Grannymar

Today seems to have slipped by without noticing.  I spent quite some time talking on the phone, Skype and MSN with family. From the extreme 43C in Melbourne to the icy and snow covered roads in the North East of England.

Alice, who I wrote about last Sunday in The end of an ERA, still awaits cremation.  It is now due to take place on Tuesday next.  The extreme weather will not alone prevent Elly, George and I from attending; but some of Alice’s sons in the south are stranded also.

Those members of the family who managed to gather last night have come up with a very thoughtful idea.

Once the bad weather has abated and temperatures thawed, the family plan to hold a Memorial Service of thanksgiving for Alice’s Life.  It will be followed by a meal and party of celebration.  Now that idea I like.  It will be great for Elly to strenghten the bonds with her dad’s family.  I hear they have some wonderful old photos to show us.  I can’t wait.

Sometimes I spend long hours of the night awake in bed.

Usually the radio is switched on at a low drone in the hope it will lull me to sleep.  There are times when a particular voice or article will bring me to full alertness and I become absorbed in a programme.  Once over I am content to snuggle down again and sleep will take over for an hour.

I have tried reading, getting up and walking around, making a warm drink etcetera, but am finally resigned to the fact that three hours sleep are my lot.  Now please don’t suggest I get up and do some physical work.  My day is long enough as it is without turning the night into day too.   I have a friend who will get up and do household chores and then sleep for long hours during the day.  I don’t want that.

Since Tobias came into my life, he stands guard beside my bed to offer some distraction when I become completly restless.   Today was one such day.  Boy, am I glad.  I was flitting about on the net when I heard a ‘ping’!

It was my Elly finally settled into her hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.  It was almost 6am for me yet it was still yesterday for her!  A very long yesterday.  She boarded a plane on the Tarmac at Dublin, Ireland at 10am Irish time, and twenty hours later she had reached her destination and was talking to me online.

In my very young life, when people went to ‘AMERICA’ it would take a week by ship and many were never heard of again.  Unless you were good with the words and the pen…..

My very first job was as a telephone operator in the Dublin telephone exchange.  Calls to ‘America’ had to be pre-booked with an operator and were very expensive.  The operator in Dublin called White Plains Exchange and they dialled the number.  The majority of calls lasted THREE minutes!

Now not alone can I speak instantly to Elly in far off places but I can see her as well.  Thanks to this same process I have spoken to and seen several bloggers that I now count as friends.

The world might be getting warmer… it is certainly getting smaller!

Now this is a secret!

Be careful who is peeping over your shoulder while you look at this:-

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She is away this weekend so it is safe to tell you.  I know she will be far too busy to read this.

In her absence she has appointed two minders to take care of me…. anyone would think I was a child sitting eating chocolate bikkies all the day long.

Darragh & Niamh are looking after me very well.  In fact they are spoiling me something rotten!

I discovered they had their instructions before they left Dublin and you never believe what they were told to do!!!!  Just take a look:-

Morning - I make sure mum is up between 6 - 7 am and that she dresses herself, but may need help putting on her Right sock (it says R on the sock so that she knows) and will nearly certainly need her shoes tightened before heading for a walk.  When she squeals at this, pull tighter and tell her ‘Pride feels no pain’!  If she refuses to get up, use the police whistle hanging outside her door. If that doesn’t work, there’s a silver bucket you can fill with cold water to throw on her. Don’t worry about the damp sheets.

Breakfast - Mum eats a set brekkie, as per her recent post, there are 9 boxes on the top shelf of the pantry, the bowl with her name painted on the outside, a mug, hot water pot, spoon and ramekin for the fruit & nuts. she takes hot water to drink and orange juice on her museli. She’ll take tablets at this point. Make sure she eats everything. I don’t allow her to leave the table until it’s all gone.  If she refuses to finish breakfast, just give it to her again for lunch.

Morning walk - try to encourage her to head out as soon as breakfast is over, never mind if she complains about the cold. Bracing air is good for the chest.  Make sure you walk her fast uphill, keep her going for over a mile. I think she looks for the easy option. When you get home, she’ll take coffee and a little treat (choccie biccies in the pantry) Only if she’s good. She should be encouraged to lie down for an hour afterwards. Carry her to the bedroom if you have to.

Lunch/Dinner - Really she’s been piling on the weight recently (who is she kidding, my two legs are almost the same size again!)so look after yourselves. Give her something nice if she deserves it. I tend to ration the food by how much she’s behaved and hiked during the day.

