On Friday, I pause and remember a single, wordless moment from the past week – inspired by The Warden’s Log.
Thanksgiving, 1964
Throughout the years while I was raising my four kids (beginning in 1954), I kept a journal where I periodically made notes about holidays, school, vacations, etc. As an occasion arises where I think one of my journal entries would be pertinent, I’m going to post it just as I wrote or typed it back in the day (except for an explanatory note or correction of a typo).
The children will be known here by the nicknames their grandfather used when they were toddlers: The oldest daughter will be Newsie (because she was as good as a newspaper for finding out the latest happenings), the oldest son is Bar (because he called Grandpa’s truck Bar and Grandpa called him Bar), the youngest son is Jackson, and the youngest daughter is Shanty (as in Shanty-Boat).
This journal entry was made 6 years before Shanty was born. We were living in a 1922 house on Maple Drive in Oakley, a suburb of Cincinnati. My mother and father lived at the other end of Maple Drive.
THANKSGIVING DAY, 1964
Bar, 8 years of age, and Newsie, age 10
Jackson, 4 years old
The afternoon sun is bright as it shines on the white birch in the backyard. A gaudy red cardinal perches on the fence while his earth-brown mate pecks at the grass. A great pile of leaves is heaped at the entrance to the hollow, waiting patiently for a push into the woods below. The houses across the hollow are in clear view now that the leaves are gone and our forest of the summer has become an autumn canyon.
Dinner is over and the dishes washed and put away. The turkey was golden brown and only lost its two wings in its transport from roasting pan to platter. The potatoes were perfect, according to Newsie, and the rolls, light. We all ate too much, as usual, while Penny (our dog) whined in the basement, eager to get her share of the feast.
When I look back on Thanksgiving, 1964, I’ll probably remember Newsie busily toasting bread and cutting it into cubes for the dressing; Jackson putting great slabs of turkey on a roll with radishes and making a sandwich; Bar, in his football helmet, either playing football in the street in front of the house or watching the game on television; Frank (husband) lounging on the floor in front of the television after consuming an enormous helping of everything on the dinner table; Grandpa coming through the back door into the kitchen carrying a bowl of half-beaten whipped cream for me to finish up after their mixer had broken; the parades in the morning on TV, the aroma of roast turkey filling the house, the frenzy of getting everything on the table at once, the feeling of gratitude for everything I have.
Lillian – Thanksgiving Day, 1964
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
The End of a Perfect Day
My 79th birthday was such a lovely day – lunch with my two daughters, phone calls from my two sons and my best friend, gifts at my youngest daughter’s house with her family plus her renowned white cake with caramel frosting and watching one of my favorite movies, Breaking Away.
Everything worked out so well this year – the gifts were simply overwhelming. My youngest daughter saved all of her gifts for the big day: flowers, her hand-knitted gifts of placemats, dishcloths, a spectacular long scarf in variegated yarn, and an I-Pod Nano MP-3 player with all of my favorite songs and albums already downloaded for my listening pleasure.
Twelve-year-old grandson Jellyfish picked out a wonderful Scottie cookie jar and paid for it out of his own allowance. Eight-year-old granddaughter Dolphin drew one of her special pictures and cut/folded a 3-dimensional dog, probably a Scottie in answer to her brother’s cookie jar.
My youngest son and his family in St. Louis sent a box full of beautiful dish towels and pot holders – I love anything for the kitchen.
In addition to her daily countdown gifts, my oldest daughter gave me a vintage Jadeite bowl, candle holder, thermometer and glasses; a Scottie covered dish; a crocheted doily in fall colors; and a big stack of fabric samples.
Darlene, my blogger friend in Columbus, Ohio, sent a box jam-packed with wonderful things – quilt binding clips, a sewing kit, cupcake liners, Post-Its, two pieces of fabric, a book, a crocheted doily and a beautiful framed cross-stitch picture.
I came home at 10 PM to another piece of cake and then spent three hours trying to get to sleep – it’s hard to let go of a perfect day.
79th Birthday Countdown – Day 6
My oldest daughter, who lives with me, loves to celebrate birthdays. This is what I found on my kitchen table on Friday morning.
One of her many talents is making jewelry. And, of course, she knows I love horses. There are tiny horse head and horse shoe charms on the bracelet.
Today is my 79th birthday and this is the last of the countdown gifts. It’s been so much fun coming out to the kitchen at 6 AM and finding a new treasure.
79th Birthday Countdown – Day 5
My oldest daughter, who lives with me, loves to celebrate birthdays. This is what I found on my kitchen table on Thursday morning.
This is one of her hand-crocheted doilies in the most delicious colors – the picture doesn’t do it justice.
A BONUS EARLY GIFT
Last evening, I was telling my daughter that I had been disappointed not to find a mini-quilt rack on our recent trip to Amish Country in Holmes County, Ohio. I have been seeing them in displays at quilt shows and in quilt shops, but there were never any for sale. She suddenly left the room and returned with exactly the rack I wanted – she had managed to sneak it out of a shop and into the car while we were in Amish Country. It’s designed to hold up to a 12×15 inch piece, just the right size for a mini-quilt that I’m already planning in my mind.
A Trip to Amish Country (Ohio)
Last week, my oldest daughter and I made a return trip to Holmes County (Ohio) Amish Country. We have been visiting this area since 1998 and always stay at Mel and Mary’s Cottages in Charm. They converted part of their Mennonite farm to cottages for visitors.
On either side of their property are vast stretches of fields and hills. Sitting on the porch, this was my view to the right….. (click on pictures for a clear view of this beautiful countryside.)
…and this was my view to the left….
We had to get a close-up shot of these beautiful horses.
In my opinion, the area ranks right up there with Vermont and Switzerland for having the most beautiful scenery in the world. Around every bend there is another stunning view.
