Life keeps giving us opportunities to re-invent ourselves. Today.... I sail off to the virgin skies of the blogging keyboard. Little philosophies that pop up like flowers to give us new ways of looking at life.
I just came back from 'my first born' Astrid's home. That is what I call her "My first born." It is a funny name since I have never birthed any child... but have 3. Or, probably, many more than 3.
Astrid, at 45, has lived with me on and off- since she was 19. As an au-pair, a right arm, a daughter, a confident, a best friend, a sister to my children... she will be at my side till I die.
At any rate, I am "Grandy" to her two sons- Phillip, my "PIP", who is now 3... and to Florian , my "FIN", who is now 3 months. I got to be a Grandy this evening..... playing with Pip. Yeah. It filled my heart and made me breathless with play. He has an electric pick up truck. He backed it out of the garage, after putting on his seat belts, after setting the side view mirrors, after turning on the radio.... he put the vehicle in reverse and backed out of the garage, turning in the process. He was a pro. It was so funny! He is just getting out of diapers.... and he is driving.
I took a 4 minute video, which I have never done before. Then, he chose to ride his tricycle for the first time. And... insisted on wearing his helmet ( which, by the way: was his first word in ENGLISH: HELMET!)
At any rate..... he was just too darling. And, the entire time, I am loving on and holding baby FIN!. Holding him, kissing him and squeezing his chubby and squishy thighs. I was in GRANDY HEAVEN!
It was a wonderful Saturday, which began with a super walk on Siesta Beach: USA's number one beach- white sand which feels like talc. At low tide, the beach size was vast and sweeping with blue sky and green water. Few folks to distract from the multitudes of sandpipers skippering their way along the beach, with tiny bird prints left as evidence and a joy filled heart .
Took a long Siesta.... because I feel like being true to my locale: SIESTA KEY. There is truth in advertising, sometimes.
Planned a trip with the great "P" alliteration: Prague, Positano and Paris. All PPPERFECT PLACES. A little bit of "fairytale' town, a bit of sensuality along the Amalfi coast, and the "Ooh LaLa" of Europe's most amazing large city. As a dream merchant, I will always PLAN times for clients which are filled with poignant, exciting, exotic, interesting and soul-filled. What a great occupation it is to be a dream merchant. It is such a mutual blessing: I get to create life experiences, and give them away to others so that they become someone else's treasure. Oh, yes: I get paid to bestow such gifts. Life is good, indeed.
I have just finished a short story, which .... when edited, I will share. It is about my first trip to Europe at the age of 15 with my Grandma. She made me into a 'travel junkie' of the first order. Being a member of the CENTURY CLUB, whose requirements are having traveled to over 100 countries is proof positive of my 'wanderlust '.
Saw the new Clint Eastwood movie. I enjoyed it, as it is a story about a father and daughter relationship. It is also the story about being a single father from the death of his wife when their daughter was 6. It was about his inability to parent as half a team. Half a couple. I can identify with that feeling in ineptitude and the overwhelming inability to rise to the occasion when overcome with the loss of a partner. It was also a cute love story with Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake. I am a kiss face- buggy bear kinda gal. ...
Finished a sensational Saturday with coconut green curry..... A good friend. Great company. I was directed that I should concentrate on one thing with this blog: I think having a direction is a good thing. However, since I have always had a short attention span- I will be multi-directional. I will speak about parenting, travel, grandy-parenting, being single, being a young widow, looking to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.... and about life's observations. I think that life gives us the BEST stories. And, since I fancy myself as a story-teller, I will tell my stories through living life. As we all do. We all have stories to tell. I will put words to mine.
This is a heavenly time in Sarasota. The weather is not hot, nor cold. There is a slight breeze and no humidity. It is the beginning of autumn and the foreboding of loosing the small town feel.
I had a weekend sandwiched by both my daughters.... beginning with Friday at my 'first born'.... and ending on Sunday at Carlyle's. She is a good cook and we were joining by some good guys. Company, camaraderie and cuisine: a fun combination.
Another amazing day to be alive.... and doing it in Sunny Sarasota. This is when living in climate which is PERFECT makes your heart sing.
I am not normally a weather person, but when it takes one's breath away:it is silly to ignore and not appreciate.
I went to see my father today, who is 92: he is in an assisted living facility for memory impaired. He always wants to escape. Last week, his kids got him a telephone with LARGE NUMBERS. He kept calling : #911 to tell them he was being held hostage in a hotel in NYC.
So, his phone was confiscated. Bad boy. My sister from Australia had just called and they brought in his phone to speak with her. At the end of the call, they unplugged the phone. Dad sat on the bed with the phone and commented that : it doesn't seem to work.
