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The Seamstresses in My House-Part 4

27 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

When I was about 13 years old, it became a fashion to have a circular skirt made out of felt.  Granny made quite a few of them for me.  Here is one in fuchsia. 

She also made one of a beautiful turquoise that I wore when I was older.

And she made one of red, for me to be in the Christmas parade in downtown Albuquerque one year. 

Judy and best friend, Shirley

I was in Jefferson Junior High School at the time, and we each had a placard with a letter that spelled out J E F F E R S O N.

 And of course, all those skirts had layers of crinoline (petticoats) under the skirt to make them stand out, rather than lay flat, but that was the “style” back in those days.  Either crinolines or hoops under the skirts.

I do remember about that same time, that Mother had a gentleman come by the house and display clothing for us.  He was physically handicapped, and this was his living.  We purchased quite a bit of clothing from him.  This green and black plaid skirt with the green sweater was one of those purchases.  The skirt was a light-weight wool.

This blue skirt and sweater in wool is another example. 

He carried quality merchandise, and we were glad to give him our business.

Here I am in my Easter finery in 1955.  I wish I could remember just what the fabric was, but I don’t, perhaps some kind of acetate, but definitely not satin.  I seem to remember it was a soft, silky and shiny fabric, and was so very comfortable to wear.  I am sure that either Granny or Mother made it for me.  It is a fairly simple design.

Bill and Judy

Here I am in another dress in 1956 (I was 15 at the time).  It was store-bought, as I remember, and was sort of a polished cotton.  Looks like I had a hoop under the skirt, perhaps with some crinolines to make the skirt stand out.

Here I am in my High School Senior dress.

Mother and I went shopping for a dress for me for Graduation.  I tried on dress after dress, but when I put this one on…we both looked at each other as if to say – “that’s the one!”  It was pink and pretty, and fit me just right.  This particular picture was taken at one of my wedding showers, so apparently I hadn’t put on too much weight (and inches) that I could still wear it.  I really loved that dress!

Here is a picture of our wedding party.

I am wearing my Mother’s wedding dress made with a lace overlay

I had the girls wear white, along with the candle lighters (sisters) and the flower girl.  Fred’s mother made the dresses for his sisters, and either Granny or Mother made DiVoran’s dress.  They were made from a soft, silky fabric, not stiff like taffeta, but softer, again perhaps an acetate.

The Christmas before we married in June, Fred, my parents and I drove from Albuquerque to Los Angeles, California to spend Christmas with my brother Bill, and his wife DiVoran.  I had been sewing quite a few things by this time, and one of the dresses I had made was this one in this picture.  It was a cotton fabric.

 My Dad and Fred are there with me.  I had heard that sewing plaid fabrics were quite difficult, but I didn’t find it so difficult to match up, as this dress shows.  I sewed quite a few plaid garments throughout my lifetime, and never really found them to be all that difficult.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Seamstresses in My House-Part 3

20 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

While I lived a lot of my growing-up years in fiesta dresses, that was not the only type of clothing I wore.  I have pictures of myself in many dresses and outfits other than the fiesta dresses, but have no memory of whether they were store-bought, or made by my grandmother or mother.  Many of the play clothes I wore, I am sure were made from cotton.  Since sun dresses for a small girl’s body were fairly simple to make, I’m convinced they were home-made. 

1943 – Bill (5) and Judy (2) in Granny’s backyard, San Antonio, Texas

1945 – we had just moved to Albuquerque – I was nearly 4 years old

Since polyester had not been perfected yet as a type of fabric, I’m sure cotton was the way to go.  Here are a few examples. 

1949 – Albuquerque – Bill (11) and Judy (8) – clowning around

1950 – Albuquerque – Judy (9) and my best friend Shirley (9)

1950 – Albuquerque – Judy (9) holding Boots

Again, I’m not sure whether they were store-bought, or whether my grandmother or mother made them.  Most of these were before I had learned to handle the sewing machine.

Here is a white velvet dress that was made for me.  Apparently I was to be a “Junior Bride” in a wedding, and my dress mirrored the bride’s dress.  I was five years old at the time.