In addition to the peaceful, quiet stay at Mel and Mary’s and the gorgeous scenery, there is a large shopping area with restaurants, quilt shops, gift shops, antique malls, wonderful Amish markets ….. the list goes on and on ….. and amidst all of this, the Amish go about their daily lives in their black buggies with the beautiful sleek trotters.
I got quite a bit of fabric, including yardage and fat quarters ….
And one of my favorite things to buy – a bag of scraps left over from making quilts.
I found one piece of fabric I especially liked – Windham Fabrics Floursack by Whistler Studios (Style #33073). The vintage floursack labels have borders of floursack fabric.
A Google search pulled up several sources for this fabric including Amazon.com and Hancock’s in Paducah, KY.
At an Amish market, we enjoyed huge scoops of homemade ice cream and I found Concord grapes which are difficult to find in our area. I made my favorite Streusel Concord Grape Pie as soon as we got home.
Another beautiful trip to Holmes County.
Happy Thanksgiving
In the 1990s, my oldest daughter and I had a booth at a large craft mall which we kept supplied with a variety of handmade crafts. My interest was in decorative painting. I liked to scour antique malls and thrift shops to find old wooden or enamelware items to paint and sold hundreds of pieces over the years.
Fast forward to 2010 and a walk through the Ohio Valley Antique Mall in Fairfield, Ohio (near Cincinnati). In one of their beautifully decorated booths, I saw a familiar object….an enamelware platter that I had painted in 1996. I had adapted the design from a picture in a school textbook, simplifying it and adding a few items.
I had painted the design on several projects through the years but had never kept one for myself. A week before Thanksgiving, this old platter seemed to call to me to take it back home, so I bought it and after 14 years, it’s on display in my living room.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYBODY.
Granddaughter at her First Grade Thanksgiving Dinner
A Happy Scrap Gift Bag
Influenced by my youngest daughter, our family made a pledge several years ago to go green by having all of our gift bags be of reusable fabric. It takes a lot of bags, especially at Christmas time, but at least three branches of the family have been able to stick to the pledge. The bags are either returned to the giver or are kept for the next occasion.
I wanted to make a different sized bag to hold the Halloween gifts I had gotten for my daughter and wanted to use as much as possible of my huge scrap collection and anything else that could be recycled.
I found two old dinner napkins (16×16 inches) which were very worn around the edges.
I pulled out a big bag of scraps of various sizes in fall colors – orange, rust, yellow, dark red, maroon, green. I wanted to use an old piecing technique that uses a lot of small scraps and started out with a small piece in the center of one of the napkins (scrap piece right-side-up on wrong side of the napkin). Then, I put another small scrap on top of the first piece, forming an angle.
I stitched a 1/4 inch seam, trimmed and pressed the piece open….
…then sewed a piece across the bottom of the first two pieces, log-cabin-style.
I continued around the sides of the block, trimming and pressing each time after stitching. I continued to sew strips until the napkin was filled. I put the strips at different angles to get a wonky look.
I turned the piece over, trimmed the excess fabric around the edges and squared-up the piece. I also trimmed off the worn hemmed edges of the napkin.
Using the completed piece as a pattern, I placed it on top of the second napkin and cut the napkin the same size to form the back of the bag. A piece of recycled cord was sewn to the right-side of the back piece.
The front and back were stitched with a 1/2 inch seam along the sides and back. Then I stitched a facing to the top portion of the bag, turned it to the inside and hand-stitched in place.
The bag was turned and pressed….
…and was ready for filling with something good – and for recycling many, many times.
Gingerbread with Caramelized Apples
About 10 years ago, I copied this recipe from an old 1976 Bicentennial Heritage cookbook before the book was donated to Goodwill. Recently, as I was updating my computer files, the recipe turned up and looked interesting. It was way too high in calories and fat, though, so I adjusted the recipe considerably. My youngest daughter and I enjoyed it for dessert – and it’s just right for these nice autumn days.
GINGERBREAD WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES
For the Caramelized Apples
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 4 cups thinly sliced tart apples (Golden Delicious or Granny Smith)
For the Gingerbread
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup oil (Canola)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 Tblsp. light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup boiling water
To make the caramelized apples: In a large skillet, melt the butter and add 1 cup brown sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add apple slices and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is as thick as syrup and apples are tender.
To make the gingerbread: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, molasses and oil.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, soda, salt, baking powder, 2 Tblsp. brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon.
Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture alternately with the boiling water, stirring just until blended.
Spread the apple mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch ungreased baking dish. Pour the batter over the apples.
Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Increase heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes longer or until cake tests done when a tester is inserted in the center.
Remove pan to wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes…
…then invert the pan onto a large platter, apple-side-up, to continue cooling.
This cake is delicious slightly warm and keeps its soft texture for several days.
Pear Crumble Pie
I started making this pie in 1989, using the Bartlett pears from two trees on our country property. I’ve baked it at least once a year ever since, using pears from the farmers’ market for the last 10 years after having to leave our pear trees behind. The recipe is adapted from one in a 1966 Better Homes and Gardens Pies & Cakes cookbook. It’s a great pie and just right for these early fall days.
PEAR CRUMBLE PIE
- 9 inch unbaked pastry shell (see my favorite recipe here)
- 5 cups pared and sliced ripe Bartlett pears
- 3 Tblsp. lemon juice
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
- Crumble Topping (see below)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Place pears in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix the sugar, flour and lemon peel together and stir into the pear slices. Spoon into the unbaked pastry shell.
Crumble Topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 4 Tblsp. butter, cut into small cubes
Mix together the flour, sugar and spices. Cut in the butter until blended. Sprinkle on top of pear mixture in unbaked pie shell.
Bake in a 375 degree F oven for approximately 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 6 to 8 delicious servings.
