Microwave Bowls

John often gets up at 5:00 AM...and by the time I get out of bed (at a civilized 8:00) -- he's dressed and sitting in his chair...

He sits in his chair all day...dressed in his winter coat, hat, the whole works.  He is watching old Gunsmoke episodes...or sleeping...it's hard to tell the difference.

So, for the last coupla months, I've had my Featherweight table set up right next to the puzzle table.  THESE are the activities that get me through the day (and some long nights)....

I didn't take a good picture -- but you can see the puzzle underneath the flannel bowls...

The Featherweight table is snugged up right against the puzzle table...

And I just keep making the bowls...

 

I turned a laundry basket full of flannel pieces into a laundry basket full of microwave flannel bowls...

And now, the fun part will be to GIVE THEM ALL AWAY...

Obviously, "microwave flannel bowls" was a category!!

During the Niece-a-Palooza, the girls all got to choose a flannel bowl for everybody in their family. I started making flat flannel plates..for those occasions when a person wants to microwave food on a PLATE. So each of them got to pick one of those, too.

Valerie's New Home

Yesterday, I went to see Valerie's new apartment. OMG..OMG...OMG... Since a picture is worth a thousand words --  I'm just gonna post some pics:

It was once an elementary school -- completely remodeled, with 18 units BEAUTIFULLY done...

It's called the Naval Station -- and the woodwork in the front entrance is original and stunning.

They painstakingly restored the tile floors.

On all three floors, there are stunning common areas..the second floor is a television/living/conference area.

The third floor has a skylight.

AND a stage for events.

Val has her own washer/dryer.

Stainless appliances, granite countertops, dishwasher!! 

A HUGE living/dining room with 10' ceilings, porcelain tile floors, WONDERFUL light and a gas fireplace.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

She has a granite pass-through counter from the kitchen into the main room.

And her bedroom is HUGE...

 

The pictures don't do it justice. I didn't capture the wonderful light or the wide hallways, the curved plaster corners in every space, the cove ceilings,the security system, the elevators, the quality of the restoration and the attention to every detail. OMG...OMG...OMG...

This building is about 4 minutes from Valerie's old house. It's a neighborhood she is very familiar with...and you cannot wipe the smile off her face. 

I'm almost as excited about her new place as I am about my own!!  And I am thrilled that she'll have some community in this new home.  There are 18 other apartments, and it will be so good for Val to be able to meet people.

The Ales company did a spectacular renovation/restoration of this old historic building, and Val will have central air conditioning for the first time in her life.  

Honestly...her new home is PERFECT. 

My Niece-a-Palooza Report

So -- how was my Niece-A-Palooza??

IT WAS EPIC...

F.A.B.U. L.O.U.S....!!!  SQUARED...I cannot tell you how much I loved my time with my nieces.  

For one thing -- I rarely get to visit with these lovely young Moms.  When I do see them, they've invited me to their house for a party or holiday and they're busy serving food or organizing large groups of people....

So, this was a very rare event.  Like -- it's never actually happened before.

Of course, this occasion called for my best china and Aunt Rozella's silver...

I wanted our supper to be something my Mom used to make.  So, homemade chicken and noodles (with turkey, of course).

I haven't made noodles for years...(they were chewy...and kind of a disappointment.)

I did a popover demonstration (while they ate appetizers -- shrimp; potato chips and french onion dip)

 

They each got several wraps and/or ruanas...(I decided to rehome some of my Ya Ya samples)

Also -- beach towel WRAPS (remember that show, Mary?)

There was an artsy fartsy light fixture up for grabs...

AND, they emptied my mother's Hope Chest...then, Kelcy took it home so one day her daughter Myla can inherit it.

Another category was Christmas rugs...they all got to pick TWO rugs...

 

Amy, Nicole, me (with my new Judge Judy collar) and Kelcy.

In my mind, I have many pictures of these girls when they were kids.  Amy riding a little plastic tricycle on the sidewalk of our first rental house....taking Nicole to see Sarah Brightman singing at the Mark... eating sheets of caramel on top of microwave popcorn with Kelcy...and it all seems like just yesterday.

Looking back, I can see each one of them in New York City...and I am so grateful to have these young women in my life.  I am also really glad we did what we did when we did it.

And looking forward, I am beyond delighted they allowed me to re-home so much treasure!!  They took artwork and prints off my walls...so many things I've acquired, and touched, and loved....books I've read, things I've sewn, samples I've made...I hope some of these things fit into their lives.  And maybe -- years from now -- one of them will be making scrambled eggs, and she'll remember that spatula came from Aunt Rita's Niece-a-Palooza...

 

My First Ever Niece-A-Palooza

Every time I try to use my NEW laptop (which I've had for over three years, and is loaded with Windows 10) -- I have an INCREDIBLY HARD TIME making things work. I just cannot get used to a computer where you touch the screen instead of using a mouse. And, the internal mouse on THIS dinosaur is worn out, so I have a corded mouse plugged in...it is pitiful people...

But, in the interest of trying to post a little blog this morning, I went back to my Old Faithful. Tonight is my first ever Niece-A-Palooza. I was calling it a Niece-a-Ganza. But Anne accidentally called it a Niece-A-Palooza, and I knew that was more fitting.

I am so lucky to have three nieces who live near me and include me in their lives. Deena's daughter Kelcy

Kelcy and Andy have four children, and they live about 10 miles from me.  This picture is from Aspen's baptism...which was a lovely outdoor event in Deena's back yard...

Several years ago (before she was married) -- I acted as the official tour guide for Deena and Kelcy. It was Kelcy's first visit to New York City. I went with my sisters and cousin Kim in 1997.

Somewhere along the way -- I became the Iowa-Girl-who-loves New York City -- and I went with my sisters, cousins, friends....and my last, most wonderful trip was in 2019.

Ronda's daughters, Amy and Nicole -- asked me to be their tour guide to New York City. John had dementia, but Ross agreed to stay at the house.  Jackie met us (she lived in NC at the time) and we had the MOST GLORIOUS TIME... 

 

This is my favorite picture of the girls -- setting off on bicycles in Central Park. After just two days in the city, they were completely comfortable...and I know one day, they'll go back.

 

These three young women are great about including us in their lives. Tomorrow night, we have a basketball game for Amy's son....Nicole always invites us to Easter dinner...and Lilly and Warren love swimming in Kelcy's pool with her kids.

As I've been sorting through my lifetime collections -- trying to rehome SO MUCH TREASURE -- it occurred to me that these three girls might want some of the things that once belonged to my mother.  

Nicole expressed a bit of interest in my piano -- then, I found a VHS tape with a label that says, "Nicole and Bill Kearney's Wedding".  Wow.  She got married 25 years ago...and I'm sure she would love to see this video...so I sent her a text and said she could have it as soon as she moved the piano...

I also have my mother's Hope Chest -- which is full of linens that once belonged to Mom, and her mother...and it's time I passed these treasures on....

For over a year now, I've been asking (then begging) my boys to take whatever they want.  Elliott took John's gigantic tool chest, and Ross wants the grill in the kitchen...but, other than that, they have ZERO interest in my stuff.  Boys just are not sentimental...

But, hey -- THESE GIRLS might enjoy some of this stuff.

So -- that's why tonight, I'm having my first ever Niece-A-Palooza.  There will be supper...and then a game element to determine who picks first...what will they be picking?  Well -- there's some art still on the walls, and some jewelry, spooners, Christmas rugs, bed linens, samplers...you get the idea

AND -- while they're here -- I might as well put them to work.  I'm hoping

2021 Thanksgiving

My niece Amy invited us to her home, butI was determined to cook the meal myself for our last Thanksgiving in this house...

But cooking a turkey is a lot like taking a ride in a dog sled -- I just don't do it often enough to be confident.  So,for insurance, i also purchased a turkey breast.

I got out the very large aluminum roaster my mother-in-law gave me for a wedding shower -- over 50 years ago...

I split the turkey breast, and it was finished in an hour. BINGO! Now, I have my back-up turkey meat, just in case the big bird doesn't get done in time.

I set the table with Aunt Rozella's silver

I worked all morning, in my favorite Mary Mulari apron

And I LOVE LOVE, LOVE setting the table with my good dishes.

