Good Morning Yesterday

Have weekend will travel or something like that. It works for us anyway and this past weekend was no different as we boarded a plane very early Saturday morning and headed back to East Tennessee. We were off to re-connect with friends from college...hubs was in a fraternity back in the day and they were celebrating the anniversary of their 55th year on campus.

I've been a lot of places all around the world but truly there are not many spots more lovely and peaceful than East Tennessee. The weather was perfection and the friends 'old'. And I mean that in the very nicest sense of the word. Because really there is nothing like old friends....friends who knew you when...friends you lived with and played with and laughed with and loved. Friends who when you see them take you right back to your 20 year old self. Friends who married friends and who are still married and who are still friends.

Some of these friends we've seen off and on in the years since graduation but others not so much. In fact some we hadn't seen in 27 years. It's easy to reconnect though...the bonds of these friendships were forged in the the land that lies between childhood and full on adulthood...days that were carefree in a way we didn't understand...life must be lived and looked back upon before the freedom of those years can be fully appreciated.

We weren't able to be there for the Friday night festivities which was disappointing but we did put in a full day Saturday and then some...you could say we danced the night away and I have the aching feet to prove it. Just fyi-my feet never hurt when I was 20.

There were stories told and re-told and maybe re-told again. They are still funny. Well, we think so anyway. There was a walk thru the bookstore, a ride through campus, and a visit to our favorite deli for lunch. There was also some picture taking...

These girls and I all married fraternity brothers in the summer of 1984. And we are all still married 25 years later. Go Us!

This adorable girl gave me a baby shower back in 1988. We were living in Richmond Virginia then and we spent lots of time with K and M. The guys liked to take their Hobie Cat out on the lake and we used to have dinner at their house pretty regularly. In fact my husband successfully managed to get their baby boy to eat his carrots. Baby boy was at the party this weekend too. He is 25. Yeah. Time is funny.

We're older now...neither the mirror nor the calendar lie. Or my aching feet for that matter. These 'boys' are scattered far and wide...some working and some retired...some with very young children and some with grandchildren... some wildly successful and some still fighting demons...they are military men who make us proud, businessmen, lawyers, professors, engineers, husbands and fathers and above all 'brothers'.

Once upon a time they landed together in a place called The White Castle and for a moment the world was their oyster... their friendship the pearl. And the pearl remains.

Silly Old Bear

Do you know what is on this corner?

This amazing building ...The New York Public Library

I joined some new friends today for a tour of the library followed by a delicious lunch in Bryant Park. As an aside, let me just say once again how much I love New York...this city is just so alive and you feel that the minute you arrive. I only took a few photos mainly because these women don't know me very well yet so I thought it was best not to overwhelm them with my camera obnoxiousness right off the bat. I held back y'all...I promise.

Anyway, there are two enormous lions outside the entrance to the library and they are known by the nicknames Patience and Fortitude. They were given these names originally by Mayor LaGuardia in the 30's because he said these were qualities he felt New Yorkers would need to survive the economic depression. I'm pretty sure the names still work.

Anyway, the building is absolutely beautiful...it is neoclassical in style with lots of gorgeous marble and carved wood ceilings. And of course there are all those books...miles and miles of books and periodicals and maps and more...over 75 miles worth, much of it housed under Bryant Park. And let me just tell you that if you think catalogs and magazines pile up at your house you haven't seen anything...imagine receiving over 10,000 periodicals per week!

Now, if all those books and all those magazines and all that architectural beauty aren't enough guess what else they have right here in their very own collection?

They have the real live, honest to goodness Winnie the Pooh. Well, not real live but you know what I mean. And all his friends are here too... all except Roo that is. Not sure what happened to Roo but our tour guide pointed out that it appears the Milnes owned dogs so I do have a theory. Anyway, they are absolutely too cute for words and look very well loved. The toys were given to Christopher Robin Milne between 1920 and 1922. Pooh came from Harrods Dept. Store in London and these are the toys that inspired the stories.

Course if Winnie the Pooh isn't your thing you can also walk down this staircase which is indeed the staircase from 'the movie where Carrie Bradshaw gets her prince'...they filmed the wedding scene from that movie here.

Or maybe you recognize this view which was used in The Day After Tomorrow...

