Old-School and Grateful

I was rather overtaken with gratitude for my precious mother today. It happened as I was ironing the cloth napkins we used for our family Easter dinner after church. As a girl I remember begging Mom to teach me how to iron...I know, what was I thinking. Anyway, Mom started me on Dads handkerchiefs. No biggie and I was graduated to pillowcases. Yes, I'm gratefully old enough to be part of the generation that didn't have
PERMANENT-PRESS
and EVERYTHING
was ironed perfectly to meet Moms standards. I next learned Moms PRECISE way to iron a blouse and thus I usually did all my own ironing. And if you know how to iron a blouse well you can iron a mans dress shirt.

Many, many years of starching and ironing my husbands shirts (usually 5-6 per week) and the 3 boys white Sunday shirts each week is now a memory. This may speak poorly of me but I use to feel sorry for the men who showed up to church with wrinkly shirts and wondered why their wives didn't take better care of them. Okay, that may be divulging too much of my vanity.

This all leads back to my thanks and tribute to my GREAT mother who did so much well without fanfare to herself and for teaching Cindy, Jody and I the fine arts of homemaking. I fall short of her standards at times but I'm still a work in progress at 64 yrs. old.

Wishing you a happy day, msk

Oh How I LOVE You Mother!

My heart nearly bursts with love for this great, great lady.

My mother dear,

example of

love,

service,

kindness,

charity,

beauty,

order,

flowers,

cooking,

the gospel of Jesus Christ,

family pets,

music

and especially family.

"I Often Go Walking"

Words: Phyllis Luch

Music: Jeanne P. Lawler

I often go walking in meadows of clover,

and I gather armfuls of blossoms of blue.

I gather the blossoms the whole meadow over;

dear mother, all flowers remind me of you.

O mother, I give you my love with each flower

to give forth sweet fragrance a whole lifetime through;

For if I love blossoms and meadows and walking,

I learn how to love them, dear mother, from you.

Happy day, msk

Lunch

A mini loaf of whole wheat bread gifted from Chris O. yesterday...much thanks.

One just-ripe avocado. You know that spreadable stage of ripeness that's soooo good.

Kosher salt sprinkled on with my hand-carved Tyler spoon.

Not shown but on follow-up sandwiches, Sweet 100's tomatoes that Dori picked from the Cindy plant.

Feeling sufficiently suffoncified.

What...you never heard that saying????

Guess you weren't raised by my mom.

The Big Picture

Today was a most fun, picture snapping day. Cindy and I took off and saw such fun and delightful places. I started by driving to Cindy's and I had to show you some of her gorgeous flowers.

And yes, hydrangeas again but just look at these...thee best in town.

Cindy has wonderful success growing just about everything even in pots like these blue berries...

...pearl cucumbers...

...and this is just a small portion of her patio of flowers.

Next we went to the cemetery where Mom is "buried".

Cindy and I had a good long chat with Mom expressing

much love and appreciation.

Jody had to work, drats, but we included her in our conversation and she provided the fresh cut bouquet.

Mom loved flowers too

and this would make her smile.

Just so you can get an idea of where this vault is in the

Rose City Cemetery,

Portland, Oregon (there's a little genealogy info for you kids).

We next went to the Beaumont district and this is SLK's old stomping grounds area. Loved this stained glass window in a darling store where I would have bought just about everything (in my dreams). I actually bought nothing but left behind some drool I think.

I have never been in a small, neighborhood grocery market like this. It was crazy good.

Not only full of grocery stuffs but the cutest decorative items. I love all the fruit displayed in the silver buckets!

We went just next door for bagels and I fell in love with this big screen door. I have wonderful memories of childhood screen doors. This is such a smart thing for the balmy northwest summer days.

As a teenager and just moved to Portland I remember SLK raving about this restaurant Amalfi's. Never went there but I take his word for it's yumminess.

We next headed off for lunch and browsing at

McMenamin's Edgefield (click for more info)

in Troutdale, Oregon.

I'm told the McMenamin brothers have purchased many old buildings and turned them into restaurants, hotels, theaters etc.

The Cracked Pot event was going on and it involved repurposed crafts that amazed me (I hope I haven't already use that adjective). These long strands of paper with calligraphied inspirational quotes were hung on slender bamboo polls and moved gracefully in the slight breeze.

Vineyards and brewery on site. Aren't these grapes terrific.

We ate lunch outside in one of several restaurants, just splendid weather and good to be under an umbrella.

Loved these succulents,

"hens and chicks"

growing in an old rain gutter.

Half "whiskey barrels" filled with flowers everywhere to gladden our eyes.

Great old buildings, lots of hand painting on them and this wonderful ivy covering.

And you know I couldn't pass up blooming artichokes don't you. Lots of bees a buzzing around them.

Hollyhocks that reminded Cindy and I of the ones grown on Grandpa and Grandma Geiss' farm that we would turn into ballerinas.

Apple tree and more hollyhocks.

We parked right up next to this vineyard. I just wish my pictures could give you a fuller scope of all this areas grandeur.

And you can guess that

we talked nonstop,

laughed

and smiled bunches.

A great day.

I'm of course back at Jody's now and she making an onion casserole for dinner...of course she's using Walla Walla sweets. This batch might be a bit on the rough side as there is a whole lot of tearing going on in the kitchen. I bet soon you will find the recipe on Knights In The Kitchen. Sent with love and as usual wish you were with me.

Mothering Instinct

Tomorrow's the BIG day. Oh, maybe at your house it's not big. And then maybe it is. I hope all my darling mom's feel loved and pampered. I hope my boys make them feel so.

Here is something that will be a joy to watch. Can you guess how many times I've watched it? Only two. Enjoy and I send my love and appreciation to my darling girls, sisters, cousins and friends on this Mother's Day Eve.

Chairs

After a wonderful week Jody flew home yesterday, Wednesday. The gardener she is...we had to get another suitcase for her just to get all her plants, lemons and grapefruit home. She returned with a gallon plumbago, 6 pack of mixed vinca and numerous Calla lilies. When we attended the Mesa Temple we passed by the gardening/maintenance building and Jody noticed the "free Calla lilies" sign. We gratefully lightened their load of freebies. And on our way to visit Kathy she told us of her neighborhood garage sale Saturday and we scored with an American Tourister hard side, large suitcase for . . . drum roll please . . . $4.00. I always go through family withdrawal and this time is no different. Thanks for the fun visit Jody.

This morning Skippie brought to my attention (via long distant call - she's gone home too) that I had told her I got kitchen chairs at the killer furniture, clearance sale and yet did not blog about them. I took pictures today and here they are. Please remember that the trusty, old, heavy, solid wood table that all 6 wonderful kiddos were raised around, fed from, did homework on, Cub Scouts met around, etc. will be sanded the painted black soon.

I'm very happy with the chairs. I'm actually fond of that table and all the good memories it holds for me. And I think I'll just take this opportunity to thank Mom for teaching my sister's and me to set a "proper" table or at least the best with what we had and in the correct manner. What a great, great mom I/we have.