Warm & Fuzzy

I took this blanket out of the dryer and was taken back to a wonderful experience with Mom. I was in the basement at Oak Street when she took a blanket out of the dryer and wrapped it around me. It felt so good.

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This blanket has been around a long time. Our grandchildren enjoyed using it because it felt so good. The blanket is obviously very old, but it's held up well. It's still fuzzy and ready to wrap visiting family and friends in love and warmth. 

Sacrament

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we take the sacrament, or communion, every Sunday. This is the most sacred part of the week and of the worship service. 

"On the night before His Crucifixion, Jesus Christ met with His Apostles and instituted the sacrament (see Luke 22:19–20). After His Resurrection, He instituted the sacrament among the Nephites (see 3 Nephi 18:1–11). Today the sacrament is an ordinance in which Church members partake of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice. This ordinance is an essential part of worship and spiritual development. Through this ordinance, Church members renew the covenants they made with God when they were baptized." (lds.org)

I am thankful for this weekly pause and the opportunity to renew the covenants I have made with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. When I chew the bread, I think of the effort involved in being a disciple of Jesus Christ. When I drink the water and feel it going through my body, I think of the Spirit filling my being and my soul radiating the love of Christ. 

When members aren't able to get to church due to illness or other reasons, they can request that the sacrament be brought to their homes. Once or twice a month that's been happening in our home when Joe isn't able to go to church. 

When the sacrament prayers are read and the bread and water are offered to Joe, our home totally fills with the Spirit. 

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Click here for more about the sacrament

nesting tables from my grandparents' home

The Simple Things

Light - Tulip - Mom's Vase

Traveling Candlestick

This box arrived at our door last week

We are delighted that the traveling family heirloom 

& its storybook will be in our home for a while

Dad fashioned the candlestick from a piece of wood that had been twisted by a grapevine. No one is sure where Dad discovered the piece of wood. We’re also not sure exactly when Dad finished the wood and created the candlestick. Our memory is that the candlestick has been on the table by the living room window and Mom’s chair for decades. Blue candles were always either in or near the candlestick. 

When we closed the Oak Street house after Dad’s death, we had to determine who received which items in the house. The twisted candlestick was the ONLY item in the whole house that was requested by all four children and many of the grandsons. Our solution - the candlestick would circulate through the family, accompanied by a journal documenting its journey. 

Dad & Mom - December 2002

Oak Street 

picture taken December 20, 2003, the day after Dad died

Mom died February 2003

so many memories & reminders 

More about the candlestick here

Joe - Boxing & Racing

Joe had an interest in car racing from an early age. His Grandmother Neely, Mamaw, took him to races at the Indianapolis Speedway. As an adult he loved to go to the races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. We attended Formula 1 races at Watkins Glen in New York. 

Mementoes

~The stop watch was used in many races. 

~"The Unfair Advantage" by Mark Donohue - We saw him race at Mid-Ohio many times. Read about the book here. 

~Small Formula 1 car - Joe doesn't remember the story behind this car. 

~Postcard - picture of Janet Gutherie, the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500. Joe followed her career for a long time. 

Joe has a boxing story too! When he was at Howe Military School he boxed. Then, during his freshman year at The Ohio State University, he boxed for two quarters.  He enjoyed following several boxers for a number of years. 

ca 1949 @ Howe Military School & 1951-52 high school senior

Keepsake - Joe's Footstool

This footstool went with a wing-back chair that belonged to Joe's mother, Mary Elizabeth Neely Todd Pepper aka Betty & Maude (check out the stories Joe posted to learn about her names). 

Joe has memories of sitting on this stool when he was very young. When Ray's and Maude's house was sold, Joe let the chair go but kept the footstool. 

Joe about 1937, probably on family vacation in Pentwater, Michigan

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This picture brings another memory to mind. When the family was vacationing in Pentwater (probably when this picture was taken), Joe was at the cottage with his nanny, Miss Ging. They decided to go to the beach after his nap to join his parents. Joe, who was called Skipper, decided to "hitchhike." A car stopped and the man said, "Who are you?" Joe/Skipper replied, "I'm Pipper Tahee." The man said, "I'm not going your direction." Then another car stopped. It was Joe's father. He gave them a ride to the beach. 

