Spice cake and music

On this day eleven years ago, my Nana died.  She was something else. 

She was a cleaning freak.  A child of the Depression, she was frugal like you have never seen--washed and reused aluminum foil, ziploc bags and even bread bags.

She was an excellent cook--could turn simple ground beef into an absolute comfort food meal with gravy and mashed potatoes.  But what I remember the most is the spice cake she made one night when we stayed over.  The aroma of that cake throughout the house. . .just not something I could easily forget.  It was delightful.

She was also a fantastic musician.  She began playing string bass as a small child in their family band.  There she was, a small lil girl carrying a big string bass from their house over to her uncle's house.  Hilarious.  As she got older she learned to play piano and then organ.  I was always fascinated by her organ.  Most people just don't have an organ in the house, do they?

Nana played a lot of great songs.  One that stands out is "Hold That Tiger."  Nana didn't have a band to play back up for her but this reminds me of the fun she had playing it.

Tiger Rag aka Hold That Tiger