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Posts Tagged ‘family’
Day of Memories
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, family, holidays, Thoughts on May 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Mothers and Others
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, family, inspiration, Thoughts on May 14, 2023| 1 Comment »
For my mother, and my other mothers, and to all those out there who appreciate flowers, here’s a piece on the history of tulips (one of my mother’s favorite flowers) and their role in art (another of my mom’s favorite things).
Happy Mother’s Day!
There is no other period of art history more closely associated with tulips than the Dutch Golden Age. Marked by economic prosperity, scientific discovery, and flourishing arts and culture, the tulip came to be a hallmark of the Netherland’s successes. There is some disagreement about exactly when and by whom the first tulips were brought to the Dutch Republic, but it is known that they were imported from the Ottoman Empire sometime in the latter half of the 16th century. Already a costly commodity, the demand for specific bulbs of different colors and varieties quickly outpaced the supply of tulips—and thus Tulip Mania, or the Tulip Craze, began. At its height, the price for a rare and prized tulip bulb was on par with a craftsperson’s annual wage.
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E. parma
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, birthdays, family, memories, Thoughts on May 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today would have been my grandfather’s 113th birthday. I’ve written about him on this day for the past two years, and I thought it would be nice to keep up the tradition.
My previous birthday posts about Grandpa:
Eleventy-First, with Memories | J.R. Johnson
My grandparents lived in Chicago for most of my life but when they retired they became snowbirds, the kind that fly south for the winter. Later, they moved down there permanently. My grandfather walked the beaches south of Cape Canaveral and found, among other things, the bleached white skeletons of Echinarachnius parma, otherwise known as sand dollars.
I saw live sand dollars for the first time on our recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They resemble their skeletons only in shape, and even that is unexpectedly flipped upright. Check out the images in the article below.
9 Fascinating Facts About Sand Dollars
The sand dollar—or “sea biscuit,” or “sand cake,” in other parts of the world—is purple and hairy in its prime.
Grandpa used to collect sand dollars and give them to us kids, a tiny piece of a magical, tropical land far to the south.
I still keep one on my bookshelf.
Happy birthday, Grandpa.
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In the End
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, Thoughts on December 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin
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More Than I Know
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, genre fiction, inspiration, music, Thoughts, writing on November 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s funny how much you can absorb without intending to. The other night I put on a classical channel in the background. An elegant but weighty piece came on and I looked up to see that it was by Brahms. Makes sense, I thought.
The next tune was lighter, a sparkling Baroque presence. Telemann. Ah yes, I thought.
Finally, a dramatic, Romantic sound that spoke of strength with warmth. Dvořák, of course.
Of course? What do I know about classical music? Nothing, that’s what. But my father played it all through my childhood and apparently some of it sank in.
It’s the same with writing, I find. I’m not great at picking apart a story into pieces like sixth-grade sentence deconstruction. (That may have something to do with my memories of actual sixth-grade sentence deconstruction. Ugh.)
Whatever genre I’m exploring, I prefer to swim in it, absorb it, dive deep until I am close enough to understand why some readers love it, even if I don’t.
That way, I absorb more than I know.
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Too Cool
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, family, food, home, memories, Thoughts on June 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
My father’s mother baked from scratch, but she always had a container of Cool Whip in the fridge when we came to visit. Did she always stock it? I don’t know, but it was a special treat for us.
I don’t buy it for myself but even now the taste of Cool Whip reminds me of hot summers and warm smiles.
Last week, I whipped up a bit of cream to go with fresh strawberries from a farm down the road. I usually add a bit of Grand Marnier but this time, I decided to try a slight twist.
It turns out that heavy whipping cream plus vanilla, sugar and a dollop of sour cream creates a thick whipped topping that tastes a lot like Cool Whip. Not as it is, necessarily, but as I remember it. Fun, flavorful, special.
Let’s call it Cool Whip for adults. All of the memories, none of the additives.
Thanks, Grandma.
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Just Press Play
Posted in Entertainment, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, history, inspiration, music on June 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »
As a bonus Father’s Day gift, today I’m featuring a podcast I know he’ll like.
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
In it, Andrew Hickey discusses the history and culture of rock & roll as seen through 500 songs. He’s up to episode 150.
If you prefer to consume your media via the written word, each episode includes a transcript. I also found myself somewhat at a loss as to which, what and where, so (being me) I made an episode list with links. (If an index already exists, I didn’t see it.)
Note: I built the list by translating episode titles into URLs in Excel and haven’t tested every link, but hopefully they’ll get you to where you’re going.
Enjoy!
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What We Become
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, inspiration, Thoughts on June 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”
― Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum
Or in my father’s case, not so little. For passing on wisdom, an open heart, sharp editorial eye, love of cooking, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and so much more, thanks, Dad. Happy Father’s Day!
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Good Things
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, food, recipes, Thoughts on April 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
My doctor may not agree* but some days you just need to go all in. This recipe is one example**:
Mom’s Mashed Potatoes
Peel, cook, mash, mix. The secret to success is lots of everything good; more butter, more milk, more salt.
Simple. Good.
* I use this rule in moderation, which makes the times when I do even better.
** Lest one accuse my mother of writing an incomplete recipe, I admit that there was originally more to it than this. I’ve stripped it down to the essentials:)
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Happy 109th
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, home, inspiration, memory, Thoughts on April 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Today would have been The Whippersnapper‘s 109th birthday. I was hoping to post another photo of her but my father, keeper of the family album, is out of town.
For now just let me say to my grandmother, dancer, baker, tea maker and all-around excellent human being:
I miss you, but I love that you were here.
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J.R. Johnson 
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