Remembering Ellen

We lived in the same town for just over 3 years and formed a close friendship.  After her family moved we stayed in touch frequently which slowed after we also moved.  When we met or talked by phone we could pick up where we left off.

When we met, she was wife and mother to 10, then mother to 12 and after her move mother to 14.  Eventually she added 22 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.

She was my confidant and coach.  She practiced sharing… you can feed many around your table besides family and there is enough…..love expands and isn’t reduced by loving others.  Her children always had clean clothes and combed hair…and she advocated for all children at school….often room mother for multiple classes.  We laughed together and shed some tears together.

Her 10 years before transitioning from this life to the next she lived with Parkinson’s Disease.  I often wished we weren’t 750 miles apart.  Ellen you lived a good life.

Sanibel Sun

              Sunburn, windburn, shade burn, reflection burn!

Walking, reading, visiting, resting

            

  Exploring Ding Darling Wildlife preserve, shops,

Shelling, eating out, best waffles, best eggs, best key lime pie, best fish, best ribs, best…..

              Meeting Cousins.

Celebrating Linda’s birthday together on the day…probably the first time since we were growing up!

Egg Roll Again

Egg Roll Weekend was announced for April 20 – 22 at Andy’s home…this year his new home.  

This is the 4^th year and the first Joe attended! 

It was delicious!  Both the food and people!  There were 10 of us.  Four years ago, Myles was the only one from his generation.  This year all 4 grands were there!  

The menu included mandu – egg rolls,  

jab chae – beef, vegetable, noodle stir fry, shi gum chi na mul – a spinach beef salad and kim bap – Korean “sushi”.


 Joe didn’t need a sushi bazooka (suggested by two of his siblings) as he deftly rolled the kim bap.

Cooking together, gaming together, napping, playing, visiting, teasing, all make Egg Roll Weekend great!

Mom’s Stash

Mom had a fabric stash but she didn’t call it a stash.   She had always saved material for a future project.  Mom has fabric from her sewing days and from good garment fabrics that she took apart and saved.

Mom didn’t sew quilts until after we were grown – she was sewing our clothes.  I do remember Mom helping her mother tie quilts.

In the 70’s with the energy crisis, she made quilts with wool batting.  I have a red, white, and blue polyester quilt done at the time of the bicentennial and filled with wool batting.

When my grandma died, Mom took her polyester dresses and blended the squares into a beautiful quilt with lavenders.  And I still think of Grandma.

I also have a quilt that Mom made, purchasing the fabric specifically for a quilt.  She and her sister Lillian used the same pattern but in different colors.   It is on our guest bed.

Last summer my sister, daughter, and I started looking over the stash with Mom.  We separated fabric by content.  Her friend took a large part of the wool stash.  I was gifted with many cottons ready for quilts.

I started with 21 inch squares and 11 inch squares thinking I would make quilt tops for Mom’s church quilt group…and the large blocks easily make 60 by 80 quilts.  As I started the process and blending the fabrics I pulled some fabric from my stash and decided I could make 3 quilts from the fabric for my 3 sisters. And by adding a border they would fit a queen bed.  And Mom had enough fabric for the backs of the quilts.   Now my sisters will need to choose which one to take home with them.

This quilt started when Mom gave me one feedsack from her mother. I used the feedsack with other 30’s fabric to make table quilts for each of us – Mom, my 3 sisters, and me.

  Of course, I had a few small pieces left and thus began the quilt for her bed.

Grand Marshal

Son Andy was named grand marshal of the homecoming parade at Luther. He didn’t think he was old enough!

Unbelievably he graduated 20 years ago from Luther.  He started teaching at Tipton, and then moved to Flagstaff to start his Masters.  After being granted his degree, he resumed teaching at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids. Then it was off to Lincoln to work on his doctorate.  After completing his doctorate, he was off to Luther and conductor of Collegiate Choir and Norsemen.  This fall he is conducting Nordic Choir.

Miriam Webster defines a grand marshal as a person honored as the ceremonial marshal of a parade.  My vision had Andy sitting on the back of a convertible…perhaps a Norse blue or white convertible…decorated with streamers.  His sister had helpfully provided a video on 3 royal waves to use. And this is the picture I received.

July Blooms

August and the days are getting shorter.  And so I remember the glorious flowers of July at Loon.

Dancing Memories

Adolph and Marie (my Grandma and Grandpa) loved to dance.  Grandma who grew up in Denmark told my sister Brenda that her mother (Lovise) taught all 12 of her children to dance.

My uncle Kenneth remembers going with Marie and Adolph to dances at the IOOF Hall in Aurelia (1939 -1945).  When the night got late he would lie on the pile of coats and go to sleep.  Uncle Kenny would have been about 8-12 years old.  Often his mom would take him to the dance floor and teach him to dance.

Later his ability to dance served Uncle Kenny well.  He met Aunt Evie at Iowa State University and asked her to a dance at the Union.  They took to the dance floor and she walked off!  Uncle Ken didn’t give up and took her to the ValAire in Des Moines.  There he took her off to the side and taught her some dance steps and she loved it.  And they have been dancing ever since.