violetismycolor

Blog, reinstated

I went to my book group this morning. I have been a part of this group for at least 15 years! Unbelievable! One of the things that being a part of this group does for me is that it stretches me, in terms of what I read and how I think. So many of the books that we have read would not even have been on my radar. The group is made up of such smart, interesting women. I get to share so much of their lives because, besides discussing the books (which we really do), we also share our stories.

This month's book was Michael Chabon's latest, Moonglow. The book is a cross between memoir and novel. Chabon's prose is always so rich and full of truly masterful metaphors. It is (ostensibly) the tale of his grandfather, a member of Operation Paperclip in WW2, husband of a mentally-ill European refugee, step-father to that woman's daugther, electrical engineer, rocket enthusiast, model builder, anger-management challenged ex-con, and more. The narrative is built by that grandfather telling stories of his life, not in a straight line but meanderingly, as he is dying and under the influence of serious pain-meds.

The way memories are kept and dispensed, the same way I try to eat Christmas treats, slowly and with true savor, was the key to this story. I read it in about 5 days and, when I put it down, I couldn't wait to dive back in. I haven't loved a Chabon book this much since Kavalier and Clay.

 

 

 

Other projects worked on this week include my A-line off-white cardigan, which I am knitting in Swan Island Yarn's Organic DK Washable Wool (color Natural). The yarn is a dream to work with. It is soft and has a lovely hand, and it knits up into a wonderful fabric. I have finished the fronts and the back and am currently knitting the two sleeves (at the same time, with 2 balls of yarn). This way the sleeves will match exactly, with the increases in the same places and the number of rows just the same. I hope to get down with that in the next week and then I will throw another project onto the needles. Stay tuned.

I am just starting a button-front, sleeveless shirt. I have sized the pattern to fit me and cut out the fabric. I will work on fitting adjustments this week and perfect the pattern. I intend to use this for a series of tops for the summer.

 

Ross turned 30 this week. We went out to Masu Sushi, which is owned by a friend of mine. It was our first time there, and all I can say is WOW! The food was amazing. Bonnie and Zerek, John and I, and Ross all just gorged on the delicious sushi and tempura. Ross celebrated with a drink called My Little Kitty, which was a berry puree based cocktail. Delicious! He let me try a sip and I agreed. Ross's favorite cake is Red Velvet, and though he is dieting, he made an exception for a Red Velvet birthday cupcake. We had loads of fun! Too bad Adam and Priya weren't with us!

We also went out to a Blazer game. Our bank treated us to great seats at the Moda Center. Bonnie and Zerek joined John and I and it was a blast. The Blazers were absolutely hot! The Chicago Bulls were terrible. The Bulls couldn't seem to land a basket of any sort in the first quarter and the Blazers couldn't miss one. They earned 50 points in the first quarter and it was a first for ANY franchise. We won, of course. A fun night out was had by all.

 

funny things Bonnie writes...

Bonnie is busy with her Law School applications.  She is very frustrated by the process by which the LSAC (the organization that submits all apps for you) is operated.  Can't say as I blame her...

So she has these funny/related comments on her Gchat:

Getting closer! I defy your diabolical antics, LSAC, by actually completing applications.

I think my month's salary is going to go to law school apps. Law school wants you to get used to bleeding money early on.

wedding and more...

   On Thursday, we flew to Boston to go to my nephew, Alex's, wedding.  I was invited to a Bride's Luncheon by the bride's mom.  It was a fun event at a restaurant on Harvard Square.  Nice and intimate, we go to visit alot and really relaxed with each other.

The next day was the wedding.  Boston was HOT and HUMID! But we managed to get through.  Adam and Ross looked incredibly handsome in their shirts and ties, but really didn't like all the dressing up required.  The reception was held at the same venue where John F Kennedy announced his decision to run for President.  How cool is that?

I love this photo that John took of Adam and Ross and I...well, except the the squidgy eyes that now show themselves in all of my photos...is this what getting old is all about?  Squidgy eyes?  Really?

It was so hot that they had Japanese fans for us in the pews.  Ross was using one even BEFORE the wedding.  The bride, Ashley, had spent a year in Japan in High School and her host family came all the way from Kyoto. 

Adam had cool green sunglasses (with checkerboard side rims).  All my men in one photo!  Too bad we were missing Bonnie.  And we did miss her.

 The groom wore a kilt, as any good Scottish descendent would, of course. 

