Monday, December 29, 2008
Merry Christmas, Erastus
The day after Christmas was a day off for me, so as a present to myself I decided to return to visit the Boston Public Library and the letters of great-great-great uncle Erastus. I even brought reinforcements - Sue, Mary & Aunt Maria joined in to read the 188 letters from 1861-1865. They are fascinating to read and attempt to put into perspective, and although the four of us skimmed through the 5 folders in about 2 hours, it was too hard to narrow down which ones we should get copies of. Thanks to Maria's pragmatism, we all decided "what the heck - we'll ask for copies of ALL of them"! The archivist at the library explained that they are short of staff during the holidays but should be able to have the copies done within a few weeks. Then Mary informed me she has been trying to arrange with the South Carolina Historical Society to get copies of some of their collection. So my Erastus Christmas will last for a while as I wait in anticipation to have these 145 year old letters in my possession to pour over and dwell upon. What a fun new hobby!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas Goodies
A Kelty backpack, a Stephan Stills CD, a Pat Metheney CD, jeans, Guitar strings, Ukelele strings, a genealogy book with a maternal pedigree back to 1573, various candy AND.......
a Beatles Monopoly game that Corey & Julie insisted we play in the evening. Now everybody knows that Monopoly is NOT a genteel game - it's vicious and cut-throat. Sue dropped out early and tried to make brownie points with her son by giving him all her property & cash, leaving he & Julie to gang up on me to attempt to crush me into oblivion.
But it was not to be! With a combination of shrewd manuvering and good luck of the dice I CRUSHED THEM, refusing to allow them to make an illegal out-of-turn trade by singing "I told you before, no, you can't do that" and making THEM sing "I'm A Loser".
YES, it was a Fab day!
(oh ya, I suppose I should mention everyone else made out ok too)
a Beatles Monopoly game that Corey & Julie insisted we play in the evening. Now everybody knows that Monopoly is NOT a genteel game - it's vicious and cut-throat. Sue dropped out early and tried to make brownie points with her son by giving him all her property & cash, leaving he & Julie to gang up on me to attempt to crush me into oblivion.
But it was not to be! With a combination of shrewd manuvering and good luck of the dice I CRUSHED THEM, refusing to allow them to make an illegal out-of-turn trade by singing "I told you before, no, you can't do that" and making THEM sing "I'm A Loser".
YES, it was a Fab day!
(oh ya, I suppose I should mention everyone else made out ok too)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Company Christmas Spirit
Our new Marketing VP was bemoaning the fact that there appears to be no sense of Christmas Spirit around the company. Well, because the boss was not going to frivolously spend money on decorations, I felt that we should take what was available to us and make do. A few ornaments from home, and a potted plant from the cafeteria seemed to do the trick. VP Neil was very impressed and intends to keep it in his office until after New Years.
So despite the economic downturn and bleak times for the construction and cabinetry industry....
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Sunday, December 21, 2008
family Christmas party 2008
Another year, another annual family reunion/Christmas party/jam session.
Due to lots of snowfall, attendence was down but a fun time was had by all who did attend. Most notably were a few newcomers. Tommy Tobin brought along his new girlfriend - a young lady he met at bluegrass festivals and very sweet & pretty. 
Nephew Chris introduced the family to his girlfriend - a fellow teacher at the school he teaches at, who (sadly) I didn't actually get to chat with as we had to leave early and they arrived just before we left. Seldom seen relatives Neil and daughter Layla, and Eric with sons Matt and Sean made it to the party this year. David, Tommy & I managed to get all of Julies songs in before it was time to scoot.
Nephew Chris introduced the family to his girlfriend - a fellow teacher at the school he teaches at, who (sadly) I didn't actually get to chat with as we had to leave early and they arrived just before we left. Seldom seen relatives Neil and daughter Layla, and Eric with sons Matt and Sean made it to the party this year. David, Tommy & I managed to get all of Julies songs in before it was time to scoot.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Christmas wasn't always merry
I took Joe out shopping for his Secret Santa gift. Because there are so many siblings, we decided some years ago to have them all draw names and buy one Secret Santa gift for that sibling only. That way none of them had to spend $100+ on gifts. So instead Joe only had to borrow $20 from me to get his one gift. As we were driving he reminisced about the first two years that we did the Secret Santa routine, he was upset because each time he drew Mary's name - and he didn't like Mary back then, so he didn't want to buy her a present. It wasn't fair that he got her two years in a row and wasn't alowed to trade. When I asked him why he didn't like Mary in the beginning, he somberly replied "because she looked a lot like one of my Foster Mothers". Joe had spent a few years very much NOT beloved.
Thankfully, life has apparently gotten better for little Joe, he & Mary get along fine, and Christmas will be very merry for him this year - and not because he drew someone else for Secret Santa this year.
