Meatloaf and...Cheetos?

Whitney ordered meatloaf of all things for lunch today, and it reminded me of one of the strangest and funniest culinary things Mom ever did. Mom made meatloaf all the time, and it was something of a family favorite. She used to take her wedding ring off (which she NEVER did for any other reason EVER) and knead the meat by hand. Mom would practically gag because she hated touching any uncooked meat. I definitely inherited this paranoia from her, so it's a very good thing I am not usually the cook at my house :) One particular evening, Dad had come home from work, and we were all sitting down to dinner as usual (I don't think I ever appreciated the fact that we always ate dinner around the table until much later in life). Dad was just staring at the meatloaf, so we all very silently began looking it over as well. Dad turns to Mom and asks as gingerly as possible as to not hurt her feelings, "Are those...Cheetos on top?!" She pauses and responds a bit nervously, "Well, yeah. I couldn't think of what else to put on top." We all looked at each other and then burst into hysterical laughter. Cheetos! I don't think my mom would have ever eaten a Cheeto if you paid her a million dollars, but she sure used them as garnish that night! To this day, Dad, Whitney and I joke about remembering to put the Cheetos on top of the meal :)

Hair of Many Colors

Brunette, Bald, Blonde!

As I have just recently become a blonde (again), I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about an amusing passion I shared with my mom : hair of many colors. Most people would have classified Mom as a blonde, but as some of you may know, she had her hair pretty much every color of the rainbow. Mom used to be a hair model at one point, and she talked about how they would dye her hair radical shades like purple and white! She was a brunette for most of my childhood, and had various heinous styles like perms. She started highlighting it more after Whitney came along, it just kept going lighter. I remember always going to the salon with Mom, and watching the stylist put the plastic cap on her and pull pieces through the holes. Then they would put the foul smelling solution on her hair that would render her a blonde. Later on, I became Mom's hairdresser, dying her hair every couple of months. I liked to experiment with different shades, although I think that often made her nervous! She would tell me a hundred times to make sure I got all the hairs around her face, and concentrate on the grays! That was good practice for me though, since I get bored VERY easily with my hair and I love to make changes :) I first got highlights when I was fifteen, and haven't slowed down since! My hair has been black, blonde, red and every shade in between. Every single time I color it I think of Mom. She would have an absolute fit if she knew that her hair has gone completely gray now. Ironically, Whitney has never gone lighter than her natural shade, only darker. Although, I imagine if Whitney went blonde, she would look just like Mom. Not one of the three of us could ever be accused of having boring hair! Maybe we just do it to torture my follicly challenged father... ;)

Thinking Of You, Mom

As you know, I was in Mackay last week and I had the opportunity to see so much while I was there. I just put up pictures of Kai's farm, Katee's boyfriend lives on this beautiful piece of land with horses, a cockatoo, and dogs and cats galore. It reminded me of my mom immediately. Just the atmosphere of being on a farm is intoxicating for me. I love being in the middle of nowhere with the smell of grass and horses all around you. This was always something I enjoyed in Williamstown at my mom's farm. We always used to take treats down to the horses and I would love to feel their smooth peach fuzz noses on my hand. My entire life, I have loved to be outside. Marine Science is obviously perfect for people that love the outdoors because you are always doing something outside or underwater for that matter. I consider myself to be a nature lover, tree hugger, whatever you want to call it and I believe my mom was the same way. I didn't have a problem with getting my hands dirty at the farm, I loved to help feed the horses and I would love to ride bare back, I always felt so free. I felt that my mom was really herself in Williamstown because having a place to call her own with horses, and the whole get up was always what she dreamed of. Water sports weren't really her thing because I remember gunning it on the jet ski and she about had a heart attack and kept asking me to slow down. Either way, my love of water came from both my mom and dad.

In Mackay, I really missed her a lot, being around all the things she loves so much. It made me want her there to see all the things I did, and just to be with me. In the distance, you could see the beautiful mountains surrounding everything and the wide open fields were beautiful with all the sugar cane growing. It also reminded me of Indiana in a way minus the mountains and the sugar cane (replace it with corn). I feel like being in the country will always remind me of her and I think it is going to be the hardest thing for me to cope with when she's gone. I will be flooded with memories every time I'm near a farm or country town, but it will always bring a smile to my face because I know she's glad I turned out the way I did. I can't wait to tell her about Australia. Even though she won't be able to respond, I know she will be excited right along with me and she will love to hear my stories because she always has. I love that I can share my thoughts with you all.

I'll always be thinking of you, Mom.

Overwhelmed...