1946 – Albuquerque

One reason I think more of my clothes were store-bought, is the ruffles and trim that I see on some of these dresses.  I know, from experience, that those “touches” are not easy to put on a garment.  I remember making dresses for our Karen when she was just a small child.  First of all, she was not happy having to “model” the dress/outfit as I was making it.  Second, I found I could purchase adorable outfits for her from J.C. Penney’s or Sears, with all the trim and ruffles, for less cost than if I purchased the fabric and spent my time attempting to make the garment.

1970 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Karen is 2½

1970 – Albuquerque – Karen (2½) with Oma

As I grew older, many of my more dressy clothes were made from other-than-cotton fabrics.  I’m not exactly sure just what type of fabric was used.  I do know that, like in this picture, it was perhaps a taffeta-type of fabric.  It was a shiny fabric, for sure.  

1950 – Albuquerque – Judy at the old upright piano

1952 – Some kind of iridescent fabric, but softer than taffeta 

I’m not sure just what the occasion was for me to be wearing this dress and holding a candle – perhaps I was in a wedding, and would be lighting the candles?  I seem to be awfully young for handling a lit candle, however.  Not sure what fabric the dress was made of.  I was 11 years old at the time.

1952 – Albuquerque

I actually remember the vest I have on in this picture.  I believe it was a heavier weight cotton, perhaps twill,  and I would wear it most seasons of the year.  It was quite comfortable over a sweater, or over a cotton shirt.  I believe my mother made it for me.

1953 – Albuquerque – the Lites family

I remember that the “Poodle skirt” was the “in” thing at that time.

Credit Google Search and Grace Opulanza

I remember coming home from school one day, and finding that my Mother had made me one – it was draped across the second twin bed in my room! 

1955 – Albuquerque – the “Poodle Skirt”

I was ecstatic!  It was cotton, of course, and made in “gores.”  While it wasn’t exactly that current “type” of poodle skirt, I really liked mine.  I think the design (poodles) was pre-printed on the fabric:  just cut it out and stitch it up.  We made up the blouse to match the color, and I wore a scarf around my neck along with the outfit.  That was a fun thing to wear, for sure!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Seamstresses in my House-Part 2

13 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Last time I mentioned my first sewing experience.  I would like to quote myself from a previous posting about that:

All those yards and yards of fabric would eventually be made into a Fiesta Dress, or Squaw Dress, as some called it.  Three tiers, each one “longer” than the one above it.  Those dresses could be made from just about any fabric and color combination.  I remember a royal blue fabric with nothing but copper trim – one of my favorites.  I remember a winter dress made from blue corduroy – no trim needed.  I remember one made from fabric that looked like bandana design – no trim needed on that one, either.

 I remember one that was made in light cotton – white – with red and red-and-white trim.  It was great – until I washed it the first time – and the red ran like crazy!!  So my Aunt Jessie took the dress (blouse and skirt) and dyed them beige.  For some reason, the red didn’t show where it had run, and really looked rather classy with the red trim.  Another favorite of mine.  Oh, so many dresses.

And the skirts were not left “pouffy” like they might be today

Credit Pixabay

but  they were hand-pleated after being soaked in starch!  And to keep the pleats in, we rolled the skirt into itself and stuffed it into a nylon stocking.  Jessie’s dogs LOVED to get at those to fight with them!  

One might ask how we “pleated” the skirts.  It was a process, for sure.  The seam that joined the skirt together was done in a “basting stitch” – or a very long stitch.  It was easily removed, which we did before washing.  Of course we washed the skirt as usual.  Then we dipped it into a starch solution, and while wet with starch, we would attach it to a large board by the waistband to the top of the board with old-fashioned clothes pins. 

The board we used was pressboard (similar to peg board 

Credit: Home Depot

but without the holes), about 1/4 inch thick, and about four (4) feet by six (6) feet.  One side was painted white, where we laid the skirt.

Credit:Home Depot

 We would – literally – hand pleat the top row of the skirt.  Then we would stretch a long strip of cloth across the seam of that tier, and anchor it on each side of the board with another clothes pin.  Then we would repeat the pleating process on the tier below that, and then repeat it with the lowest and longest tier.  We would than stand the board upright at an angle, so the excess moisture and starch could drain off the fabric and board. Since New Mexico is such a dry humidity state, we had no fear that the skirt would mildew – and they never did!  When dry, the joining seam would be baste-stitched again, and the skirt was ready to wear.  As mentioned in the previous paragraph, we would roll the skirt together, and stuff it into an old nylon stocking to keep the pleats in.

