Happy Mothers' Day

It's Mothers' Day here in the States,

so I wish you all a happy Mothers' Day

or

simply a happy day.

My Mom, 

Ruth Evelyn Peterson Hill,

was pretty darned special.

She had a lot of drive and spunk.

One of my fondest memories of Mom is seeing her up on

the roof of our new garage, shingling it!

My Dad had added two bedrooms, a breezeway, and a 2-car garage to our house...

and Mom was doing her part by adding the shingles to the roof!

She did a lot of other things too.

Mom worked her way up from the position of bank teller to manager of the branch,

which made her pretty powerful in our little town because

she was in charge of giving loans.

Mom's parents were immigrants,

arriving in Massachusetts from Sweden in the early 1900s.

She spoke only Swedish until she began first grade.

She told me that her mother used to dress her in scratchy tights

every morning before she left to walk to school.

As soon as she got into her classroom,

Mom would find a pair of scissors and cut the leggings off, 

as it was not stylish to wear tights in those days.

The family doctor removed Mom's tonsils
in the kitchen of their home,
by the light of the kitchen window!
YIKES!!

Here's Mom with my uncle Eldon, aka "Pete":

 Both photos must have been taken on the same day,

as Mom looks the same.

notice the leggings!

Her parents had a beautiful home, 

but they worked very hard for the little money they had.

Grandpa worked in a shoe factory,

and Nana cleaned houses.

They never owned an automobile,

but had a fabulous vegetable and flower garden,

and always kept chickens, a pig,

and a cat named Trixie.

Nana could knit, crochet, sew and embroider.

If she admired a dress in a store window,

she could go home and duplicate it!

She taught me to knit, sew and embroider.

Our sewing sessions together consisted of me sitting in her lap

and treadling her machine....fond memories!

I think this must be a later family photo:

different outfits on Mom and Uncle Pete. 

Mom would be 98 tomorrow.

I still miss her.

Thanks to my Swedish cousin Eva

for supplying these wonderful old family photos.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a wonderful day.