I went to my mailbox today, and while sifting through the junk and bills, I noticed that I had several pieces of personal mail. Upon further inspection, I noticed that there were three letters addressed to me that had been sent from Indianapolis. I recognized two out of the three return addresses, so I began with the one that was unfamiliar. The name on the envelope was Debbie Broughton, and enclosed I discovered a handwritten letter along with some pictures. At this point, I already knew I was probably in for some tears. It turns out that Debbie was one of Mom's best childhood friends, and she recently attended the funeral services for Uncle Rex. She wrote that she had waited and waited in line to see Mom, and then someone happened to tell her about Mom's illness and current state and she was obviously very upset and left. She went on to say that she had met Whitney and me at my grandparents' funeral services, and shared some personal anecdotes about her relationship with Mom. I cried the entire time I was reading her letter, particularly when Debbie mentioned the fact that Mom love all animals especially horses. She said that she, Mom and their friend Maricia used to have "cowgirl" times with their horses. I know I have spoken previously about Mom's love of animals, and for someone I don't even know to mention this in a brief letter just shows that this is something everyone remembers about her. Debbie also mentioned several times how beautiful and well-liked my mom was. I plan on writing a response very soon, and hopefully Whitney and I will be able to establish a relationship with a new person who can regale us with even more Donna stories.

The second letter I opened was from Pat Crafton, whom I mentioned briefly in the Uncle Rex post. She is the one who named her daughter Donna after my mother. Pat enclosed a letter and pictures as well. The letter went on to talk about what a dear friend Mom was, and how painful it is to think of her in her current state of illness. She filled me in on how their family is doing, and how well all of their children and grandchildren are doing. I very much enjoyed the pictures Pat enclosed, and there was such a variety. There were pictures of Donna Crafton when she was born and also the most recent one taken of her and Mom in 2001 (which I posted on my refrigerator). There was a picture of Mom from Triton Central's highschool prom, which I had never seen before. There was even a picture of my Mamaw and Papaw at their 50th wedding anniversary party. I plan to keep in touch with the Crafton family, and regret very much not having contacted them sooner.

The third piece of mail was from my Aunt Kathy, Uncle Rex's wife. She was the one who gave Debbie my address. Aunt Kathy just enclosed a brief note about wanting to come and visit Mom, and that she needed directions since Rex was the one who knew how to get down there. Now, I happen to know that my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Rex dealt with a lot of foolishness from my mom in the past. Mom was sometimes a little dramatic (see, I come by it honestly!), but Rex and Kathy never once complained or let it interfere with their relationship with Whitney and me. I respect them so much for that, and I cannot even imagine what she is dealing with right now. I look forward to seeing her when she comes to visit, and plan to visit the family in Indi when Whitney gets back to the States.

I consider myself so blessed to have people like these in my life. I can hardly believe that these random acts of kindness were directed towards Whitney and me in regard to our mom. Mom touched the lives of so many, and this is just more proof of how much everyone is impacted by her awful illness. It makes me infinitely happy and also deeply saddens me that my mom doesn't know that she has left this sort of impression on so many people. I don't know if she ever had a clue that she was so popular and so well-loved, but Whitney and I are both so lucky to be able to hear these stories and we will definitely treasure each and every one of them. I believe that even as hard as this is for me to deal with, these people and their stories will be enormously helpful in helping with the healing and coping process. Thank you to everyone...

Crazy Cat Ladies

The Three Stooges

My Blue Angel :)

So, I have sort of been saving this post for a special time because it is very near and dear to my own heart. As I have mentioned before, my sister is so much like Mom that everyone sees the similarities. But I feel that I have had to dig a little deeper sometimes to realize her likeness in myself. However, there are certain similarities that are ridiculously obvious, such as our shared love of cats, Siamese or "Meezers" in particular. Most of my friends already refer to me as the crazy cat lady because I have three little furballs of my own. I spent my childhood looking forward to visits to my mom's parents' house because I could spend the entire time with their cats! I was never allowed to have a cat because my dad despised them, so I had to live vicariously through other people's cat ownership. My Mamaw had two cats when I was young, and their names were Jess and Tonk. Jess was a chocolate point Siamese and Tonk was a Blue Russian mix. They were in love with each other, and I was in love with them. There actually used to be four cats, two were my mom's and two were Mamaw's. My mom had two Siamese cats, Jess and a blue point Siamese named Jay. Now, Jay was something of a legend. Mom used to talk about how he would eat food right out of her mouth because he was so pushy. He loved corn and mushrooms in particular. Mom used to have a large milk can and Jay had a stuffed frog that was kept in the can. He used to climb in there and actually fish it out, acrobat that he was! Uncle Rex used to say Jay hated him (and everyone but my mom and Papaw for that matter), except when he would be in the shower or getting dressed for work. Jay once fell into the shower and scratched up Rex's legs until he found his way out. When Rex had his work pants on, Jay would wind himself around his ankles and leave a hair trail all over his pants. Typical smart alec cat! Jess was somewhat more subdued, although my right thigh does bear a half-moon scar from where I picked her up and she scratched me trying to get free.

