Cracker Jack Box Violins

This is not going to be a long post but it's a memory that just popped up and I wanted to write it down.

I am visiting Grandma Smith and Aunt Mel this week and Grandma just pulled out some Cracker Jacks. It made me remember when Mom would start teaching a new student who was very young, instead of starting them out on a real instrument, she would wrap a Cracker Jacks box in brown paper, tape a footlong ruler on the end, and use that as a practice instrument. She would show the child how to hold the instrument and where their fingers would go. She would also train them to handle the instrument with care.

Like I said, not long.

Mom and The Big Brown Astro

Just a picture I found on the internet.

Having a rather large family, Mom and Dad needed vehicles large enough to be able to transport all of the kids to school, sports, music lessons, church, and trips to see family. We had two big vans that I remember. The first was a big brown van that we fondly called "Bertha." The second was also a big brown van, but it was an Astro. We kids, thinking we were quite clever, called it "The Big Ass-Tro." A way to use a curse word without getting in trouble. :)

One day, Mom was herding all of us kids to go out somewhere. At one point, she called, "Ok, kids, let's all go get in the Big Ass." Our jaws collectively dropped. She had said it!!! We quickly told her she could not say that. She replied, confused, "What, you guys call it that all the time." We corrected her and said she had to put a '-Tro' on the end or it was a bad word! She smiled to herself.

I often wondered what exactly she was thinking when things like this happened. Did she get a quiet chuckle in raising such a reaction from her children? Did she think we were silly for thinking we were so clever? Only she knows, I guess. :)

Mint Torte Cake

I know, I know, "torte" means cake, so it is redundant to say "Mint Torte Cake," but that is what we called it growing up so that is how I will always say it!

It was the classic birthday cake that we all had for at least one of our birthdays. As the older kids got older, they started requesting grown-up desserts like pecan pie and ice-cream cake. But to this day, I will always want mint torte cake for my birthday dessert.

For each of our birthdays, Mom would ask us what we wanted for dinner and she would make whatever it was. For most of my childhood birthdays, I would request chicken alfredo and of course mint tort cake. We may not have always gotten the latest and greatest in technology and toys, but we always had a fantastic birthday dinner, made with love by Mom. And I will always remember her carrying out the cake, with candles on top, singing "Happy Birthday," with the rest of the family joining in.

Anyone else have a favorite birthday dinner that Mom would make?

Here is the recipe for Mint Tort Cake:

Preheat oven to 350.

½ c. milk

½ c. cocoa

Cook milk and cocoa in saucepan to melt, not boil. Set aside.

1 ½ c. brown sugar

½ c. butter

3 eggs

Cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs. Stir in chocolate mixture.

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp mint flavor

½ c. milk

2 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tsp baking soda dissolved in ¼ c. hot water

Stir in vanilla, mint flavor, and milk. Fold in flour, salt, and baking powder just to moisten. Stir in baking soda water. Pour batter into 2 sprayed round cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes.

Mint Cream:

Beat 2 c. cold heavy cream until it puffs (about 3 min). Beat in ½ c. sugar, couple drops mint flavor, and green food color until cream holds its shape.

Slice cakes lengthwise. Stack them alternating cake and whipped cream. Top with Andes mints.

Quilting

Mom made this quilt for one of the nurses that worked with her after her diagnosis. 

When I graduated high school and went to college, I came home that first Christmas and discovered my old room off the laundry room had been transformed into Mom's Sewing Room. She had waited most of her married life for a sewing room. Prior to my room being requisitioned, she would stay up nights sewing in her and dad's room, something she said she often felt bad about because it would keep Dad up. But I never heard him complain. :)

When Mom was quilting, whether it was in her and Dad's room, or after the move to my old room, we kids would often come and sit either on her bed or on the floor in the sewing room. We would tell her about our day, our problems, the things that we were excited about, ask for her advice, or just sit and bask in her love. I know she thought of that room as her sanctuary but she never minded invasions. She even kept a jar of butterscotch candies to tempt the grandkids!