Holy Cow! We really did a number on that turkey!!  Although we didn't cut up the extra breast for our dinner, I was glad I also cooked it -- because, without that, there would have been NO LEFTOVERS...

I was acutely aware that this was our last Thanksgiving in this house. And maybe that's the gift of old age. When I was younger, I never understood those "last" moments...so they mostly flew by, without me even knowing I just missed something important. 

Like -- when was the last time I read a story to my boys when I put them to bed, or the last time I saw Elliott pitch a Little League baseball game...or the last time my Mom and Dad would eat a meal at my house?

Oh, yeah...life moves pretty fast.  And Thanksgiving is a good time to push the pause button and take stock of where you've been, and where you're going.  

And I am grateful.  

AFTER the Parade.

 AFTER the parade, the kids and I walked to one of our favorite places -- Sippi's in downtown Davenport.  The first time we ever went there was quite by accident, that year Lilly was five and we attended our first Holiday Parade.  Their cheese fries are something people TRAVEL for miles to eat!!  and we're just a few blocks away.  

Warren was wearing his favorite Spiderman jacket -- and along the way, there was a toddler who pointed and screamed (with delight) -- SPIDERMAN..!!  Warren was thrilled with his super-hero moment...

These two country kids enjoyed doing a little city parkour climbing along the way...

Once we arrived at Sippi's -- we asked for an outside table.  Then, we set up for a few Grandma Games.  Crazy 8's and two speed rounds of Bananagrams...

Thanksgiving 2021

So, here we are again. Thanksgiving 2021.  This is our last Thanksgiving in this house...and I'm feeling more than a little sad about that.  But I'm also feeling like I want to make it SO SPECIAL, and SO WONDERFUL...that it'll remember well for years to come.  

Oh, yeah -- with that kind of pressure -- what can go wrong....?

But, hey -- the truth is this year MUST beat last year.  A year ago,  I was sick with Covid,  Thanksgiving was completely canceled...and I spent most of the day in tears.  John was having a really bad time, I felt shitty and was having quite the pity party.  I put John in the car and we had to drive to TWO different Kwik-Star locations to find turkey dinners -- which I nuked.  And, yes, that was just as miserable as it sounds....  

The holidays can be brutal.  I decided to go back and read my own words....this is my official annual Thanksgiving Post...Normal Rockwell was a wonderful artist who painted imaginary people...

   

Although some things never change -- Thanksgiving is not one of those things. A family is alive...which means it is always growing -- or shrinking. People come, people go (depending on the people, either one of those things could be the good news or the bad news).

Every family has their happy times. Birthday parties, graduations, good test scores, promotions, beautiful weddings, new babies.

Then there are the not-so-happy occasions. Kids move away. Couples get divorced and the dining room furniture is hauled off to the Goodwill. People die, they get sick, lose their jobs, or maybe their house burns down...

Every one of those things -- good or bad -- has one thing in common.

Change...

If you were having the perfect Thanksgiving....you probably would NOT be reading this blog today...So, I am going to assume that something about this day isn't going right.

You are not alone...Trust me...

If your day sucked -- if you feel lonely -- or somebody hurt your feelings -- or disappointed you...or you are dealing with a loss....well -- it's a very long line you're standing in...

Thanksgiving has become a holiday full of pressure. Norman Rockwell painted a fictional picture that no family could live up to. The people you THINK are having a better day than you are probably bored out of their minds, feeling jealous or resentful of their annoying siblings, pissed off at their ungrateful children, and have spent the entire day biting their tongues...

Chances are good they are telling you the heavily-edited Norman Rockwell-version of their day....and Facebook makes it easy to pretend everything was perfect....

If today REALLY sucked -- my advice is to write it all down. Just for yourself. It is so interesting to read these journal entries AFTER the fact. It's how I learn. Every single time. If you write it down honestly -- then go back and read it next year, maybe you can PREVENT having another meltdown, crappy Thanksgiving.

But that almost always means you must embrace...that's right...let's say it together....

CHANGE!!!

And here's the good news -- it's just ONE DAY, PEOPLE.   Give it a few hours and it'll be over...

*******

And -- here's the picture I promised you, Kathy!!  Thanks for the Shoefly Pie Recipe -- I still think it's the strangest thing I ever made...