Out of the mist your voice is calling, it’s twilight time.
When purple colored curtains mark the end of day,
I’ll hear you, my dear, at twilight time.
–The Platters, Twilight Time
~~*~~
Catherine Soule, or Kiki, graced this world from August 1, 1914 to June 14, 2004.
She sometimes drove with her elbows propped on the steering wheel, her chin resting on her hands.
She smelled like roses.
She loved hamburgers.
Her living room was a sacred place to welcome guests. Everything in it was just so and it was off limits to grandkids. When she got new carpet, we had to take off our shoes and leave our socks on to walk on it.
She grew mint just outside the backdoor.
Before I knew her, she wore little dainty white gloves. I never saw her wear them, but she had a lot of them.
She would visit the beauty shop to get her hair done every week. Immediately following each visit she’d spend a very long time in the bathroom restyling it.
She kept all the greeting cards she ever received in a box under her bed.
She used Scotch Tape at night between her eyebrows to keep frown lines at bay.
She swore that ½ a banana would cure everything from headaches to nausea.
She would prop the end of her ironing board on her bed and lie on it upside down to undo the effects of gravity.
She referred to earrings as earbobs.
She watched Johnny Carson every night.
She once told me to “give the finger” to a person who cut her off in traffic. When I looked over at her horrified she gave me a little wave with her index finger to demonstrate what she meant by the phrase.
One of her favorite songs to play on her organ was Twilight Time. She also would play Love Me Tender.
When I spent the night she’d always tell me I looked like “the last rose of summer” in the morning when I woke.
She taught me to end each day by counting my blessings and praying for loved ones.
She was married to Hiram Soule for 72 years.
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August 1, 2012 at 4:08 pm
skatturcast
She loved to play golf and watch golf on TV. Some of her favorite golfers were, Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus. She loved to watch women’s golf too and Dinah Shore was one of her favorites. Kiki was a huge fan of Dinah Shore and loved to hear her sing. She watched the The Dinah Shore Show whenever it was on.
Another one of Kiki’s favorite TV shows was The Lawrence Welk Show. She would dance around her den with Lawrence Welk and it would always make me smile.
One of her favorite movies was The Sound of Music.
She loved Sunday family dinners.
She loved to bake for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners.
She once looked at me and said, “I see your wearing your uniform again”. It drove her crazy that I always wore white and beige. She always was trying to get me to wear more color. 🙂
She loved flowers and gardening. She loved african violets and gardenias. She would often open the den window in the spring so the house would smell of gardenia.
No one could do the peepee dance like Kiki! (Sorry kiki but I had too) The giggles over the peepee dance I’ll aways remember!
Many many wonderful memories of time spent with Kiki.
August 3, 2012 at 6:05 am
Lunar Euphoria
I could never figure out the interest in golf, but I loved to caddy for her for a couple dollars every now and then. My favorite days were when they rented a cart and I got to drive it.
And the peepee dance! How did I leave that one out?
August 1, 2012 at 4:18 pm
the Devil
Kiki dubbed me “Sam, the Italian”.
August 1, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Christy
Awww…all these memories make me miss Kiki even more.
That 1/2 a banana is my all time favorite kikism. No way were you getting a whole banana..they were neatly cut in half and thats what you got! Tapioca pudding and sardines were more of her favorites. Ice, however was on her list of things she could not have much of, she’d tell a waiter “only a few icecubes” and she’d send it back quickly if it had too many.
She loved a sweet snack before bed.
She had a bedtime beauty ritual that always took too long for the grandchild who was spending the night and wanted to hurry and get in bed.
She loved to play the organ and tried hard to get atleast one of her grandhildren to love it as much. She loved playing Christmas songs, even in the summer.
She tried to teach me to drive but then stopped mid lessons because I scared her (those of you who rode with her…can you believe anyones driving scared her more than her own driving?)
She kept her nose and mouth covered with a scarf a lot of the time because the cold air made her cough..and hiram loved the cold air.
