Summertime

Camp craft

I got this email from a former co-worker who now lives in northern California: I have a funny story. My son was at camp last week and they did an art project of gluing various objects onto old LPs. It was a cute idea. Well the teacher got the records free at a yard sale. Guess which one Nikhil got? The Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing tunes! LOL!

Summertime

Zero stars

How does Matthew McC. sleep at night knowing he was in one of the worst movies ev-ER?

I love jeans

Old photos

I'm trying to organize the many thousands of photos on my computer and found some I scanned in from a trip with the Cox family to New York City in May of 2004 when we attended the open house of the Manhattan Temple. Here are a few favorites.

Listmaker

I make a list every day of things I want to accomplish, people to write/call, and reminders for the next day. I make a list every season of things I want to do. This year my Summer list is on paper and on my palm pilot.



















Happy Summer!

Oh, what do you eat in the Summertime?

Text Me generation

Lots of people leave Boston...

...and lots of them return to visit. Like my friends the Pierces. They were in town this weekend with their three kids while on their East Coast Vacation (Baltimore, DC, Gettysburg, Palmyra, Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Williamsburg). Their oldest was 2 weeks old when they moved here for grad school at Tufts in 1989 and their daughter was born here. They left 16 years ago and Boston still holds a place in their hearts. We met at the Temple yesterday morning and then last night got together for a BBQ with friends and we couldn't stop swapping stories about the Glory Years! There were a lot of people at church who remembered them today which was nice. They came over for dinner and birthday cake (Happy Birthday, Karen!) and just left a few minutes ago. It was so great to spend time with them. I'm glad Boston is a place that people want to visit!

Family photos

Golden Anniversary

One of THE BEST movies I've ever seen

Please forget I ever said that about "Footloose". Tonight while I was waiting at the theater to meet a friend to see "Baby Mama" another friend walked up. I asked what movie she was going to see and she said, "Young@Heart". She told me a little about it and I decided it sounded better than what we had planned to see so the three of us went to see it.


Young@Heart is about a senior citizens' choral group that performs covers of rock 'n' roll songs and is one of the most real, inspiring and delightful movies I have ever seen. Find it in the theater or on Netflix. I promise---you will love it!

High School Reunion

My 30th high school reunion is this weekend and I'm not going. My older brother went to his 10 year reunion (and missed the birth of his first child--that's another story for another day). My 10 year reunion was just a month or so after I moved to Boston. My grandpa died a few weeks after I moved here and I didn't go to his funeral so I certainly wasn't going to my high school reunion. My younger brother went to his 10 year reunion and said the same people that didn't speak to him in high school still didn't speak to him. Somehow I convinced myself that I was going to my 20th reunion; even if I had to crawl. [Three thousand miles?!?] The summer of the 20th I tracked down one of the organizers and made a call to California to get the details. I remember the woman saying, "our group is going to do this Friday night and our group is going to do that Saturday night" and I realized I didn't have a group. I called all three of my brothers that night and told them that I was glad all it took was a long distance phone call to realize that I didn't really want to go to my reunion. Fast forward 10 more years and I'm still not going. Maybe I'll hold out until the 50th.

P.S. Don't waste your time looking for me; I'm not in this photo (even though I was nominated Best Section Leader in the marching band).

The Celtics' rolling rally

I didn't make it to the rolling rally but got these cool photos off Boston.com (credit goes to Globe photographers David Ryan, John Tlumacki and Bill Greene).

We didn't get a birthday party every year...

...but when we did they were memorable! Step aside Martha Stewart--Nan Patton had us decorating paper plates and making hats long before the arrival of your magazines filled with nifty birthday party ideas!

A brown lunch sack made a perfectly respectable "goodie bag" back-in-the-day!

I'm proud to be a Celtics fan!!!

What a game! It was fun to watch (and to listen to on the radio while I drove home from visiting some friends). It's extra nice that they won at home! Way to go, Celtics, WAY TO GO!!!

Dressmaker, Dressmaker, make me a dress

Last year I offered to make my friend's daughter Zoe a dress to wear after she was baptized. Zoe picked out the pattern and fabric and after the dress was made we discovered it was too big. [Do I even need to say that I never took a pattern fitting class...?] Sunday before last Zoe came running up to me after church and she was wearing the dress! It looked so cute on her and she was beaming. A few minutes later I was talking to a friend and her daughter started whispering something to her and then said to me, "Would you make me a dress?" I'm such a sucker for baking and sewing requests! I told her I would and a few days later went over to measure her. When I got to her house her mom said that her younger daughter was asking if I'd make her a dress too. Of course I agreed. I measured the girls and asked what their favorite colors were. The twist in the story is that these girls are moving on Thursday. I bought patterns and fabric on Saturday. I cut the dresses out Sunday. And tonight (it's Monday) I made the dresses. I still have a few things to finish on each one but when I go to visit them tomorrow (Tuesday) we'll know if the dresses fit or not and if they don't fit I sure hope the girls like cloth napkins!

Happy Father's Day!

The next to leave

These friends are moving to No. Cal. I was hoping he'd find a job in Boston but he got a sweet job in California so they'll be surfin', enjoying the sun and wearing flip flops year round while their good friends in Boston will be missing them.

A regular day

I ran lots of errands today: car wash, library, grocery shopping, taking care of a vacationing friend's mail, getting a new watch band, buying patterns/fabric for some sewing projects, ordering and picking up reprints for photocards, etc. Here is one of the photos I ordered reprints of. I wish gas was 47 cents/gallon.

Note: I took this photo in Oregon a few years ago. I asked permission and the man was very intrigued that I was interested in taking photos of his old gas pump. I thought it was pretty cool.

Fire&Ice

I went to dinner with friends tonight at Fire & Ice in Cambridge. It was such a nice night; cool with a slight breeze and it's always fun to walk around Harvard Square. We weren't celebrating that our friend is moving (are all my friends leaving Boston?!) but going out on the town one last time together before she moves to the wild, wild west.

I want I want I want

Another goodbye

After work I stopped to say goodbye to more friends leaving Boston (I'm not kidding about all the people that move away from this great city). Soon after they got married, they moved to Boston and into the Arlington Ward. Two moves, two kids and two masters degrees and now they are headed to Houston where he will attend medical school. Boston's loss is hot Houston's gain!

Our modern world

Strawberry Shortcake has a new look.  I prefer the curly red hair to the long pink locks.  And she does not need a cell phone.  What next?  Fred Flintstone using a Bluetooth while driving a Prius and Pebbles and Bam Bam with hipster hairdos?

A well spent $99.99

My friend is moving next week. She's trying to go through all their stuff, pack things she needs to take with her, prepare to close on a new home 3,000 miles away, tie up loose ends in Boston, and get things ready for movers. And she's got kids ages 9, 6 and 20 months.

Last week she bought one of these. Her kid throws his toys in and jumps around for long enough stretches of time that she can get some things done. What kid wouldn't love their own bounce house trampoline?

Call of the Islands

I went to a work party tonight complete with delicious food and fancy drinks but someone forgot the Slip 'n Slide.

Tess turns one!

Tess is one of the "21" and her first birthday was today! After the basketball game we celebrated with cupcakes. Her mom thought she'd cry if we sang "Happy Birthday to you" so we didn't.

The Celtics aren't the only team in town

Tonight I went to watch 21 play and they WON their first game (their last game of the season)!!! I must be their Lucky Charm!