Getting ready for the move

 We are moving to a retirement community, and frankly my dear, I'm pooped.  And so is my husband. On Friday we had a quick trip by ambulance to the ER because he was wrestling a painting off the wall which got tangled in the wire and he became short of breath.  He has 4 stents so rather than self diagnose, I called the squad. I had been at the bank depositing cash I'd found around the house (over $3,000) and had gone downstairs to enter the deposit.  Then I noticed he was on the floor "resting his eyes." We were discussing the seriousness of his symptoms and just decided to call rather than be sorry.  So our daughter, son-in-law and I spent the day in the ER admittance with him, and got home about 4 p.m. Today he feels fine and went to church, but I'm still a bit frazzled so I stayed home.

We had 34 paintings on the first floor and 260 total.  That's a lot of wrapping after deciding the locations for safe keeping (our apartment, our daughter's home, or put up for sale). We have not found 3 floor living a problem until this move prep.  We were always careful and limited our ups and downs to about 3 or 4 trips during the day. But the move has put that at more than 30 trips a day. This is definitely not good for either of us.  Today I was moving our emergency food to the kitchen to be disposed of.  I'd carry up a can of tuna, a can of soup, and a can of vegetables.  Then I'd sit down and do something else, or talk to a neighbor.  Then I'd make another trip. I've been emptying them and running the disposal before getting rid of the cans in the recycle bin.

Our wonderful neighbor Barbie brought us dinner last night--a scrumptious Salmon salad and wedding soup with warm bread.  The salads are so large we'll have two meals from that, and we had the soup for lunch after church. She may even help us with some things to take to Indianapolis because she goes there every week to babysit her grandbabies! I've got some genealogy to share with our niece who has shown some interest in that area.  For years people--Aunt Roberta, Aunt Babe, Cousin Jim--have been sending me stuff, now it's time to pass it along.

Today some of our neighbors have been coming by to see if they want to purchase the paintings we don't have plans to use.  My parents 1947 maple twin bed suite with a chest and a dressing table with all the bedding have been given to friends of ours who have lots of grandchildren who come to visit. They were so kind and helpful when Phil died 5 years ago, we know it is going to a loving family. That set started out in Forreston, IL, then moved to Mt. Morris, IL, then to Franklin Grove, IL, then to Columbus, OH, then to Lakeside, OH, then back to Columbus.  A well-travelled bedroom suite. They were also able to use the quilt rack that held Phil's quilt for 5 years that cousin Jeanette made for him shone in the lower photo on the futon.  

kitchen  

Office/den 

Speaking memories at lunch

Lunch today was nothing incredible--rotisserie chicken, alfredo sauce, with macaroni, asparagus, fresh spinach, toasted French loaf with garlic butter, fresh pineapple with blueberries, and a homemade chocolate cookie (for him, I was full). No photo was taken. But we had a lively conversation. I try to tell stories he hasn't heard before (and that I haven't heard either). 

He gets sort of mixed up on the dates. I do remember those. We met in March 1959 and married in September 1960, so it's been 65 years since our first date. We both remembered what we wore because we went to the St. Pat's Ball. He wore his grandfather's sport coat and I wore a friend's lace red dress. 

 I think what started the conversation at lunch today was a photo I had of him in 1975 when he was super skinny. He had propped his painting up against our Ford Pinto in the drive way so I could take a photo.  And he then looked like the guy I met in 1959. In those days some of us didn't know each other very well. I went to summer school in Maine that summer, and he worked in Indianapolis the fall of 1959 while I was at U. of Illinois, so actually, we were practically strangers. We had both been engaged before, and to my knowledge they are also both alive.

I can't seem to find the photo I showed him today in his skinny days, but I remember I bought him this suit in the boys' department at Lazarus. 1974. And that helmet hair I was wearing was all the rage.

Indiana trip April 27

We had a wonderful visit with our Indiana family Saturday, good weather for travel, and lots of laughs, and there were about 16 of us. One nephew has 5 children, so that upped the count a little. I took along a lot of Mother's Day cards hoping they can be distributed--I know they'll all show up at the home of my sister-in-laws. We were all exhausted when we got back -- it's about 6 hours on the road for a short visit, but we all had fun.

