September Book Report

A "light" reading month for me. Probably because two of the books read were more lengthy than usual.

Fadeaway Girl by Martha Grimes is the 4th in her Emma Graham series. Twelve-year-old Emma is still trying to solve old (and some new) murder mysteries as well as writing for the local paper. I'm guessing she is Grimes younger self, personified.

Foul Matter by Martha Grimes is a publishing world crime spoof - a 'get even' book for her own dismissal from her first publisher?

Ireland by Frank Delaney is the audio book my friend Kristina was listening to as she journeyed from Arizona to Wisconsin. She recommended it as a good read, but suggested I listen to it, too, as Delaney's Irish voice as he recorded the audio version was part of the charm. I'm not a 'listening' kind of reader - I need to actually read to get all the enjoyment from a book. But I did listen to a sample of Delaney reading to get an idea of his voice. That was when I discovered that he died earlier this year. Ireland is the telling of many Irish myths and history by a traveling storyteller. My favorite chapter was "Where My Soul Travels" which describes some of the land's beauty and reflects upon the old storyteller's life.

Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts relates what happens when a man learns, after his parents die, that he was adopted. He travels from LA to Oklahoma to confront his mother and find out why she abandoned him. When he discovers she was murdered in 1972 and her baby (him) disappeared and was also presumed dead, he sets out to find her killer as well as who his father is/was. Billie Letts is always a good read. This was one of my Friends of the Library book sale purchases.

To Helvetica and Back by Paige Shelton is the first in her "A Dangerous Type Mystery" series. It was okay, but I doubt I will read more. She apparently authors several what I call, "quick little mystery read" series. (My least favorite read this month.)

The Five Bells and Bladebone by Martha Grimes is an older (1987) Richard Jury novel - my last of her books to read at our library. I'll just have to wait now until she comes out with a new one - that and seek another author of her caliber.

The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly is set in London in the late Victorian era. Jack the Ripper is terrorizing East London in 1888. A young woman works in a tea factory to help out her family and to save for her marriage to her childhood friend/sweetheart. Plans go awry and she ends up fleeing to New York where she builds her own tea company. The story ranges from London to New York and back to London. It is a lengthy book, but well written and interesting, if a bit far-fetched at times. One of my favorite reads this month.

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly was my introduction to this author. It is a YA book I bought at last year's FoL book sale and my favorite read this month. A young woman being raised on a farm in the North Woods of New York in 1906 takes over family responsibilities after her mother dies. Her teacher recognizes how intelligent she is and encourages her to apply for a college scholarship.
The book realistically tells what it was like at that time - when a dime was a lot of money, when being smart and wanting more out of life was frowned upon if you were female and you had to choose between the traditional wife and mother role and going for your heart's desire. There was much to love about this book, and I do.

Of Pillows and Cushions

The final four; stuffed and just waiting for the hand stitching to close. I had to order the pillow forms which was a good thing. Not only are they very good quality, they were less expensive. And I learned this:

Inside the packaging was a card from the company, Fairfield World, Danbury, CT. One side tells one of their 'We Make For Good' stories and the other side invites you to submit a story about yourself or of another crafter whose creation benefits a good cause. Featured crafters may be eligible for a product grant to help them continue making for good.
I think clicking on the picture will make it clear enough to read. I know if I were a crafter, this is where I would send for all my stuffing needs. They also have a Facebook page. You should see the darling cupcake idea for a Halloween costume. It makes me wish I were a crafty person!

Another view of the pillows which were stitched (candlewicking) by my Grandmother, Delphia. This one shows the wall hanging (made for a window) which was crocheted by her mother, my Great-grandmother, Matilda Means. Now I wish there had been seven pillows so I would have one, too. I suppose I could keep one for myself, but I won't. These are going to my granddaughters as intended.

Now for the cushions. Ta-da. Kiwi for the patio.....

.......and Aloha Black for the deck. I still need to locate a coordinating umbrella, but with so many color possibilities, that shouldn't be too hard.

I can even mix and match. I realize we won't get a lot of use from them this late in the season, but by waiting I got all six cushions for slightly more than what one cost last spring.
Just think how nice these are going to look when we re-stain the deck next year. (Insert Happy Emoji.)

As Different As .....

Day

and Night

Sunrise, top, and sunset, bottom, 27 September, 2017.

