family | The life of Rylee

Family Recipes

Raine and I helped my mom today. We did a deep clean of the living room in preparation for the painter to come this weekend to give the walls a fresh coat. One of the treasures I came across while cleaning out an end table was one of my Grandma Wedekind’s recipe boxes that my mom had been given. Grandma liked to snip and collect recipes from magazines as well as write down some of her favorites. Grandma was an amazing cook and I will always long for some of her great home cooking. Here she is as a young woman, beautiful. Almost immediately upon finding the old-fashioned recipe box, Raine and I wanted to stop what we were doing and start to read the recipes. We held ourselves back for another hour. Then I dove in. What a memory-laden...

Posted on Aug 7, 2014 in family, food | 0 comments

The future

Wow, when I look at this photo of my daughter, Raine, I see the future. The hopes, dreams and possibilities of what can be. I love the powerful stance she takes as she looks into the distance.

Posted on Mar 7, 2014 in family | 0 comments

A new year

  I’m hoping this sun brings you warmth from a cold Wisconsin night. They’re calling for -30 by morning. It’s been a record cold winter this year but it isn’t bothering me like so many winters have. I got a new pair of Sorels and a down coat for Christmas so I’m jamming the warms this time. This sculpture Todd and I brought to commemorate our 28th year together this January. It’s incredibly wonderful to share your life with someone, to build a life better together than one could have possibly built alone. January is a big month for me. I actually celebrated my birthday this year and I’m glad I did. I had such great friends and family come down to Dexters for a little b-day cheer. Here’s...

Posted on Jan 27, 2014 in family, me | 0 comments

Éire go brách

As my faintly Irish mother always taught me about my tenuous claim to Irishness….”It’s quality over quantity”. It started, my love of Irishness, when I was a wee lassie…. my mom would tell me about her Grandma Pelton (Lillie Agnelia Fox Pelton) who lived with her when she was growing up. G. Pelton, an Irish descent American, had raised my mom’s father, Lloyd, after the unexpected death of his mom and her daughter, Mytle after giving birth to her first child, my grandfather, in 1920. G. Pelton was very close to Lloyd as she raised and lived with him and my G. Boo after they were married. I vaguely remember this woman as a little kid, visiting her at the nursing home. I’m sad to say my only memory is not...

Posted on Mar 20, 2013 in family, me | 0 comments

‘Ainy Stecher

Wow… 21 years ago today, I met for the first time, one of the most amazing people who ever came into my life. She was born on her own terms after scaring the bejeezus out of me, her mother, for almost 5 months before her arrival into this beautiful world. There were so many times I made promises to the universe to just make sure that she was safe and healthy and be able to come into my arms for all the love we could give her. Raine Ellenjea Wedekind Streicher came screaming into this world at 2:35 pm strong, healthy and kinda pissed that she had to leave the warm cocoon I had provided for 9 1/2 months. I knew immediately I had a beautiful albeit very demanding baby who would only want to be with her mama. Everyone who knew Raine in the beginning...

Posted on Feb 25, 2013 in family | 0 comments

Go Pack!

Happy New Years and may the Pack win tonight! Todd and I took the girls to the December 23 Packers game as an early Christmas present. For as long as we’ve been Packer fans and have had access to season tickets, we’ve never gone all together. So this was a special day. And being December – it was pretty much a frozen tundra.

Posted on Jan 5, 2013 in family, me | 0 comments