Category Archives: family

May1

It’s a favorite childhood toy party!

Posted on by
Standard

Thanks to Scrappy Jessi for hosting this fun event.

Ok, when I was really little I loved my Thumbelina baby doll. Here I am with her and my mom (with the funky 60s do with the faux braid and me still parting my hair on the left!)

And here she is about 41 years later, a little worse for wear:

The poor thing needs a good scrub, which I will try to do if I think about it, but I should ‘honor’ her presence, since I have had her this long. I had cut her hair and chewed on her fingers back then. She’s been through a lot with me.

Here is a photo of my brother and I at Christmas playing with our Flintstone building blocks. We use to fight over them:

When I was a little older, I started to love Barbie and her friends:

They could also do with a little sprucing up. Poor Barbie’s fanny is peeking out of the lace in the back! I also have my original case and a few others dolls (somewhere). And I do have some newer collector’s Barbies in the guest room. I was wise and kept most of them in their boxes. My favorite-the Van Gogh Sunflower Barbie and the Vera Wang bride.

I also loved my coloring books, crayons, markers, drawing pads, chalk boards, books, Silly Putty, Fuzzy Wuzzy soap, Lite Brite, Spirograph, play dough, two wheeler bike with the banana seat and monkey bars, board games like Mouse Trap and Monopoly and even checkers! I could go on!

I wanted to add a few of my son (21.5 yrs old now) :

Here he is with his dad using his magna doodle board.

And here he is showing us his creation (he’s about 3 here):

And last but not least, his favorite bears Snuggle and Boo (very well loved):

Apr11

Happy 9th birthday sweet niece!

Posted on by
Standard

ditori1000
Nine years ago, you came into our world, the only other girl in the family since me! We share a common bond that way and how much we love your daddy. You are a smart and pretty girl too. You play softball and soccer too-the most athletic one in the bunch of us!

I saw her yesterday and after she opened gifts from me, she got right down to her division homework. When I heard she was wearing glasses, I wasn’t surprised. Now she looks even more like me.

niece and me 12/24

Apr5

A new obsession

Posted on by
Standard

Yeah, see my blogroll and look down at #6-thanks to my childhood friend Chris, I joined Facebook last night and have been playing with it off and on from late last night until now! We didn’t have internet access until around 2-3.

I decided that the mosquitoes had all moved in and were getting cozy in my water features, the pond and waterlily garden, so I went out and hooked up the one pump for the waterlilies-nothing-no whirl, dead. Then Bri came out and took it apart and it started to work. Finally. Then it was a terrible task with the pond. We couldn’t get the pump to sit flat so Bri bailed out all the nasty water, I got it situated and it started to work. He had to disassemble that one too and now I can report, clean water and a nice splashing fountain! It wasn’t really warm, but we didn’t have jackets on. I heard my mom had her menfolk cleaning up around her yard today-gets me off the hook a bit! I like to do her lamp post garden though.

I haven’t taken vitamins for two days now and my tummy seems calmed down. I really hope the ones I get for sensitive tummies will be okay. If not, I told Bri we’ll be eating lots of salads and produce. I’m hoping the blood work will be ok, didn’t hear anything after 3 days…so far.

Back to Facebook-it’s actually a fun place! If you want to join, be sure to click my link and hook up with me there.

Apr2

Simmer down, girl!

Posted on by
Standard

Thanks for those who commented earlier. Things are still up in the air, but I hope two grown ups can act their age and figure out what they are going to do with their lives. The one was way too tired to try and make decisions. Geez. My mom called me again at 9:45 pm to complain about brother #3. I was watching ‘Elizabeth, the Golden Age’ and trying to calm down my bloated tummy. Bri said his was the same, must have been dinner (why did I have baked beans?)
The movie was excellent-beautiful clothes and scenery, my favorite kind of flick. This was set in the late 1500s. Cate Blanchett made a great Elizabeth. There was a movie before this one, so I’ll have to rent it also. I was trying to find a photo of the Queen standing on a bluff watching her army defeat Spain-it was magnificent.

