The sun is out so strongly this morning. The shadows it’s casting are so intense, so black, you would swear someone had been spray painting on my lawn and driveway. A week ago it was still mostly covered with snow. We had such drenching rain yesterday along with warmer temperatures that it all washed away.

I think Winter is slowly losing whatever grip it had. It never did have a very firm hold this year, always vacillating back and forth. Snow. Rain. Snow. Rain. Warm. Cold. Warm. Cold. If it’s not going to really be winter it might as well be spring. This side of winter is always so drab and dull. Normally I am a winter person but I find myself longing for sweet bird song (which has already begun), lush green grass, and the warm sun on my face.

We turn our clocks forward this weekend, so maybe that will put a jump start on the new season. I’m ready. I am tired of standing in the shadow of winter. Bring it on!

doily |ˈdoilē|
noun ( pl. -lies)
an ornamental mat, typically made of lace and placed under decorative objects.
• a small ornamental napkin, typically placed under a cake or other sweet foods.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from Doiley or Doyley, the name of a 17th-cent. London draper. The word originally denoted a woolen material used for summer wear, said to have been introduced by this draper. The current sense (originally doily napkin) dates from the early 18th cent.

My Mom, whom I lost in August of last year unexpectedly, was the Queen of Doilies. I can’t remember ever seeing her without a doily in progress. Her fingers fairly flew, the crochet hook flashing in and out of the threads. She would only glance down every now and then to check her work. She learned to crochet as a young child from her mother. She tried to interest me in learning how to crochet, but I couldn’t be bothered with all that fiddly thread. A real shame, that. I can single crochet a rag rug and that’s about the extent of it. 

I have many doilies, table runners and a few tablecloths all worked by my mom and grandmother. What better “D” than that I ask yout?

Stitch upon intricate stitch that ultimately turn out to be spirals, stars, pinwheels, and pineapples (Mom’s fav!).

Before I started knitting I really could not tell the right side of the doily from the wrong side. Every time Mom came to visit she would inspect the doilies I had been displaying, tut-tutting as she flipped them over to the correct side up. oops. It drove my Mom crazy that I liked my doilies “au naturelle.” She always starched and ironed hers so they were crisp. Alas, I am not that way, and my style of housekeeping will testify to that. My doilies tend to the more relaxed side of life. More laisser-faire is my mode. Definitely. To me it doesn’t take away from their beauty or timeless elegance.

Treasures and heirlooms, all. Thank you, Mom and Memom for keeping up with the wonderful tradition of crocheted doilies.

Today is February 29th. Happy Leap Day! Here is what the NY Times had to say in their Sky Watch section:

Leap Day is an artifact that dates back to 46 B.C. when Julius Caesar took the advice of Sosigenes, an Alexandrian astronomer, who knew that the solar year was about 365.25 days in length. So to account for that residual quarter of a day, leap day was added to the calendar every four years.

Unfortunately, the new Julian calendar was 11 minutes and 4 seconds longer than the actual solar year. By 1582 the calendar had fallen out of step with the solar year by 10 days. It was then that Pope Gregory XIII, with the advice of his own astronomer, Clavius, produced the Gregorian calendar. Ten days were omitted after Oct 4, 1582, making the next day Oct. 15. Then, to closely match the length of the solar year, leap years were skipped in century years. The exceptions were those equally divisible by 400. That is why 2000 was a leap year but 1900 was not.

Whew! Do we really know what day it is ... or not?

Oh! such lemony goodness. Rich, buttery crust that’s oh-so-tender. I had forgotten all about these delicious treats until a new acquaintance of mine, Marymartha, visited our online recipe book and made them for herself. She wrote to tell me that they were gone in a matter of minutes, they were that good. So, I decided to make them this weekend.

The recipe came from my Grandmother, who we called “Memom” because my sister couldn’t manage “Grandma.” I don’t know where the original recipe came from or if she made it up herself. All I have is the hand-written recipe on a piece of plain white paper. I treasure it because it’s her handwriting.

The recipe can be found here.

I love how she wrote Good -Good! at the bottom. Yes, Memom, they surely are.

Here I am with my Grandmother circa 1959. I know, I look a little cranky, don’t I? I think I was squinting into the sun.