Category Archives: flashback

Dec11

Just a few retro Christmas shots

Posted on by
Standard

Of some celebrities-these can be found on Corbis.com

1929-Buddy Rogers (married to Mary Pickford) and Mary Brian, well known in the 30s-40s. I love her gown!

Buddy Rogers and Mary Brian

The Dionne Quints from the 193os

The Dionne Quints

One of my mom’s favorites, Robert Sterling and his wife Anne Jeffries. Mom learned that he passed on a few years ago from shingles complications. She had shingles, so she knew somewhat of how it would bother an elderly man.

Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffries

The tree decorations are up! I used ornaments I haven’t used for a few years. I also got my feather tree up and have mostly handmade ornaments on it. Still not ready for photos yet and I’ll probably go shopping tomorrow. I will probably participant in Boo Mama’s web house tour on the 17th. I can do a lot in a week!

Nov26

Cyber shopping Monday…

Posted on by
Standard

…starts in a few minutes, but I’m off to bed in a few too. I’m really tired from grocery shopping. Bri came along because I am trying not to do too much lifting this week. I got a few frozen things to make cooking easier, well for both of us, at the end of the week.

Speaking of shopping-I have no idea what anyone wants for Christmas. I just can’t wrap my head around it right now. The only thing I saw I want is the Reynolds vacuum sealer-saw that in the grocery store this afternoon. And maybe the movie that Todd from my class wrote and directed ‘Lonely Hearts’. I believe I own one of his other movies ‘White Squall’ which was really good! I love that Todd’s little sister Traci works along with him in many of his projects. She was a really sweetie in high school.  My friend suggested I send Todd two photos (shown in post below) and have him autograph and return one. I also have clippings through the years that were in the local newspapers about his different milestones, probably added by his mom Ronnie. I told him I’d send them to him and he didn’t say no. I didn’t know I would have his Malibu, CA address right in our contact spread sheet at the end of our ‘what are you doing’ booklet. I just think it’s so neat, my miniature brush with a celebrity (my mom’s was with Governor Rendell!). But you know, both Todd and Denice (an actress out of Nashville) from my class are real ‘people’ persons. They know how to get close to you and make you comfortable. I felt that way immediately with them. I remember Todd being quiet on the school bus and always writing something. I had forgotten that the family didn’t spend most of their growing up years in Media, I read they were from the Long Island, NY area. But here he is, a famous guy, coming back to his 30th reunion.

Sean gave me a nice Art trading card book focusing on rubber stamping. It’s great and I am getting ideas. I packed away my paper things for a while, though I have a perpetual Christmas calendar I started and really want to finish before the 1st of December. I need to add numbers to the cards and some velcro dots to adhere them to the poster board.

I started a cross stitch gift tonight while watching ‘The Amazing Race’ and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ (both good episodes with Chevy Chase being Sally Field’s love interest on B&S-ha!). I already tore out half of what I added. Focus, sister, focus.

We are expecting a wet day today. Have fun cyber shopping if you do so!

Rats-The Food Network-Iron Chef is having a dessert battle-should I stay up for it?

Nov24

30th reunion!

Posted on by
Standard

Brian and I just got back about 45 minutes ago. It was interesting and nice to see familiar faces from so long ago. I dared Bri to take a photo of me and my ‘crush’ and he’s the last one he took a photo of. Closed that book in my life-lol. We had a buffet style dinner-didn’t eat until 8, so we were hungry! It was ok-with roast beef, sweet and sour chicken and flounder. The dessert was a nice chocolate mousse cake. We did have appetizers too.

Some photos: Before leaving-

D&B before leaving for the reunion

With Denice who I connected with through MySpace. She’s so sweet. She’s an actress out of Tennessee.

With Denice
With Todd the movie director. He definitely posed the best with me!
With Todd
With the reunion coordinator Scott-yep, I’m dancing!
Dancing with Scott
And finally Mike-this was the second attempt as the card was full and he wasn’t really paying attention this time. I was happy. : )
The crush

We sat at a table with mostly athletes, people who weren’t in my ‘middle-of-the-road’ group at school. There were 2 Diane/Diannes and 2 Brians(one being my Bri) and four of us were left-handed. One lady is a neighbor of Sean’s friend’s parents. A few live in this area. I believe we had about 8 couples marry from our class. The Diane at our table came from Honolulu! She said she was staying with her parents in Lancaster as her mom had just had a stroke. Of course we are all at the age where are parents are getting up there and moving out of the family homes. I know that will be happening soon enough with my mom. An old neighbor, Tim is married to a lady in my class and he remembered trick or treating with my older brother in a robot costume. Another couple use to be neighbors with my older brother and I had brought along a photo of him taken in September and they couldn’t believe it was Dave! Another lady’s mom was a neighbor of my brother’s and said her mom had just sold her house too. It was nice to get lots of hugs. I did connect with a pal who I didn’t recognize, Lil. She sat at a different table too. Wow-she glammed up since high school and made us all smile and laugh at her dance moves. A lot of people came stag! I noticed a guy who teased me in junior high was eying me up all evening. Bri even noticed. Some things never change.! Nevertheless, it was a good birthday gift!

Nov13

Ed McMahon visits my hometown

Posted on by
Standard

Ed McMahon, a Veteran from both WWII and Korean, was chosen as Grand Marshall of my hometown’s Veteran’s Day parade (video in link and you get to see the streets I roamed). Ed also lived in the same apartment complex (in the ’50s) that Bri and I lived in as newlyweds (Dick Clark too). My mom didn’t go see him and of course I couldn’t go today. Last week I missed Rachael Ray, but she was over in NJ.

