Raspberry Love

     It's raspberry season - it's hot outside. Smoothies for lunch are so cool and simple. Frozen vanilla yogurt, milk, an ice cube and lots of berries are pureed in the blender, poured in a glass and topped with whipped cream and a berry garnish. 

Peter & Juliana Voorhies

     We'll start with the end of a story here -  a tombstone in St. Johns Cemetery in Jackson, Michigan that stands as a silent reminder of a family long gone. The beginning was in Belgium, where Peter Voorhies was born in 1870, and in Flanders, where Juliana Desmyter was born in 1875. Peter immigrated to America as an adult in 1892 but Juliana was a toddler when her family arrived in 1877. The couple married in 1893.

     They were living in Scio Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan in 1900 where Peter (left) who had been a buggy maker in the old country, was now a farmer, and the couple had two little daughters, Florence and Marie. In 1910, the family had moved to Jackson City where Peter was employed as a laundryman at a hotel, and Juliana had borne two more children, sons Lawrence and Edward.











       Ten years later, the family was living in Summit Township, East Jackson; Peter was working for the railroad as a track foreman and a last little son, Louis (named for Peter's father) had joined the family. This photo shows the family plus a fellow named Harold Brown, seated far right, who was or would become Florence's husband.





     Here Peter and Julia, as she was called, smile on the wedding day of their oldest son,  Larry, and his bride, Phyllis Phillips (who would have only one child, my mother). Not long after, in 1926 at the age of fifty-six, Peter passed away but Juliana lived until 1952 with her single daughter, Marie. Sadly she lost two sons, Lawrence and Edward, before she died.

     I feel quite unfortunate that these hard facts are the only things I know about Peter and Julia (below). They lived through so much, overcame many obstacles and a large measure of their life must have been difficult. Why did they leave Europe and were they happy in America? What kind of personalities did they have? I can only speculate but I am glad that at the very least, I have these few photographs.

Simply Potato Salad

     Potato salad is a top favorite of my husband and he especially likes it made the way my mother did for decades. Her recipe is quite plain, which makes the preparation relatively simple. Cooked red potatoes (sometimes I use Idaho Russets because that's what we happen to have in the pantry), celery, pimento, hard-boiled eggs, and a dressing of Miracle Whip mixed with a touch of mustard, salt and pepper. Mom didn't care for onions in salads and I follow her rule in this instance, unless there are a couple of green onions available. Occasionally I will add a chopped sweet pickle, and in the early summer a few leaves of homegrown romaine lettuce add a special touch, as well. And there is just enough room on the plate for a tender grilled fillet mignon or barbecued pork steak!

Summertime - In the Pool

     Summertime memories are often evoked by the hot bright sun, the cool shade of a tree, a brilliant blue sky, and the smell of new-mown grass and pool chlorine. Back in the early 1960's, my little sisters and I spent most of our summer days outside. Before air-conditioning, it was more comfortable than in the house but I think we also just loved being in the backyard. In the morning, we set up doll hospitals or veterinary clinics (for injured or ill stuffed animals), or cared for the imaginary horses in the garage "stable".  

   Afternoons were spent in the pool. Although we envied a neighbor who had a "big" pool - really a galvanized stock tank - our vinyl version served its purpose quite well. It was filled with fresh water daily (after moving it to a new spot so the grass would not be smothered), and kept clean of grass and bugs by skimming with a dented sieve from the kitchen. No one was allowed in the pool until they rinsed their feet clean in a tub placed next to the pool!

Bacon Wrapped Burger Franks

     Summertime and grilling is easy...and fun...because creativity takes the ho-hum out of the everyday! These "burger franks" were so yummy and so worth not having dessert.  Cheddar cheese wrapped with ground chuck wrapped with bacon and grilled to sizzly perfection and served on a hot dog bun (which has to be a Ball Park Bun - our current favorite and not the thriftiest buy - they are substantial yet soft). Ketchup and mustard were hardly necessary!

Day Bed from Old Doors

     After replacing the interior doors, original to the house built in 1959, these three were in good enough shape that they were not slated for trash. Like everything else in the house, they were very well-built -  hollow core but strongly reinforced - so I thought maybe to use them for shelving in the garage or in the attic. Instead they assumed new life as a piece of furniture, and an old twin bed frame and box springs were trashed instead.

     Removing the hinges was not difficult, despite layers of paint. The knobs were another story. There were no discernible screws so a little research revealed that the tip of a paper clip inserted into a tiny slot in the base would pop the knob out, releasing the collar to allow access to two screws which disengaged the core for easy extraction. Of course, one  was easily manipulated while the other two proved a bit more challenging. Finally, with all hardware removed, wood putty was applied to the various holes, nicks and divots, and then sanded smooth before painting with white enamel latex. (I almost felt like this pile of hardware should have been recycled or refashioned but after the removal battle, I was actually glad to throw the mess into a garbage can!)

     Lengths of 1 x 8 pine were cut to size, painted also with white enamel latex, and assembled into a framework. The doors (one 30 inch wide combined with a 9 inch edge of another to accommodate a 39 inch wide twin mattress) were attached to the framework. Lastly four tapered bun feet were attached to the bottom.

    

     I love the new day bed, even with the old quilt and pillows, which I intend to replace. Miss Molly, in curious kitty fashion, is not so sure.

(Old bed)

Cooper's Hawk - Sharing the Backyard

     Large red-tailed hawks are not a rare sight in our suburban neighborhood. Usually they sail silently, high over the tree tops, but occasionally one will perch on a tree limb or phone pole while searching for prey. Yesterday I stopped to look out the big back window and just by chance saw a very large swoop of wings - a red-tail who flew down to snatch a squirrel off the trunk of an ash tree - and immediately vamoosed with its meal. It happened so quickly that even if I'd had a camera close, it wouldn't have been possible to catch a photo. (Once a feisty red-tail seemed to be perturbed by our Siberian Husky, who circled underneath him - I could swear the bird dropped an arm-sized stick at that dog!) 

     Anyway, lately we've been spotting a smaller hawk but never close enough or still enough to make an identification. Then I saw this guy on the neighbor's lawn, eating away at his lunch. This time the camera was close and I stepped quietly out the door, but he startled and flew up into a tree. However I was able to get near enough to use a zoom lens and capture a picture - not a great one but reasonably good - and I think finally his identity was revealed: a Cooper's Hawk. The size of him, his long legs, the squarish head and the tubular body were the clues. Just call me Sherlock!