Lyn's Grandmother-Dee Dee

Today is my day to share another family story. My mother's mother Louise who was called Dee Dee (a popular nickname in my family) passed away when I was in first grade. I remember my mom coming to my classroom to get me at Glen Flora School in Waukegan IL, sad image in my mind. My main memory of my grandma was that often when I would visit her house, she would say, "Look in the oven. There's something for you." I would peer inside and there would be a miniature apple pie! Just for me.

My grandmother lived in a time when a woman had little control over how many children she had. She gave birth to my eldest aunt Alyce in 1912 and then didn't have any more children for nine years after she had an operation to remove benign fibroid tumors. Then she started having a baby every other year until she was 43. So she had a total of 7 live children and one late miscarriage. The miscarriage occurred after she mixed cement BY HAND with her husband to put the sidewalks in around their house at the corner of Washington Park and Lloyd. So there was a four year gap between my mother Catherine and her sister Louise my aunt Dee Dee (I told you it was a popular nickname!)

My grandmother was tireless in her efforts to raise good children and be a good housewife in the bargain. And I honor her for this since she did it without hot running water, a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, convenience meals, pizza delivery (for those nights when she was too tired to cook) and any other modern convenience that we take for granted.

Life used to be more physically demanding and men and women used to literally work themselves into early graves. In spite of all her work, she never lost the zest for fun. When my mother was a child, every Halloween, my grandma would make their house a fun house for her and the neighborhood kids--bobbing for apples in the laundry tub on the back porch. Making popcorn balls at the kitchen table. The haunted house in the parlor. In the summers at the end of long hot days, she would pop popcorn till she filled the same laundry tub and then she would tell her children to go bring a friend. She often suggested they bring the poor "only" children like my unofficial aunt Audrey who lived behind my mom. The children would sit around the kitchen table, eating the laundry tub of popcorn and my grandmother's home-brewed and bottled sarsaparilla.

I've attached a photo my dh snapped a few weeks ago of my grandparent's house, which looks newly sided. My grandfather built the house himself. A carpenter was building his house a few blocks away and my grandfather would go to him and ask how to do something and then he'd go back and do. When he was all done, someone explained to him what a carpenter's level was! So the house may be a bit off-kilter but it's still standing!

And my memories of my grandmother though few are still fresh in my mind!

Second half of Coffee Cake Recipe & My Mom

Second half of Coffee Cake Recipe & My Mom

Hey! This is the day I launch my first story of a strong woman and half a recipe.

Now for the recipe first. I posted the ingredients on a brand new blog today, called Craftie Ladies of Romance by Love Inspired Authors. So if you want the ingredients, go to http://www.craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com/

And here's the how to:

Spray bundt pan with non-stick oil. Open tubes of biscuits, pat each biscuit larger, then put about a teaspoon of cream cheese on each, fold over and seal with fingertips. Dip in butter and then in nuts. Arrange in a row around the bottom of the bundt pan and sprinkle each layer with cinnamon sugar. This recipe should make around 3 layers in the pan. Then bake at 400 F. for 20 minutes. Take out and upend on holiday dish.
Optional glaze: Take 1/2 cup of orange juice and mix with 1-2 cups of powdered sugar. Should be pourable. Pour over cake.
Done!

Now this recipe can be tailored to your family's tastes. I used honey-nut cream cheese this time and I had some apple and cinnamon and sugar juice I had poured off a few pies that were overflowing their pie shells (oops I didn't say that, did I?--My pies never run over!)
so I used it with the powdered sugar. You could also substitute lemon juice or a buttery mix of cinnamon, sugar and water warmed and stirred till sugar is dissolved. Be creative! What would make this a favorite with your family? And if you have younger children or grandchildren, this is a perfect recipe for them to help with.

Now to finish this post.

I have known many strong women in my life. However, I think it only right that my first post of a strong woman be my mother. She passed away over a year ago. Unfortunately, her last years were clouded with dementia and its paranoia. I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences. After her funeral, I began remembering all the remarkable things about her. And especially what a fun mom she was when my brother and I were kids. I grew up in Waukegan, IL, which is on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. Waukegan had the most wonderful beaches! These were the days before pollution took its toll on water quality. Waukegan's North Beach had beautiful white sand, a WPA built bathouse, a lovely shady picnic area and miles and miles of shoreline.

The highlight of summer were the days when the usual westerly wind would shift to an east wind. An east wind drove the warmer waters back to the shore in HUGE waves that gave us hours of fun. My mother was running the family business (May's Floors), kept a spotless house, cooked fantastic meals and still took time for afternoons at the beach. And she didn't even like to wade! So it was just me and Bobby. Whenever I hear the call of a seagull, it takes me back to those wonderful times, dancing in the waves, shouting and laughing and splashing and making friends with every other child lucky enough to be at the beach. Did you have a fun mom too? What is your best childhood memory that your mom made possible?