Paper Bag Book

A day or two before the Bookbinding 101 Zoom session was to begin, I poked around the Vintage Page Designs website and found some free instructions for making hand-made books.

The book I decided to make was called a Paper Bag Book because it used a brown paper bag

as the pages of the book. I like these kinds of projects because no special materials are needed. Just stuff you have around the house and in the recycle bin.

The paper bag was cut to a standard size sheet of paper 8.5 in. x 11 in. Cuts were made so the bag could be accordion folded.

I've made this type of book many times, but I learned it as a Meander Book. The only difference being that the loose pages/flaps were glued together in this book and left to change the direction of the fold in the Meander Book (hence the name)

I raided the recycle bin to make the cover from a cookie box. I had every intention of covering the cardboard with paper, but looking at the Windmill cookie box reminded me of my Auntie.

Auntie was Ma's younger sister and a second mother to us. Since Ma worked, we spent a lot of school vacations at Auntie's until we were old enough to stay at home by ourselves.

Auntie had a white cookie jar embossed with cookies. The cookie jar had a lid with a red knob. The cookie jar was always filled. Auntie would sometimes by the spiced cookies shaped like a windmill, and a Dutch boy and girl. 

I decided to leave the cardboard as is. Glued to the front and back of the paper bag pages. I made a button and string closure to hold the book shut.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

It's been so hot and humid, mushrooms are growing all over the place

Tomatoes, anyone?

The petunias love the heat and humidity

Ink's garden got weeded and mulched

Buds on the morning glory vine. I hope this variety is Heavenly Blue

and that it survives whatever is munching on the leaves.

Samwise in his charging station. Every once in a while, he'll call out, "Ready to work!" A disembodied voice is disconcerting if one is busy in the bathroom.

Watermelon. I hear the men with pushcarts coming down Chelsea St. by Auntie's house in East Boston. At the time, EB was a predominantly Italian neighborhood. The men would be calling, "Eh! Waddamelone!"

How does your garden grow?

Monet and Me

 are sharing a memory about the Young One's birthday

Monday, July 23, 2012

Creating Memories

For The Young One's eighth birthday, the cake request for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. No problem until the baking went horribly wrong. The cake layers baked uneven. So uneven, it would have taken a tub of frosting to even things out so the layers would stack on top of each other. What to do?

The gap between the layers looked like a mouth. I grabbed items I had hanging around. Desperation is the mother of invention. White chocolate chip bits, glaced fruit, and red licorice laces became the features on a monster cake and fortunately, The Young One loved it. Whew!

Twelve years later, The Young One's cake request was for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. And then a surprise. I wish I could have a monster cake?"

"Seriously? "

"I loved that cake."

Ok. This time I went out to buy candies to use for decorations. I had to buy white chocolate chip bits because someone had opened up the package to snack on and only left two bits. Hugs, gummy worms, peach rings, M&Ms and red licorice laces jumped into the cart. The hard part was to intentionally bake uneven cake layers. without burning one side or the other not baking through. It worked and The Young One loved the result.

We spend a lot time, effort, and sometimes cash to create memories. Nostalgic memories  from when we were kids, or expose them to opportunities we never had as kids. Sometimes odd what we think what should be a memory, and what actually becomes a memory. Some thirty or forty years from now, The Young One will be saying, "That crazy, old, broad was hell on wheels with a tub of frosting and a bag of gummy worms."

Back to the present. Over the weekend, I sent a message asking if she was still here at home for her birthday, what would her request for a cake be? She said she would like the chocolate cake with the chocolate frosting and orange flavoring.

On Sunday, I was going to bake the Starlight Double Delight Cake with orange flavoring, but it was too humid to bake. Humidity can effect baking. Since today is supposed to be dry, I will bake the cake later on. It won't be as elaborate as the cake Monet is posing with, but it will be delicious.

The Friday Five Good Things.

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. A. came to cut up and haul the downed branch to the woods. This young man is a godsend.

2. On the way to get my haircut, Pavarotti was singing the Ave Marie on the classical radio station I listen to while driving. That was my dad's signature piece in the church choir. Yes, Dad, I think think your rendition is better.

3. I couldn't find Miss Adventure and was worried she pulled a Houdini again. It took a 45 minutes to find her under the sofa in the sunroom where I looked three times. I think she thought we were playing a game and she kept kept moving.

4. Two Old Ladies on the Road

5. Himself said no good deed goes unpunished. He left the moon roof open so the car wouldn't be so hot when I left for class. Then it rained. He mopped up the water, put a beach towel on seat for me and tuned the radio station to classical music. It's the thought that counts, and he's still a keeper.

How was your week?

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend  a half an hour doodling our stress away.

