My mother -1922/1981

 Some little facts and about my mother.

Mom with Barbara, Peggy and Johnny. 1940's 

She was the first of two daughters born to Mary and Joe (real first name Patrick).  Her sister was born 2 years later. Her parents separated but got back together when the girls were in their late teens, early twenties. She had blue eyes and dark Auburn hair.

She got her appendix out when she was 16.

She almost died giving birth to her first child and needed blood transfusions. My fathers american indian friend donated blood, so she would always say we have indian blood in us. 

When she was pregnant there was something in her urine that saved babies, so she would pee in a bucket and get paid for it.

She could not ride a bike, swim or drive a car, so she wanted to make sure her daughters could.  When I was 19 she bought me driving lessons for my birthday.

She was waking her husband up for dinner one day, and half asleep, he  swong his fists at her. Ever since then she would tell one of us kids to go in and wake your father. 

She would only go in the backyard pool with a tire inner tube around her waist.

She rarely drank but she would on occasion. 7&7 (whisky&7up) or beer, were a favorite.

She was afraid of birds.

She liked animals, but not in her house. She had 6 kids who at different times, would beg for a dog or cat, but she never gave in. Her favorite saying was, when you have your own house you can have all the animals you want.

I never lived more than a few blocks away from her.

Her inside attire was her house dress with an apron and her leather blue slippers. Out doors was a dress with her  black open toe low  heels. Later she would wear pantsuits like on the TV show, Maude. She would wear boots in the winter, but she never wore a regular shoe.

Her favorite movie was, The Quiet Man, with John Wayne. I made the mistake of calling her once when she was watching it, I never did that again. LOL

She liked to listen to the Mills Brothers, the Andrew Sisters, Dean Martin, Big band albums. She liked some of the later music too.

She loved to read mysteries, her favorite being Agatha Christie books.

She liked mayonnaise sandwiches.

John Wayne was a favorite but she loved Tyrone Power.

She saw The Andrew Sisters in concert. Apple blossom time was her favorite song of theirs.

I liked when she sang along with the old songs. I thought she had a good voice.

She liked western and War movies too. She would cry during sad movies, sometimes.

She smoked most of her life. Menthol cigarettes later.

She loved halava. No one else in the house liked it.

She was a tea drinker and drank many cups in the course of the day. Lipton tea.

She was a good cook, not a fancy cook.

She liked going to the drive inn with us.

She liked Bingo. I went with her once. It was the only time I ever went to bingo.

She would look up the horse races in the newspaper and pick a horse then listen to the race later, on the radio.

She loved wrestling and didn't know it was fake till her sisters husband told her. She was upset.

She liked the Roller Derby too.

Her daughters were not allowed to curse in front of her.

She did not like Nick Knacks. She said they were dust collectors.

She did not like jewelry, her wedding band/engagement ring set is all she wore. She would wear her pearl necklace and watch when going to a wedding ect., sometimes a brooch and also her anniversary diamond ring my father bought her, Agnes has it now.

She would get a corn on the bottom of her heel that would get cut out about once a year. She had frozen shoulders when she was older.

She needed reading glasses later in life.

My daughter was her favorite grandchild.

She was my best friend.