Day 13 of 31 Day Blogging Challenge

Day 13 of 31 Day Blogging Challenge

It is day 13 of 31 day blogging challenge. Time has certainly gone by quickly this month! It does not feel like the month is almost half over. If you’ve been following these posts with me, thank you. I appreciate it. To read my previous posts in this challenge, click here. The prompt for today is my earliest memory. Hmmm… that one is a challenge.

Are you enjoying day 13 of 31 day blogging challenge? Let me know what you think!

My earliest memory

I don’t know if this is my earliest memory, because we’re talking about well over 30 years ago now, but it is certainly a favorite. I remember when my mother and my aunt took me to Toys R Us to see Geoffrey The Giraffe. We stood in line forever, and it was boring. But seeing that giraffe made me sooooo happy. I’ve always loved giraffes, even to this day. That made this experience even better for me. I still make it a point to visit the giraffe exhibit at the zoo as an adult.

Some of my favorite memories as an adult is day trips with Nathan to various areas around the state. One of the greatest things about where we live is the ability to drive 1-2 hours in any direction and see completely different scenery. It is the best part of living in the pacific northwest.

Sports

Sports are a big part of our narrow little world. We drive to Portland to see the Trailblazers play often. One of these days I want to see them play the Golden State Warriors. A favorite has always been watching them play the Boston Celtics. One year for my birthday, Nathan bought tickets to that specific game just for me. We met Nathan’s parents for a great dinner and then all went to the game together. Because they picked up tickets as well. It was a ton of fun to be able to meet up with them and share a great evening of food and sports.

My best friend was a manager at Nathan’s job before his untimely passing. He would get tickets to see a local semi-professional baseball team play in town all the time. Nathan and I were frequently invited to go with him and It was always a fun time to meet up and see a game together. We would go out to dinner and then to the game. The last one we went to with all three of us was my favorite.

After I had my first tattoo session for my memorial sleeve, Nathan and I went back to that same restaurant. It seemed very fitting to pay tribute to our friend. This year we are making it a point to go to a game because I have my sleeve almost completed. It will be like taking our friend with us again. He’s still there with us, if that makes sense.

Other Memories

Let’s see… memories. I never really think about memories unless it is applicable to the time. Like spontaneous kind of thing. I really have trouble with this one. Memories are triggered for me by sights, places, smells, and conversations. It really isn’t something I can just think up on the spot.

When I was a kid I got burnt by a pressure cooker, and badly too. My aunts would do home canning, especially green beans and pickled beets every year when I was a kid. Something I really want to start doing myself. But it was green beans this time. Which have to be canned using a pressure canner.

The difference between a water bath and pressure canning is that foods with a high acid level can be done in a water bath and it kills off germs or contaminants. None of that yucky stuff lives in a highly acidic environment. Foods that don’t have that, such as green beans need a pressure canner to kill off the germs. Pressure canners need to cool down and release the pressure before they can be opened.

Side note, the joy of canning my own food is partially a catalyst for becoming a prepper.

On this particular occasion the pressure cooker was placed outside on the back porch to allow time to cool off. I was a young kid at the time and I was warned about that thing being there and to stay away from it. Playing outside on the back porch, I remember going back inside the house once or twice while it was out there. Being terrified of bumping it or running into it, I walked out around it carefully. After getting distracted by something, I ran back outside and smacked straight into that stupid pressure canner.

The worst part was, it shocked me. Like surprise kind of shock, and I didn’t move for a few moments. This of course made the burn even worse. I was just tall enough it burnt the entire side of my thigh. I’m talented, what can I say? Lol. Or just easily distracted. There are still times that happens to me. I like to hope less often, but it still happens. I have no clue why that has always stuck with me. It isn’t an exciting memory, nor was it really traumatic. It was more just my own stupidity of not paying attention.

Notes

This was day 13 of 31 day blogging challenge. I feel like this is the least exciting post I’ve written during this challenge. My memories are far more spontaneous. I’ll be driving with Nathan and we pass a place and out comes a memory as a result. That is really when I think about memories. Or when I’m looking at pictures. But even then it doesn’t trigger a full story or conversation the same way it happens when we’re driving and talking.