Back in the day...

As a little girl, about Connor and Fiona's age, I relished the winter ski trips we took to Colorado. My grandparents had a condo in Breckenridge and the whole family would go out for ski trips. Later, my grandfather was the manager of a George T Sanders (plumbing supply company -- he was a plumber and HVAC guy) in Silverthorne, CO. My grandparents lived there for several years. I visited at least one whole summer and fell in love with one of the guys in the warehouse.

We are planning a trip to Breckenridge for just under a week in February, and I've been rather nostalgic about the wonderful memories of my childhood. Below are some photos of the fun I had.

From left to right, me age 5 or 6, my father, my grandmother, my grandfather and my mother

This picture was taken at my grandparents house in Wichita, Kansas. I'm guessing it was in the late 1970's.

Me and my snowmobile, ~1980

My grandparents were avid snowmobilers -- they actually towed a trailer with snowmobiles behind a 10' trailer for warming up. They got me this little thing and grandpa adjusted the governor down so I wouldn't go too fast. I loved taking it out in the field next to the plumbing supply warehouse.

A professional shot with my grandparents and I, ~1980

This is one of my treasured photos. Skiing with my father and grandparents was such a great part of my life. This photo was taken after the years of the adults skiing in hunter orange sweatshirts and jeans (hey, it was the 70s), when we actually had real ski gear.

I am my grandfather's namesake -- Tracy Bryan. He passed away when I was in high school and I miss him very much. He set a standard that very few men have been able to meet in my life. My father, Mike's father and Mike are the only other people who are in the same category. Men who love their families above all else, who are completely moral almost to a fault, people you just want to be around.

I'm looking forward to seeing how much the mountain has changed in 30+ years. It will be a great adventure for Mike and I. I'm looking forward to making more great memories.

I love FOOD (part 2 of 2)

As much as I love to eat out, it isn't really practical to do so often. We were lucky in that the last few weeks allowed us to celebrate holidays, thus eat, at home. In preparation for our chow fest, I stocked up on some food. Way more food than was advisable, by the way. But that's okay. We enjoyed it bite by bite.

Cheese plate featuring gorgonzola, brie, gruyere and goat cheese with fig jam (from Murray's Cheese Shop), 12/31/2011

Smoked salmon, onions, capers and creme fraiche (from Wegman's), 1/1/2012

Our first meal on our new kitchen table; pot roast, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, baby new potatoes and salad, 1/1/2012

Lobster pie (from Hancock Gourmet Lobster), crab-stuffed mushrooms (Wegmans) and snap peas, 1/8/2012

After all of this eating, I need to go on a diet!!!

Smiles

I love FOOD (part 1 of 2)

You knew that about me, right?! I love to eat. If I ate as often as I thought about food I'd weigh 700 pounds. Fortunately, I have a small amount of control that has saved me -- so far. We have enjoyed some very nice meals over the past few weeks. I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you, my few dedicated followers :-) This post will highlight our adventures in dining out.

Mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto and deep fried, served with toasted bread and tomato; starter at Sonoma, 12/30/11

Caesar salad presented in a toasted Parmesan bowl; starter at Sonoma, 12/30/2011

Lobster Savannah en croute, entree at Sonoma, 12/30/2011

Rack of lamb, entree at Sonoma, 12/30/2011

Salmon, entree at Romaine's, 1/6/2012

Duck, entree at Romaine's, 1/6/2012

Apple bacon grilled cheese sandwich with lentil salad, Armsby Abbey, 1/9/2012

Porchetta sandwich with lentil salad, Armsby Abbey, 19/2012

If you haven't been to the restaurants above, I highly recommend them. Yum!

Smiles

Goodbyes

Unfortunately, goodbyes are a part of everyone's life cycle. They are most difficult for those left behind, as they begin picking of the pieces of what they have lost and remembering all the good in the loved one that has left us. Basically, it sucks.


Today I am in that suckalicious void of sadness. My grandmother, Margaret Anne Everson, passed away Friday afternoon after battling dementia for several years. She waited to let go until all of the family -- her three children and husband -- were assembled together. She is now at peace and free of her corporeal discomforts. She can watch us from above and share in our live forever and always.


She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, an avid reader, card player, swimmer and boater. She worked hard and she was unwavering when she supported someone. I will hold my memories of her dear.

Hitting the slopes

Mike and I have had a great time skiing with Connor and Fiona. We started teaching them at the beginning of last season. This season we are out having fun with little direction required. They get on and off the lifts unassisted (mostly). We're holding off on letting them go up without an adult. A 7 year old fell off the lift at Nashoba Valley recently, and we'd like to avoid that.

Anyhoo... Just thought I'd share some pics from our recent trip. I'm a proud auntie.

Getting ready to go

Between Mike and I, much of Connor and Fiona's lives are documented in photos

Fiona far left, Connor middle, Mike right

I just love these guys

A Clean Start

Part of our plan for 2012 is to reclaim the poorly used space on our second floor. Mattie is the only one who really uses the space (his "room" is the bathroom);  the two bedrooms and landings had become a place to put things. This was once organized, but over the past year, has become increasingly random and out of control. So much so, that I thought we were going to get put on that TV show Hoarders. Starting January 1, Mike and I have been making a concerted effort to organize and clean up the second floor. We have thrown out several lawn and leaf bags of trash (10 or so) and gotten a shocking number of items together for the yard sale we plan to have this spring.

Our landing only has a few key things now. The chair is a candidate to go downstairs...

The bedroom is free of debris.

