So, I'm thinking about flowers. Yes, flowers. Mom loved her violets. Does anyone else recall that she wanted to grow orchids? Can't imagine that--I think they are really delicate and require very particular care. But somehow I could see Mom in a greenhouse.

Dad and his garden with the zinnias and marigolds. I still really like both of those. They look so colorful. They appear to be sturdy but are actually kind of delicate too. Dad also grew gladiolas. I can remember seeing glads sold on the side of the road in Florida--other places too of course, but I connect them with Florida. Some people don't really like them because they consider them funeral flowers. I never thought of them that way. I have grown them too but not lately. I loved the blooms but hated seeing them all slumped over all the time and I could never get the bulbs to stay healthy over the winter.

Dad also like to have his roses. I never never have had good luck with roses. Mostly because I can't pay enough attention to them.

Paula reminded me today to think about wildflowers too. I recall Devil's Paintbrushes and Queen Anne's Lace (did you know Queen Anne's Lace is an ancestor to the carrot??). Paula also mentioned Jack in the Pulpits from the woods--these are now protected I think because they are endangered. I have always loved the white flowering shrubs that were in front of the house. I'm trying to grow one here now but it isn't taking off too well just yet. Weren't there alot of them in front of that Dennison Road house?

Lilacs always remind me of Mary Jane--well, the smell of lilacs makes me thing of Mary Jane. Probably because they bloom in May.

Spring flowers are my favorite--especially tulips. One of these days, I'll be able to take good care of a large garden of tulips and spring flowers.

See, there 's quite a bit to recall about flowers--you didn't think so, did you? How about you? What do you have to say about flowers in your life?

First of all, Happy Birthday Matthew! I hope you had a great day.

Mother's Day, of course, makes me think of Mom. One of the things I think about with Mom is how in the world she was able to raise all 6 of us. They must have had to stretch Dad's paychecks pretty far although as a child, I never felt like we struggled or were poor or deprived.

As I think about my childhood now, I realize there were some ways Mom was obviously trying to save money and one place was with meals. They were pretty economical. Meatloaf was not something she did well. I never realized there was any other way to have meatloaf than that dark brick we were presented with. Meatloaf CAN be juicy, even tasty, when done differently than with Mom's recipe. Same thing with pork chops. I was a full adult before I realized they didn't have to resemble cardboard in texture and taste.

One of my favorite meals was tuna fish and french fries. This was a Friday meal since we observed the Catholic tradition at the time. I also liked pork and sauerkraut, but that was a dangerous choice with children in the house! Dad's b-b-q chicken tasted pretty good too. I liked to have roast pork for birthday dinner.

Going to Foits for fish fry was a treat--must have been a pretty good deal in order for them to take us all there somewhat regularly. That's the only restaurant meal I remember except for where we might go with Nanny and Weenie.

So, I appreciate never feeling seriously deprived when I know it must have been very tough. What did you appreciate Mom for?

Cousin Eileen Ryan

Eileen's death is really hitting me hard. I don't have very clear memories of the girls so that's probably not the reason--it does sound as though she had been ill for a while. I feel for the family. Her obituary seems to indicate she really cared about others so I'm sure it's a loss to Gloucester as well as to her family.

Emmy said they were leaving for Ireland in a couple of days. I don't remember where in Ireland they said they were going. I had thought their trip was over the summer, so my memory clearly isn't working on this one! Just as an aside, can you imagine Uncle Tim's reaction to the uproar over the crash Sandra Bullock's vehicle was involved in? I guess they are filming a movie that takes place in Alaska and are using Gloucester!

Boys on the Beach

Here are the boys on the beach. We tried to catch up with the O'Briens, but it did not work out. Maybe next year.

Now it is time for baseball .... Yeah!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Sophie Elizabeth O'Brien turned 1 year old on April 11, 2008! She is walking and trying to talk. She is currently vacationing with her Mom and Dad in Myrtle Beach SC. Happy Birthday, sweetpea!