She encouraged time in the sun as it was healthy and she liked us “brown as a berry”.
She lectured, never turn your child upside down or you’d flip it’s liver over!
She loved to travel. Going to Florida and spending time on the beach made her happy.
Most of all, she encouraged us to come over any and all the time..there was always an open door policy for everyone, and we all took advantage of it and spent many a hours in her home. It was a happy place, a safe place..and a place you always felt love.
August 3, 2012 at 6:14 am
Lunar Euphoria
sweets…banana nut bread and lemon squares
…and the few times I drove her somewhere she spent the whole time ducking and leaning away from imaginary almost-accidents while exclaiming “ooo! OO!! AAAAAH! Don’t hit the curb!”
And I remember her fear of flipping the liver…and the warnings about how we were going to catch pneumonia by going outside with our hair wet. She often made me sit under that huge elephantine showercap hairdryer gizmo of hers…and remember those black and grey bristle curlers? I got many of them so knotted in my hair I needed assistance getting them out.
August 3, 2012 at 6:07 am
Lunar Euphoria
You were lucky you got a unique name. The rest of us were called everyone else’s names before she finally remembered ours “Cathy-Lisa-Christina-Tina” was usually the name she called me.
August 1, 2012 at 11:08 pm
Cathy
Thanks for posting this. I’ve thought about mom several times today… my memories are a bit different….
The vacations mom and I took alone, the dozens of weekends spent with mom and dad at the lake I will forever remember as some of the most wonderful times of my life….and sadly her last trip with us to the lake with Corky carrying her down to the boat for what would be her last boat ride…..
The stacks of pizza pans in our freezer waiting for the neighbors to order their pizza for her to make ($5.00). The dozens of trips to Florida or the Smokies as we grew up… her never ending attention to detail (what’s that dot on your cheek-barely visable) or getting that last hair in its perfect place, she ironed everything and pretty sure i remember her ironing sheets…she kept an immaculate home…and she was so funny.. never intending to be..but she laughed with us as we laughed at her…she was ultra sensitive to others…. she made my clothes and they were beautiful, Easter was special and I always looked so pretty under her hand… we were not rich….but we WERE rich…. she drove me to elementary school each wintery morning while i sat in the floorboard of the car where the heat blew out…many many trips to the zoo where we played on the swings and ate lunch on a blanket…she was ever present and so trusting… i don’t think i can remember her speaking a bad word about anyone ever… and the most important things she ever said to me were “you are no better than anyone else…but no one is any better than you”…and “you can do anything you put your mind to”… I heard that over and over…i watched her through the dresser mirror as she fixed my hair each day… she was tender and a blessing to daddy… I hear her calling across the neighborhood to come to dinner…Katrinaaa … I never remember her spanking me.. nor do i remember her telling on me except maybe once… Daddy fell in love with her immediately..he said so. She was beautiful with her olive complexion and petite size… she was traditional….she gave to her children when she had little to give… she never cussed well except when she became old…i think several of us saw a bit of a different side… that spunky inner girl speaking her mind finally…If I could have picked a mom… I would have picked her…and lets not forget the half hour she spent in the bathroom each night using half a dozen creams on her face…cleansers, freshners, lotions, wrinkle creams, eye wrinkle creams and on and on……… her love for my father was unmistakable, he was her king…she cared for him in ways women have long since forgotten…he was the love of her life. She left a legacy of old school behavior… those of us who grew up with her learned more than we can remember but it reveals itself every now and again…….i hear her often and I will occasionally eat that half bananna……. RIP mom I love you.
August 3, 2012 at 6:16 am
Lunar Euphoria
Made me cry. Twice.
August 4, 2012 at 2:59 am
Cathy
Thats ok I cried for an hour after i wrote it..