Afternoon walk - a second walk plus a set of exercises is essential. She should be encouraged to lie down for an hour afterwards. Again, I don’t mind if you have to strap her in. I’ve left those on the hall table.  It is afterall the only way you will have any peace!

Evening - mum likes to eat before 7pm and needs to take more tablets with this meal.

9:00 - 10:00pm - Mum heads to bed and takes in her laptop on her little table. Please put laptop on charge and bring her a mug of hot water. Don’t take any funny business from her. She must be in bed by 10 sharp!

11:00pm - take mum in a glass of fruit juice (not orange - she’s not been well behaved enough to deserve it).  Lights must go out at this time……….

No we won’t tell her we are having a whale of a time, Disco on Friday night, last night we played Darts in a local pub and today we are off for a little ice skating….

I might just have time to catch my breath before she returns or sends in the nursing police.

When my Elly was a young lady I tried to teach her how to cook.

Alas the subject was only of interest if there was something in it for her.

In the final few weeks before heading for freedom University I tried encouraging her to assist or at least watch me prepare meals. No mother wants her nestlings to starve when they leave the safety of the coop. Elly would have none of it, she was far happier with her nose stuck in a book.

Naturally I worried; but then two quotes came to mind. The first was grumbled from the head of our dining table when we were all small. “Hunger is good sauce!” was a favourite of my fathers if any of us dared to turn up our noses at anything that mammy cooked. It was often followed by “If you don’t eat it for your dinner, you will have it for your tea!” Dinner in those days was our mid-day meal. The other quote certainly never came from daddy, since he never set foot in the kitchen. It was from the young lady that married my youngest uncle. When asked if she liked or was able to cook, she chirped in quickly with “Anyone who can read can cook!”

With these thoughts fighting with each other in my brain I dumped packed my daughter off to College. Within a couple of weeks the calls started… “Mammy, how do you make…?” “What oven temperature do I need to use for…?” “What is 180°C in gas?” Hunger was certainly good sauce, she soon learned to cook and occasionally the recipes were coming back across the Irish Sea from Scotland to me.

Now she is a very good adventurous and experimental cook. I shared her Tomato,  & Peanut soups, as well as her Banana Loaf with you already.

During a recent visit, I made the most of Elly & George’s healthy strong arms to stock up on dry goods to keep me going while running in the new ‘shock absorber’ and the associated ban on driving. I also wanted some fresh fruit and veg. In the vegetable aisle, Elly did her usual, “We will have one of these each and one of those” and so it went until we had a very colourful collection. She had a new recipe for me to try and would cook it before she went home.

Do you know what I discovered… She doesn’t cook like me, she cooks like her Nana! Her Nana, my mother, never used a weighing scales and the recipes were in her head, ELLY IS NOW DOING THAT!

I did ask her for the proper recipe and if you are curious come back in the morning for the surprise.

And the eyes of them both were opened; and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves aprons.

~ Genesis 3:7

Fig    Definitions from Oxford Dictionary

• Broad leaved tree
• Fig leaf: device for concealing something
• Fig-Out: dress up (person) bedizen.

Bedizen: deck out gaudily

With those few words buzzing about in my head, began a project that took a year to complete.  The idea of Eve as a temptress somehow fits in with the ‘Fig’ definitions above.

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It was academic year 1991/2 and I was enrolled for the second year of a London City & Guilds Creative Embroidery Course, at a local Technical College.  I loved the practical side of it but had one big problem… I saw projects in 3D in my head and found it difficult to put my thoughts on paper.  There I go again the blots and the blank page syndrome!  When it came to art the only thing I was confident about drawing, was a chair across the floor!

Back then I did not have a computer so all my research loosely involved Trees - books, magazines, paper for drawing & writing on, even parts of pencils came from trees.  I began to look at and examine trees more closely.

This picture is only one example and I kept it for the colouring, it came from a magazine like so many more at that stage.  My camera was of low quality back then and I had to wait until the whole roll was complete before sending the film away to be developed, only then did you discover that half the prints were unfit for use and details a smudgy mess.  Oh! what we could have done with a digital camera.

So trees, bark and paper came between me and my sleep.  I read about Barkcloth; it is a versatile material that was once common in Asia, Africa, Indonesia and the Pacific. Barkcloth came  primarily from trees of the Moraceae family.  It is made by beating sodden strips of the fibrous inner bark into sheets of paper-like fabric and dyed or otherwise coloured.

