Category: My Life

Friday Five

This weeks Friday Five has me looking back, over the years, at all the time spent with members of the graduating class, at Falmouth High School in 1976.

  1. I was born at the mid point of November in 1958. Back then you had to have turned 5 by the first week of that month, or they held you out a year. I had gone to Mrs. Marshall’s Nursery School with so many of my classmates, yet when school started, I was held out a year! Talk about miserable. I could read some and write and when all my friends went to school I was at home.
  2. The following year I did start school, and really, I had a blast with the kids in my grade and as we went forward, I settled in, but I also managed to keep track of the grade ahead of me.
  3. In High School, I fell in love with a classmate in the next class. We became inseparable. Like Frick and Frack. My only problem was that we wanted to get married, but I would have another year left of school. So, that summer between my Sophomore and Junior year, I took four courses at Summer School in order to have all the credits I needed to skip ahead a grade. I actually loved Summer School, and I think I learned more. I had wonderful teachers, and class size was just a few kids in each class. At the end of the Summer of 1975, I entered school as a member of the Class of 1976. Right back where I belonged!
  4. My first husband and I married that December, and recently I learned that we caused quite the scandal, as my sister was told we “had” to get married. This made me laugh like crazy because although I did get pregnant a few months later, Mandy was born the day after our first wedding anniversary!
  5. So many of these men and women, I have known well, since I was a baby, and many more became friends through Drama Club or the band. But for me, in the end, graduating with the Class of 1976 was just right!

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Falmouth, Oh Falmouth

No matter how old I get, or how long I live in another place in this world, Falmouth, Massachusetts will always be my home.

It’s funny because growing up on Cape Cod, I just thought everyone had the ocean at their back door to be their own magical play ground.

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I grew up in a house a mere five minute walk to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Surf Drive Beach. My mother claims I could swim before I could walk, and that from the moment I met the ocean, something calming happened to me.

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I know I loved being at the beach. Mom would pack a cooler with drinks, Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Fluff sandwiches and chips. By the time we sat to eat the sandwiches, they were always a little sandy, but you know, I just didn’t care.

There were days the sun failed us, and I would swim anyway, until my lips were blue and Mom would drag me out. And the days it rained…I know I was unhappy because the very best spot in the world was either on the towel by the shore or in the water!

So my sister and I drove by our old house on Clipper Lane, and noted Mom’s Lilacs are all gone now. We drove to the end of the lane, and the fence I hit with my bike (when I was learning how to ride a two wheeler) was still there. I teased Mel that she really should have taught me how to use the brakes as well as ride my blue Schwinn Bike!

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We drove along Surf Drive from Falmouth to Woods Hole. Some things have changed, but there is this amazing Cape Cod style home, with graying shingles and blue trim and shudders. All around this house were flower beds and a little further down the hill was a small pond. This house has been just the same all of my 57 years! It quite literally took my breath away!

There was also Nobska Lighthouse. I recall the sound of it’s fog horns, during my youth. I would lie in bed at the end of my day, as the fog rolled in, and listen to the deep groan of the horn.

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You must get the feeling that I love Falmouth very much and that I always will. It is home. It is where I was married (both times) and where my babies were born.

Yes, how lucky I was, to grow up where the grass was always green, the ocean always welcoming, and the sand always felt warm against my skin.

The Week Ahead

This week will be slightly crazy for me. I have appointments nearly every day, and aside from getting my hair done, most of the appointments are not for pleasure. Ah well, they’re all necessary,  and at least one of the appointments requires a long drive across the state, along a beautiful route. So, I guess that’s something.

After having short hair now for 2 months, I have decided to keep it this way. I like the ease of styling it, and at this point in my life, I’m sort of done with long curly hair and happy to have it short and cute!

It’s funny, when I was babysitting Savannah, she asked me if I was going to grow my hair out. I told her no, I was going to cut it again. “Oh Oma, you should have your hair long like me!” As much as I would like to please Savi, Oma has reached the point of wanting things to just be easy.

I blanched and froze 10 pounds of zucchini and summer squash, and 5 pounds of green beans. And today, with a little help from Hubby, I will be making Bread and Butter pickles. All of this will taste great in January! But, oh Lord, this is a lot of work.

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The Mersey Beatles

Way back when I was a really little girl, Ed Sullivan introduced us to four Lads from Liverpool, England. John, Paul, George and Ringo. I remember my silly sister kissing the TV screen when they showed Paul, and I recall dancing around like a mini maniac! The Beatles were here, and we American’s loved them.

Right from the start I loved their music. My older brother and sister got their records and played them, and the radio seemed to be filled with the latest Beatles tunes.

My cousin, Janet and I would not play Barbie and Ken, with our dolls, no they were usually John and Paul and their girlfriends.