When we were growing up I used to think that because we were sisters and close in age, Betty and I thought alike. Let me re-phrase, *should* think alike. It was around the time we were the ages of ten and eight (me on the left, she on the right, cousin Janet between), that I realized we didn't always. And because I was older, I expected her to think as I did.
Oh, boy, the disagreements and fights such beliefs caused.

It wasn't until she was a senior in high school and I was married that we really started getting along. When we both became young mothers with little boys it was time of mutual caring and understanding.

Would that it could have lasted.

I get so nostalgic this time of year, the time between her birthday, September 23 and the date of her death, October 14.

    ....The difference between day and night.

Store Bought Clothes

Last weekend my younger brother went home with a box of negatives our older brother found when he cleaned out the wash house at our folks' before the farm sale.
Les has a scanner that works with negatives and he has been sharing some of the results of his efforts. The above picture is of our mother, Ruth, and her sisters, Lois and Evelyn. (We haven't yet definitively identified the little boy Aunt Evelyn is holding.) Looking at the dresses they are wearing, Les wondered, "Could they afford store-bought clothes?" I told him I remembered reading in Mom's diary from that time that they did, indeed, buy some of their clothes.

Here is her entry from September 24, 1936: "Done up the work. Went to Villisca, Clarinda and Shenandoah. Lois and I sold our calves. I got $9.50. Lois got $11.50 for hers. Got us some new clothes."
And the next entry, the 25th: Lois and I sent for us some new slippers and pocket books. Evelyn sent for a new blouse."

Perhaps the one she has on in this photo? I love seeing these old pictures. They are such treasures.

And how well I remember ordering clothes from the catalogs when I was young. Just as Grandma Delphia made most of her daughters' clothes, our Mom also made most of mine and Betty's. But for some fancier duds for special occasions, it was exciting to order those store bought-clothes.

Mom's Hankie/Recipe Box

Yesterday I was thinking about making an apple crisp. Instead of looking up a recipe online, I decided to see if there was one in Mom's recipe box.

This is the box, which, when I was a kid was her hankie box. It sat on top of her dresser in the bedroom. It was large enough to hold her many, pretty, dainty handkerchiefs as well as Dad's every day red and blue bandannas and his good white men's hankies.

When I first learned to iron clothes, Mom started me out ironing the handkerchiefs. I still remember putting them away after ironing, in this box.

In her later years, Mom used the box for recipes. She loved cooking and baking and she never met a new recipe she didn't want to try. Even though this box is full, it isn't nearly all the recipes she had.
A cousin asked me if I had any of our Grandma Delphia's recipes so I went through all of these and took out the ones I was certain were in Grandma's handwriting and gave to her. Now I kind of wish I had kept some of them. (I also REALLY wish I knew the origins and intended use for this box. The fact that can be locked intrigues me. I don't remember it ever being locked.)

I didn't find a recipe for apple crisp, which is okay, I'm out of the mood to make one now. But, just for fun, I pulled a couple recipes from the two sections with the most cards.
The first, Salads, and the recipe is one from my sister-in-law; not surprising because she was an excellent cook and liked trying new dishes about as much as Mom. This one is labeled "Ruthie's Jello Salad":
1 pkg Orange Jello
1 C hot Water
1 C evaporated Milk
1 303 can fruit Cocktail
1 C Cottage Cheese
1/4 C Mayonnaise
1/2 C Chopped Pecans
Dissolve Jello in hot water, cool slightly. Stir in Milk, cool till partially set. Fold in rest of ingredients.

I have typed this out just as she wrote it and while doing so, noted how she capitalized the main ingredients. I am going to have look to see if that was something she usually did in order to emphasize them.

The recipe on the left is from Cookies. When I first glanced at it, I knew it wasn't Mom's handwriting. Then I took a closer look - it was one I gave her! The note says: "Made at Christmas Time, 1965". Oh my gosh. I don't even like cooking and baking, yet, at that time, as a young wife and mother, I did make an effort to be housewifely. The funny thing is, I remember copying this recipe from a Karo Syrup ad: "Karo Lace Cookies":
1 C. Sifted Flour                                   
1 C. Chopped, flaked Coconut or Nuts
1/2 C. Clear Karo Syrup
1/2 C. Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Margarine
1 tsp. Vanilla
Mix flour and coconut. Combine syrup, brown sugar and margarine in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; gradually blend in flour mixture, then vanilla. Drop by scant teaspoonfuls, 3 inches apart. Bake at 350° 8-10 min. Cool 3 to 4 min. until foil may be easily peeled off. (Apparently I left out the direction to line the cookie sheet with foil.) Makes about 4 dozen. (Ha!) That's what I wrote, so I must have meant it did not make that many - or maybe it meant it made much more?
Just as I remember copying the recipe off, I also remember how these cookies turned out - the lacy look of them. And the reason I didn't recognize my handwriting at first was because it was so much neater then than it is now.
I think I will keep these two recipes out and make them someday soon. I always get in the mood to cook and bake after we head into fall - when the weather turns cooler. I may even look into that recipe box and see what else sounds good.

