HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
So, a few updates...
The other night, Rod and Daniel went to a Patriots-Colts game. I had bought them tickets maybe 6 months ago and the game was on the Sunday the 21st. They left at 12pm and the game was supposed to start at 4:15pm. They called me at 2pm to say that they'd just gotten to the stadium and realized they forgot the tickets! So, I had to drive ALL the way to Foxboro and got there about five minutes before the game started. It was either that or they drove home and missed the game altogether, or they went in and tried to buy tickets and then the $500 I spent on the original tickets would be for nothing.
Right now I'm sitting here doing this because I'm waiting for my clothes to dry. I put them in at least an hour ago to wash and did a "quick wash" which, according to our washer, is 33 minutes, but really it's about 45. Then I put them in the dryer and checked them a minute ago and they're still wet. I was supposed to be at my parents' house right now. They said between 3 and 3:30, and it's exactly 3 right now. So, hopefully I can leave soon! Because I'm going Black Friday shopping with my friend H tonight, I have to leave my parents' house at 8:30. So it's not like I'll be there very long anyway.
Rod's grandfather was in the hospital for a hip replacement about a week ago and he's doing great. The surgery went very smoothly and his recovery was just as smooth. He'd been in a nursing home type facility for the last few days and today Daniel picked him up and is bringing him to his house and then to my parents' house.
Last night, I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready and I heard Rod get on the phone with someone. By his tone of voice, I figured it must be his brother. All I could tell was they were discussing what was going on for Thanksgiving, and I suddenly felt the need to run in there and tell him something about what to wear over to my parents' house... I grabbed the phone and said:
"Hey, love muffin!" (I thought this would make him laugh.)
Well, it would have been nice... IF IT HAD BEEN HIM ON THE PHONE. I heard chuckling on the other end - it was Rod's grandfather.
Luckily, he's an understanding guy. But I felt like a weirdo for a few hours.
Anyway, we'll be taking lots of pictures tonight, hopefully. If my clothes ever dry so I can leave.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Back from the island
(the Maine one) and missing it and everyone like crazy already...
We spread Sharon's ashes in various places... (Just realized this post was drafted and never finished! Oops!)
We spread Sharon's ashes in various places... (Just realized this post was drafted and never finished! Oops!)
Friday, November 19, 2010
My memories of Gran
About holidays and happenings:
* The boys watching football in the library
* The smells of Gran's house
* Jenga
* Friends/neighbors just walking in the front door any time
* Climbing onto the shed roof
* Aunt Irene's purple dessert
* The little fort against the side fence with the table and chairs
* The sandbox
* The branch on the tree out front
* The fort under the front closet
* The piano
* The typewriter
* Watching movies/tv in the library
* Sitting at the kitchen counter eating egg salad/tuna fish and tomato soup
* Elise and other fancy dolls
* The attic...looking at all our parents' old stuff
* Place cards
* Candle snuffing
* Pictures on the fridge
* Pictures on the kitchen island (specifically one of Ruth I remember...and the 4 sisters in the pool)
* Electric blankets
* Goat farm
* Picking up sticks around the yard and putting them in the pile next to the big tree in front
* Playing Barbies on the upstairs twin beds and in the front stairway/landing
* Cranberry juice/ginger ale in the kitchen pantry
* The small space between the dining room table and the breakfront
* Drawing pictures at the kitchen table
* Dad's funny stories at the table
* Sunken gray couch in the kitchen
* Pool down the street with the stone patio
* Library to sort books for the book fair
* Sitting in lawn hairs on the side of the house with Gran and everyone walking by and talking to us
* Riding bikes on the sidewalks along Fair/Broad Street and the one part of the sidewalk with the roots that you'd have jump over
* Lucy Ferrar's dogs
* Gran's scalloped potatoes
* Aunt Con's chocolate cream pie
* Sitting around the fire, talking
* The coffee table in the living room with the wings
* Trivial Pursuit
* The metal toy with the ball you had to get from one end to the other without it falling through
* Holding hands, grace, "ah people" instead of "amen" and kissing around the table
* Walking on the green - specifically the big statue(s)
* Fonicellos
* Casual clothing until dinner, then change into fancy
* "Repairing" old bikes in the garage (scraping off rust)
* Jungle green Subaru station wagon
* Stony Creek market
* Small grocery store on the green
* Yoga mats and ironing boards in upstairs landing
* Strange orange and black painting with man riding horse? something like that
* BLTs
* Frayed oriental rugs in living room, worn out from the footsteps of so many people I love!