Most of my fiesta dresses were out of light-weight cotton, with only a few exceptions.  The one I remember the most was the blue corduroy – only worn in winter.  I remember the blue with copper trim was a heavier weight cotton, as was the chartreuse with purple trim.

DiVoran stated:  

Granny made one for me. It was red voile (lightweight cotton) with silver trim. I did find a place to wear it when we moved to Florida. I wore it to square-dancing with several crinoline (stand-out) underskirts.

And that brings me to say that all those skirts were worn with crinoline petticoats under them, to make them “stand out.”

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Seamstresses in my House-Part 1

6 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

My wonderful, delightful, loving sister-in-law DiVoran Lites, suggested recently that she would like to see some blogs about the clothes I have made and purchased.  She is interested in the fabrics, colors and things related to that.  Well…that is certainly a subject that I never thought to write about…yet definitely something to consider.

So, let me start with the blog that I did write about the “Fiesta Dresses” I made years ago while growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  (Please see my post of December 9, 2012 – Fiesta Dresses)  That was my beginning experience learning to sew.  You see, my Mother, her sister (Aunt Jessie), and their Mother (Granny) all worked in a handkerchief factory in San Antonio, Texas when they moved there.  So sewing was in their genes, so to speak.  And, of course, back in those days, store-bought clothes were more of a luxury – everyone made their own clothes!

  • 1954
  • 1954
  • 1954

1959 – originally white with red trim, but the red “ran” when washed.  So we dyed it beige.

1959 – light green with white and silver trim

I remember my Mother being a working woman most of my life, and while she did a fair bit of sewing, I seem to remember that Granny was the one who taught me to sew.  It was Granny who showed me how to work the sewing machine, and how to sew those very straight rows upon rows of trim and rick-rack on the fabric to make the fiesta dresses.  Fairly boring sewing, but gave me a sense of what sewing was all about, and a great sense of satisfaction with the finished product.

I remember several garments Granny made for me.  Here is a turquoise velveteen jumper that I wore over a shirt/blouse.  

1953

Turquoise is probably my favorite color in all things, so you will see Granny made several items for me that were turquoise in color.  For instance, she also made me a turquoise velveteen housecoat.  And a turquoise overcoat – I believe it was wool with a lining and filling that made it toasty and warm.

1953 – Me in my overcoat – Granny and her sisters (Lillie in the middle, Loa next to my Mom)

I am fairly sure she made this dress for me – it was the dress I wore for my initiation into Rainbow Girls when I was 13 years old.  The dress itself was out of a taffeta fabric, with a sheer overlay of chiffon.

1952

I am fairly convinced that Granny made my Mother’s wedding dress. 

1937

It was a taffeta fabric, and the skirt was full-circle.   Aunt Jessie took it following the wedding and wrapped it in tissue paper and kept it in a cedar chest in her garage.  All that to say that, when it came time for my wedding, we took Mother’s wedding dress, removed the sleeves, and had an entire over-dress made from Belgian lace.  I thought it was beautiful.

1961

My brother, Bill wrote about Granny sewing for him, as well:

During my teenage years, Granny kept an up-to-date (as I got bigger) long sleeve Western Shirt pattern, so all I had to do was find a fabric and pattern I liked and buy (3) yards of that material and give it to Granny. She would make the shirt and then she and I would install the pearl snaps (front, sleeves, & pockets). Granny also made a Red Corduroy Ike Jacket for me that was one of the items, along with the Red Corduroy pants from Penney’s, that got DiVoran’s attention in Miss Millers English class the day I wore that outfit to school.

1955 – This shirt shows the pearl buttons quite well

A good example of  Bill’s shirt made by Granny

Another good example of one of the shirts Granny made for Bill

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Let’s Eat Part 2!

27 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I guess what I’m about to write about includes food, so the “Let’s Eat” is still a good title.  You see, I didn’t grow up drinking wine or beer or any hard alcoholic drinks, even with my meals.  So I have never “acquired” the taste for any of it.

And, as a matter of fact, when I was teaching aerobics, I was appalled at the horrible sweat odor oozing from the pours of women who had been drinking beer.  Blech!  That would NOT have encouraged me to drink beer in any form!  So I haven’t.

