| Barbara 的个人资料Barb's Blog照片日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
|
|
2009/11/24 Suddenly it looks like winter We had weather in the mid-50s over the weekend. What a teaser that turned out to be. It looks very frosty out there right now, and I have a feeling my yard work is over for the year. I did manage to fill the yard-waste can one last time on Saturday. Perfect timing, as last pickup is this week. I even planted a few more daffodils, some of those really big ones (King Alfred??) so I can see them across the yard.
My Christmas shopping is well under way. This is a far cry from those years when I had it completed by the end of August. When I worked full time, I was an efficiency machine. Now, not so much. Ok, ok, not at all. I decided a month ago what I wanted to give sister Bertie for her BIG birthday on Dec. 2, but have I bought it yet? Sigh, no. Now I hope I can find it in time.
Cheryl's houseguests arrive today for the T-day weekend, so we will not be walking. Consequently, I am still in my pjs, and it's almost 9:00 a.m. I do have some errands to run, so will eventually get myself together. I have a good book, though, and a nice fresh pot of coffee............you see where that's going.
Have you read the books, "The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith? I love the series of them and was thrilled that HBO made them into a tv series last year. I don't have HBO, so have waited patiently for them to come out on video. They have; our library bought the set; and I watched the whole 451 minutes of it over the last three days. It's charming. If you're looking for a way to wile away some snowy afternoons, I recommend them.
2009/11/20 What's going on First...a huge thank you to Lois, my dear friend back home, who has been running all over the place helping me locate and obtain documents for Christina. Since I can't be in two places at once, Lois has jumped in. And she is good at this, innovative and tireless. Lois would have made a good detective! (If you're looking for a second career, Lois, that's the one.)
I am now tracking down information about our home town in Italy; mostly how to get information out of them. To whom do I write, etc. The most informative sites are, of course, written in Italian, a language which I do not speak. :( Daddy would not allow it in our home, having faced the discrimination of coming from an Italian-speaking home when he went to school. Therefore, the only words we heard in Italian were swear words that just popped out if Daddy, say, hit his thumb with a hammer. These are probably not the words that will help me get birth certificates from Italy.
Are you getting the idea that my life these days is one long genealogy search? If so, how right you are. As part of that, I had written to my cousin Chickie's wife, Teresa. She had done Ellis Island research some years ago and found the ship manifest for each time Grandpa came over. That is how I know what town we are from. Anyway, I was hoping for a letter from her; I got something better: a phone call! It was lovely to chat with her last night, although she did not have any birth certificates I need. The last time I saw her and Chick was when mother died three years ago, so we had a lot of catching up to do.
Yesterday, while others were doing my work for me (how Tom Sawyer-ish of me, tsk, tsk) I was in Chicago hitting the American Girl Store for Aurelia's holiday outfit. Only I didnt find one. They are still selling that same dress I bought for her last year. And hers still fits her, so that's that. I did buy some winter p.j.s for her and her doll, Edna. Aurelia has long preferred nightgowns, or sleep dresses, as she calls them. So imagine my surprise to see on Skpe the other day that she was wearing pajamas. Di told me very quickly that Aurelia was wearing 'house pants' just like momma and pappa do. LOL No pajamas in sight. This didn't surprise me as much as it might have, because I was there when Aurelia showed up one morning in leggings under a skirt. She had previously refused to wear leggings, slacks, tights, et al, so I was curious how Di had gotten her into them. Here's how: Di told A that they were NOT leggings, they were 'skirt pants." LOL I love it. Just gotta speak the language, right?
I digress. Wasn't I chatting about the trip to Chicago? It was a little chillier and rainier than we had anticipated, so instead of wandering around Michigan Avenue, we went to the Walnut Room at Macy's (formerly Marshall Fields). Their Christmas tree was up already and we had a wonderful lunch in this elegant turn-of-the-century (last century) room. We caught the 2:30 train home and what a surprise...it was a double decker! A first for me, and apparently for the Southshore line, as it was a brand new car. We, of course, sat upstairs. Usually one can't see much from the windows, what with all the low trees and shrubbery, but from upstairs it was a whole new world. To cap off our day, we stopped at Grand Mere for dinner on the way to our homes.
