HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRAMMY!

     It seems like I'm always celebrating an anniversary or birthday on this blog. I hope you don't mind. Today I am wishing a posthumous happy birthday to my grandmother, Edna Fernald Porter.  She was an amazing lady. Those of you reading this who knew her will testify to that.  I have never met a nicer person in my life.  She was born on June 3, 1918 (or June 2, depending on which records you believe.) I go with what she told me, and that was June 3rd. 

     My grandmother lived a long life, but not an easy one. She was a private person, so I won't go into too many details. I'll just focus on my time with her, and what it meant to me.  Grammy was easygoing, sweet, generous and a great cook.  She was patient, tolerant of the bad times,and always made the best of things, looking on the bright side. I like to think I get my patience from her.

     I have many happy memories of my grandmother, too many to include here.  The best times were when we visited and were alone with her in the kitchen, eating lunch she made for us (when we were little) or lunch we made for her (when we were older) The "we" here is my sister. We took the bus to her house in the summer, and stayed all day. It was nice, even despite the bad soap opera she watched at 1:00.

     When she was younger, we all walked to Star Market, where she did a little food shopping. I think we must have stopped at Cottage Donuts too, I have a vague memory of eating a blueberry filled donut. Grammy loved her desserts! We were always having cake, cookies or pie when we were over her house.

     After the soap opera, we would go sit outside. We would walk up the street with her cocker spaniel. She had a weakness for cocker spaniels, too. She was also a cat lover, and several cats during her lifetime. Because of the money she donated to the various animal charities, she was set for life with calendars and address labels and note cards!

     I never go into the neighborhood where she used to live since she passed away. There's no longer a reason to go there.  Last year I did drive past her house on the way to a supermarket we rarely go to. It was strange seeing the house knowing different people live there. I wanted to knock, and go look inside to see if it was at all the same. That house had a certain smell to it, a feel to it.  Where they did renovations, I wonder if that is gone. I wonder if it left when she did.

     Not that it really matters. What does matter is that the people she left behind never forget her. And I guarantee you that will never happen! I will always remember her laugh and her smile, the tone of her voice and the way she said "hello?" when she answered the telephone. 

     Grammy was incredibly thoughtful. One of the earliest memories I have of her thoughtfulness was how when it was my sister's birthday, she had to bring a present for me, too. It seems I was a big crybaby, and got jealous of my sister when she got a present. OK, I was only three years old, but that's beside the point.  

     Another thing that made my grandmother special was how supportive she was, and how she always believed in me, even when I felt like a loser.  Just before she died, I had to take a demotion at work. It was devastating, and I wanted to tell her about it, but I was afraid of worrying her while she was sick. She was in and out of nursing homes and the hospital, and I didn't want her worrying about me. I was also trying to find another job, and hoped to have good news to tell her, and tell her the whole story then. 

     As it turned out, she passed away before I could tell her. I'm assuming she found out about it later, ("up there"). Grammy, I hope you understand. But I wish I had told you when it happened.  

     I don't have a lot of pictures of my Grammy. She was shy about that. I wish I had more of us together. I think there are only a couple-one when I was very young, and one at my sister's wedding.  So I'll just post the one you may have already seen. It's a good one.

Happy Birthday, Grammy! I hope they have cake and ice cream in Heaven!

Love,

Karin

     

     

Robin's Reign is Over

      

     I was saddened to hear of the passing of Robin Gibb, who most of you probably know was a member of the Bee Gees. It was bad enough I didn't even know he was sick, and heard he was in a coma and had made a marvelous comeback.  If you have only heard the Bee Gees from the disco era, please make an effort to listen to some of their early music. They were top notch, and I was a fan way before the disco era and the high pitched squealing that people associate with them. (Even worse, that Sargent Pepper movie they did with Peter Frampton- ill advised at best) 
    The original fans of the group never thought they were copying the Beatles (They were around before the Beatles, after all!) and loathed the notoriety they gained from the disco music and those white jumpsuits and  big hair, when their early music was clearly superior. I was only a kid when "Saturday Night Fever" came out, but was a seasoned Bee Gees fanatic since day one, or before, according to my Dad, since he played their albums constantly since before I was born.
     I could write pages about what the Bee Gees music means to me. Their music was not only beautiful to listen to with the harp, orchestra, and amazing harmonies, but the writing was great too. I don't hear it much anymore, since the record player started gathering dust. The sound on CDs is just not quite the same.
     I saw them in concert once, in 1988. They were very good, and I was surprised at how funny they were, naturally funny.  My Dad still tells me once in awhile about a concert they did outdoors in Boston, in a raging thunderstorm. They kept on playing, even with all their plugged in instruments, risking electrocution. And they sounded great. Wish I could have been there! 
     I generally don't idolize famous people, but in rare instances I do wish I could reach certain musicians to let them know how much their music means to me. Imagine the feeling of knowing how many people are positively affected by your voice, music or words. It's kind of creepy to think about.  It's sad to think that Barry Gibb is the only Brothers Gibb who is still alive- much like the Beach Boys losing Carl and Dennis, and leaving Brian Wilson all alone.  
     If there is any consolation,it is that the music lives on- I always think of that song by the Kinks, "Celluloid Heroes", except it's Vinyl Heroes! The music never dies.
With You Tube, we have almost any song at our fingertips, so I advise you to go there and listen to some early Bee Gees songs, or even "Stayin' Alive". For what it is, it's a good song too.
     Robin was only 62  years old, and died from cancer. He had recently completed a musical project with his son, Robin-John.It was about the Titanic, and I think they were raising money for families of people who lost  someone in that disaster, but I'm not sure about that.  I never even knew he had any children (he has four). 
    I am going to leave with a couple of clips-hope you like them.

