2 women. 2 artists. Mother and daughter. The mother, and grandmother, is Carol Jones Morrissey. The daughter, and also a mother extraordinaire, is Lydia Russell. I’ll skip the usual introductions and just let these 2 amazing women speak for themselves. First Lydia tells you about her mom. And then Carol tells you some stories, and you get her cocktail recipe.

And just to give you some insight on the great sense of humor these two share, Lydia told me the following photo is of her mom, Carol, wearing an outfit she had sewn holding Lydia as a newborn. Carol’s caption read “I made the outfit, the headband AND the baby!”

By the way if you are interested in any of Lydia’s posters and Kozik prints and posters, they can be found at : www.lalalydia.com

And if you are interested in any of Carol’s quilting designs, classes, workshops you can find her at :    www.ocaroldesigns.com

Now let’s talk mom, hear some stories, and make a cocktail…

LYDIA RUSSELL ON HER MOM, CAROL JONES MORRISSEY

my mom.  where to start?  i always, since becoming an actual adult human being, feel like i owe her an apology for being such a terror during those years that she was still legally responsible for me.  yeah, it wasn’t always as great as it is now.

 my mom.  daughter, mother, wife, momo (grandmother), artist, gardener, confidante, friend, traveller, photographer, knitter, quilter, creator, nurturer, naturalist, beer-drinking, bacon-loving, all-around awesome woman. i treasure this opportunity to honor her.  although,  i do not trust in my own ability to fully express how much i love her with mere words.  she is a treasure to me.  i cannot even imagine how i could get by, day to day, without her.  she is my greatest supporter.  she inspires me like no other.  her wisdom is vast and she delivers it with such grace…she makes me feel like i thought of it myself.  my mom.  she truly is the glue that holds me together.  she is my best friend.  to say that i love her just isn’t enough.  i have her name tattooed on my flesh… “O Carol”…olivia carol…oh, carol!  written by chuck berry, but it’s the rolling stones’ version that we love…

 “now, if you want to hear some music like the boys are playing hold tight, bang your foot don’t let it carry you away don’t let the heat overcome you when they play so loud won’t the music intrigue you when they get a crowd well you can’t dance I know you would you could i got my eyes on you, baby, cause you dance so good oh,  carol don’t let him steal your heart away i’m gonna learn to dance if it takes me all night and day” i hope that someday i learn to dance as well as you do.  happy mothers day, mama.  you make a mean mango margarita.  i love you.

MOMO’S MANGO MARGARITAS

by

Carol Jones Morrissey

As far as the mango margarita goes, I used to only make margaritas on the rocks from scratch. I think the recipe was from Jimmy Buffett WAAAYYY back before he started making the “Margaritaville” mix, but it’s not exactly like that recipe.  I must have seen a mango margarita on a menu, or maybe I just thought of it because I love mangos—I can’t remember when or why I thought of it.

Anyway one day I saw some frozen mango puree at the grocery store, and thought Hmmm, who not freeze some mango nectar into an ice cube tray? I used to drink apricot nectar as a kid, and I took it to school in my thermos.  So I knew there were lots of different fruit nectars (must try the apricot in a margarita BTW, and maybe the banana, and maybe strawberry…I digress).

The first time I made them, I put the blue cacao in as usual, but it made the drink an odd color due to it being mixed with the mango. It wasn’t a particularly appealing hue, so I didn’t do that again.

As far as quilting and drinking goes…well I’ll admit that I AM the designated bartender when my quilting friends and I get together. Sometimes they ask for something different, like a chocolate martini. Like a good bartender, I don’t judge, I just mix the drinks. But remember: DON’T DRINK AND SEW.

Oh and another thing: DON’T DRINK AND BID! Once we were attending the International Quilt Market in Houston, and my friends and I had been out to dinner at the original Ninfa’s on Navigation. I had enjoyed a couple of their famous margaritas ( I WAS NOT driving!). Earlier that day at the Quilt Market, I had seen some very interesting handbags made from vintage hats. Yeah you had to be there. Anyway after returning to the hotel that evening after dinner at Ninfa’s, I decided I would check eBay for suitable vintage hats. Well, you see where this is going, and I have made my friends promise to never let me drink and bid again.

 Ingredients:

mango nectar (available in cans)

tequila

triple sec

Roses lime juice

limes

1. Freeze mango nectar in ice cube trays.

2. Put the mango ice cubes in a blender.

3. Add the following:

2-2 1/2 oz of your favorite tequila

1/2 oz triple sec

1 1/4 oz Roses Lime Juice (bottled)

4. Blend until smooth.

5. I usually squeeze a lime wedge or two on top.