2009/11/17 Happy birthday, Aurelia Our girl is four today! We chat often in Skype, which I love. So much better to be able to see each other while we talk. Her present from her parents is tickets to the new Disney movie, "The Princess and the Frog." It is being shown in that fancy-schmanzy new Disney theater in LA, and lots of princesses will be in attendance. I'm sure all the little girls will be in costume. How special can one movie get? Aurelia will have a wonderful time.
Speaking of birthdays, yesterday was my friend Jane's. We went to the Boulevard in downtown St. Joe and had a wonderful meal. The special was Ahi tuna with miso sauce on a bed of fried spinach. FRIED SPINACH?? Sounds weird but is, in fact, delicious. This is not a breaded vegetable, merely a nicely crisped version of spinach. It was a delightful surprise.
On the home front, I am still tracking documents for Christina. Hopefully, some of them will start arriving in my mailbox this week. This is frustrating work. I am now working on Census reports and naturalization documentation. Yikes. I'm back in school---and a big paper is due!! 2009/11/14 Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones We, my friends and I, are at that age where we worry about osteoporosis. So it was with great interest that I read an article in this morning's NY TImes on the subject. I've lifted the interesting paragraph from it for you:
"In the meantime, the current state-of-the-science message about exercise and bone building may be that, silly as it sounds, the best exercise is to simply jump up and down, for as long as the downstairs neighbor will tolerate. “Jumping is great, if your bones are strong enough to begin with,” Dr. Barry says. “You probably don’t need to do a lot either.” (If you have any history of fractures or a family history of osteoporosis, check with a physician before jumping.) In studies in Japan, having mice jump up and land 40 times during a week increased their bone density significantly after 24 weeks, a gain they maintained by hopping up and down only about 20 or 30 times each week after that."
So, let's get hopping! 2009/11/12 I hate paperwork I am still working on the process of helping Christina document her lineage back to my grandfather. It is slow going, as I have to send away for everything, and let me tell you, some Town/City clerks are easier to work with than others. And of course it costs money for each certificate. And time to compose letters, get copies of my i.d., have my request letters notarized. What we do for our children!
Some fun: Aurelia has Skyped me twice in last week; I love the video phone calls, and we do have some lovely conversations. Yesterday, she played her CD of "Harry and The Lady Next Door" over the computer, or at least part of it. We talked about how loud that lady sings, and then we sang....LOUD!! What a hoot. The hard part about those calls was that during both of them Aurelia said she wanted me to be there in her house with her. Of course, I had to say I can't come right now. And we reviewed again the list I had made for her of all the things that will happen in her life before I am again in LA. She has crossed off 'Halloween,'....can't learn the joy of lists too soon!
Today the sprinkler guys are FINALLY coming to winterize the system. We had a heavy frost this morning, so this isn't a minute too soon. I've raked some more, and some more, and some more. The yard waste guys emptied the can yesterday, and it's full again already. Most of the leaves are down from the trees now, so there is an end in sight for that chore.
Jane is coming here for lunch today, as I need to stay home for the sprinkler guys. Other than that, it's life as usual, and what a good life it is. I am so grateful.
2009/11/8 Indian Summer Can we still say that? The folklore surrounding the story of Indian summer....all those campfires making it warm again....is charming, even if the term itself is no longer politically correct. Whatever you call it, these unusually warm days so late in the season are lovely. And yesterday was one of them, seventy-degrees and sunny!
You probably think I was ouside most of the day to enjoy it....? HA Instead Joyce and I went to not just one, but two craft fairs, grabbing lunch at one of them. We ran into various people we know, so it turned out to be quite a social day. Fun in its way. I did not buy anything except cookies from the cookie walk at one church. Voila! My holiday baking is done. Hopefully, I won't eat all those cookies and then have to go find some more. You know me and cookies.
I am spending a lot of time each day looking for documents Christina needs, like my father's birth certificate. I know i had it, but have no idea where it is. I've been going through files one paper at a time, and that is taking soooo much time. When I have accumulated a bunch of really out-of-date papers, I shred them. Ultimately, whether or not I find it, my files will be in much better shape. In the meantime, the floor of my home office is covered in piles of papers: sorted/ready to shredded; ready to be sorted; sorted and ok to just put in a wastepaper basket. You see how that's going. It's slow; it's tedious; I don't like it much; but I keep reminding myself what a favor I'm doing for my future heirs. Won't they be happy not to have this chore??
