Monday, December 30, 2013

Happy Birthday Grandpa

The big day for Grandpa is approaching. Next Sunday I am making a big batch of Mexican Chicken and Vegetables because that is what he ordered. I will also have hot dogs for the poor unfortunate souls who don't like that famous dish. I will probably make cupcakes too. It will start at around 6:00. Let me know if you can't come. I love you all!!!Grandma Hulse 

Friday, November 1, 2013

Memories of my Mother

My mother was an interesting lady. She was slightly theatrical and liked to dress in fancy clothes. When she was my room mother at school, she would come looking very elegant. She had a fur coat made of sheared beaver and it was so soft. We spent lots of time running our hands over it. When she brought treats to school, she looked so classy that I couldn't help but be proud of her. She believed in spanking and it was a great deterrant to misbehaving. It was more embarassing than painful. She did work hard though. She canned fruit for my father's clinic hospital and ironed sheets on a mangle for the hospital and she also gave anesthetics for the surgeries that my father did. One thing she did for me and not for my sisters was she took me horseback riding. We would ride together on the rural roads around the farm where she rented the two horses. I was so happy when we did this. I'll write more later.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Hey guys!  Grandma has written some of her memories of her childhood, and I thought it would be a great idea to post them again on the blog for everybody to have access to. Enjoy!  ~ Stephanie


When Grandma Was a Girl
(Memories of Sherry Schaffer Hulse)

When I was younger than I am now – before life really began when I married Grandpa – things were different. There were many traditions in our family that I reflect on with fondness.
I’ll begin with holidays. As a child I don’t remember much about New Years being special but as a teenager living with my grandparents, New Year’s was fun. We always had a buffet with canapés and crackers, cheese, shrimp, fun stuff and blew little horns at midnight.  For entertainment we played Rook or board games all night. We always had a fire in the fireplace that seemed to be going all winter long.
For Valentines when I was little we took Valentines to school like today only they were the size of birthday cards and much cuter than the modern ones.  At night we went “Valentining,” taking Valentines to our friends and running after dropping them on the porch and knocking on the door. It was worse than death to be spotted leaving a Valentine.  St. Valentine, as mysterious as Santa Claus, would pound on our door after we got home and we opened the door to find no one in sight but a small box of chocolates for each of us.

Then came St. Patrick’s Day when you always wore green to avoid a pinching.
Easter was a depressing time for me because it meant Jesus had been crucified and it made me sad. But the pagan part of Easter was fun. We always found an Easter basket identified by a chocolate marshmallow egg with a name on it identifying the owner.  We usually got colored baby live chickens or a live bunny, but they never survived too well. We had an Easter egg hunt in the yard and enjoyed the hard boiled eggs we colored, until we had to eat them.

The next big holiday was Memorial Day. My Grandmother would scheme for weeks to outwit the season so she could put fresh peonies on the graves. She had saved large metal funeral baskets for years and we spent hours preparing the floral offerings. We went to the cemetery and decorated graves, visited with all the relatives there, kissed obnoxious aunts, uncles, and cousins, and then had a gathering for lunch. Big Tradition.
Summers were fun and filled with visits to our grandparent’s cabin in Mueller Park. We went up in May to catch the mice and clean up the dead flies. It had Murphy beds that went up into the walls and an outside toilet and a woodstove but it was fun and scary!  There was always that strange woodsy smell! We would tell scary stories and my mother would sing sad songs about little children who died or brave soldiers who died saving the flag.
We had traditional family gatherings, and community celebrations for the Fourth of July and Pioneer Day. My Grandma had an elderly rich friend, Mrs. Rhodes, who lived in the Grand Hotel on Main Street in Salt Lake, and we would go there and watch the 24th of July Parade.
Oh, when I was little, my dad, who was rich, would buy the fireworks for the town of Tremonton and set them off. He was the head of the American Legion and a big shot in town as the local doctor.  He took us on fun vacations to Sun Valley. He also took us to all three nights at the Tremonton rodeo and to the accompanying carnivals (which I liked but I was afraid of the gypsies who ran them).
Labor Day wasn't too big a deal, but Halloween was great. When I was little, we would to “Halloweening.” You carve a pumpkin, put a candle in it and march around your neighborhood in costume and soap people’s windows (no trick or treating). The smell of burning pumpkins and the smell of my mask stays imbedded in my memory. We usually had a Halloween party at our house with bobbing for apples and games.
We loved Thanksgiving and always went to Grandma’s where we had a huge turkey and the best baked beans in the world. This tradition continued after I married.
Christmas was a big deal. The tree had to be perfect and we used to burn our letters up the chimney to Santa. We all hung stockings and we used to go to the movies on Christmas Eve Day to take the edge off of our excitement. We didn't get a lot of gifts, even though my parents were well off. Usually some clothes, a doll, a game and a surprise. A big Christmas dinner was a must.
We had other fun traditions.  A cousins party each summer and all the female cousins from all generations came.
There was the traditional house scourging and the move from housekeeping and living upstairs to moving to the basement for summer.

I’ve probably forgotten a lot of traditions but they are important and we had them to provide the cement that keeps families together. 

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Boo Boo Boo!

I don't suppose anyone will read this, but if everyone or even a few ones are willing, we will have a get together the Saturday or Sunday before Halloween for food and scares and stories sure to frighten you. Pot luck, but we will probably make a pot of soup if you are lucky. We want to see everybody so come one and all for fright night. Let us know which night is best.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

We miss all you guys!!!

It would be so nice to see all our posterity a time or two before we check out! It can get pretty depressing spending so much time by ourselves staring at the walls or the TV. I need to bribe some of you to come for Chicken and Vegetables, or Baked Cheese Sandwiches or Funeral Potatoes, or Poppyseed Cake. What is your pleasure? I will fix it. I really don't expect any answers, but I just wanted you all to know we love and miss you. Love, Mom, Grandma, Great-grandma.

Friday, August 30, 2013

My 80th Birthday

I want to tell my family how much they bless my life.I turned 80 on August 23 and I wish that I could tell you how much fun it was to see a lot of my posterity at the party that they gave me at Steve and Becky's yard. The food was delicious, the evening was lovely, and the company was beloved. From the oldest adult child to the brand new baby boy, I was so happy that I have lived long enough to see so many of our posterity and love them all. It is true that the more people you have to love, the more capacity you have to love. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for this greatest of blessings!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Baby Lindsay is a...


Bianca would like to share with you the gender of Grandma and Grandpa's great grandchild who will be arriving in Logan this November. 

Saturday, February 23, 2013

March 17th

Hey there, all who claim Irish ancestry,(or have had the good fortune to be married to afore said Irish descendant)! It seems St. Pat's Day falls on Sunday this year, so mark your calendars and think of a green or Irish treat or dish to bring to Grandma and Grandpa Hulse's house at 6:00P.M. We will fix corned beef and cabbage and the rest of you can bring whatever you wish. It always turns out alright and we always have plenty of food and fun. Limericks will be welcome! Prize for the best limerick. See you then( if not before) B'gorrah, Love, Grandma Hulse

Friday, January 11, 2013

Snow Angels

There is something so heart warming to look out of my back door and see angels shoveling our driveway, walks and deck. Becky, Carter, Layton Asmus and Dallin Perkes, converged on our yard and made short work of the 15 inch blanket of white fluffy marshmallow snow. How we love and appreciate these wonderful merciful servants who emulate the Savior in giving such caring service to two old useless humans. We thank the Lord for these dear ones.