The next day (today, Sunday), there was a wonderful brunch at Legal Seafood, on Harvard Square.  Adam and Ross sat at the kids' table.  Here they are with their cousin, Betsy...sister of the groom.  Don't Betsy and Ross look alike?

Betsy's boyfriend, Abraham, was such a doll.  Funny, handsome, and really charming!  They make a great couple.

John and his brother, Alan (father of the groom), don't get to see each other often.  So, it was a wonderful chance for them to catch-up.

John's mom, Jean, flew all the way across country with us.  She's 95 and she was so glad she came.

 

We left the brunch, dropped Adam and Ross at the airport and headed north to New Hampshire to spend a night on Lake Winnipesaukee.  As soon as we crossed the state line into New Hampshire, the rain started to fall...and has fallen (hard) for a good deal of the afternoon and evening. 

We visit our friends, Ray and Shannon, for the rest of our week in Vermont...starting tomorrow.  Oh, the mojitos are calling to me already!

Corvallis junket...

I drove to Corvallis on Friday to take Ross shopping.  He was going to attend a formal (!) dance last night.  And he needed...everything.

I brought him a shirt, a tie, a nice coat.  We went on a shoe-buying outing.  Everything for the stylish young man.

He was very nervous about the prospect.  He's not much on public social mixing.  But I can't wait to hear how it turned out.

I also love the city of Corvallis and its surroundings.

The post office is this gorgeous testament to public buildings of the past.  I'm not sure if you can tell from this photo but it has gargoyles and terra cotta decoration, brass lamps...gorgeous.

 

All around town, including in front of the Post Office, they have these cool waves with salmon sculptures.

 

And some cool restaurants.

And the countryside is lovely, with red barns and electric green fields.

 

I processed all these photos in Photoshop with Viveza film filters.  Aren't they fun?

Bonnie is so lucky...

This is the kind of cool thing Bonnie is going to see TODAY, as she in Hokkaido for the weekend for the Annual Snow Festival.  Wish I could be there!

backup to Christmas...

I didn't post anything over Christmas and I want to do a little documentation.  For posterity, maybe.

The one thing that the kids and I did together that made the biggest impact on everyone, was baking Christmas Cookies.  This is the recipe, from my Mom's 70 year-old Watkins Cookbook, that I used as I grew up.  And the recipe is entitled just that:  Christmas Cookies. 

I never have made them at any other time!  And I thought that I was NOT a rule follower!  Just for good measure, I think I will make some more for Valentine's Day...just to mix it up a little. 

Ha...take that, Watkins Company and all your Christmas Cookie rules!

I baked the Cookies, Ross and Adam decorated, and John just joined the party to eat some.  Documentary evidence here:

 

 

And of course, there was the opening of the presents.  Due to the snow, we went to my MIL's on Christmas Eve and opened some presents with her.  Doesn't she look lovely and happy opening her gifts?

She gave John a wonderful new World Atlas.  We are all MapGeeks in our family and the boys managed to wrestle it away from John so that they could pore over it. 

  At home the next morning, we all enjoyed opening gifts.  That grin on John's face is from the knowledge that what Adam gave him in this package was a bottle of Scotch.

Adam asked for this novel, 2666, that was actually three novels in a novel.  It was from Ross.

 

Ross got movies, Iron Man and The Dark Knight.  He is a Superhero afficianado.

I managed to snag some great stuff for photography from the boys.  I must say that I look tired!  How early was it?

 

Ross is back at school...

I took Ross to school yesterday,

and Ross had packed for himself...said that he was taking so much less because he realized he didn't need much when he was in Scotland.

so, we got to his dorm, unpacked his stuff

I took off for home and I am just leaving Corvallis when my phone rings

it's Ross

sheepishly, " I forgot something important"

What? I ask.

Bedding

So, I drive back and pick him up and we find the Bed Bath and Beyond in Corvallis

and buy him sheets, comforter, pillow, mattress pad.

 

Boys!

Adam is home!!!

 

Adam's drive home was long, but not snowy/icy/hard till he got to Salem.  The hour-long drive from there to here took him FIVE HOURS!!!

Seriously...

But he is home now and we are very happy for it.

Christmas, though...well, our church cancelled Christmas Eve services.  We won't be able to make it to my brother's home tomorrow and neither will anyone else in the family.  We are all hunkering down in our own houses, doing individual Christmases...now THAT is a first!

guys in ties...

Adam looked very handsome in his new tie.  It was unfortunate that he had to buy one for his grandfather's funeral, but there it is.  He was incredibly sweet the whole time he was here.  He hung out with John and I, and with all the other relatives.  He held my mother's hand as he walked her out of the graveyard.  This is an image that will stay with me forever.

My dad's funeral was yesterday and we are all doing well.  I sat with my mom and held her hand.  At one point, I felt an invisible arm come around my shoulder.  (That was great, Dad, to know that you were there with us.)

At the rosary the night before, I was the first to give a remembrance of my dad. I made everyone, myself included, cry. 

My mom is the one I worry about but we will all be there to help her.  The last of my out-of-town siblings will leave on Friday and then she will be alone.  After 56 years of marriage, this is going to be tough. 

The funeral was a long, traditional Catholic mass, complete with incense and all.  Adam asked me what the incense was actually for, but I didn't know the answer...said something like I thought it was some ancient purification ritual or something, I supposed.  My brother, Ted (the priest) officiated at the mass and gave a sermon on the resurrection of the body.  I am not a resurrection of the body believer, but okay, whatever. 

My lovely friends:  Irene, Heidi, Diane, Kris, and Evelyn (the Coffee Girls) all came to the funeral and reception and that meant so much to me.  Gosh, it's great to have good friends!

My sister, Marita, and her kids and their kids and spouses ALL came and stayed with me and that was chaotic and so cool. 

And YOU, all my bloggy friends, stopped by here and sent your love.  Thanks so much for that.

I'll miss my dad.

back from LaJolla...

Yesterday (Sunday) was our last day in La Jolla.  We met Adam and Priya after breakfast and played some tennis, which was a lot of fun and good for us, given we would be boarding a plane later.  We later had lunch and then just hung out, reading the paper, for the rest of the afternoon.

What a great time we had!  We will see Adam again at the beginning of November, when we go to my cousin's 25th wedding anniversary party.  Then, he will be home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I do look forward to having more time with him.

day four...La Jolla...

Torrey Pines State Park hike:

 

 

i luv skype...

  Just by accident, I was sitting at my computer at about 5 pm last night, when I noticed that Bonnie had signed on to AIM.  She sent me a message regarding a shirt she had forgotten to pack, we had a bit of a conversation and then it suddenly occurred to me. 

I could be talking to her, and seeing her, instead.  We have SKYPE. 

What's not to love?  FREE phone calls WITH video, to and from anywhere in the world.

So, we got on skype...she looked so cute, and happy, and Bonnie-like.  We 'chatted' while she ate some pineapple and yogurt for breakfast (it was 9 am on Saturday morning for her), while I cooked up some tacos for dinner. 

Then, when John got home from work, with his mom in tow, we grabbed Ross and then all sat around the table, with my laptop at the end of the table...and had dinner with Bonnie. 

It was awesome.

So much better than an email, where the message is short.  So much better than IM'ing, even though that is live.  It was almost like she was there, with us, regaling us with stories.  Fun.

I LUV SKYPE!

dead cows in Oregon forests?

Happy birthday, Bonnie  (yesterday).

Bonnie is doing really well in Japan...she seems so very happy there.  We spoke to her via Skype this morning for about an hour and she was tired (it was between 11 pm and midnight her time, and between 7 am and 8 am our time) but full of good stories with not a single BAD story. 

Here's HER blog post about her birthday, seems she met a Japanese gentleman with some ODD ideas about Oregon:

Our conversation was a mix of broken English and broken Japanese (he knew more English than I knew Japanese, though). For the most part we were able to communicate pretty well, except when we started to talk about Oregon. Now, one of the nice things is that in Japan everyone I've talked to knows Oregon--a pleasant change from Europe. But, apparently one of this guy's friends had been to Oregon back in high school, and either something got lost in translation or his friend made up a lot of BS.

First of all, the guy was under the impression that buffalo lived in the Oregon forest. NO, no buffalo live in Oregon. No buffalo live in forests. Then he thought that, oh, wild cows live in Oregon forests. NO, no wild cows. We have NO wild cows. Cows do NOT live in forests. And then, he apparently also thought that in the summer the forests must smell because of all the dead animals. What?!? I asked if it was maybe dead fish (the salmon spawn and then die on the river banks, and yes that DOES smell). But nope, not fish. Then we were both a bit confused and I said maybe his friend had lied.

To which, one of her friends replied: 

Okay, Bonnie, obviously you are not much of a biologist. Not only are there many wild cows wandering through Oregon's forests, but the forests of Oregon are frequently referred to as "Dead Cow Canopies." Cows climb to the tops of trees to die. Hence the stench every summer.

 

Seattle JET dropoff...

I drove Bonnie to Seattle on Friday morning.  She had an afternoon orientation, then dinner at the Japanese Consul of Seattle's home in the hills.  She said the speeches were boring but the view was fabulous.

While Bonnie was doing her JET-thing, I wandered down to Pike Place Market and took some pictures.  It was a gorgeous day and there were tons and tons of people there.  And lots of boats in the water.  Lovely.

Saturday was her day to fly.  We got to the airport and waited in line with the 50 or so JETs.  We had our traditional fancy-coffee-drinks-before-any-flight, and then she got in the security line and flew away.   Bonnie did e-mail us from Tokyo.   She got in fine, it's humid and hot, and she is going to explore the city a little.  So, all good.

visiting the grandparents...

Bonnie wanted to see my parents (Opa and Oma to her) before she leaves (LEAVES!) for Japan on Friday.  So, off we drove down beautiful I-5 to Woodburn for a wee visit.  The visit was nice...my dad is doing decently well...and then we hit the outlet mall for some 'business attire' for Bonnie to wear for her new teaching job Takashima.  There is an Ann Taylor outlet store there and the prices were half of the store cost.  Great mix and match clothes were to be had and we bought some great outfits for her.  

Can't believe she's going to be gone in only 4 days!  

cellphone deaths are up...

Yesterday, Ross sent me an instant message saying that he had washed his pants, without checking his pockets.  And, oops, his cellphone was washed and is ruined!

Today, Adam called to report that he had washed his pants without checking his pockets...and his cellphone was in it.

Is there some weird virus attacking the brains of my sons?  And was Bonnie infected when both of her brothers were here last weekend?  Will her cellphone be next?

Scary!

weekend revisited...

We really enjoyed having Adam and Priya here this weekend.  They, and Bonnie, drove Ross back to Corvallis on Monday...stopping along the way to visit my parents.  Their Oma and Opa just loved the visit, too, though my dad said he barely recognized Adam with the beard.  I think he looks very cute, myself.   

We did lots of eating and hanging out, and Adam and Priya spent a fair amount of time going to all his favorite parts of the city.  We were sorry to see them go on Tuesday morning, but there you are.

  

meeting Priya...

After spending the week getting the wrecked house in order after 'the construction', Adam and his girlfriend, Priya, arrived this morning from San Diego. 

John and I picked them up at the airport.  Hallelujah, the sun was shining and Portland looked lovely.  We met Bonnie and Ross at a local Mexican restaurant and all had lunch together.  We were probably a bit overwhelming for poor Priya, all talking (loudly) and joking and trying to be heard.  She could barely get a word in, edgewise.

Adam took Priya to the Rose Garden, which apparently had about 3 roses blooming.  Damn you, cold spring weather!  But then they went to the Japanese Garden next door and really enjoyed it. 

Tonight, we had my MIL over for a BBQ.  The weather had stayed nice and John did his special recipe bbq chicken.  I made my potato salad.  Priya shucked corn for the first time in her life.  We had corn on the cob and watermelon and it was all delicious and relaxed. 

Now, Adam and Priya have gone off to the Kennedy School to meet some of Adam's Willamette friends.  I told Adam to take Priya to the Detention Bar...she joked that she had never been in detention and it would be a first.  The sky is now thundering and raining and giving a good show. 

day by day, monday may 20...

Travel by plane...enough said!

day by day: sunday, may 18...

Sunday morning was gray and John headed to Syracuse with the car to get it exchanged for a new one.  The flat tire took up the entire trunk and there would be no room for our luggage with that there. Bonnie and I got ready for her graduation. 

The day was cool (about 45 degrees) and rainy.  What was Colgate thinking, allowing a 3-hour graduation to go ahead outside in the rain?  I saw grannies and grandpas being wheeled around getting soaked.  How many grandparents have to get pneumonia for Colgate to start caring about the folks watching the graduation, much less the poor seniors sitting there getting absolutely soaked?

We were very proud of our girl, however. 

We went out to dinner with Bonnie's friend and roommate Erin's family, again in Cazenovia...this time at the Brae Loch Inn...It was a delightful way to end the day and the weekend.