Obligatory Yearend Wrapup

• January began with a visit from Tom, Nichole and Mallaika -- a good omen.
  

• The winter delivered fewer ice storms than previous years.

• The boys traveled to Oregon with Kevin and Rachel to celebrate their great-grandmother's 90th birthday

• In April, my family gathered around me to celebrate my 70th birthday -- I had eight sleepover guests. My house and heart were full to overflowing.

• Least amount of tornado activity since we've lived here -- only one night in the shelter (in January!).

• The boys finished elementary and Junior High School, each according to his grade. They got fabulous grades.

• Ben went to summer school and to band camp.

• Logan went to football camp and got really buff.

• I spent most of the summer driving kids around.

• Both boys went to California to visit Valery, Colleen and all the California relatives.

• Rick gave us a health scare, but is fine, now.

• Kathy and Rick got married.

• Ben started high school, spent nearly every waking moment busy with band activities.

• Logan started Junior High, played football -- never losing a game he played in.

• I visited Tom, Nichole and Mallaika and we spent a weekend on Nantucket Island with Cousin Chris, her husband Lorenzo, and their child, Eleonora, visiting from Florence.

• Colleen and Andy got married and are soooo happy.

• Both boys started the year as sopranos and ended up tenors -- each grew six inches.

• I quilted, and quilted, and quilted, and then I read a book.

Yeh, a couple of icky things happened, but they are in the past for the most part. All in all, it was a wonderful year.

Happy New Year! (And come visit me!)

Ben Loves Books (His Mother's Child)

Ben is in his glory. This tower of books awaits his reading pleasure -- they should keep him busy for a month or two. We went to Barnes and Noble the day after Christmas and he spent his entire Christmas wad -- $130 -- on books. He loves to buy series that come in sets and then read the whole series IN ORDER, if you please. His bookshelves are filled with read and unread books, the unread books are tipped on their sides, or lay on top of the other books with the unread pages facing out. He would give up his brother or his dog sooner than he would part with a book. I've tried to point out there will come a time in his life when, as a college student, he will likely move frequently and books are heavy and take up a lot of space. He says that's OK, he'll just leave them with me until he gets settled.
But he comes by this genetically, I remember a day when his mother was a child -- about eight years old. We had been grocery shopping and were about to head for home and she began to pitch a fit. When I asked her what was wrong, she wailed, "I can't go home, I have nothing to read." Fortunately, because I carry the same gene, I understood perfectly and we made a stop at the library before continuing homeward.

Traditions

At dawn's first light, from my front door: it's white, it's cooooold, (15 degrees, wind chill -2) and it's treacherous -- there's a layer of ice on the street.

Such a teen-ager!! I actually had to wake him up this morning!

They've been very good boys this year, Santa brought lots of presents.


Oh Boy! Socks!


And Underwear!!


Merry Christmas!

Pictures to Follow

Here's the menu so far as I know it, still subject to change:
Cheese and Crackers
Pinwheels
Cocktail Wiener wraps
Clam Dip
Champagne
Sodas
Sparkling Cider
Coffee
Turkey
Prime Rib
Dressing
Gravy
Cranberry/Orange Relish
Spicey Carrots
Green Beans Lyonnaise
Grilled Brussels Sprouts with Pine Nuts and Parmesan
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Dinner Rolls
Crab Salad
Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie

I expect around 22 people, more are welcome! There's plenty of food, plenty of room, we expect to have plenty of fun, and just maybe, a white Christmas!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Andrew (Andy) Ivazes

November 21, 2009

A Delicate Balance

Ben has a few OCD quirks. Recently he has taken up balancing things in odd places. He leaves a knife straddling the kitchen sink every time he goes through the kitchen.

Here's another. This banner hangs from an over-the-door wreath hanger. He balanced the wooden dowel the banner hangs from on the tip of the wreath hanger. I'm sure there are others, I have to keep my eyes open.

I just made the banner last week from a kit that has been hanging around the house several years. The year Rachel and Kevin were married, I bought it by mistake thinking it was a kit for a stocking to make for Rachel. At least now I can move it from my unfinished projects storage area to the Christmas stuff. And yes, I bought another kit and made a stocking for Rachel.

Life in the Banana Belt -- the Gray Zone

This morning's weather map shows us in the gray zone, again. Weather seems to go all around us -- never quite happening where we are. That's a good thing if you are talking about tornadoes and ice storms. But, if it's snow, the boys want it here, now! Or maybe for Christmas -- here's a piece of next week's forecast:

Do you think we could have a white Christmas?