Day 92 - April 10: Two Skippers

Last night Stuart and Douglas completed their Power Squadron Course - and passed the (very tough) final exam!  For Douglas, who took the course only to keep his son company, passing means dodging a major embarrassment bullet.  For Stuart, the rewards are far greater.  As a licensed 12 year old, he can now captain a powered vessel by himself - the thrill of independence, four years before a driver's license. 

Day 91 - April 9: The Fabric Place

In the time before children, many weekends were filled with trips to the fabric store to create pillows, cushions, and drapes.  Of course, those days are now filled with trips to baseball fields, recitals, and playdates - and I am absolutely not complaining.  It was fun, though, to get back to my old stomping ground today to pick up fabric for the flower girl's sash (coordinated perfectly, of course, with the bridesmaids' dresses).

Day 90 - April 8: Egg Hunt

Today we joined our friends, the Kincaids, for Easter Brunch.  When we arrived, we discovered that the Easter Bunny had left treats hidden all over the yard! 

Day 89 - April 7: Showtime

This afternoon, Stuart's band played to an enthusiastic crowd, performing instrumental (a.k.a. no one in the band was brave enough to sing) Ozzy Osborne and Coldplay.  Their keyboardist, Anthony (who also plays baseball with Stuart) was great, carrying the tune in the absence of a lead singer.  The guitarist did a fine Ozzy solo and the drummer, of course, was superb.  By the way, the guy with the sideburns is Russell, their teacher, not another 12 year old.

Day 88 - April 6: Jonathan's Birthday

My friend Jonathan was born on 4/6/64 - an easy one to remember.  While this picture could have been taken today (he looks just the same), I'm breaking the rules yet again by posting this photograph, circa 1987.  Happy Birthday, old friend! 

Day 87 - April 5: Broken Bones

My parents recently returned from a trip to visit my two brothers, David in Portland and Pete in San Francisco.  Just before leaving, Mom took a fall, breaking three ribs and a bone in her knee which was discovered on x-ray today.  Crutches are not prescribed for those of a certain age, so she must remain in a wheelchair until her knee heals.  We found this place online and picked up her wheelchair today.  As upsetting as it is to see my normally spry, active mother confined to a wheelchair, I'm grateful that we now know why she's been in such pain - and that she'll be back on her own two feet before summer. 

Day 86 - April 4: Not Homemade

There are days when I love making dinner and then there are days like today, when I'm thrilled to discover stuffed shells with marinara, prepared by someone else and waiting in my freezer.

Day 85 - April 3: New Guitar

Today begins a new chapter - we have a young Taylor Swift in our midst.  Lane had her first guitar lesson today and with the teacher's recommendations in mind, we then went to the music store to make our purchase.  She had many colors to choose from - her decision was instant. 

Day 84 - April 2: Happy Anniversary

One year ago today, my brother Pete married Nan.  The wedding was the highlight of a fantastic trip to San Fransisco.  In honor of this milestone, I break the rules yet again to feature a photo taken not today but a year ago.  Congratulations and best wishes, Pete and Nan! 

Day 83 - April 1: Fool's Day

A couple drops of green food coloring was all it took to convince Douglas that his orange juice had been transformed into Lima Bean Puree. 

Day 82 - March 31: Bridal Shower

During the shower today, Alison was assisted by her Flower Girl, who held the scissors and handled the trash.  Lane asked me a lot of questions, especially about the gift registry.  She insisted that when she gets married, she won't have one - "otherwise you'll know what's inside all those packages, Mom."

Day 81 - March 30: Shower Preparations

My niece, Alison will be showered upon tomorrow during a bridal shower hosted by her aunts, Betsy, Kathy, and me.  Today was a day of preparations and somehow I scored flower arranging - certainly not something that comes easily to me but oh so much fun. 

Day 80 - March 29: Zebra's Bistro

A favorite bistro down the street was participating in "Restaurant Week", during which restaurants offer special pricing on a prix fixe menu in order to attract customers during the pre-spring doldrums.  Three friends and I needed no further prodding to make a night of it tonight. 

Day 79 - March 28: Casserole

It never occurred to me that my kids would be picky eaters.  There were no food related negotiations during the family dinners I remember as a kid - you simply ate what was on your plate and moved on.  No discussion.  My offspring, however, have a different take on food.  There are things they like and therefore eat and things - many more things - they do not like and therefore do not eat.  Both of them have gotten a lot better (as they've grown and actually acquired appetites) but dinner can still be a challenge.  Imagine my delight, then, to hear my young son exclaim, "Yum!  Is that my favorite dinner in the oven?  The thing I could eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day forever and always be happy?!?" After that kind of reaction to the aroma in my kitchen, I may indeed begin serving it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Day 78 - March 27: Career Day

The middle school held their annual "Career Day" today.  I had convinced Douglas to participate since I don't have a career and most people find his career pretty darn interesting.  I also thought it was important that those suburban, upper middle class, white kids heard from a blue collar guy - along with the Director of Marketing for Lego, the news anchor from a prominent Boston television station, and the President of the Boston Celtics.  How hard could it be?  I wiped away the cobwebs that had been forming in several regions of my brain and created a presentation for him, complete with gorgeous pictures of the coolest things he's built - in-home theaters, sports courts, elevators, swimming pools, full swing golf simulators, and a multimillion dollar carriage house to house Ferraris and Lamborghinis.  Then I sat at home, waiting and wondering.  He walked through the door with a smile on his face.  He'd pulled it off and had a great time doing it - and was delighted to have teaching behind him and get back to the far simpler task of building big houses.