Fairy Garden or Dragon Garden

During the summer, I took my two grandchildren to LMS Greenhouse, where one made a Fairy Garden and the other a Dragon Garden. This was a repeat session for me, where a few months ago, I took my oldest granddaughter to one of those fairy garden classes. We both made our own gardens.

 

This particular Saturday, we were the only people in attendance. So both Tyler and Bayleigh definitely got a lot of attention from Jane, who conducts the classes. Both my grandchildren let their imaginations run wild as they began to pick out what they wanted to go into their gardens and mentally designed where to place everything. It was fun to watch their faces and creativity.

 

Tyler made a dragon garden with a few different sized plants, a dragon house, a pig as the victim of the dragon’s kill, and stones for water, along with bark as ground cover. It was a typical boy’s garden.

 

Bayleigh’s garden had a lighter feeling to it. She had used a fairy, three different plants and stones and pebbles for water. She hung lights in the tall plant that represented a tree, and birds flying about on wire were pushed into the soil.

 

Both gardens were magical and imaginative. My grandchildren had fun and the memory of that day will linger on in the gardens that they can keep all year round. As for me – the whole time I was with them…Priceless.

 

Just in case …the garden center now has Halloween accents for fairy gardens. They will also have plenty of Christmas accents as well.

Richness of the Changing Seasons

                                                                                                               

 

Years ago when the children’s book, Freddy the Leaf came out, I used it in my religion class to explain that everything has a purpose. The story is about a leaf and in the end the leaf falls to the ground and dies, but it also becomes food for the trees. I would use this book and message over and over in my classes.

 

As I grew older and changed – I started to view fall in a negative way. To me, fall signified death. I would refer to fall, as ‘Freddy the Leaf.’ Then I started to work at the greenhouse. This was when I realized the necessity of the seasons and the importance each had on the growth of trees, grass, bushes, and plants. Each season was important for certain things: Fall - housekeeping, cleaning out the old growth and preparing lawns and gardens for next season; Winter -  dormancy and renewal; Spring - spectacular growth and new buds and flowers, and Summer - grass, trees, and gardens in their full beauty.

 

Through all of this, I learned how to enjoy fall. I love to see the change in the color of the leaves from greens and bronze to brilliant reds, luxurious yellows and delicious oranges. I’m still not crazy about the leaves falling on the ground and having to rake them up, or apprentice one of my sons to come over with their children to help me, or hire someone to do the removal of the leaves.

 

But for me,  I do love fall and all that it represents, like the end of one season and the beginning of the next, fall colors, fall flowers, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. I find fall, rich in colors.

Charles Krauthammer

I have watched one of the prime time news stations and have become intrigued with one of the panelists on the show. His name is Charles Krauthammer. I have listened to him talk and have read a number of his columns. I have been impressed with his cool head, and eloquent responses. And to be honest, I secretly have a crush on Charles Krauthammer.

 

Who is Charles Krauthammer? He is an American, a Pulitzer Prize syndicated columnist, political commentator and a physician. He is definitely well educated, was born in New York City and raised in Montreal, Quebec, He is a non-practicing Jew. Krauthammer thinks before he speaks. He is thoughtful and quite eloquent when he opens his mouth. Krauthammer is a quadriplegic but that is a fact you are not aware of when you see him on television.

 

I enjoy listening to him because he makes sense and hammers home intelligent points as well as counter intelligent responses.

 

So, yes, I do have a crush on Charles Krauthammer, even though he is married and has a son. But don’t worry, I am in love with his charisma and intelligence and the points that he makes when he speaks and in his writing.

Some Things We Never Forget

There are a few disturbing things from my childhood that I carry with me. One is that I still remember my first friend from kindergarten, who was struck and killed by a city bus. I still can remember going to her funeral and seeing her lying in the open coffin. I also remember that her mother and my mother were best friends, and I was given her clothes.

 

The second thing that stays with me is that growing up, I lived close to a funeral home. My friends and I would sneak in to the funeral home and look at the dead people in the coffins. When I saw a little baby in a coffin – that was the last time I went into that funeral home.

 

The third unsettling incident that I remember was the time a 12-year-old girl by the name of Beverly Potts was kidnapped. Beverly Potts lived in Cleveland and went missing on August 24, 1951. She was last seen at Halloran Park on Cleveland’s West Side, attending the Showagon. The Showagon would travel from playground to playground and featured a troupe of singers, dancers, and magicians. The performances were free.

