Watermelon and Memories

I'm sitting here eating nice big chunks of warm watermelon. Everything here is warm these days... but that's for another post. Anyway, you know how certain smells or flavors can bring things to your remembrance? Watermelon does that for me. I was telling my kids that you just can't beat a nice cold watermelon (but who can fit one in their fridge? LOL). So I told them about how Grandpa Webb would keep watermelon cool for us on hot summer days by leaving it out in the irrigation ditch on the side of their house. I used to love to wade in that cool water on hot Sunday evenings. I remember trying to walk over to Grandma Webb's house bare foot and about dying from all the stickers that were under the big pine trees between the two houses (I have heard that those trees were once so small the brothers and sisters could jump over them but I think that's just a rumor LOL). When I would finally make it over to grandma and grandpa Webb's house (with Oliver and Kattie in tow) we would be rewarded for our efforts with squirts of rose scented lotion from grandma and Oliver would get the top of his hair all messed up with grandpa's big hand as he explained "Oliver Twist" then, if we were really lucky we could suck on a piece of hard candy while watching Lawrence Welk with them. All that from a slice of watermelon. :-)

What are some of your memories of the old Ucon place? Here are some of my random favorites:

• Lilacs, rhubarb, and the raspberry bushes
• The blue room
• The "Blasting Area, wear gas masks" sign in the bathroom in the basement
• "Grandma Salads"
• Country music playing on the radio in the kitchen while I dusted for grams on a Saturday
• Watching Fraggle Rock downstairs
• Catching night crawlers with flashlights after Papa put bleach in the sprinkler system
• Laying out getting a tan with grams and the aunts
• The carpet in the kitchen
• The gold tree on the wall in grams and papa's bedroom
• Jeff or Kelly throwing me up into the air when I was little
• All the adults playing hours and hours of cards after Sunday dinners
• Listening to the Chipmunk Christmas album on that big old stereo

What do you remember? Thanks grams and papa for the wonderful childhood memories I have of coming to your house. :-) I love you!

~Nikki