The suggested doodle was to make flower with circle and the letter U. Enter the Wayback Machine to the late 1960s and doodling Flower Power on notebook covers. 

T Stands for Tiny Floral Arrangements in Cups

 

The Eldest attended our town's annual Christmas fair. Fun, food, crafts. While browsing she found these cute floral arrangements which she though would make a nice gift for me. She couldn't decide which she liked best so she gave me both.

This brought back memories. The first job I had when I was 16 years old was working for the neighbor that lived across the street. He had a business that made artificial floral arrangements which were sold to grocery stores, gift shops, and the like.

Rather than the lovely, hand-made, paper flowers shown here, we used silk (really faux silk) flowers. We used 4 inch plastic flower pots which were spray painted according to seasonal colors. We also had a 3 or 4 inch. ceramic swan which I thought was pretty until the day I had to make 200 of them to fill an order. The first 50 were pretty after that the swans lost their charm.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

T Stands for A Mug, Postcards, and Teas

 Back in June on our first trip to Ogunquit this year, Teague and I ate breakfast at The Egg and I, and I was quite taken with the mugs. At the time, it was too busy in the restaurant to ask if the mugs were for sale.

Last week, back in Ogunquit and since our motel was across the street from The Egg and I, we walked over for breakfast. While waiting to be seated, I asked if the mugs were for sale. They were! So after breakfast, I bought two, one for each of us to have as a souvenir.

When I got home from my trip

Lisca's second postcard for the 11th T Day Anniversary had arrived. Lisca wrote the picture is from Gaudix, a town near where she lives and where she frequently shops. She had recently been there with her son and his family. She said, "It was so hot that I enjoy looking at the snow in this card. (it was 40 oC or 104 oF.)

While it's been very hot and humid where I live, it hasn't been that hot. Though to some it might feel like it was that hot. I don't really complain about the heat and humidity. Winter lasts so long. Summer is flying by and Winter is coming.

For those who enjoy the stamps, this travel stamp with the little people with their luggage and backpacks must be the postcard rate. The Correos, the postal service of Spain, did a nice job with the postmark. The card was postmarked in Granada on the July 23. It took about a week to get here.  Impressive.

If arriving home to happy mail wasn't enough, in Monday's mail this envelope and notecard from Lisca. The notecard has a picture of a market and a vendor selling garlic bulbs. It reminds me of when I was little and we would go into Boston to visit my maternal grandmother. Sometimes, Ma would have Dad stop at Haymarket Square where there would be vendors selling fruits and vegetables.

Inside the notecard were 3 teabags. In her note Lisca explains, Pukka is an English brand that has many different herbal teas. The Lord Nelson is from the European supermarket Lidl and it is a sleepy-time tea of chamomile, fennel, and valerian.

The third teabag is called Sex on the Beach and is a cold-brew tea. It immediately got dunked in cold water so I can try it after dinner while relaxing in the sunroom. 

Then because the first postcard I received had a slight mishap in Lisca's bag when her water bottle leaked (though it wasn't damaged), she sent this magnificent postcard of a toreador. Just look at those roses! 

Thank you, Lisca, for being my T Day Anniversary partner.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Second on the Second

From October 22, 2015 a Throwback Thursday

When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time at this house. My mother's sister and her family lived here. When I was little, my grandma lived here, too. The door used to be the same brick red color.

Because Ma worked, Auntie was like another mother. During school vacations, we would ride the Green Line (subway) with Dad. We would get off the subway at Government Center (formerly Scollay Square). Dad would go to his office in Boston, and The Brother and I (or I would go by myself when I was 9 or 10) would go down the subway stairs to the Blue Line to catch a train to Maverick Square in East Boston.

Even though the Airport Station was closer (Auntie's house was one street away from Logan Airport), we were cautioned to get off at Maverick Square.  We were always told Airport Station was not safe. I suspect it was like we were told there were hobos in the woods. Maverick Square was safer as we could just walk straight down Chelsea St.  No turns and no crossing busy streets.

The door opened into a porch. On the left and up 3 steps was the door to Auntie's house. On the right, was the door that led to the two apartments upstairs. Auntie's husband grew up in this house. His sister and her husband  lived on the second floor. Uncle's mother and a mentally handicapped brother lived on the top floor. When I was little, I called Uncle's mother "The Grandma Who Lived Upstairs". I just remember a tiny, old woman with white hair. She always wore a dark colored dress and a black sweater draped across her shoulders. When The Grandma Who Lived Upstairs passed away, Uncle Peter lived with his sister on the second floor and the top floor apartment was rented out.

We'd knock on the door and waited to hear Auntie coming down the hallway. I can still hear her calling out "Who is it? I always yelled "It's ME!" and she'd reply "Who's me?" before she opened the door.

