A blue enameled bowl full of strawberry slurry.

I remember my mom would fill a blue enameled bowl (which stayed in the family for many years), like the one in the picture, with a mixture of sliced strawberries, cream and milk, and a little sugar. The bowl was big and it was full. This slurry plus shortbread was to be the whole supper for a large family.

I was four. It was ninety years ago. My mom passed away when I was five. There were about a dozen of my family at home at that time. It was a tradition of my mom to occasionally have a strawberry supper. Nothing else to eat, just strawberry shortcake, but all you wanted. I can remember how it tasted. The shortbread was not sweet. It was a big fluffy sourdough biscuit. You placed the shortbread in your bowl and then covered it with the strawberry slurry. It was so good! Everyone was happy with their meal.

I can remember my mom standing over the bowl. This is one of the several memories that I have of my mom. If you have read some of my blogs you may have the impression that I really missed my mom and resented losing her at an early age. That is the right impression!

 I have recently became acquainted with a genealogical presentation called a timeline. The timeline presents a chronological list of all the events in a person's life. The list can include major events with age, where the person was living, etc. I am thinking of doing a timeline for my mom. She led an eventful life in her 41 years! Eight pregnancies and nine children. It would be like spending time with her. Depending on how detailed my study, it could be a lot of work. Getting or reading eight birth certificates could involve a lot of time, effort and expense.