* Referencing a dictionary at least once per meal
* Putting electric candles in every window at holiday time
* Driving around looking at Christmas lights
* Wondering who the people were who lived in the big fancy house on other side of fence
* Big tree out from with walnuts all over ground
* White picket fence
* Worrying about falling backwards on the steep stairway
* Falling asleep listening to the cars going by on Fair/Broad Street and the lights from them on the walls
* The doll house
* Old fashioned Barbies
* Opera music
More specifically about Gran herself:
* How her feet arched so far upward in the middle
* How she always scolded me whenever she suspected I wasn't being 100% respectful to my mother
* How she was SO strong and independent
* How, at 83 years old, she would stand on a chair and replace lightbulbs in the kitchen by prying open the light covers with a KNIFE...and would insist on this until someone practically yelled at her to get down
* How she volunteered to help with so many things around town from church sales to book sales to other library things to repairing and cleaning up an ancient red house (all into the last couple of years of her life
* Memories of going to the library to help her volunteer with calling people whose books were in
* Sam
* So many dinners with both her and my dad's parents at my parents' house
* Our trip out west and "Vortex"
* "Dran"
* Going to the Taste Bud (is that the name of it?)
* Going to the thrift/consignment shop next to Taste Bud (or whatever the name is)
* Buying mini brussel sprouts for me after I told her how much I loved them
* Buying me a strawberry rhubarb pie after I told her how much I loved it
* How she took me to a farm that happened to have chickens and eggs, and I subtly implied that I'd love to take home an egg - little did she know, I wanted the egg so I could try and hatch it (I really thought I could), and I went into Aunt Sarah's bedroom and held it under the lamp and rubbed it to keep it warm and she was supportive of this clueless attempt but also warned me it might not happen
* Letting me read through and even keep some of the things I found in the drawers I organized for her - from newspaper clippings from her school days to love letters, etc.
* Her writing! Especially one particular play about a woman whose husband was away at war
* Bathing cap she wore while swimming
* How everyone in Guilford knew her so well and raved about how wonderful she was
* Her voice, I still remember it
* Her love for pets, no matter how crazy they were (like Toby, she always wanted my mom to bring Toby over, even though he's nuts)
* How she got scammed by those chimney cleaners because she's so kind
* "Arsom Grissom"
* Song paradies and endless poems
* Red snowflake candle holders I got for her that she thought were truly amazing (or so she said) but were truly very tacky :)
Last but not least... how much my mom is just like her, and how I am more and more like them both every day...
