JUNE 12 - Allergy Woes, Rubber Ball Bologna, and Childhood Games

Yesterday's summer weather didn't last very long - today was a mix of rain, wind, cloud, showers, and rain, not your usual lovely lower mainland weather, that's for sure. Here I sit in slippers and cardigan (sounds sort of Mr Rogers) trying hard to keep my eyes open long enough to please some of you.

My eyes, as well as my nose, are presenting me with huge allergy symptoms, which lead me to believe I have allergies. Red and itchy, accompanied by sniffles and sneezes, forever begging to be rubbed or wiped, depending on the organ involved. I sort of kinda blame one of the pretty trees that almost surround our house. Or maybe it's the used cat, although I would never admit that to anyone in case Howard heard about it. 

He made dinner tonight, which was nice as I didn't get home until after seven. Well, his making dinner was nice - fried potatoes and onions with 'baloney'. We obviously picked the wrong bologna at the supermarket - we always pick the one that isn't beef or chicken. Howard noted that this was probably Beef Bologna, but I disagreed - I said it was Rubber Ball Bologna, as that was what it felt I was chewing.

And that made me think of rubber balls, you must know them, the small ones that have a red, a white and a blue stripe, and are perfect for bouncing off the side of the house - at least, the side that doesn't have any windows? I remember playing so many games with these when I was a little girl - toss it on the wall, catch it, toss it against the wall, let it bounce once, then catch it, then bounce twice ... then clap your hands, once, twice, maybe even three times, or throw it under your leg, or turn around, once, twice, maybe even three times - before you catch it .. and so on and so on. As you probably figured out by now, I don't remember the rules exactly, and I doubt if any of the kids around can remind me, as I never see anyone playing those old games any more.

Red Rubber Ball

 What happened to skipping rope ( Skip A Rope)  and all the songs and rhymes that went with that - and hopscotch, we mustn't forget hopscotch. I actually drew a hopscotch grid in the driveway a couple of years ago, but found out that hopping, and bending over while balancing on one foot, is no longer one of my  strengths. Hopscotch - just like when we were kids, right?

We could spend many hours having fun with a ball, a rope, a piece of chalk and a stone. Kids today spend their hours racing cars and shooting people while sitting on their butts in front of a TV screen. What a difference 50 years make, huh?