Archive for February, 2007

Stella rocks the Bahamas

Sunday, February 25th, 2007

Well here she is in her mid-fifties, rocking a tangerine caftan on her honeymoon in the Bahamas (The Loews Paradise Island Hotel and Villa), and looking totally. freaking. fierce.

The dramatic dress, the perfect frosted hair, not a pore on her face or décolletage, the strappy heels, the gold jewelry, and the ever present cigarette (about to ash on the carpet).

This could be any night at home as well. She would go to a favorite restaurant (Stewart Anderson’s Black Angus, perhaps), and bring home a doggy bag with half of a rare strip steak and some garlic bread. I was usually the lucky recipient of this treat.

This is quintessential Stella.

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Stella and Erik playing Horsey

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

I have pretty dim memories of my childhood, but I remember horsey… in particular, that Gram was a pro.

At the VA she could toss her soldier boys around like rag dolls, so bouncing me was about as difficult as breathing for her :)

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SVS – The Original, Post-WWII, WrinkleFree Zone

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

So… today while I’m scanning and cutting up images of Stella, her sister Milly (my Auntie) tells me a funny story about Mom that I hadn’t heard before. It goes something like this:

Stella and her 3 baby sisters – Milly, Lilly and Ruth – shared a flat over Hollands’ Dry Cleaning Store in Fargo, ND for a couple years – circa 1943-1945. (Tidbit of Fargo history: their cousin F. Ralph Hollands owned and operated the dry cleaning store and was also their landlord and diligent chaperone.)

During this time, Stella graduated as an R.N. from St. Luke’s Hospital (also in Fargo), and immediately went to work as a surgical nurse at the VA hospital in Fargo. She took the bus to the VA every day – about half an hour each way.

“But in the morning – on her way to work”, Aunt Milly tells me, “your mother would stand up in the bus and hold on to a strap – all the way to the VA – even if there were seats available! She didn’t want to to sit down because she didn’t want to wrinkle her uniform before she got to work!”

rnStanding4.jpg Ja! That’s Mom! (Click picture for larger view!)

rnSitting4.jpg Obviously, taken at the END of her shift! (Click picture for larger view!)

Posted in BEAUTIFUL, admiration, fastidious, funny, quirky | No Comments »

Here we go…

Monday, February 19th, 2007

This is the first post. Since I’ve been futzing over domain names and setting the blog up and whatnot, I have nothing interesting to say… except, perhaps: TWIST TIES.

Twist-Ease-1Gram loved her twist ties. In fact she loved anything small and clever and most especially if it could fasten things together. Twist ties fit the bill quite well.
She’d get particularly excited when I’d bring her an extra long twist tie, or a fancy one done up in gold or silver foil. She’d cackle at the joke, but you bet she would ferret it away for a rainy day.

I’ll probably run across a huge nest of them in the back of her closet.

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