My wonderful neighbor Ray swept my lawn two days ago. It was covered with leaves from his trees, as I don't have any big trees out front. Nevertheless, I usually deal with them myself, so it was very nice to look out and see it was done. I brought him a box of candy as a thank-you, as Ray has a sweet tooth as bad as mine.
Today I am going to dye some light curtains that hang in the guest room. Everything in there is dark and peaceful except these white curtains. I shopped for new ones, but they were all either too long or too expensive, so I figured I'd try a little Rit dye. Nothing ventured....! Other than that, it will be a quiet day; some phone calls to make, some chores to do. I'm looking out the window as I type and can hardly see the world through the fog. So it's a perfect day to stay in.
2009/11/5 It's always something Gilda Radnor, in her alter-ego state of Rosanna-danna, so famously said, "It's always something!" And she was so, so right. Anyone with children and grandchildren knows just what I mean. Is this the real reason we retire? Nothing to do with age; nothing to do with being sick of working? Our families need us. It's a good feeing, but sometimes, well......hmmm; can't think of just the right word here, so I'll stick with 'interesting.'
Anyway, I am now on the search for materials to prove that my grandfather was born in Italy, never became a U.S. citizen, my father was born to him and my grandmother. Because the grands remained citizens of Italy, we all, the decendents, qualify for Italian passports. Wow! Who knew? In the normal course of life, this wouldn't really matter to me. Suddenly it does, not for me personally, but for Christina, whose work Visa was denied in France. If she can get an Italian passport, she can stay in Europe as long as she likes because of the EU agreements. As it is, there are severe limitations on how long she can be in France, and those plane tickets back and forth to NYC are killing her. Since she works in Paris, this is a royal pain. So wish us luck!!
Now about those Yankees: HOORAY! What an exciting series; I loved watching it; loved the quality of play. My only 'but' is for the spitting. Honestly, you'd think the team names were Camels and Cobras. Do they not know how disgusting they look doing this? Maybe they know but don't care? Does it somehow relax them, all that chewing and spit, spit, spitting? Yuck. Putting that aside, it was wonderful to see the Yankees win their 27th title. Way to go, guys.
2009/11/1 Trick or TreatTrick or treat, smell my feet;
Give me something good to eat!
Thus ran our favorite ditty from childhood. Not one of the goblins at my door last night uttered this rudeness....and every single one of them said "thank you"! Ah, these polite mid-westerners. And for a change, they were all in costume. Usually I get at least one bunch of teens just dressed as themselves or, as they tell me if questioned, dressed like their best friend. haha
My favorite was a little girl, probably four or five years old, wearing a bridal gown. I said, "You're beautiful." She replied, "I'm a wedding." If wedding = joy, then yes she was. In all, about sixty showed up; I had enough candy, and have just thrown out the leftovers. No temptation in this house, thank you very much.
In other matters, YANKEES!!!! The first game was a heart-breaker; 2nd, a relief; but now, with number three successfully put away, there is hope. And what a game that was last night. I am not big on watching sports, especially on t.v., but my heart has always belonged to the Yankees. Back at the old Coeymans School, we were released from our classes to sit in the gym and watch the Yankees during the series. There's just no team like them. There wasn't in the 1950s, and there isn't now.
Yesterday Cheryl and her mom; Joyce and I went to see "Amelia." Hilary Swank does a good job portraying the aviator, and in general, I liked the movie. I hadn't known much about Earhart's personal life and am not sure how accurate the movie was, but it was interesting nontheless. The 3-D Scrooge remake begins November 6 (?); well, early November anyway. I am eager to see it, to my surprise. How many variations of this story have we already seen?? But that 3-D preview in LA has whetted my appetite, so I'll be running out to the theater for this one.
In other non-news, I finally made it to the grocery store for a full shop. Having nibbled my way through the week, not to mention having eaten way too many meals out, I decided it was time to regain control of my intake. I did laundry on Saturday, in keeping with my new policy of using electricity as little as possible during peak hours, which are weekdays 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. It is less per kilowatt to use it before or after those hours and all weekend. Since my washer and dryer are fifteen years old, you know how energy efficient they are...NOT. I do this partly to keep my bill as low as possible; partly to be a good steward of resources.