                                                             Bob and me with his sister

I've lost a close friend of 50 years, Nancy Long

Since January I've been keeping a close watch on my good friend Nancy Long, who has been in and out of the hospital several times.  Fortunately, I'd been able to visit her and talk to her on the phone during her last illness.  We met in 1974 in a Bible study at FCC, found out we both enjoyed going out for coffee for a chat, and later that year she introduced us to Lakeside.  I also knew her parents, daughters, husband, and had met most of the grandchildren. She was well read and always knew the latest trends in fashion, real estate, politics and investments, plus what was going on in our school system and city government. She was a Republican long before I was, but we rarely disagreed. We celebrated our birthdays together probably all but last year, our 50th anniversaries, attended the funerals of mutual friends, many Lakeside events, church services, and dinners.  This is her obituary.

 

Panera's for coffee--2005

Exercise class--Blues Brothers--1986

 

Our 50th anniversary 2010

Nancy Lou Mitchell Long passed away Wednesday, March 27, 2024.

She was the beloved wife of Professor Ronald K. Long for 64 years. She and Ronald were residents of First Community Village for nearly three years.

Nancy was born June 18, 1933, in Bellevue, to Bertram and Helen Moreland Mitchell, who preceded her in death. Nancy fought a courageous almost lifelong battle with lung disease (bronchiectasis) which left her with a chronic productive cough and ultimately led to her passing.

After graduating from Bellevue High School, Nancy attended Denison University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree (1955). She joined Chi Omega Sorority and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and National Mortar Board Honorary her junior year. She earned her Master of Science in Counseling from Stanford University (1957). Nancy spent many of her years as an educator, teaching at Columbus State Community College, Ohio State University, Euclid Senior High School, and Harding Junior High School in Lakewood.

Nancy was a member of First Community Church since 1960 and served as chair of numerous councils and committees including First Community Foundation, FCC Governing Board, Board of Deacons, Couple's Circle 29, Women's Guild Board, and Guilds X and G. She also enjoyed OSU Women's Club, Wednesday Literary Club (20 years), Mortar Board Alumnae, American Association of University Women, and Women's Association of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Over the years, her interests included playing piano duets with friends, reading current books, and giving book reviews. She developed and directed a merchandising program for Mortar Board National Office.

Since 1947, Nancy and her family spent summers at the family cottage at Lakeside on Lake Erie where she enjoyed walking along the lakefront path and hosting her grandchildren each summer. She was active in Lakeside Women's Club, The Heritage Society, and Friends of the Hotel Lakeside.

Nancy is survived by her daughters, Marilyn (Patrick) Roddy of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Susan (Davin) McAndrews of San Francisco, California; grandchildren she cherished, Katherine (Noah) Lavine, McKenzie (Chase) Hall, and Margaret Roddy, and Davin (Mac), Mitchell, and Porter McAndrews; and great-grandsons, Henry and Simon Lavine.

As an only child, Nancy always considered herself fortunate to have shared her childhood with cousins James Dean Miller (Carole, deceased), Jane Louise Miller Davisson (deceased) (David, deceased), Sandra Miller Woolley (Frank, deceased), and Michael Miller (Lu Ann).

Memorial gifts may be sent to First Community Foundation - Guild X fund, 1320 Cambridge Blvd., Columbus, Ohio, 43212. Nancy's celebration of life will be 2 p.m. Saturday, April 13, 2024, at First Community Church, 1320 Cambridge Blvd., Columbus, Ohio, 43212. A reception for family and friends will be at the church following the service.

Arrangements have been entrusted to SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST.

One of my favorite photos

 This came up as a reminder for July 31, 2010 on Facebook today.

Greeting the neighbors at 6:30 a.m.