Tapa, a papery cloth was made in a similar way in the islands of the Pacific Ocean primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji.  In former times the cloth was primarily used for clothing, but now cotton and other textiles have replaced it. The major problem with Tapa clothing is that the tissue is just like paper: it loses all its strength when wet and falls apart.

Tissue paper was where I began, tearing it in rough strips and placing them to look like bark.

Then came tissue scrunched up while wet to give the effect of rougher bark.

Another idea was canvas and ribbons dyed with tea.

At this stage I wanted to work with paints in autumn colours so I went to my fabric bin and hoked about until I found a few plain pieces.  For anyone interested in trying fabric paints, you need to wash the fabric first to remove any finish from it or the paints may not take.

So this sample is from the rough mixed fibre fabric that I used for my first attempt.  I tore it in long strips and plaited them together.  I had enough for three plaits from the single width of material.  I placed the plaits on a strong layer of plastic sheeting to prevent the paints staining the surface underneath, in this case the floor of the spare bedroom.  I applied Deka silk paints randomly with a medicine dropper onto the fabric plaits.  The plaits were quite damp at that stage and I left them for about six hours before opening them out.  I then left the strips flat to dry naturally.

Using the lines formed like creases from the paint I stitched pin tucks in a variety of threads some glitter and some plain.  Very little was needed.  This sample below was dried quickly by placing between two layers of baking parchment and ironed.

Next I tried the same method on muslin, and both silk and cotton organdie.

The paint needs to be ’set’ by heat, and the easiest way is by ironing.  NB make sure to place baking parchment above and below the fabric to prevent staining either the iron or the ironing board cover.

Pleased with my results so far, I turned my mind on how to use the strips.  I was thinking of Eve but wanted a little more than fig leaves. :roll:  So the next stage was to select other fabrics to go with the bark effect panels.

The fabrics marked 1, 2 & 3 in the photo above were the direction I went.  No. 1 was my choice with No.2 for extra effect.

While taking a break from fabric paints and allowing the material to dry I distracted myself with sorting some old photos for another project.  This photo of my mother taken while on holiday in Nice, just a few short weeks before the outbreak of WW11, seemed to jump out at me.  It was the shorts.  Her shorts were purchased while on the holiday and considered rather scandalous when she came home.  ( I wore them in the garden as a teenager, I think Elly wore them once and I am sure my sister still has them!).

Shorts and ‘hot pants were all high fashion at that stage so I decided to try and recreate them for sentimental reasons and to add a heart shaped bustier to go with them.

I decided to appliqué four painted panels to the bustier with some stylized leaves to represent fig leaves.  For these I used the organdie decorated with machine embroidery.  I also used one of my other experiments - of the muslin as a base; scraps of organdie, silk and sparkle threads, fine gold mesh, braid and coloured rayon threads were trapped in food/Saran wrap and over sewn with zig-zag machine stitches.  With them I used wooden beads, covered tiny spools and machine made cords (something I love to do).

You have been very patient so far, so I’ll not bore you with the sewing.  It is time to see the finished outfit.

And from the other side…

Thats not a hole in my tights, just a mark on the photo!

The top had a second life….

For Elly’s Graduation I made, by request, a pair of trousers and a detachable skirt that started on a hip bone and went around the back to the other hip bone.  It was more like a cape at waist level and removed for dancing and that is where the idea for her wedding outfit came from.  The skirt was worn around her shoulders for the homeward journey in the early hours of the next morning!

I wrapped her in a tablecloth and took her out to play

Not quite to play but rather, to put her on display!

There are days that mark our life and this one was her first,

The family all gathered as we took her into church.

We called her for her grannies, with a little variation

And so it was that she was known until her own abbreviation!

The tablecloth it was not plain and made with loving care

By a granny that she never knew, no longer round to share.

The tablecloth was crocheted in cotton years before

It spent near half a life time, lying in a drawer.

Now freshly washed and smelling sweet it was a perfect square

And it looked just right, on our wee mite, as we took her through the door.

A bright June morning the sun was high with singing in the choir

Our hearts near burst with happiness, with our darling hearts desire.

Then she grew up!

This is the tablecloth that I used as a shawl.