So make sure to acknowledge how fortunate we all are, do something kind for those less fortunate, and then make certain you remember to have a Merry Christmas.
Thankfully, life has apparently gotten better for little Joe, he & Mary get along fine, and Christmas will be very merry for him this year - and not because he drew someone else for Secret Santa this year.
So make sure to acknowledge how fortunate we all are, do something kind for those less fortunate, and then make certain you remember to have a Merry Christmas.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
80 years is a long time
Now the fields are all four lanes
And the moon's not just a name
Are you more amazed at how things change
Or how they stay the same
And do you sit here on this porch and wonder
How the time flies by
Or does it seem to barely creep along
With 75 Septembers come and gone
(Cheryl Wheelers "75 Septembers")
My mother turns 80 on Dec 16th, which is quite an accomplishment considering all she has had to endure - born before the Great Depression, The War to end all wars, Rock & Roll, etc.... raising (to varying degrees!) 11 children (8 born, 3 "steps") into successful adults (to varying degrees!)
I know how many times I joke that either Nikki or I will need to be dead before she gets through highschool. I wonder how often Mom said that about any and all of us.
So on the 13th, the children of this woman known by some as Edna, Nenna, twinny, Mrs. Blauss, Mrs. Howland, or even Golde (the part she once played in a local production of Fiddler On The Roof) threw her a surprize birthday party at Hanson's Congregational church where she is a Deacon. Over 100 people - a diverse group of old friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers - showed up to toast her.
Needless to say, in the beginning there was much brainstorming - sowing of ideas, threshing those ideas, throwing the chafe into the fires of hell, arm wrestling and name calling and pulling rank to narrow down the final decisions and details. We re-itterated what we have known all our lives - Wes (the first-borne) is the grand concept guy, Laurie (the eldest daughter) is the enforcer, Donnie, Marlene, Eric & David (the middle 4) are the snipers (keeping a safe distance and firing a few well-aimed shots now and then), Debbie (the littlest Blauss) tries to keep up but keeps getting knocked down (but God love her she keeps getting back up and rejoining the fray), and Heather (the baby - and despite the improbability of Mom being 45 and on her 2nd marriage - possibly the only "planned" baby of the lot of us) is the one who in the end gets her way because as the baby, she is the cutest and knows instinctively how to get what she wants. It's been that way since the day we were each born, and we are comfortable in our roles 35 to 58 years later.
Needless to say, in the end it was a wonderful celebration, all went smoothly, everybody had a good time and we all lived to tell about it. Mom, ever the "happy-tear" queen, stayed well hydrated - being congratulated by people she's known since school days to little "India" who isn't in school yet. Without exception, every one of the 75 (or so) non-relatives who had been invited to attend felt tremendously honored that THEY were included in the celebration. We could have easily invited triple that number and still found more who wished they could have attended. Wes, in his Director/Producer role, greated guests and stood in the wings as the actors did their scenes. Laurie and her son Chris ran and narrated the power-point "This is your life" presentation. I supplied, set up and broke down the PA equipment, chatted up the semi-famous local legend saxaphone player Dana Colley (check out the former band Morphine, or more recently, The Twinemen) and his daughter, and received visit & kayak invitations from old neighbors the Mahoney's. Marlene & David mingled, Eric stayed home in NH (his wife a longtime sufferer of emotional/mental disorders although the rest of the "married to a Blauss support group" in-laws - Joanne, Sue & Dawn -who spent most of the evening in the downstairs kitchen, waitressing snacks, and sneaking Absolut into their own punch glasses, admire her as the most clever genius of all). Debbie & Heather did their best to make certain everything went the way it should (which is quite a trick for two people who don't necessarily agree on how things SHOULD go).
Thankfully, an emergency conference of the organizing committee had decided that morning to eliminate the "Surprize" part of the party. The liability of having "unexpected overwhelming emotion syndrome" be the cause of death and therefore not actually officially making it to 80 just seemed to big a risk. SMART MOVE! Knowing it was coming, 8 hours in advance, gave her the opportunity to absorbe it a bit instead of flattening her like a steamroller. Aside from the 'long-lost-friend' type atmosphere, the highlight came from nephew Chris' description of an "Edna Compliment!" and her propensity to unitentionally insult relatives. Her two most famous ones were: once telling Heather " you could be a Miss America - if only you had a talent", and when Chris commented that his young adult club at the church had only one male member - her response was "who would that be?" There was also a surprize performance from the church based vocal group "The Hearts" - an a'cappella womens group that Mom was a member of for many years. They had, unbeknownst to the rest of us, composed a tribute song for her and sang to her at the end of the evening.