   Robin, rest in peace. You will never be forgotten, nor your twin Maurice. I hope you have been reunited and  are working on a new song!
Karin

Happy Birthday, Blackie and Grace!

  Today is a special day, the anniversary of Blackie and Grace, two of my many kitties. They were born on this day in 1984. I was still a teenager, in the tenth grade, and the Celtics were well on their way to Championship #16.  

    We were not irresponsible pet owners, we had Foster, who was a pretty money cat, and stayed strictly indoors. I wasn't there, so I don't know who the father or fathers were, but I assume that Grace was Bigfoot's daughter. She was the spitting image of Bigfoot's mom Katie, who was a gray tiger with double paws. We had to bring her to the cat farm when she kept on killing birds. But that's beside the point. We were very surprised when we noticed Foster getting chubby. Before you know it, four lovely kittens were born. There was Grace, Blackie, who obviously was all black, an adorable pale orange tiger I named Max (Get Smart was on all the time back then), and Junior, who was a tortoise-shell like her mommy. They didn't get their names right away, of course.

      We ended up keeping Blackie and Grace, and found homes for Max and Junior.  I really wanted to keep Max, he was my favorite. But in retrospect, I have no regrets. Blackie and Grace were very special.   Blackie was a real character, and he had challenging behaviors at times. He was extremely sensitive, and sweet.  Grace was shy and feminine. Together we called them "The Cat Twins" even though they did not look alike.

      Blackie lived to age 15. He was an indoor cat all his life, except for the last year or two, we started to let him go outside, and he always stayed in the yard.  Grace outlived all the cats we ever had, living to be 19. She was the healthiest cat we ever had.

All my best pictures are in a photo album I can't get to right now, but here are some good ones, I'll just save the others for next year!

This is a poor quality image, but I wanted to include Blackie and Gracie's Mom,  Foster.

You can barely see Max, on left, Junior is under him, Grace is on the right, and Blackie . Not sure how old they are, but not long after their eyes opened.

Here is Blackie all grown up, circa 1986. Isn't he beautiful?

Here is Grace, in all her fluffy glory. You can't see it, but she had double paws like her Dad.

They spent a lot of time doing things together, especially naps.

She almost looks like a stuffed animal!

Is he smug or what?

Nap time again!

Blackie and Grace, I miss you! Happy Birthday!

Random thoughts for a May weekend

     It's another weekend, and I'm trying to squeeze in enough time to write the blog. I don't like to go longer than a week between posts. I get lots of ideas for articles, but if I don't write them down, I tend to forget.