(I will most likely continually update this list)
* The boys watching football in the library
* The smells of Gran's house
* Jenga
* Friends/neighbors just walking in the front door any time
* Climbing onto the shed roof
* Aunt Irene's purple dessert
* The little fort against the side fence with the table and chairs
* The sandbox
* The branch on the tree out front
* The fort under the front closet
* The piano
* The typewriter
* Watching movies/tv in the library
* Sitting at the kitchen counter eating egg salad/tuna fish and tomato soup
* Elise and other fancy dolls
* The attic...looking at all our parents' old stuff
* Place cards
* Candle snuffing
* Pictures on the fridge
* Pictures on the kitchen island (specifically one of Ruth I remember...and the 4 sisters in the pool)
* Electric blankets
* Goat farm
* Picking up sticks around the yard and putting them in the pile next to the big tree in front
* Playing Barbies on the upstairs twin beds and in the front stairway/landing
* Cranberry juice/ginger ale in the kitchen pantry
* The small space between the dining room table and the breakfront
* Drawing pictures at the kitchen table
* Dad's funny stories at the table
* Sunken gray couch in the kitchen
* Pool down the street with the stone patio
* Library to sort books for the book fair
* Sitting in lawn hairs on the side of the house with Gran and everyone walking by and talking to us
* Riding bikes on the sidewalks along Fair/Broad Street and the one part of the sidewalk with the roots that you'd have jump over
* Lucy Ferrar's dogs
* Gran's scalloped potatoes
* Aunt Con's chocolate cream pie
* Sitting around the fire, talking
* The coffee table in the living room with the wings
* Trivial Pursuit
* The metal toy with the ball you had to get from one end to the other without it falling through
* Holding hands, grace, "ah people" instead of "amen" and kissing around the table
* Walking on the green - specifically the big statue(s)
* Fonicellos
* Casual clothing until dinner, then change into fancy
* "Repairing" old bikes in the garage (scraping off rust)
* Jungle green Subaru station wagon
* Stony Creek market
* Small grocery store on the green
* Yoga mats and ironing boards in upstairs landing
* Strange orange and black painting with man riding horse? something like that
* BLTs
* Frayed oriental rugs in living room, worn out from the footsteps of so many people I love!
* Referencing a dictionary at least once per meal
* Putting electric candles in every window at holiday time
* Driving around looking at Christmas lights
* Wondering who the people were who lived in the big fancy house on other side of fence
* Big tree out from with walnuts all over ground
* White picket fence
* Worrying about falling backwards on the steep stairway
* Falling asleep listening to the cars going by on Fair/Broad Street and the lights from them on the walls
* The doll house
* Old fashioned Barbies
* Opera music
More specifically about Gran herself:
* How her feet arched so far upward in the middle
* How she always scolded me whenever she suspected I wasn't being 100% respectful to my mother
* How she was SO strong and independent
* How, at 83 years old, she would stand on a chair and replace lightbulbs in the kitchen by prying open the light covers with a KNIFE...and would insist on this until someone practically yelled at her to get down
* How she volunteered to help with so many things around town from church sales to book sales to other library things to repairing and cleaning up an ancient red house (all into the last couple of years of her life
* Memories of going to the library to help her volunteer with calling people whose books were in
* Sam
* So many dinners with both her and my dad's parents at my parents' house
* Our trip out west and "Vortex"
* "Dran"
* Going to the Taste Bud (is that the name of it?)
* Going to the thrift/consignment shop next to Taste Bud (or whatever the name is)
* Buying mini brussel sprouts for me after I told her how much I loved them
* Buying me a strawberry rhubarb pie after I told her how much I loved it
* How she took me to a farm that happened to have chickens and eggs, and I subtly implied that I'd love to take home an egg - little did she know, I wanted the egg so I could try and hatch it (I really thought I could), and I went into Aunt Sarah's bedroom and held it under the lamp and rubbed it to keep it warm and she was supportive of this clueless attempt but also warned me it might not happen
* Letting me read through and even keep some of the things I found in the drawers I organized for her - from newspaper clippings from her school days to love letters, etc.
* Her writing! Especially one particular play about a woman whose husband was away at war
* Bathing cap she wore while swimming
* How everyone in Guilford knew her so well and raved about how wonderful she was
* Her voice, I still remember it
* Her love for pets, no matter how crazy they were (like Toby, she always wanted my mom to bring Toby over, even though he's nuts)
* How she got scammed by those chimney cleaners because she's so kind
* "Arsom Grissom"
* Song paradies and endless poems
* Red snowflake candle holders I got for her that she thought were truly amazing (or so she said) but were truly very tacky :)
Last but not least... how much my mom is just like her, and how I am more and more like them both every day...
(I will most likely continually update this list)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Red cardinal & memories
Today is Gran's birthday.
