Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Our Anniversary 2008

For our Anniversary trip, we went to Pennsylvania to stay at the Bedford Springs Resort, and to go see a Frank Lloyd Wright home, called Kentuck Knob.

We realized we were near Fallingwater, and knew we had all been there before, so it was fun to think about when that was:


Fallingwater, May 1989






Who is watching this little kid climb in the empty swimming pool?


We also saw nearby Ft. Necessity, remember 1989? Pat, Stan, Trisha, Tracy, Joey, Amanda and me and Ed were all there together in 1989.



Then -- Ohiopyle State Park, Pennsylvania, May 1989
Joey and Barbara



NOW -- View of the river from our visit in 2008. We actually didn't realize we had stood right here before!


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Mom's Recipes ~ Yummy Stuff

We were talking at Thanksgiving about the favorite recipes from our childhood. I've located the originals in my recipe box, so I thought I'd scan them in for you.
So, Here Goes:

You can click on the images to make them larger and clearer, hopefully.


Tropical Salad - always service in a clear glass Pyrex dish, low and flat.



Applesauce Cake



Meatloaf



Spanish Rice

Sunday, November 30, 2008

And so it goes...

Thanksgiving 2008

I'm thankful that we were all able to have good Thanksgiving celebrations, even though not all of us could be together in one place.

Ed and I enjoyed seeing Mom. We had a great time and great food at Sun Valley with Patsy and Stan; Tracy, Keith and Delia; Trisha, John and Zoey. Food was abundant, conversation stimulating, and weather beautiful, if a little sprinkling of rain.

John and Pam were away from Clarksburg at their kid's home. They had a great time, and I was glad to be able to say hello to all my other nieces and nephews on that side, by phone on Thanksgiving. Mary was there too, from North Carolina, and Kammie and Kevin and all of their crew of course. We were enjoying their hospitality even though they needed to be away.

I missed my kids most of all. Amanda celebrated a nice day with the Roses. Joey and Kelly celebrated in Kosovo and Albania. We were fortunate to grab a couple stolen hours in Morgantown with our other daughter-in-law, Gabby. That was a happy surprise!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Great-Grandma Freda and Zoey

Two of my most favorite people!

August 15, 2008


October 5, 2008




November 2, 2008

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Veterans Day 2008



Happy Veterans Day with love, to my Favorite Veteran, Buss Snodgrass!

Our visit home this weekend was both to see Mom and to visit Dad's grave at Floral Hills. I was thinking about him a lot lately, so it was good to take time to drive to Quiet Dell and place some flowers on his grave. Ed helped me figure out the vase that is part of their headstone thingy. This visit isn't getting much easier. I thought it would in time, but I guess not enough time has gone by.

Of course its hard to lose my Dad. I haven't made it through that yet, and I'm losing Mom too. This weekend she told me she wanted me to get to see Delia. After a little while, she said, "You've never seen Delia, have you?" That was tough for me. She doesn't really know me anymore. Oh, I know, she knows my name. Fortunately, Delia soon appeared, making both me and Grandma happy. My next trip to WV, I'll get to see Zoey also, so that will be good too.

I think about Mom all the time, she is in my prayers and thoughts. I try to think of things I might be able to do to make her more comfortable, but there is so little to be done. I talk to her, but she doesn't seem to connect much. Her eyes look cloudy, distant; her voice, frequently garbled with the water she cannot swallow. I think her daily life must be nightmarish. Once in the last couple of months, she grabbed my wrist, and said, "Barbara, you have no idea. Day and and day out in this bed." She sometimes seems to be in pain, but it seems to be non-specific. I pray for her to find peace. I love my Mom so much.


I know people deal with this sort of thing all the time. I know people who have lived through it. Lots of people, really. It is the normal part of life to lose one's parents. I think I helped Ed work through his grief when it was his turn, I helped friends and listened to co-workers over the years. I still had no clue how painful this is.

I think we're all having a really tough time dealing with our issues.