My request to all of you is that if you are lucky enough to have one of her quilts, dolls, cards, etc., if you would please email me (mcclurea6@gmail.com) a picture of it with a short description of when you received it and anything special about it. I will add them to this blog post. Dad has said how much he would like to have some record of all her projects and how cool would it be to see all of the stories attached to these works of art! Thank you and love to you all!

Can anyone tell me where this was taken? Was it one of her quilts she entered in the county fair competition?

Letter to Andrea While on Her Mission

I know this is a picture of Tim on his mission but I couldn't find one of Mom and me while I was on a mission so this will do.

As written by Dad in an email:

In addition to her journals, Mom has 3 large scrapbooks and this morning I happened to open the blue-fabric covered one to find these stories, actually letters inserted loosely inside. This is a copy of a letter that Mom wrote to Andrea while she was serving a mission. BTW, Tim was also on his mission at the same time. I know parts of this story have been mentioned in years past, but I thought it would be best told in Mom's own words.

Before quoting from the letter, I will say that I am taking the liberty of filtering out some of the stuff not relevant to anyone else but Andrea. 

Dated: August 15, 2011 

One more "tender mercy" to share with you - again involving the temple.... Dad and I took 3 of the youth to the Raleigh Temple last Saturday. While I was watching the baptisms take place, a woman sat down next to me. She told me she and her husband had made a trip out East to look up some people from her husband's mission (he served in Raleigh-Durham) some 20 years ago.They had been unsuccessful - and their final attempt was to stop in at the temple and inquire. When I told her my name and we had 2 children serving missions out West, in SLC and Las Vegas, she got very quiet. Then she said: "Sis. McClure, your son was in our home just last week, teaching a friend of our daughter!" I got teary, as she told me all about Tim - what a wonderful missionary he was, that he was doing well, etc. My mother's heart was quieted and brought to peace!

Well, darling, I'd better get started on my day. I think and pray for you always, and love you so dearly. Remember: You can do hard things! [her underlines] 

Love, Mom

PS. Maybe I'll meet someone from your mission at the Louisville Temple next week!"

Mom and Mister

Since I created this blog, I will be the first one to post on it. I wanted to share my memory of when Mom adopted Mister.

If I get the dates wrong, forgive me, but I believe it was the Christmas before Mom got sick, which would have been Christmas of 2013. We were having the missionaries, elders and a senior missionary couple, over for dinner on Christmas Eve. When I opened the door to let them in, this little black and white dog came trotting into the house. I was surprised and wondering why the missionaries had brought their dog to dinner, especially since missionaries are not supposed to have pets. They quickly explained the dog was not theirs and he was hanging out in the yard when they drove up, following them to the door.

So this little dog invites himself into the house, trots right back to the kitchen where Mom is busy getting dinner ready, sits down at her feet, and looks up at her like he has known her his whole life. It was love at first sight!

And from there, we all know the rest of the story. Mom tried for months to find his owner, but he was not wearing a collar or tags and no one responded to the ads. So he became her little Mister, our first indoor dog. He was completely devoted to her and not spoiled at all! He had two beds, one for the laundry room, where he slept at night, and one for her sewing room so she could have someplace to put him when she needed her hands free. He had his pick of the blankets on the back of the couch, including Dad's green Snuggie. And Mom adored him.

In the last few months of Mom's life, Mister was not allowed to be on her hospital bed without supervision because the slightest jolt would cause Mom a lot of pain. So what did he do? He dragged his bed from the laundry room and placed it under her hospital bed where he could still be close to her and have some protection from all of the loving grandchildren that visited Mom!

We tease and say that he must have come straight from God's lap because he has been such a comfort to all of us, not just Mom, in the last several years. But seriously, that will be one of the first things I want to ask God about when we meet again! :)

Anyone else have memories of Mom and Mister, please comment in the Comments section!