January 2016 - Joe says he remembers this "as clearly as if it were yesterday." 

Saucepan Memories

A friend brought soup for us the day we moved to our new place. As I hefted the saucepan onto the stove, memories flooded into my heart and mind. This pan is exactly like the one Mom cooked with her entire adult life - Revere Ware

How many batches of mashed potatoes were cooked in the pot like this? Seems like we had mashed potatoes at 3-4 times a week - always with peeled potatoes. Only later in life did Mom decide to quite peeling potatoes. She said she was tired of doing it and anyway, the skins were good for you. She called them "dirty" mashed potatoes - I think that's what one of the grandsons said when she served them. 

Hot chocolate simmered in this pot to warm us after ice skating or playing out in the snow. 

7 Minute Icing for a multitude of birthday cakes - the recipe came from Mom's Joy of Cooking cookbook. 

Dad often cooked oatmeal or grits on Sunday morning when Mom got to sleep in. This is the pan in which the oatmeal was cooking the morning my dress caught on fire and I was burned. *Sometimes Dad put food coloring in the oatmeal. I remember green for St. Patrick's Day and purple. Mom was not a morning person and her mind didn't do well with purple or green oatmeal in the morning!

When I thanked our friend for the soup, I told her about some of these memories. She's about my age. She said she had a pan like this when she was first married. She and her family then moved to out of the country for her husband's job. Before their move she sold many of their possessions, including her Revere Ware. When she moved back to the States, she bought more Revere Ware but was disappointed that it wasn't as good as the older pans. (This is confirmed here.) When either her mother or grandmother died (I can't remember which), our friend was delighted to find this Revere Ware saucepan - just like the one she used to have - and just like Mom's. 

*added October 25, 2015

Avocado & Gold

Avocado & harvest gold were the "in" colors in the late 1960s and early 1970s

These swivel racks have been in my kitchen since Harvest Street (perhaps at Oxley Road, prior to Harvest Street). Then they went to North Street. Then Kirkland Avenue - and wherever we go next. 

I recently came across these table cloths. I made the bottom one with the fringe when we moved into our Harvest Street home.The top one was with us on Oxley Road in Columbus, before we bought the house on Harvest Street. Here's that table cloth on Oxley Road at Michael's first birthday party (August 1969)

More avocado and gold 

Julius at Hide-A-Way Hills in August 1972

The metal cabinets in our kitchen at Harvest Street 

were a yellowish-gold - June 1970

Read about the popularity of this color combination in the 1960s and 1970s here, here, and here.

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Side Notes: - Glasses on table at Oxley Road - These were in Duz detergent. Mom collected an entire set of them and gave them to us when we were married or shortly thereafter. Pyrex bowl in bottom picture - John and I received a set of three of these bowls as a wedding gift. Joe and I are still using two of them. The third bowl broke sometime in the last 48 years. 

What "in" colors are you using now that you'll find in your home almost 50 years from now? Kind of strange to contemplate, isn't it?

A Child's Gift?

This paperweight came from Mom's and Dad's. 

I don't remember seeing it before their deaths 

- so all the following is a guess on my part. 

I think Mom made this for her father. 

I think the picture shows Elizabeth, Gram/Mildred and baby Mary/Mom. 

The date would be about 1926. 

Written in the plaster bottom is 

H.E. Floyd 

192 …way Bldg 

111 Washington St. 

Chicago, I.

Mildred in 1924                   Mary & Elizabeth ca 1927

Hadley Pottery - Part of Our Brand

Hadley Pottery came into our lives sometime in the 1980s. Several times a year I was Ohio’s representative at meetings at the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky. I don’t recall if someone told me about the pottery or if I saw it in a hotel gift shop. 

However it happened, I fell in love with the stoneware and the fact that you could buy almost perfectly good seconds at the factory in Louisville. I looked over the various patterns and it became my mission to collect a full set of Hadley Pottery’s “Country Collection.” Every time I went to Louisville, I’d go to the factory and buy more seconds, usually 3 or 4 pieces at a time. It took me years but I eventually amassed a set of plates and bowls of various sizes as well as mugs. I don't think I bought anything at full price. I was very patient. 

