Today marks two years without my father in my life.  We've had a few days of cold with snow and rain and now thunderstorms as I write this.  And, before that were a few days of warmth and this last weekend I removed the pine needles from around the small fruit trees in the backyard and I could see buds on most of the trees.  There are thirteen total currently.

It is blustery, cold and rainy out and David and I went out for pizza tonight.  We went to Greenbush, which is in an old neighborhood in Madison, which has a history of being a home for many immigrants.  My parents would have loved this place and it would have reminded them of the places that they went for pizza when they were dating-and which they took us too as young children.  David and I sat at the bar and shared 3/4 of an artichoke heart, banana pepper, goat cheese, kalamata olive pizza and a rootbeer.  My parents probably would have ordered their own pizza with pepperoni, anchovies, mushrooms and black olives had they been along.  I miss you dad.  

My Dad's birthday is next month and because an agreement has been reached to sell the condo I am finding myself missing both my parents especially much today.  My mother died on June 12th of 2018, only about 14 months after my father died.  She missed him so much.  Hard to imagine the loneliness after one's partner of sixty plus years is gone.   Today the wind is blowing in Wisconsin and it is cold and we'll spiral into another prolonged cold period this week.   Last month I drove to Indiana and Michigan to add another family member to our pack.  It seems fitting that Kumo and I ended up adopting a dog from Muskegon, MI.  Fittingly spaced between Benton Harbor/St Joe, Grand Rapids/Lansing and Manistee.  She is probably only about 18 months old but is doing well, though at times she has gotten into things and chewed things apart that I would prefer that she hadn't (the corner of a box, a blanket, a pile of correspondence related to my parents, a box of dog biscuits on the kitchen table.) But, she is joyful, smart and fun to have around and I am sure my parents would have both liked her well, though I do remember that Ban-cha once got in a lot of trouble for chewing up a flag pole holder that she found on the floor.   The new dog is named Koi, which means both "carp"and "love" in Japanese.  I now have more fruit trees planted outside in honor of my father and David's company helped take down my mulberry tree last year so there is more light for everything and the main tree remaining in the yard is a huge white pine that is currently being blown around by gusts of wind that remind me of those that often come off of Lake Michigan and I always loved how warm and secure it was in the condo.   Just a cycle of life I understand, but nonetheless, I miss my parents.   My plan for the day unexpectedly detoured into adding more photos here to this site.  My mom had a lot more pictures from her childhood and when she died, I also spent even more time going through photos, so there are both photos from her site that should have also been on my father's site that I have added, but there are also new ones of my dad's earlier years.  I have included some additional ones of his sister Marilyn, who I often think would have probably had a huge impact on my life had she not died when I was 10 years old. I fondly remember a couple of weeks where we met Marilyn Minich at the Machine Shed outside of Chicago and had lunch before parting ways with my parents.  I remember the joy of riding in Marilyn's light blue Cadillac as she would toss her coins in the toll boxes and blow through the lights before they turned green, making a siren sound off.  Then there would be a week of staying with her and her husband Bill and their two dogs, Sukie and Sheba in Mequon, WI.  She was an artist and would make clothes for my dolls.  She was strict but kind and she obviously loved my father very much, just as I did.   I think I have succeeded in providing a somewhat fuller version of my father's life with the addition of more photos.    

Go GREEN, Loren!!  I'll always remember the smiles of Loren and Lyn.  Always bright and sincere.  Such an inspiring couple.  

I went to visit my mom earlier this month and stayed in the cottage.  The pears there were not quite ripe but before I left I placed about 100 of them into brown paper bags, shared some with my mother and brought the rest back to Madison with me.  

My father loved the pears from this tree.  They are wonderful and sweet  and juicy. This weekend I used them to make a pear and ginger crumble.  It is delicious and I am sure that my father would have enjoyed it.   It is doubly meaningul to think that my father was alive when these pears started growing.  

During the week before I used the ripe bananas my mother sent me home with to make my father's infamous banana tealoaf.  I added walnuts to his recipe.  

I guess I take after both my parents in that I like desserts.  So, I raise a piece of banana tealoaf, toasted and with butter melted on top, as well as a piece of pear ginger crumble with vanilla whipped cream on it to the memory of my father and also in appreciation of my mother.  And send them both love.

It has been a beautiful day in Madison today.  We had a few thunderstorms late, but the day has mostly been full of blue skies, white fluffy clouds and a cool breeze.  My dad would have enjoyed today.

