The Beginning of January, 1941

I love reading Babu’s sweet passages, and even better her witty ones, but this next passage was not one of either of them.  Passages like these remind me that this is more than just a hobby of mine, and it’s more than about just Babu’s life.  This is a real retelling of her life and…

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Happy New Year!

This day is about firsts, so here is the first day of 1941: Wednesday, January 1st, 1941 Woke at 10 and was late for high mass again.  Balanced my book at noon and then settled down for a nap.  Jake came and joined me. Edmund stepped in for a while and then we dozed off…

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New Year’s Reflection

Do you know the feeling when you are lost but you are just now getting the feeling like the area around you is beginning to look right and you think you know how to get unlost?  I have been having this feeling this holiday while reading these powerful passages from Babu.  It is such a…

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Ugly Wrapping

I ugly wrapped this year.  On purpose.  My grandmother would be mortified.  But I did it for Babu, who would be pleased, I think, and also maybe a bit mortified.  Here is the result: Yes, I wrapped Christmas presents in Birthday, Anniversary, any other holiday paper.  I was delighted to wrap a present for my…

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Vintage Christmas Photos

Merry Christmas!  Happy holidays to everyone who does not celebrate this particular holiday and Happy Winter! for people who do not have a holiday this time of year.  I think, whatever your beliefs are, that many of you will appreciate these adorable photos.  They are from the archives, although a full decade ahead.  I just…

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The Holidays, 1940

Wednesday, December 25th, 1940 Had to go to High Mass and Eddie and Zosh came home with me.  The Nat came.  We exchanged gifts and Stretch and Jake came.  We had a drink and went to Stretch’s, drank there, went to Eddie’s, drank and ate supper there, came to Jake’s had two or 3 drinks,…

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December, 1940

Sunday, December 15th, 1940 This afternoon Jake and I went skating and met Nat and her brother, Billy, Frank, Etc.  It was warm and even the ice was good.  Ate supper, which I prepared, and Peach washed the dishes.  Eddie, Zosh, and we saw “Trial of the Vigilantes” and “She Couldn’t Say No”.  Had ice…

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Tobogganing, December, 1940

You cannot go wrong with a few passages celebrating winter sports, and the reality that when tobogganing, someone is always going to get hurt. Thursday, December 5th, 1940 The city hall crowd, Jake, Fila, and I went tobogganing at the Spfld. Country Club.  We got there early and went down twice by the way of…

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What I Do For a Living is Love You

This is the transcription for early December but it feels so warm (and it actually was a bit warm, haha!): Sunday, December 1st, 1940 It was warm today and the snow got soft so we couldn’t go skiing.  Mom and Dad went to Bondsville. Jake and I read the funnies by the stove and then…

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Sept 22, 1940

Sunday, September 22nd, 1940 Didn’t fall asleep till one last night.  Nellie, Caz, Jake and I played tennis and then had a picnic at Mt. Tom.  Jake knew I was peeved but he offered no explanation. He tried all the time to be pleasant but I treated him politely and that’s all.  I know he…

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Redo! March 3, 1940

I just updated a post from a while ago with more pictures that I put together with the date.  Here they are again: Sunday, March 3rd, 1940 We slept till nine this morning. Had breakfast and Ernie, Jakey, and I went skiing.  The hill was quite steep.  I swore I wouldn’t go down it but…

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Mohawk Trail

While combing through literally thousands of pictures and decades of written records, I found some images from October 1940.  They are beautiful, even if problematic, but they also don’t fit.  I read through Babu’s journals for the month many times, and even looked to see if I transcribed for the wrong year.  No.  It seems…

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