We like the animal designs in the Country Collection - cat, dog, pig, horse, chicken, cow, lamb, and duck. It’s been fun to watch grandchildren’s reactions to the pottery over the years. Some children insist that each of their pieces match – can’t have a pig mug and lamb bowl. Others like to mix things up. 

The stoneware is amazingly durable. I’m sure something has broken over the last 20+ years but I can’t remember what it was or when it happened. 

Interestingly, my friend uses this same Hadley stoneware and pattern. We weren’t aware of each other’s love of the dishes until years after we’d each started accumulating it. 

Here’s more about Hadley Pottery from their website – 

“Mary Alice Hadley was born into a family of clay tile makers where her knowledge of working with clay first developed. Exhibiting an early interest in art and design, she ultimately became a widely recognized painter, winning numerous awards and acclaim from New York to Los Angeles. By the late 1930’s Mary Alice Hadley began melding her artistic talent with her knowledge of clay ware. In 1939, Mrs. Hadley made dishes for her houseboat on the Ohio River. The creative result was a set of a custom dishes that caused such a stir among her friends and acquaintances that the idea for a business was born. Supplying those early requests provided wide circulation for her hand-crafted pottery and soon orders began to arrive from across the country. With the help of her husband, George, the Hadley Pottery Company was formed early in 1940." Source

Hadley pottery is made from clay from a pit in Indiana. The clay is found sandwiched between two 3 foot layers of coal. Each piece is hand painted. Each piece is signed "M. A. Hadley" on the bottom. Click here to read more about how Hadley Pottery is made.

Our pieces are from the Country Collection. These are the first designs used by Mary Alice Hadley for the dishes for her Ohio River houseboat.  

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Additional pieces - additional stories 

I was part of a group of people who administered state resource centers to distribute braille and large print books to blind and visually impaired students. We formed a national organization to deal with state and national issues connected with resources needed by these students. I served in the organization for quite a few years, one year as president. When I left my job to go on our mission, my colleagues presented me with a special plate from Hadley Pottery - they all knew of my love of the pottery and trips to the factory whenever I was in Louisville.

Another story - 

T & J gave us salt and pepper shakers and a bowl. It was a thank you gift for letting J live with us one summer. J and T met at college in Utah. J lived in California. He drove out to Ohio to work for the summer because he didn't want to be apart from T. He stayed with us.

Another piece -  

One of Mary Alice Hadley's designs was a beautiful rearing horse. You can see her painting it here. I had a wall plaque of that horse hanging in the kitchen at North Street. I liked the colors and the spirit of the horse. Here's a platter with the rearing horse. 

Another story - 

This platter has a recipe for Hot Browns. The Hot Brown is a specialty sandwich created by the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. As a teenager Joe's mother, Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Neely, attended dances at the Brown Hotel and ate Hot Browns. 

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We love this pottery. When I asked Joe to review this post, he commented that Hadley Pottery is part of our "brand." "It's something people will always associate with us," he said. 

Gifts

An owl joins Joe's pets on the hearth. Friday we went to a party and took part in a white elephant gift exchange. The metal owl was Joe's score. 

When I was at the grocery I found this toad/frog cookie for Joe Toad

He's saving it because it's "too nice to eat"!

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Hearth Pets

Toad - Julia bought this for Joe. The pinwheel is a leftover from Joe's radiation treatments years ago. We used pinwheels to celebrate life. After each treatment we put a pinwheel in our garden of hope. Had quite a display when the 41 treatments were completed. 

Cat - We bought this at a sidewalk sale at Graceland Shopping Center not long after we moved into West North Street. Orange was an outside cat at the time and Joe wanted an easy-to-care for inside cat. 

Rooster - Joe was enamored with this when he saw it in a store on Whidbey Island, Washington. 

Nativities

My grandmother, Florence Clark Holton, made these Nativities - fashioned the figures from clay, painted them and fired them in her kiln. They were made sometime during our childhood. One was at Grandpa's and Grandma's and the other was with us at Oak Street. 

 In the bottom picture, that's a rock on the far left. When I was young and heard people talk about the "ox and ass," I thought they were referring to one animal, an "oxenass."

Grandma painted, sewed, made enamel jewelry, created braided rugs and hooked rugs. She was very creative. (photo Florence 1970)

Keepsake - Mom & the 12 Days of Christmas

My mother made this 12 Days of Christmas tablecloth. She wrote 1972 on the back. 

