Memorial Day

I've been thinking about my dad for the past few days. More than usual, I guess, due to the holiday. He was proud to be a Marine ... as opposed to, say, a sailor or a pilot ... but not proud to have been a soldier. He never talked about his experiences in World War II until the last few years of his life. And even then I could tell he was horrified by those experiences, still, after all those years. As kids, my sister and I were never allowed to watch television shows that portrayed war as even slightly humorous ... Hogan's Heroes was strictly forbidden. He was a good man who was profoundly affected by his wartime experiences and 'man's inhumanity to man.'

Poncho

I finished the poncho for Sara's soon to be baby. This pattern is from the Lion Brand yarn website and is very easy. Except for sewing on the pocket ... I didn't quite know how to do that. Just hope it stays on...!
CottonTots yarn is great to work with, and is so soft and fluffy. And this pattern is very sweet. I think ponchos may be more useful than sweaters for babies ... babies don't outgrow ponchos as quickly as they outgrow sweaters.

Banana Cream Tarts

We celebrated Mother's Day at Joan's house today with a barbeque/brunch. I made Banana Cream Tarts for dessert. Fun, but a lot of work. The crust was very much like a sugar cookie, with mashed bananas added. Nice and crispy. I put a slice of banana in the bottom of the tart shell, then filled with the banana cream and added the fruit topping. They were yummy, but you really need to like banana. I thought the tarts were nice for brunch, but I wouldn't make them for an evening dessert.

21+1

I'm not good with dates. Especially significant dates that fall between April 15th and May 15th. Again with this May thing. I usually forget our anniversary. So does Craig. Really, no big deal. Also, April 29th--the date that my dad died--usually slips by, although it is always my intention to take flowers to his grave.

This year, I think, I will wow Craig and plan something for Sunday. A nice breakfast, a long bike ride, perhaps a beer at a sidewalk cafe. Checking his email this morning, however, reminds Craig that he promised he and the boys would spread bark dust at his parents' house. When Craig mentions to his dad that today is our anniversary, Al says no, that was yesterday. Hmmm. A quick check confirmed that--indeed--our anniversary was yesterday. So, we celebrated twenty-one years and one day. After the bark dust settled, Craig and I did what we now refer to as the bridge loop: park at Oaks Park, ride fast across the Sellwood bridge (before it crumbles into the river), head into downtown Portland, lunch at a sidewalk cafe, ride across the Steel bridge, and take the Springwater Corridor back to the car. The view from the Steel bridge was great:



Portland is, indeed, the city of bridges:


No pictures from the Sellwood: best not to linger on that bridge. Lots of people out on a beautiful Sunday. Maybe spring has finally arrived in Portland.

May First Musings

The first of May has always held significance for me. I don't know exactly why. Sure, my life now centers around the first of May, but that hasn't always been the case. Still, I remember celebrating the first of May even as a little kid. I would make May baskets out of construction paper squares, folding the paper diagonally, twisting the paper triangle into a cone and securing with copious amounts of scotch tape. Add a strip of construction paper for the handle, fill with an assortment of flowers from the mother's garden, and the basket is ready for delivery. May baskets are to be delivered anonymously, of course, so I'd hang the baskets on the neighbors' doorknobs, ring the doorbell ... and run. I wonder now if other kids participated in this ritual. For me, the first of May was a holiday, right up there with Valentine's Day and the fourth of July.

I also cannot overlook the significance of May 1st in the U.S. labor movement. Although the Haymarket bombing was tragically violent, did the event hasten the adoption of the eight hour work day and lead to passage of child labor laws? If the bomb hadn't been thrown, how much longer would it have taken to achieve these goals? And how many more children would have died working in factories?

So the first of May has arrived--finally--and numbers are good. Life is good ... or will be ... soon. Another year begins.