Another Sweater

After working for sometime I finished a sweater that I had made for Alison's friend. Ellen adopted a newborn boy in January. We were in Hawaii at the time so I picked up an outfit there and sent it to her. She and hubby also adopted a newborn girl in May. Having had more time, I knitted a sweater set but took forever to sew it together (that's why I prefer Top-down knitting - there's almost no sewing involved). This set is from the book Creature Comforts by Amy Bahrt. It's the cover sweater. I used Caron's Simply Soft yarn.

Happy Birthday to ME!

This morning I woke to four little cuties who all gathered around to wish me a Happy Birthday... Orange, Tiemann, Rusty, Blue

What a nice birthday it was!! Mom took me to lunch today, then came back to my house and we relaxed. Gerry took us to PF Chang for dinner tonight and then to the movies to see Mr. Brooks with Kevin Costner. We enjoyed it. I got a call from each of my kids and cards/e-mails from my friends. Thanks again to my children for my fabulous birthday gift, given to me when they were all together at the Sweet 16 in March...a Canon SD 700 is digital camera. It takes wonderful stills and videos....I LOVE IT!

Father's Day Weekend

We spent the weekend in GA with Alison, Michael and Avi. Avi is now doing the "infantry crawl" and scoots around the floor at breakneck speed. He is one happy baby, too! He now waves at everyone and everything to say HI! The afternoon we arrived we went to a neighborhood party by the pool. Everyone there is really nice. Late that night we watched Ocean's 11 in the kid's media room. It's so comfy, I fell asleep. Sunday we went on a hike up Kennesaw Mt. The kids took it easy on us, taking us on the short hike. We did really well....it's a mile hike, halfway uphill and the other half....yup, downhill. I loved it and wish I could hike more. That night I helped give Avi his bath, which he LOVES. After he went to sleep we watched Ocean's 12! and again I conked out but woke before the ending. Luckily I had seen both movies before. Monday we went to dinner at a good Italian restaurant, to celebrate Dad's day. It was easier than trying to go ON Father's Day. After dinner Alison got a baby sitter, since Avi was asleep, so we could go to the movies to see Ocean's 13. It was cute, but getting too played out by now.

Still On The Road Part 4 (Go, TEAM!)

June 14 - Gerry had decided a few days back that he would return to NY and finish the trip with me. Before picking him up at the airport I stopped in the Bronx to visit another friend/former co-worker, Daphne at the school where she works as Media specialist. We barely said Hi and exchanged a few pleasantries when she was called to do duty for graduation rehearsal. So....I sat in too (I was only there for an hour anyway). When I left, I just HAD to have a NY delicacy that I had been planning to have but didn't up till then....WHITE CASTLE HAMBURGERS!!! Now I admit that you have to have an acquired taste to appreciate them, and having grown up and spent most of my life in the Bronx, I do truly appreciate them (it helps if you don't eat them all the time, too). Two for breakfast....lousy for a diet, great for my head:

Then it was off to LaGuardia to pick up Gerry. I got there just in time. Gerry was ready for the Yankee game we were going to (the tix were exchanges from the game we missed in April) as he was wearing white shorts, an official white with blue pinstipes Yankee jersey (with # 7 on the back) and a Yankee hat. When we walked to baggage, a boy of about 7 walked up to Gerry and asked,"Are you a Yankee Manager?" Gerry said, "No I'm a Yankee fan." The boy kept looking at him so I asked, "Why, does he look like a manager?" and the boy shook his head 'yes.' Gerry said, "I'd rather look like a Yankee ball player!" Then I showed the boy my Yankee t-shirt and asked if I looked like a manager too. Trying not to look at me as if I was totally nuts, he simply whispered "no."

As we waited for Gerry's bags there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around I saw Itzia, a teacher from my school in Florida. She and her husband had been on Gerry's flight (though he didn't know her). Small world! We then headed for Yankee Stadium where we met my brother Jon and my mom. We weren't sitting together...we'd be about 2 sections apart, but we could see and wave to each other. The game was great and the Yanks won.Gerry and I left after the 8th inning so we could start our drive out of the city. We spent that night outside of D.C. and the next night in Charlotte, NC.

On The Road Again Part 3 (Just for Me)

June 11 - I drove the The Bronx to visit a friend/former coworker. She is an assistant principal of a school in NYC. I went with her to the school, did some wandering through the Fordham Road Area. It's not at all what it was when I was growing up in the Bronx. It was congested then, but now it's three times as busy. I didn't spend too much time there as there was really nothing for me to shop for (and not the kind of stores that I would find things in for myself either). Jo (my friend) was able to leave at 3 so we went to her place for dinner, and then took a ride to Yonkers Raceway. There is now a casino inside with slot machines. I played for awhile and won $75. Then we watched one race and left.
June 12 - While Jo went to work I hung around the house, relaxing (something I have a hard time doing). It was nice to do some reading, watching TV, and taking a power walk around Country Club neighborhood. That night we took the subway to Manhattan and went to see the Broadway Show Rent (one of my all time favorites...this was my 4th time seeing it, first time on Broadway). Loved it!!!
June 13 - I met my friend Ruth for lunch in Co-op City. Our children, especially our sons, grew up together (and have renewed their friendship). We had a nice catch-up session, and then I headed to Manhattan. I was lucky and got a metered spot on Columbus Avenue and 69th Street - amazing!! I met my friend Regina at Starbucks. Regina has been my friend ever since I was her daughter Miranda's kindergarten teacher in 2000. We talked awhile and then walked over to the school to meet Miranda. She attends the Special Music School, where I LOVED teaching for a year. At dismissal the kids came out and were so surprised to see me. Out of the 14 students I taught in Kindergarten in 2000, 9 are still attending. We hugged and talked and took pictures (but I didn't get their parent's permission to post them, sorry).
I left them at around 4 PM and drove about an hour north to Hopewell Junction, NY, where I visited with my friends Rosemarie and Al (the new grandparents) at their BEAUTIFUL new home!

