Playing with Emily

Hubby and I absolutely love it when we have Emily over to our house for a visit. We take out all the toys and things we have for her to play with and let her go to town. She was interested in colors being mixed together, so I dug out one of my favorite books from preschool teaching days and we had a cuddle while I read it to her. She's got such a beautiful face.....full of expression and a joi de vivre. We played some play-dough together.....a favorite activity at Memere and Pepere's house.

Pepere got into the act. He was allowed, by Emily, to play with the green play-dough.

And Memere got to use the pink.

Walk Against Cancer

In honor of my Mom, who passed away in January after a long battle with cancer, my family and friends will be joining me in the Making Strides Against Cancer Walkathon in October. As you can see from two years ago, we had a dedicated group of walkers who truly loved my Mom. Last year, although we all collected money, the weather was typhoon-ish, and my Mom was too sick to walk. A few dedicated grand-daughters walked in the horrible weather in her honor. As you can see, my Mom was a trooper. Right up until the end, she fought and struggled and didn't want to let the disease beat her.

This year, we have to the walk for her. And we want to make it worthwhile. If you can find it in your hear to donate even $1 I would appreciate it so very much. Just click on

I WANT TO DONATE

and make your donation today. You won't regret it.

Folk Festival

Hubby and I attended the Lowell Folk Festival yesterday. This is a huge annual weekend event. There is a lot of music. Not so much with the "Folk" though. We saw a belly dancer. We heard a bluegrass/jazz band from Texas that was very, very good. We saw a hip-hop group. We heard a Chinese band that sounded like a cat screaming. We heard some reggae. We went to see some friends play, and of course the place was behind schedule.....so we got to hear a young rock band first. Even our friends, who played accoustic guitars, were what I'd call "Folk Rock". Bottom line.....it was a wonderful day....hot and sunny. There were tons of tents with food, crafts, and junk for sale. We walked from one end of downtown Lowell to the other, enjoying the sights and smells and sounds. And then we spent about 45 minutes trying to find where we parked our car.

I am the mother of the Groom to Be!!

My second son, Nick, proposed to his girlfriend Kelly last night. I'm so excited and happy for them! They've been going out for about three years, living together for two. And boy, did Nick do it right! He got three dozen roses and set them up in the hallway of their condo, interspersed with candles. He said it was very romantic, although a bit unsafe as he set off the smoke detector! Luckily, it was before Kelly came home and he was able to present her with this romantic sight:

Three dozen roses for his bride-to-be, and a beautiful diamond engagement ring.

Congrats to my wonderful son and my wonderful future daughter-in-law!

Still so Hot

Yep...another heat wave for New England. It's so hard to believe last summer was cold and rainy. We've had nothing but heat this summer. Today we ended out going to Winnekinni Castle in Haverhill, MA to see the "Eve Rising Music Festival." It was the first year of what they're hoping will be an annual thing. All the musicians were women, and there was some serious talent there. They also had all kinds of booths with food, raffles, crafts, etc. It was very nice, and I think if they do it again next year it could get even bigger. ******************* The good news is....I think our car will finally get its inspection sticker. We have a rejection sticker on there now - we had to have $500 worth of work done to make the "check engine" light go out, and then had to drive it for 100 miles to make sure the light wouldn't go back on. We surpassed the 100 miles today and the light is off, so I'll swing by the garage in the morning and ask them to slap a sticker on that puppy. ******************* My uncle is here from Arizona, and he and my Dad are trying to find something to do tomorrow. They were originally planning on going to Boston, but it's going to be much too hot. I think they want something indoors, air-conditioned, and little walking. Any ideas? ******************* I'm almost afraid to go to work tomorrow. My mistakes at work last week caught up to me and I got written up on Friday for "carelessness". The mistakes I made cost the company some money. Now I'm going to be a complete wreck every time I have to do a money product. The good thing is......I'm not the kind of person that keeps making the same mistakes over and over again. I think I've developed some strategies to keep myself from making those same mistakes again. I'm sure, however, that I will figure out how to make some new mistakes.

Time for Mom

Today we had my Mom's funeral mass. When she died in January, she and my father had set up with the funeral home exactly what they wanted to do upon their deaths. They had said they wanted no muss, no fuss. They wanted to be cremated....a short, one-hour viewing, and that was it. No wakes, no big church service and no burial. My Dad had second thought as time went on, and decided he'd like to have a memorial mass said. So he contacted the church my parents sometimes attended and they were kind enough to set it all up. It was a little different having the service so long after my mom's death. But it was good. It gave everyone a chance to get together as a family and say thanks for having my Mom in our lives. My sister and my brother Steve and I were too chicken to try and deliver the eulogy. I just knew I'd get up there and blubber like a baby. But my brother John stepped up to the plate. And he delivered a very touching eulogy. He talked about how.....to an outsider.....it would seem that my Mom was an "ordinary" person. She was born to an ordinary family, went to school, got married, had kids, cared for her family.......and that was it. But to anyone who knew her, she was actually quite extra-ordinary. Because she loved....and was loved by.....everyone she met. She was funny, outgoing, loving, helpful, kind.....the list goes on and on. And we are all better people for having known her. I was thankful that John said the things he did. Because they were the exact things I wanted to say.....but couldn't. He said the words for all of us.....and I'm very grateful. The nice thing about today was that my Dad had a cookout afterwards. We all got together and ate and talked and laughed. We enjoyed our day the way my mother would have loved. And that was our tribute to her.

Tidbits

* Is it totally, nastilly wrong to feel so happy that the PITA in my office got a bad review? * I'm so happy that we've now gone TWO days in our office without an error! Can we make it three? * I had my son over tonight for his 30th birthday. How can I have a son who's 30 when I'm only 29? * Today would have been my mother's 72nd birthday. Her birthday didn't hit me as hard as Mother's Day did. Thank God. Although I did think of her and miss her all day. I hope she's in heaven singing and dancing for her birthday with her five sisters. * Hubby is well over his surgery and back to his happy, healthy self. Thank God. * I've given up on trying to get money out of the State of New Jersey. They've denied our claim....twice.....citing the fact that they had no prior knowledge of the uncovered sewer hole, and therefore are not responsible. At this point, I'd have to file in small claims court....in New Jersey. I'm thinking it's not worth it to drive into New Jersey (aka "The Armpit of America") just to try to claim $250. Although winning would taste sweet. * We just spent $500 on the aforementioned car to have it pass inspection. And there was nothing wrong with it. It ran fine. But the "check engine" light was on, and they have to do whatever they have to do to make it go off and stay off. And that cost $500.