2009/10/29 1929This is the 80th anniversary of the stock market crash that started the Great Depression in the U.S.A. It was a momentous year in other ways, too.
1929:
Yikes to that last one; hope the Yankees will win this World Series, although they sure got off to a lousy start! As to the rest; the world is in turmoil..so what's new? This is almost twenty years before the Jewish State of Israel was formed; yet, the strife reads much the same as now. Discouuraging. Certainly big excitement in the movies with the arrival of 'talkies." I sometimes watch a silent movie on the class movie channel. This is a good thing to do, as it forces one to be attentive every minute....no running off for a snack or reading a few pages of the novel at hand. If you fail to read a frame, you're lost! lol As always, the literature and art last and last. I have noted this in every 'history' blog I've written. Isn't it reassuring? Even in the midst of chaos, great works are produced. We know this year marked the beginning of the Great Depression; that Hitler was poising Germany for WWII; so it is with dread that I even looked at this page in my wonderful history book, "The Timetables of History," by Bernard Grun. If you don't have this book, I can't urge you strongly enough to buy it.
2009/10/26 Happy birthday, Christina Christina is 32 today. Wow! How can she be so old already??? Today she is in New York City; tomorrow she will be in London; next week back to Paris, I think..possibly back to NY. Her company is very, very busy shooting all the designers' collections. Long days, many hours, relentless work. By December they will be done with it all and get a break. Gosh, I'm glad I no longer work!!!
Anyway, I am so proud of what Christina is accomplishing and the exciting life she lives. So, to you, daughter-mine: the very happiest of birthdays!! 2009/10/25 HomeHere I am, back in Michigan, exhausted, and a bit groggy from sleeping until 8:45. Southwest provided an on-time flight home, as they reliably do. I waited 45 mintues at Midway for the bus to Michigan City; Noel picked me up there and we had a wonderful dinner together on the way home. This particular daughter is one I am not accustomed to being away from for almost five weeks, so we had a lot of catching up to do. When I finally got to my house, it was a little after 9:00 p.m. Not bad, and really, there is no reason for me to be so tired, but .... well, a couple of cups of coffee will perk me right up. Of course, there is no food in the house, so I'll be running to the store very soon. But there is coffee, and the milk and creamer that Pam and Geoff left when they were here last week have not expired, so I'm set for a few hours.
It was a busy last week in LA: final opera class (wonderful!); lunch with Ellin at Hoboken, a restaurant on Westwood Blvd. we both like; dinner with Shuli and Menachem at a Thai restaurant; and as much play time with Aurelia as we could squeeze in. Overall, the visit was wonderful; and yet, it feels so good to be home.
ps I have learned that I spelled Steve Carell's name wrong in that last blog..only one 'r'...oops. 2009/10/21 One last "Hollywood" adventureOn Monday I headed down to the Mystery Bookstore on Broxton in Westood only to find the street blocked off to cars and cameras set up everywhere. Hmmmm. I asked a bystander who was wearing a wireset what was going on. He said they were getting ready to shoot a scene from the new Steve Carrell movie!! I chatted with the set nurse, the security guards, and the hair stylist. Collectively, they told me a lot about the process. And no one minded in the least that I just hung around for two hours watching. Steve Carrell walked within six inches of me to get to his seat when they were finally ready for him. I, of course, did not notice . The security guard, observing this, tapped my arm and said that the star was sitting about two feet from me. Very exciting. Steve walked by me again later, on his way to get a pop can from the cooler. I was caught up in my own thoughts and didn't notice him again, until he smiled at me. LOL One might have expected me to be paying closer attention. Well, only somone who doesn't know me would expect that. The rest of you would be surprised if i DID notice my surroundings.
The surprising thing about this 'shoot' was that it took two hours to set up for a 20 second take. The lights, etc. have to be just right...and exactly the way they had been when the other parts of this scene had been shot. It looks like tedious work to me; yet another reason to be glad not to be a movie star. Steve knows his craft, however, and only had to do his bit five times until the director was satisfied. Anyway, it was a fun experience, and one I'm not likely to have in Michigan.
