Coming out of the closet...

My parents had twin closets...they were of equal size and were positioned side by side in their bedroom. The doors were wooden accordion doors...very unique. My childhood friend, Mary, and I used to play a trick on the neighborhood "not so's"...as in NOT SO smart. Here's how it goes...
My friend and I told the boys that Sara's house had an elevator. We would take them into my parent's room. They would go into my Dad's closet...we would close the door...leaving them inside...and then rearrange accessories in the room...bedspread, pillows....items on the dresser...and all the while...Mary would be pretending to be the Elevator operator...saying....1st Floor....2nd Floor...and then we would open the door...and they thought we were on another floor...we convinced them that to keep the elevator a secret...it was made to look like a closet...and we insisted that all of the controls were on the other side. NO ONE was to know that we had this elevator...it was a SECRET in the event of a war or bomb threat. In those days, people actually had bomb shelters built in their yards. One of my friend's actually had one. It was creepy, but I guess with the threat of the RUSSIANS they felt it was necessary. You must see The Russians are Coming...to understand the mindset of those years.
Anyway...we were quite successful in our trickery...the only question they ever asked is why does the house look like one story on the outside...and we just said, well if you could tell from the outside...then how could it be secret? And that was all they had to hear.
Thinking back...my only question is....How could my mom let us be in her room rearranging things?

Because...

I love you both...I am so proud to be your Grandma!!!!

This song is for you.....

My childhood home...

Doesn't look like much here...this is a photo from the early years. The house was built and designed by my parents. We moved there in 1953. My room was the front window on the left. Mark's room was beside mine. The kitchen was in the front. We had a HUGE back yard. My fondest memories are the many baseball games we played back there. Mark taught me how to hit, catch and throw. All the neighbor kids would come and we'd play all day in the summer. The house had a breezeway between the kitchen and the garage. Loved to sit and visit on the porch. This had to be a very early photo....we had a beautiful white fence across the front when I was very young..and I don't see it here. We also had the most beautiful flowering crabapple tree in the front. I will have to hunt up a 1970's photo. Had my first "boy/girl" party here...my first slumber party...shared a first kiss in my basement...lots of firsts.. the house had beautiful beech cabinets in the kitchen, and the entire back of the house was windows...it had a beautiful fireplace and mantel...and wide pine flooring throughout the house. My parents lived there until 1996...they sold it to our nextdoor neighbor's daughter. I think I shared....Don't ever go back...I did and was so sorry...better to have the memories...No one can redecorate them...so if you go back...go back in your memory...that's what I just did.

Trick Shots...

Ever played HORSE? One of the best things we did when we moved to Tallahassee was put up a Basketball Hoop in the driveway. I was always pretty good at shooting hoops...don't know why...but I have a trick shot that the kids couldn't believe...my backwards shot!

We have had so much fun playing. I used to love going to basketball games. Our High School team was fairly good...but when I went to Ashland College my first year...I fell in LOVE WITH BASKETBALL...all those people in the gym...cheering...you really get caught up in the game. We were Number 1 in Defense for small colleges...then a few years later I married and we moved to BOSTON...Do I need to say....CELTICS? Oh my gosh....We went to Boston Gardens for a few games and I couldn't believe how big those guys were....and talk about EXCITING...we are talking Larry Bird, Dave Cowans, John Havlicek. One thing about BOSTON...Celtics and Bruins are about as mandatory as Clam Rolls and Lobsta'.

Have had several favorite teams over the years including UC Bearcats. If you're up to a game of HORSE...stop by...bet I can beatcha!

American Girls at American Girl - Chicago

Seems like just yesterday, we were in Chicago for our visit to The American Girl Place. DeeDee, Robin, Hannah and Savannah ( Hannah's American Girl Doll) all traveled to Chicago on Delta.
Looking at this photo, I am inspired to continue my Fat Blogger efforts with more dedication. I hope to post a photo in this same outfit when I reach my Fat Blogger Goal of 156....but....if you get the chance...this is a must for every grandma with a grandaughter.
You must book the live show, have lunch or dinner (bring your doll) shop, have your photo taken.... I have never seen so many women with little girls carrying so many dolls all in one place. A wonderful trip....a special memory...a great city...worth the trouble we had flying home....another NONREVENUE fiasco.
Check out their website for details...
http://www.americangirl.com/stores/location_chi.php
I suggest you wear comfortable shoes and bring a lot of money! You will want to buy everything!

