A STAR IS BORN!

On November 1, 2007 a new grandchild was born! Her Name is Abigail Kate and she is so tiny and sweet. I was able to go down to visit her when she was only a few weeks old. You forget how precious and tiny a newborn is. Her proud sister Grace was there to help show me where the diapers were! I look forward to spending time with both my Grandchildren. We are planning a trip down there in March again.

TRIP TO MARYLAND 6/2007

Mom and I drove down to Maryland to visit with my daughter and her family. My granddaughter turned 3 while we were there and, of course, we had a fun party to attend. Mom enjoyed the party as did I. Lots of little ones running around. It was fun to get to know Grace better and to do some grandmother/granddaughter bonding. She's is sooooo cute and very very talkative. We took a little side trip to Annapolis which is very close to where they live for a picnic dinner and feeding the ducks. My cousin came up to have lunch out with us to celebrate Mom's 89th a day before her birthday, because we left on that day. A good time was had by all. Most of the time we spent at the house relaxing and enjoying the time together. It was a great trip and I look forward to going back in November when my second grandchild will be born!

VACATION IN CALIFORNIA 4/2007

I spent 6 days in California visiting my son who lives in Manhattan Beach. What a beautiful area it is. I met up with my sister there who had come to visit her daughter also living near L.A. It was a lovely visit with lots of surprises. We rode beach cruisers (bikes) along the ocean for awhile. We would stop along the way to "splash and go" (getting a drink and leaving). My son is working in lighting in LA so he was able to get us tickets for Dancing With the Stars which he was working on. That was so much fun - lots of hooting and hollaring. After that show, we were asked if the three of us would like to go to a special taping of Celine Dion singing with a hologram of Elvis next door on the American Idol stage. We did go and were very glad we did. The tape was just shown on "American Idol Gives Back" which was a very moving fundraiser for kids in poverty in the US and Africa. My son also took me up to the Greek Theater to look around. He will be working there this summer and early fall. They call it "summer camp" because it is an outdoor theater and most of them like working outdoors. My niece took us out to dinner at her workplace ("Mastro's") in Beverly Hills. It was a very fancy meal. Hugh Heffner showed up with a table full of women. There were two delicious barbeque's at my son's apartment with a view of the sunset over the pacific. WOW! Hollywood was fun. We took pictures of some of the stars on the sidewalk and the hand and foot prints in the cement. We had shots taken with a Johnny Depp lookalike and some characters from Star Wars. I have to admit, we bought a tour map from an old guy who said he knew all the stars (drove their kids in a school bus). We ended up following a tour bus and then looking it up on the map! All in all, it was a wonderful, relaxing visit. When can I go back?

FEBRUARY WALK AT THE BEACH

Here it is February 20th already! Where does the time go? I have been in deep freeze for more than a month here in Connecticut. Today the temps got up over 40 degrees so I decided to take a walk around our shoreline. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the pictures I took while on my walk. Yes, the white patches are ice! It's interesting to see salt water when it is frozen. There is one shot of three swans I especially like. Unfortunately I was too far away and just have a simple zoom lens. I have discovered that, if you want to see them closer, you just need to double click on the picture! How far behind can spring be??

CHRISTMAS 2006

What a wonderful Christmas I had this year. My sister arrived first, from Washington State, and we hunted down a tree that had $5 knocked from the price because we waited until two days before Christmas. We had fun decorating it with Mom. Even though we had to cut some of the top off because it had a curved branch, it turned out to be a beautiful little tree.

Next to arrive were my daughter and family who drove up from Maryland on Christmas day. They were due the day after Christmas, but arrived early which was wonderful!! My granddaughter has changed so much in the past few months, and I was able to talk to her more easily. What a beautiful, loving child (a credit to her parents). We took a trip to New York City and comments were "so many people!" "so cold!" "my back hurts, can we stop for awhile?" It was a fun trip.

Although the house was crowded and we kept changing the sleeping arrangements, because of snoring and uncomfortable beds, I loved every minute of it and was so glad that Mom had a chance to see everyone too.

Now, with everyone gone, I have turned to things I want to change in the next year. Still clearing out the house and trying to become more organized - top priorities. I will continue with TOPS and possibly join a gym if it is not too expensive. I hope your new year will be one of delight and that you will have no disappointments this year. God Bless.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Nanabee's wanderings and thoughts

Nanabee's wanderings and thoughtsMy thoughts for today. Here it is the end of October and the weather feels like September/October. Most evenings are cool, but the days are warm and sunny. Today it was almost 60 degrees and we are all feeling a bit displaced as we are used to the weather being quite cold at this point. I am reflecting on thoughts of global warming and what is to become of us all in the process. Hate to say this, but I am looking forward to the first snowfall of the season! Any thoughts from anyone else?

MASSACHUSETTS TRIP OCTOBER 2006

Trip to Massachusetts

This week I took Mom up to see her best friend in Wayland, MA. I was able to connect with one of my good friends in Lexington and a good time was had by all. My friend Ginny took me to Minutemen National Historical Park in Lexington where we walked Battle Road (where the American Revolution had it's official start.) I felt as if I were walking on sacred ground. Lots of foundations of homes and informational plaques guided our way through history. Later that evening we went to a choir rehearsal. I haven't tried to read music in many years and it was a real eye opener for me. Thanks for the glass of wine before going Ginny! On our way home, Mom and I stopped in Hamden, CT to take a picture of the house Mom used to live in. It was a super trip, and we hope to do it again sometime.