As the years passed the band broke up. Somehow, we all learned to live without new Beatles music. In fact we enjoyed what the guys produced individually. And there was always the hope. The hope that they would get back together, one more time.

Then we lost two of the Liverpool Lads to great tragedy. One was murdered the other died of cancer. At that moment, the Beatles were no more and we knew we would never have a chance to see them perform again.

Then my cousin sent me a text a few weeks ago and asked me if I was interested in going to see “The Mersey Beatles”? This group of guys are Liverpool born and raised, and their love of The Fab Four are about as deep as my own. I thought about it for about 30 seconds and said yes!

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We opted to get tickets to sit at a table so we could have dinner, and watch the show. This proved to be an excellent idea, as the food was terrific and the service was friendly and fast!

Our seats were close to the sound man, and he was quite nice. A teacher in our local schools, who picks up extra work doing the sound for shows at The Flying Monkey.

Before the show started I met Julia Baird. She is John Lennon’s younger sister and she was quite charming. We spoke for a while and she talked about Liverpool and the events planned throughout the year to celebrate The Beatles. She encouraged me to come on over.

We ate our dinner, and then the show started. First Julia came out and introduced the group, and how they came to be.

Then the lights came up and the boys ran out, and the night began.

Janet and I sang every song, we clapped our hands and stomped our feet and even got up and danced. This group performed for us for nearly three hours, with only two breaks for costume changes.

They also seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as we were enjoying this walk down memory lane. “Twist and Shout” was one of their bigger hits last night, with every single concert goer on their feet, singing and dancing along with the group!

I sang every song, and when I closed my eyes I almost felt I’d fallen back in time and was listening to The Fab Four once again.

I babbled all the way home with phrases like, “Best concert ever”, to “Can you believe how great that was?” and I am sure there was even more. Not sure Janet got much in edgewise. I was just filled with happiness and excitement!

If you ever hear of the Mersey Beatles playing in your area, get tickets and go! HERE is their Web page and here you will find their schedule. Come on, look up their schedule and go! You will not be sorry.

Grandchildren & Love

Last week I drove down and spent the day with my daughter and grandson. It was a nice day, and I enjoyed the ride down and back.

Mandy and I hit the Outlet shops, and in the early afternoon we stopped to have lunch. We both felt like something different, and decided to go to a Thai Restaurant and try them. Oh my goodness, it was fabulous!

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Sweet Quinn was really good while we shopped. If we were outside walking, he fell right to sleep. But as soon as we would go into a store, he would wake up! He didn’t cry, but he was wide awake and taking it all in.   At the end of lunch, Mandy and I went to get Savannah at school and that was such a wonderful surprise. She came home and we got to play and joke and fool around, before I had to leave to drive home.

   

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I’ll be going back this week to spend some more time with them. You know, the time you spend with your children or grandchildren, is the best!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This was a great weekend. Mandy hosted the party for Hubby and we got to spend time with the kids. Mandy and Matt and the grands, Savi and Quinn.

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Bonus, of course was seeing my sister, Melodie and her husband, Ron, and my cousin, Janet, who is like a sister to me. It was time we don’t often get, and it was time well spent.

Anyway, this family time got me thinking about how fortunate we are to have this wonderful family. It may be a small family, but it is an awesome one!

So many people have no one, or perhaps they do, but take them for granted. I am so blessed. I know the wonderful family I have, and I thank God every day for each and every one of them.

Monday Morning Musings

I have managed to get through the entire weekend with no deviation from the Weight Watchers Plan. Each day I try to find new things to add, and at the same time, keep myself feeling full and satisfied.

My weigh in is on Wednesday, and I am both excited and nervous about doing that. I hope that I have a really good loss, so that it will show me that what I am doing is working and encourage me to continue.

Worst case scenario, would find me losing .2 pounds or no loss, after a week of really working the program. I really have my fingers crossed.

I saw a program on the TV the other day. The narrative said, “You didn’t gain all this weight overnight. You cannot expect to lose it overnight.”

Well, I’m here to tell you, that on a good weekend, I can gain ten pounds! Now I am sure that even on a good weekend, following Weight Watchers to the maximum, I could never lose that much!

So, I will just keep working on the plan, and I hope time will be my friend, and I will see some real progress.

Middle-Age

I’ve truly embraced the new Smart Points Weight Watcher plan. I have weighed, measured, and counted all my points. I’m trying to make good choices, eat wholesome foods and move more.

In case no one has mentioned this to you, middle age comes with some benefits. No more birth control, having a few extra minutes in your day for reading, or gardening, or maybe even the ability to take off on a trip, short notice, because your kids have grown and gone.

However, it also comes with your metabolism deciding to go on strike. I mean, it just sits there laughing at you, at the same time your appetite only wants chocolate, carbohydrates and a nice cocktail at the end of each day!

Oh yes, middle age be damned!