My Brother...

I can't think of a better place that I would like to be...than sittin' with my brother in CINCINNATI

Still here we are....

I have thought about so many things after hearing this song...as a believer, it is easy to see that the world really isn't getting any better. For all of the worldly wisdom, what has really improved?
At the airport, I see people rushing around, dragging their kids...the whole family is PLUGGED IN. Blue tooths, ear phones...fingers dashing over blackberrys....ipod cases.....no one looks you in the eye anymore. No one speaks...there are KIOSKS to check you in....or on the way to the aiport...there are Drive throughs to get your food and Coffee...which everyone pays a fortune for and only adults used to drink...and by the way...STARBUCKS is TERRIBLE TASTING COFFEE for a true coffee drinker... and self serve gas stations to pump your own gas. ...I held out longer than all of my friends...I would always pull into the FULL SERVE line...the only reason I learned to pump my own gas is because I HAD TO...There are CDS and DVDS and MP3's and what happened to BVDS? There are cars that tell you where to go...and we go go go...but where are we going?

While visiting family this summer, I had a conversation with my mother in law...she is in her 80's. It is always good to get another generation's perspective on life...she and I decided that it was so much better in the "olden days"...families lived near by or in the same house. Think about this....separate living quarters...but one house...one mortgage, sharing utility expenses, less insurance, someone is always home...more security....different generations learning from each other...more people to share the work of keeping house. Less traveling to visit family...you could actually travel to see other parts of the world...you'd have more money...for those with little one's, you'd have built in baby sitters...as long as you had enough BATHROOMS....I think it could all work well.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

to Grandmother's house we go...

After living in downtown Boca for 26 years, it was an adjustment to move to a 2 acre wooded lot in Tallahassee. I don't miss the noise and congestion. I have gotten used to the quiet....the bunny rabbits...the deer, the squirrels...there are owls...they make a little noise, but no trains...no loud concerts at Mizner Park...so loud our house literally shook. Jason has completed an amazing amount of finish work inside. He also built a small deck on the side of our house and most of the large deck surrounding our pool in the back yard. We have dreams (even at our age) of building a large shed with carport for Jason's tools...and then enclosing our current carport...at first I thought it would be nice to add a real room with fireplace....make it a game room with pool table....but now I think I would really enjoy a large screened in porch facing the pool. Eventually, I would like to pave our driveway and landscape our entrance, but for now...we are content to make memories for our Grandkids....my prayer is that they will always remember "going to Grandma and Grandpa's house ."

My Grandma's (my mother's mom) was always a fun place to go. My Grandpa and Grandma had two apartments upstairs in their house...they were converted after mom and her sisters were grown ....my Grandfather was Superintendent of local school for 30 years and he would rent the apartments to teachers. Anyway....my cousin and I were allowed to play in the apartments if they were vacant. They were fully furnished...so that made playing house so much fun. Grandma's house had some other neat features...she had a booth in the kitchen. I always thought that was so much fun...just like at the restaurant....and because my Grandpa had added a room onto the house at one point...there was a tiny opening in their bedroom closet that led to the basement stairwell. Apparently, it had been a door and he decided to close it in only partially...leaving this hole...we thought of it as a "secret passage way". You could crawl into the closet and disappear. Grandma also had a Murphy Bed. Do you know what that is????

It was a bed that folded down out of the wall. During the day, it looked like a double door closet...but at bedtime, the bed would come down and my cousin and I would crawl in and giggle all night. My Grandma was not a very good cook...and she was a terrible driver...but she was an accomplished pianist and always a lot of fun. When I close my eyes, I can picture the entire house, every detail in my mind...the porch swing, the french doors, the doilies that were screwed onto the chair backs with little push pins that looked like diamonds. I can see the quilts my Grandma made...and my Grandpa's desk and fancy ink pen.

Do you remember going to Grandma's?

Tennis anyone?

No, I couldn't be confused with Chrissy...but that doesn't mean you won't see me on the courts. Recently Jason and I have bowled together and played a few rounds of golf...now we want to dust off the rackets and see what we have left of our tennis game. I really need physical exercise to be successful at this weight loss...so before my next WEIGH WEDNESDAY we'll

Make the Most of Monday!