.
I have lots of random, segmented memories from about that age, too. I remember crying because my brothers were using one of my little dolls as a puck to play hockey in the driveway and I remember my dad showing me how to bite a smiley face in a slice of bologney. I remember playing the Wizard Of Oz with my friends, fighting over who would be Dorothy and I remember losing the key to my toy gumball machine in the front lawn. I remember spraining my neck while trying to imitate the way my brother stood on his head, and I remember that my parents bought my puppets to play with while I recovered because I couldn't move my neck or get out of bed.
Thank you for stopping by, leaving comments and making blogging so rewarding. If you want to help me celebrate my 200th post, share your earliest memories in my comment section. I can't wait to hear what they are!!
For those of you that are new around here, you probably haven't seen many of my own posts because I've been hosting the cocktail party. Unless you've been paging through my archives (does anybody really do that?), you may not know what I blog about. In general, I like to talk about things I find amusing or thought provoking, share recipes and projects, and pose an occasional challenge. Whatever is on my mind on any given day is likely to show up in my blog.
I've been blogging since December of 2008, and I honestly can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. When I started my blog, I wasn't sure anyone would be interested in anything I had to say. My first followers were the incredibly supportive friends that I met through the Recipe Exchange at Allrecipes. Their feedback meant, and still means, the world to me. Since then, I've also met many wonderful new bloggers who make me laugh and cry, make me think, and expand my world. I love that all of you stop by my little piece of cyber real estate and leave your thoughts and ideas in my comments.
To celebrate my 200th post, I'm going to tell you 200 things about me. As if! I can't (and don't want to) think of 200 things anyone, including myself, would find interesting. Instead, I'd like to cover a topic I find endlessly fascinating. Memory. Not as it relates to my blog, but in general.
My daughter and I have this discussion often. We like to talk about our earliest memories. She's nine, so hers are quite a bit more recent than mine. Most of her earliest memories are from the time she started preschool, about age four. I can remember a little farther back than that. I recall bits and pieces from when I was about three. I also have a fuzzy memory that may go back a little bit farther.
My first memory doesn't have much detail. I remember my mom spreading a blanket out on the floor in front of the television and sitting on it with me. I don't remember what was on, but I remember her pointing to the screen and telling me to watch. That's all about all there is to it. When I asked her what that might have been, the only thing she could think of was the broadcast of Apollo 11 and the first moon walk. I would have been just shy of 16 months old at the time. Could my memory really go back that far?
My most detailed childhood memory is incredibly funny to me now. I don't know why, of all things, this should stand out in technicolor detail, but it does. I was about three years old and I was sitting on the couch in the living room of our old house. I remember that the couch was blue, and sort of Danish modern (no, I didn't know the style back then). I was watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on television and trying to eat a Hershey bar with chopsticks. The chopsticks were black with mother of pearl inlay and had their own ornate storage box. (My dad bought them as a gift for my mom when he was stationed overseas in the army. My guess is that she didn't know I was using them to eat a candy bar.) It must have been summertime because it was warm and the front door was open. The neighbor came over and let himself in through the screen door. I was annoyed because I couldn't hear Chitty Chitty Bang Bang while he was talking.
I have lots of random, segmented memories from about that age, too. I remember crying because my brothers were using one of my little dolls as a puck to play hockey in the driveway and I remember my dad showing me how to bite a smiley face in a slice of bologney. I remember playing the Wizard Of Oz with my friends, fighting over who would be Dorothy and I remember losing the key to my toy gumball machine in the front lawn. I remember spraining my neck while trying to imitate the way my brother stood on his head, and I remember that my parents bought my puppets to play with while I recovered because I couldn't move my neck or get out of bed.
Thank you for stopping by, leaving comments and making blogging so rewarding. If you want to help me celebrate my 200th post, share your earliest memories in my comment section. I can't wait to hear what they are!!
Willoughby
23 comments:
My earliest memory includes being in a tiny apartment and watching my mom cook popcorn on the stove. It seems like we were getting ready to watch a special program on TV.
This is also a topic that sort of fascinates me. I mean, will my daughters (6 and 4) remember much of 2009? Will they remember all the trips to Disneyland? Okay, they won't remember all of them but what will they remember? I try and take as many pictures of them as possible, especially when we go on family outings, so they can have some memories of their early childhood, but will that work?