Once I decided to use the tablecloth for a shawl I set about finding a pattern to crochet a dress for my little bundle of joy.  I did not want a dress a mile longer than my 18inch baby so adapted a pattern for a woolen dress.

Elly just four weeks old in the only photo I have of her taken on the day.

Our photographer for the day didn’t make it - his car broke down and it was before the days of digital cameras.  I came across the outfit while clearing a drawer last week and gave it a wash.  It is amazingly white even after all this time.  To show it off properly I went in search of a baby sized doll.  Not a difficult task you would think.

The first doll I borrowed was from a school pal of Elly’s and was the correct size and vintage.  There was only one problem… the eyes were damaged and the young ladies father had replaced them with marbles.  All the photos I took made them look like cats eyes!  No way could I use a full face so I cropped the photos accordingly.

The pattern I worked from also had a pair of pants:

The pants may look bulky but not with a nappy on under them.

One day while out I saw a new baby goods shop and called in to see if they had a doll for display puropses.  No they didn’t but the assistant promised to bring her daughters doll in the following day.  It was a little smaller than the original one but I managed to take a photo.

I took this photo on the floor in the shop!

So to the girls in Rock-a-Baby who were so helpful I say thank you.

My pocket began to vibrate.

It was an incoming call on the mobile/cell phone.  The time of day told me who it was without checking the screen.

“Hi Elly!” I said putting the instrument to my ear.

“Where are you?” she asked before adding “I tried the land-line and got no answer”.

If you wait long enough in life the answers come….

Several months earlier Elly had suggested that it would be a good idea for me to have a mobile phone.  Her reasoning was that I traveled about alone in my car, and should I have a breakdown or puncture in the wilds of nowhere, a phone would allow me to call for help.  I went along with the idea while wondering if that was a cover or the real reason behind the suggestion.  Now I had my answer…

“I’m not at home at the moment” I said into the mouth piece, while mouthing the word Elly to my companion.  He smiled, nodded and remained silent.

“So where are you?” Elly persisted.

“Right now, I am in Room six hundred and twenty whatever of the Europa Hotel in Belfast” I replied casually.

“O-kay!  After a pause she asked again “What are you doing there?”  This time it was a timid question.

“Well since you asked” I began, “I am watching a man put his trousers on!”

There was silence from the other end of the phone.  The man looked up at me and smiled a wicked smile.

“Are you still there?” I asked.

“Yes!” she began timidly, “Who is he?”  I was enjoying this!

“He is a very nice gentleman and he would like to speak to you”, I said before adding “Hold on while I give him the phone!”

Taking the phone the gentleman said “Hello Elly!”  Suddenly rather shocked, he looked at the phone and then to me he said “She hung up!”

“Nah!” I said.  “She has gone into a tunnel, she will phone again in a couple of minutes”.

Elly was at that time working in Glasgow.  Her homeward journey was by train and being confined to a small space for thirty minutes, she used it to call me.  There were two tunnels on the journey so I was quite used to the interruptions.  We were both on the same network so our calls were free.  She would call me and talk for up to 50 minutes and if needed I called her back for another 50 minutes.

The phone began to buzz once more…

“Hello!” I said again.

“W-H-O was that? she asked again.

It was time to come clean, I had my fun….

“Did you not recognise him?”  I asked.

“No!” she said.

“It is your Uncle D!” I admitted.

My brother had arrived with a group of colleagues for a three day conference.  When the first days meetings finished early he phoned me so I drove into Belfast to see him.  He had a couple of hours clear before going to a pre planned dinner engagement for the group.  We met in the bar for a drink and when the time came to wash and change for the evening he invited me up to the room.  While he showered, I sat on the bed and had a coffee.  Come on, give me a break, I grew up in a house with four brothers and was quite used to seeing them half dressed.

My brother got some milage out of the evening too.  I said we met in the bar of the hotel.  He was sitting with his colleagues when I arrived and I walked straight to him.  He stood and kissed me.  I saw his colleagues give that knowing smile.  He introduced me without saying I was family.  They seemed surprised that I knew so much about him.  When he invited me to the room the teasing really took off.  We played to the gallery and enjoyed it.  Later that evening he explained to them who I was.  I went to meet him again on the second evening and when I arrived i was greeted with a chorus of “Hello Sister”

That episode was a great learning curve for Elly.  It taught her that mammy might actually think of meeting a man for a drink or dinner.  Nowadays when I say something outrageous there is always a small chance that I might be telling the truth.