 On my morning walk I noticed a DIY moving truck and my neighbors loading personal belongings into their car.  So I stopped to chat.  They are moving to Florida.  I don't think this is political or financial because they bought a smaller home 4 years ago, and are just hoping for a nice retirement on the beach. Covid and the lockdown messed up their timetable, but now they are on their way.  They've lived there 13 years, and although we've chatted at parties, this was the longest conversation we've had.  I remember it used to be a 4 generation household.  His mother, their daughter and a granddaughter. Now it's just the 2 of them in 3700 sq. ft. But that's a lot of boxes, memorabilia and stuff to move. Safe travels Barry and Kathy.

  

Back to the seventies, Hippity Hop and Big Wheel

I'm not sure why I posted this 10 years ago on Facebook, except to tell of my parents' voices in my head. They are about 60 in the photo, so I was maybe 34. The original in 2013 said, "Hallmark should have a card to celebrate the day you become your parent(s). (Heard on the radio) I would love to sound like my mother, but usually it is Dad who speaks. He would give a solid yes or no, and Mom would say, "We'll see," so we interpreted that any way that suited us."

Now I've waited too long to tell about the visit or what we did. If I had my photo album, I might have notes. It was spring, that's a flowering quince which will take over the yard if you aren't careful, a sand box which Bob built and the neighborhood cats used. The kids weren't very interested in t.  The toys are Big wheel and Hippity Hop. Anyone remember those? Today about 50 years later I'm wearing mom's hairstyle in this photo. It's very windy this week at the Lake. Not once did I ever hear her complain about her hair, but I do every day. Every day. Oh, how I miss her wisdom, strength and love of service.

Dinner, last day of April

Let's return to the real reason we have social media. Photos of our meals. This is Sunday dinner today: pork tenderloin, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, coleslaw on leaf lettuce and mixed fruit--pineapple and blueberries. I love my Mountain Ivy dishes from Blue Ridge Southern Pottery (Erwin, TN) which I bought at the Lakeside archives sale store in 2018. The pattern is a little older than me, and the pottery closed in 1957.

When and where are those golden years we've heard about?

Yesterday I received a cartoon-poem from a high school friend, Rusty Rush, about the Golden Years. Actually, I didn't know him in high school, we met on the internet in a group managed by a mutual high school friend from when both played basketball for different high schools. When I ask myself when do those golden years start, I remind myself they came and went. My golden years were my 60s to mid-70s. Or 2000-2015. I had a thoroughly good time and was healthy enough to move around easily and travel in uncomfortable buses and bumpy plane rides. Much better than being a teen-ager. And although I loved my job, retirement in those years was just fun.  Every day I decided how to use my time. If time is money, I was a billionaire. This is a public service announcement in case you've been asking.

  

Art classes at the Senior Center 2001

 

New home (now 23 years) in condo association with great neighbors

 and someone else to take care of the lawn and snow.

  

Joined a book club in fall 2000. I've now read

some mystery books.

  

Joined Conestoga and visited historical sites in Ohio;

Cleveland, Cincinnati, Marion, Dayton, Canton, Blannerhasset, 

Mansfield  and many in Columbus. Airplanes, automobiles, 

graveyards, churches, museums, gardens, buildings, presidents' homes.

  

Travel to Alaska, Germany, Austria, Finland, Russia, Estonia, 

Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Israel,

Egypt, Spain

 

Architectural tours with local Frank Lloyd Wright group to

  New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas

  

Train trip to California 2003 for Bob Sr. 90th birthday,

Glen Canyon, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Glacier Park,  

and in 2006

for Debbie's wedding and FLW tours and 

in 2011 for

  

Visits with Debbie and John and Rick and Kate,

 Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Malibu, Orange Co., Palm Springs,

Reagan Museum

 

Enjoying full season from 2001-2022 at our summer

home of 34 years in Lakeside, Ohio

  

Painting of our cottage on Third Street by Barby Bright

 

Family get-togethers at the Lake

 

Phil's home--Mother's Day

 

Holidays with family--Phoebe's home

 

Visits with Illinois family

 

Visits with Indiana family (Jean's 80th party)

 

Participated in many art shows

 

And 20 years of writing this blog, 20,017 posts,

with 3,567,726 views

(must be an old pie chart since most

are now political)

