Blog | Apron Memories

#JUSTDOIT

On November 20, 2019 By EllynAnne In Blog

When I created Tie One On Day fourteen years ago, I had hopes its essence – that giving from the heart made someone else’s day brighter – would be embraced worldwide. And if ever there were a need for a worldwide hug, it’s now.

A few weeks ago, our little Temple in Pueblo, Colorado, was the proposed target of Nazi hatred. Thankfully, the FBI and local police thwarted his plan. Tho’ the attack did not take place, the idea of such violence against our Jewish community left us shaken. Friends from around America reached out, and in doing so, made us feel safe and loved. That’s kindness.

Thinking kind thoughts is empathizing. Acting on empathy is kindness. #JUSTDOIT

I like most people and enjoy showing them as much, especially with a delivery of a homemade food.

My first Tie One On Day delivery was to an artist. Upon attending a pop up art exhibit by neon artist Scott Young (find him and his talent on instagram @scottyoungstudio), I was immediately caught up in the excitement of his work and his genuine niceness. It was his description of a hectic schedule through the end of the year that led me to one thought: this man needs the sustenance of a hearty soup. Yes, that’s how I think.

A reusable wrapping of cloth and a handwritten note are tenants of Tie One On Day

The bean soup recipe I use is easily made in a crock pot. Freezing the soup and delivering in a container that does not need returning is always a good idea. Here we are at the pop-up. That we’re both smiling is the win-win of Tie One On Day, for the giver and recipient. #JUSTDOIT

Delivering in person is a Tie One On Day bonus

Following the thwarted attack, a neighbor to one of our children gave our Jewish community a gift that required more than the requisite thank you note. For them, I baked Pecan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls…from the latest cookbook by my friend, Eliza Cross.

Whether store-bought or home-baked, a pretty plate will be used later and serve as a reminder of thoughtfulness

Because the delivery was on a Thursday, I chose this days of the week toweling. The note expressing gratitude was tucked beneath.

The rolls were first covered with plastic wrap to prevent sticking

Kindness is taught, not by talking but by example. Accompanying me on her first Tie One On Day delivery, my granddaughter.

There is no age too young to begin teaching kindness

Gestures of kindness during the month of November are especially relevant. With all my heart, thank you for making Tie One On Day a part of your Thanksgiving tradition.

Gratefully, EllynAnne

Destination Japan

On December 30, 2018 By EllynAnne In Blog

Since our return from a recent trip to Japan, I’m incapable of answering the simple query So, how was it? with a simple reply. Describing the excitement of 3 weeks of daily doses of wonderment, newness and discoveries cannot be shared in a few words. Over a bottle of wine, perhaps.

Japan so tantalizes the senses, our group of 4 agrees that it’s impossible to choose a favorite city, site, experience or cuisine, but with two exceptions: dry sake over sweet and Tokyo’s Digital Art Museum.

PREPARE TO BE DAZZLED

Just opened June, 2018, the Mori Building Digital Art Museum is undeniably Tokyo’s most exciting museum. Dedicated to digital-art-as-experience, it is also the first museum of its kind…in the entire world!

Digital Art Museum’s landmark location is next to the ferris wheel at Palette Town, Odaiba, Tokyo

Envisioned by the digital art collective , the Digital Art Museum (DAM) is the result of a three-year collaboration between artists and technologists. From the genius of such an alliance emerged a morphing of art and technology, and the result is like nothing you’ve ever known before. To put heft behind such a declaration, take a peek at this:

Watching this 58 seconds of video, my reaction is pure Pavlovian – I’m immediately back in the corridors, heart racing with anticipation.

Unlike a circus – where the performances unfold before a seated audience – DAM encourages active engagement with mind-boggling digital installations further enhanced by Hideaki Takahashi’s gloriously synchronized music.

The music does not blast as at a rock concert; rather, the volume is modulated so those sharing the experience can be heard but not prove distracting. Conversation isn’t really a factor, as the commonality of expression is pretty limited to lots and lots (and lots) of WOWS!

