Showing posts with label remembering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label remembering. Show all posts

Blast from the Past

Over the past few months my grandmother has been going through some of the things she has kept from her children's lives. Given that she had five children, I am willing to bet that she has lots of memories tucked away!

She found a box of letters my dad wrote home while he was away at college and law school. She gave them to him and he, in turn, sent a few my way - I was dying to get a sense of what he was like as a younger man!

Most of the missives were the usual fare - updates about schoolwork and roommates, requests for money and arrangements for visits.

What really caught my eye was my dad's resourcefulness. Many of his letters were written on the back of scrap paper - presumably from the library waste bin - and he even crafted an envelope out of a page torn from National Geographic Magazine.


If I were to do that today, you readers would assume I was being crafty or trying to be green. Which, inadvertently he was, but it was mostly because he was a poor student and envelopes cost money.

His money-saving technique is so clever I might have to recreate it for my next stationery project!

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's my Dad's birthday and today he is 58 years young.




me and Dad hiking Grandfather Mountain for my 25th birthday

A few things you should know about my Dad:

- He is an avid outdoors man - hiking, camping, backpacking, canoeing, skiing, fishing, biking, climbing, diving - you name it, he's probably done it at least once, and probably better than you. The easiest way to make his day is to mistake him for a Park Ranger and ask him for directions. He will happily whip out his map, tell you not only where to go, but where to stop for a scenic view on the way.

- He is a passionate writer. Like myself, he enjoys writing whether anyone will read it or not. Several years ago he married his passions and started a website, Blue Ridge Outings, where you can find essays and videos from his trips, gear reviews and sign-ups for future adventures.

- He is really, really good at driving a truck in reverse. This sounds like a strange skill to have, but he has it. When you spend your time driving in the back-country searching for streams, campsites or hiking trails you often take a wrong turn somewhere and end up on a narrow dirt road. So narrow, in fact, there is nowhere to turn around and the only choice is go go back out the way you came in... backwards.

- He loves babies. Yeah, most people like babies, but he goes nuts for them. His favorite thing to do is to wave to or make faces at a baby, any baby, and get a drooly little smile. To say he is excited about being a grandfather is an understatement.

The older I get the more I see his traits in myself. As a teenager I would have been horrified by that, but now I don't mind. We have the same analytical (and often stubborn) nature and we have little patience for pretension or social obligations. We share a fondness for bluegrass music and I have been told we have the same amused giggle.

Happy birthday, Dad. I love you!

Funny How The Mind Works

It never ceases to amaze me how the mind works. Sometimes I think and think yet I can't remember something. Other times the tiniest sensation triggers a very specific memory or feeling.

As I mentioned earlier, I got together with family over the holidays to enjoy some homemade bruswick stew. The evening was wonderful. The air was cold but we all ate outside, sitting around a roaring fire. The news of my pregnancy was still fresh on everyone's mind so we were inspired to tell tales from childhood, and many laughs were had.

As the fire died down and the evening drew to a close we began to gather around the food table to pack up leftovers. As I unzipped my tote* to carry home my treasured pints of stew, all of a sudden I felt like I was camping. The combination of crisp air, the smell of a fire and the sound of a zipper against tent fabric instantly transported me back to my childhood and I could have sworn I was at Grayson Highlands with my Dad.

I love that such wonderful memories come back so spontaneously.

*Which I love, by the way.

Remembering: Holiday Favorites

I saw this fun survey over on my good friend's blog, and thought I would post it here. Also, because I have been overwhelmed with unpacking and holiday shopping I thought this would be an easy post. Enjoy!

Favorite Holiday Cookie: sugar cookies, using my great-grandmother's secret recipe.

Favorite Winter Breakfast: I'm not a big breakfast eater, but when the mood hits me I love homemade biscuits with apple butter.


Favorite Winter Meal: Pierogi, a traditional slovak dish. The hubby's maternal grandfather is of Czech descent so this is also a family recipe. It is a treat because it takes days to make and we only have it once a year.

Favorite Seasonal Winter Veggie: sweet potatoes, any way you cook them


Favorite Seasonal Winter Fruit: fresh NC apples

Favorite Seasonal Dessert: eggnog milkshakes

Favorite Holiday Memory: at the church I grew up in, they hold a midnight service every Christmas Eve. At the close of the service everyone lights their candle, the lights are dimmed and we all sing 'Silent Night' by candle light. Magic.



