Catch Up!

Wow!  It's been a crazy month.  As I was getting ready to enjoy a women's brunch in my home on April 16th, I ask Rich to put some music on for us.  As he bent over one of the two artificial lenses he has in his eyes as a result of cataracts suddenly shifted down off the pupil.  (As we found out later)  He didn't tell me but, went upstairs and called the Dr. who had done his preivious eye surgeries.  Although it was Saturday the Dr told him to come in immediately and she would meet him at her office.  She said one danger is the lens can fall the rest of the way into the eye and then would have to be fished out surgically.  He came down stairs to tell me he was leaving to see the Dr which was an hour away.  Not knowing what was wrong, I wouldn't let him go alone.  It could have been anything!  So this started the crazy month we have been through.

Because the ressetting of the lens is such a technical specialty, the next day we saw a specialist in Chevy Chase, Maryland who scheduled the surgery.  We tried to get home but this is what we faced.

So we left this fun traffic mess and ended up at Great Falls.  It was a beautiful day so we started hiking out to the falls.  Unfortunately these were the hiking shoes I had on my feet.

Of course I was very cute with this matching purse, but not really suited for a two mile hike.

We started for the falls and about half way there I already had a huge blister forming on the top of my foot.  I thought -- that's okay.  You know the price of beauty and all.  Then the pain started getting really bad so I told Rich to go ahead and I would wait.  I sat down on one of the locks to wait.  Of course I was immediately bored stuck on the lock.  Then I got the bright idea to wrap the scarf I had around my neck around my foot.  It worked perfectly.  So off I went.  Then I started worrying that the other foot would start complaining so I wrapped a few napkins around that foot also.  Yes, I was quite a sight, but the scarf and napkins worked.  By the time I found Rich, he was on his way back, but he went with me back to the falls.  It was a beautiful sight -- about two miles all in all.

This is the tow path along the canal.  It runs 184 miles from Georgetown to Cumberland, MD.

The water was roaring and beautiful.  The canals hadn't been opened yet, but it was fun to be there while the traffic cleared up.

So Next:

 Rich finally got his antique radios restored and returned to us. Only the inside on the large one needed restoration.  We drove them to Connecticut.  The large radio was given to him by his grandfather who lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho.    He was quite a man.  He graduated from Stanford in accounting and was a CPA until he was in his 90s.  Amazing.  He always used to say that his business  was dying off.  Literally.  I guess so at that age.  His grandson is thrilled to have this radio.

This smaller radio was a gift his father gave to his mother on her 22nd birthday.  Both the inside and the outside had to be restored on this radio.  Both of this radios are now playable and Rich has extra tubes for the future.  What treasures to have.  They are beautiful.

Then.....Lauren visited over spring break.  What a treat for us.  Here she is with brother Nathan.

Two sisters -- Lauren and Charlotte catching a few zzzz's

Lauren will be back  along with the Fresno Crowleys , the first week of June for our annual family reunion at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

Then bad news.........I found out that my pitching arm isn't what it used to be.  Ha Ha!  Rich ask me to bring his wallet upstairs.  I decided that I could throw it.

I wanted to throw it up to the bridge and he could retrieve it.  Hmmmm.  You guessed it.

This is one of the many things I'm not that good at anymore.  Then Rich reminded me that my pitching arm was never that great.  Running yes -- throwing no.  Oh well.  I'm glad I can laugh at myself these days.

So ........................last week after a three day stay in Maryland, Rich's eye surgery was successful.  The lens was stitched to the iris and he is as good as new.  And by the way, those of you who keep asking me if Rich got a tattoo.  Check out his blog here for the answer.  http://facesofculpeperva.blogspot.com/    It's after "A Walk With Lauren".

Carlos O'Kelly's

Final Celebration!  Our favorite family restaurant in Fairfax is closing after twenty some years.  We've had lots of celebrations and fun family outings at Carlos over the years so we will miss you Carlos.  Matt and Gabe, Melanie and Andrew, and Rich and I drove back to Fairfax to soak up the surroundings and good food a couple of weekends ago.  We invited Carly Zeugschmidt, our good friend to join us for our farewell dinner.  We love it.  The Chips.  The Salsa.  The Nachos Grande.  You name the item, we have tried everything.  The best shredded beef Chimi around. 

The best mouth burner is the Mas Macho Burro.  Yes, all of the men-folk have tried this item -- but never twice.  I don't believe the women have been that brave.  We had the place to ourselves because we met up at about 2:30 in the afternoon.  We had a blast.  As you can see in the above picture, Andrew is leaving loaded with a bag of chips and salsa.
                                         Matthew, Audrey, Andrew and baby Jocelyn

Melanie, Grandpa Rich and Charlotte

                                                   Andrew, Audrey, Matthew, Gabe,

                                                      Gabe and Nathan

                                                Grammie Andrea and Charlotte

This is serious fun.