This morning, when I got into work, my boss said to me, "Oh, you wouldn't believe it- this morning, I saw the most beautiful red cardinal right out in back of the office. I grabbed my camera, but by the time I was able to get the flash working, it had flown away. It was a really magnificent one, too."
What does this have to do with my grandmother? She LOVED birds and when she passed away, my mom and Aunt Sarah were sitting in Gran's kitchen silently, staring out the window Gran used to watch birds from, and out of nowhere, a gust of wind whizzed by and with it flew a red cardinal. They took it as a sign of her spirit departing.
It was just really neat that there was a red cardinal "experience" this morning (even though I missed it, it still presented itself to me in the form of my boss telling me about it) on her birthday.
Because it's the holidays - specifically Thanksgiving time - along with her birthday, my family and I have been doing lots of reminiscing about Gran, her house and the holidays we all spent together while she was alive. My cousin Ben sent us all a sweet e-mail yesterday:
"Dear family,
With the holiday season nearly upon us, I am reminded of the Thanksgivings past. I have so many vivid memories of this particular holiday at Gran's house and I wanted to share them with you all. I hope that you do not find sadness in this, but rather take joy in remembering the many traditions and moments that we have shared together. As Elizabeth and I begin a new journey of family holidays and tradition, I am honored to be carrying forward this uniquely Mermann history.
Here they are, in no particular order. It will become apparent that many of these are from when I was a kid. Feel free to share your own memories if you like, and forward this on to anyone you like.
Assembling a cornucopia with old, wrinkly fruit
Putting leaves in the table
Lugging in fire wood
Making fire and standing on the hearth for hours
Old, strange people at the table
Seat assignments and place cards
Setting the table
"Ah-people"
Wearing nice clothes
Commotion
Peas
Ice cream
Candle snuffing
Bob's breakfast with no kid friendly food and other old, strange people
Watching the parade and football in a cold library
Perusing magical Christmas catalogs that only Gran received
After dinner discussion and couch time - perhaps the best part?
Love to all
Ben"
It made me smile, for sure. I called my mom shortly afterward and we talked a bit about our memories. Later, I sent this e-mail (copied to everyone):
"Ben-
Thank you so much for this! I just spent the last 1/2 hour writing down a lot of my general memories of Gran/6 Fair Street. I don't know if I have many other Thanksgiving-specific memories than the ones you mentioned (most of which resonate with me as well), they sort of blend in a lot with my other memories of Gran/the house... see below for my unorganized/incomplete list if you're interested... I'm sure many of them you can relate to. :)
Love,
Annie"
(I'm going to make my memories of Gran and her house my next post so that it's its own separate thing, and I'll probably add to it again and again in the future as I think of things and want to remember them. To those who aren't part of our family, they probably won't make any sense, so it's more for my own record-keeping!)
I have received e-mails from other family members. Aunt Sarah responded with:
"Dear Ben and Annie,
Thanks so much for these memories. Not only is Thanksgiving upon us, but with tomorrow being Gran's birthday, you've evoked many wonderful things. Made us laugh, too.
Love,
Sarah"
From Uncle Willie:
"Ben and Annie- love this- now here are some additions from the parent perspective
Cooler full of Rolling Rock on the back steps and always some excuse to crack one @ noon
taking out a wasp nest from my car after it stung many of the children
checking the batteries in the smoke detectors I installed for Gran
the back room woodstove ALWAYS smoking
scratchy volume control on the back room stereo
Crab cakes and ham @ Bob's- yummy adult food
Round of golf day after t-giving with uncle steve that included scrambled eggs before with of course turkey in them
shoot the moon game
skittles game that included mens tournaments that included beers
cleaning up after thanksgiving which included Sandy and I "picking" at the turkey in the kitchen
raking tons of leaves
gran always finding a pool for us to swim in somewhere in Guilford
stay tuned for more- much love uncle wiggly( ha,ha)-"
From Rachel:
"What wonderful memories to share and keep the spirit of Gran and 6 Fair Street alive. Here are some that came to mind for me (aside from many of those previously mentioned).
