A crowd of daffodils

The lovely daffodils, thousands of them, are in bloom at Saco’s Laurel Hill Cemetery, and must be seen right away. My friend Joan Ashley, who calls me each spring to alert me to their progress, was there on the weekend, and I plan to get out right away. They are a beautiful sight, and always remind me of William Wordsworth’s lines from his poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”: “I saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils.”

60th anniversary observance

Sally and Richard (Dick) Vaughan of Buxton celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at a party April 11, given by their five children at the Village Cafe in Portland.

The room was filled with happy relatives, including their children and grandchildren, and friends. At the head table with Dick and Sally were his sister Joan Thomas and her husband, Bob, of Scarborough; close friends Katrina and Alan Rich of Cumberland; and my husband Harry and me – Sally’s sister.

It was a very nice affair. Katrina Kern Rich, who knew Sal from early days in Portland’s Roosevelt School, presented Sal and Dick with a printed booklet with four pages of typed poetry verses which she wrote. On the cover was a picture of Sal and Dick in the receiving line at their wedding, held April 5, 1947, in the home of Sally’s parents, Raymond and Helen Blanchard, on Concord Street in Portland. Sally looked so pretty in her long, white wedding gown. Katrina called her booklet “Memories,” and wrote lovely verses, two lines each, and then a space. It was beautifully expressed. The Vaughans and Riches have shared many good times together, and Katrina wrote about several of their outings.

Here are a few of her recollections:

“Sal entered sub-primary and could read quite a lot

About Dick and Jane and their wonder dog, ‘Spot.’

I was truly amazed and knew there and then

Better hang on to her and make her my fren’.

“Remember Old Speck and Screw Auger Falls,

And Abe snapping moose despite frantic calls.”

(Abe was an early nickname for Alan Rich, whose middle initial is B.)

“Chateau Frontenac was right up our alley.

A super vacation with dear Dick and Sally.”

“Lunches ‘Amato’ have gone on for years.

To think of them stopping brings me to tears.”

“We’re slightly more wrinkled and slower of gait,

But 60 years later we’ll all celebrate.”

This gift of long marriage from a kindly fate

To Sal and Dick Vaughan on their wedding date.”

We are proud of our Portland poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was world-renowned, but surely Portland’s Katrina Kern Rich deserves great praise, too. She taught Latin in area high schools for several years, but her command of English puts her right up there in the U.S. talented poets category, too.

A Mother’s Day outing

To celebrate Mother’s Day, I had a lovely ride to the ocean, and didn’t have to get up a big Sunday dinner at home. Ray, Harry and I enjoyed tasty Italian sandwiches and cups of lemonade, sitting in our car, parked at the Kettle Cove parking lot in Cape Elizabeth. Our view of the Atlantic, with boats, ducks and pretty white surf to admire, was much more fun than a day indoors. The sky was a bright blue, and the slight breeze was pleasant. Ray and I had a good walk over a path above the beach, to a rocky overlook. We spotted a tiny warbler, with a yellow breast, in the shrubbery flitting back and forth, near the ground.

I had happy reminiscences of days I spent with the late Isabelle LaBorgne, my friend in Westbrook who grew up in Berlin, N.H., where our family’s lumber business and its many acres of land were located. Isabelle and I took the same hike, over the beach, a few years ago.

As Harry, Ray and I drove by Deering Oaks on our way home, we were excited to see the duck house in the pond again. I must inform our friends John and Dee Rich about it. John had been disappointed that the duck house was not in the pond when he and Dee walked through the Oaks recently. He’ll be pleased to see the handsome new structure.

For a special occasion

At the Vaughans’ party, their children brought several desserts. Among the cakes was a cheesecake from a local European bakery, covered with fruit slices. It was delicious, as was a mousse that David Vaughan made. Dave sent me the recipe, with a French title. You’ll want to try it for a special occasion.

PETITS ROTS DE CHOCOLAT

1-1/2 cups milk

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon orange liqueur

Pinch of salt

1 cup prepared whipped topping or sweetened whipped cream

1 tablespoon chopped pistachio nuts

Heat milk in saucepan to boiling point. Meanwhile, combine the chips, eggs, sugar, liqueur and salt in blender. Add hot milk and blend at low speed for 1 minute, until smooth. Pour into 6 (5 ounce) custard cups. Chill 2 hours. Spoon a dollop of topping onto each cup and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of nuts. Serves 6.

David had his mousse all in one dish, to be served by the guests, with whipped cream on the side. It was so good!