When was the last time you sewed a button on a shirt? Do the heels of your socks need darning? What did you say? This is not a problem for you. Great! It was back in the day of the scrub board and those new-fangled wringer washers. I bet you haven't scorched a blouse recently either. Oh, you don't iron everything anymore? Sorry I asked. Let's get back to the good old days. Mending was a constant chore back then.

Do you like asparagus? I do. I like fresh asparagus. There is something about canned asparagus that drains the flavor from it. Frozen is better than canned, but not as good as fresh. Isn't it that way with most vegetables?

We had a lot going for us back in the day before television and DVD's. One was the City Briefs page in the newspaper. Mother read it religiously and never missed an opportunity to insert a family happening tidbit.

Let me tell you about that page. Happenings of the previous day found their way there. There was the police blotter listing all the crimes of the previous day. It told whose house was broken into and who was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. If there had been a series of break-ins in your neighborhood, you would be forewarned. That made good reading.

"Fascinator." My dictionary lists as its second choice: a woman's head scarf. I couldn't find a synonym for “fascinators” in my Synonym Finder. However, I did find several for “fascinate” that are appropriate. They include: attract, charm, bewitch and captivate. “Where is this going?” you ask. If you were around during World War II and you were of the female persuasion you would know. We all wore “fascinators.” We thought they looked fascinating. You might call them head scarves or babushkas.

My mother couldn't make a cake for sour apples, but she made a killer sugar cookie. She never used a recipe, just dumped everything in her dishpan, stirred, rolled it out, cut and baked. I don't have her recipe, but I found one close to it when I was first married in the late forties.

About forty years ago we were between dogs. Our precious Kater was gone. She was a full sized short haired dachshund. A friend at work had a long haired dachshund with a new litter of puppies. Kater had short black hair. These puppies would have long wavy red hair. The mother was pretty but mean. My friend distracted her long enough for me to grab the runt of the litter. It is said that they make the best pets. Not true.

When I was growing up during the Great Depression, we didn't have meat at every meal. Mother might fix fried eggs and fried potatoes for supper, but that was about it. Meat, such as bacon, wasn't used as an entree, but for seasoning. Boiled potatoes with their jackets on and scorched gravy was the norm.

Dad's mother, Delora Thayer Stimer, smoked a clay pipe. He said that only the family knew it. After all, smoking was frowned upon by the Wesleyan Methodist Church. She was a devote member.

But Grandma was English. Clay pipes had been around since the sixteenth century over there. It was a form of relaxation for many women, both of the gentry and the working class. She didn't drink, but she certainly did smoke.

Has there ever been an Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips place around here? I consider their fish the best ever. I read on Facebook that there is one located somewhere in Ohio. That won't help my yearning for their fish triangles. But I do have the recipe that I will share with you.

You know, copy-cat recipes are published for popular restaurant dishes from time to time. Usually, they only taste somewhat like the desired item. There are even cookbooks published that claim to have prized recipes. This is the only recipe I have ever found to be as good as the original.

When you lived in the country, shopping in town was an all day affair. You would plan to eat lunch there. For me, it was the highlight of the trip. I planned my route and time to take me to my favorite spot for lunch. Isn't that a deliciously sounding word - “lunch”? I made a list of my shopping needs. I knew which store sold what at the price I could afford. I always planned to afford lunch.

Glenn Campbell had a song a while back called, “A Lineman for the County.” My dad was a lineman during the twenties and, again, just before World War ll. Dad worked out of an AFL union hall in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That was how you got that job in those days. Dad worked at various sites in the Midwest. He didn't work for any county.

Back in 1960 there were three ways to get to California, the same as now: automobile, train or plane. My stepfather's son lived in a suburb of Sacramento. He hadn't seen his son since Jimmy discharged from the Navy. Jimmy had married and was the father of a five year old daughter. My stepfather was anxious to visit them.

The Union County Memoir Class has three sessions under its belt. We have a good mix of Union County people and there is room for more. The first class had six participants and the last two had eight. Their stories reflect Union County living.

Shirley Temple was born April 23, 1928. I was born January 11, 1928. That makes me older than that pint-sized movie star. Hold onto that thought and backtrack a bit. Popular names come and go. Shirley was a popular name for girls and boys, too, at the time. I went to school in Joliet, Illinois with four other Shirley's in my class. I even dated a guy named Shirley. He preferred to be called Bill.

Nowadays a man can get a haircut in a beauty salon. There was a time a man wouldn't have been caught dead in one. My, how times have changed. I got to thinking about a very special haircut when I was getting my hair cut at the the Cutting Crew salon in Maynardville the other day.

The incident I want to tell you about happened in the early 70's. There was a small barbershop on the road into town, like a number of one room barber shops in those years. This one went out of business shortly after our visit.

There was an old song that went like this: “B-I-N-G-O! B-I-N-G-O! And Bingo was his name-o!” But our dog was named B-A-N-J-O. Banjo was his name-o. Dad had a dog named Banjo when he was a boy and wanted us to have one, too. I was only five when Dad brought home the beagle puppy in 1934.

The first automobile I remember was our 1920-something Essex. I remember it as a big car. I guess when you are five years old all cars looked big. It had four doors. Doesn't that make it a big car? I thought it was in league with the Cadillac. I was wrong. According to my research the Essex was considered “a small car and affordably priced.” It boasted piano-hinged doors which were exceptionally strong. By 1929, the Essex was third in sales behind Ford and Chevrolet. Wow! And I thought it was a gunboat of a car. Our Essex was black in color. Weren't all cars black back then?

Do you like pancakes in the wintertime? I like pancakes anytime. But I am particular about my pancakes. Do I have a pancake story for you? You betcha!

When I was first married, pancakes for breakfast was the usual fare. I didn't use a mix. My pancakes were the real thing – from scratch. I thought they were pretty good. My husband thought so, too, but to spoil the complement he would add, “I sure do miss Mother's pancakes and milk gravy.” I heard about her fabulous pancakes and milk gravy over and over and over again.

Do you save seeds? From the time of Noah and before, people have saved seeds. They saved seeds, swapped seeds, inherited seeds, sold seeds and, yes, maybe even stole seeds. We still do. The rage today is over heritage tomatoes. Those seeds had to be kept year after year for them to still be around today.

I remember when we saved tomato and cucumber seeds. We avoided the hybrid ones They wouldn't reproduce true to form. It was like saving hollyhock or petunia flower seeds. After a couple of years, their flowers turned to a washed out pink shade.

Do you want a quick and easy dish for supper tonight? Here is one for you: “Corned Beef Hash.” Don't turn up your nose yet. It can be delicious, not like that awful canned stuff you tried years ago. But don't buy the corned beef brisket, either, that you see advertised at umpteen dollars a pound at the grocery store. It is not only expensive but it takes forever to cook. There is a better way.