Who's The Boss?

Cake Boss. Grace had the TV Show on today. Buddy from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, N.J. is. a riot. Cakes...the whole show is about the creativity and challenges of making cakes to order. Grace loves the show! She has us all hooked. It's an Italian family busiiness. We love the family and we love their accents even more.

The show was on when Biff came home....he got hooked.
T.J. walked in after lacrosse practice...he got hooked. We all had a fun time....AND we found a show that we all like!

Their creativity inspired us. Grace made a cake this afternoon. and I got out some pain and canvas for fun. I painted some florals and Grace painted a daisy. Family fun
....like the old days!

Who's Paranoid?

Why? Me? Am I paranoid? I'm just concerned that I'll never, never, stop itching and scratching and rubbing and OH! Did I give it to you too? Grace is concerned that I touched the steering wheel in the car. T.J. is worried about the outbreak of poison ivy in the family. Cooking. Washing. Enough already! Or is it? Maybe I am paranoid. Stop looking at me. Are you looking at me?

Enough Already

My kids are afraid to touch me. I'm terrified I'll pollute Biff with Poison Ivy. Could it be possible for me to give it to the dogs? Or cats? What if they all gang up on me? We know what fear and paranoia can do to people! What if this itching never stops? This is payback for making light of other people's (Biff) poison ivy affliction. That'll do it.

Drop Me A Line

Poking along the quieti roads on the cape gave us all the thrill of what's to come in just a few short months....Cape Cod summer. We stopped to see the sailing club....boats are covered, buoys are hanging, the sailing shack is locked up tight. I can imagine all of what's to come

Quiet roads will be filled with summer people. The hustle and bustle have begun. Landscapers, painters, builder's, small shops are doing prep work for summer. What's not to love?

Isn't That A Fine How Do You Do

Springing Spring

"Red" Again!

And again and again and again! Biff's good friend Mike owned a Ford dealership.Mom talked to Mike for advice on her purchase. After benefitting from all of his information, mom asked if he had a little Ford Escort so she could buy the car from him....letting him benefit on her purchase. Mike checked into his stock on the car, called her back. He shared all of the details and finally the color, "Calypso Green!" Hearing her disappointment with the less than regal color, Mike burst enthusiastically, "Grace, come on...it'll keep you young!"

We've all had some good "Calypso Green" laughs over the years.

Another "Red!"

We're beginning to wonder if Mom's trying to let us know she's here for us!

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Lots of work is being done at this time of year to get boats ready to float, houses perked up, stores and restaurants re-opened. I love watching it all ...springing into action and preparing for summer!

When Opportunity Knocks

Sell the hand made monkey door stops. Necklaces. Bracelets. The sales crew is out on the roadtaking pre- season orders. The business is growing! The sales force is recommending pre-season orders and customers orders are encouraging! The kids have a great meet and greet routine ...customers are impressed! Beautiful to see these kids cold calling with confidence!

On The Cape

Life's A Beach!

This may not be down south and we may not be barefoot, in bathing suits but we're at the beach soaking up the delicious sunshine.

We had dreams. We had hoped for a vacation with a tad more southern exposure and warmer weather .... but we're here! Massachusetts. Spring vacation...visiting friends.
Biff headed home earlier so. T.J., Grace and I drove to the beach to take a good walk on one of our favorite beaches . Spectacular sunshine and sweeping white swirls across the sky, breakers crashing, sea glass, wishing stones, myriad dogs, families, friends all out walking fthe long stretch of beach.

We love visiting our friends! Its a gift to have time with good people and a change of scenery. This scenery is familiar to us. Each time we come back to the beach where we once walked our jogstroller babies, it takes me back in time.

We started our family here. We lived here. We found our way. We learned here how to be our best for our children. Here we learned to do what's best for our family. We created balance. We enjoyed and the power of gratefulness. We found that our ups and downs teach us lessons and give us strength. Priorities were defined and refined as we grew into ourselves. We lived each day to the fullest and as best we could. We found that we happiest when we keep it simple. Our kids are learning that here as well.