Now, those who know me well know that I have many similar stories with my own furry friends. Three days after moving out of my Dad's house for good, I went to the animal shelter and came home with my first cat, a lynx point Siamese named Bella. Then we decided to get a second, and went to the shelter about ten months later and found Cyrus, a chocolate point who looks just like Jess. My most recent, and maybe most special, is Blue Lou, my blue point. Other than missing one of his legs, he looks just like Jay, Mom's favorite baby. Lou is also a pushy little begger who tries to eat the food right out of my mouth! Every single time I look at him, I think of how Mom would have adored him. Blue points are hard to find, and when I saw him on Petfinder, I had to at least go meet him. I knew that having three cats would be a little much, but how could I not get a cat that looked just like Jay? Well, Lou has been a welcome addition to my family, and is probably the most well-behaved of the bunch. He is very affectionate, and he always has something to talk about (Meezers are very talkative, and they sound almost like human babies). Even though my family is complete, I still look at Siamese cats on Petfinder, and it breaks my heart to see these beautiful cats in the shelters. I love them so much, and lot of that is due to my mom's special love for them as well. It is particularly sad for me that Mom never got to meet any of my cats because I know how much she would have enjoyed them, but they will forever remind me of that piece of her.

I have to find pics of Mom's cats to put on here because I know I have them somewhere!

Ladies and Gentleman, START YOUR ENGINES!!!!

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

A.J. Foyt, Love of Mom's life!

Today marked the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, and I am feeling more than a little nostalgic. The 500 is one of the only things that I remember my parents doing together, and they both instilled the love of racing in me. Mom's family is all from Indiana, so racing is a way of life there. We would go up for the weekend, and Whitney and I would go to Fairland with Mamaw and Papaw, and Mom and Dad would go to the race. Fairland was where my grandparents kept their trailor, and there were always a million fun things to do. We listened to the race on the radio, fished in the lake, and drove the golf cart like maniacs! Mom and Dad always talked about the fact that if it rained, they would try to run the race in the "window". I could not fully appreciate what this meant until I went for my second 500 race, and it poured and poured down rain for two days straight. Basically, if it rains and then stops, they try to run enough laps to constitute an entire race. They bring out the jet engine fans to dry the track, and do their best to find enough of a "window" of time between showers to finish the race! Most years, my parents would come home, Mom tanned to a dark brown, Dad fried like a piece of bacon :) In later years, my parents hosted Indy 500 parties at our house. Sherri and Gary would come down, and friends and neighbors would join the festivities. Everyone would put a dollar in the pot and pull a name of a driver out of a hat. Whoever ended up with the winning driver got the pot. The first year we did this, I pulled Roberto Guerrero, and he crashed on the warmup lap before the race even started! My mom's favorite driver was A.J. Foyt, and we had this huge cardboard cutout of him that we kept in the basement and brought up for parties. He has a grandson, A.J. Foyt IV, and I always secretly cheer for him on behalf of Mom. I definitely inherited my parents' love for the sport, both actually going to the race or even watching on TV. My dad just made it home from Australia, has been up for 40 straight hours, and still watched the entire race today! I don't know that there is anything in the world that reminds me more of my parents together except maybe houseboat trips. My mom was girlie in some ways, but in a lot of ways, she was ever the tomboy. She loved racing along with all other sports, and there wasn't really anything she wouldn't watch. I think this is why Whitney and I are like the sons my dad never had!

Zoo Zoo Zoo!

So I had the pleasure this past Thursday of joining Maria and my godson Brian to see the Zoo Babies at the Cincinnati Zoo. It was amazing to see the animals with an eleven month old. It seemed like the bearcat was his favorite, but I KNOW that's because we didn't make it to the cathouse to see the wildcat! :) But speaking of the cathouse, one of my most vivid zoo memories was when my mom chaperoned a school field trip when I was about eight. Now, everyone knows that both Mom and I LOVE cats, so we couldn't wait to get to the cathouse that day. We spent time looking at the smaller residents, before moving on to the larger cats. The Cincinnati Zoo has this huge jaguar habitat that has a tree and a jungle background, and there used to be a clouded leapard and a black jaguar that inhabited it. When we got to this spot, the black jaguar was pacing back and forth right by the glass. Of course, we all had our faces up against the glass to get a better view. All of a sudden, the black jaguar let out a fierce roar and lunged at the glass! He actually swiped the glass panel with his paws, and left scratches etched on the inside! I thought my mom was going to faint. She grabbed the group of us and hearded us toward the exit. As scared as she was that day though, she loved to tell that story. Every time someone mentioned the zoo, she would regale them with the tale of the jaguar attack. It was actually something that few people would ever get to see, and it was as if we got to see the wild side of the animal kingdom that day. That black jaguar died not too terribly long ago, and I admit there were a few tears. He reminded me so much of that day with my mother, and how awed she was by him and his little tantrum. That habitat is still there in the cathouse (the above picture is the black jaguar's old roomie), although there are different cats in there now. And everytime I walk past, I look to see the scratch marks, even though I know they are long gone...