With the beginning of Fall, we celebrated Ella's first birthday on August 23rd and in September Alexa's first birthday on September 23rd....and as usual my camera did not make the parties.....but we did learn at Ella's party that her Mom and Dad were expecting a little brother for her in February....congrats to all.....

      During the fall I also was having more problems, this time with enlarged lymph glands in my neck. Again it was back to the hospital for tests, Cat Scans, xrays, ultra sounds until finally they decided to do surgery and remove the lymph nodes and test them.
       It is amazing the conversations that you have with yourself when you are facing the unknown. The deals you make with God and the plans you make in your mind for yourself and what you need to do now and not wait. I figured whatever the outcome, I would not give up, but needed more time to complete some of the things on my own personal list.....
      I gave Amy the ability to pull my records when a test was completed and true to form, I heard from her before I heard from the Doctor.  After waiting a day or two for the results, Amy called me and asked if I wanted the Good news first or the Bad news...give me the bad news first at least I will know what I am dealing with. She then proceeded to tell me that I just spent a lot of money to have my fat analyzed....excuse me??? It turned out that what I had was an infection, Cat Scratch fever to be exact. It came from the cats that we had and inhaling the kitty litter seemed to aggravate the glands. It is then that you hit the ground on your knees and thank God for having heard your prayers and those of everyone around you that had prayed. I was lucky and extremely grateful and through the mist I heard God say it is time to ANTE UP!!
He is correct and I intend to fulfill all that I promised.
       Unfortunately, the kittens needed to go to the Humane Society and I know they were adorable and would find homes soon. They promised to try to keep them together if they could, and that they were a no kill facility. I am sorry that I put them through the trauma of living at one place and then being up rooted and into a new home. I would hope as they were farm kittens that we kept them alive longer and that they have found new homes with new masters that will love them always.....

Goodbye Old Friend

       In September, my temporary tenant at my house was moving out and it was now time to begin finishing the work at the house so I could get it rented in December. This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I guess I did not remember how going up and down the stairs to the basement was exhausting or how many memories would bombard you when you were in the middle of painting something. As the weeks progressed so did the work and for my kids it was the first time that they had ever seen the house empty. I finally was in a position to patch, paint and redo all the things I wished I could have done when either I or my kids were living in it. As the rooms were finishing one at a time, it left only the basement and crawl space to be emptied. I sure did have a lot of stuff. You know the stuff you hang on to so one day you can do that project you put off or the stuff you save for your kids apartment or house that you know would look great. I did not count on their tastes and about 20 years of time would erase the need for that special stuff. It appears the only one who benefited from the giant clean out was the garbage men.... The kids did come and we sorted through all the Christmas things and divided them up amongst the 3 of them.
         It just so happened that my brother Jim and his family were coming in to visit us for the Thanksgiving weekend. The house worked out perfectly considering it was empty, so we moved in a few blow up mattresses, some night stands and lamps, the outdoor furniture worked for a living room set up and the card table worked for a kitchen table. Jim's daughter Carly, her husband Jayben and their sons Grayson and Levi arrived first from New Hampshire and about an hour behind them came Jim, his wife Lori and their other daughter Athina. It was great to see them all it had been about 2 years since we saw them. We would spend the next few days on an eating marathon from Thanksgiving to a huge get-together on Friday. Jim made his homemade pizza and we cooked it along with bread, chickens and pork in the outdoor oven, bar-b-Que and fire pit.


Vicki and the kids playing math games of all things....

Mom in the Kitchen

My brothers Jim, Phil and Greg



Jim making Pizza, Katie and Ella

How the house held everyone was beyond me. There were at least 40 people inside the house and my brother Greg and I outside by the fires. Father Damien stopped by and blessed the oven for us so hopefully that will keep the burned food down to a minimum.

   We had a terrific holiday and a lot of food fun and family. Now it was time to get back to the house and Christmas around the corner.....
    I finally re-emptied the house and then tackled  the basement. By the time all the decorations were divided and everyone came back and picked up their things it was finally time to face reality and the last things to be gone through were Jonathan's.
Though my mind knew he had no use for his old High School books especially the one with the giant hole cut out of the front or his math papers, it still required one last look. When Jonathan died and the kids moved in and out of the house I just put his things in the basement to go through or deal with at a later time. Well the later time finally came and I had not anticipated how painful that was going to be. After hauling my things over to my Mom's house it was time to go back and retrieve the last few things. As I looked around the house and remembered as many details and memories as I could, I let it go. I had painted every room to seal in the memories that we made there and allow the tenants the ability to begin making their own on a fresh slate. I left the house as the woman who sold it to me did. It was clean and move in ready. The last things I removed from the house were Jonathan's shoes that they gave me that he wore the night of the accident and his coat...pretty fitting I guess. He told me he was going to live at home until he was 40 so it was fitting he should be the last one out....I turned out the lights and left...leaving behind all the good times, bad times, laughter and tears that are now sealed in the house. It is time for a new family to make new memories and let the soul of the house live again. The family seems to be very happy living there and plans to stay for quite sometime. That is fine by me because I don't want to go back for a very long time....I am moving on an taking all my baggage with me. I will miss you house but be forever grateful as you held us all together in your arms for over 31 years....