Canned stewed tomatoes, a taste of home

Last week our daughter brought over some freshly canned tomatoes and pickles, but I told her 2 pints of tomatoes would be plenty. I was thinking of spaghetti or casseroles. Then today I opened one to pour over a beef roast, and tasted a few chunks. Wow. Memory overload. My mom used to can tomatoes until I thought I'd never look at another stewed tomato. My dad (and the fathers of my friends) used to crumble soda crackers over them and add sugar to eat as a dessert. It would make me gag, but I guess it was a Depression era treat. Thus I had not tasted cold stewed, freshly canned tomatoes in about 60 years. It was like greeting a long lost friend.

A taste of fall

Today we enjoyed a taste of fall--about 77 degrees here in Columbus. Our noon meal we ate on the deck--grilled salmon with honey/cinnamon glaze, butternut squash, steamed cabbage, salad of orange sections and onion slices on fresh spinach leaves topped with shredded carrots. Bob got some chocolate chip cookies, but I'd already eaten 2 while baking them this morning. A perfect day. We began eating our main meal at noon about 6 months ago.

Surprise visitors today

 I heard some commotion outside and heard voices.  It turns out our good friends Tom and Natalie, their daughters and sons-in-law, and three grandchildren were renting a cottage just a few doors away.  A good reunion. Tom helped us in 1989 when we had carpet installed, and he and Bob's Cursillo group came up here during the winter one year.

Washing Dishes

 

What's that fishy smell? Salmon

We had salmon for lunch. I came in from a walk to the store, and thought Yikes, it still smells fishy in here, so I got out an air freshener and now it smells really strange. But that brought back a memory of our son Phil who died in April 2020. We had let him and a group of buddies use the cottage for a few days here at Lakeside. While we were driving back we called about an hour out and told him when we'd arrive, hoping to catch a few minutes with him. When we got to the cottage, the young men were gone. And there was a very odd but familiar perfumy smell in the house. And there were strange spots on the walls. It took me a while, but I figured out that Phil had put the guys in high gear to get everything cleaned up before we arrived, and although they knew our rule was no smoking in the house, they did. Someone had grabbed a can of furniture polish thinking it was air freshener. . . and thus the odd smell and drips on the walls. In the file folder of memories of Phil, not sure where to put that one.

Public service announcement: lots of air fresheners and room deodorizers (and probably scented candles) contain chemicals not good for our lungs, so I rarely use them. Also not good for your pets.

                                    Phil's selfie of his feet and Lake Erie

First really great day of the spring and it's 83!

 We cleaned off the deck and washed the furniture and had our dinner outside--beef roast, potatoes, carrots and yellow peppers, fresh fruit and a giant cookie.  What an amazing day.  Our neighbor's dog, Kerry, stopped by to visit.  She loves Bob.  He takes her on walks and feeds her when her owners are gone.  She didn't want to go home, but I think she could smell the beef roast!  Later in the day I took a walk and enjoyed the flowering crab apple trees.  I'm wearing my head phones in the photo while enjoying a podcast about Liturgy of the Hours.  Had a visit with a new neighbor Mark who moved in last week, and an old neighbor Jan (but younger than me). So many of my neighbors are planting flowers.  It was a beautiful time.

Egg rolls cancelled because of Covid

I don't care much for "egg rolls" which are traditional at Easter, but cancelling them at the White House or locally in our town was a political statement, not a health statement. They are done outside, and the WH lawn is huge. The numbers could have been limited, there was plenty of space for distancing, and even children, who don't need masks, could have worn them. It was just another Biden /Democrat bureaucracy announcement that we are under his control and power, and we better not forget it.

 
We took our children ONCE as pre-schoolers to the local event in the early 70s, and swore never again. It was a mob of screaming, fighting, yelling suburban kids who one would have thought hadn't eaten in weeks. It terrified our little ones and we never went to another one.

 

We had our own Easter egg hunt at our house in 1973 with the Clarks. Phil and Rich used their cowboy hats as Easter baskets.