     So, what's on my mind this weekend.....I'm a little worried about the Red Sox. Not that long ago, they were the darlings of the media and fans alike. Look at them now? They have been exposed as selfish, greedy, egotistical idiots. They have won two in a row, but their record is terrible, and they keep finding new ways to blow leads. I don't know how long Bobby Valentine is going to last, but he has his work cut out for him!
     Well, it's Sunday now, and for the first time in ages, I feel like I got the most out of myself. I actually accomplished something! I got up very early this morning (7:30, I must be crazy) and worked in the yard until noon. God knows there's plenty to do...I tried taming the wisteria vines, which is a 40 hour position once it gets out of control. I picked up a lot of dead leaves along the wall that goes down the driveway, and for some reason, a lot of soil has accumulated there. So I used a shovel to push it closer to the wall, and now I just need some ready to plant annuals to throw in the ground to make it look nice. I've lost my faith in seeds, they never seem to do well anymore. I always think there are flower seeds sprouting, but they turn out to be weeds! Not this year.  I do have some heavenly blue morning glory seeds, I do think I will take a chance on those if I can find them.  Lastly, I managed to plant about 50 daffodil bulbs, around our ornamental pool. If they all come up next year, it will be beautiful. I still have a few more to plant, along with some mini iris.
     I am really on a roll, I am so pleased that I took the time and trouble to make some chocolate chip cookies! I had recently bought some finely chopped macadamia nuts at Trader Joe's, but put off making the cookies. When I was finally ready on Saturday, I discovered that I was out of brown sugar. Lo and behold I checked the Internet because I remembered something about making your own. It's true, you can make homemade brown sugar by stirring one Tablespoon of molasses into one cup of sugar. Hot Dog! It smelled a little strong, but it was delicious. And so are the cookies.
    The McDonald's I used to frequent on a daily basis for coffee has been closed for several months as they tore down most of the building, and are doing it over.  It looks like it might be half completed. Makes you wonder what was wrong with the building. It's only been there since the 70's, the late 70's at that. Think of all the money they must make in a day. By the time they open again I wonder if I'll still have a taste for the soft serve sundaes and the Paul Newman organic coffee. I rarely bought any fries or burgers, I stuck to the dollar menu. Meanwhile, I have to be saving money. I can't stand Dunkin' Donuts coffee, it's awful, in my opinion. 
     It's Mother's Day, and I hope everybody had a wonderful day!

This is the area where I want to plant flowers.  You wouldn't believe how many worms are under there!

This is where I planted most of the daffodils.

Cindy had three rides this weekend. Here's a picture from earlier this spring.

This is an old picture of the wisteria when they were out of control,. I must say they are still beautiful.

Another shot of an intense vine. This guy is dead now.

This will give you an idea of what I'm up against. It's nowhere near this overgrown now,  but give it a week! I want to wait until the flowers bloom. They smell SO good!

I hope you had a nice weekend. My life is pretty trivial sometimes, but I enjoy it most of the time. At least I was home, and didn't think about work hardly at all!

     

Look out for the Super Moon Saturday Night!

     This is just a quick post to alert you of the Super Moon that will be rising at 7:38 EST tomorrow night, May 5, 2012. I had never heard of that before, which is hard to believe, but true. From the bit of research I did today, it happens about once a year when the moon is the closest to the Earth.  If you want to Google "Super Moon 2012" you can get all the technical details and see lots of cool photos from years past.

     I am going to try and get some decent photos. I really have to buy a tripod. It's maddening to try and get a picture of a distant planet like Jupiter when the camera doesn't stay still.  A couple of months ago the moon was huge coming up at dusk. But when I tried to get a clearer view by walking to the top of the hill , it got smaller!

     Even if you don't get any pictures, try and get outside to see it, if you have clear weather. Why not get a picture and send it to me so we can share them?  If I get any nice ones, I will post it. The moon is one of those things that I love to photograph. It's different every day. One time when I was vacationing in Maine, the moon was huge and bright red, over the ocean. I got pictures with my binocular camera, but unlucky for me, the batteries died before I could transfer the pictures. The ones in my regular camera were too tiny.  Below is a collage I made with Picassa- as you can see, I need to get some different shots.

As Jack Horkheimer used to say, "Keep looking up"!

    

Tonight It's Do or Die for my Bruins

     As I write this, the Boston Bruins are playing game 7 of their first round of the playoffs. There isn't much time left (about seven minutes) and the game is tied 1-1.  We just killed a power play, the only one the Caps have had all game, and Tim Thomas just made some amazing saves..Whoo, we almost had one, how did we miss?  It's all too nerve-wracking,  understandably, because it's do or die. 

     I have to watch the Red Sox or turn down the sound for stress relief--I don't know how I made it through this last year, when we actually won the Stanley Cup. I'm still pinching myself over that one. In all honesty, I will be very disappointed if they don't win, but they can't take last year away from us, and that alone would soften the blow for me.  I guess I'll have to put this down for a few minutes until the game is over. Now there's only three minutes left. I so want to get a goal soon. I am not looking forward to another sudden death overtime, even though it is very exciting.  Be back soon- we just got a power play, if we blow this.......

      I'm back, and the news isn't good. The Bruins LOST! I think I'm in a state of shock. They had won three game sevens en route to the Stanley Cup last year, so I guess we were due to lose one. This was a "historic" series because it was the first series ever where each game was decided by only one goal. The first few games were pretty ugly, with lots of chippy and dirty play. The refs were great tonight, but were questionable in many of their calls and non calls. We lost tonight because we could not capitalize on our opportunities. Overall, we had real trouble scoring, and the Caps had a pretty good rookie goalie. Give them credit.