The Rainbow Connection

There's a park on the South side of town that I rarely think of. I remember it from fifty-some years ago because my sister lived near it and would take her toddler there to play. I think I remember going to her house once and she and I took our boys, Mike and Doug, to the park.

This may or may not be the house they lived in. I just remember it as being on the east side of the park. I was on that side of town this morning and decided to stop at the park and look around.

I always wondered why it was called Rainbow Park. I found out why. Originally it was named South Park and is the city's oldest park. It was renamed Rainbow Park to honor WWI Company C, 168th Infantry Battalion, 42nd (Rainbow) Division.
But why was it known as the Rainbow Division? Because it was comprised of National Guard units from twenty-six states, Colonel Douglas MacArthur remarked that "the 42nd Division stretches like a rainbow from one end of America to the other".

The park encompasses a city block with these arbors at all four corners. I wonder if they would like some Cardinal Climber seeds for next year?

When I first got there, this older gentleman was walking around picking up trash with one of those hand held reachers. I wouldn't be surprised if this is something he does almost every day.

A plaque on the bandstand reads: "In honor of Charles A. Hayden, Founder and Director of the Creston Municipal Band, 1921 - 1953".

Centerpiece of the park is the 116 year-old fountain which has been restored. I remember thinking it was called Rainbow Park because of the rainbows created when the fountain was running. It seems to me like it was a wading pool when my son and nephew were little. I'm sure there wasn't a fence around it then.

Close up of the fountain. The park has a playground, picnic shelters and is surrounded by mature shade trees.

With evidence of at least two old trees which had to be cut down. From the shoots growing up around one of them, I think they were Poplars.

We live so close to McKinley Park that I don't even think about going to Rainbow Park, but maybe next time we have great-grandkids visiting we should consider taking them there to play.

Homecoming Weekend Reunion

Last Sunday, thanks to the Facebook 'On This Day' feature, I was reminded that five years ago my younger brother was here for his class reunion. That 'made the penny drop' - the 'Class of 1972 Reunion' info I had been seeing was HIS class. I sent him a message: "Are you coming? Do you want to stay with us?"
As the week progressed more messages and phone calls jelled the plans. He would stay in Corning with our older brother, but thought we should get together because "It's been seven years since we were all in the same room" and "you never know, it might be our last time."
One of the Homecoming Weekend activities in our old hometown was a tour of the Opera House which was featuring a photography exhibit. We agreed to meet there. Ron and I had seen the Opera House since its resurrection and refurbishment, but Les had not.
I love looking at art work, paintings, photography, sculpture, whatever. It interests me. But the exhibit wasn't just current photographs, there two long rows of tables with old black and white photos, most 8 x 10's. The sign asked for help in identifying people in the photos.
Looking at those old pictures, trying to recall the names of once familiar faces was so absorbing I forgot to take pictures of the pictures or of the Opera House. Between Ron and I, we managed to identify quite a number of people - quite the trip down memory lane.

From there, we went to lunch, where I did remember to get the camera out. It was fun being with my brothers, doing the reminiscing thing you naturally do and noting that we were together on what would have been our sister's 72nd birthday.

Les was attending his 45th class reunion dinner last night, where I'm sure he had a good time. My good time was the reunion with my brothers, Homecoming was just the vehicle.

Autumn Light

The light of Autumn is here
Illuminating the gold of leaves
Perceptibly it moves South

As day subsides
In the sunset of evening
Three hawks flap home

A slender new moon rises
Unveiling the beauty of night
The light of fall is here

When Bright Flowers Bloom

"When bright flowers bloom
Parchment crumbles, my words fade
The pen has dropped......."
   (Morpheus)

"A fairy seed I planted,
So dry and white and old,
There sprang a vine enchanted,
With magic flowers of gold."
   (Marjorie Barrows) 

"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.
My garden of flowers is also my garden of
thoughts and dreams.
The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers,
And the dreams are as beautiful."
    (Abram L. Urban)

                                        Welcome, Autumn.

