Category Archives: Family

Happy December 26!

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I last posted 10 days ago (that’s a long time in blog-world) but this was an intentional choice on my part. I wanted to take a small social media break. It was nice! What wasn’t so nice was that during these 10 days many of the women in my family came down with a head cold. Mom, at 83, has it the worst. She slept through Christmas, but is showing signs of improvement today. The rest of us are more on the mend.

Despite the colds, Christmas was lovely. Jeff flew in from NYC on the 23rd. I love it when they are here! On Christmas Eve, Chris and Lorna and the little kids joined us for church and then dinner and some presents.

On Christmas morning there was more celebrating. Jeff had already told us that our gift was going to be a summer vacation with him. He sent us on a scavenger hunt Christmas morning to find out where we are going. I am lousy at deciphering clues, and Steve wasn’t much better, but after many hints we found our last clue. If you are a Die Hard fan, this at least is an easy clue:

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We’re going to Munich with Jeff next summer! He has been there before and have lots of ideas about what to see. There will be castles! This is something wonderful to look forward to and Steve and I are both very excited. Being female, I’m already thinking about what sort of clothes I need to pack :-).

Steve and I then went to Chris and Lorna’s where her family and more friends had gathered for breakfast and their gift-a-palooza. Bear may have been the happiest with his Octonaut Octopod and various Gupps.

After lunch, Steve and I and Jeff headed to Oklahoma City for more celebrating with the other half of the Goldsmith clan. We ate too much, exchanged stories and gifts, and just generally had a good time.

I have lived through Christmases that were less happy and relaxed so I really do appreciate this year’s celebration. If mom had been better it would have been perfect. Luckily Christmas is an annual event and we can plan better health for next year. (Note to self: lots more hand washing and never touch my nose.)

I hope your Christmas was all that you hoped it would be. If you are on the road, safe travels.

PIE NOTE: Because it’s Christmas, I made pies, which I’ve posted about before. I realized that the gluten free pie crust recipe I posted in October 2013 had a pretty significant transcription error. You add 2 TEASPOONS of lemon or orange juice with the egg, not 2 tablespoons. Deep sigh on my part. The old pie crust recipe I posted will work, it’s just not as good. I’ve corrected the recipe on the older post, but here is a link to the corrected pie crust recipe. I’m sorry for any baking inconvenience that I have caused you to have.

Show and tell… my Mom’s Welcome to the North Pole!

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My mom began this quilt in May of 2012. The finished quilt went on her wall a couple of weeks ago…

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Mom chose some fabric from my stash and then I brought more fabric. I offered to give her ‘help’ but she was very happy do make this on her own. She did it her way and it’s perfect!

The top was finished in time for it to hang on her wall last year, un-embellished. I quilted it this summer and she spent the following weeks adding embellishments. Can you tell that my mom really likes sequins :-)?

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None of this was easy for her. She struggled with her glasses, arthritis and neuropathy in her fingers. Threading the needle and dealing with the little sequins and beads was a challenge—but she did it! Click the arrows on the slideshow, below, to see more of the blocks.

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Have I said that I’m proud of my mom for sticking with this? I am! It has a folk art vibe that just can’t be beat. Way to go, Mom!

 

Thanksgiving in NYC…

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I am thankful for Thanksgiving, this one in particular. We got to visit Jeff in his city—New York City! Here are a few of the things we saw and did, not necessarily in chronological order…

Steve held my tea as I took photos pretty often. He is such a good traveling companion :-).

We went to see the balloons tied down the night before the Macy’s Parade. The weather was crisp, but nice and my oh my did the people come out for this event. It was really packed but there you go. It was a fun experience!

The balloons look a lot bigger up in the air.

We went to both the MOMA and to the Whitney museums. I enjoy the art. I enjoy watching people look at the art. I might actually like the people watching more than the art watching.

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I also enjoy the people who guard the art. They watch people looking at art all day long.

