Tag Archives: memories

Amaryllis, A short story

29 May

My first experience with Amaryllis bulbs was a gift from a wonderful neighbor November 2019. Blooms emerged January, 2020. It rebloomed April, 2021.

My mother loved all flowers. She had a special fondness for peonies, iris and day lilies of all varieties. She had a Christmas cactus that thrived over decades usually blooming just in time for the holidays. One can never have enough blooms :).

Mom requested an amaryllis bulb for the holidays. I ordered one shipped to her Christmas of 2020. In spite of being carefully watched for signs of life…NOTHING happened. The next time I was home, she instructed me to “take it back”.

I decided to repot. To my wondering eyes, I beheld FIVE bulbs in one pot. There was no room for any of them to grow.

For me the next step was to round up five pots to replant and give all the bulbs their own space. In the months that followed: Two did not thrive, Three grew beautiful foliage….

ONE of the three developed TWO blooms.

God bless Mom and Dad this Memorial Day!

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Tree Story

21 Dec

"Eve" was a Christmas present to us Christmas "Eve" of 2006.

“Eve” was a Christmas present to us Christmas “Eve” of 2006.  (She should NOT be on the table cloth.)

If trees could talk….

The six sparkly cane shaped ornaments were my first purchase (early 1970s).  I remember the Christmas Shop well.  It was July in North Carolina!  The shop was cool!  Full size trees were decorated to the max.  Enchanting.  Delightful.

The Christmas Shop, 621 South Highway 64, Manteo, NC 27954 – See more at: http://outerbankschristmas.com/About.htm#sthash.i4bIvfu5.dpuf

According to the history on their website, they downsized and closed the business for 90 days in 2008.  It has since reopened and sounds delightful as I remember.

For more than twenty years I had fresh-cut Christmas trees, they are not talking.  About twenty-five years ago, when “more was more”, I bought this little tree to be a “theme” tree in my master bedroom.  The vision:  white lights and blown glass ornaments.  That plan was in effect for several years.  When my stepdaughter insisted on decorating a Christmas tree each Thanksgiving weekend, she claimed this little one for her room the next 10 years.  The decorations were all of her choosing.

After a seven-year storage period, our littlest tree regularly appears with ornaments selected to remind us of our angels Anne, Grandma Sophie, Kathy and beloved cat Shelby.  Merry Christmas to all!

Tree Story

Tree Story

 

 

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Friday Photos: Old School

19 Aug

Old school…..decades of albums, prints (multiple sizes), boxes, negatives, framed….meets digital.  This project is brought to you by my “27 cubic feet” reduction goal (of personal papers and stuff).  Photo archives account for nearly 3 cubic feet.

  1. Sort  2.  Scan  3.  Save for others

Scan, scan, scan….also, rather than disposing of most of the vacation, birthday and holiday prints…I chose three albums to reconfigure with photos selected especially for three adult children.  Perhaps that just stalls my effort or mission.  My hope is it will bring smiles and fond memories…. without the hours of searching to find their precious moments.  😉

Albums with personalized content

Albums with personalized content

Shelved

Shelved

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Honoring Edna

2 Feb

Crown Hill Entrance

Earth angel, Edna Birkholz has been called to join the heavenly hosts of angels.  Mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, wife…she is steadfastly loved in all of her roles.

I got to know her during a time of deep concern over the probable loss of a second son to heart failure (after also losing her husband to heart failure).  Prayerful best describes those times.  Joyfully our concerns did not come to pass.

Edna had a special passion for ironing…everything, even T-shirts and jeans!  At 93 she sparkled at her grandson’s wedding and beamed at his Master’s degree graduation last year.  She lived independently up till the last weeks.

Deepest sympathy to Phillip, Pam, Claire and Jim

Deepest sympathy to Phillip, Pam, Claire and Jim

Your lives honor the love and devotion of Edna Birkholz.

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Tree Story

22 Dec

If trees could talk….

For more than twenty years I had fresh-cut Christmas trees, they are not talking.  About twenty-five years ago, when “more was more”, I bought this little tree to be a “theme” tree in my master bedroom.  The vision:  white lights and blown glass ornaments.  That plan was in effect for several years.  When my stepdaughter insisted on decorating a Christmas tree each Thanksgiving weekend, she claimed this little one for her room the next 10 years.  The decorations were all of her choosing.

After a seven-year storage period, our littlest tree regularly appears with ornaments selected to remind us of our angels Anne, Grandma Sophie, Kathy and beloved cat Shelby.  Merry Christmas to all!

Tree Story

Tree Story

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Treasure chest

24 Nov

My collection of pins had been in a dozen places gathering dust.  Today they are framed.  This is my personal “pin interest”.  My “treasure chest” is a memory jogger from decades of work, vacations, school, pets, hobbies, autos and awards.

Real Pins Framed

Real Pins Framed

Shelby

Shelby, from treasure to “angel”

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Memories of my grandfather

26 Sep

Elizabeth’s Reflections on the Way Pap-pa’s Life Used to Be

Appalachia, Blue Ridge Mountains

Tennessee, Hawkins County

Saw Mill Holler, 317 Independence Avenue

the house, the saw mill shed, the Hall Lumber Co. office, the workshop

hen-house, tobacco barn and railroad tracks

front porch swing

Overalls with a pocket watch

Pocket knife for whittling nothing in particular

Tough, strong, independent

Republican

Logger, saw mill operation

Skilled craftsman

Built bridges in early years

Built trusses in middle years

Built furniture in later years

Wormy chestnut, antique wood finished with antique labor

Simple, frugal

Black Ford pick up truck 1947-1980

“Read a book Pap-pa.”

Play house with real windows and asphalt shingles

Cedar chest and grandfather clock

Brown mule ice cream in the freezer

Lumber scraps to nail together to float in the creek

Good tobacco crops meant $100 bills at Christmas

Fishing trips to Steam Plant Lake

Attentive care to my aging grandmother

Walking cane and hearing aid

Appreciation for pretty bank tellers, grocery clerks and nurses

Passion for life

Red and white tent for 90th and 91st birthday celebrations

Primary principle of life:  Work ethic

He explained that he did not have a regular job at 94 years of age

in a nursing home bed.

Kissed my hand to say good-bye.

I love you.

Grady Murrel Hall died 20 years ago today.

June 8, 1900-September 26, 1994

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