Shades of Home Ec

It's like being a freshman in Home Economics all over again with the first unit on sewing. (Yes, I still remember that apron and the grade I received.) Even though I bought a new sewing machine a dozen or so years ago, I only used it a time or two. Now that I want to get those pillows finished I can't find the instruction booklet, I've forgotten how to thread the machine and when I brought it in from the garage I found a dead mouse inside it. Ugh!

Funny that I have set up my sewing machine in front of the same window the previous owner had hers when we first looked at this house.

Two down; two to go. They are stitched together, ready for the pillow forms (I had to order them online, they'll be here Monday) and closing stitches.

Now that I've "started sewing again", I wonder if I'll get enthused to keep going? I used to make a lot of my own clothes. Haunting the fabric stores was a favorite pastime; choosing a pattern and then just the right material.

Too often my enthusiasm waned and I ended up with a lot of material. I sold all of it when we had the farm sale - except for this piece of a very nice wool I bought at a garage sale in Des Moines YEARS AGO. I was always going to make it into a throw cape - a longer version of the brown one I made and love.

It's such a pretty heather color in a herringbone pattern. I know I'd love wearing it. Surprisingly, after all these years, the moths haven't gotten to it.

Who knows, maybe now that Hillary is bringing the caftan back in style, I might even make another one of those to replace the one I made in 1972 and wore until it fell apart.

Wouldn't (my home ec teacher) Mrs. Poindexter be surprised?

The Dragon Fountain

This painting, La Fontana Dei Draghi by Ettore Roesler Franz, was one of my daily puzzle choices - one I just had to work because of its soft colors, theme and those two white doves. As happens when the subject of one of my puzzles interests me, I hit the 'explore' button.

Forget the Trevi Fountain. Who needs it when you could have The Four Dragons and all the other fountains found at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli?

The Fountain of the Dragons was designed by PIrro Ligorio to illustrate the story of Hercules fulfilling one of his labors by stealing the golden apples of the Garden of the Hesperides, which were guarded by the dragon Ladon. The same story is illustrated in frescoes in the interior decoration of the Villa.

The fountain is located on the central vertical axis of the gardens, aligned with the Villa, and in the center of the original garden. just below the Hundred Fountains. It is enclosed by two semi-circular ramps which lead to the level above. The walls of the ramps around it are covered with pebbly tartar and ornamented with bands of mosaic and majolica tile, and contain two larges niches. Ligorio planned this fountain to illustrate the theme of war and combat against evil; he intended that one niche would be occupied by a statue of Hercules with his club, before he killed the dragon Ladon; and the second with statues of Mars, the god of War, Perseus, and gladiators. In the center of the fountain is a small scogliera or island, which holds four sculpted dragons, which jet water from their mouths into the fountain, while a powerful central fountain shoots a column of water vertically high in the air, visible from all around the garden This idea of a vertical jet of water as the centerpiece of the garden was copied in many baroque gardens in the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition to the dragons, two sculpted dolphins spray water across the pool. More water flows down from above, running in channels attached to the parapets of the ramps. The water emerges from the breasts of two sphinxes- half-women, half sea horses; flows down a channel, enters the mouth of a sculpted frog, and emerges again through the mouth of a carved salamander. In keeping with the theme of combat against evil, in Ippolito's time the fountains also produced dramatic sound effects heard throughout the garden; water kept under pressure was suddenly released, imitating the sound of fireworks or cannons firing. To make more noise, the flow of water from above could also be from a fine spray to a heavy downpour.

Ippolito had the fountain altered for the visit of Pope Gregory in 1572. The dragon with one hundred heads was replaced by four dragons, the family emblem of the Pope. Ippolito died three months later, and the fountain was still not completed. It was not finished until late in the 17th century with a different sculptural program; Instead of a statue of Hercules, a statue of the god Jupiter holding lightning bolts in his hands was placed in the central niche. The cannon-like sound effects from the fountain now were meant to be the sound of his thunderbolts. (Copied from Wikipedia)

Darn. Now that I no longer feel up to traveling, I keep finding all these interesting places I'd like to visit. Sad.