As far as my own memories, my earliest memory is of me coloring. It was raining outside and it must have been cold because I had a jacket on indoors. I was sitting in the living room of our old apartment (we moved out of there in 1980) so I'm guessing I was about 3. I had a shoebox in front of me and I was trying to color. Actually it was just scribbles and lines that I was drawing. I think my mom was in the kitchen at the time because along with that memory is the sense that someone is on my left, and I remember facing the window, and the kitchen was on the left of that, so that must be my mom. It's kind of a strange snapshot because I don't recall anything else.
I don't really remember a whole lot before 5. I remember moving out of our apartment and feeling strange but I don't remember living there, save for that coloring memory.
I wonder someday if I'll have some strange vivid dreams which will actually be pieces of my childhood that my brain has drudged up for some reason. That would be awesome.
My earliest retrieved memory (so far) would have been around the time that I was 3. My grandparents had a nurse who came to their home once a week. I remember her letting me listen to their hearts with her stethoscope, schooling me on what my granny could and could not eat (she was diabetic), and even teaching me to check their pulses (with her watch!). For my birthday that year, she gave me a watch so that I could do it myself!!! When she retired, she started making dolls. The bodies were soft, but the arms, legs, and heads were ceramic. They were hand painted and their hair was a real wig. My grandparents asked her to make one for me. I have no idea how much they paid for this doll. I'm sure that she didn't charge them full price, but maybe she didn't charge at all...I don't know. In any case, she made the doll look EXACTLY like one of my baby pictures. She even got the dress that I wore home from the hospital from my mom! I still have the doll...and the memories of that wonderful nurse!!!
My earliest memory would be when I put the cap that goes over the screws on the toilet in my mouth (that's gross on so many levels!) and choked and my mom held me upside down by my feet and pounded on my back and shook me to get it out. She says I was about 2.
I love childhood memories. Sometimes when I recount my own, my mom has a completely different account of what happened; I wonder how much of what I "remember" is really how things happened.
Happy 200th, Su!
I have 2 memories. The 1st memory I had to be about 2. I was stealing my little brother's baby food peaches when my mom wasn't looking.
The 2nd memory was everyone huddled around the television. It was the day President Kennedy was assassinated. The sense of shock and disbelief was palpable.
My earliest memory(must have been 2) is the fire department coming to our house to help my sister. She had Hong Kong flu(I think that is what my mom said it was)
I vividly remember them trying to pump air into her little chest. The men in their yellow coats, and I was standing by the door of my bedroom.
They told my parents "Sorry, there is nothing we can do." My mom screamed, and my dad grabbed my little sister as he ran out the door in the cold.
There was something about the freezing cold air that brought her back to life. The firemen helped rush her to the hospital
My earliest memory is from when I was 2. We were at the hospital visiting a family friend and a nurse asked me how old I was. I remember holding up 2 chubby fingers. I was wearing a polka dot romper that my grandmother made for me.
This topic is very interesting to me too! When I was 17, during the summer after I graduated high school, I was in a bad car accident and hit my head pretty hard (I was not driving).
I went into shock; I was awake and talking (I kept repeating myself), but I don't remember any of it. When I came out of the shock I was in the hospital and couldn't remember the accident, or that entire day OR the day before.
Since then I have always wondered how much of my memory I lost. I don't remember much from my childhood now, but did I lose it in the accident or did I always have a bad memory? I have asked many people what they remember from their own childhoods to kind of gauge my own memory loss. Some people remember a lot, some don't.
My earliest memory is from when I was about 4. I was riding my yellow tricycle on the sidewalk in front of our house.
My earlies memory is when I was four years young. I was in the hospital having my tonsils removed. Evidently, there were some complications, and I had to stay in the hospital longer than usual. I remember my Aunt running into my room. It was a large room with several children in there. She brought me the biggest doll I had ever seen. She had a big smile on her face! :o)
I think I have early onset Alzheimers...so the only memory I have right now is being about 2 years old and sucking on a icecube with my brother Gary on the other end. Weird Huh! I adored him. Charisse remembers the womb...of course she has to top me. Congrats on your 200th. Proud of you. Look at all of those people in your right column cheering you on. Well Done! Have a great day. Holly at lifelaughlatte.blogspot.com
Wow! 200 posts. Congratulations. My earliest memories are in bits and pieces. I remember sitting in my granny's kitchen and playing horsey with my great-aunts (i was the only child around and was completely doted on). I remember getting up when my dad got home late at night and eating PB&J on Saltine cracker sand watching bad cavemen movies. I especially love remembering playing in the sprinklers in my grandparents backyard and eating fresh picked plums off of their tree. Now every time I bite a plum I think of my grandparents.
