As many of you know, my sister Ginny struggles with dementia. Just before lockdown, one year ago, she moved to a memory care home blocks from the house she shares with her husband. I last saw Ginny in November 2019.
My dear brother-in-law is a terrific support and sends photos of his visits. I wanted to share this one and wish all of you a peaceful, loving Valentine’s Day.
On this day of remembrance for MLK, our thoughts are also with our far flung WP friends who grieve a loss. We sit quietly, thinking of separate grief, and desperately hope for peace in the days ahead.
My current research and writing project is a continuation of something started a number of years ago— transcribing letters Dad sent home to his family during WWII and capturing my own memories of summers spent in the Adirondack Mountains.
An aspect of this relates to food— snippets Dad wrote about and things I recall as favorites. These posts will carry the header— as noted above— and all the recipes will be included in their original form. Enjoy!
Blueberry Muffins
One of the traditions at North Lake (Adirondack Conservation area) was a frosty morning dip and a canoe trip to Blueberry Island to pick, of course, blueberries! These berries are the tiny, wild variety and the designated pail would be filled to the brim for pancake and muffin making.
Dad ready to pick berries, circa 1970’sThe blueberry pail that I kept- 50 years onMmmmmuffinsA photo taken by my Dad on an early morning canoe ride
One of the joys of family get-togethers is meeting new members of the clan. 🙂 Russell was part of a weekend gathering at Matthews Lake in Wisconsin, hitching a ride with his Mom and Dad, Tanya and Corey.
My Aunt Norma died last week. She was my Dad’s youngest sister and the last living sibling at 92. Norma brought out the best in people. One of my cousins remarked on this. It was definitely true regarding my father, her big brother, who could be crabby, gruff, silent…you name it. Norma managed to smooth out those emotional wrinkles and made many a Christmas day and time spent at the cabin in the Adirondacks a sheer joy.
Today I took a shot at baking a German Chocolate Cake, one of Norma’s signature desserts; it looks a little odd but it tastes pretty good. Not as good as Norma’s but I wanted to remember and feel close.
Caturday is all about these two…Dylan and Bagheera- but today it is also dedicated to the memory of Miss Egypt, known to us through David of Through The Viewfinder – and all the felines we have loved…
I thought about the idea of ‘ nostalgia ‘ most of the day today. There is great joy in the memory- and the knowledge that weathering the emotional storms allows me to look at the photograph with love.
Dad, Thea (just turned 40) and Andrew (also a 40 something…) at the North Lake Adirondack cabin on an August day 35 or 36 years ago. I took the photo and was a youthful 20- something 🙂