Or you may not recognize it because in the movie some snowwaterhailtornadotidalwave thing was rolling straight down 42nd Street and headed right for the lobby.

Which, incidentally, is magnificent. After our tour we walked around the corner to Bryant Park which is a pretty little patch of green surrounding the library.

Here sits a statue of William Cullen Bryant for whom the park is named...he's all dressed up for Christmas. We had a lovely lunch in this little spot right in the park, hence it's name Bryant Park Grill. There is a bit of fall and a bit of Christmas happening but it's all good....I love the vines growing around the building and the food was excellent.

There just happened to be a little Christmas Market going on right here so we managed to squeeze in a teensy bit of shopping before heading home... such a nice day.

And I know what you're thinking...you're thinking that if this isn't overwhelming people with pictures than what in the world is?

Let Freedom Ring

There is a place of quiet beauty sitting on some land that once belonged to the wife of Robert E. Lee. This land sits across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. not far from the Pentagon. Arlington National Cemetery. On this land more than 300,000 men and women are buried, veterans and military casualties from every war dating all the way back to the Civil War and right up through our more recent battles in Iraq.

I’ve been to this place of quiet beauty many times. My dad is buried here. His funeral was held on a bitterly cold December day and we smiled and said he would love it that we all had to stand out in the icy rain…he was a Marine after all. Pride and sorrow and gratitude and hope…you feel them all as you stand beside a grave in Arlington National Cemetery. One grave among thousands. Hundreds of thousands. The beauty and the silence and the order speak to you. And you love your country a little bit more.

There is another place of quiet beauty sitting on land far across the sea. It sits up on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel. Close to 10,000 American servicemen and women are buried here. France has granted the United States a special, on going concession to this land, free of charge, free of tax. The U. S. flag flies here. Our flag. In France. They were grateful.

I’ve been to this place of quiet beauty just once. Pride and sorrow and gratitude and hope…you feel them all when you stand on a sandy beach in France on a windy spring day. You think about the boys who went into the sea and who died on that beach as men. You think of their fear and you stand in awe at their courage in spite of that fear. And you love your country a little more.

There are cemeteries like these all around the world…in England and Belgium, in The Philippines and Luxembourg, Tunisia and Panama. Every day men and women sacrifice much, sometimes everything, for our freedom. Freedom we don’t really think about most days.

Today is Veterans Day…a day set aside to honor these brave souls…take 2 minutes today to thank a veteran, to say a prayer for a soldier fighting far from home, to help a family left behind in some practical way, to write a note to someone who won’t be spending the holidays with their family, to donate to one of the many organizations that offer assistance and support to those returning home injured and hurting. Freedom is precious. And costly. In this season of Thanksgiving I want to remember to be especially grateful for mine.

Randomness and Italy...two of my favorite things

It's Week 11 over at Linda's so come play along and link your answers here. I love a meme that lets me blog about Italy.

1. What was the last song you listened to?

Barlow Girl- Need You to Love Me…such a pretty song.

2. Have you ever had “buyer’s remorse” over anything?

No…I’m not an impulse shopper.

3. What is something in your life that you are thankful for now that you didn’t think you would be at the time of the event? (Something that seemed ill-timed, inconvenient or hurtful which turned out to be a good thing)

Moving my sensitive 10^th grade daughter out of her all American highschool filled with friends since grade one to an International School in a foreign country. Honestly my husband and I stressed about that aspect of the move more than anything else. As it happens that was one of the biggest blessings of the entire experience.

4. Do you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade every year? If so, do you have a favorite float or balloon?

I love the parade…one year we were in NYC the day before Thanksgiving (you can watch the balloons inflate) and Florence Henderson was the grand marshal. We were sitting in a little café and daughter2 said hey, there’s Mrs. Brady! Sure enough there was Florence Henderson coming in for breakfast.

5. Share a quote, scripture, poem or lyric which has been an inspiration to you lately.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Corrie ten Boom

6. This is meant to be a fun question, and this is a G-rated blog, but please share a “guilty pleasure,” something that you enjoy that’s probably not the most edifying, time-worthy or healthy thing you could be indulging in. Did I mention--G rating?

Facebook?

7. What Thanksgiving food are you looking forward to?

I’m sorry, I can’t possibly answer this one. I love the entire meal, especially mashed potatoes because they are not a Jillian approved food so are a rarity in my house. I also love the corn pudding, stuffing, and angel pie…can you tell I’m looking forward to a carb fest?

