Tucker McBride

Return to a time when a boy could be a boy; when life was more clear from the top branch of a tree; when a kid could trade anger and disappointment for action and adventure; when the whole neighborhood was his playground; and the sloppy kiss from a dog could make everything right.


Saturday, August 24, 2019

A Smooth Beginning

When Gramma was a little girl she would mirror most of her mother's activities. Tucker's great-grandma made sure Gramma had all she needed. One item was this.
     Early each Tuesday morning, after all of Monday's laundry had been dampened and rolled up waiting for Great-grandma to get out the old wooden ironing board to press them smooth, she would put the heavy metal object on the right onto the stove top. When it was hot, she would place the handle over it and secure it with the lever in the middle.  As her mother ironed shirts and dresses, Gramma ironed small handkerchiefs and doll blankets.


 Great-grandma's iron was much larger.
 Compare the irons in this photo with the height of the glass oil lamps in both pictures to see the difference in size.

Many of Gramma's toys were miniatures of adult size objects. So are yours and the ones you played with when you were younger.

Make a list of ten things you enjoy using or playing with that are small replicas of items from the adult world. - hint, things like dolls and trucks. Now, come up with ten additional toys that are smaller versions of "real" things. Next, identify your favorite and tell why you enjoy it. Have fun with this one.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Home

   There was a time, Tucker's time, when the house on the corner didn't have a staircase running up the side. But, you'll have to admit, it would have made getting on the roof a lot easier. When he sees the house now, Tucker still calls it "the home-place."

There is a saying, "If walls could talk." The home-place saw nine children grow up under its roof. Gramma and Grandpop had three boys and two girls. Tucker's mother was the youngest. After she died, Tucker's grandparents began again when five-month-old Tucker, his brother and two sisters moved in. If the walls in the house on the corner could talk, what would they say about sixty years of children living there?

Write a story about a conversation the walls in Tucker's house might have about what they saw and heard. You might write something like, "The stairway complained about Tucker sliding down its banister and sometimes jumping down three or four steps. The thud at the bottom hurt the floor boards where he landed." You might include what the house thought about changes to its own shape and size. Add to that, a few paragraphs about the house in which you live and the conversation you might have with its walls concerning its experiences and changes.

Draw at picture of how you would remake your own home and tell why you would change it. When you're done, share the improvements with others, like the "big reveal" on a home improvement cable TV program. Who knows, you too may have your own TV show some day.

Monday, August 12, 2019

What is This?

  Tucker found this in the attic with an old quilt thrown over the top. He couldn't figure out its purpose so he asked Gramma. 
     "It's a skein counter that came down in the family." Gramma smiled as she remembered the  story. "When my grandmother spun wool at her spinning wheel to make thread, her young daughter, my mother, would wind the thread or yarn 40 turns around the arms of the skein counter making a bundle or knot in length. There, she'd tie a little knot in the yarn. She continued this process seven times, making one skein of yarn 560 yards long. When she finished winding it the  proper number of revolutions, the little "weasel" popped out. You can see the nail under the center part where the weasel is located." 
     Children often sang the little song, Pop Goes the Weasel as they wound the yarn. Written in 1853, Pop Goes the Weasel is now in the public domain. Some words use "cobbler's bench," with spinning and counting the skeins, children used these words. Sing along ....
A penny for a spool of thread; a penny for a needle;
A penny for a spool of thread; and, Pop goes the weasel.
     For additional fun, take some yarn and a large crochet hook and make a potholder or other simple item. Just to learn the stitch, use very large yarn and make a single chain-stitch necklace.
A YouTube tutorial will help.  "Easy Crochet Potholders Tutorial - Perfect Project For Beginners."
Have fun!

Friday, August 2, 2019

A Fine Cup of Coffee

Gramma and Grandpop enjoyed their cup of coffee every morning. They couldn't drive over to a Starbucks coffee shop, there wasn't any. They made their own at home. But first, they had to grind the coffee beans. The picture below is a coffee grinder like Gramma would have used. She put the beans in the round opening in the top, turned the crank, and removed the ground coffee from the compartment below by pulling out the drawer.

Let's brainstorm. What would you use the grinder for? Think of three or four other uses for the wooden grinder. Either discuss them or write complete sentences including new, creative uses for the coffee grinder.

 

Thursday, August 1, 2019

#1 New Release Again!

So excited! Tucker McBride is a #1 New Release again on Amazon. Just opened the computer this evening and there it was. Go to Amazon.com, type in Books and Tucker McBride. When the book comes up, click on the picture. The #1 is attached to the inside picture. I don't know how long it will be there.  When it was labeled #1 in July it was up for 24 hours. Check my Facebook page - Doris Gaines Rapp - Author. The picture is there.
You are all wonderful. Thanks so much for buying the book. Enjoy the read, post a review on Amazon, and recommend it to friends. Thanks again.

Tucker McBride and the Christmas Present

  It's December 1, and the stores are draped in red and green. It is the Holidays, the Christmas Holidays. The Christ Child came to brin...