I just picked and ate some raspberries. It reminded me of something my son Alex recently said. I had asked him, what is a memory you have of Grandma Eileen? The first thing that came to mind for him was raspberries. he remembered her offering him some vanilla ice cream with raspberries on top. I thought that was a sweet answer (literally and figuratively!). I grew up with both raspberries and lilacs in plentiful amounts. I remember my mom using her big soup pot with handles to collect the berries. I didn't like how they got squashed in there, though. I preferred to just pick and eat. I also don't like my raspberries chilled . . . fresh off the plant is my preference. But my mother liked to collect them and put them in the fridge. And put them on vanilla ice cream. It makes me happy to remember this. The photo is from our plants at Strawberry Lake. There weren't many red ones left because I'd already picked and eaten so many! Also, the deer f...
I'm trying to declutter my office and life. This scrap of paper has the list of things that was on my dad's radar in 2015. I liked to write down the things that he ranted about and say, "Which thing is most important to you? What would you like me to work on?" As I told Ann, worrying was his hobby. She tried to fix all his issues, but he was really good at finding things to be upset about! Getting the garage floor replaced was a big one. It was old and cracked. The unevenness made it a trip hazard. It took me two days to clear everything off the floor! The guy did a nice job. There were a lot of things we didn't get to . . . but the list is now in my recycling. And memorialized here. I also had a "Happy Holidays" money envelope with this. My dad loved to say he did all his Christmas shopping in one place and no one wanted to return it! He'd go to the bank and withdraw money. Getting those little envelopes was a predictable (but delightful) gift...