                                                           Carly and Gabe

The Crowley Women with Carly Z

So we say farewell to Carlos in Fairfax.  The good news is there is another one in Fredericksburg that is not closing. 

The funny thing -- Jeremy and Andrew planned one of their driving trips to the West to stop at the Football Hall of Fame and any Carlos along the route.  I think they found one in Nebraska.  Gotta have those chips. 

Andrew and Melanie's first date:  Melanie requested Italian.  This is where Andrew took her.  Should have been a clue Melanie. 

We actually saw a waiter dump an entire tray of food here.  It was a good thing it wasn't our order. 

When I retired, my staff planned the party here.  It was a fond farewell to wonderful colleagues and friends.  Great memories.

We love you Carlos.  We will remain loyal.
Adios .

The Jeans

When Matthew was about 4 months old, he and I flew to Idaho to show him off to all of the relatives.  The first thing I had to buy for him was a genuine pair of Levis.  I hadn't been able to find any in the DC area.  But yes, Idaho had a pair.  Size 0.  Here they are:  the line is where they had to be rolled under or up depending on the boy.  They are about 36 years old.  Matt's birthday is tomorrow.  I haven't been able to part with these jeans.  They bring something to my heart.  Just seeing them makes me happy. 

Here is my favorite picture of Matthew in the Levis.  He was 18 months old.  Notice the flower in one hand and the rock in the other.  What a boy.  We lived in our townhouse in Burke, VA.

Then Jeremy came along to wear the jeans.  He was about a year old here.  Love the shag carpet.  Every thing '70s is coming back.

And here is Andrew in the jeans.  I'm not sure why I didn't snap them.  Andrew is about 14 months old.  This is in our Landmark Place house in Fairfax. 

I thought I would throw this in for effect.  What a cute daddy these boys had.  Jeremy is in the jeans.  Check out Rich's shirt.  This must have been in the days before electricity.  It appears he dressed in the dark.

Now the jeans have a new generation.  Here is Nathan (Matthew and Gabe's son who just turned one year old.

And here is Jocelyn (Andrew and Melanie's daughter who will be one in April)

So needless to say, we have probably gotten our money's worth out of the Levis.  I have pictures of Jeremy's kids in the jeans, but it is a mystery to me where those pictures are at the moment.  So this is the saga of the Levis.  I'm glad I still have them.  And........................my boys are so adorable.  I would love to snuggle those little cheeks again.  I guess that's why grandchildren are so much fun.

No Kids for Christmas

Wow -- for the first time we will have no kids waking up on Christmas morning.  They will be here Christmas Eve, then go home.  We will go to Matthew and Gabe's for brunch and to Andrew and Melanie's for  Christmas dinner.  Well, I'll try to not to get blue about this.

Check this link:  Gabe produced this You Tube video with the Christmas song Rich wrote and recorded.  Love it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op1MhgKwpYU


Anyway, we needed a new tree and decided we needed a really tall tree to fit the room.  Ha Ha.  You should have seen us trying to get it up.  You know -- one of those "WHAT WERE WE THINKING?" moments.  We were really cracking up...........................but now it's beautiful.  Gabe came over to finish the decorations at the top.  So on to Christmas..........have fun getting ready. 

A close up -- the gold ornament balls (on the right) finally have a tree big enough tree to show how beautiful they are.  Fun.  It is about five inches across.

So working back here are some fun pictures of our grandkids.
 

Our adorable Charlotte

 

 Look at this hair.  Beautiful

 Nathan will be walking soon.  He's 9 months.

Carsen lost another tooth and is now 7

 Tanner and Emme

 Emme, our sparkle princess asleep in her princess dress.

Wow a blond blue-eyed princess

 Tanner and Carsen getting ready for soccer.

These Crowley boys can play.............Carsen on the move

Tanner getting ready to kick the ball.

And my boy -- the coach

 Audrey, our darling little witch

Jocelyn, our baby witch

 
Love these fun kids.  They are such a joy in our life.

my New England

New England became my own after my almost three weeks there.  I loved this statement about Rhode Island.  It helped describe all of New England.

Rhode Island is a poetic kind of state. A drive through south county in July or apple country in the fall will thaw a frozen brain and make even the most tv-addled reach for the right string of words to describe .

That is just how I felt as we drove New England.  My frozen brain began to thaw.

Hang on........................here comes an English lesson.


New England has always been famous for its poets, writers and authors. Being the nerdy English major that I was, I have always been enthralled with everything written – yes, I still am. I have to admit the first time I was in New England, my brother in Connecticut ask Rich and I what we wanted to see. We had only one extra day.  I told him I really wanted to see Mark Twain’s home in Hartford. What a nerd. Not Boston or Newport? Crazy -- Mark Twain’s home was so interesting to me.  He actually has a phone booth in the entry foyer.