Enjoying summer's bounty

 For breakfast this morning I had 2 biscuits warmed up (left over from dinner a few days ago) with tart cherry jam.  My daughter has found a summer farmer's market on the east side whose produce she buys in bulk in the summer.  She bought gallons of tart Michigan sour cherries this summer and processed them into jam.  And we're now enjoying it.  She also bought baskets of cukes and using my Mother's recipe for bread and butter pickles and dill pickles, we've had some of that for holiday meals.  She also bought a lot of corn on the cob and wax beans and processed those for the freezer.  Bob hates corn, but the rest of us really enjoyed a taste of summer at Thanksgiving--tasted like we'd just walked into the field and pulled a few ears off the stalk. She sent some home with me after Saturday dinner, and I enjoyed it for Sunday breakfast. I'd often talked about how wonderful watermelon pickles are (the only produce I've ever canned, and that was 1957), so she found a recipe in my Mother's file box, and made them this past summer using tiny little flower shapes.  She also makes cherry pies with highly decorative crusts. The apple butter is scrumptious but perhaps fewer spices next time, she says.  She's considerably added to her costs by then packaging the jars and Fed-exing them to relatives. She often calls her cousin Amy for advice about mom's recipes if she thinks something doesn't sound right, so I know she got some, and her cousin Joan in Indiana who has been so helpful to us this past year.  I believe her sisters-in-law in Colorado and Kansas benefited from her generosity, and of course we did too. 

Thanksgiving dinner

A great week-end at Lakeside

A lovely concert in the park this afternoon at Lakeside. Bright sun, gorgeous lake views of Kelley's Island. A group from the other end of Lake Erie, Buffalo, NY, singing canal and folk songs. We've also spent the week-end with many friends, including 2 couples from our home church in Columbus, UALC, who have supported us through this difficult year. Judi and I enjoyed time on the hotel porch this morning. Yesterday we watched a wedding with Rob and Lynn on the hotel lawn--wedding vows in Lakeside are VERY public. 

 Photo from our neighborhood wine and chocolate gathering for our 60th on Friday evening in a neighbor's yard.

 

September 11, 1960 and 2020

Today is our 60th wedding anniversary. We're having a much smaller celebration than we had in 2010 for our 50th--a few Lakeside friends and neighbors for wine and chocolate in our neighbor's yard which is big enough for outdoor social spacing and lawn chairs. I've purchased individually wrapped desserts in a variety of chocolate flavors--peppermint, raspberry, peanut butter, etc., and some soda for the kids. We hope the weather will hold--it's turned a little nippy here in Lakeside.

Last night Bob asked me what was our best year out of the 60, and I think it's not an actual calendar year, but 1967-1968. Definitely. As in 2019-2020, our lives changed dramatically. We moved from Champaign-Urbana, IL to Columbus, OH, to new career directions, an adorable, gorgeous baby girl to ease the pain of our losses, an exciting church with a ready made group of couples friends who welcomed us warmly, the purchase of our home of the next 34 years on Abington Rd., and all the wonderful things about a vibrant Columbus and scenic Ohio which continue to amaze us after all this time.

 

  

  

  

 

A child centric world

Between rain storms this morning I walked with a neighbor to the little grocery store in Lakeside (one of my favorite things about this small town). Ron was telling me about their plans to take in the grandchildren's activities in three different states this fall. I asked him if his grandparents (or even parents) ever attended his school activities or special events. (He's 10 years younger--Vietnam vet.) I couldn't remember my own grandparents--I had 6 since my great grandparents were also living in the same town--attending anything except my wedding. I think my mom may have attended a play I was in or a musical event/recital. He agreed. He didn't think his parents or grandparents made an effort to go to children's events. His dad was working, he said, and his mom had so many household duties, grandparents were elderly. "Well," he said, "we live in a child centric culture."

If you're 50-ish, you probably remember grandparents who attended every dance recital and soccer game. I knew the grandparents of many of my friends, and I don't think mine were an exception.

Photo of my great grandmother and her siblings, sometime in the 1950s based on the car tail light, seated on right. Sweetest, dearest woman I ever met with a dear Tennessee drawl.