Well, the end of the official evening, anyway. Some of us siblings, steps, and in-laws needed a drink (no alcohol at the church - Congregationalists, remember?) and gathered at JJ's afterwards. Every good event team holds a review session after the event, right?
(sadly, THAT story can't be told, at least not where certain non-attending relatives might discover them!!!!)
And the moon's not just a name
Are you more amazed at how things change
Or how they stay the same
And do you sit here on this porch and wonder
How the time flies by
Or does it seem to barely creep along
With 75 Septembers come and gone
(Cheryl Wheelers "75 Septembers")
My mother turns 80 on Dec 16th, which is quite an accomplishment considering all she has had to endure - born before the Great Depression, The War to end all wars, Rock & Roll, etc.... raising (to varying degrees!) 11 children (8 born, 3 "steps") into successful adults (to varying degrees!)
I know how many times I joke that either Nikki or I will need to be dead before she gets through highschool. I wonder how often Mom said that about any and all of us.
So on the 13th, the children of this woman known by some as Edna, Nenna, twinny, Mrs. Blauss, Mrs. Howland, or even Golde (the part she once played in a local production of Fiddler On The Roof) threw her a surprize birthday party at Hanson's Congregational church where she is a Deacon. Over 100 people - a diverse group of old friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers - showed up to toast her.
Needless to say, in the beginning there was much brainstorming - sowing of ideas, threshing those ideas, throwing the chafe into the fires of hell, arm wrestling and name calling and pulling rank to narrow down the final decisions and details. We re-itterated what we have known all our lives - Wes (the first-borne) is the grand concept guy, Laurie (the eldest daughter) is the enforcer, Donnie, Marlene, Eric & David (the middle 4) are the snipers (keeping a safe distance and firing a few well-aimed shots now and then), Debbie (the littlest Blauss) tries to keep up but keeps getting knocked down (but God love her she keeps getting back up and rejoining the fray), and Heather (the baby - and despite the improbability of Mom being 45 and on her 2nd marriage - possibly the only "planned" baby of the lot of us) is the one who in the end gets her way because as the baby, she is the cutest and knows instinctively how to get what she wants. It's been that way since the day we were each born, and we are comfortable in our roles 35 to 58 years later.
Needless to say, in the end it was a wonderful celebration, all went smoothly, everybody had a good time and we all lived to tell about it. Mom, ever the "happy-tear" queen, stayed well hydrated - being congratulated by people she's known since school days to little "India" who isn't in school yet. Without exception, every one of the 75 (or so) non-relatives who had been invited to attend felt tremendously honored that THEY were included in the celebration. We could have easily invited triple that number and still found more who wished they could have attended. Wes, in his Director/Producer role, greated guests and stood in the wings as the actors did their scenes. Laurie and her son Chris ran and narrated the power-point "This is your life" presentation. I supplied, set up and broke down the PA equipment, chatted up the semi-famous local legend saxaphone player Dana Colley (check out the former band Morphine, or more recently, The Twinemen) and his daughter, and received visit & kayak invitations from old neighbors the Mahoney's. Marlene & David mingled, Eric stayed home in NH (his wife a longtime sufferer of emotional/mental disorders although the rest of the "married to a Blauss support group" in-laws - Joanne, Sue & Dawn -who spent most of the evening in the downstairs kitchen, waitressing snacks, and sneaking Absolut into their own punch glasses, admire her as the most clever genius of all). Debbie & Heather did their best to make certain everything went the way it should (which is quite a trick for two people who don't necessarily agree on how things SHOULD go).
Thankfully, an emergency conference of the organizing committee had decided that morning to eliminate the "Surprize" part of the party. The liability of having "unexpected overwhelming emotion syndrome" be the cause of death and therefore not actually officially making it to 80 just seemed to big a risk. SMART MOVE! Knowing it was coming, 8 hours in advance, gave her the opportunity to absorbe it a bit instead of flattening her like a steamroller. Aside from the 'long-lost-friend' type atmosphere, the highlight came from nephew Chris' description of an "Edna Compliment!" and her propensity to unitentionally insult relatives. Her two most famous ones were: once telling Heather " you could be a Miss America - if only you had a talent", and when Chris commented that his young adult club at the church had only one male member - her response was "who would that be?" There was also a surprize performance from the church based vocal group "The Hearts" - an a'cappella womens group that Mom was a member of for many years. They had, unbeknownst to the rest of us, composed a tribute song for her and sang to her at the end of the evening.
Well, the end of the official evening, anyway. Some of us siblings, steps, and in-laws needed a drink (no alcohol at the church - Congregationalists, remember?) and gathered at JJ's afterwards. Every good event team holds a review session after the event, right?
(sadly, THAT story can't be told, at least not where certain non-attending relatives might discover them!!!!)
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