Matthew just called me. From Florida. Would I pick them up? Sure! What time, what terminal, what flight number? Got the information.
They flew to Disney World. And Jessica called me every day to tell me what she did.
And their mother called this morning to tell me not to worry, they'd get a taxi to pick them up.
After I got done with Matthew, she got on the phone and told me the children were outraged that I wasn't coming. 'What do you mean, Oma is not going to come get us?'
So tonight I'll go to the airport and get them like I had promised.
oh, it feels good to be missed!
Well, after I got gas to go back to the airport later, my car died. As it happened right in front of a repair shop, someone who used to fix my cars all the time. So Aunt Nikki is getting the gang. At least there will be a friendly face!
April 29, 2010
April 28, 2010
Ellis Island
Living near New York City, but not in it, has advantages. It's like living near an ocean. You know it's there, and you can go any time you want to, and that's enough for long stretches of time. It took me over 30 years to get over the feeling of wanting to stay in NYC one more minute before going home. And I get that rush still sometimes. But I am at the stage where I know the city (as much as anyone living in NJ can), know the neighborhoods, can pick where I want to go and what I want to see, and can give visitors choices of where it might be interesting.
One of my very favorite spots is Ellis Island. Yes, it's a stop on the way to the Statue of Liberty, but it's so very worth it all on it's own. One of the last times I went there, my co-mother-in-law was along, she'd never been there. Her parents came through Ellis Island. She found the records of their journey, the ships manifest with her father's name on it, the ship he came on, she was just floored.
Sidenote: I have no emotional attachment to Ellis Island, now if they are going to make a museum out of JFK Airport - well, that would be a different story!
Just to get you to think about coming and seeing this terrific museum - the trip on the ferry is worth it alone, with the view of lower Manhattan, fabulous - I'll show (off) a few of my pictures:
Registry Hall, where the hopeful immigrants would sit on wooden benches and wait for their turn to be called.
One of the cupolas from the entrance to the museum.
No, the statue is on another island. In the front is Ellis Island.
Note to self: Either find someone to show Ellis Island to, or go by yourself!
One of my very favorite spots is Ellis Island. Yes, it's a stop on the way to the Statue of Liberty, but it's so very worth it all on it's own. One of the last times I went there, my co-mother-in-law was along, she'd never been there. Her parents came through Ellis Island. She found the records of their journey, the ships manifest with her father's name on it, the ship he came on, she was just floored.
Sidenote: I have no emotional attachment to Ellis Island, now if they are going to make a museum out of JFK Airport - well, that would be a different story!
Just to get you to think about coming and seeing this terrific museum - the trip on the ferry is worth it alone, with the view of lower Manhattan, fabulous - I'll show (off) a few of my pictures:
Cold Tuesday
Cold Tuesday Wednesday (Thank you, Nicole!)
Well, what an April we had. So mixed!
It's really cold today. Would you believe the weatherman told us to wear gloves this morning?! It wasn't that cold. I did my walk, checked on the swans, yes, still there, still nesting. The Canadian geese (honkers) have babies, a saw a couple with two little ones. The little ones were still small and all yellow, which disappears as they grow bigger.
But it is supposed to be in the 80's on Saturday. That's a good thing, because Saturday I will be in Mine Hill, at Habitat for Humanity and I'll be selling my bags. I am curious to see how many I actually will sell. If you live in the area, just click on the link, it'll bring you to the restore store.
After that I will definitely start selling them on Etsy.
My son-in-law (Jackson's Dad) will be running/doing a Triathlon. Here's a shout-out to him, you go, Jackson's Dad!
Jackson was here in the warehouse on Monday. Someone told me 'there is a little blond boy out front'. So, I went to see him. He was running around with a golf club in one hand, and Thomas the train in the other. We went into his dad's office, since daddy was talking to a customer. An empty box needed to be played with. He climbed in, and said 'I'm gonne be Jack-in-the-box!' Cracked me up.
Does he know he was making a joke? Or did he just want to play jack-in-the-box?
I have no idea, but it was clever.
My driver's license needed to be renewed. Yup, means my birthday is around the corner. While sitting in a room and waiting for number 86 to be called, it occurred to me to shout out 'Happy Birthday'! Isn't everyone in that room having a birthday either soon, or just had one? Right? I didn't, since I didn't want to be carted away by men in white coats.