Love to all,
Rach
Standing over the heat vent in the living room
Eating breakfast with Gran in the kitchen by the window
Trying to find a place to put your chair on the uneven patio
The rug near the porch door that was liable to kill someone
Visiting the yacht club (rocks, picnics, the piano, ice cream sandwiches)
The tiny rocking chair in the back room [We now have this in our guest ("family") room]
Playing the out of tune piano (singing, poor lighting)
The ottoman in the library
Lighting the candelabra over the back room table
Decorating tiny Christmas trees (and the Santa on the top)
Cocktail napkins & coasters in the living room
Toasts at dinner
Crab apples
Accompanying Gran to the late service at church on Christmas Eve
Hors d'eourves
Fighting over who would clean up after dinner
Gran's hair appointments"
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Glad I don't live in California..
According to Forbes.com, 7 out of 10 of the dirtiest cities in America are in California! Ranked from least to most dirty, here are the top 10:
1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, California/Nevada
3. Modesto, California
4. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Alabama
5. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona
6. Hanford-Concoran, California
7. Visalia-Porterville, California
8. Fresno-Madera, California
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, California
10. Bakersfield, California
These are ranked due to the worst particle pollution and ozone pollution. Yuck!
1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, California/Nevada
3. Modesto, California
4. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Alabama
5. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona
6. Hanford-Concoran, California
7. Visalia-Porterville, California
8. Fresno-Madera, California
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, California
10. Bakersfield, California
These are ranked due to the worst particle pollution and ozone pollution. Yuck!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Raising a teenager
It's tough. I'm only 24 and I'm raising an almost-18-year-old. He lives with his step-dad but Rod's his guardian. Unfortunately, neither Dan nor Rod want anything to do with disciplining. Dan's not sure how and just wants to remain on Daniel's good side and be buddies, and Rod feels as long as Daniel's not flunking out of school or doing drugs, nothing else matters.
He gets a speeding ticket... no punishment. He ignores his chores... no punishment. He stays up all hours playing video games and neglecting homework... no punishment. Somehow, because the high school's curriculum is what it is, he's able to do all of his schoolwork in study hall and in class and after school.
He is a terrific kid, so it's hard to be mad at him. He does all the right things, mostly. He plays sports, he gets good grades. He's applying to colleges (with my help). But certain things are just not okay.
I remember when I met him, he couldn't lie. He'd look you in the eyes and start smiling. Now, he's lying without flinching and making it so believable. I've caught him on a lot of these lies recently.
I know I should be thankful he's doing as well as he is. He's polite, he's kind, he has good friends (I think) and stays out of *big* trouble. But I want him to have more structure and discipline, and yet I'm not in much of a place to give him this because 1) I don't live with him and 2) I have no legal authority over him, only his brother does (although I'm his wife... how confusing is that logic?).
Tonight we're celebrating Dan's birthday, which Dan is completely and utterly depressed about. (He is a week younger than my mom, whose birthday we celebrated last week.) Dan doesn't like to celebrate his birthday because it reminds him that he hasn't accomplished all that he could have in his life so far; which is totally absurd as he has a loving family and is very talented in his career - see this post. I just got off the phone with him and he's not thrilled about going out tonight.
We're meeting at Rod's grandfather's house for gifts before going to a hibachi for dinner. I think he'll like his gifts. We got him a puzzle with pictures of Sharon and the family, and then some ceramic knives he'd mentioned he wanted.
Hopefully we can have fun tonight and urge him out of his funk.
Then I have to come home tonight and write an 8 page paper I haven't really started. :)
He gets a speeding ticket... no punishment. He ignores his chores... no punishment. He stays up all hours playing video games and neglecting homework... no punishment. Somehow, because the high school's curriculum is what it is, he's able to do all of his schoolwork in study hall and in class and after school.
