Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘memories’

What Grandma Knows

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , on March 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Measles Is One Of The Most Contagious Diseases On Earth

Measles infection can result in severe and sometimes permanent complications including pneumonia, lung damage, brain damage, and death.

But unlike some infectious diseases, measles has a safe, effective vaccine that can protect us from infection.

We, the general public, can control measles outbreaks.

… [this bit’s for the grandparental units out there; stay healthy, folks!]

The first live measles virus vaccines—which are more effective—were available in 1969.

So anyone born between 1957–1968 may not have sufficient antibodies to avoid infection. Consult your doctor about immunization.

Many of our parents, grandparents, and other waybacks lived through a lot of difficult things: two world wars, the Great Depression, Spanish Influenza, polio, smallpox, or life before basic standards of health and safety, for example. (Coincidentally, today is also the anniversary of the declaration of the Covid pandemic. Because history may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.)

If you’re fortunate enough to still have relatives who lived through those times, consider asking them what it was like, and who they lost.

You might hear some interesting stories.

* * *

Photo by Ekaterina Shakharova on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Honor the Dead, Cherish the Living

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , , on May 27, 2024| 1 Comment »

On Memorial Day, we honor and remember.

What Is Memorial Day? A Brief History and Why It’s Celebrated.

The holiday grew out of the Civil War, as Americans — Northern, Southern, Black and white — struggled to honor the staggering numbers of dead soldiers, at least 2 percent of the U.S. population at the time. Several places lay claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. One of the earliest accounts comes from Boalsburg, Pa., where, in October 1864, three women are said to have placed flowers and wreaths on the graves of men who had died serving the Union during the Civil War.

Not too far away from my favorite ice cream store there lives a green metal tank. This aged weapon of war sits in pride of place outside the military museum in Boalsburg, and my brother and I used to climb it as kids. We absorbed the solemnity of that place and, as children do, converted it to joy. 

Today, may you do the same.

* * *

Photo by Kamala Bright on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Happy 114th!

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on May 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Happy birthday, Grandpa! Some of my previous birthday posts:

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

— Carl W. Buehner

* * *

Photo by Melissa Walker Horn on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

That Day, and After

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on September 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

On this day in 2001 I was home in Pennsylvania, getting ready to fly back to Boston. At least that was the plan, until I got a call telling me that all flights had been grounded.

For more on what was behind the cancellation of my flight, and all the others, check out this article from Now I Know:

Ben’s Big Decision

In all, Ben Sliney’s initiative makes for an incredible story. When Universal Pictures decided to turn the heroism of the passengers of United Flight 93 into a movie, they did not overlook Ben Sliney’s role — they even asked him to play himself in the movie…

Here’s to all the heroes from that day, and after.

* * *

Photo by Julien DI MAJO on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Summer Love

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on August 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s the end of August and I feel the way I did as a kid, watching the school year approach. The weather has mimicked Fall for weeks but now it’s almost here in truth. Cool winds, thunderstorms, and the inexorable sense that the seasons continue to turn. 

And now, I’m missing something that is not yet gone.

To summer, with love.

* * *

Photo by Allyson Beaucourt on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

E. parma

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on May 13, 2023| 1 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

To Be Fair | 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.

* * *

Read Full Post »

Wonderland

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on March 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s Saturday and we woke to a world of deep, quiet snow. It took me back to childhood and to one book in particular, Ezra Jack Keats’s award-winning classic, The Snowy Day. Here it is, presented with animation and narration: 

Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people’s legs like house cats. It was magical, this snow globe world.

– Sarah Addison Allen, “The Sugar Queen”

* * *

Photo by Ravi Patel on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Too Cool

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , , , , 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.

* * *

Photo by Tangerine Newt on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Family Dinner

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , , on June 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

My father texted the other day to say that he was making a dish from my childhood, Mrs. Chiang’s Eggplant with Chopped Meat. The name brought back memories of hot chili and flavorful meat with rice. I should make that too, I thought. Where is my wok?

Several days later I made the dish with what I had or could get. Two eggplants became one, eight scallions became two huge handfuls from my bag of pre-chopped and frozen, peanut oil became avocado and pork became turkey. Fortunately, the recipe is quite forgiving.

The chili paste stayed the same, as did the complex and satisfying taste. And the fond memories.

I still haven’t found my wok.

* * *

Eggplant with Ground Turkey
(adapted from Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook)

  • ½ lb. ground turkey, pork or beef
  • 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
  • 8 scallions
  • 2 medium eggplants
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger
  • 5 Tbsp. peanut or other high-temperature oil
  • 2 Tbsp. hot chili paste
  • 1 to 1½ tsp. sugar
  • 1½ tsp. salt
  • ⅔ cup water
  1. Put the meat in a bowl and stir in the soy sauce and sesame oil.
  2. Clean and chop the scallions into small pieces. Mix half the chopped scallions into the meat. Reserve the rest for later use.
  3. Peel the eggplants and cut into ½-1 inch cubes.
  4. Smash the garlic, peel, and chop into little pieces, about the size of grains of rice.
  5. Peel the ginger and chop into pieces the size of match heads.
  6. Heat the pan on high until the oil just begins to smoke. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
  7. Add the hot chili paste and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
  8. Add the chopped meat mixture and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to break up any large lumps.
  9. Add the eggplant and stir-fry everything for another 4 minutes or so.
  10. Sprinkle the sugar and salt over the eggplant mixture, stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Stir stir stir stir stir.
  11. Pour in the water and add the reserved scallions. Wait until the water comes to a boil, then cover the pan without reducing the heat. Cook for another 15 minutes, until the eggplant is soft.

* * *

Photo by Tijana Drndarski on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

The Wonderful World of Waffles

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , on January 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

After a long hiatus, I have returned to the world of waffle making. They really are delicious.

My father used to make us the best weekend waffles. Even the batter tasted great. The leavening made little bubbles that popped on the tongue.

For whatever reason, this week I got it in my head to make waffles. We had a cream-based seafood stew and as I pulled it out of the fridge I thought, “Chicken and waffles!”

For the uninitiated among you, chicken and waffles is a thing. A delicious, savory, creamy Pennsylvania Dutch dish that etched itself in my culinary memory from childhood.

The traditional Pennsylvania Dutch version consists of a plain waffle with pulled, stewed chicken on top, covered in gravy.

— Chicken and waffles – Wikipedia

Obviously, seafood is not chicken, but hey, I thought, close enough. I want waffles! Crispy outside, fluffy inside, what’s not to love? After a deep dive into the long-term storage situation I excavated the waffle maker from the bottom shelf of the basement cupboard. A not-so-quick cleaning* and dinner was served.

I made extra because waffles freeze well and if you want a quick dessert, say, don’t need more than visit to the toaster and a healthy dose of maple syrup.

Have we taken advantage of that fact?

Maybe!*

* * *

Photo by Slashio Photography on Unsplash

* * *

* Sadly, in my experience waffle makers tend to be plagued by poor design and are difficult to maintain. Our current version is no exception. 

* * Um, yeah. Hundred percent yes.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »