Sharon pointing to the digital clock to prove that she was up at 11:47!

Wishing you a...

"Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you are forced to." Bill Vaughn

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves..." Bill Vaughn

Wishing you all a safe, healthy, and extremely happy New Year filled with new adventures and joys!

See you in 2008.... : )

xoxo

Grammie

First Stop--DC

It is always fun being with my youngest son and his wife!

They are both great cooks and treated us to some wonderful meals...and took us to some sites in the city.

We went to see a display at the National Geographic Center featuring sea animals who had mini-cams strapped to their backs so that researchers could follow their journeys down below.

While it sounded like a good idea....Dave and I both ended up nauseous from the dizzying motion of the animals!!

The price one pays for getting old, I guess....

On to the National Archives where we got to view the Declaration of Independence and learn a little history.

There are so many interesting things to see in our nation's capital...

Back out on the streets.....

 

...where Janet and I posed with a "waitress" at a local street craft's fair.

We ended the day....

...with a "serious" game of Scrabble...(which I won!) Here is Dave contemplating his next move.

The next day we headed to Delaware...

Off I went into the wild blue yonder.....

Last Friday...as the plane took off for Baltimore.....I had to get out my camera and snap this picture of the incredible pattern of clouds that were below us.

It was a smooth and relaxing flight there....unlike the return flight home yesterday!

Not being a great "flier", I cautiously listened to the weather reports for Alabama that afternoon. I was a bit concerned as I heard the words "possible thunderstorms", "tornadic activity", "severe levels", etc.

These are not the things that one wants to hear before strapping oneself into a seat on an airplane and getting ready to take off into the wild blue yonder.

Things were fine until we were about 25 minutes out of Birmingham. As we made our descent, the plane started "rockin' and "bumping"!

I looked at Dave sitting calmly beside me and said: "I don't like this!".

Expecting a "not to worry" response, I instead heard him say, "I don't like this either!". YIKES.

Well, the pilots did a great job and we landed safely in Bham filled only with memories of our week away in D.C. and Delaware.....

More to come....

Ho Ho Ho

The Winter Packing Challenge

Here I am trying to get my huge suitcase under the 50 pound limit that Southwest Airlines has per item...

As soon as I remove an item, I find something else that must be packed. aargh!

(I've even begged Dave to include a few of my things in his luggage! He just laughs at me as he shakes his head and says that he will see what he can do. He isn't leaving until late in the afternoon so he has a little more time to work it all out!!)

I have to succeed in getting this suitcase to weigh less. It's a continual challenge that I must win or else I will be either paying a hefty overweight charge....or giving away clothing right there in the airport!

Winter travel is always a bit more difficult in that the clothing is quite bulky and so much heavier.

Once I get this feat accomplished, I will begin to check off things on my to-do list as I prepare to head North first thing tomorrow morning.

Three days in D.C. and then on to Delaware...finally heading down to Baltimore on Friday to return home to Birmingham!

In case I don't have a chance to blog until my return, I want to wish all of my blogging buddies a wonderfully spirited holiday week filled with lots of family, love and joy!! Be safe....stay warm.... and have a Merry Christmas!

xoxo

Grammie : )

Want to laugh?

I receive delete so many forwards that show up in my email inbox.

Once in a while I come upon one that I want to share.

This is one of those that I fell in love with.

It is a comedian known as "Mrs. Hughes" and she is one incredibly funny lady.

I am still laughing... Click here to watch the video

I am off again come Friday morning....early (6:00 a.m.!) Friday morning...

First stop will be D.C. to visit with my son, Jeffrey and his wife, Janet! I can't wait to see them both as we always have a great (and fun) time together! I was hoping for lots of a little snow while there...but right now it just looks like a cold rain...I will arrive in the morning...and Dave will get there late that night after putting in a full day of work.

From there we will head on up to Wilmington, DE to spend the Christmas week with Dave's family. I know that this will be a difficult time for all of them as it marks the first Christmas without Dave's sister, Kaye. Being all together will, hopefully, give them the strength to get through the sadness and find the joy in the spirit of the holiday.

I do believe in the strength and power of "family" and, the positive energy that it can bring during hard times....

Our chef ready for action...

Our dinner going up in flames....?

Konnichiwa ! (Hello !)

O genki desu ka? (How are you?)

I am attempting to speak a little (very little!!) Japanese today because we had a delicious meal last night at Kobe'...a local Japanese restaurant.

You know, the kind where you sit behind a huge griddle and watch while your food is prepared right before your eyes.

It's truly entertaining to watch the chef showing off all of his fancy cooking techniques. As many times as I have done this in the past....it continues to amaze and delight me each time.

Our particular chef this night was more into trying to get us to catch the food in our mouths than he was in entertaining us. I was one of the victims participants, unfortunately. He shot the little ball of rice at my mouth and hit my forehead instead. But, this did not deter him as he tried to do this with others who sat at our table. My friend, Sharon, sitting next to me, ended up with pieces of rice all over her including a little in her hair.

We ended up here because our friends, Sharon and Gary, had received a $200 gift certificate and we were being called on to help them spend it...and, of course, this was our greatest pleasure! A wonderful meal and two bottles of wine later we were getting closer and closer to our $200 total expenditure...and having a lot of fun in the process! *hic* : O

We started out with a small bowl of miso soup...then salad...and then the cooking commenced. The fried rice was yummy...(especially after he stopped trying to shoot it into our mouths!!)...the stir fried veggies came next....and they were very good, too.

For my main meal, I ordered shrimp and scallops, Dave had lobster and beef, Gary had salmon and shrimp, and Sharon ordered chicken and beef. It was all cooked to perfection and very tasty....or "domo yoi" (very good)...and to our dear friends, I say: "Domo arigato!" (thank you very much!)

Well, that's all for now.... So, I will just say: "Sayonara" ...(good-bye) until tomorrow. : )

(All four of my teeth are chattering!)

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

No wonder Owen is bundled up....(and not looking too happy about it!!)

Here are the Minneapolis temps for today!

6am 14°F Feels Like 6°F

9 am 13°F Feels Like 5°F (!!)

12pm 19°F Feels Like 11°F

3pm 20°F Feels Like 13°F

6pm 17°F Feels Like 11°F

9pm 14°F Feels Like 6°F

Awaiting...........................ANOTHER!

As if I didn't have enough to smile about already!

Surrounded by family on Thanksgiving morning, my son, Adam queried: "Guess what Jenny and I are doing for our 10th Anniversary next year?".

Thoughts of a family trip started to go through my mind...or maybe they were going to be buying a new home?

"We're having another baby..." he calmly said.

"WHAT????????????????!!!!!!!!" the two grandmother's screamed! (and I mean screamed!!!! That's why they call us "The Screaming Greemies" you know!)

Yep.... Jenny's pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could not go public with the news until now.... and I have been bursting!

Jenny is a little over 12 weeks pregnant and the new baby should be arriving around mid June.

This blog started with the awaiting of "Buddha", the nickname that we gave to the little miracle that Jenny was carrying inside...later to be named Owen....well, this new little blessing-to-be was given the nickname "Moe-max"....and, I will call him/her "Moe" for short.

So, for now, we will be "Awaiting Moe"!

Such JOY!

: )

My neighbor, Bob...

"A good neighbor is a priceless treasure..." Chinese Proverb

I smile as I look over these pictures of my dear neighbor, Bob, visiting with my family during Thanksgiving.

Bob and his wife, Betty, are the "pioneers" of the neighborhood. He will happily tell you stories of how desolate this area used to be many years ago when they first moved into their home. He tells of wild animals roaming around this very wooded section of town in those early days. The roads weren't even paved when they first moved here. He talks proudly about how everything has grown around him now...and how beautiful it still is.

Bob has been my neighbor for the last 27+ years or so. He has watched my two boys grow up....he has lived through all of our house renovations....he has had to do some patching up after our street was hit pretty hard by some tornadoes several years ago.... (The tornado actually blew several of our pine trees over onto his yard...doing most of the damage...and leaving our home pretty much untouched!)...he has shared many joyous moments with me and my family...watched my boys go off to college and then later on marry....and, he has cried with me when my marriage ended 6 years ago.

Whenever I would leave town, Bob was always there to keep an eye on the house for me. When Gizmo, the cat, was still alive, he would be her caretaker when I was gone. He would gather up my mail and papers every day so that the house would not look unattended...and, he continues to do that to this day.

Most importantly I know that I can count on him whenever I am needing his help with something. He is a total handyman and knows so much about so many household things. He also can change the oil and filters in my car when needed. I guess that here in the South he would be called "...a good ole boy". Bob is most at home when in his favorite overalls and Auburn cap which he proudly wears.

He is the only other person who has the keys to my house besides Dave, and he knows all of my alarm codes. He is family to me and I would trust him with my life.

He brings his beautiful grandchildren over to swim in my pool during the summer months. I love to watch him with children...he is amazing.

You know how certain people just have a way with young people? Well, that is Bob. The kids tend to cling to him when they are around.

And, that was why I snapped these pictures of Bob with Owen (my little "drooler" which I believe is from his teething phase!). He walked into the house and immediately had Owen under his spell as he sat down with him on his lap and began to read from a book. Owen was mesmerized and totally taken in by Bob's gentle nature. The pictures tell it all.

I don't know what I would do without this dear, dear neighbor.

He is truly a blessing in my life.

Attention All Scrabble Players!

I found this interesting.

As our language goes through changes....so do our dictionaries.

It was recently announced that the revised Oxford English Dictionary includes 2500 new words.

Here are a few examples:

crapola: (noun) Material of poor quality, rubbish; nonsense

omigod: (interjection) Expr. astonishment or shock, pain or anger: Oh my God!

fricking: (adj. and adv.) Expressing amazement, anger, exasperation, etc.

bogus: (noun and adj.) Very displeasing or inferior, bad.

buzzkill: (noun) A person or thing which dampens enthusiasm or enjoyment.

smoosh: (verb trans.) Squash, crush or flatten

unibrow: (noun) A pair of eyebrows that meet above the nose, giving the appearance of a single eyebrow.

"Omigod! I can't believe this fricking crapola! What a buzzkill this is to smoosh my knowledge of what I thought were merely bogus words."

Sorry, I couldn't think of a way to use "unibrow" in my exclamation...

: )

The Great Tree Hunt...or, "What is a nice Jewish girl doing looking for a Christmas tree?

The scene of the crime. : )

It didn't feel quite right as Dave and I went out to search for the "perfect tree" on Saturday. The unseasonably warm temperatures were going to go into the upper 70's by that afternoon-- feeling more like Summertime.

He gets a large one for his home...while I get a smaller version for my home. I do this for Dave as he spends so much time over here and it is nice for him to have something festive set up here.

For me, this is a whole new world in that I am used to only having a Chanukah menorah set up in my home.

But, I must admit, that I get a real kick out of watching the process as Dave searches for his Christmas tree.

This is serious business as he puts on his tree searching gloves and begins the hunt.

He looks them over, shakes them, checks for dropping needles....and, most importantly, the "perfect" shape.

I just stay out of his way!

This Fraser Fir has passed all of the criteria.

We have a tree!

Both trees are packed into the back of my Jeep....and we head to both homes to begin the trimming....His majestic Fraser fir and my short, but equally cute, Douglas fir.

: )

Look Mom.....

I can reach the oven door now! : O

...aren't you glad that I am walking?!?!?!

NOISE!

I am sitting here relaxing while eating a warm piece of homemade pumpkin bread...sipping some green tea in my new Peace sign mug, and quietly sighing...

Is it just me, or is this a particularly noisy time of year?

I feel that some of the sounds of the holidays can be terribly loud and, at times, extremely annoying....bells ringing...music blaring....and, the incessant "shouting" going on from the radio, television, newspapers, etc. telling us about reward cards, coupons, sales! sales! sales !!!!!!! :

"Buy now while supplies last!"

"Hurry in before the biggest sale of the year ends!!"

"Right now: One day sale only!!"

"Lowest prices of the season!!"

"Buy! Buy! Buy!"

"20% off coupon--use it today only !!"

"We have the best gift ideas for everyone on your list!!"

"Doors open at 6 a.m. for all of you early bird shoppers!"

"Closeout Sale starts today!"

"Buy one-get one free!!"

"Mega Sale! Save! Save! Save!"

"Earn $10 for every $100 you spend!"

"Gifts to go-and priced so low!"

"Get it now before it is too late!"

"Order by Dec.20th to assure delivery by Christmas!!"

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

What happened to "Peace on Earth" and all that?

For One More Day...

The very thought-provoking question posed on the Oprah Show yesterday was:

"If you could spend one more day with someone you have loved and lost, what would you say?"

Her guest was Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven...and, is now posing that powerful question in his best-selling novel, For One More Day.

I wasn't sure how I would answer that question. I had to think about it for a while. I started to bring to mind the people that I have loved and lost in my life.

Strange that he should come to mind after so many years...but there was "Bucky", an old high school boyfriend and probably my first real love. He was sent to fight in Viet Nam in the 60's........stepped on a mine and was killed instantly. I would have loved to have reconnected with him after high school where I could have possibly separated youthful infatuation from real honesty and caring and getting to know him on a more mature level.

And, how about Gilbere, my hairdresser and dear friend, who died from the devastating affects of AIDS about 15 year's ago? He was such a gentle soul and I would have loved having one more conversation with him about Life.

I can't forget my two Aunts on my mother's side who passed away before getting to live into their Golden Years. I would have loved the opportunity to have gotten to know them as an adult. I loved them all when I was a teenager..but, never had the opportunity to really share my grown up years with either of them or tell them how much I appreciated all that they did for me through the years.

My dad's sister and her husband also left this world before their time. I can still remember my uncle's wonderful N.Y. backyard garden filled with flowers and vegetables. I would have loved to have learned more from him about growing things now that I have gardens of my own.

On my mother's side, I would have liked to have had a day with her father, who left her family during the Depression...leaving my mom and her four other siblings to be raised by their mother in a very difficult time. Oh, I would have so many questions...and I would also want to understand what he was feeling back then...and let him know that he was forgiven.

I would like to have one more day with my mom's mother and just listen to her tell of what it was like back then when she had to deal with being a single mother. There would be so much to learn from this very strong woman. And, I would want to tell her that....if I had one more day to do it.

On my father's side, I would like to have one more day with both of his parents. I knew that my grandfather was a brilliant man who's vision was taken away later in life...but, his gruff exterior never really let any of us get close to the real person underneath. The wisdom he could pass on to me....

Looking at my life, I have been blessed in that so many of the people that I love are still here...still available to talk to and, more importantly, to listen to and learn from.

What I really took away from the show was that while these people are still in my life, I should make sure and let them know NOW how much they mean to me. It is so important to take advantage of our times together....to live in the moment....

I want to try and live my life so that when I do experience the losses I will feel that I made the most of our times together....and I won't have the need to ask for that one more day to find out things I never knew or to tell them how much I love them...

Missing that sweet face....

Owen, Thanksgiving, 2007

Tarradiddle

Word of the Day for Wednesday, December 5, 2007

tarradiddle

\tair-uh-DID-uhl\,

noun:

1. A petty falsehood; a fib.

2. Pretentious nonsense.

In an ever increasing attempt to enlarge my vocabulary, every day I receive a new word and definition from Dictionary.com.

For some reason, I really liked today's word: "tarradiddle".

So many of the words that arrive in my email inbox are familiar to me...but, today's was different.

I have never heard of nor used tarradiddle.

Have you?

And, who said that blogging wasn't educational????????

Some examples of the use of the word in case you want to incorporate it into your conversations today: : )

Oh please! Even in the parallel universe, tarradiddles of this magnitude cannot go unchallenged.-- "Taxation in the parallel universe", Sunday Business, June 11, 2000

Mr B did not tell a whopper. This was no fib, plumper, porker or tarradiddle. There was definitely no deceit, mendacity or fabrication.-- "Looking back", Western Mail, May 11, 2002

Other amendments, such as a chef at the birthday party, a dancing bear in the hunting scene, and a brief solo for the usually pedestrian Catalabutte, seemed more capricious, and the synopsis suggested further changes had been planned but perhaps found impractical. Some tarradiddle with roses for death and rebirth also necessitated different flowers for the traditional Rose Adagio.-- John Percival, "The other St Petersburg company", Independent, November 22, 2001

Now go out and impress someone!

A Special 8 Days

(one of my pottery menorahs ready for the first night's candle lighting)

Happy Chanuka, Hanukkah, Hanaka, Hanukah, Chanukkah, Chanukah!

Tonight marks the start of the Jewish Festival of Lights and it will continue for the next eight days. While it is not one of the major holidays in the Jewish faith, it is certainly a time of celebration and festivity. A candle will be lit on the menorah for each night and gifts will be exchanged....potato pancakes (latkes) will be eaten and the spinning tops (dreidels) will be played with.

However, along with the celebrating, this time of year always brings about discussion on the correct spelling of this winter holiday.

It seems as if part of the reason for this confusion may be due to the fact that there is no exact English translation of the Hebrew word for "Chanukah".

Some people wonder if the various spellings are indicative of different holidays....but the answer to that is "no"....all are the same holiday....just with different letter arrangements.