He is a terrific kid, so it's hard to be mad at him. He does all the right things, mostly. He plays sports, he gets good grades. He's applying to colleges (with my help). But certain things are just not okay.
I remember when I met him, he couldn't lie. He'd look you in the eyes and start smiling. Now, he's lying without flinching and making it so believable. I've caught him on a lot of these lies recently.
I know I should be thankful he's doing as well as he is. He's polite, he's kind, he has good friends (I think) and stays out of *big* trouble. But I want him to have more structure and discipline, and yet I'm not in much of a place to give him this because 1) I don't live with him and 2) I have no legal authority over him, only his brother does (although I'm his wife... how confusing is that logic?).
Tonight we're celebrating Dan's birthday, which Dan is completely and utterly depressed about. (He is a week younger than my mom, whose birthday we celebrated last week.) Dan doesn't like to celebrate his birthday because it reminds him that he hasn't accomplished all that he could have in his life so far; which is totally absurd as he has a loving family and is very talented in his career - see this post. I just got off the phone with him and he's not thrilled about going out tonight.
We're meeting at Rod's grandfather's house for gifts before going to a hibachi for dinner. I think he'll like his gifts. We got him a puzzle with pictures of Sharon and the family, and then some ceramic knives he'd mentioned he wanted.
Hopefully we can have fun tonight and urge him out of his funk.
Then I have to come home tonight and write an 8 page paper I haven't really started. :)
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
I Write Like...
Apparently...
Someone told me about this site that analyzes your writing style instantly and tells you who you write like. I don't know how accurate or reliable it is, but decided to try it anyway. I copied and pasted a paragraph from the story I posted in a previous post, and got these results!
Someone told me about this site that analyzes your writing style instantly and tells you who you write like. I don't know how accurate or reliable it is, but decided to try it anyway. I copied and pasted a paragraph from the story I posted in a previous post, and got these results!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Famous Chef Dan!
Something exciting happened recently.
My father-in-law, Dan, is the head chef at an old farm that was turned into a beautiful banquet hall that does weddings and other events. A wedding that was scheduled back in September was for a couple who had signed up to be in an episode of the show "Four Weddings" on TLC. The show is about four different brides who each go to each others' weddings and rate them on 1) overall experience, 2) wedding gown, 3) venue and 4) food.
So, of course, Dan was having a conniption because he knew he was responsible for the food ratings for this wedding. He stressed about it for several weeks until the wedding took place, and then we had to wait another month before the episode aired on TV to find out the results (the owner of Dan's facility was the only person who knew beforehand if they won or not).
And... THEY DID WIN!
Not only did they win, they won mainly because of the FOOD! It was awesome. We all watched the episode (twice) and of course we weren't surprised - we know how amazing Dan's food is.
Here's an article from a local newspaper about it:
Wedding gets national audience
Pair compete for free trip on TLC show
By Emily Groves, Norwich Bulletin
Posted Oct 20, 2010
My father-in-law, Dan, is the head chef at an old farm that was turned into a beautiful banquet hall that does weddings and other events. A wedding that was scheduled back in September was for a couple who had signed up to be in an episode of the show "Four Weddings" on TLC. The show is about four different brides who each go to each others' weddings and rate them on 1) overall experience, 2) wedding gown, 3) venue and 4) food.
So, of course, Dan was having a conniption because he knew he was responsible for the food ratings for this wedding. He stressed about it for several weeks until the wedding took place, and then we had to wait another month before the episode aired on TV to find out the results (the owner of Dan's facility was the only person who knew beforehand if they won or not).
And... THEY DID WIN!
Not only did they win, they won mainly because of the FOOD! It was awesome. We all watched the episode (twice) and of course we weren't surprised - we know how amazing Dan's food is.
Here's an article from a local newspaper about it:
Wedding gets national audience
Pair compete for free trip on TLC show
By Emily Groves, Norwich Bulletin
Posted Oct 20, 2010
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