Shimmering lights and forms dance across walls, ceilings and floors, responding to and set in motion by your touch. Touch! The big no-no at most museums, touching the art is the whole point at DAM. In touching the art, you become part of it.

“To my amazement, touching the wall unleashed an explosion of color and movement that put me in the center of the experience.” EllynAnne Geisel

THE MORE, THE MERRIER

DAM‘s multi-level interior is ginormous and provides opportunity for endless exploration. The 60 digital art works are somehow connected and magically transform and interact according to the presence of people and their touch. Math isn’t my strength, but this factoring is my kind of calculation: 6000 visitors a day x their touches = explosive awesomeness.

ALL AGES WELCOME

Japan is extremely family-friendly and DAM is proof. The interior is divided into five zones – Borderless World, Athletics Forest, Future Park, Forest of Lamps, and En Tea House – the Athletics Forest zone specific to children, with a section just for babies and their watchers, and a section only for kids. This zone is perhaps the happiest place on the planet!

Children poke and play with lighted spheres in a dedicated kid space.

FOREST OF RESONATING LAMPS

One further indulgence as I share this zone, which is breathtaking. Imagine a mirrored floor, walls and ceiling, the space hung with 1000 Mirano-shaded, motion-sensitive lamps. At different heights, each lamp is touchable and changes colors. Surrounded by thousands of mirrored images, the room is all warmth and wonder.

Put away the camera and experience the warmth and wonder of the lights.

GOOD TO KNOW

Buy tickets to DAM in advance – https://ticket.teamlab.art/order. At 6000 visitors a day, chances of securing tickets the day of your visit will leave you crushingly disappointed
Dress for active participation. Think: sensible clothing and footwear. The Athletics Forest requires soft sole shoes
While the average visit is 2-3 hours, plan to spend the day. The DAM opens at 10 am and closes at 7/9 pm. Take a lovely lunch break mid-way.
Photos are allowed – selfie sticks are not! At some point, put away the camera…this museum is so much more than posing for Instagrammables.
For armchair travel, visit the website.
There is no gift shop (insert my tears, for I so wanted the tee shirt worn by staff)

STICK A FORK IN ME…I’M DONE

Japan is a smorgasbord of fabulousness, a country so filled with tantalizing wonders, it deserves Travel & Leisure’s 2018 awarding of destination of the year. Any year you can get there, however, will have you in my shoes – incapable of answering the simple question So how was it? with a simple reply.

So I lose a few friends. Japan is so worth it.

xxea

KINDNESS MATTERS

On November 2, 2018 By EllynAnne In Blog

According to Oprah, “Kindness matters.” Her sentiment is ever so timely, especially in light of recent events to the contrary.

Despite the turmoil, kindness does abound!

To lift spirits, be encouraged, and find inspiration, join in celebrating the 13^th annual Tie One On Day!

Leave a comment at the end of this posting

sharing how you will participate in this year’s Tie One On Day.

Thanksgiving is a holiday of sharing, recollection and traditions, and the apron symbolizes these concepts.

Please join in and tie one on…an apron, of course! and make a difference in someone’s life with a gesture of kindness.

TIE ONE ON … GIVE FROM THE HEART … THEN GIVE THANKS

Gratefully, EllynAnne

The Apron Book And Their Stories

On December 20, 2017 By EllynAnne In Blog

I am so fortunate to have a space in our home dedicated to just my apron world. With southern and western window exposure, the room light filled year around. Seven years ago I painted it a perfect deep yellow, and even on the chilliest days, with the sun and yellow walls, it feels warm and cozy.

But for sporadic attempts to keep the space tidy, it represents my habit of not putting anything away. Peruse a magazine source, find inspiration, and set it down; years of such a practice, and not to wonder the result.

The habitual habit of never putting things back in their place

What finally motivated an epic tidying was not my conscience nor Prince Charming’s eye rolling, but that all the pieces had fallen into place for promotional activity in conjunction with The Apron Book. With the support of the publisher, Andrews McMeel, Beth flew from her home to mine, where we were joined by Tracy Wahl, the producer of my 2006 NPR All Things Considered segment.