Nov9

Wuss report

Posted on by
Standard

Donny and MarieI was watching Oprah today and the entire Osmond family was on-all 125 of them flew in to be on the show in Chicago. Marie is a month older than me. I watched the Donny and Marie show, mostly while babysitting. I was compared to her and my younger brother Don to Donny. We both could sing-dance, not so much. So here’s when I get all wet in the eyes-when they showed the brothers all singing, ‘He Ain’t Heavy, he’s my brother’ with old videos in the background (the 70s was not a good decade for costume design). The one brother Alan isn’t well and had a chair behind him, but he performed and smiled as always. Then it occurred to me, I’m in that age group and they were celebrating 50 yrs of performing!

I like the doll Marie had made for Oprah-her as a little girl. I’d love one of me! Too cute. I also felt bad as they had just lost their dad and when Donny cries, well I’m going to cry too. I did notice that one of Donny’s nephews looks just like him, more than his own sons. Funny how genetics works. Good luck on your tour guys! Marie, no more fainting.

The 6 degrees of separation game-actually 2 with Marie! Seems that when she was in the tour of ‘The Sound of Music’ back in the 90s, that the costume designer, the late Jonathan Bixby did this show and he graduated from high school with me! I am also a couple of degrees from John Travolta (I did ‘meet’ him at a car show in Philly as a teen and got his autograph) and Todd Robinson, from my class directed him in a movie lately; and Kate Jackson, an actress from my class, Denice Hicks was in a movie with her and Janine Turner. I talk to Denice on MySpace and she’s really sweet. Neat,huh?

BTW, I was a Bobby Sherman and Hudson Brother fan back in the day.

Oct29

Hit the nail on the head

Posted on by
Standard

Dinner-Chorizo and Shrimp pilaf-Everyday Food recipe in the November ’07 issue. The plum tomatoes are from my garden and I just picked more tonight plus bunches of Italian parsley and rosemary.Chorizo and shrimp pilaf

I do believe my commenters have diagnosed some of my current lack of domestic interest. I will say I use to go to the store thinking of what would be good for Sean to eat; him being the child and getting his taste buds to wake up. I will say as an adult, he’ll eat almost anything. This I miss. But as I said earlier, if I make too much, I can freeze it for my uncle.

The other thing is never getting help in the kitchen. I am seeing the holidays looming and some big dinners and lots of cleaning I have to do by myself. Bri’s dad hasn’t been here since Easter(!), mainly because Bri doesn’t want him driving over in his 17 yr old car. My holidays are usually spent in the kitchen while the men sit around watching football. If my mom is here, she’ll pitch in if she is able to. Doesn’t sound like fun for me does it? The one and only Thanksgiving we went out to dinner, Bri’s dad choked on lettuce because he was talking too much or nervous about being in a crowded restaurant.

So you see where I’m coming from? I am not a total slave to cooking everyday. I love to go out to eat, it’s a real treat. We went to Pizza Hut and then to AC Moore on Saturday, and that lifted my spirits tremendously.

It got pretty chilly last night and I brought in some of my plants. I need to find room for them somewhere. I hate to lose the pretty ‘freebies’ from the nursery as they are blooming like crazy right now.

So my 30th high school reunion was set for Nov 23rd-the day after Thanksgiving. I sent in the check before it was due on the 13th of this month. I check to see if the reunion guy has cashed it yet-he hasn’t. I’m wondering if people are showing enough interest in attending? There was a 25th. And there are over 100 people on the MIA list. We only had 480 in the class. I’ll keep you posted. I have new gray slacks, a garnet red sparkley top and pewter shoes (and jewelry) for it too. I was to attend the planning meeting and I would have suggested a picnic type reunion not another expensive sit down meal. The weather was so bad, I didn’t go. Not to say they would have picked the picnic.

Not bad for 99¢

99¢ roses

Oct24

He’s legal

Posted on by
Standard

Birthday guy

Up at PSU

It’s not possible is it? A boy becomes a man and the years just flew by, they seem to blend together. I remember this day in 1986 like almost yesterday. I did only go through that once (not planned to), but 18 hours and a c-section, I had the sweetest big boy-Sean Matthew, who weighed in at 8 lbs, 9 oz!

 

Life for us would never be the same. It’s still that way. It’s like we have a void in our life that Sean once filled. I know, we get to talk to him everyday, but seeing his face and touching his wavy hair, well that’s something a mom (and dad) misses. I know Sean’s a bit blue. Thanks to the prof that gave him a big test in his least favorite subject-Statistics today-ugh.

I wish I could show you some of the cute videos of him (when we figure out how to upload to the computer and then youtube you will see them). The one of him at the Baltimore aquarium watching the schools of fish and singing to them (was it ‘Under the Sea’?) and him helping me dye Easter eggs and saying he’s proud of me. I’m proud of him and have been for these last 21 years. He’s a gem to us.

About 20 yrs ago


20 yrs ago on his 1st birthday. The little boy was born a day or so after him and I was friendly with his mom (who shared my hospital room) for a while. That’s his proud mom mom.

If you’d like to email Sean a birthday greeting and know my email addy (to get his), I know he’d like that.

Sep30

The Phillies are on top!

Posted on by
Standard

So I’m jumping on the bandwagon! Well, it’s been 14 long years since they won the National League East Championship. My guys watch a lot of the games. It was fun to watch the last few minutes of the game today and see the excitement in the players eyes and the fans spinning around their shirts or whatever they were.

Funny thing, I asked Bri to bring up a box out of the basement thinking it was my old stuff and it was  full of Sean’s old books. Right on top though was an old banner that I made post the 1980 World’s Series for the first time I went to the ballpark. It read ‘Media, PA….home of Tug McGraw and Mike Schmidt!’ (My hometown) I guess it fell out of my Phillies memorabilia bag!

Way to go team!

Phillies-yeah!