Today is my last class about opera, then I have a lunch and a dinner set up with friends on Thursday and Friday. Aurelia and I have been talking about my imminent departure. She has announced she will come with me. Oh dear. At breakfast today we talked about how much I love her, not just when I am with her, but even when I am far away. Our parting will be difficult..again, but that is the reality of our lives and there's no denying it. 2009/10/19 Mattel Party on the PierOn Saturday, we had the privilege of being invited to the Mattel Party on the Pier (in Santa Monica). This is a very important fund-raiser for Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA. The Santa Monica Pier reminds me a lot of the Altamont Fair in Albany County, N.Y. as it was in the 1950s. Rides, booths of games, food. We had ride passes, so Aurelia and her friend Garrett rode and rode and rode. That left Grammy free to play the games. I'm no better at them now than I was back when, but everyone won everytime at these games. PLUS, and this is the biggie: Mattell had replaced all the prizes with their own toys. You should see the wonderful toys I won!! Aurelia, Diana, and I sorted through them once we were home. Aurelia kept three; the rest will be donated to the toy closet at their temple for distribution to the needy.
The main fund-rasiing event was a silent auction with some amazing items. The auction raised about $600,000. Larry King and his wife were among the celebrity sponsors, and it was fun to see them in person. There were quite a few famous people there, just mingling in with the rest of us and a lot of media folks with cameras. So, a big, big deal...and how lucky we were to be able to attend. Our thanks to Di's friend Deidre for the tickets. 2009/10/17 Ok, they do movies better out here The movie we saw this morning, "Tinker Bell's Treasure," was, well, a movie. But the movie experience: WOW! They really do do it better in LA. The movie was shown at El Capitan Theater. This is one of the very old, ornate theaters in Hollywood, right in the middle of the walk of fame..you know, the sidewalk with all the stars on it. Ron Howard's star, in fact, was right outside the box office. Inside, the theater is gorgeous, and the "Mighty Wurlitzer" was being played by an excellent organist. Just before the movie started, the curtain lit up showing an enormous peacock. The curtain was raised...and out came Tinker Bell, live and dancing. I hadn't realized she was Celtic, but probably I should have guessed from the green outfit. At any rate, she did some Irish step dancing to Celtic music. We had all been issued 3-D glasses on the way in for the previews. I haven't seen a 3-D movie since the '50s, but I think I may try one. Snowflakes seemed to be falling right on us, way out there in the theater. Magical. Most of the little girls in attendance were wearing Tinker Bell costumes, or at least were dressed like fairies, as was our girl. Altogether, a most enjoyable morning, to my shock and delight. 2009/10/16 Entering the last week of my visitOnly one week more in my LA visit.; one more opera class to attend; seven more breakfasts with Aurelia; and then I'm off to Michigan. It's warm again out here, so I'll be out walking again.
Then, tomorrow we are going to a movie in the morning, and I'll be babysitting at night while Di and Dave attend the opera..."Sigfried," I think.
On Sunday, Aurelia and I will take the bus to the Santa Monica Library to return some videos. And so on with the little things that make our time together fun. 2009/10/13 Quiet on the western front All is quiet in LA. While Aurelia was in school yesterday, Di and I went to LACMA, the LA art museum. We had hope to see the Pompeii exhibit, but it had ended last week. Darn. We just wandered around this beautiful building instead, taking in the Japanese exhibit first, then the Korean. The new entrance to the building is interesting. One walks by a sculpture of old street lights. There are probably 100 of them, in nice neat rows, tallest in the middle. I'd like to see it at night all ablaze. Today there is nothing on my schedule. I may just read, but probably will run down to the mall and try one more time for a decent pair of black slacks that fit well. The sales tax out here is 9%, so it's actually better for me to shop at home where it's only 6%. I'm starting to get a little homesick. I annoy myself with that because I really like being out here, especially to have the time with Aurelia, who grows and changes right before my eyes. But then, I have family in MI, too, and so many friends. It's a bit schizophrenic, this living two separate lives. In some ways it's nice, in that I get to have a wider range of experiences, but there is a certain fracturing quality to it, too. Some people are just never satisfied!!! But I do try to be, making daily mental adjustments, giving myself constant reminders that we set our mood and our quality of life depends upon that. Aurelia and I had a large breakfast