I must admit, that I have tried – many times – to accompany my evening meal with a glass of wine.  And I just can’t do it.  The taste turns me off.  When I have mentioned this to friends, the usual response is “oh, you just haven’t found the right wine yet!”  And so, when we were in Heidelberg, by invitation I went to a “wine tasting party” in an apartment near where we lived.  After sampling several different wines, I finally found a wine that I thought I could enjoy, and so purchased a bottle to take home with me.  Days later, when I opened the bottle to enjoy with my meal – I found that, once again, it turned me off.  So that bottle of wine was used later in my cooking.

Photo Credit:Pixabay

And that brings me to another topic of wine.  Many years ago I was given the recipe for making French Onion Soup.  A friend had made it for a meal, and I was quite taken with it.  Her husband had been a soldier in Vietnam, and had eaten French Onion Soup in a restaurant in Saigon.  He told her it was the best French Onion Soup he had even eaten!  And he had her try every recipe for it that she could find, and then tweak it until it tasted like what he had tasted in Saigon.  This was the recipe I was given.

Credit Google Search and Sharon Uzell-Meek

Well, that recipe called for “cooking sherry.”  Being a good non-drinking Baptist girl, I thought that I should use the “cooking sherry” instead of regular sherry.  When I tried it in the soup, I found it to be quite distasteful!  And as someone once told me – “If it isn’t good enough to drink, it isn’t good enough to cook with!”  And I have to agree. 

So from that point on, I have been cooking with regular wine.  The alcohol is burned off by the heat, and the flavor is left in the food.  I find it enhances the flavor of the food deliciously. 

And I still don’t like the taste of wine!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Let’s Eat

20 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

PREFACE:  I had been thinking of writing about the food we had in Germany, when I realized I had already written about it.  So I am re-blogging this one.  Enjoy!

I had never really eaten any type of “international” food as I was growing up, just what was around Albuquerque.  You know – pizza, Mexican food, Chinese.  But I don’t remember there being a German restaurant in Albuquerque – at least one I knew about.

So I didn’t really have any kind of frame of reference for what to expect in the way of food when we got to Germany in 1967.  I am most happy to report that my experience with German food was off the charts!  It was wonderful – or as I used to compliment the server – “Ausgezeichnet” (outstanding!!).  That always got a chuckle from the server – whether it was my pronunciation or what the word means, I’m not sure.  But I like to think it left a good impression.

And let me make this statement right now:   we NEVER had a bad meal in any German restaurant – no matter where it was.  It could have been in the town where we were living at the time – or it could have been along the roadside where we would stop as we were traveling.  It was ALL good!

Our first experience was in the hotel where we were to stay for about a week when we first arrived in Wiesbaden – the American Arms Hotel.  We ate many of our meals there and were pleased.  Our military sponsors took us out to eat that first evening, and it was at the zum Keller in Wiesbaden.  I had my first taste of schnitzel there, as well as the wonderful salad they make (you know – cucumbers and onions in a vinegar sauce on butter lettuce…yummm!), and the French fries (pomme frites).  Wow…my mouth is watering just remembering!

Credit: Google Search
Credit: Google Search

In later years, when we returned for Fred’s second tour of duty in Germany, we found a wonderful restaurant, called Grimmingers, that was just down the street from our apartment.  They had the most wonderful schnitzel there – and we each had our favorite.  Fred always wanted the Jägerschnitzel (hunter’s schnitzel). 

Credit: Google Search and Quick German Recipes

Our daughters both loved the Rahmschnitzel (topped with a cream sauce). 

Credit: Google Search and German Culture

Unfortunately, I can’t remember the exact name of my favorite schnitzel, and it’s possible that it was a house speciality.  It was the usual schnitzel with a couple of stalks of Spargle (white asparagus) on top, and covered with a cream sauce.  Delicious!  Also unfortunately, our daughter, Karen, told us following a visit to Heidelberg in recent years, that the restaurant is no longer there – it is now a bank!  Shucks!

In a previous musing, I mentioned that we had a favorite Gasthause, the Schwartzeradler (Black Eagle) where we always stopped on our way to Rothenburg.

Credit: Google Search and swartzer_adler_rothenberg.com

It was in a very small village, right on the road we drove on.  I believe we always got their schnitzel there, rather than trying to eat somewhere within the walled city of Rothenburg.  Our girls didn’t understand that, until we told them that the “local” restaurant had to have good food, or it wouldn’t survive, while the restaurants within cities that attracted tourists didn’t – the tourists probably wouldn’t return, so it didn’t really matter how good the food was.  It was an eatery that was well attended by the local population.  If the locals didn’t like the food, they wouldn’t return – and this one was well-established.

