Happy Day, Mothers and Grandmothers

I’m looking forward to enjoying Mother’s Day with my two daughters and two grandchildren, and expecting phone calls from my two sons.   I’m so lucky that I was able to celebrate many Mother’s Days with my own mother and her mother …..

 

…and my father’s mother, Grandma-up-Dayton.

I wasn’t able to know my great-grandmothers, but I’m fortunate to have pictures, history and stories on three of them.  Minerva Alice is shown here with my Grandma Helen…..

I have a picture of Great-Grandma Emily, ca 1869…

…and Granny when she was in her 80s.

As I enjoy the day with my own children and grandchildren, I think about the women who came before me and especially the teenage girl who had me in the middle of the Depression and was an amazing mother and grandmother for the rest of her life.

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone, and happy memories.

 

Dolphin Goes to the Park

Our local township park has several big play areas for kids, but granddaughter Dolphin’s favorite spot is a small lot that has a tire swing…..

….a wooden mountain to climb….

…a nice, slick slide….

….all guaranteed to make a child SMILE.

An April Day in the Park with Rusty

The last two weeks have been spectacularly beautiful in our southwestern Ohio neighborhood.  I took my hound dog, Rusty, to our township park to enjoy the daffodils that line the trail that leads into the woods.  Rusty normally spends 90% of his time in the park sniffing and he wasn’t sure what to make of the pretty yellow flowers.

The trail is a very natural setting, just like walking through the wooded area of an old farm.

Rusty enjoys nosing among the dry leaves, inspecting every tree and bush, and generally giving the park the once-over.

Rusty and I enjoy the park the year-around but I think spring is our favorite time.

Springtime Hoodie

When we visited Holmes County (Ohio) Amish Country last September, I saw some delicious Moda fabric that I couldn’t resist. 

I didn’t know what I was going to do with it until I started thinking about a hoodie for spring similar to the one I made for fall which I liked very much.  I had only bought one yard of each of the Moda fabrics and got enough additional Kona off-white fabric to make the jacket.  I used a pattern I found in my local quilt shop, A QUILTER’S HOODIE #0351 by A Little More Effect Pattern Company, 10736-125 Street, Edmonton T5M 0H1.  The pattern is for an unlined jacket, but I wanted to make mine reversible and basically made the jacket twice and then put it together with a reversible separating zipper.   It turned out to be very comfortable, the right weight for our Southwest Ohio spring weather, and with the colors of April.  This is one view of the hoodie.

This is the reverse side of the jacket.  I like the deep pockets.

Whenever I make a jacket, I use the scraps to make a small purse to carry in quilt shops, antique stores, malls, etc., to avoid lugging around a heavy purse.  This purse has a flip-out section for credit cards/cash and a holder for my sunglasses.

 

Sunny Day Dog Wash

Sunday was so beautiful – sunny, blue, bright, cheerful.  I took my hound Rusty for our early morning walk and was surprised to see a sign taped, of all places, on the fire hydrant.  We got closer to read it and I had to admire the marketing strategy – some teenagers were advertising a Dog Wash. 

For $10 they are willing to wash your dog – provided he is friendly.  That leaves Rusty out – he’s very friendly unless someone comes at him with soap and water. 

It was so nice to be able to walk in the neighborhood and see the grass getting greener every day, the spring flowers starting to bloom and have the weather be warm enough to wear just a light jacket.  It has taken awhile, but spring finally arrived yesterday.

 

An Airport and a Good Lenten Meal

Lunken Airport in eastern Cincinnati has been a popular destination for our family for generations.  When it was dedicated in 1930, it was the largest commercial airport in the U.S.  This photo was taken on a visit to the new terminal in the 1930s, showing my little sister, cousin and me. 

 

I still enjoy visiting the airport, having lunch and watching planes with my youngest daughter and her two children.  They’re just as fascinated as I was on my childhood visits.

In the 1980-90s, my office was across the road from the airport and we enjoyed special lunches at the Sky Galley restaurant.  The first meals served on a commercial airliner (American Airlines) were prepared here.  The Sky Galley is in the original Art Deco terminal building and the ambience is wonderful – lots of airplane memorabilia and a view of the runways where some company jets and many small planes are constantly landing and taking off.  The food is good, plain home-style cooking.  It was a tradition for my oldest daughter to meet me for lunch on Good Friday and to enjoy their special Lenten meal of salmon patties, macaroni and cheese, and scalloped tomatoes.  Now that I’ve been retired for 14 years, I make it a point to cook the same meal several times during Lent and certainly on Good Friday for my two daughters.   I’ve posted the recipes for my version of salmon patties, macaroni and cheese, and scalloped tomatoes. 

In addition to being just plain good food, the dinner brings back memories of grand old Lunken Airport.