 

Beverly Potts never returned home and they never found her body. Every year they would run a story about her in the newspapers. Now, 60+ years later, the entire Potts Family is dead.

 

A few years ago, I read the book Twilight of Innocence by James Badal. I even watched a video about the Potts Kidnapping. Although I didn’t live in Cleveland at that time, the news was always around, especially on the anniversary of Beverly Potts’ disappearance.

 

I still remember every time that I would go out to play, my mother warned me to be careful, come home at my assigned time and don’t talk to or go with any strangers. Finally, she would add the name of Beverly Potts for good measure.

 

After all these years, I still remember a 12-year-old girl with pigtails, smiling from a picture in the newspaper. I so often wonder how hard it must have been for her family; the parents and her sister, to never know what happened to her.

 

Yes, sometimes, certain things never go away and they still come back to haunt me.

Baby Shower

 

Hosting bridal showers and wedding showers can be interesting. I have hosted a few of them for my daughters-in-law. It’s fun to host showers because they signify a mile stone. Showers are fun. Baby showers are a double treat. I get to watch their reactions when they open their gifts. My joy is seeing their joy and knowing in a short time that I will have a new grandchild.

 

Now, I finally got to host a baby shower for my youngest daughter. Cleaning was easy for me…I just kept a check list and went through my chores, along with preparing for some of the food at home and at my daughter’s catering kitchen.

 

When the time arrived, the guests showed up, and shortly later we served the food. The food was good and plentiful but it was the desserts that really shined, especially the cake which was created and made by Lucy, the owner of Bee Delicious Pastries

 

The cake was in two round layer cakes. Each layer had a chocolate and pumpkin layer with chocolate ganache. The frosting was chocolate fondant. The cake was shaped like a miniature top hat, and decorated in a diamond pattern and circles on top of the cake sat a whimsical elephant. It wasn’t just a fantastic looking cake but when it was cut and we ate it – it was tasty, moist and just plain out of this world. The pastries that Lucy made were excellent – the cute and delicious sucker cake pops were a hit with the little kids, along with the moist Pignoli cookies, sandwich macaroons, fresh raspberry bars, and yummy lady locks. As usual, Lucy scored big with two thumbs up or five stars!

 

Everyone enjoyed themselves. My daughter received all the necessary items needed for a baby. The only thing missing is the baby. He or she will make its arrival in a few weeks. That’s when the work and joy really begins.

 

Right now, it’s a count down. I can’t wait for my 19^th grandchild to be born…that’s when my treat as a Grandmother begins

A Quest for the Perfect Pie

 

 

Last fall I got together with a friend from Graduate School, and did a few day trips, driving around through some old towns and cemeteries, taking photos, and sampling food and delicious desserts from a few tasty restaurants.

 

On a recent day trip, my friend jokingly remarked that we should travel around, searching for the best pie. You know something – she is exactly right, because so far, we have eaten at three different restaurants and sampled two different pies and dynamite Strawberry Short Cake.

 

The best pie so far was eaten at the Sky Jet Restaurant in Tionesta, Pa. There is no doubt in my mind that I will return to that restaurant and sample another piece of their Cherry Pie.  That piece of pie was out of this world. The filling was sweet with a hint of almond. But it was the crust that took the blue ribbon. It was a perfectly made crust not soggy, but flaky with sugar and crumbly. I usually leave the crust but this time I ate everything. That was how good the whole piece of Cherry pie was. It has been a year since I ate this dessert and I still think about it. Not only do I think about this but when I do, my mouth begins to water, and I can actually taste that delicious piece of cherry pie!

 

Then we sampled another dessert at Dick’s Diner in Blairsville, PA. Diners are a whole breed of their own. I have eaten in a number of diners and the food is usually good, hardy and plentiful. Food in diners remind me of good old fashioned down home cooking before the word healthy entered into our vocabulary.

 

Dick’s Diner was right on the main highway and easy to pull in an out of. The food was average. But I did have a piece of apple pie, warmed, while my friend ordered a meringue pie. The pies were good but not memorable. My pie’s warmed apple filling was sweet but too mushy and the crust…average.

 

This was when my friend said, we should search for the best pie. Good idea – so for now I quest for the perfect pie.

 

If you have any ideas as where to sample some good pie…let me know.