I had but days to “make it work.” Without an idea of how to begin, I just did. Loathe to hide away the collections I so love being surrounded by, I chose a selection to display. The remainder went into cupboards and bins and suitcases, hidden by the quilt and oil cloth covering tables. So I’d know at a glance what was in each storage point, I hung clues on the doors: a child’s apron designated children’s books and games; an apron with a tea towel embroidered with a lady reading a cookbook = cupboard of cookbooks; a vintage sewing manual….and so on. A selection of sewing patterns is lined up in a child’s valise, a picnic basket holds vintage black and white snapshots, pamphlets on food, etiquette and household tips peek out of perfectly sized make up cases. I was on a roll! And the end result is amazing and wonderful and joyous.

Organizing the collections seemed impossible, until the tactic began to make visual sense

Using pieces of my collections to hold like collectibles brought order to the room

The computer screen is tucked beneath the table until its needed

The filming of Beth and me chatting aprons was the gift of Dustin Hodges, a professional in the field and a best friend.

A happy hug after chatting for an hour about our apron journeys in cute aprons and fabulous heels

The next morning, Beth, Tracy and I discussed The Apron Book and why the apron remains relevant in the modern landscape of women’s choices. That discussion is a podcast, which you can listen to HERE:

Contribute your written apron story and pictures at apronmemories.com/stories
Share your apron story recordings and videos at facebook.com/apronmemories
#theapronbook on Instagram & Twitter

This collage is a pictorial summary of our gathering. So many smiles, hugs, tears and love, as the best journeys are.

A summary collage shares the smiles, hugs, tears and love

Find us throughout social media! And join the movement of apron love by tying one on…an apron, of course!

Gratefully, EllynAnne

About The Apron Book:

Warm and inviting, but (like an apron) quite practical, The Apron Book is a celebration of a great American icon. Apron enthusiast Ellynanne Geisel, who curated the traveling exhibit, Apron Chronicles, returns us to hearth and home in this updated edition of the award-winning book. In this paperback edition, EllynAnne reflects on the grassroots movement of apron love in a new introduction, and a new foreword by the former editor of Apronology magazine expounds on EllynAnne’s mantra that aprons don’t hold us back; they take us back because the connection to the past is a strong one.

The Apron Book showcases full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from Geisel’s vast collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the history and heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, or for a special occasion.

Available To Order:

Order at Amazon.com

Order at Barnes & Noble

Order at Indiebound

Order at Booksamillion.com

Order at Andrews McMeel

TOODay & RAKfoundation #capturekindness

On November 23, 2017 By EllynAnne In Blog

Tie One On Day 2017 provided much reflection, as a means of honoring #nancyzieman and celebrating our recognition by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation and its #capturekindness campaign.

Showcased by the RAKFoundation Week 2 challenge: Be Kind to Family, I considered the definition of family to include those we spend time with who support our endeavors.

Using that expanded definition of family, my TOODay 2017 recipients included two women I look forward to seeing at the gym, Roxanne and Karla. For almost 2 years, we’ve met four days a week at class, the commitment to attendance partially based on encouraging one another in our fitness goals. What better way to celebrate this sense of family than with cake! Taking a hint from the RAKfoundation website, personal notes expressed my appreciation of their friendship.

#capturekindness and TOODay 2017 with cake and a handwritten notes

Throughout the week, I continued to #capturekindness with deliveries of individual slices of pie, complete with napkins and forks for instant yummy indulging, to those whose paths

#capturekindness & TOODay deliveries of individual slices of pie

I cross who unfailingly greet me with a smile.

For Thanksgiving dinner, we’re gathering at the home of our son and daughter-in-law, who are hosting the evening with two full tables of family and friends. An undertaking that’s been days in the making of cooking and baking, we’re arriving with a TOODay #capturekindness offering – a lunch of hearty soup and freshly baked bread to nourish the host and hostess through an afternoon of final food preparation.