8. What is your favorite book to read to children, or what was your favorite childhood book?

Another hard one…my favorite book of all time is Anne of Green Gables which I wrote about here. I also loved the book Crow Boy when I was a girl…a really heartwarming story with a wonderful message. I read literally thousands of books to my children so I’m not sure I can choose a single favorite. When they were toddlers some favorites were More More More, Moose in the Garden, and Are You My Mother? Some of my best memories though are reading to them in the middle years…all the Anne Books (we cried), Charlotte’s Web (we cried), Where the Red Fern Grows (we cried), A Dog Called Kitty (we cried). Basically we have a love affair with books in my house and we’re a blubbering mess of emotion…just ask my husband.

9. Do you collect anything? (Feel free to post a photo.)

Italian pottery…and it’s best if I go there and fetch it myself. Here is a sampling…

fig pitcher from the town of Nove just outside of Verona

my favorite bowl and serving utensils...also from Nove

I love the color and shape of this bowl. I also have a cake plate and candlesticks that are the same design

From the Southern part of Italy near Sorrento...lots of lemons on all of the pottery there. I may have more.

This table sits in my sunroom and came from a village called Ravello on the Amalfi Coast. We stood in this little spot and it is truly one of the loveliest little towns in all of Italy...the table is wrought iron with 6 separate tiles that fit together.

That's a sampling for you...too many pictures? I think not.

10. Gift bags or wrapping paper?

a mixture of both

11. Share an after-school memory from when you were younger. What was your routine like on an average day?

Hopping on my bicycle, riding to the Duck Pond, playing basketball in our neighbors driveway, riding to the train station to collect my dad from his evening commute, family dinners, arguing with my sister about cleaning up the dinner dishes, ping pong games with my brother after he made his post dinner milkshake, homework, talking for hours on a phone whose cord stretched practically next door, a television with only 3 channels plus PBS, sharing a room with my younger sister, my mom sitting on my bed listening to my worries when I felt anxious and couldn’t sleep…I remember a pretty happy childhood.

12. True story: Once, in a job interview, I was asked this question and told there would be no clarifying; I simply had to answer the question: “When you’re fishing, do you feel for the fish?” So what about you? When you're fishing, do you feel for the fish??

Whaaaat??? Were you interviewing for a job with the CIA? My answer is no.

Cold medicine and blogging go together like chalk and cheese

In other words...I remembered a few things this weekend and I've taken a cold pill so look out...

1. Mexican food is as good as I remember. Hubs and I went out for Mexican food on Friday night and it was delicious. Really good Mexican food would for sure make our list of the top 3 things we missed most about home while we were living abroad. If we were actually keeping a list which of course we weren't because mostly we loved everything about our years in England. Well, obviously everything except the fact that there wasn't any good Mexican food. Oh, and the crazy driving. And parking. And trying to open a bank account. Or get a repair done. Where was I going with this again?

Oh yeah...you can get every kind of wonderful ethnic food in the city of London...actually all around the UK...except great Mexican. Oh, there were a couple of Mexican restaurants around and every now and then we'd get such a craving for it that we'd convince ourselves those restaurants were not too bad. So we'd trek in to one place that made pretty good salsa and pay our four pounds fifty for a coffee cup serving of chips just to satisfy the craving. We were always bitterly disappointed and would ask ourselves why why why do we keep going back?? I guess because we're the hopeful type. Anyway, Friday night we went to a place we'd heard about thru the grapevine and it was totally yummy. I feel better just knowing its there.

2. I like Bocce ball. Seriously. I haven't played since I was a kid but we spent the night at a friends house on Saturday and we just had the best time playing on their Bocce court.

They have an official court which I told my husband we could do in our back yard but he pretty much nixed it because a. you need a lot more space than we would want to devote to an official court and b. our friend explained they had equipment brought in and big rocks moved and then a tennis court type material laid on top and blah blah blah...I decided I want a few more pieces of furniture and we need to buy daughter2 a car and it's almost Christmas and really winter is coming any day now and I will most likely not be outside playing Bocce ball when there is a foot of snow on the ground so...impractical. But fun. Have I mentioned on here before that I'm slightly competitive?