Look at the detail in these pieces. 

Think about the time & effort it took to create this keepsake 

- and my mother's hands weren't very flexible. 

This creation was made with persistence and love.

Thanks Mom!

Thanks to my sister for taking such good care of it. 

photo of my mother- 1972

Keepsake - Mom's Christmas Cactus

This is a keepsake. Or we could call it a legacy plant.

It's my mother's Christmas cactus - still blooming beautifully 

every year around Christmas.

My mother died in 2003 and my sister took over the care of the plant. We don't recall when Mom got this cactus so we don't know how old it is. We know it's at least a decade old. My sister inherited her green thumb from our mother.  

cactus -December 2014

Mom - December 1982

Jan - August 2013

Inspiration

This 1953 picture shows four adorable redheads with their grandmother at their grandparent's home

Have you ever wondered what your children are observing and remembering?

I always loved the tiles around the fireplace at Grandpa and Grandma's. When Joe and I were fixing up our home at West North Street, I suggested we surround the fireplace with blue Delft tiles, just like Grandpa's and Grandma's (hers were brown & I don't know if they were Delft but I liked the look). Then we looked at the cost and settled on one tile which we turned into a coaster. 

Mom & Dad in front of our Williamsburg blue fireplace at North Street 

- minus the Delft tiles (Christmas 1981)

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Questions & notes

1953 picture at First Street - Susan & Julia have matching outfits. I wonder if Grandma (Florence/Toots) made the clothes? She might also have made the curtains.I know she made other curtains in the house. She was a very good seamstress. Mom could have made outfits (or curtains) but she probably had her hands full with four little ones. 

The table to the left of the fireplace - we had it at North Street for years, in the den. It moved on to another family member when we built bookcases in the den. I knocked my forehead on the corner of that table (as an adult at North Street). I was bending down to dust and misjudged where the edge of the table was. I still have the scar by my right eyebrow. It kind of matches the scar on my left eyebrow. Mom said I got that one from Poppie and Gram's table in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Kind of makes me sound like a klutz :) although I don't recall many accidents like this. 

1981 picture of Mom & Dad at North Street - brass coal bin to right of fireplace. This is from the Atherton estate and came into the family through Joe's mother via her aunt. We have a 1930 photo of the Atherton house that shows this coal bin. The box holding the logs is from First Street. I don't know if it's from Celia's time or Grandma's time. There's a stencil of Chinese men on the side. I think it was a paint box. It's with family. The vase on the left was given to us by Joe's parents. The bellows to the left of the fireplace were made by Dad. Perhaps he gave them to us the Christmas of the photo. He carved our initials into one side of the bellows. This is with family. Mom made the pine cone garland on the mantle. It's with family. 

Pictures - memories -family - we are abundantly blessed 

Mom, Cookies & Rolling Pins

Mom gave me the top wood rolling pin decades ago, probably when John and I were married. I think it was old and used even back then - an heirloom! The rolling pin in the front is a Springerle rolling pin. Mom used it to make cookies at Christmas. I remember these cookies drying on cookie sheets and having a anise flavor. Click here for information about the cookies. 

Mom also made Spritz cookies every Christmas. She decorated them with sprinkles and bits of cherries. Using a cookie press like this, she made wreaths, Christmas trees, snow people and other shapes. Back in December 1999, I attached a note to the recipe, "Mom likes these 'burned' very dark brown." I agree with Mom. See the dark brown cookies? The butter flavor comes through when they are baked this long - delicious!

November 1972

One Picture - Many Stories

So many stories in this picture of our living room in Worthington

Christmas 1982

Wall sconce - We bought this on a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. A family member now has it.

Marble top buffet - John and I bought this at an auction in Plain City. We liked it because the burled walnut matched the secretary we had purchased years before at an auction in the Cincinnati area when we were newly married and living in Oxford, Ohio during John's senior year of college. I had already graduated. The secretary is on the right side of this picture and can barely be seen. Family now has the secretary. The buffet came across country with us. 

Leaded glass door bookcase - Joe and I bought this at a sidewalk sale at Graceland Shopping Center. A family member now has it. 

Marble top buffet, leaded glass bookcase and secretary are three of my favorite pieces of furniture from my adult life. 

