To My Dad

 Hi everyone. Happy middle of the week. 

Today I'm celebrating what would have been my Dad's 98th birthday. He passed in 2004, but of course, he is never far from my heart and thoughts. I was definitely Dad's girl, and I definitely not only look more like him but have more of his personality  than that of my Mom. (Although I must admit I am getting slightly more like my mother in some ways as I get older.)

I don't know how old he was in this first photo, 

but he looks a lot older than a man in his late teens or early twenties in this photo taken during his service in World War 2.

I wish now I knew the dates of these photos since I can't ask him. In this next photo he is celebrating a younger birthday. I'm guessing he was in his twenties then. That's his sister, my aunt, in the background. The old washing machine is pretty interesting too. We actually had one like that when I was a very young girl.

He looks totally different without his glasses. With him is my Mom as a young woman.  I don't think they were engaged or married yet based on the ring she is wearing, and I'm guessing my dad was around 30 here.

The other day I made his favorite cake in honor of his birthday. He loved a pound cake with walnuts and maraschino cherries. I used to bake them for him when I was a teenager , and I must have the taste of it embedded in my memory so come around early February most years I need to make one.

This is an old photo. Even though I made this cake in this same pan the other day, I forgot to take any photos. Probably because I took the cake out the pan while it was too hot, and I lost a big chunk of it. I was very disappointed it broke. It tasted good though. My husband and I managed to eat most of the crumbs so now I have a cake that is an outline of a heart but not complete.

To make this cake you take any plain pound cake recipe and add some chopped walnuts as well as some drained, patted dry and then chopped maraschino cherries. I've never seen this combination in any recipes, and I don't know when or where my dad had it, but he always asked for it. 

I am linking up this part of the post to Kathy's Food Wednesdays.

And since I can't celebrate with him any longer, I made an art journal page in his memory. My Dad loved to go fishing in his little boat, so I made a fishing page for him.

If you look carefully in the close up in the background, you might spot a stamped fish or 2. I stamped these before I ink the background. The hooks, bobber and fishing pole are hand drawn. I added a tag (not one I made), a ruler sticker, a couple of Art by Marlene algae plants and waves, a stamped and fussy cut fish on a car image as well as some die cut borders made from a torn out page in a book which was also about fish.  Finally I added the little metal button sticker, a few little blue plastic pearls as well as a few things left over and sitting on my work table.  I wrote in the quote.

This quote was on a signboard that first hung in my grandparents camp, then in my Dad's area of the basement, and now my brother has it. It says: "All fishermen are liars, except you and me. And sometimes I'm not sure about you."

 

It's a quote that comes to mind when I think about my dad. 

Since this page is full of various eclectic items put together, something I like to often do, I am going to link up to Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's challenge at Art Journal Journey.

Happy Birthday Dad. I hope where ever your spirit is, you are out catching a big fish with your fishing buddies.

And to you who read through this post, I hope you're having a wonderful day and week.

Thanks for visiting.