3. Old friends are comfy. Like I said we spent the weekend with some old friends...actually the Mrs. was hubs boss way back when. There were a few other folks there too and we just talked and laughed and warmed our feet by the outdoor firepit in between the bocce games and the fabulous homemade meatballs. We stayed in their adorable little guest cottage which used to be a doll's house but they raised the ceiling and have converted it into the most fantastic space for guests.

I told my husband we could do this in place of the Bocce court. I mean we for sure get a whole lot of houseguests and how fun would it be to have a place to send them for them to relax in their own little cottage?

4. My girlies will be home two weeks from tomorrow to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. And if you want to get all technical that isn't something I only remembered this weekend....I just like saying it.

Yup...like chalk and cheese. And do you know what else I just remembered? I have now worked that expression into two blog posts...just wondering what that says about the content here?

circa 1965

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.

~Marion C. Garretty

Happy Birthday little sister!

If it's Wednesday it must be Belgium

Okay so maybe it's not Belgium but every Wednesday is the fun random dozen meme hosted by Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee. We're into week ten so come play along and link your own post here.

1. It's early morning, about 2:00AM, and you're driving home. You come to a red light and sit there. There is no one in sight for miles around. Do you wait it out or run the light?

Of course I wait. I always follow the rules.

2. If you had the chance to re-do the last 24 hours, would you change anything?

I might think twice about sampling 3 desserts at the German luncheon I attended. I imagine I still would have sampled though...apple strudel, German chocolate cake, and cream puffs...how does a girl choose?

3. When you reply to someone's comment on your blog, do you reply in your comments or go to her blog and comment? (Or email her)

If I have their email address then I generally send an email (you noreply-comment@blogger people need to get with the program!) If I don’t have their email (hey noreply people-post an address already) then I will reply on their blog. Lots of times I comment on a blog but don’t go back to that post to look for a response which is why I tend not to respond in the comments section of my own blog.

4. Your favorite Disney movie is:

I’m pretty sure this is the hardest question of the week...if we are we talking cartoon then it's The Little Mermaid. If we’re talking regular film…The Parent Trap…love both the original and the remake.

5. Do you recycle?

Yes. It’s the law here. See question #1.

6. Games of strategy or games of chance?

Love them both. I pretty much love all games. And I always play by the rules. But of course you already knew that.

7. Do you have any recurring dreams?

No…I very rarely remember my dreams.

8. What did you learn from your first real job?

I had a regular babysitting job beginning at age 12, one sweet little girl who I cared for almost every day for two hours after school. I always knew I loved little children and I always wanted to be a mother and this job affirmed that. My first real paying job was as a counselor at a Christian camp called Sandy Cove. I always imagined I'd be assigned to the youngest group but lo and behold they put me with teenagers. And I loved that too. And I've worked and volunteered with groups of teens most of my adult life and I think maybe that summer job went a long way in teaching me how I want to relate to my own teens and those who have crossed my path thru the years. Actually I learned a whole lot of things in that summer camp job... so much about myself and about God and about getting along with people, about appreciating the beauty of creation, about living and working with people of all different backgrounds and beliefs, about strength and stepping out of my comfort zone...these are lessons that have stayed with me all my life.

9. Do you buy or borrow most books?

Depends where I’m living…I have a great library in my little town here but when I lived in the UK I ended up buying almost everything I wanted to read. Let’s just say if it was copyrighted post 1983 it wasn’t readily available in our little branch. And let's just say the ladies who worked there were not overly friendly or overly helpful which put me off making requests.

10. What fashion trend of the past did you say you'd never wear again but did?

I can’t think of one. Here’s my fashion motto so to speak… If a trend looked fabulous on me at age 19 or age 21 then it will now look fabulous on my daughters ages 19 and 21 and it will not look fabulous on me an-y-more.

11. When do you start Christmas shopping?

I pick up bits and pieces as I travel throughout the year but otherwise, dedicated shopping…not til December for the most part.

12. Have you ever been so happy that you literally jumped up and down for a few seconds? If so, what was the occasion?

Well, just a couple of weeks ago we worked out a way for my youngest daughter to come home for two days. I didn’t think it was going to happen and I did actually jump out of my chair when hubs said we had the points and could get the flight that way. Sometimes I just need to see my girls face to face. sigh.