A warm day

Today the weather made a giant leap into spring, with a jump in temperature of almost twenty degrees. We had been having unusually cold weather, until now. Today it was about 65, and even warmer down at the bottom of the hill where my daughter lives. It is great treat to walk down and stroll in their back lot, full of blooming flowers and shrubs, with a huge plum tree covered with blossoms. We are seeing blossoms on our old apple tree, which we had cut back quite severely last year, but it seems to be coming back nicely. We try to walk some every day, just to keep active. Tomorrow we are going to have a visit from my granddaughter's little boxer dog Kaya, and we are looking forward with pleasure to seeing them all again. Believe me, she will keep us active. That little dog tears up and down the hill and seems never to get tired. We find it amusing to see how she and my old cat get along - like two old friends.
Someone asked me how my mother managed to bathe her children in just an old round tin tub, without running water or even much of a way to heat it. The fact is, she had an old wood-burning stove with a reservoir at the side, and the water kept hot there all the time. She simply dragged out the tub, set it up between two chairs, and filled it up about half full and started with the youngest and worked her way up. I don't remember the water being emptied and refilled, until all the children had been soaped and rinsed. My older brother and sister must have bathed another day, because I was always the last one in. Of course, there were four years between my younger brother and myself, and three more before the next baby appeared. The last baby came along when I was fifteen years old, truly a surprise baby.
That old tin tub served many purposes in those days, as a laungry tub and a container for potatoes and a means of carrying produce in from the garden. I don't remember that it was particularly big, just that it was always in use.
My husband is waiting for me to make up the shopping list for tomorrow. So bye for now.