One thing I didn't like about Auntie's house was the "Buckhowsah", the bathroom, as my grandma called it. The bathroom was at the end of the long, dark hallway, before entering the main house. The bathroom wasn't heated and during the Winter, you could freeze to the seat if you weren't careful.

If the weather was nice, we'd get to play outside with The Cousins.  Take turns riding bikes or roller skating on the sidewalk, playing hopscotch, or marbles using the sewer cover as the playing field. We might get a chance to run errands. Go to the end of the block to Anna's the fruit and vegetable lady, cross the busy street at the light to go to Guy's, the neighborhood grocery store. When I was a teen, we'd go to the barber to get our hair cut by the cute barber.

Summertime, was the best time to be there. Men with trucks would come down the street selling fruit. They'd yell, "Ey waddamalone!" And then there was the man who wheeled a refrigerated pushcart. He sold Slush, a frozen lemonade which he piled into a small, pleated paper cup. On a hot Summer day, it was Heaven in the palm of your hand and all for a nickel.

When I turned 10, I got to have tea with Auntie. She'd make me a cup of tea. It was really more milk than tea with a spoonful or two of sugar in a china tea cup with matching saucer. There would be cookies, too, sometimes the store bought spice cookies shaped like Dutch windmills and Dutch boys and girls. If it was after a holiday, there would be Grandma's bow cookies drizzled in honey and Auntie's sesame seed cookies.

After work, Ma and Dad would come to pick us up. We'd stay for dinner and everyone would crowd around the table in the small kitchen. We'd have Grandma's Cappellini, home-made macaroni shaped like little hats, meatballs, sausage, and Scali bread from Blundo's Bakery to sop up the gravy.

The old folks have all passed away, but the memories and the door remain.

It's your turn to play. From Elizabeth: Now it's time to share your Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable.  Join hosts Bleubeard and Elizabeth to see what else is being served up the Second Time Around.

Throwback Thursday

 

Some words of wisdom from my Grandma. She used to say that the problems you think you have are flowers compared to what other people are going through. It probably sounds a lot better in Italian.

Throwback Thursday

 

Some words of advice from Ma. "Don't borrow trouble." She meant when you were going through something try not to think about all the negative what-if scenarios. 

Wishing You

 

a wonderful day and may all your dreams come true.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

 I didn't have the energy this week to run around outside taking pictures of the garden. So a nostalgic post from this date last year 2022

One of the best things about the Christmas season in Boston if you were a kid growing up in the late 1950s and 1960s, was a trip into Boston to the Jordan Marsh Department store. If you were very good, your parents would take you to see the Enchanted Village. This was a series of animated doll displays. You'd wend your way through the displays and then you could sit on Santa's lap and tell him your Christmas wish list.

Before going home, your parents would stop and buy a box of Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins, the biggest, best, fluffy, blueberry muffins in the Universe. Recipe here.

Throwback Thursday - Thanksgiving

 From November 27, 2014

Remnants of Thanksgiving 1967 at Uncle Mario's

Left to right: Ma (seated), Auntie Emma, Auntie Phyllis, Auntie Olga, me, Uncle Tony, Uncle Jack

 Here we are waiting for Round Two of eating. Have a little something before you go home. Another plate of lasagna or eggplant Parmigiana. Maybe a turkey sandwich. Another slice of pie, fruit and nuts, or Auntie Emma's pizzelles  (Italian, anise flavored, waffle cookies)

If you celebrate the holiday, have a Happy Thanksgiving. If you don't celebrate the holiday, have a fabulous Thursday.

Throwback Thursday

 

From March 2012: My Theatrical Experience

When I was a sophomore (18 or 19 yrs. old) at Boston University, I was in Equus starring Brian Bedford and performed at the Shubert Theater. That is, I was in one performance.

My friend, Teague, was a theater major at Northeastern University. She asked if I wanted to see the play Equus. She could get us special student tickets which allowed us to sit on stage. We would be medical or psychology students seated in an amphitheater and listening to the psychiatrist (Bedford) describe his treatment of a disturbed young man, Alan. Perfect! I was born to the role as I was a pre-med student studying psychology. We arrived at the theater and were shown to our seats on stage.  We sat on risers with other students. I didn't know the play, but it was very exciting to not only watch the performance, but to be "in" the performance. Until...

Jill, a stable girl, entices her co-worker, Alan to go into the stable late one night. Jill pulls off her sweater and peels out of her jeans.

 Okaaay. I squirmed a little in my seat. It's nothing more or less that I haven't seen before.

And then Alan takes off his shirt.

 I fidgeted a little more which earned me a hiss from Teague. Sit still!

