Yesterday was my mother’s 16th yahrzeit. She died on July 22, 2004. Since 2017, it’s also been my younger son and his wife’s wedding anniversary.
My brother and I observe the occasion by eating and drinking things my mother liked. Crackers and stinky cheese, white wine, broccoli.
Mom-style happy hour: crackers & cheese, Reisling in a Bennington cup
Some years I recite, or play an online version, of mourners Kaddish, and light candles, but not this year.
After the crackers we had pita bread sandwiches for dinner. Leftover chicken salad, garbanzo beans, leftover chopped salad that had giant white corona beans, corn, patty pan squash, salami, and sugarsnap peas in it, folded into the pitas (because the store had no pocket ones) with extra tahini dressing and carrot top pesto. And sliced tomato. No pictures.
I’ve been thinking about my mom, because in addition to the anniversary, we got a new fridge and we moved the one that had been in her kitchen, a side by side, down to the basement, and got the appliance delivery guys to haul away the old one that came with the house, that was in the basement.
I use the fridge in the basement for extra drinks, like everyone, but also and lots of baking stuff, dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts in the freezer. And the occasional extra vegetables or large pot of something that won’t fit upstairs. I was sort of dreading getting the side by side, it’s the kind where the freezer is so skinny, you can’t put a frozen pizza in. But now that it’s all swapped, it’s good. I got to clean the floor under the old one, before they brought the side by side down. A big splatter that must’ve been a beer bottles and a few orange pellets from the times about 15 years ago Al & his friends played with a pellet gun down there. Everything fits. Beer, wine, a big pot of beans, all the baking stuff, my dad’s chilled beer mugs, corn and cabbage from this week’s CSA, and 4 of my mom’s Bennington cups. The light in the side by side works, too – the light in the old didn’t.
Side by side in the basement
New fridge upstairs
I magneted few things back onto the side by side – Yoko Ono’s full page NYT ad for peace for John Lennon’s birthday was on the old fridge. The Snoopy “Think Snow” patch, 1999 WDUQ calendar, and ladybug shaped fridge magnets were my mom’s. And I have this bin of old art to arrange, too, with more Pittsburgh memorabilia lurking.
Mimi made the sugar skull, I made the water color doodle, back in the days when us kids liked to sit around and and draw with rapidograph pens and water colors. And Jen made the heart. Works by Oma’s grandaughter, daughter, and daughter-in-law.
A few foods since Sunday:
Sunday brunch Downton Abbey toad in the hole – popover batter over link sausages
Peach-raspberry hand pie and galette
Summer CSA loot – corn, tomatoes, basil. We already ate the green beans, with salmon and fried potatoes.
And PS – fridge art reinstalled Friday morning