together today: oatmeal AND Rice Krispies, yogurt, toast, and an apple. Then we raced upstairs to play with the little puppet theater. This is actually a book, "Fairy Tale Theater, which has small puppets on sticks and pages that pop up into small theaters. There are three storeis, "Three Little Pigs," "Cinderella," and "Little Red Riding Hood." We take turns being the various characters and have great fun. 2009/10/11 Visiting Seal Beach On Saturday, Diana, Dave, Aurelia and I drove down to Long Beach for lunch with Annie, Todd, AJ, and Kara, the last of whom is Aurelia's special same-age friend. Tom and Barb (Annie's mom) were there, too. Annie prepared a wonderful lunch, and we were able to see their beautiful new house, so that was very enjoyable. Afterwards I went to Tom and Barb's home a few miles away in Seal Beach. This is a delightful, somewhat old-fashioned beach town. They live just one block from the business district with all the cute little shops and restaurants, so we walked down for dinner and then again for breakfast, because yes, I spent the night. This was a special treat as I had thought once Barb moved away, I might not be able to see her again. Turns out that Seal Beach is only about an hour's drive, sometimes less. That's not so bad at all. Barbara has some health issues, so moving to Orange County where her mother and siblings live, plus two of her three daughters; five of the grandchildren is a thrill for her. She just wants to be surrounded by family, by those who love her most, and the move was with this in mind. It was an intensely social time for two days, so I was exhausted when I got back to LA. Aurelia therapy was just what I needed...and found in the form of a church carnival just down the street. We had a great time on the rides; finished off with a snow cone, and made it home just as darkness settled in. I feel totally refreshed. 2009/10/8 Day sixteenToday is day 16 of my visit, and that's the half-way mark. It's flown by. Yesterday's opera class was about tenors. Mr. Schub played a recording of Caruso from 1903, which is the year Caruso made his debut in America. What a powerful and beautiful voice. Apparently, before Caruso, tenors sang more in falsetto for the high notes. Caruso changed all that, and tenors as a group have never looked back. Aurelia is back to school, although she still has a little bit of a cough. We have plans to watch a video after school. It is due back at the library today, so we'll return it afterwards. I'm preparing for my weekend in Seal Beach. Can't remember the last time I had a 'sleepover.' LOL My friends Pam and Geoff, who now live in NC, will be staying at my house for an indefinite period. One of their elderly friends just died and they are the people with power-of-attorney, so need to take care of everything. I like having my house used in my absence. Houses hate being empty. So this works out well for them and me. Noel reports that they are back home from their vacation in Williamsburg. I haven't heard all the details yet, but it sounds like they had a great time. Now that Noel is home-schooling, it's a lot easier to plan trips at times when sites are not so crowded. Today I went for a fairly long walk in Westwood Village, an area right next to the main UCLA campus. Then I was tired, so I hopped on a Big Blue Bus for the return trip. As if that were not lazy enough, I just woke up from a short nap! Yikes, how old am I ??? 2009/10/5 It's always something with kids Aurelia is still sick with a cold; Di kept her out of school today, and we missed the dinner Saturday night also. Di is still coughing,too. I am keeping my fingers crossed and using lots of disinfectant. Sigh. Anyway, tonight she (Di) and Dave are going out to dinner and I'm babysitting. Aurelia and I are planning to watch "Sleeping Beauty'........again! LOL Then she wants to play with puppets. Sounds like a plan to me. She took a long nap this afternoon, and since she rarely naps, I have a feeling bedtime will be much later than usual. Works for me....it's not like I have anything better to do! I walked around the neighborhood today for exercise, then stopped in the Mystery Book Store. They had a shelf of old books for only $2.00 each, so I bought a couple. These mysteries are quick reads, so I never seem to have enough books to last the whole visit. And I really can't buy that many new books, so this was a nice find. 2009/10/1 Busy daysI've had a couple of busy days. Yesterday was class #2, and we learned about the various soprano voices in opera. The instructor played many clips from operas, which is a perfect way to illustrate his points. He played a wonderful performance by Beverly Sills from the Ed Sullivan Show. I remember seeing that show, waaaay back when. What a gorgeous person, in every way. Tomorrow night we are all going to a party at some of Di's former neighbors'. I have met these people several times and enjoy their company immensely, so I'm looking forward to the evening with them.
|
|
|