Alan fumbles with the waistband of his jeans.

Ohmygawd, he's not going to...And then my parochial school training kicked in and I was repeating small prayers (coincidentally called ejaculations). Jeez Louise! He's not wearing his Holy Fruitofthyloomies! Jeeze Louise! He's Mother Buck Naked.

I could feel the heat rising to my face and my ears were burning. My eyes were bugged out of their sockets like a cartoon character, the pupil detached from the iris, which was detached from the eyeball, all stretched beyond the character's nose. I was sophisticated. I had traveled to Germany. I was a pre-med major. I had studied Anatomy and Physiology. I owned a Merck manual.  I'd seen the diagrams of the male anatomy.  But the young man on stage didn't resemble those flat pictures, and he was obviously excited to be on stage.

Understand, this was Boston founded by Puritans. Boston where Hey, Little Suzie by the Everley Brothers was banned. Boston where I had attended parochial school,  where the nuns wouldn't allow us to sing Louie, Louie because of the suggestive lyrics.

I didn't know where to look, and I was sure my eyeballs were going to burst into flame. Then an angel saved me. In the first row of the mezzanine, I could see a man in a dark suit and white turtleneck. I focused my attention on his turtleneck until the scene ended eight days later with the psychiatrist mercifully wrapping Alan in a blanket.

So ended my theatrical career.

The Friday Five Good Things.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

 Five good things that happened this week.

1.  A problem with an online account was resolved quickly at the bank. There seems to have been an error between the computer screen and the chair.

2.  We wanted to watch some mindless fun so watched Shazam followed by Lego Shazam.

3. Celebrated Pi Day with apple crisp in individual round dishes (sort of like an apple pie) and a half-assed Shepherd's pie

4. The Plow Guy showed up early. Plowed the driveway and shoveled the steps and walk. Such a nice surprise that I didn’t have to shovel the steps and walk

5. Another Thursday with Teague. We went for breakfast and plans for another Head Stoner trip to Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden as soon as the weather warms up a bit

And a Happy 104th birthday, Dad. I hope Uncle Francesco and your mama bake you a spectacular rum cake, Uncle Vincent plays the violin, and Uncle Louis sings for you

How was your week?

Fun Facts About the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

In 2007, the garter snake became the official state reptile. For years, we had a garter snake that lived under the stairs. We named him Mr. Scaley.

A Wish

 

May your day be Merry and Bright

Fun Facts About the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

One of the best things about the Christmas season in Boston if you were a kid growing up in the late 1950s and 1960s, was a trip into Boston to the Jordan Marsh Department store. If you were very good, your parents would take you to see the Enchanted Village. This was a series of animated doll displays. You'd wend your way through the displays and then you could sit on Santa's lap and tell him your Christmas wish list.

Before going home, your parents would stop and buy a box of Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins, the biggest, best, fluffy, blueberry muffins in the Universe. Recipe here.

A Look Back

 A look back on this day in 2012. I was participating in the National November Journal  Month (create a journal page each day for the month of November) and posting the journal page I had created the day before, 2. November. Little did I know that a year later both my parents would join these family and friends that passed through the veil.

2. November

Halloween, Samhain, All Souls, Day of the Dead are all festivals that honor those that have passed on.

Do Not Stand Over My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand over my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep

I am a thousand winds that blow

I am the diamond glints on snow

I am the sunlight on ripened grain

I am the gentle autumn rain

When you waken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight

I am the soft stars that shine at night

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there. I did not die

Sparkling watercolors, F. W. Acrylic black ink, Nikko G nib.

Nubble Light - York, Maine

On the way home, we  stopped in York again to visit one of the most iconic images of Maine. Cape Neddick Light Station better known at Nubble Light. The lighthouse is still a working lighthouse, but the light and horn has been automated and maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. 

The lighthouse and property of Sohier Park is owned and maintained by the town of York.

We had tried to stop on our way up, but as it was a Sunday the place was crowded and there was no parking.

This was another nostalgic spot in York for me. One year, Mary's parents had rented a small cottage up the road. In the evenings, Mary and I would walk down to the light house to sit on the rocks and to talk. I remembered a restaurant Mary and I ate at one time. Fox's Lobster House. The restaurant is still there, and so packed Teague and I couldn't find a parking space on the way up.

Teague spent Summer vacations with her family when she was a kid. A family photo of them taken on the rocks makes Nubble Light special for her.

Teague and CJ

Teague was trying to take a picture of the two us. Another visitor kindly offered to take a picture of us.

There's a gift shop as well as a comfort station. When I travel I like to buy a Christmas ornament or souvenir that I can hang on the Christmas tree. 

I also purchased

because the tin amused me.