On The Road Again Part 2 (Connecticut)

Gerry got home and just about cried when he saw the car. There was no hope for it. So he settled in to take care of some things there at home and with the car/insurance/etc.

I went to my brother's house in Norwalk, Ct. My mother had flown in the day before. We were going to go to my niece Gianna's dance recital. Usually she only has my brother Jon there, but this time there were to be a whole bunch of us (more on that later).

Two days before I had gotten a call from my friend Rosemarie that her daughter Deona had given birth. The hospital was in Greenwich, CT. Since I was nearby, mom and I decided to pay a short visit. Deona was so happy to see us, and I got to see not only her beautiful new baby girl Gia Marie (who looked JUST like Rosemarie),but also Sienna, Dee's 17 month old little girl who I had never seen. It was a fun visit.

The next day was the recital. Gianna, 16, was AWESOME. She has been taking dance lessons for about 9 years. She was in 7 numbers in the matinee and 5 in the evening show. Besides us for the evening show was my son Adam and his girlfriend Melanie, my sister-in-law Gloria and her son Steven, and Gianna's friend Sarah and her mom. Gianna danced hip-hop, tap, jazz, modern dance and ballet. She hopes to pursue a career in dance and she certainly is off to a good start.

After the evening show my brother took the family out to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant for dinner. We had a blast!!!! We talked about old times, ranked on my brother's last and most horrible girlfriend (believe me, she was awful!!!), and laughed all night!

On The Road Again Part 1

June found us away once more. School ended (YEA!!) June 1 and the next day Gerry and I started our road trip north.
June 2 - drove to Ocala and spent two nights with Becca and Phil. On Sunday they invited Becca's Aunt Pat and Uncle Jimmy (along with Cameron and Ashlyn, their grandchildren) to dinner. We always have fun with them (they are my "former" inlaws). After dinner we went to see their lovely new house in Oak Run.
June 4 - drove to just outside of Savannah, GA (right off of I95). If we had more time we would have done some sightseeing, but we were so tired).
June 5 - drove to Fredericksburg, Va (right off I95). Took in a movie that night.
June 6 - drove to Atlantic City, NJ and got a two night stay at Resorts International. It was lovely. I didn't have much luck but I did enjoy myself. Gerry had awakened with a pain in his side and it bothered him all day. By the next day he was scared that it was more cancer (though I really thought it was just a pulled muscle). I called his dr's office in Texas and after speaking to them awhile, a prescription was called in to the local Eckard's pharmacy. We walked over to get it. The pharmacist was a ____! He refused to fill the prescription because it was called in by the physician's assistant (which is ALWAYS how they do it). Gerry got upset and the pharmacist became very nasty. I sent Gerry outside, diffused the situation, and then called TX. The pharmacist refused "to talk to a cell phone!!" The nurse in TX was shocked. I told her I would find a Walgreen's for them to call it into. When I got back to the hotel I did find the closest one...28 miles away. Gerry's brother Eddie and wife Billie were coming to join us the next day, Friday, so they said they would pick it up. As soon as THAT was settled, we got a call from TX telling us that Gerry's health insurance plan has a clause AGAINST clinical trials and would not pay for it. Gerry felt so down and hopeless, for he felt that if the cancer came back he would at least have a fighting chance. Then he remembered that the day we left, I had received my health insurance cards from NYC (I retired from NYC in Dec.). We gave the info to the business office at MD Anderson in TX....and it's a go....they cover it!
NEXT crisis - we received a call from our good friend John that our longtime friend/tenent/dog watcher had totaled our car - Gerry's 1999 Ford Explorer that was PAID UP...in GREAT CONDITION...and very much loved by Gerry! After a few calls we found out that our "friend" had a small fender-bender, no biggie, then took off and smashed into a tree. He was arrested on NO LICENSE (we thought he had one) and DUI!!! Do I have to tell you how FURIOUS Gerry was? Even me, who is pretty even tempered about most things these days, I was hurt and angry. Well, this guy is NO LONGER a part of our lives, that's for sure. Poor Gerry! He decided to fly back to FL the next day (Friday). He didn't leave until the afternoon, so he could spend a little time with Eddie and Billie. I have to add here that until the car problem, we had been having such a nice time together!
After Gerry left I spent the evening with Eddie and Billie, and the next day (June 9) I headed for Connecticut.