Poor thing: he had always been such a clever industrial engineer. He did look fetching: bright yellow slacks with pleats, and a navy blue plaid shirt. At dinner, he would turn to me and scream, only because he is hard of hearing and say "Can you believe how big all these asses are?"
I would say "SHHH", and he would say "But, don't you agree with me?"
Afterwards, I went to hold my 3 month old grand baby boy "FIN". Talk about the circle of life. It is all good.
I have been writing every day. I have decided to put together a series of stories about traveling with my Grandma. I was 15 on my first trip overseas with her. At 4'9", she was the most powerfully positive person in my life as an angst ridden teenager in 1960's.
I am committed to my storytelling craft, both for this blog and for the hope of being published one day. I hope I will weave together a series of stories, bearing tribute to my wonderful Grandma Sara and the powerful influence a grandparent can have on the life of a child.
It is for Sara that I care in the way I do for my father. It is because she would not want her 'baby' being alone, lonely and untended. She earned a devotion from me, and this is the moment of greatest pay-back for all she did for me through the years. I am caring for her son. Albeit, the son is also my Dad. But, it is Sara that I pay tribute to each and every time I visit my father.
I had a perfect Thursday, enjoying life to the fullest today. Astrid, her sister, niece, significant other and my "FIN" all came to Siesta Beach today.
There was a slight breeze and the water was crystal clear and green. Little fishes were darting and there were a couple of sandbars that made floating warm and fresh. It was baby "FIN'S" first day as a beach bum under his own little tent.
I am adding a vignette a day to my short story about traveling with my Grandma Sara. She is so special, she has TWO GREAT GRAND Daughter's with her name. Glad, she wasn't Bertha!
I am having a procedure done with lasers called ZERONA. It is a weight loss with laser. I'll let you know how it works.
It is Saturday morning in Sarasota- season of perfection. Sun. Not hot & not cold.
I had a lovely evening with several incredible women last evening, which made a super way to begin the week-end. We sat outside with the sky filled up with a bright full moon, and interspersed with dramatic cloud formations. Dinner was grilled salmon, broiled brussell; sprouts, a salad, lots of candles and fascinating conversations. We were a group whose work included: INTUITIVE reading, CONTRACTOR, entrepreneur & non profit. Girl time, even as a sextagenarian: are precious and priceless for me.
I am having a movie-aholic attack..... which means a bit a celluloid will be in my future. I am sitting in my office and looking at the leaves and palm fronds flutter in the breeze.
I must share my Saturday morning, which was an exceptional way to begin a day. I went down to Siesta Beach and sat on the beach with a friend... looking out at the clear green gulf.
An hour later, I joined the same group from last evening and went spent an hour in a salt room, coated with Dead Sea Salts. It looked like a room of sand, and a bit like the inside of a cave.... because of the texture of the salted floor, walls, ceiling, door. It was a room with a floor that felt like Siesta Key Beach sand.... and walls that looked like they were covered with the foam insulation. Yet, magically~ it was salt. Soft. Sensual. And calming. It clears much more of the toxins from our bodies through inhaling one of nature's gifts.
There are fewer than 50 salt rooms in the states. Quite healing and such a fabulous new life experience, which I always welcome.
I have been in search of what my next book might be.
I have been giving energy and thought to my Grandma's red plastic spiral notebook of her travel specialties... and alas: this morning, I had a treasure land in my lap. I have had the treasure in my Hallway for 2 decades and have never really paid any attention to it.
I have a handwritten journal from Grandpa. I grabbed it today and began to read it. It is a story about a trip my grandparents had taken: a TWO MONTH trip to Europe with two Trans Atlantic crossings. They departed NYC in 1955 on the SS United States. That was in the day where passengers could host a private 'going away' party in their stateroom.... I remember those going away parties. I was just 4! And now, I am beginning a journey along their trip 57 years ago. I feel as excited now as I did then: when passengers bid their friends and family 'bon voyage' with streamers and bottles of uncorked champagne.
I am ready for this holiday through the generations.
Now, I am riveted with the idea of taking this trip with other members of the Rossmoore clan. And perhaps within these pages, I might find an inspiration for my next story.
I started reading the handwritten pages of Grandpa's notebook and thought "I just wish that this journal was transcribed into typing." And voila! I went back to my hallway bookcase and found the typed copy of the handwritten one. I had seen this and also never paid attention to it.
I have a treasure in my hands this morning and will keep you posted as to how it influences me.
