Here's my mom: Margaret Smith Callister. She was a wonderful person and I miss her.
1. Honor your father. . .
. . . and respect your husband.
2. Live your religion. This means going to church, paying your tithing, living virtuously, marrying in the temple, etc., etc., etc. 
3. Don't fight with your brothers and sisters. Friends may come and go, but families are forever.
4. Sprinkled clothes don't get moldy if you put them in the freezer. Not everyone will understand this, but back in the "olden days," before spray irons and permapress material, we sprinkled out clothes to dampen them so they would iron out better. At our house we used a small appliance, like the one pictures below, placed into the mouth of a root beer bottle (no Coca-Cola at our house) filled with water. Then we just shook the water, or sprinkled it, on the clothes we were going to iron. To make sure the dampness went through all of the material, we rolled the clothing item up and let it sit for a while. Should one dampen their clothes, put them in a laundry basket to sit for a while, and then have something come up, the clothes could (especially in warm weather) develop small mold spots. So, if you couldn't get around to ironing right away, you could put your clothes in the freezer and they would stay in fine condition until you could get to your iron.
5. Music is a good thing. We all learned to play the piano on one similar to the picture below. Our mother's goal was to have us all play well enough to play the hymns. She also taught us to sing, even though we weren't all great singers. She sang a lot, and those old songs mean a lot to me even today.
6. Kneading bread is an art--and she taught it well. We had homemade bread almost all the time. When my dad was the bishop, he had her take a loaf (with the crusts cut off) to use for the sacrament every week. (Jan, take note of this.)
7. Don't pull a face--it might freeze that way, and then how would you look?
8. Wear clean underwear every day! You might get in an accident, and your mom would be very embarrassed if you needed treatment and your underwear was dirty or in bad repair.(I made this picture smaller so as to not offend the sensitive reader.)
9. Be on time! Oh, and if you set your clock ahead so it is five minutes fast, you will seldom be late.
9. Be on time! Oh, and if you set your clock ahead so it is five minutes fast, you will seldom be late.
10. Sorry, I don't have a picture for this. We were always told, when we went out the door, to "BE GOOD, AND HAVE FUN!" An oxymoron--no, just good sense.
10 comments:
I remember having trouble with sprinkled clothes in humid St. Louis. Even if I beat the mildew to it, the fabric would start to smell sour and had to be washed all over again. I never learned the freezer trick! Probably because all our pillow cases, hankies and table cloths would not fit into our ice box. Once we bought a TV, I found it much easier to get through all the ironing.
Kneading bread is a literal pain. So was whipping egg whites with a rotary beater. Is that your hand with the dough? Do you still knead?
I love all your journaling. That's the whole point of this little exercise and I'm not doing it. You inspire me.
You have a great list. I miss Grandma too. She was such a great example to me. And oh so funny.
That's not my hand with the dough. I do still knead bread, but not very often--just enough to make Wayne think he gets an occasional glimpse of heaven.
Oh, and that's not my picture with the pulled face, either.
I love that picture of MOM. I think she kind of found herself when she served her mission.
Thanks for the good tribute to her.
GG
I have learned a lot from you over the last twenty plus years. You are a wonderful person. I have a much greater appreciation for mothers since I have had my children. I have several ah-ha moments with each stage of my children's lives. Mothers sacrifice so much for their children, and unfortunately we don't understand fully until we have our own. I know you and my mom sacrificed a great deal for your children. You are a woman of great faith and I look up to you for that.
That's why Donovan sets his watch and alarm clock early.
Oh, and also I love your cooking. You make the best desserts and homemade rolls. I wish I could come eat Sunday dinner each week. I would even bring a side dish.
It's been very fun to read all of your posts lately. This was my favorite. You Callister women make great moms.
I was searching for a sprinkler bottle head and found a picture of one on your blog. When I saw your photos I said they look sooooooooo LDS. As I scanned through your blog I said to my husband, I knew it... can I spot them or what.
Love your comments on sprinkled clothes - I have wanted a sprinkler head like the one I remember my mom having... reminds me of good times.
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