And I had to bring six points of ID with me. Driver's license, which they verified four years ago, and supposedly it's a forgery proof license, but no, they needed more stuff! Naturalization papers, a bill, passport, a jury summons, I dragged it all with me. And the friendly DMV person asked me if I wanted my photo from 4 years ago. Can you believe I actually thought I look better today? What was I thinking?!
Anyway, while I was waiting in line, I got a call from someone I hadn't heard from in ages. And I missed her. And I did want to talk to her, and I didn't know how to handle the 'no cell phone' signs all over the place. So I took the call outside, and chatted for a bit. Not so good news. She's sick. I'm so sorry!
And got another call from a friend in Texas. That call was great. All's well there.
Well, what an April we had. So mixed!
It's really cold today. Would you believe the weatherman told us to wear gloves this morning?! It wasn't that cold. I did my walk, checked on the swans, yes, still there, still nesting. The Canadian geese (honkers) have babies, a saw a couple with two little ones. The little ones were still small and all yellow, which disappears as they grow bigger.
But it is supposed to be in the 80's on Saturday. That's a good thing, because Saturday I will be in Mine Hill, at Habitat for Humanity and I'll be selling my bags. I am curious to see how many I actually will sell. If you live in the area, just click on the link, it'll bring you to the restore store.
After that I will definitely start selling them on Etsy.
My son-in-law (Jackson's Dad) will be running/doing a Triathlon. Here's a shout-out to him, you go, Jackson's Dad!
Jackson was here in the warehouse on Monday. Someone told me 'there is a little blond boy out front'. So, I went to see him. He was running around with a golf club in one hand, and Thomas the train in the other. We went into his dad's office, since daddy was talking to a customer. An empty box needed to be played with. He climbed in, and said 'I'm gonne be Jack-in-the-box!' Cracked me up.
Does he know he was making a joke? Or did he just want to play jack-in-the-box?
I have no idea, but it was clever.
My driver's license needed to be renewed. Yup, means my birthday is around the corner. While sitting in a room and waiting for number 86 to be called, it occurred to me to shout out 'Happy Birthday'! Isn't everyone in that room having a birthday either soon, or just had one? Right? I didn't, since I didn't want to be carted away by men in white coats.
And I had to bring six points of ID with me. Driver's license, which they verified four years ago, and supposedly it's a forgery proof license, but no, they needed more stuff! Naturalization papers, a bill, passport, a jury summons, I dragged it all with me. And the friendly DMV person asked me if I wanted my photo from 4 years ago. Can you believe I actually thought I look better today? What was I thinking?!
Anyway, while I was waiting in line, I got a call from someone I hadn't heard from in ages. And I missed her. And I did want to talk to her, and I didn't know how to handle the 'no cell phone' signs all over the place. So I took the call outside, and chatted for a bit. Not so good news. She's sick. I'm so sorry!
And got another call from a friend in Texas. That call was great. All's well there.
April 27, 2010
Statue
Time is passing so amazingly fast.
I went to book club last night. We'd read 'Brooklyn' by Colm Toibin. It was all right. The heroine of the book reminded me very much of Angela in 'Angela's Ashes'. And A. A. was a book I couldn't finish. The life of Angela bothered me way too much.
But getting together with the book club ladies was fun! What a great bunch!
The book for next time is picked, and it's 'Helmet for my Pillow' by R. Leckie. Apparently the ladies knew the author, he lived in this area.
Oh, what was I thinking. .... This morning I walked to and around 'my' pond again. And I was missing the Statue of Liberty. No, the statue isn't anywhere near the pond, I just mean I haven't been there in a while. It's one of my favorite things, to bring new visitors to the statue, or to go there myself. A big part of that is Ellis Island. What a great museum!
I just realized, I don't even have photos of my trips there on this laptop. I'll have to upload them. One of the book club ladies also asked me to upload the photos of the Chihuly exhibit in the Botanical Garden in the Bronx again.
And while I'm at it, another friend asked for the Brooklyn Bridge pictures.
All right - note to self - upload!
And now I'll write an e-mail to find out some test results.