When I was young, and we lived in Berea, Ohio, my father used to cut my hair.  He'd bring out a square white-covered low stool and I'd sit on the stool and he'd cover me up with a towel and cut my hair.  Always the same kind of cut.  Straight bangs cut short on my forhead and the rest of my hair cut short.  White blonde hair all over the grass.

I was my father's companion for getting the perfect Christmas tree.  This lasted for a long time, through college and beyond.   We'd drive out to a farm and together, my dad and I would choose a tree, cut it down and bring it home.  My dad's official job would end once the tree was up in its stand.  Then my mom and often, I, would decorate it.

Once, when I was a teen, my dad picked me up at the house to go somewhere. Soon after I got into the car, he wrinkled up his nose and asked "What is that AWFUL smell?"  Being a typical teenager, I shugged my shoulders and ignored the question,  so he asked it again, and I squirmed a little, and then said, with some uncertainty, "Gee Your Hair Smells Teriffic?"  My dad let out a loud laugh and said "What?"  And I hesitated and said, with a bit more conviction, "Gee, Your Hair Smells Teriffic...It is my new shampoo".  He looked at me incredulously and replied, with some humor, "Well, it smells terrible..."  

Memorial Day and spring has really arrived in Wisconisin and all of the fruit trees are now branched out.  pear pear apple apricot.  ppaa.

It has been a cold and rainy spring in Wisconsin.  This weekend it finally looks as if all of the trees in the orchard I planted in memory of my dad are going to make it. The apricot and the seckle pear are doing the best and have large green leafs out on mulitple branches.  The bartlet also has a couple of branches with a few leaves and the apple is finally starting to have buds coming out of its trunk which will I imagine form branches.  

Father's Day is coming up and it is disconcerting that I no longer have a father to celebrate this holiday with.  However, what I do have is a lot of wonderful memories of a most excellent father who I was lucky to have in my life for so long. 

I had been reading a book about growing small fruit trees prior to my father's death.  The day after my father died I went with someone very dear to me and picked up four bare root fruit trees to plant in the backyard.  I chose an apple.  an apricot.  a bartlett pear.  a seckle pear.  In order to keep the trees very small, in order to have room for them in my small back yard, I bought dwarf trees and prior to planting I cut off their tops in a dramatic exercise of brave pruning.  My father loved apricots.  And we always had apples at the house when I was young because bushels of apples came with us always when we visited Rocky Gap Road in fall.  And, my father loved the pear tree that is at the Manistee cottage and always spoke about how the pears from it were the most delicious he had ever tasted.  So, I am hopeful that in the backyard as a memorial to my father, I will have a small orchard to remember my father by. 

It has been a week now since my father died.  I had intentions to write a long piece describing some of my memories, but I have struggled with it, just as I find myself struggling with his death.  I find myself exhausted at the end of each day.  So, I'll just start adding some of my memories as they come to me.
  
The day after my father died last week, I made steel-cut oats with cranberries on the stove.  I added blueberries and bananas I had fried up in butter and brown sugar and I toasted nuts for the top and I stirred in maple syrup, some milk and some cream and I remembered how my father was the one who would make hot breakfast cereals in our childhood home.  The Quaker oatmeal in the cylindrical cardboard container with the cardboard lid.  The Cream-of-Wheat in a box.  My father also made omlettes.  Waffles.  Banana tealoaf.  When I came to visit he would make scrambled eggs as he knew they were my favorite.  He would get up early and have everything ready to go by the time everyone was up.  A favorite breakfast then of mine would be scrambled eggs and banana tealoaf with my father.  On the day after my father's death I thought of him as I ate my bowl of oatmeal and missed him.

Since I am 15 years younger than Loren, I only remember him as one of my "big cousins".  We did not see him often as he was in the Navy and then working away from Grand Rapids.  But we were all so proud of him!  And we loved Lyn!

It was delightful to reconnect with both Loren and Lyn when they moved up to Manistee and we had several wonderful visits with them, again talking memories as well as philosophy!  Gene and Loren shared their loyalty to the ideas of John Dewey and could talk for hours on the subject.

So our thoughts are with you all--Lyn, Jeff, Kirsten, Gordon, Oryza, and little Marylin--as you continue to remember all that he meant to you!

Hugs from Gene and Sue