Winter, Oy

Hope's snow friend is happy

stay warm and safe friends

Christmas Pics

Happy New Year everybody

We spent Christmas Eve in the MotherLand of Brooklyn, at my brother John's house. Christmas morn was at home.

The tree my brother ordered never arrived so he decorated the vacuum cleaner.

He and Hope have fun together

My niece Caitlin met Athena for the first time.

Hope enjoys dessert

She was a bit surprised that her minion speaks

A pop up book of super heroes. Hope continues to love books.

We watched 'A Christmas Story' so many times that Hope finally said ' is there a football game on?'

Athena is 3 months old and pretty much oblivious to the fuss. Hope enjoyed opening Athena's gifts for her.

Hope got a new 'cartoon/football watching' chair.

Have a safe and happy new year. I wish you all good things.

Wishing You ...

All good things

Joy and Peace and at least one good Hug every day.

yes, that is bubble wrap next to Athena. Her big sister likes to be safe. True love.

Is the Chanukah Turkey Coming?

When I was a wee one I used to talk about Chanukah Claus which scandalized all the nice Jewish ladies in the neighborhood but Nana thought it was funny and that's all that mattered to me.

Nana would have loved cooking all sorts of Russian delights along with a turkey.

I am thankful for Hope and Athena.

Hope loves 'Sophia The First' and enjoys dressing like her. The Christmas Elf made her appearance that morning.

When Hope was an infant my favorite thing was her crooked smile. With Athena it is her endless look of surprise. Sometimes her mouth forms a perfect O and sometimes her eyes get really big. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you get both.

We call this photo 'Jeffrey in a Tutu' - she looks so much like her Dad.

Happy Chanukah my friends. Happy Thanksgiving too. 

You all hold a special place in my heart.

I posted my favorite colors of Fall over at The Photo Blog The rain and wind have pretty much cleared the trees now.

Up In Arms

Hope - One Month Old

Athena - Two Months Old

Sisters In Arms

The Karate Girl

Hope started karate classes yesterday and she loves it.

Apologies for photo quality but they're camera phone through glass while everyone is moving.

Athena

Here she is one day old. I have since discovered that if you sing or speak quietly to her, up close, she makes this face.

Here she is this morning. As Hope put it - "She loves to suck. Just suck and suck. But I can't say she sucks because that means something else and is not nice. Confusing !! "

I posted some Brooklyn photos over at The Photo Blog

The Girls

Hope and her baby sister.

Baby sister's name is Athena Patricia

Patricia is my sister's name. She died suddenly and dramatically and far too young.
This is a lovely way to remember her.

Life Happens While You're Preparing A Rant

I was on and off putting together a post about what's up and where I'm at and blah - blah - blah 

I get on my own nerves

Then at 9:05 this evening Hope's baby sister decided to join us a wee bit early

She's 6 pounds/7 ounces and 19 inches long

Here she is just an hour after birth, her name will be announced later

and here's Hope at her cousin's baptism yesterday

My son became a Godfather and a Father in the same weekend

I love youse guys and will try to be a better friend here on these internet tubes

Say Hello To My Little Friend

When Pacino burst into the room brandishing his machine gun and shouting "Say hello to my little friend" I fell even more in love with him. That scene remains my fantasy of how to handle all the asshats and douches in my world.

On a far more peaceful level ...

This is my little friend Raoul. He walks up and down the driveway or back and forth along the curb stone whenever I bring out the trash or stumble over to get the mail. Everyone laughs and tells me it could not possibly be the same bird. No one believes but my granddaughter Hope. Hope believes me.

If I hurry into the side door Raoul will peek at me for a moment and then take off to join his family in the tree down the road.

The Day Frog Turtle Came to Live With Hope

Hope likes to check out things on the computer with me. One of her favorite stops is Michelle's blog ...Rambling Woods

Hope is thoroughly convinced that Michelle is a "zoologist"; a profession Hope learned about at the science center. In many ways Hope's right. Michelle is a champion for nature and one of the most informed people I've ever known.

Both Michelle and Hope love frogs and so, when Michelle told me she was sending Hope a little toy critter, I assumed it was a frog. It was a turtle. Not to worry. As Hope opened the package she exclaimed "it's a turtle, a turtle, I love turtles!!. They have their own homes you know."

Turtle joined Hope in preparing morning tea.

One must always freshen up after tea.

I will admit that not every moment is magical. I am trying to teach Hope that she needs to do things that interest other people; not everyone is into pink and princesses and tea parties. Sometimes these moments get a wee bit dramatic.

There's cajoling and there's tot rage.

It never lasts long (especially when a new turtle is involved) and Hope soon remembers that she likes lots of things.

