Well it is Sunday and I am in New York but Gran is on her way out of here. Neil had to bring the bags onto the check in counter because she could barely lift them - you know it is desperate when we have to leave the box of bisquick and box of chocolate brownie mix behind ... sorry Kel...you will have to wait until Christmas. The check in guy said - "Can I have both passports please!"..."No No" said the son-in-law..."just making sure she actually gets on the plane".
We had a wonderful time together. Granny landed with both feet firmly on the ground and was off to an excellent start in week one with the freezer starting to fill, the Engineer's ironing completed and her ribbon purchase achieved.
Week Two saw her immersed in classes at Art Is You with all the girls there welcoming her with open arms. She felted, beaded, bashed tin cans and quite openly said "I will now look at junk in a whole new light"! She set tables, packed folders, tied ribbons, and made crowns. Back home to do the washing, more cooking, get Max on and off the yellow bus and of course pumpkin picking on a day which most New Yorkers would not consider "cold" but that did not stop her from exclaiming "I would be the first person to die of cold if I was stranded anywhere"! Loving Engineer pointed out that this would be ok because everyone could then eat her and survive. Of course the fact that her fingers turned white and numb from being out in the fields, might have had something to do with her statement! But she soldiered on like any good Codral cold girl would!
Week Three saw us covering a few of the local stores, assisting with clothing purchases for Flossy followed by a day in the city to see Wicked. Mum took Rose and her friend Meg. They had a lovely dinner and then saw the show. Picked up by The Engineer and home again. The next morning, it was pancakes for one and all whilst I went to work!
Yesterday Mum and I took off to NYC - visited Tinsel Trading's new home (fabulous), then down the road to Macys, then on the subway to Pearl Paint to get special paint brushes for special friends. Then back on the train and home to the family. Dinner with one of Max's Three godmothers and her family ended our Saturday evening beautifully.
Today was a quiet day, popping into the other Godmothers (lucky boy he is) for coffee in the morning, then she came home and washed the sheets and the towels. I had to make lunch (shock-horror) and we set her up with the Hallmark channel, a cup of tea, my newest cloth paper scissors and there she remained until an hour ago, when we blew her kisses, promised to bring the bisquick and brownie mix for our "darling" cousins and sent her on her way in the car with The Engineer (lucky gran!).
So I close with a little memory video of our time with mum. We truly did have a wonderful time, ate delicious food and were able to (just) hold her back from getting us packed for December!
Showing posts with label Tinsel Trading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tinsel Trading. Show all posts
Life is a fine act of Balance!
The Monday of Memorial Day was spent, cleaning the car (Neil style ie...it is actually now clean) and playing in the paddle pool .... ok my american friends ... you are right, it is a toboggan but we are much better at using it this way and it is still loads of fun! Note my new herb garden courtesy of the Goddess!
The week after Memorial Day we had the arrival of The Engineer's Mum (Nanna) and her lovely friend Ian who is a train buff!! I was busy preparing for Mini Camp (65 kids aged 3-5 - music and art!). But I had enough time to book a short weekend away for the visitors, MM and Neil.
They went off to see Thomas the Tank Engine.
Every Train Driver needs an oreo in one hand and the wheel in the other!
But whilst they were away...the girls did get to play. Flossy babysat Little Red and my Goddess, the generous hearted Pamela Huntington (We have found a kindred spirit) and I sped down to Tinsel Trading to sail away on our own little boats with Lisa Kettell.
A glorious day of glitter.
This was followed by a wonderful day of Shakespeare, performed by Flossy's class at school. When she asked me if I understood what she had said, I had to carefully explain that I didn't understand it the first time (20 plus years ago) but her presence on stage made up for it.
Following in the footsteps of her Great Grandmother ... Big Nan, our daughter is at home on stage!
This is what you do when Shakespeare gets too long!
The Awsome Foursome!
and so it was Sunday June 1st and I was still in New York and feeling weary from a wonderful weekend of art.
Trust the Process - My First Treehouse
Do you know that saying "Out of the mouths of babes"? I was honored to exprience this last night at my very first TreeHouse. 26 families. 26 volunteers. 88 people in all. All together in one room.
In opening circle, our co-ordinator asked for a representative of each family to stand, say their name, say the names of their family and then say who died. There was an (understandable) pause but only momentarily when a (young) Grandfather stood to represent his wife and granddaughter and they were with us because his daughter had died. Then without pause, a little boy all of 4 years stood to represent his dad and siblings - his mum had died of Breast Cancer. It was like he had let the air out of the room because one by one families stood and shared. It was the most incredible moment I have experienced in a long time.
To have the opportunity to walk beside these people for the next eight weeks will be wonderful. To trust the process and trust myself is something I know will come to me naturally.
With that said I was off with my five little girls ranging in age from 6-8. Gorgeous Gorgeous Gorgeous and thank goodness for my 14 year old Flossy because I was able to keep up with the Jonas Brothers, Naked Brothers, Hannah Montana and High School Musical conversations!! They were seriously impressed with my knowledge. We all had to share one thing that we love. I shared the fact that I loved Glitter and that I was going to learn how to make tiara's next week at Tinsel. So they collectively decided that we would have a tea party with all things girly and I would show them how to make their own tiara's......
It was a wonderful night and feeling good I walked out the door and into the family of one of my girls. She promptly turned around to her Dad and said - this is the lady I told you about. She is Australian but she knows lots of things and she likes to do art like mom did!
I think I am going to learn a lot from these girls and in turn show them how to dance again.
In opening circle, our co-ordinator asked for a representative of each family to stand, say their name, say the names of their family and then say who died. There was an (understandable) pause but only momentarily when a (young) Grandfather stood to represent his wife and granddaughter and they were with us because his daughter had died. Then without pause, a little boy all of 4 years stood to represent his dad and siblings - his mum had died of Breast Cancer. It was like he had let the air out of the room because one by one families stood and shared. It was the most incredible moment I have experienced in a long time.
To have the opportunity to walk beside these people for the next eight weeks will be wonderful. To trust the process and trust myself is something I know will come to me naturally.
With that said I was off with my five little girls ranging in age from 6-8. Gorgeous Gorgeous Gorgeous and thank goodness for my 14 year old Flossy because I was able to keep up with the Jonas Brothers, Naked Brothers, Hannah Montana and High School Musical conversations!! They were seriously impressed with my knowledge. We all had to share one thing that we love. I shared the fact that I loved Glitter and that I was going to learn how to make tiara's next week at Tinsel. So they collectively decided that we would have a tea party with all things girly and I would show them how to make their own tiara's......
It was a wonderful night and feeling good I walked out the door and into the family of one of my girls. She promptly turned around to her Dad and said - this is the lady I told you about. She is Australian but she knows lots of things and she likes to do art like mom did!
I think I am going to learn a lot from these girls and in turn show them how to dance again.
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