Not the exact photo, but close:

Elizabeth, the Golden Age

Apr2

Pressure pot world

Posted on by
Standard

I believe this is so. Our lives are simmering well for our existence and someone comes along and clamps a lid down on our world and the pressure starts to build up. You’ve got that little valve though, and if you are lucky, you can open it and things calm down a bit.

Someone in my life, not under this roof, has turned the heat up indirectly, though I have to feel it too. I have to hear my mom sobbing and being upset when she has enough to deal with everyday.

I won’t go into it in case that person reads here and has something to say to everyone else about it, even exaggerating it.

The temps dropped and last time I looked it was in the upper 40s. 70 was so nice! I took the cat for a walk without having to wear a coat. Debating about going to the grocery store. It’s different with just the two of us. I can go longer between trips-I don’t like grocery shopping that much. I am low on meat mainly. I could just go for a meat run.

Wish me (us) luck with the above!

Mar24

The day after Easter and Happy Birthday Brian!

Posted on by
Standard

What I made for dinner Gramma’s Pineapple side dish:

Gramma’s Pineapple Side
This is similar to what my late mother-in-law use to make. I believe she used bread cubes, I cut up Pepperidge Farm white bread. Can you see the butter oozing on the top there? It’s like a stuffing for ham.
Scalloped potatoes
I haven’t made scalloped potatoes for a while. They were pretty good, I like them a little crisper on the top. I used fresh dill and dried parsley. I kept having to ‘zap’ them in the microwave because my mom was ‘hogging’ the oven with a 12 pd ham! So this presented a problem as we couldn’t wait until 6-6:30 to eat as Brian was taking food to his dad. So we sliced some off and stuck it back in the oven for a bit. I found a meat thermometer about as old as me and it said the meat was at the right temp to eat. I thought it was ok, a little salty. Mom didn’t care for hers and said she wasn’t crazy about scalloped potatoes. Spending Easter with people over 75 is interesting. We got to the point where my uncle looked up Bentyl (the med the dr prescribed for me last week that I didn’t take) in a ‘bad pill’ book. Said not to take it! And my uncle has a habit of lighting his pipe all the time and by the time we went home, I was really stuffed up. I’m not saying I don’t like to be with mom and uncle, but old habits sure die hard. I was glad to see him chow down. Mom hardly ate anything. We did sing ‘happy birthday’ to Brian and had some cake. We will go out to dinner later. Bri’s been in a funk, not sure what’s up-work, his car, his dad? He complains about holidays being a money making thing and didn’t want anyone singing to his when it wasn’t his birthday (before went to my uncle’s house).
Back to Easter-I spent an hour or so downloading mostly Sean’s photos to a keychain for Bri’s dad:
Slideshow on a keychain

I guess he liked it (I didn’t go to his house), but his 1989 Lincoln is probably on it’s last legs and he was worried about that.

On the home front, I picked up an African Violet sampler last night to work on for a change. I was also looking at the real violets in the window and they need repotting and trimming. Many have flowers! A few are on their last legs and I moved them to the kitchen to see if I could maybe root any of their leaves. Also on the stitching front, I was looking at my neighborhood round robin from last year and I need to add another house, so that will be fun. I do want to get it framed, so need to save up for that huge frame.

Both mom and I have goodies for Brian, mostly things he needs. Something he asked for hasn’t arrived from Amazon yet-rats! I didn’t really wrap things but may do a bit of a quick tissue paper thing in a bit. I think he threw out all my saved gift boxes anyway.

A fragrant lily Bri gave me:

Easter lily

Mar23

Birthday boys and Easter

Posted on by
Standard
Nephew and Brian 12/24, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

This was taken in late December, but my nephew turns 12 today and Brian has a birthday on Monday!

Here’s the cake I made for Brian, it’s devil’s food with vanilla icing and I think a festive Easter look. : ) I used colored sugars (they sell them in a little set) and malted milk eggs.