I have nothing but good memories of food in Germany.  It’s one of the things I miss the most about living there.  We are grateful God allowed us that time in our lives – and the memories that accompany it.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Find Someone Else

13 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I was hunting through some of my “stuff” recently, trying to find a particular picture to use in one of my posts.  I was unable to find that picture, but I did come across something that my Mother had cut out and sent to me.  I found it all too true to life – and unfortunately, I think I’ve made this same statement myself.  I’m an “old lady” now (just over 80 years old now), so perhaps it really doesn’t apply to my life now, but it’s still something I could reconsider.

How does this apply to YOUR life, hm?

As a matter of fact, I’ve heard that the famous last words of a church that is declining are those same words – I’ve (we’ve) never done it that way before!  So just not as individuals do we need to re-think our words, but perhaps as members of churches we need to re-think our position, and ask God’s guidance in what we do.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Aerobics Part 5

6 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

One time, we had a joint time together, and invited our spouses and children to attend, watch, and dance with us.  It was great fun.  Lots of people attended, and we called it “Celebration.”  Some of my readers might be “old” enough to remember the song “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang.  That was one of our favorite dance routines, and we used it as the “theme” of that evening.  On one of the easier routines, we asked any and all of those attending the celebration, to join us on the floor and dance.  We had quite a few who joined us and attempted to dance. 

I apologize for the quality of this picture

Here I would like to sort-of re-blog something I wrote that is related to my time teaching aerobic dancing in Heidelberg.  It all started in Germany.  I wrote it in 2013…

[...there was one lady in my class who always stood in the front row and to my right (I was facing away from the students). As we conversed, I thought she had a speech impediment.  After we got to know each other a bit better, she told me that she had been born with some hearing loss. She wasn’t totally deaf, but enough so that she couldn’t hear the way most words were sounded. That explained her speech.  But she had hearing aids that helped her so much, and she could understand all the cues I shouted out in the class.

As interesting as all that is – to me anyway – that’s not the end of the story. We returned stateside and began our life in Virginia.  Our oldest daughter had met her future husband while in high school in Heidelberg (his father was our American pastor), and he had returned to the States to attend college – where she was attending, of course. They married a few years later.

One evening, around Thanksgiving time, I received a call from our son-in-law, saying that, on their way to see his parents in South Carolina, our daughter had fallen asleep at the wheel and they had crashed.  I was furious that he would only say that she was “in with the doctor” and wouldn’t give me any more details – like…..is she still alive???!!!

I asked if he wanted us to come and take them back home (they were only about an hour from their apartment).  He agreed.  He then said, “wait, here is the paramedic who will give you directions to the hospital.” This young man came on the phone and gave me the directions – with the very same intonation that my aerobic student had!!  I knew at once that he had hearing loss, and not a speech impediment. And, by God’s grace, I was able to understand every word he said – the first time!  No repeats.  God had prepared me, all those years ago, for that very moment, when I would need my wits about me, and to understand this young man’s instructions.

