This was GORGEOUS! Such beautiful, evocative writing. Ice skating was never part of my British childhood but I so wish it had been! I had the music and the images of the kids (and Snoopy) skating in the Peanuts Christmas movie as I read this. ❤️I love the way your mum followed her impulse to do something fun - I am gonna learn from that!
Oh I love this, especially because of the Maine connection (one of my sisters lives in Hampden, a nephew and his brood in Bangor) and the ice skating. I grew up skating on the fresh water pond in the woods behind my house, where the neighborhood kids would skate, even at night, as the dads installed lights in the trees so we could see. Crack the whip, hockey, all kinds of good fun. Thanks for the nudge for those dear memories. Your mom's writing and drawings are so pure and lovely.
I also like the recipe; I'm going to try it this weekend. We use parchment paper instead of cooking spray to bake cookies on, and use the same piece multiple times for the same recipe. Cookies peel right off the paper! Great post.
You have done it again, brought tears to my eyes - thank you for such a sweet, sweet tale. How lucky you are to have your muma's writing and drawings, merging this with yoursX
Your oat bars sound tasty! Love your mom's story. Skating outside is one of my fondest childhood memories. I think I started off with large frozen puddles in the driveway.
"We were small people, then, as Mom wrote. Everything in our world was huge." So beautiful, reading this morning as the wood stove slowly heats up our little cabin. Thank you for sharing, it's wonderful to see the juxtaposition of the 1977 story and your own personal memories :) Stay warm!
Your mom does come alive in these posts, Amie, as does your relationship with her—just beautiful! I can visualize you learning to do those figure eights and your mom like a kid on the ice too! You have a gift of making the past meet the present. The recipe for these no-bake bars is a gift too!
Your written scenarios are so vivid and comforting like your Mother’s. That is a huge complement. When her little newsletters would arrive, Everything going on in the house took a backseat…I would drop whatever I was engaged in and plop down with a cuppa and read that precious little pamphlet from front to back…it was the most relaxed I would ever feel until the next one arrived.
This is so beautiful Amie! I will think of your memory every time I go by the school; they have an actual ice rink there this year!
We used to skate on our local cranberry bogs. I need to make those cranberry bars!
Cranberry bogs and bars pair well!
This was GORGEOUS! Such beautiful, evocative writing. Ice skating was never part of my British childhood but I so wish it had been! I had the music and the images of the kids (and Snoopy) skating in the Peanuts Christmas movie as I read this. ❤️I love the way your mum followed her impulse to do something fun - I am gonna learn from that!
A little wacky and spontaneous--my mum in a nutshell!
Why am I just noticing the printable recipe link?!
Lol it’s been there since day one.
Oh I love this, especially because of the Maine connection (one of my sisters lives in Hampden, a nephew and his brood in Bangor) and the ice skating. I grew up skating on the fresh water pond in the woods behind my house, where the neighborhood kids would skate, even at night, as the dads installed lights in the trees so we could see. Crack the whip, hockey, all kinds of good fun. Thanks for the nudge for those dear memories. Your mom's writing and drawings are so pure and lovely.
I also like the recipe; I'm going to try it this weekend. We use parchment paper instead of cooking spray to bake cookies on, and use the same piece multiple times for the same recipe. Cookies peel right off the paper! Great post.
Please let me know how they turn out! So glad the story resonated.
You have done it again, brought tears to my eyes - thank you for such a sweet, sweet tale. How lucky you are to have your muma's writing and drawings, merging this with yoursX
These essays have become my family history books...
not a fall, but a fling on the ice ♥️♥️
Right? She was a woman of many interesting word choices.
Your oat bars sound tasty! Love your mom's story. Skating outside is one of my fondest childhood memories. I think I started off with large frozen puddles in the driveway.
You were a serious skater at an early age!
I love your mom’s drawings! Hope you are staying warm in the desert!
Thank you for reading. Always good to hear from you, Donna!
Thank you Amie for another wonderful story. This brought up memories of skating on our pond behind my childhood home. Thank you.
Ice running? Now there’s a thought.
I'd be on my bottom. LOL
Wonderful!!! Happy times. 💖
This is a perfect snack for skating. I’ll have to make and take with us on our next trip to Az Ice Peoria, where we skate.
Your schoolyard pond sounds wonderful. The drawings and thoughts of your mom bring back longing for my mom and simpler times.
Glad to hear there are other skaters in the Valley. Thanks for reading!
Another winner and a recipe I look forward to trying! Love your Mom's sketches, btw! ❤️
"We were small people, then, as Mom wrote. Everything in our world was huge." So beautiful, reading this morning as the wood stove slowly heats up our little cabin. Thank you for sharing, it's wonderful to see the juxtaposition of the 1977 story and your own personal memories :) Stay warm!
Your mom does come alive in these posts, Amie, as does your relationship with her—just beautiful! I can visualize you learning to do those figure eights and your mom like a kid on the ice too! You have a gift of making the past meet the present. The recipe for these no-bake bars is a gift too!
Your written scenarios are so vivid and comforting like your Mother’s. That is a huge complement. When her little newsletters would arrive, Everything going on in the house took a backseat…I would drop whatever I was engaged in and plop down with a cuppa and read that precious little pamphlet from front to back…it was the most relaxed I would ever feel until the next one arrived.
⛸️ ⛸️ so many memories for me! Thank you for this lovely piece, Amie!