A Quick Journey Thru Time

Isn't it interesting how music can be such a time machine- instantly zapping us back to another time or place?  Today in Relief Society we sang 'Teach Me to Walk in The Light' and with the first chord I was immediately thrown back to my first years in Primary.  We joined the Church when I was 10 so I only had 3 years in Primary before moving into Mutual.  But, I have always loved to sing and quickly developed a great love for the music we learned in Primary. This song was one of my favorites.
     The 'church' we met in was the 2nd floor of a building.  The first floor at that time was a radio station.  Later the entire building was turned into a rather fancy restaurant called The Tiki Hut.  Anyway, this top floor was actually laid out quite well for a make-do church.  The center part was a large room which we used for the chapel/recreation area.  Along the 2 long sides were partitioned off classrooms.  At the back was a  cry room with a window that looked into the chapel area and  there was a small kitchen in the last partitioned off room on one side.  We met there till I was about 14 when we were able to move into our new building.  I have many fond memories of that place and time.
     Back in those days, all Primary girls learned to cross stitch, knit and crochet before graduating.  We were called 'Homebuilders' - The ten year old girls were Larks, the next year we were Bluebirds and the final year in Primary we were Seagulls. The Larks did the cross stitching.  I still have the sampler I made so many years ago- it was my first Primary project.  As a Bluebird we learned to knit.  Our class chose to make slippers.  And, for the Seagulls, it was crocheting. I still feel kind of guilty about that year.  Mom had taught me to crochet several years before so none of the 'beginner' projects which we were to choose from appealed to me.  As I recall, I thought they were pretty lame.  So, I began campaigning for something more challenging and I managed to talk my entire class into choosing to make a small rug instead.  It was way too ambitious for beginners and I think I was the only one who managed to complete it.
     We also had bandeloes made of green felt which we proudly wore around our necks.  They were decorated with assorted badges and jewels- each representing an accomplishment of some type- very similar to the Boy Scout merit badges.  I'm pretty sure my bandelo is tucked away in my treasures somewhere as well. Memorizing the 13 Articles of Faith was also part of graduation.  We had to pass them off to our teacher and then our Primary President.  Scary!
     One of my chores during those years was washing dishes (no dishwashers!).  I quickly caught on to the idea that the task went faster if I found a way to occupy my mind while I worked.  And, that's the way I learned the Articles of Faith.  I taped a copy on the wall in front of the sink and kept at it until I knew them all word perfect.  In a similar fashion I learned all the verses to the Christmas carols and many of the hymns.

       Anyway, it was fun to take a quick trip back to my childhood via a sweet melody this morning.  I can still sing with all my heart;

"Father in Heaven we thank thee this day,

For loving guidance to show us the way.

Grateful we praise Thee with songs of delight

Gladly, gladly, we'll walk in the light!" 

Anybody Else Remember?

I've just been sitting here pigging out on enjoying some wonderful pistachio nuts we picked up in Costco yesterday.  They are so good!
Does anybody else remember when they used to be dyed red?  When I was a kid, pistachios were a lot more pricey than they are now.  It was a big treat when we had them at our house.  They were also a really messy treat!  Often we had to finish cracking them open with our teeth and, of course, the dye ended up all over our hands and mouth.  I got to wondering why they ever dyed them in the first place and why they stopped doing it.  So.. I googled it!  (What did we ever do before Google??)  Well, here's a bit of trivia for your 'gee whiz' file.
"When the nut fell from the bushes in dry arid mountainous areas of Iran and Turkey, the pistachio shell got stained. In order to cover the blemish, a New York importer started red dyeing the pistachio in the early 1950's. By the 1980's California had a large crop, but the tradition of dyeing the pistachio red continues to this day. There is no difference between the natural and the red colored pistachio - except looks...." 
     Who knew??  (I, for one, think that's one old custom I can happily do without!)