A TOODay #capturekindness delivery of nourishment to our Thanksgiving host and hostess

May your Thanksgiving #capturekindness and celebrate a bounty of family and friendships!

Gratefully, EllynAnne

Tie One On Day Kindness Catch-Up!

On November 16, 2017 By EllynAnne In Blog

Despite the recent events to the contrary, acts of kindness abound! To lift spirits, be encouraged, and find inspiration by others,

1. Visit the Tie One On Day page on EllynAnne’s website and honor #NancyZieman

2. Enter the Bernina USA / Tie One On Day apron event and giveaway

3. Join the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation’s #CaptureKindness Campaign

visit apronmemories.com to participate and enter the TOODay 2017 Giveaways!

TIME IS A-DWINDLING to participate in the 12th annual TOODay!

Tie One On Day’s loving sponsors are tied together by the belief that through kindness there will be change.

To bring attention to TOODay and encourage participation, sponsors Bernina USA, MikWright, Colonial Patterns, Heirloomed Collection , Amy Barickman/Indygo Junction, Andrews McMeel Publishing, Sarah Stitham-Workday Wear, author Paul Samuel Dolman, author Sherry Gore, Nails magazine, Union Stitch and Design, author Jill O’Connor, The Vintage Apron, Taste of Home, Schmetz Needles, Country Woman Magazine, American Sewing Guild, Cultivar Wine/Caspar Estate, and SewNews provide giveaways of their products, which are divided among four (4) randomly selected winners. Twelve years of TOODay giveaways = lots of very surprised and happy folks. To put your name in the giveaway hat, CLICK HERE FOR INFO AND ENTRY!

And this:

Gratefully, EllynAnne

Cake, I really, really love you!

On November 10, 2017 By EllynAnne In Blog

The occasion was a celebration, with champagne and a dessert, the menu. Only a most fabulous cake creation would do, and within the pages of

“Fruit is not dessert. Cake is dessert.” EllynAnne Geisel

CAKE, I LOVE YOU !, was this confection: a Dark Chocolate-Pudding Banana Cake. Author Jill O’Connor describes this cake’s chocolate pudding frosting as “…almost too decadent.” A chocolate pudding aficionado, I’d found the perfect dessert.

At first glance, this cake’s two-page recipe might intimidate; however, Jill’s talent as a cookbook author shines with straight forward, step-by-step instruction. For encouragement, I constantly referenced the photograph – three tiers of divine sumptuousness.

Bakers of all levels, take heed…if you can read, you can make this cake!

This is a cake completely from scratch. It’s helpful to study the recipe several times before breaking that first egg. Also helpful is noting you will need three cake pans of the same size (a detail I missed, which wasn’t a catastrophe but did have the cake looking a tad “Leaning Tower of Pisa”), and that the pudding must be made a day before use.

The day of, I baked the layers and assembled per the instructions. Minus the chocolate curls’ topping, the cake was a close enough approximation to have me pretty, pretty excited to present and serve.

Almost a week later, what’s left is still moist and delicious. Tonight’s dessert should finish it up, a sad note to what everyone who tasted agrees is the best cake ever!

Now, for some happy news – As a sponsor of Tie One On Day, Jill is giving away two (2) autographed copies of CAKE, I LOVE YOU!

In it’s 12th year, Tie One On Day is an annual opportunity to offer a gesture of kindness before giving thanks at Thanksgiving. Sponsors, like Jill, support TOODay because of the shared belief that through kindness comes change.

Give from the heart on Wednesday, then give thanks on Thursday!

CLICK HERE to be inspired by how others are embracing Tie One On Day and to enter for the giveaways provided by generous sponsors, like Jill O’Connor, the author of my now favorite cake cookbook, CAKE I LOVE YOU!

Thank you for participating in Tie One On Day – and making someone’s day brighter.

Gratefully, EllynAnne

Apron Love, a Tie to the Past and Future

On October 5, 2017 By EllynAnne In Blog

In 2006, Andrews McMeel published The Apron Book, trailblazing a non-existent landscape with a worldwide movement of apron love.

