Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Vintage Me: Part Two




So here are some more vintage "me" shots... these were taken up at Houghton Lake, Michigan.... back in the olden days. I have to laugh because I was really "into" fishing... and now Gabriel loves it too! The first time I went, however, I let go of the pole sending one of dad's favorite rods into the drink!


I also had a big thing for swings... in these shots I am approximately two and a half years old. Wow... that's like a half a century ago! But hey, I've STILL got a thing for swings!



Look how skinny my dad was! He was all of 25 years old when this shot was taken.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Little Me for the Grandkids



I recently had a thought that my grandsons might get a kick out of seeing me when I was little... so the next couple of posts are all for them....
These are "vintage grandma". In the one where I'm sitting on the porch I am about the age Asher is right now, about 1yr 4 mos.
The others that will follow are from the summer of 1957 when I was about 2 and 4mos. old. Now don't laugh too hard!
(or at least not loud enough that I can HEAR you!)

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Winter in the Vineyard




There's nothing quite so eerie and beautiful at the same time as snow in the vineyard. There's a hushed coldness to the sleeping vines that makes them so strange and lovely all at the same time.
I keep thinking of that poem by Robert Frost about the orchard sleeping... called "Good-by and Keep Cold"



GOOD-BY AND KEEP COLD
This saying good-by on the edge of the dark
And the cold to an orchard so young in the bark
Reminds me of all that can happen to harm
An orchard away at the end of the farm
All winter, cut off by a hill from the house.
I don't want it girdled by rabbit and mouse,
I don't want it dreamily nibbled for browse
By deer, and I don't want it budded by grouse.
(If cetain it wouldn't be idle to call
I'd summon grouse, rabbit, and deer to the wall
And warn them away with a stick for a gun.)
I don't want it stirred by the heat of the sun.
(We made it secure against being, I hope,
By setting it out on a northerly slope.)
No orchard's the worse for the wintriest storm;
But one thing about it, it mustn't get warm.
"How often already you've had to be told,
Keep cold, young orchard. Good-by and keep cold.
Dread fifty above more than fifty below."
I have to be gone for a season or so.
My business awhile is with different trees,
Less carefully nurtured, less fruitful than these,
And such as is done to their wood with an ax--
Maples and birches and tamaracks.
I wish I could promise to lie in the night
And think of an orchard's arboreal plight
When slowly (and nobody comes with a light)
Its heart sinks lower under the sod.
But something has to be left to God.
~Robert Frost

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The Boys at the Park





St. Charles is fortunate to have a new "dog park". For any of you who don't have one in your community, it is a place where dog owners can take their furry children to let them socialize with other dogs and romp a bit. Our Chas LOVES the dog park. This past weekend we were puppy-sitting our grand-dog, Bailey. He had never been to the dog park before, so we siezed a sunny bit of Saturday morning to take him for the first time. He had an absolute blast! Funny thing, though, is that we expected he and Chas would play together there, and they really didn't. Chas was totally all about running as fast as he could for most of the time, (we sort of expected it, since he's been recuperating from a pulled claw and hasn't been out for a good dash in 3 weeks!) and Bailey spent as much time trying to get the people there to play as he did the other dogs. It was pretty funny. Bailey didn't want to leave when it was time to go. All in all, a good day for the "boys".

Sunday, February 11, 2007

A Light in the Piazza and Sameems


After completing the work on the Winter One-acts this weekend, we had ourselves quite a superb Sunday. We got some great tickets to the Fox and saw the off-Broadway production of "A Light in the Piazza" (a winner of 6 Tony awards)! It was a delightful performance and a lovely and unusual plotline. The music was beautiful but not particularily hummable.... which is not always a bad thing. I recall coming out of "Les Mis" last summer with "Can You hear the People Sing" stuck in my head for the next 2+ weeks! Anyway, having been to Italy made "Piazza" doubly enjoyable as it was set in Florence... the sets were amazing and the ensemble cast of only 16 did a marvelous job! Very little dancing... nice for a change too.

After the show, we wandered south on Grand and tried a new restaurant. Just next door to our favorite Vietnamese haunt, Pho Grand, is a place called Sameem... and Afghani restaurant... and we struck gold! Great food, great prices and you feel like you've stepped into another land! I had a dish called Muntoo... sort like Afghani tortellini, the house tea comes black or in chai, and the flavors are exotic and delicious! What a find! The family who owns and operates it just arrived in St. Louis in 1991, and we hope they stay forever, this is a spot we'll go back to!

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

The Smiles of the week!



Had to post just two more shots... my grinning grandsons! Gabe had just received a new "Cars" cap from Gret and Leon and he was all smiles. Asher was just laughing at life in general and having his usual good time. If I were to show you a photo of Ed at this age, he would pass for Gabe's twin... the resemblance is pretty incredible. Guess we'll have to keep em, huh?

Tent buddies!


Gabe and Gwen are great buddies who have a blast whenever they can play together. Thanks to Gret and Leon, they had a "fort/tent" to play in the night of the Super Bowl. They had so much fun we scarcely knew they were in the house the entire evening! Just had to this shot of them "peeking" out their "front door!"

A super fun weekend!


Last weekend was a super weekend! Not only was it the weekend of the Super Bowl, but we had a SUPER time with our kids. Kate, Nate, and kids came to visit and we spent the two days laughing and enjoying one another's company. We were able to see Asher walk (live and in person!), watch Gabe open his birthday gifts, and celebrate the news that a new Harrmann will be joining the family in early October!! The icing on the cake of the weekend was when we all gathered at Gretchen's and Leon's house for a stupendous Super Bowl party! It was probably the best time I've ever had at a football party! The food was tremendous and all the people who came were too! The guests included everyone we most enjoy spending time with and we laughed and ate and ate some MORE and laughed some MORE! Thanks to Leon's TIVO we could watch the goofy commercials over and over as often as we liked, and nobody really cared which team won or lost... although the Bears fans were a distinct minority.... sadly, they lost. Gret and Gabe ended the evening by "cheesin' " for the camera... Look closely, I think you just might see a distinct "family resemblance"!

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Brrrr..... it's a cold snap!

Winter has officially arrived temperature-wise in the past few days. Below normal daytime temps and single digit overnight temps have been the pattern. All of this makes the idea of getting out of bed in the a.m. difficult. Especially when it would be so much nicer to snuggle in under the cozy quilt and wait for spring.
Late Jan. and early Feb. are always tough times for me. I maintain it's because I have to teach "Julius Caesar" every year at about this time... and all that murder and mayhem gets me down. But I am also teaching Wm.Wordsworth in my AP classes... ya know, "the world is too much with us..." and Tintern Abbey and all that jazz (I really love Wordsworth!). So, what is it about this time of year that is such a bummer. Doctors talk about Seasonal affective disorder, brought on by short days and lack of sunshine overall... but I don't buy it. I think it's got more to do with "post-December" stress disorder. Whatever it is, I hope it lifts soon.... if I have to grade one more essay about 'noble Brutus" - I might hop a plane to Bermuda!