Keeping it simple is easiest at the beach. Life's. a beach!

Boston

Fun with friends. let the games begin.

Baldy

T.J. had his head shaved by a friend. His friend posted the photos on facebook to show off his inner barber.Grace commente,"concentration camp" I'm just happy that T.J.has his ears in tact.

Blue Red

We texted our "Red" photo to Claire yesterday. Here's what she sent us today. Is grammar sending a message?

"Red"

Grace saw "Red" today while we were out and about. She took this photo and texted it to her older cousin, Claire.

Claire had the priviledge of driving "Red" for years..."Red" had been my mom's car for years. She called it her chariot. This little car travelled many miles on all kinds of adventures. Certainly much smaller and simpler than any of her past chariots, she adjusted to it easily as it became her trusted companion. Like any good companions, they took good care of each other.

I loved to see my mom drive up the driveway, greeted by Daisy, Grace and T.J. giving hugs and kisses while peeking in the windows to spot what surprises Gramma had in store for them! (Daisy too!)

It was fun for me and Biff when "Gramma" came to visit. We had lots of laughs together...fun conversation...love and some sweet spoiling of our kids.....long chatty breakfasts with bakery surprises from home..... delightful dinners with a little extra dessert, newspapers and magazines catching us up on life's events... just family time. Easygoing family time. Comfortable for us all...more comfortable than with almost anyone else.

In "Red's" later years, mom wasn't able to get out while recuperating from a broken hip..not once, but twice. Mom slowed down...only physically...while her trusty companion found a new purpose. Claire, college bound, drove her Gramma's wheels off to college.......where "Gramma's car was dubbed "Red"....

It was a gift for Claire to have such a priviledge nestled upon her...knowing her gramma's love of adventure and roadtrips...and her nickname from Biff, "Wheels Gramma"... Claire drove Gramma's car and slowly, it became hers.

A gift in many ways. For my mom....Claire was driving "Gramma's car" and it was helping her first grandchild. Having Claire drive kept the car running well. A gift for us all....no one had to say the dreaded words to our aging mom, "it's time to stop driving". Claire was borrowing her car until.....

Today I drove with Grace to Boston....Grace in the driver's seat....an eager student....the next generation. What a joy to give her the gift of confident driving....and for me, our time in the car together just as I had with my mom. "Red" was one of the family. Learning to drive is a big family right of passage. We've all had it instilled in us...driving is a priviledge and a chance for adventure!

Thanks to "Gramma wheels!"

Mellow Yellow

Forsythia ...another sign that Spring is in the air. Today's rain and gray skies make us all want to crawl under the covers.....all except the dogs. In between being nestled in their cozy dog beds, they're begging to be outdoors. I've just taken them far enough for us to get soaked...and back indoors.

Grace and friend are at the library this afternoon. T.J.'s lacrosse practice has been cancelled and he's at a friend's house. Biff has dinner with a customer. I'm going to hear the author of SMASHED at our bookstore. Somedays are like this.

Poison Ivy?

Really. For all of my joyous singing about spring, this is what I get? Pardon me while I laugh...at myself. Itch. Scratch. Scratch. Itch. Itch. Scratch. All of this because of one darling daffodil that got me outdoors! Somehow that perky little yellow charmer now looks like a dastardly devil daffodil. How quickly things change. Itch. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. Itch.

"I'm Awake"

After turning on the lights, a few gentle calls to wake Grace and T.J. on this damp, dreary morning I plodded down the stairs, headed for the temperature controls and cranked up some heat. Making lunch was next... followed by a follow up wake up, hurry up call. I heard rustling in T.J's room. Check. "Grace...are you up?" "I'm awake!" ...the words were all too familiar as I flashed back to my high school mornings. I followed that voice.....Grace was under the covers when my urgent plea shocked her from slumber. One thing for sure , you can't pull the wool over my eyes... or the covers! I've been there, done that! The world has come a long way but some things never change.