Those pretty orange lilies that grow along the side of the road are my favorite wild flowers. I told my husband the other day that is what I want to find growing on my grave someday.

I do not remember seeing daylilies alongside the road when I grew up. That was something new that I found over here.

One summer when we were living in the trailer, I entertained the Friendly Neighbor Club. That was a club made up of ladies from this area that met in various homes.

I remember celebrating its 75th anniversary so it was around a long time. Even when people moved out of the area they kept up with the Friendly Neighbors. We used to go visit at the Rouse each summer since some of the former residents lived down there at the time. We took ice cream and cookies to treat the ladies when we went.

Some of the ladies from the club lived around the Jamestown area so we often ventured up there. I remember one lady who had a cottage on Chautauqua Lake. The children loved to be able to visit up there. At the beginning we took the children since we met in the afternoon.

One lady did not particularly like having the children around so we began to meet at night. That was an inconvenience for me since my husband was still milking cows at that hour. Then, I entertained, but other than that I did not attend since I could not bring the children.

My month to entertain was July. The day lilies were in blossom. I brought in a bouquet of them to make an arrangement for the table.

I enjoyed those daylilies, picking away the dead blossoms after they opened. After that I frequently made a bouquet for my mother-in-law on her birthday which was at the beginning of July. She enjoyed them as well.

I prefer the wild daylilies. Those orange flowers that resemble horns are just so pretty. I know that there are a lot of tame ones these days, but we tried them and they did not perform well in my clay soil.

I also like brown-eyed Susan’s. I have not had good luck with those either. I have planted them in several beds but they do not keep going. They are there the year I plant them, then disappear. I would be happy to have some of those as well – by my grave that is.

I found a piece called “The Daylily Principle.” It was about what we hold onto. The lady who wrote it complimented the daylily as a glorious flower. Although it lasts just a day, she explained – “God doesn’t have to preserve it just because it’s beautiful. He makes another one just as beautiful in its place.”

What she meant was that we do not have to hold on to everything. When we let go of something another will come along and take its place. That applied to the things she had in her home. I try to remember that and not hold on to too many things. I am not a hoarder, but I do have a lot of old things. I have my grandparents’ bedroom set, chairs from my grandparents’ house, as well as dishes that have been handed down.

A couple years ago my granddaughter helped me clean the china closet. She took some pictures of the cups I have as I told her about where they came from. I also explained some of the other dishes that I have that have a history to them. I think she might be interested in having some of the dishes for her home one day.

I look around and wonder why I have kept some things. Although I seldom use them, they are pretty to look at. I guess that must be it. If I only kept the things that I used I would have a lot more room. Now I have acquired another household of things that have to go somewhere. We have only brought up things that we will use. That is my criteria.

My home is filled with memories of people and events of the past. I happen to like it that way.

From “Guideposts” there was also a 7-Day Weekly Cleaning Plan that I thought was neat. It asks the person to create a routine and write it down. It goes like this:

¯ Day One – a play day with time to read, paint, lunch with friends – in other words — time for yourself.

¯ Day Two – a desk day – time to pay bills, balance your checkbook, answer letters and anything else that needs to be done.

¯ Day Three – first of all dejunk your home. Get rid of the things that you do not need. After that scrub, polish, and wash things.

¯ Day Four – a half-cleaning day – do the laundry, dust, run the sweeper and get rid of the pet hair!

¯ Day Five – a go-fer day – get your groceries, gas up the car, do your banking, go to the post office, and get any other thing you need.

¯ Day Six – a family work day – get everyone in your household to clean their room, mow the lawn, and wash the car.

¯ Day Seven – family play day – do whatever your family likes to do and most of all have fun!

Although my family is small at this point, I may try the new scheduling, but I am not sure how it will work since I do what needs to be done, when it is convenient.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.