Your Goal this Season: to give consumable gifts, meaning the gift has to be eaten, experienced or used, not just stuff to sit on a shelf.

Favorite Holiday Song: 'White Christmas' by Bing Crosby

Favorite Holiday Movie: I love all Christmas movies but 'White Christmas' and 'Love Actually' are tied for first.













Looking Forward to this Holiday: I am excited about spending our first Christmas in our new house where we can finally get a real tree, hang stockings on the mantle and put a wreath on the front door.

Favorite Holiday Book/Story: 'The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree' by Barbara Cooney. It is the story of a girl and her mother, going through hard financial times, making themselves the perfect Appalachian Christmas.



If you fill out this survey on your own blog, please comment below with a link so I can read yours too! Let's get to know one another a little better this holiday season.

Remembering: Childhood Favorites

In honor of National Corduroy Appreciation Day*, I thought I would take a moment to remember one of my favorite childhood books.


Corduroy is the story of a stuffed bear, named Corduroy because of his overalls, who lives in a department store and comes to life at night. He searches for a new button because he fears no one will take him home with a missing button. The book tells of his adventures and the love of the little girl that finally takes him home in the end. It is a touching story and I encourage you to read it to the little boy or girl in your life.
* I love that 11.11 is Corduroy Day because the repeating 1 "approximates the texture of a cotton fabric with vertical wales."

Remembering: Our First Date

Five years ago today, my hubby went from being just a cute boy to being the other half of my 'us.' Here's our story:

He and I were both in our sophomore year of architecture school and, for the first time, had a studio together. We had been flirting for a month and had done some casual hanging out - playing poker, going to football games - but nothing more. I thought he was cute but I wasn't sure if he liked me.

In studio, the Friday before Halloween, he mentioned he needed help with his costume for the Bash.* I offered to help him so we spent Saturday morning searching through thrift stores. I went home to finish my costume and figured I would see him at the Bash, but then he called and asked me to meet him at his dorm so we could go together.

The Bash was lots of fun - drinking, dancing, merry making - and he stayed by my side all night. When the party was over I was to dru-, uh, tired to drive home so he offered to let me crash in his room. He was a perfect gentleman and just as we were falling asleep I got some extra courage (being 'tired' does that to me) so I sat up and said

"Do you like me?"

"Yes."

"So does that mean we're dating?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want to be dating?"

"Um, I think so."

"Good, then we're dating. Good-night." I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and fell asleep.

We've been pretty much joined at the hip ever since, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Happy five years together! I love you!

October 30 2004 : October 24 2009


*The Bash, short for College of Design's Annual Design Bash, is the best halloween party ever. Design students put way more thought and effort into their costumes than most people, so the costume contest alone is worth going for. One year an industrial design student made an incredibly elaborate Where The Wild Things Are costume, which got featured in the local paper, and if the movie hadn't just come out I might be able to find his picture on the internet. Alas.

Remembering: Patrick Swayze


Patrick W. Swayze
1952-2009


There is a special place in my heart for Patrick Swayze movies. He was ruggedly handsome, masculine yet tender and a bad-boy that your mother would love anyway. And don't forget he could dance, sing and looked fabulous in drag.

I challenge you to find a girl that didn't want to go on family vacations in the mountains on the off chance the dance instructor looked like this*:
And who never got inspired to buy a pottery wheel?**

I can honestly say I have Ghost and Dirty Dancing memorized word for word. Sit me down with my old VHS tapes and I can't help but quote the whole movie. During my angsty teen years I couldn't get enough of The Outsiders. I thought Holden Caulfield was a whiny brat, but Johnny and Pony Boy were more my speed. What would they have done without Darrel looking out for them?


Although I have to say one of my favorite characters was Jim, motivational speaker turned creepster in Donnie Darko. Some speak of Road House as being his most defining role, but that movie never spoke to me like these others. What is for certain is that with Mr. Swayze's passing the world has lost a true legend.


*That is if hoky, family-oriented resorts still existed and had ballroom dance lessons.

**Sadly, hunky man and Righteous Brothers not included.
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