As shocking as the transformation may be for those of you that saw the horror before we started cleaning, we did not just shove things into the other bedroom and the attic. The attic has about 40% less in it that it used to (and is nicely arranged). The third bedroom is still undergoing work. We have to sort through paperwork and organize a variety of things. It is the last room remaining.

We even had a burn party to get rid of 4 years worth of my bills.

Yard sale stuff.

The photo above is of some of the items ready for the yard sale -- yes, all the way from the pole, to the wall. We have another big group of items in another part of the barn. I can't wait to see this stuff GO!

Smiles

Michael is a genius

Really, he is. Why? That will become clear soon.

We got up on Friday morning to find that our beloved dishwasher seemed to have bitten the dust. It died mid-cycle, was full of water, and the control panel would not light up. After some searches online, we found a forum that had answered someone with a similar problem for the same dishwasher that we have.

I posted a message asking for help (http://appliantology.org/topic/35872-bosch-shu9955uc-has-no-power/page__p__220562#entry220562) and the folks on the forum were very helpful. They asked if we opened up the kick panel and how the wiring looked.

Ah oh...

The wiring was not supposed to look all fried like it is above.

Mike cleaned up the wiring. Thank God his eye is feeling better.

Cleaning up the connections

Ready to make the new connections

Once he had it all cleaned up, we did a test run. It works!!! His patience and our good fortune in finding a forum with people who were willing to help saved us about $400 -- easily.

In the Eye of the Beholder

You know how sometimes you're just walking along and something hits you? Oftentimes, it is a figurative experience, a WOW moment. On Tuesday, it was a literal experience for Mike. He was walking along the sidewalk in Boston and he got hit by a strong gust of wind. Apparently it was a doozie. Immediately afterward, he felt like he was stabbed in the eye.

By the time he got home a few hours later, he was in significant pain. He's had a problem with inward curling eyelashes for a couple of years. They grow in toward his eye and scratch the cornea. It is very irritating, but he has formulated a system of locating and removing the offending hairs. This time he wasn't able to find any pokers. He looked for at least an hour throughout the night.

We headed to CVS and he stocked up on a few varieties of Genteal. After many applications and no alleviation of pain, we went to bed, where he was unable to sleep due to pain. Mike's eye was red, bloodshot and swollen by Wednesday morning. Phrases like "horrible pain" and "emergency room" became his refrain on the way into work. He decided to call Beetham Eye Center at Joslins Diabetes Center and speak with the on-call doctor. The doctor thought he should be seen, so we detoured directly to One Joslin Place and walked into the clinic at 7:50 am.

Beetham stuck to their normal routine and Mike was first seen by an optometrist. She attempted to have him read the chart and took a look into his eye. He couldn't read the chart and was in so much discomfort from the fluorescent lights that they had to be turned off. The doctor gave him a numbing drop for his eye. It apparently stung but brought nearly instant relief for the pain. The good news was that there were no foreign objects. We went to the dilation waiting room until the ophthalmologist could do an examination.

Upon examination by the ophthalmologist, we learned that Mike had a severe corneal abrasion. From what we can tell, that big wind gust in Boston blew a piece of grit or dirt into Mike's eye. He wiped his eye to get it out and ended up scratching his cornea -- badly. The treatment was broached; Mike was prescribed antibiotic cream that the doctor would put in his eye. A patch would cover the eye until the next day so the eye would be immobilized and have a chance to heal.

All patched up

We were to return on Thursday to see Mike's regular ophthalmologist for a follow-up. It was going to be a long day. Mike wanted to return to work for some meetings. We headed home after his meetings so he could get some rest. It was more comfortable to have both eyes closed that only one with no depth perception. The pain was still intense. He did some research and learned that corneal abrasions are among the most painful injuries one can have. Women have described it as more painful that childbirth.

Mike got some much-needed sleep on Wednesday night and we returned to Beetham on Thursday. The doctor said the eye was healing and he should add antibiotic drops to his treatment plan, followed by application of the antibiotic cream to the unpatched eye (4x a day).

Still not out of the woods, but getting better

Mike returned home Thursday to rest and recover. He is on his way to feeling better. He'll see a corneal specialist from Massachusetts Eye and Ear on Wednesday to determine if there was permanent damage to the cornea; we're told that there shouldn't be, but it is best to check.

Who knew a little walk could be so dangerous?

Meet Miss Molly

Last year we met, fell in love with, and gave up a great little homeless kitty. We named her Molly, and we'd like to share her story.

The New Table Tableau

Every home needs to be spruced up now and again. Right? Right!

So, on January 1st, we were out running errands and found our spuce, er, well, whatever. We got a new kitchen table! I have been telling Mike I'd like to get a new one for quite some time -- 4 years -- but we never really found one we like. I really like this one.

the old table

the new table - 1 of the 2 leaves in

the new table without any leaves

I really like the way the table dresses up the kitchen. It is slowly growing on Mike. Come on over and see it in person!

Coming up... Food, cleaning and who knows what else!

Smiles!

Magnet Balls = Endless Fun

As Christmas got closer last year (last year?! That was only 5 days ago!), I started looking for a fun stocking stuffer for Mike. I found it, and being me, got one for myself as well. They are Magnet Balls. Street name is Bucky Balls, but I got the off brand for a little less. Mike got all gold and I got rainbow. I love them!!! There are 216 little balls that you can mold and shape into all kinds of cool things. The bonus? They are fun stress relievers.


My latest creation is a mug. Boring, right? That's ok. I like it!

A New Year!

Time has passed, we've changed for better and for worse, and a new year is upon us.

I've just been overtaken with an urge to come back to blogging randomness every now and then. We'll see how well I keep up! I hope you'll join me and let me know what you think.

Happy 2012 :)