The Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) is a joyful celebration of lives past with altars and shrines, offerings and artistic displays representing the spiritual essence of the deceased.
My good friend, Ann Alsobrook died a couple of years ago at the ripe old age of 93. She lived a good long life. Ann was like a second Mama to me. She taught me how to cook and sew, macrame, entertain, garden with wild combinations, and she taught me how to be myself. Her husband, Charlie, died in 1985. Charlie taught me how to be descriptive and poetic when thinking or writing about nature, and he taught me how to pack for long backpacking trips. He hiked the whole Appalachian Trail when he was 63. Ann and Charlie died 29 years apart, but in the same month. He died on October the 15th, and she died on the 6th.
I like to think people live on in others. My love of hiking, cooking, music, food, sewing, and the outdoors is enhanced by the thought and memories of Ann and Charlie, who influenced my life tremendously.
I just had to make an Ann and Charlie Day of the Dead apron.
I cut the skeletons out of natural canvas. I found fun prints for the eyes and mouths, and gave Charlie a big heart. Charlie loved writing poetry and eating apples and ice cream. Lake life was a fun life. Ann was always cooking, and she fed anybody who dropped by to visit. She cooked a pound cake on the day she died. It sure was good. She had elaborate flower gardens with hot peppers and herbs mixed in, and back in the day, she wore fancy skirts.
I made a list, selected a few symbols to cut out, and wrote memento words with a permanent marker onto the leaves. For Ann: flowers, hummingbirds, shoes, sewing, cooking, canning, bread, bourbon, fish fry, peppers, peas, turnip greens, cornbread, pound cake, and lake life. For Charlie: ice cream, barbecue, fish fry, backpacking, poetry, lake life, railroad tracks, fatigues, and a walking stick.