Puddle Jump

There's nothing like a big messy puddle and new rain boots. What a bad grandma I am to encourage such reckless behavior. They got muddy. They got messy. The insides of their boots didn't dry out for days.

But it was so much fun!! Can't wait for another rainy day so we can do it again.

Gregor Demarkian

This is seriously one of my favoriet book series. The detective is an Armenian ex-FBI agent who lives in Philadelphia, and the cast of neighborhood characters is much of the fun. Not A Creature Was Stirring is the first in the series; many of the titles involve major holidays. Some of the older books are out of print, which I think is a shame. Maybe I need to form a Jane Haddam fan club and see if it helps.

Spring's A-Comin'

Yesterday we were promised rain (a promise not fulfilled) and I decided it would be a good time to get some new plants in. So off to the nursery. I came home with pansies for some of the hanging pots and some plants I'd never heard of for the fountain garden. The two new ones are at the front - a lily-of-the-valley shrub and some purple spready stuff in the pot behind the cat crossing sign. I love new plantings.

This & That

There've been no grand ideas for blogging - not much going on in my head that anyone would want to read. I'm not reading as much as usual, knitting has kind of hit a rut, life seems a little dull. I've been thinking I need a few changes - a new hobby, a class, I don't know what yet. We spent the evening sharing wine and "whine" (kid problems are universal) with some neighbors and I realized just how insulated we keep ourselves here. Not a healthy thing, I think, so I'll have to think on it. Today I started a Facebook Page - will it be fun?

It's been great having Scott here to visit. We've shared laughter and tears and I hope it's been as healing for him as it has been for me. Beck will be part of our lives forever and we won't stop missing her. Jim found a picture of her today that I hadn't seen before.

Happy Birthday, Dad

If Dad were still alive, he would have been 78 years old today - exactly twice the age he was when he passed away. With Scott here for a couple of weeks, we've been talking about Dad a lot, some good and some not so good. We all have different memories of him and remember him in different ways, but I know we all wish we knew him better. And so we remember the best of him - the fun, the intelligence, the happy memories. My mom's family loved him so much because he always brought good times and was so good to them. His parents adored him and he was very good to him. His last years were marred by illness, fatigue and pain; our memories of him are affected by that. But some day we will know him in his wholeness. He's still here with us, and some day we will all be together.

Disneyland - Who Needs It?

We really needed to get out of here this weekend, but where to go? The mall - no, shopping wasn't the answer. We needed someplace where the kids could move around and get some energy out there. So we look on the Internet; Legoland was about $45 per adult; Knotts Berry Farm, around the same. Disneyland was going to cost over $300 just to walk in the gate. Not a good option at this point.

Actually, is it a good idea at any point? I've always loved Disneyland and it's never been cheap. But we justified spending the money once or twice a year. And we've had passes when they were about $150; three visits more than paid for it and there was a time when I really needed a place to take the kids when Dad was working out of town. But today's prices are ridiculous. It really bothers me that we'll have to make major plans and save as if we're going on vacation to pay for our family to go again. In these times, how are families managing to do it?

Anyway, we go online to find out about the Santa Ana Zoo. We spent less than $100 for six of us to have lunch out, pay for entrance to the zoo, ride the train and the carousel, and buy souveniers. And as you can see in the pictures, a good time was had by all.

Valentine's Day - A Retrospective

Valentine's Day has never been a huge event at our house (Jim may not entirely agree with that). Mostly, we can take it or leave it, especially in recent years. This year we spent the day with the kids at the zoo and had a pretty good day. But today if felt important that we make it a special day because of what happened two years ago on February 14th.

On this day in 2007 Jim and I were in Dublin, I think on the third day of our trip. Our day started with a tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral and then we visited Marsh's Library. We walked to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church where the remains of St. Valentine are enshrined. We hunted down Burdock's Fish and Chips, said to be the best in Dublin and unbeknownst to us, right around the corner from our hotel. After lunch was Merrion Square and the Natural History Museum. At dinner we ate real boxty for the first time, then finished with music and drinks at the Brazen Head Pub (which Mike and Scott both HAVE to experience).

It wasn't until two days later that we found out that while we enjoying our last day in Dublin, our daughter and her children were being thrown out of her house in Nebraska, and friends and family here at home were frantically trying to get them to California. I'm not going to bore you with the details. The reason I couldn't stop thinking about this today is that there is a cold lump of hatred in my heart that bursts into flame every time that man or that day is mentioned or even flits across my mind. I've never felt this for someone before, and it's not a feeling I'm proud of. But I'm not letting it go, either. No one deserves to be treated the way they were.

So spending today with family in the sunshine and having a good time was a positive thing. There was plenty of love going on there.

Sorry for the rant.