However, I decided to shoo out the Carb Junkie and get that metabolism revved and going again! So, I am making some changes. If I am lucky, this time, it will work!

-Things I’ve Done Or Not Done-

-Things I’ve Done Or Not Done-

  1. Fired a gun – Yes and I wasn’t a bad shot.
  2. Gone on a blind date – No. I haven’t had time to do that.I got married at 17 the first time and 29 the second time. I’ve pretty much been spoken for all my life!
  3. Watched someone give birth – Yes. Me. Twice!
  4. Watched someone die – Sadly, yes.
  5. Visited Canada – Yes. Hubby’s family are mostly Canadian.
  6. Visited Hawaii – No and I really want to go!
  7. Visited Las Vegas – No and don’t really want to.
  8. Visited Asia – Not yet, but really want to.
  9. Visited Africa – Not yet.
  10. Visited Florida – Not just visited, but lived there for 6 years.
  11. Visited Mexico – Yes, but Mexico and I are enemies. All three times I got very ill.
  12. Visited Australia – Not yet, but one day!
  13. Seen the Grand Canyon in person – Yes! And it was amazing!
  14. Flown in a helicopter – Yes. Not sure I liked it.
  15. Flown an airplane – Never flown an airplane, but did have the chance to fly in the cockpit when Hubby was helping to ferry a plane to Germany. If I had known how fabulous it was to do, I would have paid more attention in my math and science classes!
  16. Served on a jury – Well sort of. I was selected for two jury’s, but both cases were plea bargained before the jury was seated.
  17. Visited L.A – Yes, briefly.
  18. Been to New York City – Yes, but not a big fan.
  19. Cried yourself to sleep – Yes.
  20. Recently colored with pencils- No, but I’ve been looking at the adults coloring books.
  21. Sang karaoke – Not really.
  22. Paid for a meal with coins only – When I was very little I went to see my Grandma Elsie. She always saved coins in a tea cup for us to have for spending money when we came up. I got my money (all coins) and we went to Woolworths to shop. Grandma decided to stop there and have lunch at the counter. When we finished she went to get her wallet and realized she had left it at home. She asked me to let her have the money, and she would pay me back when she got home. I did. As we walked back home she tried her best to make me promise not to tell Papa Sam. Being the rotten six year old I was, as soon as he walked in the door that night I told him all about the adventure and how I had save the day!
  23. Made prank phone calls – No. Phones were a different thing back in the day. I think I had more respect for them
  24. Laughed so much you cried – Yes.
  25. Caught a snowflake on your tongue – I live in the White Mountain Region of New Hampshire. We can have literally several feet of snow in our winters. One of my favorite things to do is to go outside, listen to the quiet and catch snow flakes!
  26. Had children – Yes, two beautiful daughters.
  27. Had a pet – Oh yes. Let’s see: Smokey (cat) Baby, Lorelei, (dogs), Terry-Ho, Daisy, (cats), Rex, Max, Fritz, Lili, (white German shepherds), Shubi, Greta, Arnie, Anneliese, (dackels) .
  28. Been skinny dipping – Yes. But who with and when, I am not telling!
  29. Rapelled down a building / cliff – When I saw this question I laughed. Knowing me to be one disaster away from death, I do not think I will ever want to do this!
  30. Been downhill skiing – Yes, Not very good at it though.
  31. Been water skiing – Yes, years ago.
  32. Been camping in a tent – No. I am not the roughing it type.
  33. Driven a motorcycle – No. Let’s just say I have a healthy respect for them.
  34. Jumped out of a plane – LOL…no.
  35. Gone to a drive-in movie – Yes, and that was so much fun, back in the day!
  36. Done something that could have killed you – Yes, but I survived and will never be that stupid again.
  37. Done something that you will regret for the rest of your life – People who know me, know I regret only one day of my life. The day my daughter died.
  38. Rode an elephant – Yes, and perhaps that is why I love elephants so much!
  39. Rode a camel – Yes, I did that too.
  40. Eaten just cookies or cake or ice cream for dinner – Sure. Long, long, ago, in a galaxy, far, far, away!
  41. Been on TV – Not really.
  42. Been in newspapers – Yes a number of times. Most notably, when I appeared as a child in the Sound  of Music.
  43. Stolen any traffic signs – Nope!
  44. Been in a car accident – Yes. And it haunts me to this day.
  45. Stayed in Hospital – Yes. Unfortunately, many times.
  46. Donated blood – Yes.
  47. Had to pay a fine in the past 12 months – No, I live a clean life.
  48. Gotten a piercing – Just my ears.
  49. Gotten a tattoo – Ah, no.
  50. Driven a standard car – Oh yeah, piece of cake.
  51. Ever owned your dream car – Yes. Still have it.
  52. Been Married – Twice.
  53. Been divorced – Yes, once.