Reconnecting

Mar 292013
 

It has been a very busy last couple of days.

And I’m tired.  But in a good way.  (Is that even possible?)

As usual when I drive down to my hometown, it becomes a whirlwind of activity, emotions and memories.  It’s sad that over the past few years the only reason that I’ve made that long trip has been to say goodbye to a relative, and perhaps it’s time to change that.

This particular trip was due to the passing of a wonderful man, my uncle Ken.  And while there were tons of good memories and stories passed around, there was also a reconnection to relatives and people that I hadn’t seen in over 20 years, some more than 30 I would estimate.

After I had booked my Motel room and completed all the pre-planning-take-time-off-work niceties, I decided that I would also take the opportunity to spend more time with one person in particular and perhaps begin a new relationship and connection with: my Dad.

We haven’t had a whole lot of communication since my Mom passed away nearly 14 years ago, but over the past couple of years I’ve noticed that we’ve both changed… gotten older… put certain “things” behind us.  Matured is a good word to throw in here.  Yes, that describes it exactly.

And you know what?  It. Was. Fantastic.  I don’t think I’ve seen my Dad smile that much in my whole life.  We talked for hours about anything and everything, and I even let him make me supper one night.  I forgot how great that man can cook!

And speaking of cooking, I brought home something very dear to me:

Recipes

This is approximately 3/4 of my Mom’s recipe collection, which I have special plans for.

So there was a lot of good things that came out of this last trip, and I have a feeling that I’ll be taking more trips in the future that have nothing to do with funerals, but with family.

And maybe I can get my Dad to cook for me again…

 

A Photo of Memories

Mar 242013
 

A few days ago I got an email from my oldest updating me on all the wonderful things happening in her new life in North Dakota, including but not limited to her husband’s new job and her returning to college this summer.  All good things that I needed to hear at that time and it made me happy to know that she’s making friends with the pheasants and horse whisperer’s that live in that area of the country.  (That is an inside joke that only her and a select group of people will understand, but needed to be mentioned because I need to amuse myself sometimes and give her a chuckle.)

She ended her correspondence with an inquiry that said (and I’m paraphrasing now) “I noticed that your lost post was on March 4th.  WTF?”

Yeah, well… hmmmm…..

There’s a reason for that and I’ll produce a very long, boring post explaining it all.  Soon.  I promise.

But then Saturday morning came around and I received a very disturbing phone call that broke my heart.

My Uncle, who was also my Godfather, who was also a second father to me, suddenly passed away.  To hear the sorrow in my father’s voice as he relayed the information to me was beyond heartbreaking.  If my youngest hadn’t been next to me at the time I think that I would have just dug a hole in the floor and crawled into it and not resurfaced for days.

But she was and I didn’t.  And both of my girls have been caring and loving, and giving me time to mourn, and I love them more than the sun and moon for it.

And it was just a few hours ago when everything was sinking in and tons of memories were flooding back to me about the wonderful times that I had with my Uncle that I remembered a photo that had been sitting on my desk for months.  A photo that was unearthed from I-don’t-remember-where but held a memory of how much time our families spent together when I was young.

And I looked at the photo and made a stinky-face at how dorky I looked when I was young, but I also saw how happy me and my cousins were on that day posing for my mom’s camera.  I knew then that I needed to send it to my cousin, my Uncle’s daughter, hoping that it would bring back some good memories to her too in her time of sorrow.

Because even though we were dealing with something so sad in our lives, we still needed to have something that brought back some good memories.  The OMG factor doesn’t hurt either.

Old Pic

Yeah, we rocked the 70’s fashion scene.

 

Cupid Strikes – UPDATE

Feb 142013
 

When I got home from work yesterday there was a box waiting by the door addressed to yours truly.  Now I knew that I had placed an order for the special mayo that we buy, but this was not a “mayo” box.

For one thing it was the wrong shape and weight.  Mayo boxes are rectangular and heavy.  This box was square and light.  (You never know what you’re going to learn when you visit this site, do ya! )

Not putting two and two together that Thursday was Valentine’s Day, I opened it expecting… well, I didn’t know what to expect really.

Package

Certainly not a big blue bag…

PJs

Which contained some toasty warm pajamas!  A nice 2-piece flannel set and a pink “Hoodie Footie” ensemble that when I got a full-length look at will make me look like a giant pink bunny.

I LOVED IT!!!

Card

Apparently my wonderful husband has noticed that the last pair of pajamas that he bought me 5 years ago are looking a little tattered, complete with holes in both knees and more in places that I won’t go into detail about.

I didn’t have as much of a creative mind as he did this year when it came to a gift, so I went with a reliable one that I’m sure he’ll like.

Present

I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate!!

Cupid sure knows how to make his presence known around our house!

UPDATE:  Cupid hit Rick really hard this year.  Not only did I get the most comfy pajamas on the planet, he showed up at my work with some of the best chocolates that are made in the area.

And if that wasn’t enough, a huge bouquet of roses, carnations and lilies in a beautiful red vase was delivered to the school!!

I’m.  Totally.  Speechless.

 

Two Completely Unrelated Subjects

Feb 072013
 

Now that January is finally behind us, I might start to get out of this funk I’m in.

As the one or two people who actually read this blog may have noticed, my posts have been a little scarce lately.  January was a bummer of a month, first with losing our baby girl Calie and then the bitter cold came for an unwelcome visit and wouldn’t leave.

It really tests a persons resolve.  But I don’t like tests, so instead I go on a mental vacation.

I’ve been immersing myself in my Kindle and baking, and of course spending lots of time with Thor.  He’s been my constant shadow the last few weeks, leaving my side only when absolutely necessary.

Heck, half of this post was typed with one hand while I cuddled him with the other.

But February is a month of transition to longer days and (hopefully) warmer weather, with the distinct possibility that we will get a butt load of snow.

And maybe by the time March rolls around I’ll get some creativity back, because that will be the month that I’ll get my seeds for the garden and can plan all the wonderful foodies that I can grow.

So thank you for baring with me, and if inspiration smacks me when I vacuum the living room or scrub the toilet I’ll greet it with a great big hug and refuse to let it go.

I may even bake it some doughnuts.

:::

In more exciting news, we have another granddaughter getting older by the minute.

Paige

Paige turns the big 11 today, getting oh-so-close to the teenage years.

Actually, I think that 11 is considered tween (please correct me if I’m wrong).

I don’t think we had the word “tween” when I was young.  But of course we didn’t have a lot of things when I was young.

I’ll save the rantings on that subject for another time.

So Happy Birthday Paige!  I hope that you have a beautiful day and the year ahead gives you many wonderful memories and adventures.

Grandma & Grandpa love you very much!!

 

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