Lunch with Saki

Here I am with my little friend Saki. March 3 is Girl's Day in Japan so Saki's house has the traditional display of dolls commemorating this day. Saki is a beautiful child, very sweet to me, and treats me like a grandmother which makes me very happy.

Pictures from the weekend in New York

We just spent the weekend with Tom, Kelly, and Matthew in New York at the lake house and then in New Jersey. Matthew is getting bigger and more interesting; beginning to talk and communicate. In less than a month he will become the big brother in the family when Kelly has their baby boy.

Baby Quilts

I always make a quilt for a new grandchild. These two quilts I made very quickly, starting the second week of January and just finishing now, my housework being neglected in favor of my craft.

A quilt for Alejandra in pink and green.

Kelly and Tom will have a new baby boy next month. I made a red and blue quilt for him (his name is not yet decided for sure). The blue fabric has little trains all over it. Here Matt is "breaking it in".

Alejandra

A new grandchild, our fourth, was born to Steve and Marta Monday at 2:12 PM in South Florida. Her name is Alejandra Isabel and she weighed 6 pounds and 15 ounces. This is our third family birthday on February 9th; my son Tom and my cousin Carole were also born on that day.

A Visit

Yesterday Cathy, Sasha, and Scarlett were here for a little visit. We had a lovely day. I enjoyed playing with Scarlett. She loves reading books with me. We can enjoy the same book over and over. It is lovely to enjoy books with children.


Cathy is modeling a knitting project, the clapotis, that I have been working on for awhile. I made four Clapotis scarves/ shawls for the girls in my life for Christmas. I finished the ones I made for Marta, Kelly, and Yesicka in time for the holiday. Cathy's I just finished this week. Cathy is a knitter too, so I knew she would understand if I took longer to finish hers.

Late in the afternoon Scarlett was in the rocking chair with her father while he softly sang a Korean song to her. She was soon fast asleep and had a very nice nap. When she woke up, she was happy and ready to play again.

January in Michigan

Today is the last day of January and we've had a cold and snowy winter thus far. After spending the first week of January in Florida with Steve and Marta, we returned home and burrowed in for cold and snowy days. This winter has been colder and snowier than many winters in my memory.
The picture shows the view of our backyard from the family room window. Can you see the animal tracks in the snow? We are sharing our surroundings with lots of deer, rabbits, squirrels, and probably some other animals. I can see a kind of walking trail in our backyard that small animals are using, maybe in their hunt for food which has to be pretty hard unless they stored some away for the winter.
I've been reading (6 books during January), sewing (working on two baby quilts), and knitting (a clapotis scarf for Cathy which should have been done by Christmas but which I finished yesterday, and a cardigan for me, all done but the sleeves.) My January life is so different from the other seasons because it's very easy to stay in the house. I love to take walks outside but have decided that if the temperature is much below 20 degrees, it's just too uncomfortable. We go to our exercise class at the community college so we try to stay fit even in the winter. I'm thinking in another month I can start to look for crocus popping up in the yard.

Haircuts

Steve and Gabe had haircuts today. We were proud of Gabe because he didn't cry. (Steve didn't cry either!)

Another view of the beach:

Hollywood Beach

Today we went to North Hollywood Beach Park in Hollywood, Florida. It was a perfect day with mild temperatures as you can see in the above video.
Tomorrow we begin the 1450 mile drive north to return home. I am sad to leave Steve, Marta, and Gabriel; we had such a wonderful time with them.

The Morikami

Today we enjoyed going to the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida. We began with a walk of the 200 acre park along meandering paths with carefully placed trees, flowers, and bushes along ponds and small rivers. A rock garden, bonsai display, and a bamboo forest can be seen. The purpose of the garden is "the essence of Japan in Florida". Indoors is a museum displaying Japanese art, tapestries, and the history of a colony of Japanese immigrants to Florida over 100 years ago.

We also enjoyed our bento box lunch:



More pictures are here.

Old Friends

Tony and Al became friends while studying for their doctorates in mathematics in the early 60's, a turbulent and exciting time on American university campuses. Along with many other students, they lived in the same graduate student residence. They were friends even before Tony met me. When we married, Tony chose Al to be his best man at our wedding in 1965. Later Al took a position as professor at one of the state universities in New York. With Al's encouragement Tony joined Al on that faculty so our little family, which then included our two sons, spent a couple of years in the early 70's at that university. When we learned that Al, now retired, spends his winters in Florida, we hoped to get together with him. Today we had a happy lunch with the two old friends catching up on over 40 years of memories.

First Days

Steve's first day at his new job:



Gabe's first day at his new school:

Saturday

It was another beautiful day in Florida.
Here's Gabe under the coconut tree. There is a park like area just outside Steve and Marta's apartment with walking paths, beautiful landscaped areas, swimming pools, lagunas, and play parks.This evening we went to a Spanish restaurant and enjoyed tapas.

Gabe is a fan of superheroes and is really inspired by his Spiderman pajamas. While wearing them, he runs around energetically performing superhero feats.

Marta in her new kitchen.
Gabe relaxing in front of the TV.
Some ducks were looking for a snack in front of the apartment.
Marta and Gabe together.

To Florida!