Few Americans realize (according to the New England Book) that Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), better known as Mark Twain, settled in Hartford, Connecticut at the age of 35.  Though Missouri-born, Twain wrote his masterpieces Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in Hartford, as well as The Prince and the Pauper, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Touring his grand Victorian mansion at Nook Farm is the high point of a visit to Hartford.

As we traveled through all of the New England recently, I could see many reasons why many writers came from or settled in the New England area. The area is captivating. An entity unto itself. I found myself wanting to write something also. The problem – I'm not a writer.  Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the pleasure of New England and reading again about some of my favorite writers and poets in the New England book.   I had my Kindle and could download anything I wanted to read.  So .........this was extra fun for me.

 Emily Dickenson

Besides the Autumn poets sing 

by Emily Dickinson

Besides the Autumn poets sing,

A few prosaic days

A little this side of the snow

And that side of the Haze -

                     This was the setting as we wandered through the poet's New England!

One of my favorites of Emily's is

I'm a nobody, who are you

Are you a nobody too?  don't tell......

A great poem for those who do not want to be the center of attention. 

Emily Dickenson (1830-1886), a native of Amherst, Massachusetts, who lived there in near seclusion most of her life. (Sadly)Only seven of her poems were published during her lifetime, but the posthumous editing and publishing of nearly 1,000 poems established her reputation. Her influence on American poetry is matched only by that of Robert Frost.

                                                           America's Poet - Robert Frost
              He has some of the most memorable and unique quotes -- not to mention his poetry.

Fire and Ice

by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

This is not my favorite Robert Frost poem by any means, but I quoted it because we ate dinner at  Fire and Ice Restaurant after wandering the town of Middlebury, VT where Maren Younce lives. 


I have quoted from this Robert Frost poem in my head so many times on a busy day:

       And I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep.

I like this quote from Frost, "A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness." 

So many of the scenes we loved in New England put a lump on our throats.

Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco, but his family had lived in New England for generations. He moved to New England early in life, attended Dartmouth and Harvard without taking a degree, and later returned to teach poetry at Amherst and Harvard. His many books capture the quintessence of New England living and the Yankee soul.

Just a tidbit I read in my New England book:

The runaway bestseller of the early 1800's was not a book of sermons, nor a novel, nor even a history of the late war with England; and the book remains a bestseller to this day. It's the American Dictionary of the English Language, by Yale graduate Noah Webster (1758-1843). First published in 1828, Webster's 70,000-word dictionary was bought by hundreds of thousands of Americans every year—and still is.

                       

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), was born in Salem, Massachusetts, attended Bowdoin College in Maine, then pursued a career which produced The Scarlet Letter, Twice-told Tales, and The House of the Seven Gables. Hawthorne is thought by many to be the writer who established the truly American short story.

I always loved the scary stuff.  The House of Seven Gables was a favorite.

Maine born -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Among New England poets, the 1800's belonged to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). Born in Portland, Maine, he attended Bowdoin College, taught at Harvard, and lived in a big yellow house on Brattle Street in Cambridge which is now a historic landmark. Several of Longfellow's poems are so much a part of Americana that many forget that he wrote them: "Paul Revere's Ride," "The Song of Hiawatha," "The Village Blacksmith," "Excelsior," and "The Wreck of the Hesperus" are among the better-known ones.

This is one of my all time Longfellow favorites:  Starts lyrically and ends with wisdom.  Love it.  I had to memorize it in school.

THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH"

Under a spreading chestnut tree

The village smithy stands;

The smith, a mighty man is he,

With large and sinewy hands;

And the muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,

His face is like the tan:

His brow is wet with honest sweat,

He earns whate'er he can,

And looks the whole world in the face,

For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,

You can hear his bellows blow;

You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,

With measured beat and slow,

Like a sexton ringing the village bell,

When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school

Look in at the open door;

They love to see the flaming forge,

And hear the bellows roar,

And catch the burning sparks that fly

Like chaff from a threshing floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,

And sits among his boys;

He hear the parson pray and preach,

He hears his daughter's voice,

Singing in the village choir,

And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,

Singing in Paradise!

He needs must think of her once more,

How in the grave she lies;

And with his hard, rough hand he wipes

A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,

Onwards through life he goes;

Each morning sees some task begin,

Each evening sees it close;

Something attempted, something done,

Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,

For the lesson thou hast taught!

Thus at the flaming forge of life

Our fortunes must be wrought;

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped

Each burning deed and thought!

Experiencing New England and the connection with the first American authors was a homecoming for me.  It was thrilling.  It made me remember why I love to read.

I think Maine was my favorite state in New England, but I could live in any of them in a heart beat.  Here is one last picture of Maine.

 Here are Rich and I in our "Maine coats"

We could be longshoremen!