Holly
Congratulations on the 200th post. My earliest memory is getting tickled and laughing uncontrollably.
My earliest memory is of being carried across the street wrapped in a blanket, as my family headed to the big house that had the only true basement on our street. Tornado sirens were blaring, and I remember that I could look over my cousin's shoulder and see my mom carrying my sister. I was four, and my mom wsa on her own while my dad was in Vietnam. Thank goodness she had family nearby!
I read somewhere that our earliest reliable memories are tied to our earliest speech -- so that right about the time we start talking, we start remembering.
Happy 200th post-day, Willoughby!
I remember sitting on the chicken house roof, eating green apples with my brother, this was before right before he went to kindergarten so I would have been 3.
Congrat's on the 200th!!!!!
Yay! Congrats! Wow, you must have an awesome memory. I can think back to maybe age 4 but then forget till about age 6. Haha, i'm strange. But you already knew that.
You have quite the memory. Much better than mine.
My earliest memory is standing between my parents to have our picture taken before or after church. We were outside on a cold day, and as we posed, I was standing between my parents with my arms straight up in the air as they held my hands. Many years later I came across the photograph which had the month and year stamped on the edge. I would have been just under 3 years old.
Congrats on your 200th, what an achievement!!
My earliest memory .. coming down the stairs at my home pointing to Christmas cards on the wall on christmas morning. My mom used to tape them up on christmas eve, we thought is was st nick.
Congratulations on your 200th post! I celebrated mine a couple months ago, but to far less fanfare...not sure anyone but me noticed LOL
I see you everywhere I travel, so i thought it was time i stopped by to say "hi"....
And earliest memory? i swear I remember sticking my foot in my father's coffee and finding it a bit, er...toasty, but my mom says this is impossible because I was six months old and just remember the story. Hmmm...
This is a fantastic post Willoughby! Congratulations on your 200th Post!
Love the memories you shared! Isn't it so funny the things we remember and how we remember them?
My earliest memory, or one of them anyway, is from when I was 3 years old and living in Marlboro, NJ. (When I was 4 we moved to Long Island, NY). On that particular day in NJ it was summer and warm and my sister and I were splashing around in a plastic baby pool filled with water. I remember my bathing suit was printed with big pink flowers that were a little raised. I loved that bathing suit and kept rubbing my fingers all over my stomach plucking at the flowers! I also remember later on my sister and I brought out our play baby carriages and were wheeling our dolls around the back yard and then throwing the dolls in the pool, not very nicely, but we thought it was hilarious!
LOL, wow, your blog is sending me way back in time today!
Thank you!
I hope you have a great weekend!
This is a fantastic post Willoughby! Congratulations on your 200th Post!
Love the memories you shared! Isn't it so funny the things we remember and how we remember them?
My earliest memory, or one of them anyway, is from when I was 3 years old and living in Marlboro, NJ. (When I was 4 we moved to Long Island, NY). On that particular day in NJ it was summer and warm and my sister and I were splashing around in a plastic baby pool filled with water. I remember my bathing suit was printed with big pink flowers that were a little raised. I loved that bathing suit and kept rubbing my fingers all over my stomach plucking at the flowers! I also remember later on my sister and I brought out our play baby carriages and were wheeling our dolls around the back yard and then throwing the dolls in the pool, not very nicely, but we thought it was hilarious!
LOL, wow, your blog is sending me way back in time today!
Thank you!
I hope you have a great weekend!
What a wonderful post. It's so delightful getting to know friends better through their fondest childhood memories. The way you opened up and shared some of your early rememberances immediately got me thinking about some of the sweet and simple times in my childhood. Earliest memories: At the beach in Santa Monica wearing a blue and white sun bonnet, laying down our towels with my grandma and grandpa and eating grapes. I was probably about 3. Also, when I was 3, my brother Scott was born. I remember the day he came home from the hosptial. I was not excited. I was jealous. And I was really steamed that no one would play Mrs. Beasley colorforms with me. Last memory (boy, this is fun!) There must have been a drive-in movie theater behind our house in Culver City because one night my dad called us out on the back lawn to watch a Heckle and Jeckyl cartoon. I thought it was being projected into the sky! Afterwards, we all went inside and watched Yellow Submarine on our teeny tiny TV. Jenn @ rookno17.blogspot.com
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