Brian’s birthday cake

We went to church last night for their 2 hour vigil mass with candles, darkness, let their be light, baptism and confirmation! I needed some ice cream afterwards.

Off in a few to my uncle’s house. I am making scalloped potatoes and a pineapple/bread side my late mother-in-law use to make. I never made it before, but found the recipe on the internet.

Happy Easter to all!

Mar2

Ah fresh air!

Posted on by
Standard

We mixed up our Sunday a bit and went to church today instead of last night. If I went one more Saturday night, I would have screamed! Really, it gets old. We headed down to a little coffee shop in Delaware for a sandwich afterwards and came home. I suggested Bri trim back the two sadly overgrown pear trees we have, but it may be too late for them. Fruit trees, especially the smaller ones, do take some care. They shouldn’t be over a certain height (I’m thinking 7 feet) and you have to trim out all the sucker branches. Plus you should spray them when they bud. We never did any of that. We lost a dwarf apple tree last summer when it fell over and pretty much destroyed half of the veggie patch. I helped Bri a little, but I suffered with a stuff upper back yesterday and didn’t want to aggravate that. I did promptly have to apply Icy Hot to my lower back though. My neighbor has cut down four trees (I think) 3 leaf trees and one evergreen. We still have a row of evergreens between our house and his (that belong to him).

My father’s half brother emailed me late last night and said that my father’s apartment was all cleaned out-all 6 boxes of the stuff. He gave away a table and a few other things. He had a broken 486 computer too. My uncle said he had some high school annuals, and things from the time he was in the Korean war on a ship. Sadly, he mentioned no photos. My brother wants the stuff, he can have it. The taxi driver who befriended him almost had the same last name as me, change out one letter and add a ‘s’ to his name-isn’t that weird?

I’ve been making some ATCs as gifts and really enjoying it. My one friend’s dad loves to garden and if I post a photo to tribe.net, she nearly always prints it out to show him.

Not sure about the Philly Flower show. I do want to go and I don’t . I have the pass to Longwood Gardens and usually don’t have to worry about crowds. My mom could go with her friend on Tuesday. I was thinking about Wednesday as I am getting my hair done and we could go afterwards. I was also hoping my brother could inspect my van and see what the funny hamster wheel noise is under the hood. I guess I’ll end up going. Any excuse to use my camera!

Mar1

Photo Hunt-Party/Wooden

Posted on by
Standard
PSHunt
Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.


This is my mom’s birthday last year and my youngest brother is giving her the cupcakes that I made to blow out the candles. I like the way he is looking at her here.

My brother is a master mechanic and has permanently stained arms, not really dirty ones. ; )

and for the 23rds hunt Wooden (I am late, didn’t feel much like doing it as I heard my estranged father had passed on).
Sean’s clipboard

This is my son’s clipboard with beautiful inlaid wood that he doesn’t use. I was looking through papers in his room and came across this a few weeks ago. He had received it as a gift.

Feb25

Going through the motions

Posted on by
Standard

Things really seem in slow motion for me these last few days. Lots to digest, memories to push away. Mom is probably getting my father’s SS and will have a phone interview for that. My brother in Florida called the funeral home and they were glad to hear from him as no one had contacted them to give them permission to proceed-you can fill in to do what. Is that not so sad? My brother called for more information and got more than he bargained for! But at least it’s taken care of.

So I am trying to do a few things here and there, and mainly to finish up the little zebras’ quilt square that I must get to the quilter of the project by March 15th. I have to finish the second guy’s body and the grass they are in. I think I can do it. I’m a bit disappointed in this cross stitch group that organized the project. I try to drop in there a few times a month and left a message and no one replied to it! I think it’s time to move on. There’s about 10 of them who are really tight and go to IRL reunions, I can’t go to them! I would still be affiliated with Love Quilts and would do 1-2 charity squares a year. I’ve done over 40 in 9 years which is good for me!

I’m going to try and work on some crafts projects to finally sell on etsy. It’s by time! My head is full of ideas, just to get them made and up on the website takes a little doing.

Wish me luck!