The Civil Wars

I saw this duo on Jay Leno and loved this song. "Poison and Wine." It's so full of beautiful harmony and angst... Have you heard of this pair? Their song"Barton and Hollow" is also a great one but a little different flavor. Listen to it..

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Lessons from Mom

As Mother's Day approaches, we are reminded of the many lessons taught to us by our good mothers. Mom has been gone now just over a year, but I wanted to record just some of the many tidbits of wisdom that Roma Kuhre graced us with over the years.

1. Always be polite. Say please and thank you and excuse yourself from the table when you are finished eating.

2. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night shall keep you from attending church. (But possibly a cold or a nasty bout of mumps, measles, or chicken pox could do it.)

3. Practice!!!

4. You will regret not practicing someday. (Very true, don't you agree?)

5. Keep your feet dry on rainy days with red rubber boots (I hated those things, but now they're back in style!)

6. Wear clean underwear. ('nuff said!)

7. Tell the truth always. (This was one of Dad's lessons too. Kathy tells the story that Mom told her to brush her teeth and she went and stood by the bathroom and then returned as if she had brushed and Mom (who knew all things) asked "Did you really brush your teeth?" and Dad said, "Roma, if Kathy said she brushed her teeth then she brushed her teeth....Kathy would never lie." Needless to say, Kathy immediately went to brush her teeth!)

8. Not graduating from college is not an option.

9. Say your prayers every night and....

10. Always carry a prayer in your heart!

11. When singing for others, sing out, look at the audience and smile!

12. When you go to the dentist, don't wear your best clothes or he'll most likely charge you more!

13. Brush your teeth after every meal. (This was mostly Dad's campaign with his famous RTBN battlecry--Rush to Brush Now!)

14. Be on time.

15. Always wear earrings (that is if you are female!) to look stylish and "finished."

16. Don't mix your food. (I totally disregarded this one since I loved mixing Franco American Spaghetti, cottage cheese, and a lettuce and mayo mixture---kind of like lasagna and salad...go figure!) (We had a missionary who mixes his whole plate of food up-- he even mixes chocolate cake and ice cream into an obliterated mess--so weird and impolite!)

17. A place for everything and everything in its place. A picked up home is a happy home. (But dusting is not essential....)

18. New shoes should be celebrated! (Remember? "Katie has new shoes, pretty new red shoes. Katie has new shoes on today. See them walk. Hear them talk. Katie run along and play!")

19. Visiting teaching is a noble endeavor and banana bread can cure all ills!

20. Vapo rub on your chest can help you breathe when you are sick (but it smells awful!)

21. Words are fun! (Mom was a master at Boggle and crossword puzzles.)

22. Keep your shirt down in back. (Mom never failed to make sure that my shirt was pulled down in back even until the end!)

23. Memorizing a talk is the only proper way to deliver an address when you're under 12.

24. We should be Good Samaritans as Jesus preached. (I loved her flannel board figures of this parable and I still have them.)

25. Gardens and flowers bring joy to your life. Pansies (her favorite flower in Tyler) should be fertilized and protected from nasty snails with Buggeta pellets. Tuberous begonias must have fish emulsion (something else that smelled bad!)

26. Music can bring joy to the soul. Mom was an expert pianist and could play Kamenoi Ostrow by Anton Rubinstein perfectly.

27. The Basic Stance! You know what I'm talking about!

28. When you spot a white horse, lick your forefinger, hit the center of your palm with that finger, and then slap your fist on that spot and you'll have good luck!

29. Be your best at home, at school, at play, at church in everything you do!

30. Life is not usually fair. Sometimes your brother will get a bigger serving than you will....but that's partly why I was chubby as a child since I was always trying to keep up with my brothers!

31. Be nice to others.

What did Mom and Dad teach you? Add on to this list or add other tidbits that your parents taught you. (It's nice to know that we have taught our children something worthwhile!)

And I reserve the right to add to this list when I remember more tidbits of wisdom.



This is one of the few snapshots with Dad also in it. This shows 4 generations with William Dobbie Kuhre (back, left) also in the picture.