     Competition is a theme I tend to analyze every year. Sometimes there is so much BS involved in trying to win a playoff series that I wonder if it's worth all the aggravation. It's only a game, after all, but for a so-called leisure pursuit, it brings with it stress, and for some people, anger or depression. And for the people that bet on games, financial gain or loss.  

     I am dealing with this very well. I have a lot of experience with losing, you see.  In recent years, the Boston sports teams have been winning a lot. But for the first 30 years I was a sports fan, the Celtics were the only team that were consistently winners. My Bruins were dear to my heart, even though they broke it every spring. 

     I guess because I was young and spirited, losing was really hard for me. I wanted to win soooo bad, that I was completely crushed when the Bruins tried so hard and always came up short. Usually there was some unfair call by the refs, or an unfortunate injury, or both. Or a goalie who liked to come way out the net.  1990 was really tough. We made it to the Finals, and I wanted the Championship so bad I could taste it. We played the Oilers, and we came up short. I was depressed for weeks. There was so many mixed emotions, being angry, sad, and proud of the team simultaneously. With all the soul-searching, I always remember saying that there was something to be said for non-competitive hobbies like music. It's just there, and it doesn't hurt you. It just gives you joy. The same with reading .  

     Anyway, I am still very proud of my Bruins. I will cherish the Stanley Cup they won last year, and will remember and re-live the way I felt being a champion for years to come. The reign is over, but that's OK. I can live with that.  It's only a game, and life goes on.........

Spring is in the Air-If Only I Could Bottle the Smell!

     Take a deep breath. Can you smell spring? It's the best smell there is, and it's intoxicating. I wish I could preserve it, get it in a bottle somehow. And when I need a lift in the dead of winter, I'd be able to open the bottle and unleash a gust of spring air into the room, bringing with it the promise of something better. 

     Isn't that what Spring is supposed to signify? A new beginning? New Life? A fresh start? I guess the reason spring is so special to me is because it comes when we really need it, after months of looking at leafless trees, cloudy dreary skies, and usually, cold weather. A sprig of grass or even a dandelion is enough to bring a whisper of hope that the season will change, and warm weather and the sound of singing birds will soon fill the air.

     I didn't mean to sound so dramatic about it, but it is surprising how a change like this can improve one's mood or even their whole outlook on life. In plain English, spring makes me happy, and I embrace it!

   To elaborate more on the smell of spring, I have been extremely lucky. I have lived in the same house for just about my entire life. In almost all those years, we've had cherry, pear and an ornamental flower tree in the yard. They all blossom in the spring, and the scent is just heavenly! If you sit in the yard, or if you're upstairs in the house and the windows are open, the aroma of these blossoms wafts by often, and it's so pretty, so sweet, and lovely. I should add that the trees themselves are also pretty to look at.

    Time marches on, and the cherry trees have died, and in the past two summers we have been forced to cut them down. It took us a long time to cut them down, because it was like losing a friend, or putting a pet to sleep, almost. It had to be done, kind of like a mercy killing. The yard is still fragrant with the flower tree. Unfortunately, it grew up so much and we pruned the branches to where we can no longer reach them. I would always pull a branch down to nose level and inhale. I'd also bring cuttings to my grandmother. She always appreciated it. 

     I almost forgot to mention my lilac bushes. Lilacs seem to transcend time, the smell of lilacs transports me to every other spring since I was very young. It's one of the best fragrances ever, in my opinion.  Our lilac is strategically placed adjacent to where we sit in the front walk. So we can look at and smell the blossoms. I wish I had more!

     Another nice thing about flower blossoms is what happens when the petals fall off. I hate to see them go, but what a pretty way to do it! They fly through the air as if they were a snow flurry. And they land on the ground, drifting into piles much like snow would. Except did you ever see pink snow?

This "pink snow" is from where I work, the grounds at Avery Manor. This shot was taken last spring.

This was an interesting shot I got last spring from our faltering pear tree. It  is dying, but we haven't cut it yet. The birds use this tree a lot.  Anyway, it bloomed very well last year, even though it didn't produce any fruit-it didn't have a chance, the squirrels eat the little pears before they could grow up.  This is the very top of the tree.

This is the ornamental flower tree, before it went into full bloom. I have to scan older pictures to show you of what it used to look like.

I was thrilled when I saw how this picture came out- it's my lilac blossoms before they opened up.  Don't they remind  you of tiny little grapes?! I took this picture in 2006. I have tried unsuccessfully to get similar shots, but haven't had anything near as pretty as this one.

The cherry trees are gone (except for the stumps, of course) but they will live forever in this shot.

     There is much more that I could say about spring, but I'll save it for a future post. I'll leave you now with a reminder to stop and smell not only the roses, but any other flowers you happen to pass by! Even with spring allergies that I never encountered until recently, it's worth it.

Sincerely,

Karin