It is time again to play catch up, so I need to finish out this year so I can ring in the new year.....I left off in August...
    In August, I developed a blood clot in my leg and I know it may seem petty in comparison to people who truly have life threatening diseases, but to myself, I saw it as an inconvienence.
    I ended up going into the hospital for observation with the help of my daughter Amy who is a nurse. I must admit there is no getting past her watchful eye and yet I am grateful for the care and concern she shows me. Well I had no idea that being in the hospital for observation was pretty much like being in solitary confinement. I'm not sure what they were observing but once I was settled in my room that was the last time I saw anyone so I'm not sure how they observe you from a distance but they did because I got all the bills to prove it..This is a new beautiful hospital built with the Green tree Healing aptmosphere. It is beautiful I will give them that but I think I could have been observed at home in the comfort of my recliner and had the same outcome.

    Anyway when I got home I was kind of mad first because I now needed to take blood thinners for an undetermined amount of time and second I could not do all the things that I still had on my summer list.

One of the items was the outdoor oven that I have wanted to build and have thought about for almost 20 years.

So in my anger I started digging.....and created the trench for the beginning of the base to the oven. Digging shouldn't hurt anything....When I finished the digging, the masonary blocks just so happened to show up and get stacked right next to where the oven would go. So I began and with my brother Greg and my son Bill, we created an outdoor oven, but because I could not be satisfied with just the oven, we created a Bar-B-Que space and a work space along with the fire pit that was already in place.
     It took the three of us just under 2 months to complete the outdoor oven and cooking space. It is amazing to have imagined this for so long and to watch it come together piece by piece until it stands before you...

 

 

 

 

 

After almost 10,000 pounds

 

of concrete, approximately 400 bricks for the dome we finally completed the structure. Now the next adventure was to start figuring out how to cook in it....We have done alot of practicing, but we are finally coming to master the process.  

     The outdoor oven is important to me because it bridges a gap between my Mom's childhood and the desire to never forget. When my Mother was a child and living in Chicago, her Mom and Dad had an outdoor oven and they used it every weekend to bake their weekly bread. Her Mom would use 25 pounds of flour and create many loaves to be used during the week. In this day and age, I do not need 7 to 10 loaves of bread during the week, but I wanted to have a small piece of our heritage remembered. It stands as a reminder of who our Grandparents were, where they came from and who we are as a generation they did not get to know. I will learn to use the oven better by the Spring when I look forward to cooking our Easter bread in it as her parents use to do. In just a small way I get to know who they were by what we have accomplished.

Twins....

  In June we added 2 new furry friends to our family collection....they came from a litter of 5 and they looked identical that we couldn't separate them so we took them both.....many people thought we were crazy but it seemed like a good idea at the time....later we will come to learn it may not have been.....

 It took us awhile to be able

to tell them apart...but one is a darker gray than the other. The darker gray kitty was named by Brooke as "Alley" and the lighter gray kitten is "Simona"....

My brother Phil has a house with a Pole barn and lots of kitties....so we went out and gathered these 2 beauties up and took them home...

 

JULY came in with a celebration....!!! we usually always celebrate the 4th of July at my house that Kate and family were living in, but this year when they moved out I had a temporary tenant for the summer so we celebrated at Mom's..

First to arrive.....Amy, Eric and Ella for her 1st 4th of July.....

 

Ava's birthday is the 5th of July so we celebrated her birthday along with the countries with as usual food, cake, gifts and then the fireworks, they were on their own....

First Food...Katie made a red, white and blue punch....a pintrest idea...worked out good and tasted that way too..!

 Then we had shisk ka bobs ...chicken, steak and of course those pesky vegetables.....  and then stars of watermelon....before birthday cake....

   After dinner it was time to celebrate Ava's birthday with her cousins and cupcakes. Happy 6th Birthday Ava!!!!!

 

 

Ava had her official birthday party with her friends at the Dance studio where she dances.....what a cute idea...all the kids practice a routine for their parents to watch complete with their own costume of choice, make-up, hair, pizza and cake....it really was fun to watch and for only 2 hours they accomplished a lot and did a great routine.....

 

May and June were busy months.....we celebrated Mom's birthday, Alana's 1st communion and heard the news that Katie and Blake and the kids were moving from my house to a new house in Batavia.

   Mom celebrated her 86th birthday with family, cake, candles and a bunch of Grand kids ready to blow out the massive fire.....

As you can see Mom looks a little disappointed that Andrew beat her to the punch for blowing out her candles.....we are lucky to be able to celebrate everyday we have but what a huge accomplishment to reach the wise age of 86!!! Here's to many more, Love ya Mom.......

 

 In May, Alana made her First Holy Communion....it is a big deal for a little girl...it is amazing how the dresses are fancier every year...but to a Catholic it is the first time that they will receive the body of Chirst....it requires preparation through the Religious Education program and their first experience at humility when you need to make your first confession....Alana was one of the readers at the Mass and I must say I was quit impressed.....there's no way I will ever get that close to the pulpit....that is why God created Grand children so I don't have to......Congratulations Alana.......