Hi out there in blogville,
ReplyDeleteI just came back from 'my first born' Astrid's home. That is what I call her "My first born." It is a funny name since I have never birthed any child... but have 3. Or, probably, many more than 3.
Astrid, at 45, has lived with me on and off- since she was 19. As an au-pair, a right arm, a daughter, a confident, a best friend, a sister to my children... she will be at my side till I die.
At any rate, I am "Grandy" to her two sons- Phillip, my "PIP", who is now 3... and to Florian , my "FIN", who is now 3 months. I got to be a Grandy this evening..... playing with Pip. Yeah. It filled my heart and made me breathless with play. He has an electric pick up truck. He backed it out of the garage, after putting on his seat belts, after setting the side view mirrors, after turning on the radio.... he put the vehicle in reverse and backed out of the garage, turning in the process. He was a pro. It was so funny! He is just getting out of diapers.... and he is driving.
I took a 4 minute video, which I have never done before. Then, he chose to ride his tricycle for the first time. And... insisted on wearing his helmet ( which, by the way: was his first word in ENGLISH: HELMET!)
At any rate..... he was just too darling. And, the entire time, I am loving on and holding baby FIN!. Holding him, kissing him and squeezing his chubby and squishy thighs. I was in GRANDY HEAVEN!
Life is good.
It was a wonderful Saturday, which began with a super walk on Siesta Beach: USA's number one beach- white sand which feels like talc. At low tide, the beach size was vast and sweeping with blue sky and green water. Few folks to distract from the multitudes of sandpipers skippering their way along the beach, with tiny bird prints left as evidence and a joy filled heart .
ReplyDeleteTook a long Siesta.... because I feel like being true to my locale: SIESTA KEY. There is truth in advertising, sometimes.
Planned a trip with the great "P" alliteration: Prague, Positano and Paris. All PPPERFECT PLACES. A little bit of "fairytale' town, a bit of sensuality along the Amalfi coast, and the "Ooh LaLa" of Europe's most amazing large city. As a dream merchant, I will always PLAN times for clients which are filled with poignant, exciting, exotic, interesting and soul-filled.
What a great occupation it is to be a dream merchant. It is such a mutual blessing: I get to create life experiences, and give them away to others so that they become someone else's treasure. Oh, yes: I get paid to bestow such gifts. Life is good, indeed.
I have just finished a short story, which .... when edited, I will share. It is about my first trip to Europe at the age of 15 with my Grandma. She made me into a 'travel junkie' of the first order. Being a member of the CENTURY CLUB, whose requirements are having traveled to over 100 countries is proof positive of my 'wanderlust '.
Saw the new Clint Eastwood movie. I enjoyed it, as it is a story about a father and daughter relationship. It is also the story about being a single father from the death of his wife when their daughter was 6. It was about his inability to parent as half a team. Half a couple. I can identify with that feeling in ineptitude and the overwhelming inability to rise to the occasion when overcome with the loss of a partner. It was also a cute love story with Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake. I am a kiss face- buggy bear kinda gal. ...
Finished a sensational Saturday with coconut green curry..... A good friend. Great company. I was directed that I should concentrate on one thing with this blog: I think having a direction is a good thing. However, since I have always had a short attention span- I will be multi-directional. I will speak about parenting, travel, grandy-parenting, being single, being a young widow, looking to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.... and about life's observations. I think that life gives us the BEST stories. And, since I fancy myself as a story-teller, I will tell my stories through living life. As we all do. We all have stories to tell. I will put words to mine.
Enjoy and please share this with friends.
Smiles,
Judy
This is a heavenly time in Sarasota. The weather is not hot, nor cold. There is a slight breeze and no humidity. It is the beginning of autumn and the foreboding of loosing the small town feel.
ReplyDeleteI had a weekend sandwiched by both my daughters.... beginning with Friday at my 'first born'.... and ending on Sunday at Carlyle's. She is a good cook and we were joining by some good guys. Company, camaraderie and cuisine: a fun combination.
Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteAnother amazing day to be alive.... and doing it in Sunny Sarasota. This is when living in climate which is PERFECT makes your heart sing.
I am not normally a weather person, but when it takes one's breath away:it is silly to ignore and not appreciate.
I went to see my father today, who is 92: he is in an assisted living facility for memory impaired. He always wants to escape. Last week, his kids got him a telephone with LARGE NUMBERS. He kept calling : #911 to tell them he was being held hostage in a hotel in NYC.
So, his phone was confiscated. Bad boy. My sister from Australia had just called and they brought in his phone to speak with her. At the end of the call, they unplugged the phone. Dad sat on the bed with the phone and commented that : it doesn't seem to work.
