wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

From Ohio to West Virginia...

to Pennsylvania...

To Maryland...

Across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge...

Final destination - Ocean City, Maryland, for a family beach vacation. 

This is Owen and Hallie’s first beach vacation, and watching them experience the ocean and beach for the first time has been such a joy. This brought back memories of visiting my grandparents who lived in New Jersey and going to the Jersey shore was one of the highlights of our visits.

To see Owen’s excitement and wonder as he watched the waves continuously roll in and rush back out was just priceless. The Atlantic waves are big and powerful, but that didn’t faze this brave 4-year old one bit. Since he has taken swimming lessons, Owen confidently told Dad and Grandpa that he knew how to swim and they didn’t need to hold his hands. Whatever you say, kiddo! The beach itself was an endless sandbox, and Owen had a blast as Andrew showed him how to build sandcastles, only for Owen to gleefully jump on them moments later.

Little Hallie loved the sand, too. At 17-months old and so curious about everything, she decided that a handful or two needed to be taste-tested, just to be sure.

This beach vacation has given Owen and Hallie their first taste of salty air, crashing waves, sandy toes, and all the joys that come with a day at the shore. Andrew and Jen think the next beach adventure may take them a little farther south, where the waves are a bit gentler and the sand is a bit softer. But for now, these first beach memories, complete with sandcastles, wave-watching, and a little sand tasting, will be treasured for years to come.

50 years later

Today would have been my mom’s 95th birthday. She died in 2020, not from COVID, but from complications of Alzheimer’s.

Back in the day, I loved embroidery. Mom had a corner in her kitchen filled with potted plants and a big asparagus fern hanging from a very heavy coat tree. When I found this little embroidery kit, I thought, “This would be a great birthday gift for Mom!”

I also enjoyed macramé, so instead of stitching the wires that held the planter, I used a spiral square knot to give it an individualized, pretty effect.

Now look at the date. 50 years ago, this was a birthday present for my mom.

She hung it on the wall beside her telephone, and today it hangs on a wall beside my cookbooks.

Funny how an ordinary little craft project can become a time capsule. Fifty years later, it still holds a piece of Mom’s kitchen, her plants, and for me, the daughter who made it to celebrate her 45th birthday.

monday's mulling: spam

Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam…

I don’t know about you but every day my phone gets hit with spam messages, mainly from political parties. The messages don’t have my name right. I’m Linda S., Russell, lots of incorrect names asking for money to help further their political campaigns. 

Hit the delete and report spam button.

Every so often “Apple” sends an alert that an unauthorized charge was put on my account. A few years back my daughter responded to a text like this and then had to go through a messy process of canceling her credit card, changing account information and passwords.

This one gave me a chuckle and I really wanted to respond with some smart aleck answer like, “Thanks for the heads up but my dog’s been dead for six years.” I'm not going to engage with a spammer.

(The Spam display photo was taken in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport. Minnesota is the home of Hormel Foods, the parent company that makes SPAM.)

46 years

46 years ago we said "I do," and we are still doing! 

Here's looking at you, kid. (He's two months younger than me 🙂).

fountain view from deeds point

No words...just enjoy the Fountains of Light and a pretty sunset over the Great Miami River.

the friday feed: the maid-rite sandwich shoppe

While driving home from Lake James and after exiting Interstates 69 and 469, Todd decided to skip the four-lane highways and take Route 127 through Ohio's farm country. The two-lane road runs north and south, hugging the Indiana state line, and it's the kind of drive that's made for discovering small-town gems.

When we rolled into Greenville, Ohio, it was dinnertime and we were hungry. I remembered a list I made from a question on the Dayton Foodies Facebook page: What Dayton-area restaurants belong on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives*?* Even though Greenville is a stretch to consider it the Dayton area, the Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe had plenty of mentions, so we set the GPS to its address.

Maid-Rite is a Greenville institution. Founded in 1934, the restaurant has been woven into the fabric of the community for generations. During a fire in the 1990s, the city's fire chief reportedly joked that he'd be run out of town if the Maid-Rite couldn't be saved. Fire departments from neighboring communities answered the call to help put out the fire.

We pulled into the parking lot, walked toward the entrance, and immediately noticed something quite unusual: chewing gum plastered across the brick exterior. It's a  wonderfully odd tradition that adds to Maid-Rite's charm. 

Step inside and you'll find a classic diner that's been doing one thing exceptionally well for decades: serving its famous loose meat sandwiches.

So what exactly is a loose meat sandwich? Picture a sloppy joe without the tomato sauce. But the Maid-Rite isn't just seasoned ground beef on a bun. The closely guarded recipe creates a sandwich that's both savory and slightly sweet, a flavor uniquely its own. We each ordered a Maid-Rite sandwich and accompanied it with a thick, old-fashioned chocolate malt. Satisfied customers.

The Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe may be a little off the beaten path, but it's exactly the kind of place that makes taking the scenic route worthwhile.

isn't it just a tad early?

It's mid-summer and the Halloween decorations are already showing up. How long will it be before the pumpkin spice lattes and everything else pumpkin spice make their grand entrance? It seems like every season starts earlier than the last. I want to enjoy the summer months and not skip ahead to fall.