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© 2006 Timeless Treasure Trunk
All rights reserved.
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Special Occasions, Mother's Day
The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ, in England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.
In America, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community. She believed it would be best advocated by mothers so she called it "Mother's Work Day."
Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.
In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. In 1914 Anna's hard work paid off when a bill was signed by Woodrow Wilson recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.
At first Mother's Day was observed by attending church and writing letters to one's mother, however it evolved into sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing commercial activity associated with Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. She filed a lawsuit in 1923 to stop a Mother's Day festival, and was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a convention selling carnations for a war mother's group. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis is said to have confessed that she regretted ever starting the mother's day tradition.
Despite Anna Jarvis's misgivings, Mother's Day has flourished in America. In fact, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers
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Mother's Day Card
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The template is here, save the .gif image to your computer and print it.
Cut the template out and trace outline on to a folded sheet of fancy card stock, cut the top edge profile and the window in the front of the card.
Paste a photo on the inside of the card so it is visable through the window. Decorate the front of the card with any supplies you have on hand.
Print a poem or quote on co-ordinating stock and paste to inside of card below photo.
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CD for Mother
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Using a template from here, save the .gif image to your computer and print it.
Cut the template out and trace outline on to a sheet of fancy card stock, decorate the cover.
Using a CD burner make a compilation CD of your mother's favorite songs from her music collection.
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Eggs Benedict
INGREDIENTS:
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 eggs
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 8 strips Canadian-style bacon
• 4 English muffins, split
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
DIRECTIONS:
1. To Make Hollandaise: Fill the bottom of a double boiler part-way with water. Make sure that water does not touch the top pan. Bring water to a gentle simmer. In the top of the double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon water.
2. Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time while whisking yolks constantly. If hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Place a lid on pan to keep sauce warm.
3. Preheat oven on broiler setting. To Poach Eggs: Fill a large saucepan with 3 inches of water. Bring water to a gentle simmer, then add vinegar. Carefully break eggs into simmering water, and allow to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Yolks should still be soft in center. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and set on a warm plate
4. While eggs are poaching, brown the bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast the English muffins on a baking sheet under the broiler.
5. Spread toasted muffins with softened butter, and top each one with a slice of bacon, followed by one poached egg. Place 2 muffins on each plate and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve immediately.
Crunchy French Toast
This is basically plain French Toast coated with corn flake crumbs.
8 bread slices
2 medium eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups corn flake crumbs
butter
In a medium bowl, beat eggs, milk, and vanilla until blended. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place corn flake crumbs in a shallow dish or bowl. Dip each bread slice into egg mixture and then dip into corn flake crumbs. Cook in buttered skillet until both sides are golden brown. Cut French Toast into diagonals and serve with maple syrup.
Plain Pancakes
Sift:
one cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
one-quarter teaspoon salt
Beat and add:
one egg
Add:
1 cup milk
stir gradually to make smooth
add:
1 teaspoon melted butter or oil
Cook in a hot frying pan, flip pancakes when they bubble, to brown the other side.
Serve with maple syrup or fruit preserve.
The sweetest sounds to mortals given
Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.
~William Goldsmith Brown
Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. ~Ambrose Bierce
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty
Mother - that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries. ~T. DeWitt Talmage
A man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done. ~Author Unknown
A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest. ~Irish Proverb
God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. ~Jewish Proverb
Motherhood is priced
Of God, at price no man may dare
To lessen or misunderstand.
~Helen Hunt Jackson
Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother. ~Oprah Winfrey
Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children. ~William Makepeace Thackeray
This heart, my own dear mother, bends,
With love's true instinct, back to thee!
~Thomas Moore
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust
If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. ~Attributed to Claudia Ghandi
Poems
Daughters-in-law are our grandchildren's mothers.
As such, they carry our fortunes downstream.
Under their guidance, our hopes become others',
Giving their force to a much larger dream.
How lucky we are to have you for the carer
That nurtures the hearts of our hearts, that they may
Each be a lover, a giver and sharer,
Remaking the world in their image each day.
So do we all, like streams from the mountains,
In time become joined in the souls we have made,
Now mingled forever, eternal companions,
Linked by our love in a bond that won't fade.
As you in your noontime your work of love do,
We watch from the hillside, grateful for you.
~Nicholas Gordon
Close your eyes and wish for the one thing
You cannot do without, and when you do,
Near your heart you'll find it, always there,
Treasure that is dear but not so rare,
Held in the mesh that all your dreams flow through.
In truth, no gift more happiness can bring,
And so this day I give my love to you.
~Nicholas Gordon
I call you "Ma," though you are not my mother,
But more a ma than any ma could be.
I've come to love you more than any other;
You took me in your charge and set me free.
You let me run and kissed me when I fell;
You kept your eyes on me and let me stray.
I learned things hard, which means I learned them well,
And got to know myself along the way.
My hope and faith and pride are all from you.
My roots are in your heart; you are my home.
You will be part of everything I do,
In all my thoughts a wise and lovely poem.
For all our lives we'll have this common ground:
You were my rock when else I would have drowned.
~Nicholas Gordon
I know I haven't been an easy child,
But love for you lies underneath my whims;
There is no way I could be tame or mild:
I need sometimes to shout and wave my limbs.
You're the wall I need to test my height,
The countervailing force to test my strength,
The chain I hammer at with all my might,
Even though you have increased its length.
It's tough, I know, to be both Mom and Dad,
To raise me all alone, just hit or miss;
To have to play at once good cop and bad,
And give me grief before my goodnight kiss.
But love against the odds is stronger still:
I need your fierce, proud love, and always will.
~Nicholas Gordon
I know we sometimes argue, and
I sometimes blow my lid.
But I still love you very much:
I'm only just a kid.
Sometimes I need to push against
The fences you erect,
Even though I know they're there
To shelter and protect.
I know you want the best for me
And to keep me from all harm.
I just want you to know I couldn't
Have a better mom.
~Nicholas Gordon
You were there when we took our first steps,
And went unsteadily across the floor.
You pushed and prodded: encouraged and guided,
Until our steps took us out the door...
You worry now "Are they ok?"
Is there more you could have done?
As we walk the paths of our unknown
You wonder "Where have my children gone?"
Where we are is where you have led us,
With your special love you showed us a way,
To believe in ourselves and the decisions we make.
Taking on the challenge of life day-to-day.
And where we go you can be sure,
In spirit you shall never be alone.
For where you are is what matters most to us,
Because to us that will always be home...
~Author Unknown
There are times when only a Mother's love
Can understand our tears,
Can soothe our disappoints
And calm all of our fears.
There are times when only a Mother's love
Can share the joy we feel
When something we've dreamed about
Quite suddenly is real.
There are times when only a Mother's faith
Can help us on life's way
And inspire in us the confidence
We need from day to day.
For a Mother's heart and a Mother's faith
And a Mother's steadfast love
Were fashioned by the Angels
And sent from God above.
~Author Unknown
As I look back on my life
I find myself wondering...
Did I remember to thank you
for all that you have done for me?
For all of the times you were by my side
to help me celebrate my successes
and accept my defeats?
Or for teaching me the value of hard work,
good judgement, courage, and honesty?
I wonder if I've ever thanked you
for the simple things...
The laughter, smiles, and quiet times we've shared?
If I have forgotten to express my gratitude
For any of these things,
I am thanking you now...
and I am hoping that you've known all along,
how very much you are loved and appreciated.
~Author Unknown
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