Of Unknown Name

The title of this sculpture is Anonymous. It is the work of Ligeti Miklos (or Miklos Ligeti) and is located in City Park in the courtyard of Vajdahunyad Castle, Budapest, Hungary. Never in my life did I think I would be interested in visiting Budapest until we started watching House Hunters International and I took note of how interesting the two cities of Buda and Pest are.

The statue represents the first medieval chronicler of Hungary - Anonymous because historians have been unable to decide who the storyteller was, other than he was a monk.

The statue makes me think of the Grim Reaper, except instead of the scythe, Anonymous holds a stylus. Perhaps that is why I am drawn to this sculpture - the pen being mightier than the scythe.

JT - The Troubadour

James Taylor came along just a little too late for me to be a huge fan of his. I don't think I even began appreciating him and his music until about ten years ago. So why on earth did I dream about him early this morning?

In the dream he was managing a construction crew remodeling a house? office? business? for us. When I realized who he was I took a couple photos of him, thinking I would send them to one of his big fans - a woman whose blog I follow. Then I thought, "Well, if I approached him and mentioned one of his songs and said how much I liked his singing, I could ask to take a selfie with him". But I couldn't think of any of his hits. It was so frustrating because I really wanted a picture with him so I could show off by sending it to Deb (the blogger). I knew she would be envious.

Deb hasn't mentioned James in her blog for quite awhile and I certainly haven't consciously thought of him lately. The construction aspect of the dream probably came from talking with my daughter yesterday and hearing about her day volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity build site. Trying to figure out why I would dream about a celebrity I rarely even think about stumps me.

But it did prompt me to revisit some of his hits I do remember, like Fire and Rain, You've Got A Friend, Something In The Way She Moves, and How Sweet It Is. And I know my son would concur with this quote from JT: "Being on a boat that's moving through the water, it's so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what's important and what's not."

While I identify with this one: "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time".

Pillows By Delphia

Friday I posted this photo of my Grandma Delphia and me on Facebook saying it was 26 years ago today that she died. My granddaughter Katrina gently corrected me, reminding me that we were in the month of September not August. Geesh.

What had prompted the whole exchange was a pillow I had taken to Katrina the day before.

This candlewick pillow, next to Brynley, the top of which had been worked by my Grandma. I asked Katrina if she had any memories of her great-great grandma, which she did not, though she has a five-generation photo of us with her as a baby, on her fridge. She wondered how old she was when Grandma died. I looked it up the next day, Friday, the 15th. Seeing the date of Grandma's death, August 15, 1991 and immediately thinking, "Wow, 26 years ago today", which was when Katrina replied, "Lol, Grandma, it's September!"

Grandma Delphia was adept at all kinds of needlework, crochet, embroidery, tatting, cross-stitch, crewel, etc. Candlewicking was a form of whitework embroidery most popular between 1790 and 1845. It became popular again in the 1980's and I was much a fan of the white on white designs. If I bought some pillow kits would Grandma work them for me?
Grandma wasn't too sure about it, but, for me, she would attempt them. I ended up with six pillow kits beautifully worked in the design of three tulips. Over the years I have debated what to do with them. Make them into pillows? Work them into a quilt design?

It finally occurred to me: I have one daughter and five granddaughters. I would make a pillow for each of them, a remembrance from their Grandma Delphia.

Last year when Kari was here for Christmas in July, she was going to help me make the pillows. We didn't get that done, but she did take her pillow top home with her and completed it. She sent me the picture of it on her bed with some of her stuffed friends.

Now that I have completed the first pillow (well, actually Katrina completed it after we got the pillow form and she stitched it closed) I have the impetus to complete the other four. So, soon, Alyssa, Kathryn, Deise and Dominique will receive the pillows that were hand-stitched by a great-great grandmother that none of them remember.

My hope is that it will mean something to them, just as I remember and honor the many x's great-grandmothers that I never knew. (Aggie, Rosina, Flora, Catherine, Nancy, Melinda, Isabel, Matilda, Susanna and Susana, Maria and Katherine, (whom I do remember).

In the middle of this picture, Grandma Delphia between her parents, Great Grandpa George and Great Grandma Matilda (Tilly). (My mother, Ruth, on the far right in back.)

Representing Dad's side of the family, my Grandma Bessie, standing on the right. In front, left, my great-grandmother Flora and her mother, my Great-great-grandmother, Agnes. (Grandma Aggie.)