Like football. She loves football. One of her first words was "touchdown".

We decided to test turtle's athletic ability.

Typical Jet, he couldn't get down field. Hope decided to pull a Belichick and cheat. She'd airlift turtle into the end zone.

After that there was no end to where turtle could go and what he could do.

And so 'Frog Turtle' is settled into his new family. Comfy and cozy and loved. 

I'm sure you've noticed that turtle wears the pink ribbons of breast cancer awareness and that Hope is wearing a pink 'Girls Fight Hard' bracelet. Michelle sent these things because Hope and Nana are on her team. The team that supports her and cheers her along as she becomes a breast cancer survivor.

I wanted to fix my hair and put on some make-up so we could take a photo together to send Michelle. 

"You look fine Nana"

"I look tired and messy"

"You look fine Nana. You said I didn't need lipstick. So you don't need it too."

Ah, my words used against me.

At the last moment, as I tried to get us into the frame and balance the camera, Hope put her "spring glasses" on me.

"Wear sunglasses Nana, that's what models do when they don't want people to see them"

One last thing. I didn't feel Hope was old enough for a discussion about cancer but I did realize that she understood that the ribbons and bracelet stood for something and she does know that sometimes people get very sick. I told her that Michelle had some problems the way I had problems with my back and my muscles.

"So Michelle has back problems too?"

"No, Michelle has some trouble with her breasts"

"You mean boobies" Hope says smiling. I say yes, fine, we'll call them boobies.

"Tell Michelle it's OK, boobies are pretty silly anyway"

And on we go ...

Enough is Enough is Enough

I don't know what sweet Nemo did to anyone to deserve having this latest weather ClusterF**K named after him.

I'm not all that worried about the snow amounts. If I lived further north or east I would be.
I am worried about the damn wind gusts - hurricane force at the coast they say.
Here in NJ our coast can't take much more.

This is still sitting out there

Although the storm surge is not predicted to be anywhere near as high as Sandy's there is so little left to protect us.

This morning Hope asked if we had enough gasoline for the generator. Even the little ones have become pros.

Then again there are those who wait until the last minute. I went shopping Wednesday for all things storm related. I passed Home Depot last night and it looked like the circus was in town.

What do people do with their shovels from year to year? How could so many need so much?

Right now I'm charging everything I can think of and making sure batteries are where they should be.

I try to have empathy for the utility workers but if power goes out and stays out I may need to beat the crap out of someone.

Then again, look how fragile it all is

I found these photos of Hope during her first snowstorm in 2010, she was 6 months old.

I love her face in the 2nd shot.

It seems to say "Enough."

Stay safe kids

The Three Tenors

These guys are often in the tree right behind the house.

My granddaughter Hope says good morning to them from her bedroom window as she gets ready for school. My bedroom is right below hers and I can hear her. 

One day I was helping her get dressed and I called the birds the three tenors. Hope is interested in opera so I explained a bit about the three tenors and we listened to a recording of their Central Park concert.

Days later I heard Hope saying good morning to them and then I heard her Mom asking her to please hurry and put her shoes on.

"I'm talking to the three tenors" Hope replies. 
"Where did you learn about the three tenors?" Mom asks.
Hope's answer had me smiling all morning - "From the CD Nana played for me, we do more than just princess you know".

Princesses and Puzzles

I spent Wednesday with Hope; her school was closed due to bad weather - Thank You! Mother Nature.

Daddy helped Hope get dressed before he left. I am so impressed at how good my son has gotten at up-dos and princess dresses.

Hope wanted cookies and pretzels for breakfast. We settled on fruit and apple juice with the promise of a cookie and a pretzel for a snack.

"Hope are we going to play princess all day?"
"Yes"
"Could we change things up after lunch? Please"
"You don't like princesses?"
"They're fine but then ..."
"Then they aggravate you" Hope finishes my sentence, knowing me oh so well.

"Are you going to be a princess when you grow up?"
Hope laughs, "Princess is not a job! I'm going to be a scientist."
Science is the newest interest since her visits to the Liberty Science Center. Hope can name all sorts of dinosaurs and can explain gravity.

"Nana! I have Prince Charming. Let's do a wedding and then we can do something else."

I have now officiated at dozens of Princess weddings.
The vows always involve promises of being kind, and being a good friend, and sharing cookies.
I declare them married - "by the power vested in me as Nana of all the lands"
Then there is dancing and snacks.

Little did I know, the something else was putting Princess puzzles together. Hope saw the irony right away.

"Nana do you need your glasses?"
"No, why?"
"Because you're terrible at puzzles"
"Well you know these by heart already"
"No, you're just terrible at puzzles. It's OK"

And on we go ...