Note: The photo I am using as my title photo was taken two years ago from Liberty State Park (the NJ side on the way to the statue). We were getting out of the car, I looked up and saw the ship. I ditched the rest of the family and ran to the edge of the water to get the photo. It also happened to be the Gorch Fock, the show piece of the German Navy, sailing past with amazing speed.
We continued our trip, but never made it to the statue, since the rest of the family got so totally drawn in at Ellis Island.
I went to book club last night. We'd read 'Brooklyn' by Colm Toibin. It was all right. The heroine of the book reminded me very much of Angela in 'Angela's Ashes'. And A. A. was a book I couldn't finish. The life of Angela bothered me way too much.
But getting together with the book club ladies was fun! What a great bunch!
The book for next time is picked, and it's 'Helmet for my Pillow' by R. Leckie. Apparently the ladies knew the author, he lived in this area.
Oh, what was I thinking. .... This morning I walked to and around 'my' pond again. And I was missing the Statue of Liberty. No, the statue isn't anywhere near the pond, I just mean I haven't been there in a while. It's one of my favorite things, to bring new visitors to the statue, or to go there myself. A big part of that is Ellis Island. What a great museum!
I just realized, I don't even have photos of my trips there on this laptop. I'll have to upload them. One of the book club ladies also asked me to upload the photos of the Chihuly exhibit in the Botanical Garden in the Bronx again.
And while I'm at it, another friend asked for the Brooklyn Bridge pictures.
All right - note to self - upload!
And now I'll write an e-mail to find out some test results.
Note: The photo I am using as my title photo was taken two years ago from Liberty State Park (the NJ side on the way to the statue). We were getting out of the car, I looked up and saw the ship. I ditched the rest of the family and ran to the edge of the water to get the photo. It also happened to be the Gorch Fock, the show piece of the German Navy, sailing past with amazing speed.
We continued our trip, but never made it to the statue, since the rest of the family got so totally drawn in at Ellis Island.
April 25, 2010
Stash and Stars
Saturday was gorgeous. Simply beautiful. So was Friday. Friday Matthew invited me to his Star Day in school. Every child in his class has a star day, and it was his turn. His parents, his sister and I went armed with cookies and the things he wanted to show and talk about. First we all had to say why Matthew is important to us, and then Matthew gave a presentation and showed an interview he did with his uncle.
Then the class had to sit in a circle and tell what they liked about Matthew.
What a great way to make a child feel important!
His teacher is very sweet and so good with energetic 1st graders.
And yesterday I garage saled with friends, scored two old apothecary bottles, went to breakfast and then started to go to Jackson's family. I had to stop at a great garage sale on the way first, where I scored this stash:
No idea what I'll do with it yet, the ideas will come. I even haggled the price down - wooo hoo!
With Jackson's parents we went to a park, again with a pond (NJ has tons of lakes, ponds, etc.), and joined the hordes that were already there. Jackson and his Dad brought the bikes:
See the oak trees? Yes, really out already! So early....
Not yet three years old he made it twice around the pond.
His mother is fine for the moment, and home with instructions to just carry on.
Today it's rainy, but that's part of it all too. The plants and flowers are happy!
I'm off to spend some time with my poor, neglected house, to give it some TLC, and to maybe sew.
To my Anonymous Reader:
I love hearing from you! I'd love to get in touch with you, if you want - and I will tell you why your first comment affected me the way it did (I have secrets too).
Then the class had to sit in a circle and tell what they liked about Matthew.
And yesterday I garage saled with friends, scored two old apothecary bottles, went to breakfast and then started to go to Jackson's family. I had to stop at a great garage sale on the way first, where I scored this stash:
With Jackson's parents we went to a park, again with a pond (NJ has tons of lakes, ponds, etc.), and joined the hordes that were already there. Jackson and his Dad brought the bikes:
His mother is fine for the moment, and home with instructions to just carry on.
Today it's rainy, but that's part of it all too. The plants and flowers are happy!
I'm off to spend some time with my poor, neglected house, to give it some TLC, and to maybe sew.
To my Anonymous Reader:
I love hearing from you! I'd love to get in touch with you, if you want - and I will tell you why your first comment affected me the way it did (I have secrets too).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)