The Parting Glass

Wednesday night the world lost one of the sweetest women in existence, my great grandmother Rita.

She was a baker of wedding cakes, a football lover a birdhouse crafter, and worked on a military base during WWII.
She was a wife, widow, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.
She always had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

She lived an incredible 92 years.

I saved the card she mailed Kyle and I for our wedding- because it always made me smile. Inside the cover she had tacked in a poem that she had cut out. It was taped inside the card with her address stickers, above it she wrote 'Alex - Kyle "advice"':

'THE THRILL OF COOKING'

No doubt you think the man you wed
Can always live on love
You'll find that this is just as false
As stars are true above
Ask older wives, I'm sure this fact
You'll find none to dispute
When the honeymoon is over
You'll have to feed the brute
The heart throbs will be over
With the honeymoon 'tis true
But the Gnawing in his stomach
Will last his whole life through.
Sometimes you'll think as years go by
You've lost his heart, THE LUMMOX
It isn't gone, it still is there
But its moved down to his stomach
If you would keep his heart in place
You'll find it all too soon
You'll have to feed his stomach
Always MORNIN', NIGHT and NOON.
I'm sure you'll want to keep him
Handsome, hale and healthy looking
So heed my words, leave off the love
Take up THE THRILL OF COOKING
And when St. Peter gives the word
YOUR MAN'S NEXT ON THE DOCKET
Stick by him to the end, my dear
PUT A SANDWICH IN HIS POCKET.

-original poem written by Estelle Branck

What a hoot right? It is sweet, funny, and old fashioned. Just the kind of advice I love to get from a grandmother at my wedding.

This woman led such a long and joy-filled life, that's all any of us hopes for right?

I did this little drawing on Wednesday, it was inspired by this song. It's kind of triumphant, but about saying goodbye. It's a tiny tribute to such a great lady. (though my writing got a little sloppy in the end!)

While I wish I could have known her better, I am so grateful for the time we spent together. I look forward to hearing more stories about her life in the future.

Until we meet again. 

Love,

Alexandra

My New Favorite Book

How to Sew a Button and Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew

By: Erin Bried

This book is a how-to guide for doing things the simple, cheap, eco and old fashioned way. Bried interviews 10 grandmothers who survived the depression and uses their wisdom as the basis for this book. She covers everything from how to play charades to how to make dandelion wine and everywhere in between. I especially enjoyed that she built pie-making into the book, because ever since I learned to make a pie (crust and all) I have thought it is something every woman should learn to do! The sections are short and extremely funny to read. 

My grandmother is my hero and I have learned so much from her so to see someone like Bried sharing what grandmothers from across the country know with the world is a wonderful thing. You will be sure to be pleased with this book. It makes a great gift and is especially good for young people who are learning how to live on their own. This is probably why I enjoyed it so much, because as I read it I got to decide which parts I wanted to build into my life as I build it.

Just a few days after I finished reading this book I had to use it! It was amazing. A friend in my house asked me if I knew how to unclog sinks, and I began saying "no, sorry" when I remembered that was one of the many useful things covered in this book! I hobbled upstairs and grabbed the book came back and we gave it a try! And guess what? It worked! Really well. 

Here is what we did (sorry for the lack of photos).

1) I scooped the water out of the sink as best I could.

2) measured 1/2 cup of baking soda and poured it into the drain.

3) measured 1/2 cup of vinegar and poured it into the drain. 

fizzing began.

4) put a kettle of water on the stove and plugged the drain.

5) after approx. 15 minutes or the kettle whistling we poured the kettle down the drain. 

I felt like a million bucks. No draino needed. No chemicals, no plumbers. We did it ourselves and it felt great. 

Just before this incident I was wondering how I would use a lot of my new knowledge without having my own house, here is the proof that you still can!

Alexandra