April 1962

Mary Jane was born April 17 1962. I was 5 and I kind of remember Mom and Dad bringing her home the first time. Can you even imagine 5 children younger than 6? Yikes.



John Glenn was in the news alot since the space race was in full swing. West Side Story just won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Walter Cronkite started as the CBS Evening News anchor. Sounds like a really long time ago, doesn't it?



A terribly tragic mixup with the infants at a hospital in Binghamton must have really put doctors and hospitals on the alert for newborns and their parents. Click here for the Time Magazine article. I always remember Time Magazine around the house so I feel like Mom and Dad probably saw this.

So here's a little clip I found. It isn't a birthday clip but it shows a happy kid! Happy Birthday Mary Jane.

So now I'm thinking about that house on Buffalo Street. We must have moved there in '69 or '70 and it was such a different experience living "in town"! I think Chris and I were released from school to help with the move. We were hardly ever early released from school. I must have been in 8th grade.



I think this was a great house for us. As you entered the front door the stairs led up to 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and a pretty good sized storage closet. There was a nice big open area in the center upstairs and we could have done alot with that, if we'd thought of it! It would have been great for a playstation or maybe a foosball table. If I recollect, there was quite a bit of evidence of hand made drawers, closet doors etc. Anyone else remember it that way? The bedrooms were a good size and so was the bathroom. Kathy and I shared a room that had a pretty cool storage area. I don't really remember much about the other two rooms up there. The bathroom was a decent size as well. Great space for kids.



Nice big living room and dining area downstairs with the master bedroom off the dining room--I remember it always being very cool in Mom and Dad's room. I understood it was Mom's sleeping preference -- do I remember correctly? These days I wonder why that big old space was mostly unused. I remember Mom sitting on the couch in the living room reading the paper but I don't recall much else going on in there too often.



The kitchen was very neat. Weren't there some funky cabinets or some such kind of between the counter space and the normal cupboard space? Under cabinet lighting, maybe? Pink? Sink in the corner (no window) in that corner. There was a divider with counter space and cabinets overhead. The picnic table was our normal dinner table.



From the kitchen into the hallway where the big old sink was (where we would wash hair etc) and the washer/dryer. There was a small bathroom there. Right there near the kitchen but in that hall I think was the phone with a very long cord. I remember one time Mom was on the phone making appointments for us when someone (I think it was Judy) got hurt and she just dropped the phone mid sentence and ran.

Down the hall was a small room on the left that was the den. This is where Dad ironed (I still remember the smell and the beer bottle with the sprinkle cap) and their chairs were facing the TV. Smallest space in the house for the "family room"--odd I think.

The garage was attached at that end of the house and there was a standing freezer out there. I thought that was really cool (pardon the pun). Out the back end of the garage was a fenced in yard where we kept the dog run. Yard full of poop all the time. I think I recall stairs to the basement from this garage but I don't really have a clear memory of a basement in this house.

There was another building at the end of the driveway that wasn't ours somehow. I remember it like a multi car garage and some band practicing in there. Just adjacent was the dairy (Seegert's maybe) and there was a lot behind where we'd play soemtimes. It was cool to just walk over to the dairy for milk.

At the bottom of Buffalo Street was a market I loved to go to for treats when I had any money. Just beyond the market was the foot bridge which took you down into town. Up the hill was the school bus stop, but I remember walking to school many times. I liked that walk even though I think it was kind of far to the high school.

It was a great location for all of us since we were older. I liked sitting on the front steps to watch the world go by. I remember sitting there a good long time just before we moved because I knew I'd really miss Silver Creek.

In some ways I still miss it. More than 30 years later and I still miss the vineyards and orchards and having Lake Erie nearby. It was so much flatter and even though I appreciate the varied landscape closer to central NY, whenever I visit western NY I realize how much I miss it for its physical geography.