Christmas stockings - My stocking was knit by Mom's mother, Mildred Browne Floyd. Each of the Holton children has one with his/her name and birth year knit in it. The stockings appear in pictures in the early 1950s. After Joe and I married, Mom knit a stocking for Joe. 

Angel chimes on top of bookcase - I remember angel chimes from childhood Christmases. I think Mom and Dad gave us these angel chimes. Last year we gave angel chimes to our children. 

Advent calendar - Mom made these for her grandchildren. When I look at the tiny, hand stitched felt pieces, I think about the time, love, and effort Mom put into this gift. Her hands didn't work well so the sewing must not have been easy for her. Each piece has multiple parts, sequins, and/or other decorations - as well as a tiny looped hanger. These were not easy to create - and each calendar had 25 pieces plus the larger tree to stitch.  As a grandmother I understand the desire to give something meaningful and a gift that reflects my love. I feel Mom's love for her family when I look at this Advent calendar. 

Wingback chair - this came across country with us. Unfortunately we didn't have room for it. A friend from church was very happy to receive it for her apartment. We bought this chair at Ethan Allen in Worthington. Joe likes wingback chairs and the fabric was similar to the fabric in our drapes. Joe's mother had a large wingback chair when Joe was a child. We still have the tiny footstool that went with his mother's wingback chair. Joe remembers sitting on the footstool. 

Birdcage - we never did have a bird - just liked the brass bird cage. Neither of us remember when we got it or when we passed it along to someone else. 

Two pictures over bookcase - these came from Joe's mother & step-father, Maude (Mary Elizabeth aka Betty. Joe called her Maude) & Ray Pepper. The pictures appear to be gold foil scenes from perhaps Thailand. They were probably given to Maude by her brother John Neely who lived and worked in the Philippines for years. The pictures are now with family. 

Grandfather (or is it a grandmother because it's smaller) clock - we bought this at the grandfather clock store that used to be on High Street behind the Dairy Queen. We went for a walk one evening and ended up buying a clock!!! It's now with family. 

Drapes - I made drapes for the 5 windows in the living room and dining room. This crewel upholstery fabric was purchased at Fabric Farms on Riverside Drive in Columbus. I sewed these about 1979 or 1980 after we repainted the living and dining rooms. I lined the drapes with material that blocked the sun rays. It must have worked because those curtains were still in good shape when we moved 30+ years later. I made pillows out of the extra fabric. We have some of those pillows with us in Kirkland. 

Christmas tree 

- red & green garland - MichaelK made this in preschool

- Lifesaver garland - Michael & I bought that the first Christmas we were by ourselves

- Christmas tree topper - Michael gave this to Joe for Christmas not long after we were married

- ornaments - I spy some ornaments that are still in our Christmas boxes

Stacking tables - between tree & chair - There are three tables that slide together. They came from Grandpa & Grandma's on First Street. We have them out here in Kirkland and use them every day.

So many wonderful memories

Mom's Advent Calendar

When I decorated our Christmas tree this year, I realized the felt, hand stitched pieces from Mom's Advent calendar were the perfect size for our tree. I felt very close to Mom and Dad as I hung the figures. I put the camel and owl next to each other. Dad's symbol was the owl and Mom "adopted" the camel as her animal. 

I think she made an Advent calendar for each of her four children. I don't know if we all received them the same year. Here's a grandson with his in 1979. Below you can see our calendar in 1982. 

When I look at the tiny, hand stitched felt pieces, I think about the time, love, and effort Mom put into this gift. Her hands didn't work well so the sewing must not have been easy for her. Each piece has multiple parts, sequins, and/or other decorations - as well as a tiny looped hanger. These were not easy to create - and each calendar had 24* pieces plus the larger tree to stitch.  As a grandmother I understand the desire to give something meaningful and a gift that reflects my love. I feel Mom's love for her children and grandchildren when I look at these Advent pieces. 

Mom - Christmas 1982

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You football fans might notice that our tree is decorated with green and blue beads which just happen to be the colors for the Seattle Seahawks. Could be we did that for a grandson who is a MAJOR fan - or it could be that those are the colors we had and we realized they were Seahawks colors only after the tree was decorated. Which do you think it is?

* corrected January 21, 2015