Poor thing: he had always been such a clever industrial engineer. He did look fetching: bright yellow slacks with pleats, and a navy blue plaid shirt. At dinner, he would turn to me and scream, only because he is hard of hearing and say "Can you believe how big all these asses are?"
I would say "SHHH", and he would say "But, don't you agree with me?"
Afterwards, I went to hold my 3 month old grand baby boy "FIN". Talk about the circle of life. It is all good.
I have been writing every day. I have decided to put together a series of stories about traveling with my Grandma. I was 15 on my first trip overseas with her. At 4'9", she was the most powerfully positive person in my life as an angst ridden teenager in 1960's.
ReplyDeleteI am committed to my storytelling craft, both for this blog and for the hope of being published one day. I hope I will weave together a series of stories, bearing tribute to my wonderful Grandma Sara and the powerful influence a grandparent can have on the life of a child.
It is for Sara that I care in the way I do for my father. It is because she would not want her 'baby' being alone, lonely and untended. She earned a devotion from me, and this is the moment of greatest pay-back for all she did for me through the years. I am caring for her son. Albeit, the son is also my Dad. But, it is Sara that I pay tribute to each and every time I visit my father.
I had a perfect Thursday, enjoying life to the fullest today. Astrid, her sister, niece, significant other and my "FIN" all came to Siesta Beach today.
ReplyDeleteThere was a slight breeze and the water was crystal clear and green. Little fishes were darting and there were a couple of sandbars that made floating warm and fresh. It was baby "FIN'S" first day as a beach bum under his own little tent.
I am adding a vignette a day to my short story about traveling with my Grandma Sara. She is so special, she has TWO GREAT GRAND Daughter's with her name. Glad, she wasn't Bertha!
I am having a procedure done with lasers called ZERONA. It is a weight loss with laser. I'll let you know how it works.
It is Saturday morning in Sarasota- season of perfection. Sun. Not hot & not cold.
ReplyDeleteI had a lovely evening with several incredible women last evening, which made a super way to begin the week-end. We sat outside with the sky filled up with a bright full moon, and interspersed with dramatic cloud formations. Dinner was grilled salmon, broiled brussell; sprouts, a salad, lots of candles and fascinating conversations. We were a group whose work included: INTUITIVE reading, CONTRACTOR, entrepreneur & non profit. Girl time, even as a sextagenarian: are precious and priceless for me.
I am having a movie-aholic attack..... which means a bit a celluloid will be in my future.
I am sitting in my office and looking at the leaves and palm fronds flutter in the breeze.
Life is indeed, good.
I must share my Saturday morning, which was an exceptional way to begin a day. I went down to Siesta Beach and sat on the beach with a friend... looking out at the clear green gulf.
ReplyDeleteAn hour later, I joined the same group from last evening and went spent an hour in a salt room, coated with Dead Sea Salts. It looked like a room of sand, and a bit like the inside of a cave.... because of the texture of the salted floor, walls, ceiling, door. It was a room with a floor that felt like Siesta Key Beach sand.... and walls that looked like they were covered with the foam insulation. Yet, magically~ it was salt. Soft. Sensual. And calming. It clears much more of the toxins from our bodies through inhaling one of nature's gifts.
There are fewer than 50 salt rooms in the states. Quite healing and such a fabulous new life experience, which I always welcome.
I have been in search of what my next book might be.
ReplyDeleteI have been giving energy and thought to my Grandma's red plastic spiral notebook of her travel specialties... and alas: this morning, I had a treasure land in my lap. I have had the treasure in my Hallway for 2 decades and have never really paid any attention to it.
I have a handwritten journal from Grandpa. I grabbed it today and began to read it. It is a story about a trip my grandparents had taken: a TWO MONTH trip to Europe with two Trans Atlantic crossings. They departed NYC in 1955 on the SS United States. That was in the day where passengers could host a private 'going away' party in their stateroom.... I remember those going away parties. I was just 4! And now, I am beginning a journey along their trip 57 years ago. I feel as excited now as I did then: when passengers bid their friends and family 'bon voyage' with streamers and bottles of uncorked champagne.
I am ready for this holiday through the generations.
Now, I am riveted with the idea of taking this trip with other members of the Rossmoore clan. And perhaps within these pages, I might find an inspiration for my next story.
I started reading the handwritten pages of Grandpa's notebook and thought "I just wish that this journal was transcribed into typing." And voila! I went back to my hallway bookcase and found the typed copy of the handwritten one. I had seen this and also never paid attention to it.
I have a treasure in my hands this morning and will keep you posted as to how it influences me.