90 Things About My Mother

(Taken in 1960)

Today is the day of my mother's party, so I won't be home to post an entry. Instead, I thought I'd share what I wrote for her memory book. It's essentially a Mom Meme! Here are 90 things about my mother:

I think she has more shoes in her closet than I’ve ever owned.

She’s famous for her stuffed eggs.

She once carried a bucket of berries up a hill, while being chased by hornets, and didn’t spill a single berry.

She attributes her good teeth to having been sick as a child and having to drink goat’s milk.

She started at the Bank of America as a part time typist and retired as a Trust Officer.

She has the greenest thumb of anybody I know–she can make anything grow.

She taught me to like pancakes with pork gravy.

She works the daily crossword puzzle in pen.

She hums the theme to CSI along with the TV.

Two and a Half Men is one of her favorite programs.

She loves to iron (really!)

She cheats at cards (not really--she's just very, very good--and lucky)

She has outlived all of her siblings.

She hasn’t washed her own hair in three years (but has it done every Friday by her hairdresser)

She has volunteered for Hospice of Marin since shortly after it began.

She loves to dance (and plans to dance at her birthday party)

She has an amazingly positive outlook on life which has seen her through all the hard times.

She buried two difficult mothers-in-law (fortunately they were dead at the time).

She can bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy–and makes a great apple pie too.

She once ate 12 ears of corn on a bet (or so she told me)

Her handwriting is still as neat as it was 60 years ago.

She is a jigsaw puzzle fiend

She lived with a family during her senior year in high school, when her parents moved to San Francisco, and earned her keep by doing housework and ironing, because she wanted to graduate with her class.

She became a Catholic in her 30s.

She is the surrogate "mom" to most of her nieces.

She was a really good seamstress, and even learned how to tailor garments.

She reads everything from Danielle Steele to Thomas Merton – but don’t give her any gory stuff.

She moved to Texas, briefly, to help her break up with a boyfriend

She always has the right hat to go with the right outfit and the right shoes.

She hasn’t smoked since 1942.

She was addicted to radio soap operas when I was a kid and still watches "All My Children" every day.

She loves her Lexus.

Give her vodka tonics, none of that gin stuff.

When she and Fred traveled in Holland, she started collecting blue Delft

She gave birth to my sister after only one labor pain.

She loves being surrounded by flowers.

In Germany, she once ordered "white wine with ice" and was served white wine with a scoop of ice cream in it.

She still has all of her own teeth (minus just one)

She once tried to convince me that our pet frogs (raised from tadpoles) "must have gotten out of the bowl" they were in. I still don’t believe her.

If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as my mother’s dog, because nothing gets more luxurious treatment than her animals.

She used to belong to the Business and Professional Women’s Club.

She once had a crush on Franchot Tone

She’s an avid 49er fan

Don’t try to give her any of that confounded new technology stuff.

Many doves have built nests on her porch and raised families there.

No "senior citizen living" community for this gal–she prefers to see children out her front window.

She has walked out on the beams of a roof to pound nails.

At 90, she still cans fruit or vegetables when someone brings her an abundance.

"Doctor? I don’t need no steenking doctor!"

Except for her one brief trip to Texas, she has never lived out of California.

She never owned her own home until she was in her 50s.

CSI has never been the same since Grissom left.

She had a Boston Bull Terrier when she was a child.

I still remember her talking baby talk to a hamster.

"Kim" by Kipling was one of her favorite books, as a child.

She reads two newspapers, front to back every day.

She’s the "Hostess with the Mostest."

The friend she’s known the longest is someone she went to grammar school with.

Her nails are always perfectly polished

She likes to wear the color purple

She once took a cruise from Hawaii to San Francisco. It was a very. long. cruise.

She hates roller coasters.

She’s a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat.

She has a lovely, quiet singing voice.

She keeps bowls of Hershey’s Kisses for her guests, and dog treats for their dogs.

Most of her dinners these days come from a green box.

She plays Mah Jong for the laughs.

She thinks Bill Clinton was our most intelligent president.

She’ll always watch golf if Tiger Woods is playing.

She always woke us up in the morning with orange juice in bed–and a kiss (and still does!)

When I had to take money to grammar school, she always tied it in a handkerchief so I wouldn’t lose it.

She is a shameless flirt.

She buried a child in 1971.

If she belonged to an organization, chances are that at some time she was its treasurer.

She keeps a bird feeder and a humming bird feeder full at all times.

She’s traveled to England and to Holland and the surrounding countries.

Her first adult job was working at Paul Elders Books in San Francisco.

One of her best memories as a small child was getting a pair of patent leather shoes for a school play.

At Christmas, she read "A Christmas Carol" to us, over several nights. It’s one of my fondest Christmas memories.

She could not stand to look at George Bush whenever he was on television because he gave her the creeps.

She was the kind of mother who taught you to be competitive by never cheating to let a child win a game.

She uses Web-TV, barely, but would rather interact face to face, or voice to voice.

The first major accident she ever had was breaking her ankle 3 years ago.

She always has a bed for a friend who needs one.

She once had a severe skin problem on her hands that went mis-diagnosed for years.

She has seen every episode of As Time Goes By so often she can practically recite the lines for you.

She married her soul-mate when she married Fred.

In looking through old photos for this party, I realized that she is almost always smiling that big smile of hers.

She is a person of great love, great energy, and the highest integrity

She is my best friend.