August 2, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Kathy
You are the last rose of summer, my dear. Your grandmother was the first rose of spring. What stretches between you are petals…many petals…
August 3, 2012 at 6:18 am
Lunar Euphoria
🙂 sweet
Definitely a sweeter image than the one I conjured, which was a bedraggled rose with a few crispy brown petals left hanging on for dear life….
August 9, 2012 at 7:42 pm
Carey
First I am sorry I haven’t been able to stop long enough to comment on this. Tina thanks, I really enjoyed reading these. They bring back memories so vivid I almost feel there. Where do you begin, I knew this would be an undertaking. I have so many memories of her.
First and foremost, I remember her kindness and giving. I never met a sweeter, kinder person. Well except for once….we will get there J
Sundays were for gathering to swim and eat burgers or spaghetti. There was always a house full of people. After lunch if you were still hungry, Kiki would try to give you different things to fill you up because Hiram would NOT let you have more than 2 burgers. That was wasteful! So then the half banana, sometimes a salad or my favorite peanut butter with crackers dipped in milk would be offered.
When I was real small she would sit me in her lap in the rocking chair and scratch my back until I fell asleep. She would be watching golf, Lawrence Welk, Doris Day, Bing Crosby, or the like. I would always wake up in the floor wondering what happened. When I got bigger she just started me out in the floor below the rocker.
She did love the organ. I do think all of us could play at least a little.
Putting up her tree and lights at Christmas and all the Holidays we spent together, are some of my favorite memories.
Sitting in the “restricted Den area” watching old home movies on the projector, she loved. I may have enjoyed that more than her.
Oh the driving, oh oh oh. She used to let Roy, Sherry, Lisa, and I sit in the front driveway with the emergency brake up and practice shifting gears so we would learn how to use a clutch. Her driving stressed me. I will never forget coming out of the car wash on Jackson/Austin Peay. Up until the other day I don’t recall telling anyone this story. As we rolled out of the car wash we began to roll toward the highway. I’m saying Kiki brakes; we need to hit the brakes. She exclaims,” I AM HITTING THE BRAKES THEY ARE OUT!” As I brace for impact I look down at her feet and she is just a pumping the clutch like crazy! I scream Kiki that’s the clutch!…again “THE BRAKES ARE OUT!”. I brace, shhhhwacccckkkkkkk, we roll into heavy traffic immediately losing the front end of the Mustang II. All traffic stopped and everyone was fine, thank heavens. Hiram of course came to get us. She begins explaining to him the brakes went out, and like the incredible grandson I was, agreed. I think Roy was the only person I shared that with at the time. And what thanks did I get for having her back, you ask??? A switching! (well at a later date, but still!) I had to cut my own switch 3 times! The first two weren’t good enough. I guess I should have realized that I should have bowed when the CHOSEN child was around and throw rose pedals under his feet…..ROY! He and I were outside horsing around like normal. We are joking and calling each other names and punching and such. As I’m walking in the door, I yell back at him my retaliation name, using what I thought was creative and swift, “Big nose ROY”! All fun and games right? No one lost an eye and lord knows he was calling me far worse. OHHHH NOOOOO….hence forth this will be called the “Wrath of KIKI!”. No matter how much I tried to convince her we were playing, she was having none of it. Her golden child had been insulted and the price must be paid, the currency of choice? Carey’s hide! To the rack! After the horrendous beating, I regained consciousness underneath the rocking chair; I was taken back by the familiar view. This prompted me to wonder if this had occurred before! I’m just kidding, I only bled a little J It’s really funny now but it wasn’t then!!! We fellas had a different treatment, well all us except Roy. While you ladies smelled like roses, Roy probably too, I once told her my ear was ringing so loud I couldn’t hardly hear anything and I was scared. She told me it was good for me, have a half a banana :P. I miss her dearly, she was a fantastic lady and I feel very lucky she was my grandmother.