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There are great outside spaces at the Whitney where you can look out at the city…

We walked the High Line where there were still a few flowers blooming. I thought that was amazing for this time of year.

Jeff cooked a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I went to see the Rockettes! Steve and Jeff went to the northern end of Manhattan to see ‘nature’. We shopped and walked and visited Central Park. This is me, taking pictures of the leaves falling that didn’t turn out.

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I hope each and every one of you had as nice a holiday was we did. Right now we are in the airport, waiting to fly home. While we are sad to leave the kid, we are still smiling from the time spent with him.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade…

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We walked a few blocks from Jeff’s apartment to 64th Street and Central Park West. We got there an hour before the parade started and there were already lots of people there. None of us are committed enough to parades to have gotten there in time to be in the front row.

Anything below head level was hidden from us, but luckily most of the good stuff is tall or floating. The Macy’s stars were first…

Followed by a turkey float…

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My favorite was Adventure Time…

Jeff is in the kitchen cooking. I have been decorating their Christmas tree, and Steve is having a nap. What a great Thanksgiving!

NYC and MOMA…

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Jeff and Steve and I went to the Museum of Modern Art today, mostly to see the Picasso sculptures. 

  
This very early piece that’s almost not a sculpture was perhaps my favorite out of more than 100 pieces. 

  
This orangutan was also kind of fun. Picasso did a lot more with found objects than I remember from art history classes. You can’t miss the toy car….

  
But here’s the thing. A whole lot of what I saw did not pass the ‘garage sale’ test. Meaning that if I saw this for sale at a garage sale, would I buy it? In many cases, no. I’m a Philistine. 

I really love looking at people looking at art, whether that is a stranger…

  
Or if it is Jeff and Steve…

  
 We did more today. I shopped for a new lens at B & H Camera. I’ve shopped with them online but never in person. Such a cool photography store!!! I got a 14-150mm lens for my new micro four thirds Olympus. I have to stop lens shopping now, darn it!
I baked pies in an unfamiliar kitchen. I think they’ll be good. Jeff cooked dinner and now we are back in our hotel room on 54th Street. Life is mighty fine :-). 

A shopping adventure with Elanor…

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I made a promise to Elanor last year that I would take her on an overnight shopping trip to Dallas to celebrate her 13th birthday and the big day came last week. I booked a room at a NYLO (New York Lofts) hotel because it’s hip and trendy! Lots of concrete and exposed pipes and ducts, cool furniture, nice art—definitely not the usual hotel look.

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Elanor thought the all-black elevators were creepy, but I liked them. Industrial, functional, clean lines, fun textures… what’s  not to love?

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The rooms had tubular ‘mood lighting’. I was surprised that the light actually was good once it got dark outside. I thought it might be very orange, but it wasn’t.

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The bathroom, however, was the most fun. I can’t remember ever seeing a corner commode.

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The spare toilet paper had this fun cover. I am still pondering what sort of emergency use it could be put to :-).

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We shopped at Northpark Center both on Thursday afternoon and Friday. We found everything on her list (jeans, shoes, and boots). Some for her birthday, some for Christmas (because CHRISTMAS IS COMING!).

Besides the excitement of shopping, we had fire alarms in the night. They went off at 12:30am for a few seconds and then they stopped. After looking in the hallway and listening, it appeared to be an alarm problem. When they went off an hour later we went to the front desk to be sure. This was not a new problem and they were very sorry, etc.

Elanor, who was freaked out by the first alarm, was beginning to get over it. Good thing because they went off 4 more times, about every hour or so. To help us get over our lack of sleep, the hotel gave us complimentary breakfasts, which is better than nothing.

Instead of looking at the negative, we decided to embrace this as a positive experience. Elanor learned what an alarm in a place like a hotel sounds like—and what false alarms are like. She learned to always be aware of where the exits are (we had looked when we first got to our room). She learned to react swiftly and remain calm.

So, all in all, we had a really nice time eating out, shopping, and having a hipster hotel experience!