A Memory Made

This Halloween I made a memory. My beautiful granddaughter, Ally, and her best friend, Olivia, were Raggedy Ann and Andy - compliments of Guga's sewing machine.

Of all my sewing projects, recent and in the past, this was one of my most favorites. To hear their squeals as they put on their costumes and wigs was just a moment I will never forget.

To my daughter, thank you for giving me yet another project when I thought I was already overwhelmed with responsibilites.

To Olivia's parents, your heartfelt thanks and kind words will always be with me.

Sometimes, our most precious memories come when we least expect... Who would have thought Halloween could provide a grandmother with such a moment??

When men babysit

This is Mr. Wonderful's idea of babysitting!

Not again!

I know you must be tired of reading about my construction- I am tired just writing about it, never mind living the horror!

They applied the 3rd color (4th color change) of stucco on a small patch and waited for my approval - which I whole heartedly gave. After they finished the whole entrance - I told Mr. Wonderful that I really hated it - it was too "yellowish". God Bless this man - he said, "You call the contractor and tell him we will give him an extra $$$ BEFORE you tell him we are changing the color again."

It is getting easier to pick out the next color choice as we have eliminated so many possibilities already!

A Woman's (man's?) Perogative

OK, it is official. We will go down as the worst people to work for in the construction industry (so much for the free lunches). As you know, we are having stucco applied to our newly renovated front entrance and eaves. They gave us a color chart of 1" x 1/2" blocks of color and asked us to pick something. After careful deliberation, we finally agreed on a color - not too light, not too dark, that didn't compete with the brick or front door color. They applied a 3' square under one of the eaves and we shreiked "STOP!" - We hated it.

We then discussed, compared, pondered and came up with what we thought was a perfect color and had them change it. They proceeded to apply it under the eaves and the change was dramatic and we loved it. They dismantled the scaffold and moved to the front entrance and began applying the new color stucco. After seeing it enmasse - we agreed that WE HATED IT!

This was then followed by the two of us standing outside, in the rain, under an umbrella, with a flashlight, comparing those 1"x1/2" samples to the bricks and front door. Then we flipped a coin to see who would call the contractor to tell him that we changed our minds, AGAIN. He lost - but he blamed the color change on me!

Please keep your fingers crossed that we got it right this time. If not, we will suck it up and have Mr. Wonderful paint it after they leave!

And then there were 6

There were 13 First Cousins on my Mother's side. We saw each other often, always gathering at Grandma's house. We each grew into the role of dishwasher as there was no such thing as eating off paper plates in Grandma's house. As good Italian Catholics, we celebrated every Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, and Wedding together. Our first cousin died in Vietnam - we were all there. Grandma died in 1973 - we were all there. We tried like hell to keep many of the traditions alive. We continued to gather for each other's weddings - and after we were all married, we found other reasons to come together - "family reunions".

Then there was Aunt Jean's funeral - people flew in from all over to say good-bye to her. After Grandma died, she was our Matriarch.

Our gatherings happened less often as time went on. The distance between us grew in miles, but never in feelings, after all, "family is family!" One of us is in California, one is in Illinois. Two are in Florida, two on Long Island. The rest live in various parts of New Jersey.

We had a reason to come together this past weekend. One of the original 13 had invited us to share in his daughter's wedding celebration. Only 6 of us made it. Some live too far, some had other plans... There was a time that nothing could keep us apart... I am glad I made the effort to be there.

Perhaps it is time to name a new Matriarch...

Construction Purgatory

We have officially begun our 6th week of construction. I am starting to believe that this will truly be finished one day. They still have to brick the wall around the new window and stucco the entrance and all the eaves.

Let us not forget the brick wall that has yet to be built for the landscaper - AND LET'S NOT FORGET THE LANDSCAPING!

I am still trying to hunt down the exact color paint we used inside the house as they have to do all the touch up around the new windows!

Yet, I do have a sense of peace knowing that this will all be worth it. Then I will begin the arduous task of letting Mr. Wonderful know he was "right".