I could end the story there – that is the main thrust of it – but I want to tell you of God’s gracious hand in all this. You see, when our daughter fell asleep, the car drifted, and our son-in-law looked up and screamed, which woke her, and she drastically over-corrected. That caused the car to roll several times. Amazingly, there were no other cars around them – just down the road a bit – no other cars involved in the crash. There was an off-duty ambulance behind them that stopped, and the paramedics gave aid. They could have rolled off a bridge and crashed onto the road below them – but they didn’t – they just rolled to a stop on an embankment. While the car was totaled, our children only suffered a few cuts and bruises.”

~~~~~~~~~~The End (Perhaps?)~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Aerobic Part 4

30 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Just a random memory – As we were doing the cool down in one class (it was always done on the floor, to a relatively slow song and involved stretching), I asked one of the students if she liked that particular workout and song.  Her response: “Yes, but I’m still waiting for Perry Como!”  I’ve had a good laugh from that through the years.  I think my favorite cool down song was Lady by Kenny Rogers – and I’m not a huge fan of Country/Western music!

Credit Pixabay

Related to aerobic dancing, but not directly to the classes – between sessions, my partner and I would print up flyers with our logo and the dates and venues for the next session’s classes.  Our sessions usually were 12-weeks long, with an occasional 9-week session thrown in, if the longer one would have run into either summer or a major holiday.  The two of us would go to both housing developments and pass out the flyers by putting them on the “bulletin boards” in each stairwell, or in the doors of the individual houses for upper ranking personnel.  During one of those times, we were standing in front of one of the single units, when I felt such a horrible pain in my foot that I began groaning loudly – essentially screaming! – and jumping up and down!  Looking down at my foot, I realized there was a bumble bee on my foot – and it had stung me! 

Credit Pixabay

C

Oh the pain!!  I was ready to hand my partner my set of flyers and head home, but she insisted that I help her complete the mission!  It took me a while, but I finally made it home and made a poultice of baking soda to cover the sting.  I am just thankful that I was not allergic to bee stings!

One thing I tried very hard to do, was to recognize/remember my students by name.  I didn’t want to be the kind of instructor who only smiled and said “hello” as they came into the gym for class.  I wanted them to know that I was actually interested in who they were and that I knew them!  In that way, we had made attendance cards for each session.  The card held our logo, a place for their name, and a number of squares for how many classes we would have in that particular session.  We marked the squares off each class.  And so, I would mark the square, hold the card up to them, and repeat their name – matching name and face – until I had it firmly in mind.  I would like to think my students enjoyed the fact that their teacher made the effort to remember them as individuals!

And along that line, if I were to see one of my students outside of class, I would greet them by name and say something like “do you recognize me with clothes on?”  And then we would both laugh – because they usually saw me in shorts and T-shirt!  I’m sure that my question gave pause to anyone my student was with – until we explained the situation to them.  

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Aerobics Part 3

23 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Another fun thing was that the high school coach learned that I was teaching aerobic dancing, and asked that I come to several of his classes and demonstrate the program.  Our Karen was NOT impressed!  When I asked why she didn’t want me to do that, she replied, “Mom, you are in your SHORTS!!”  Most embarrassing to a high school student!  But I went anyway.  I was in pretty good shape at that time of my life, and during the demonstration, I mentioned that the kids could still be in good shape, as I was, at age 40!  They were astounded!  Karen later told me that one of her classmates asked her if her mother was 40?  So that classmate had been in one of those classes.  We had one dance that was relatively repetitive, and quite easy to learn.  I had the students line up and we danced it back and forth.  Then I had them dance it turning on each repeat.  Then I had them form a large circle (facing each other) and dance it around.  So much fun!  Later, the coach said that he wished he could get his basketball players to dance like we were doing.  It would give them rhythm and make them lighter on their feet, which some of them needed to be better basketball players.

One thing sort-of related to those classes, was that I had to walk from our apartment (just outside the base gate) to the classes on the base – summer or winter, rain or shine, sometimes in the snow.  And I carried my big boom box with me.  In warm weather, I was in my shorts and T-shirt.  In winter, I wore boots and my heavy coat – all the while, carrying my boom box.

Somewhere along the line, I was asked to demonstrate our program to a joint German/American group.  I thought it would be something that appeal to the Germans.  So when it was my turn, I started with “ich habe nur ein bisschen Deutsch” (I only have a little German).  That brought some laughs – so then I stated that “and so I will speak in English.”  More laughs.  I described our program, our steps, what we were doing was exercise, but was made more fun with the dance.  I then asked for volunteers from the audience to join me on stage and performed our easiest routine.  Later, as I watched a square dancing group,

Credit Bill Lites – Bill and DiVoran on the right, in their square dancing finery

I realized that all the “instruction” was done in German, but the dance calls were in English!   WOW!  Why couldn’t our program reach the German community the same way – instruct the teaching of the steps in German, but “call” the actual dance routines in English.  We left Germany before we could suggest that to the teachers who followed us.  I think it would have been a great connector between the two countries.

Credit Pixabay

We usually had one week off between sessions, to find new music and perhaps some new steps to those songs.  After a few sessions where the dedicated students were bored with my teaching the old, standard steps to the new students, I decided to use those between-session weeks to teach the old steps to the new students.  That way, when the official session began, only any new steps to teach were taught to all the students, and we could proceed with the routines.  That worked out quite well.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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