Greek Style

 

 

 

We kicked off the Easter season with a pre-Greek Easter celebration. My sister Kathy and her husband came in from Ohio and so we needed no other reason than that to celebrate.....a few phone calls, a hunk of meat and lots of family and Greek Style cookout was had. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we began by preparing a leg of Lamb and some chickens for the Bar-B-Que.  Tasty little morsals....then people began arriving and bringing their dishes in as well....

...Needless to say when you put a bunch of Greeks together with family, food and more food, and Ouzo everyone is bound to have a good time.

We lined up all the Grand kids and had egg races on a spoon, egg races with a partner and prizes for all.....

All in All it was a great time...had by all....

Let 2012 begin

      Well oddly enough this is my first post of the year, and what a year it has been. Between economy, work, health, family and everything in between, this year rates up there at the top for the most memorable years in my life.....before I get to the present I have to go back start at the beginning of the year.....

      Everyone waited in January for the other shoe to drop and the weather to change and become what it is suppose to be...cold, blistery and miserable. It never happened. It was the mildest winter we have had since I can remember. Plants that were to weather over never did. The temperatures never fell and the snow plowers lost a lot of money with only 4 snowfalls during the season. It did not bode well for the economy of these people.

   We started off the New Year with Amy cutting off 10 inches of her hair that she then donated to Locks of Love I am proud of you Amy, that aught to make someone very happy.....
   By the end of the month we celebrated Bill and Laura's oldest daughter, Alana on her 8th birthday...done up girly style with a party and crew of people to do hair, nails, make-up etc.....she is growing up quickly. Unfortunately..I forgot the camera so I will make sure next time to be better prepared.

  We then moved into Lent and at the church it is always a busy time for us. We tried something new this year where we served soup and bread following the noon mass on the Fridays during Lent. It went over very well, but lying underneath the surface of the event was the knowledge that we could serve a hearty meal and no one would know if you needed the meal, were homeless or just hungry. It was a very satisfying experience. We for the first time actually had volunteers that wanted to make soup and before you knew it there was a soup competition going on. The recipes all had to be meatless and it was amazing how many actual recipes are out there that taste great but have no meat......when we finished the competition so to speak we had enough recipes to create a Lenten Soup recipe book....Thanks to all the cooks, volunteers and eaters for a very special Lent......

Tapestry of Time

Well today is my least favorite holiday of them all. Maybe it is because I am sorry to see what I know go and the fear or anxiety of what is to come. I have always been a "wall flower" and prefer to observe life from a distance. Stepping into the new or being in the fore front has always been my weakness.

I can not say that this year was bad, because in truth it has been a good year. This time in 2010, our company was on the verge of possibly closing and changes would be coming. With the fear of not knowing what I was going to do, I stepped into 2011 with a huge question mark. As it turned out the first six months were extremely trying. We were in partnership with another company and it was draining day after day not knowing what our future was going to be. It was in June when we woke up so to speak and got mad. We felt why are we allowing some company to take away our pride in what we do, how we do it and who we are. We made a joint decision to break away from them and venture out on our own again. We made sacrifices, it took hard work and dedication but we survived. We not only survived, we thrived. I work for my brother and his company is a family owned and run business. He is always there for everyone and no matter the cost or the risk he is there for everyone. It was now time for us to be there for him and to see our company come back from the ashes and be as we were and better. We succeeded. We took our company back, and have been busy ever since and the 1st quarter of the new year is already busy. It will always take hard work and dedication but this time it is with a different purpose.

We welcomed 2 new babies into our life and they are precious as is all of the grand kids. It is fulfilling to watch my children be the parents and I can observe and strictly love the fruits of their labors, while they are the fruit of mine. We were filled this summer with baby showers, births, baptisms, birthday parties, weekend vacations and everything in between.

I have been lucky to now work from home and spend more time here with Mom. We have done so many things together and have many adventures. I am always in awe of her stamina and determination to carry on. She had eye surgery on a cataract in her good eye. It took guts to put it all on the line and take a leap of faith that this time all will go well. It did and her eyesight has gotten better in that eye. I am grateful to God for the blessing of sight that he has given to her which makes each day worthwhile.

I don't know what 2012 will bring for us, but I pray and hope that whatever is to come, that I can handle it with God's help and guidance. There is nothing that I do on my own and I am not smug enough to believe that anything I have or have done, came from my own doing. All the blessings I have received have come from God and his belief in my strengths and his strength in my weakness. I know there are angels that watch over us, one for sure is my Dad and the other is my Son. It is hard to watch the years accumulate on how long they have been gone, but in my heart and mind they travel my journey along with me.

There are no pictures in this entry for they reside in my memory of what this year has been. They are woven in my tapestry of life and when I am sad or nervous I can pull them out and cover myself with them like a well worn quilt. This year is finished and the new year is quickly approaching, though I can think of a million resolutions to make, I make none. Because I know I wont keep them so this way I will surprise myself if I do.

So here's to all my family and friends...Happy New Year!!! May the new year be filled with blessings, good health,happiness and hope.