Out of the icy coldness of Michigan and on to the warmth and sunshine of Florida. Everything went very smoothly yesterday for our travel with Tony, Gabe, and Marta, starting with our early morning drive to the airport, helped by my friend Dee. Usually we use our own car but this time Steve had gone ahead with our minivan transporting Coco their dog who could not go on the plane.
The flight to Fort Lauderdale was on time and very smooth. Gabe at 4 years old is such an experienced traveler having flown many times since he was a baby. He was very cute trying to take care of me. "Grandma, don't be scared. This is how you put on your seat belt......" In Ft. Lauderdale we went by rental car, arriving soon in Weston, the town where Steve and Marta are going to live. We are now at the corporate apartment which they will have for three months and it is beautiful and comfortable. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and is arranged so that it feels very spacious.
Steve and Coco arrived by early evening after a 1400 mile drive in our minivan, picking up Tom in Cincinnati to help with driving and then dropping him off in Orlando where he has been staying with Kelly's family. Steve was a little tired but considering all, in pretty good shape. Now we have Saturday and Sunday to explore and then Steve starts his new job on Monday.

We're going to Florida for a few days to help Marta, Steve, and Gabe with their move. Steve will start his new job there on Monday, Gabe will start with his new school, and Marta has an appointment with a new doctor very soon. Their baby will arrive in about 5 weeks.
Yesicka and the girls visited last evening. Above see Marta with Yesicka.

Here's Gabe with Ann Marie and Mary Jo. They enjoyed playing together.

Christmas

Gabe prepared a snack for Santa; a glass of milk and chocolate chip cookies. Santa was very happy to have a little break at Gabe's house, leaving a personal letter for Gabe telling him that he had been a good boy this year.
Here's Tony.
Grandma with Scarlett. She's a really cuddly and sweet child.
Cathy and Sasha
Steve and Marta: they are really busy right now preparing for their move to Florida where Steve will soon begin a new job. Also their baby girl is expected in about 6 weeks.

It was a wonderful holiday!
More pictures are here.

It's Christmas Eve and 4 year old Gabe is so excited about Santa's visit that he can't stand still!

Here's Scarlett at her church's Christmas program.

Just a couple of weeks ago I got a new washing machine, a front loader, and I started thinking about how women's work has changed in my lifetime. I have memories of Mondays at my childhood home, my mother's washday, and laundry was done with a wringer washing machine. Hot water was run into the tank of the machine, the agitator was turned on so the clothes swirled for a few minutes, then rinsed in a tub of clean water, and the wet clothes were put through the wringers at the top of the machine, coming out damp and ready to be hung on the clothes line in the back yard. It was a badge of honor if a housewife could be the first in her neighborhood to have her laundry out on the line on a Monday morning.

A wringer washer was considered dangerous because little fingers could get caught in the rollers, could be smashed as the water was wrung out of the wet clothes. I don't remember ever being asked to help with this work even though there were several steps and it took much of my mother's attention for the Mondays of my youth.

In the basement of my childhood home could be found a washboard, a rough rectangular flat board that previous generations would have used to hand scrub clothes resulting in rough red hands, I'm sure. Perhaps a generation or so before that, women would have carried the family's dirty laundry to an outdoor well or riverside for hand washing. I'm sure that's done in many parts of the world to this day. Women's work has always been labor intensive.

My new washing machine replaces a machine that has served me well for 28 years. In fact, the old machine is still quite functional so I am passing it on so to be used in a friend's house. The improvements over 28 years are amazing! The new machine has a many choices of settings so that clothes can be washed to my exact specifications. A delay option enables the washer to start at my convenience. Tumbling the clothes around and around results in a more gentle process with minimal energy use. Removing the clothes at the end of the process, they are clean, sweet smelling, and barely damp with very little effort on my part.

What are the inventions of the future? Will the next generations have even greater improvements in their lives?

We can only wonder.

A Winter Storm

This is the view in front of our house this morning as Tony cleared the snow. The storm began during the night so we awoke to a white world. As the snow falls there is a stillness that is sometimes broken by the sound of snowplows and other machinery being used in the neighborhood to clear the snow. Everyone has lots to do especially in these last few days before the holiday so we're all hoping the storm doesn't last too long. In the meantime I will stay inside, cleaning my house, maybe doing some baking, and just enjoying the quiet day.

Preparing the Thanksgiving TurkeyThe chefs consulting on the turkey. How much wine???

Tony enjoys preparing the Thanksgiving turkey and in the last couple of years Steve has become a turkey chef as well. One of the best things about Thanksgiving day is the aroma of the turkey roasting in the oven.
Marta prepared green beans with Spanish ham.
This will be Steve and Marta's last holiday season in their present house because a move is in their future. Steve will soon begin an exciting new job in Florida. Tony and I wish them well and plan trips to Florida in our future!

Happy Memories of Thanksgiving at Steve and Marta's House
Marta prepares the tables.

Here are my two beautiful daughters in law. Marta, on the left, will have her baby girl early in February. Kelly, on the right, will have her baby in the middle of March. Kelly and Tom will learn if the baby is a boy or a girl on Christmas Day.

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Watch my three little elves dance!

Gabe checks out the Lego Exhibit at the Library