August 9, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Redrapsody "CAROLE"
To All the Family,
I have to agree that Mom was a very special mom. She was loving, kind and always thought of her family. I remember from the time I was probably 6 years old going shopping with LaNell, Mary Ann, and Mom at Lowensteins, Goldsmiths(where their mom, “Little Mother” worked), and many other stores. We always went to the bargin basement and I would climb under the tables and rest and hide and play with either JoAnn or Ray or Paul. Then we would go to the Krystal and eat hamburgers and drink Cokes, Hmmmmm about those Cokes back then????? LOL Maybe we all drank too many. But they always laughed, and laughed, and laughed. As I got older, I laughed and laughed too. When we got together we all laughed ’til we were tired and so crazy. They knew how to have a great time together and they were so close. They loved each other and us so much. Mother was the quieter one, LaNell was the stricter one, and Mary Ann was the life of the party always. One time when I was in the 3rd grade I ran away from home and mom followed me as I walked about 1 mile in the dark ’til I got real tired and scared. She then pulled up beside me and never said a word, nor did I, but couldn’t get in the car fast enough. She never said another word about it nor did I. I was soooooo glad to see her. Mom was always thoughtful and kind. When I first married Roy Sr. she would pick me up everyday and we would do something with Mary or LaNell or both or just each other. To all you folks who think Roy Jr. was her pet….You are right…He was, but only because she saw him alllllll the time. However if it came to a showdown she loved us allllll! She kept us together by her love, her cooking, her pool, her shopping, her bananas, her thoughtfulness, her kindness, her giving of herself in so many ways. She made me clothes my friend Sarah still talks about today, 56 years later. Sarah recently mentioned how pretty the clothes were my mom made for me. She was truly the woman written about in Proverbs:
Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. Proverbs 31:10-31.
Can be read at: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+31%3A10-31&version=KJV
August 9, 2012 at 10:09 pm
Lunar Euphoria
You used to make me go to the lady’s luncheons. Picaddilly and Morrisons were frequented.
August 9, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Lunar Euphoria
Carey, I’m so glad you stopped by to read the blog – and even more importantly to share your Kiki memories! I can totally picture her pumping the clutch instead of the brake.
Your recounting of the “horrendous beating” is too funny. It’s hard for me to even imagine the Wrath of Kiki!! I never saw it. Of course I was the youngest in the batch so by the time I came along she’d probably chilled out a lot. 🙂 And yeah, no doubt that Big Nose Roy was her favorite. We all knew it.
Was it you or was it Big Nose who fell out of the car rounding the corner on Lehi? Haha! That particularly story has always made me laugh.
I hope you can come out to “the farm” soon! I heard you had some cannibal chickens you want to unload on me…I’m worried.
August 11, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Carey
LOL…they arent cannibals. They eat the eggs but only the other chickens not their own. They lay the dark brown and sometime speckled eggs. They will be good with just those 4. My others they are with lay the green and blue. The Morans must like the flavor.
The being flung out of the car was me! I had a road rash like you wouldnt believe. I might still be rolling if it werent for the sudden stop by the curb!
August 13, 2012 at 4:12 am
Lunar Euphoria
Do you think your mean chickens will live peacefully with the ducks? They’d have to coexist with them in the coops. Will they try to eat their eggs? I’ll take them, but if they start messing with Kiki & Hiram’s or P. King & Queen’s offspring I’m going to return them! I don’t want any bad chicken mojo!!
And why haven’t you called me?!
August 17, 2012 at 6:12 pm
Dana
What a beautiful, beautiful post. Kiki sounds like an amazing woman. My mother in law suggests honey as a remedy for everything, but now I’ll have to take a 1/2 banana as well. 🙂 RIP, Kiki
August 18, 2012 at 10:11 pm
Lunar Euphoria
I was pleasantly suprised and deeply moved by all the comments on this post. It is so interesting to see the memories of Kiki from the lens of two generations. It’s neat how we each remember similar things, but also how she touched our lives in specific and personal ways. Her legacy and light live on.
July 23, 2014 at 8:39 pm
Aging…Gracefully? A Tribute to Kiki | My Little Spacebook
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