Confusing? Yes....But, no matter how one spells it....Best wishes for a happy and joyous Chanukah to all who will be celebrating tonight!

: )

Tax Credit for Propane-Powered Forklifts and other absurdities....

1.) I just received an email from my accountant giving me all the information that I would want to know to get a tax credit for any "propane-powered forklifts" that I might be needing.

What??

Forklifts? I don't think so...

2.) I am presently trying to work out a trip to go see Owen, Adam and Jenny (you notice who's name is listed first!?!) at the end of January. So, I began to search online for flights....and there are plenty of them....if you don't mind paying over $500 for a round trip ticket!!!!

"That's crazy", I thought,"they should be paying ME to fly up to those frigid temperatures that time of year!". Who else in their right mind would want to be up in Minnesota then? Only an insane Grammie, I guess.

3.) During Thanksgiving we all bought a gift under $20 and played the White Elephant exchange one night....such fun! The gift that my sister, Marsha, ended up with was hysterical....and she loved it! In this day and age of everything being "super-sized"....she received the universal remote control pictured below...

My question is where would you keep a remote that large?

Bizarre! : O

"If I could put time in a bottle...." Jim Croce

I printed out a new 2008 calendar on my computer today.

The new year isn't even here and the calendar days are already filling up...

Why is it that the older one gets, the faster time goes????

I don't like it one bit.

Dave and I will both be turning (gulp) 60 in 2008. We will also celebrate being together for 5 years in January of next year.

My dad will be celebrating 90 years in May!!

Owen will reach the ripe old age of 2 in September.

Then there is the Kentucky Derby in May....Thanksgiving out of town...Christmas in Delaware....and various and sundry other trips to be scheduled...

We have several weddings to go to including Jenny's brother, who will be marrying his fiance', Alicia in May up in Chicago.

Lots of happy events....so little time.

No matter how hard I try to slow things down, time is still going to move on ahead at its own rapid pace.

It makes one want to really appreciate every moment and live each day to the fullest.

I'm ready to start, how about you?

Watch out 2008....here we come!

When there is a new baby in the family you tend to celebrate his/her every move.

Such was the case Thanksgiving when Owen "played" the harmonica.

What can I tell you?

The kid's a musical genius.

: )

Jammin' Owen

OUCH!

I have had a few "ouch" moments in the last few days...

First of all, I got my first flu shot on Tuesday. I decided that at the ripe old age of 59 it was probably time to join the protected masses and get immunized. The shot didn't hurt at all...but my arm continues to be sore now two days later and difficult to use without wincing. This is not a good thing when one uses ones hands and arms to create pottery for a living.

Then, while shopping the other day I suddenly found myself unable to step down on my right foot without a sharp pain shooting through the ankle area. The only way that I could walk was to go on my tip toes on that foot. Yes, I did look quite strange tip-toeing my way through the mall...but, shopping took precedence over pain, of course. : )

It is still occasionally hurting today, but I am taking it easy and not doing any exercise walking for a few more days. If there isn't any improvement in a few days I may find myself sitting in the orthopedic dr.'s office soon.

And, finally....while hurriedly leaving the grocery store two days before Thanksgiving...I drove straight home only to find that my wallet was not in my purse. (I knew that I had it at the store in that I paid with cash.)

I immediately called the store, but no wallet was to be found. Thinking that it had fallen in the parking lot one of the employees scoured it head to toe....all to no avail.

I drove back to the store to do my own search...and left empty-handed.

Like most people, I carry "my life" around in a wallet...driver's license, credit cards, insurance cards, bank cards, wholesale club cards, photos, and, of course, money.So, for the last week I have been renewing cards, making phone calls, and standing in long lines waiting to be helped.

Not really how I wanted to be spending the beginning of the holiday season.

Ouch... : O

The Drumstick Tradition continues...

The drumstick is Adam's favorite part of the turkey and traditionally the part that he chooses first to eat. Daddy Adam decided that Owen was now big enough to try out the turkey drumstick this Thanksgiving!

Open wide!

With a mouth full of turkey he looks like he's saying: "Not bad, Dad!".....

And so....the tradition continues to the next generation.... : )

Owen takes on Birmingham

So, you fill a basket with bright, fun, inventive toys and what does Owen have the most fun with? The red plastic storage containers for leftovers! Not only can you fill them with things, they can also double as cute hats....

He was fascinated with the falling leaves....

...and later on decided to rake them up!