Seen as a symbol of drudgery and an obstacle to women’s success, the apron is being rediscovered in a new and modern context.

In recognition of the apron’s continued relevance in our daily lives, The Apron Book is releasing as a gorgeous softbound with a new foreword crafted by a dear friend, Beth Livesay.

As a founding editor of apronology magazine, Beth knows aprons. For three years, we emailed of our mutual love for the humble icon and the exhilaration of the apron’s recognition as a canvas of artistic expression, the premise of the magazine. In 2011, our paths crossed, a meeting captured on video, for revisiting and recalling our excitement.

Of course, when Beth and EllynAnne first met, they’d wear their favorite aprons!

Six years later and Beth is the executive editor of Nails Magazine, a professional publication showcasing nails as canvases of artistic expression. Aprons to nails puts Beth in the forefront of recognizing the possibilities of blankness, no matter the canvas.

Seeking a new perspective and voice for newly crafted edition of The Apron Book, Beth was my first and only choice. Beth’s foreword is an acknowledgment of aprons taking us back and honoring the women of earlier generations, for it is because of them that young women can make their choices in a landscape of opportunities. Aprons, writes Beth, take us forward…the only place really worth going.

Beth's nails — Beth Livesay, executive editor of Nails Magazine, coordinating her nails to the cover of The Apron Book

Please join Beth and me throughout social media as we tie one on…our aprons, of course! It’s a lovely ride, and we want you to be a part of it.

Gratefully, EllynAnne

About The Apron Book:

Warm and inviting, but (like an apron) quite practical, The Apron Book is a celebration of a great American icon. Apron enthusiast Ellynanne Geisel, who curated the traveling exhibit, Apron Chronicles, returns us to hearth and home in this updated edition of the award-winning book. In this paperback edition, EllynAnne reflects on the grassroots movement of apron love in a new introduction, and a new foreword by the former editor of Apronology magazine expounds on EllynAnne’s mantra that aprons don’t hold us back; they take us back because the connection to the past is a strong one.

The Apron Book showcases full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from Geisel’s vast collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the history and heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, or for a special occasion.

Available To Order:

Order at Amazon.com

Order at Barnes & Noble

Order at Indiebound

Order at Booksamillion.com

Order at Andrews McMeel

Giving Back

On November 18, 2016 By EllynAnne In Blog

Over the past eleven years, my Tie One On Day gestures of kindness have centered around deliveries of baked goods, hearty soups and casseroles.

This year’s November deliveries have been of that norm, until my path crossed last Monday with Megan, a long-ago high school classmate of my sons. In playing catch up, she mentioned preparing for hosting an extended family Thanksgiving for forty (!), and in attendance would be her husband’s beloved grandmother, Eleanor Rusler.

Some 16 years ago, I told Megan, Eleanor was among the first to share her apron memory with me. I remember visiting her at the farm, where she reminisced about her grandmother, a wonderful seamstress who made pin money by sewing clothing, including aprons, for others. Her story and aprons were included in The Apron Book.

The apron sewn by Eleanor's grandmother — An apron sewn by Eleanor’s grandmother

Eleanor gave me an apron sewn by her grandmother, and it was time to return it to her family.

In a Tie One On Day package, I included the apron and a copy of my book with Eleanor’s story marked with an apron cut-out, on which I’d written an apron memory of my own. Copy the template, I wrote to Megan, and provide pens to her guests to record their apron memories of Eleanor; then read the memories aloud.

Provide an apron template and pens so guests can share their apron memories

Eleanor had never mentioned to the family that she was once interviewed for an apron recollection that was included in a book. Megan’s delight when she heard this news solidified my decision to return the apron to its rightful home.

Preparing the package, I experienced the same unexpected joy of my first Tie One On Day delivery, and the win/win of extending a gesture of kindness.

Giving from the heart before giving thanks at Thanksgiving…that’s the message of Tie One On Day.

xxxellynanne

Draw the outline of an apron on cardstock, outlining a pocket for guests to "fill" — Draw the outline of an apron on cardstock, outlining a pocket for guests to “fill”

What’s in my pocket?