Where does the time go?

I don't really think anyone is interested in my blog; they might be if they knew about it but I don't know how to get the word out!  Oh well, it's good for me to write anyway. 

I have two grand-daughters; Isabelle (almost 5) and Sophia (2 1/2).  It is all my fault--I take full responsibility.  They are Oz fanatics just like Memaw.  The other day I got out my set of Barbie Oz characters for them to play with.  Yes, I know they are collector items (or will be one day) but what's the point of having them if I don't share them?  The girls are careful with them and were just awestruck when I pulled them out.  Sophia especially liked Dorothy, probably because her shoes lit up.  The next day after church and a nap (mine as well as theirs) Sophia told me, "Memaw, I need my Dorfy dress on."  Thinking she meant her sister's Halloween costume, I told her it wasn't here but at home.  "No, Memaw.  I need my Dorfy dress.  It's upstairs."  So we went upstairs where she promptly pulled out the dress she had worn to church and triumphantly said, "Here it is!"  Now this dress was a little brown jumper with a white shirt under and a pocket of blue polka-dots.  Nothing like what Dorothy wore in Wizard of Oz.  But after checking with mommy, we put it on.

From that point on, Sophia informed everyone, "I'm Dorfy."  You aren't Sophia?  "No, I'm Dorfy."  The rest of the afternoon she spoke of herself in the third person, "Dorfy likes 'nanas."  If we tried to trick her by saying, "Sophia, do you want a piece of candy?"  She would stand there a minute and then say, "Dorphy likes candy."  She left that weekend saying, "Memaw, give Dorfy a kiss goodbye!"  My daughter said she did that all the way home, a 3 1/2 hour car drive. 

So Oz lives on in my grand-daughters and it is a wonderful thing for me.  They don't think it is silly for me to have all the dolls, figurines, memorabilia--they love them too.  It's precious to me to have one more link to them so that they will remember me when I am gone.  Yes, it is my fault and I'm loving every minute of it!

Just me

Well, either I've done something wrong in getting this blog going or no one is interested in what I have to say.  I have no idea how to fix the first and have no control over the second so that takes care of that!  But never mind; the blog will go on!

I am so very excited....in one week I will be going to the Ozfest in Wamego, KS!!!  In a unique twist of the road, I find that a good friend has parents who live there and is ready for a trip home.  We will stay with her parents, saving money that can then be spent on the sights and sounds of Oz.  There are parades, plays, items to purchase, Toto's Tacoz, the Oz Winery and possibly even a sighting of one of the original Munchkins.  I have wanted to go for several years but always felt that I couldn't justify the long trip or expense just to egg on my fascination with the Wizard of Oz.  I am a woman of 55, not a child.  Act my age!!!  Well, flying monkeys to that!  Life is too short and precious to miss a chance when it is dropped on you like a house from the sky.

So I am going to Oz (or as close to Oz as I will ever come).  The Yellow Brick Road is actually Hwy 71 and there is only one friend to journey with me but I am ready to skip (drive) all the way.  I'll post later about the experience there and my introduction to pickleball.  Never heard of it before, must be a Munchkin game. 

I'm off to see Wamego.......

How I Got Here

I've always loved to read.  Any book that could take me into the pages and make me forget everything but the book was wonderful.  Don't get me wrong--my home life was fine so I wasn't trying to escape from it by reading.  But curling up and getting lost in a book was pure heaven.  I'm still that way.  The funny thing is that I don't remember ever reading the Wizard of Oz books when I was young.  We didn't have many books at home; I don't know why because my parents enjoy reading also.  Reading books from the school library were no fun--they were almost all read just to get book reports done.  Reading because you HAVE to defeats the purpose for me.  I read some good books, don't get me wrong but mostly I just read the inside cover and skimmed enough to get the report done.  Don't shake your head at ME!!  You probably did the exact same thing, admit it!

Summers were wonderful because the Bookmobile came every two weeks.  I can still remember the unique smell that old converted bus had.  Partly dusty, partly sweaty from all the kids that had run to meet it but mostly it just had that "book" smell.  Climbing up those steps into the bookmobile was pure excitement for me!  Who knew what books would be here this time?  They could take me anywhere to meet anyone doing anything. 

My favorite books were the ones that dealt with dragons, wizards, fairies and otherworldly places.  How could anyone not love them?  The dragons always turned out to be friendly and helpful to the princess/fairy in trouble.  Wizards would be on the loose; sometimes good, sometimes bad but always fascinating!  Those magical lands full of unicorns, elves and whimsy held my attention and heart for hours on end.  This type of book is still my favorite.  Aragon, Harry Potter, Terry Brook's Magic Kingdom for Sale--these are the books and authors I look for at the library.  They require me to use my imagination and paint such colorful pictures of places I never will go (but would certainly like to!)  I live, hear about and see the stories of love, lust, family, etc. every day and although I enjoy books of all types, fantasy books are still my first love.

So what does all this have to do with my love of the Wizard of Oz when I really have never read the books?  That will have to wait for another day.

The Red Brick Road of Oz

Did you ever wonder where the red brick road might take you to? If you are a Wizard of Oz fan, you know that in the scene where Dorothy leaves the Munchins to follow the Yellow Brick Road, there is a red brick road that spirals out right beside it. So where does it go? The yellow brick road leads to Oz and the wonderful wizard who lives there. We don't see the red brick road again; does that mean it stops at the edge of Munchkinville? Maybe it leads to the Wicked Witch country.

I wonder about that as well as many other things. So I am blogging. Huh, never thought I would but here I am. I'm ready to travel down the red brick road to see where it leads me. Care to travel along?