Well…. I have to have some fun!

“Mum! Can we have potatoes in their skins tonight?” asked the skipping little figure by my side. It was about 8.30 am and we were on our way to school. The journey downhill was over a mile and to vary it we jogged, hopped or skipped as we talked. We remembered our recent holiday and the fun in the swimming pool, the man in the book shop at the resort and the places we visited. The excitement was building as the end of term drew nearer and plans for the first school trip were announced.

On the last lap of the journey along the avenue we decided what I would cook for dinner to go with the potatoes in their skins. As we reached the school gate, two arms reached up to give me a hug and a kiss to keep me going until 2pm when I would once again stand at the same spot to receive another kiss and a hot little hand to hold on the homeward journey.

Elly was actually reading before she started primary school aged four. Once she started there was no stopping her. A sponge was to water as her brain was for words. If there were no books available then she read the blurb on the cereal or biscuit packets. The very first proper book that she managed to read alone was Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne. It was quickly followed by The Folk of the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton and Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl.

My post yesterday with recipes for baked potatoes, was a tip towards this little piece in a round about way.

As we cleared away the dinner dishes I asked how she liked the ‘jacket potatoes’. Elly stopped mid action and word, and a beam of enlightenment broke all over her face. “So that is what they were talking about!” she said, as she continued to tell me about the Folk of the Faraway Tree.

“Did you think they were wearing tweed jackets like Dad’s with buttons down the front?” I asked.

“Yes!” she nodded and suddenly began to giggle at the very idea.

Tomorrow the 6^th of May I hope you enjoy books, words and giggles. Find time to hold hands, share hugs and kisses and have a wonderful Birthday.

Yesterday on my Food Monday the topic was sandwiches, and Nancy’s comment gave me an idea….

On a visit to Dublin many moons ago with a very young Elly my sister took her young niece out for a little treat.  Collecting a couple of her friend’s young daughters on the way they headed to the newly opened local branch of McDonalds.   The other young ladies were familiar with the routine and quickly decided on their order.  Miss Elly hung back, she did not know the routine and back then she had good manners, I have no idea what happened in the mean time!!

Not really in the habit of fast food she settled for a Milk Shake.  This slipped down with great ease and enjoyment.  All to soon Elly was drawing in noisy bubbles of emptiness and enjoying the fun of it.  My sister asked the magic question… “Would you like another one”?  Assured that she did not need to drink it right away but that she could take it home to Nana’s house for later, the answer was a definite Yes!

The menu was checked, decision made and the party returned to the counter.  When their turn came Miss Elly piped up with her order, to this her Aunt added in a bag.   Elly froze!  She was used to her dad’s obsessive tidiness and pride in a clean car….

“IN A BAG!” she said incrediously, wondering how anyone could carry a Milk Shake home in a bag.

She learned.  She enjoyed, and was never allowed forget it!

Yesterdays story about overheard conversations brought back a long forgotten memory.

When I got my very own doll I loved to carry her about and talk to her.

After a few months I realised that I would have to put her down or find a new way to carry her around the house, in order to shift the dust, do the washing and cook the meals.  Since it was long before I ever heard of Google I had to trawl the shops and magazines for advice.  Then one day I found exactly what I wanted, posted off my cheque and waited patiently.

One week later the Postman arrived with my parcel.  It felt like Christmas as I ripped off the paper to find my new treasure.  It was just as described and I wanted to use it straight away.

Following the instructions I carefully put my doll into the harness, put the straps over my shoulders and tied them around my waist.  Satisfied that all was well I slipped into my overcoat and off we headed for a walk. My doll was sitting snugly against my chest and could feel my heartbeat,  she could see and touch my face and most important she could hear my voice.

My overcoat at the time was fitted neatly at the shoulders and flared out to a full swing from there. It buttoned to the neck but by leaving the top two buttons open little miss was snug and warm inside it with just her head peeping out.

As I walked briskly down the hill, talking non stop, I noticed a man walking ahead of me.  He looked back and smiled and then continued on his way.  This action was repeated several times within a short distance.  Eventually he stopped and turned towards me.  All the while I was getting closer.

When I was alongside him he spoke for the first time “Ah! You are talking to the baby.  I thought you were talking to me! When I looked back at you I didn’t see the baby.”

I was talking to Elly.  Is it any wonder she never shuts up nowadays.  Hands up, it is all my fault.