Family | Peaches Prattlings

{July 2, 2017} What’s better than a day at the beach?

Nothing, I say!

Today, GES, ACS, MGS, EJS, dad and I went down to Nantasket Beach in Hull. JK, one of ACS’ closest friends families has a house one block from the beach.

It’s a great older house, great open floor plan that is welcoming and inviting. There is a terrific porch that wraps around two sides of the house, right on the corner where you can see the water wherever you sit.

It’s also a great place to see people coming from and going to the beach, lots of people to chat with, if you want to. Perfect view to see the ice cream man too, if you’re so inclined.

And… best part, a great place to sit, enjoy the breeze, the sounds, the silence, the smells, maybe even take a snooze…

Lunch when we arrived, a few hours on the beach, back to the house to hang out with dad, watch some Netflix, the rest of the family joined, quick showers, then head out for some grub.

Last stop, what’s the perfect way to end a beach day? According to my b-i-l, ice cream. That sounds about right.

A great day at the beach, sigh…

{July 2, 2017} What a day! What a party! What a guy!

Let’s just say, he is totally worth it! I think I did it right!

PSM is turning 50 next week, so a celebration is on order! We had been dating a few months when we started talking about his next big birthday. I asked him what he wanted and without hesitation, he said ‘a clambake from Woodmans’. Ok, that is pretty specific, anything else?

Well, since I asked…Clambake from Woodmans, Fudgy the Whale ice cream cake from Carvel, ice crem sandwiches, a beach, coles slaw, corn on the cob, lobster, potato salad. There you go.

So, I started with a save the date July 1, 2016, with a fabulous and cheesy poem, something I have a knack for. A few months ago, I sent out the evite, with another cute and cheesy poem and the responses started coming in.

Then all of a sudden it was May 2017, time to get cracking! I was looking for a place to have the clambake in Massachussettes and the place I found, Winter Island Park in Salem, Ma, it was perfect. Guess what the beach was called? Waikiki Beach, go figure!

Place, check. It was a great space, wide open, they set up the tables and chairs and even provided the grill! It was perfect. The restrooms were a short walk away and the beach, just past that. Everyone brought bathing suits and towels and enjoyed the beach for at least a few minutes.

Food, check. I ordered the clam bake from Woodman’s, very helpful staff. A few Costco runs for the folks who don’t eat seafood and the sides and chips, watermelons. Some folks brought stuff and the one person I asked to make anything…his auntie L, she makes this awesome cucumber and onion salad, it’s marinated in somethig fabulous and she made plenty, even left overs for me!

Beverages, check. A clambake on the beach really needs a keg of beer, instead of trying to get different cases, a keg of Bud Light. And it’s a good beach beer. One snag, they wouldn’t take my credit card over the phone, what? Ok, two snags, they would not sell a keg to someone with an out of state license. Huh? Ok, so, I asked PSM to stop by with his aunt and uncle to pick up the keg, I felt bad asking him to have to do anything for his own party, but he was agreeable. And it worked out perfectly! They arrived while we were completing the transaction. We would have taken it, but if you could have seen how packed the vehicles were! I should have gotten an SUV! And I forgot to take pictures!

On to the venue…

Help unloading the car, check! Help setting up, check. One advantage of people showing up on time or at least before you, they help carry stuff! GES and I had a Dirty Dancing moment “I carried the watermelon”. The pavillion looked great! ACS and the girls had put up some decorations, streamers and the birthday banners.

The last thing to do to decorate…fill the piatas [I know they are pinatas, but MGS calls them piatas, so that’s what they are!] I had a great idea a few months ago…the 5 was filled with candy for the kids and the 0 was filled with nips, those little bottles of alcohol! let’s just say it was difficult to tell who the kids and adults were when their respective piatas broke!

People arrived all afternoon, the grill got fired up and people started playing hackeysack, frisbee, futball, playing on the playground, go down to the beach, talking, laughing and basically fawning over my fella, it’s his day! His friends and family were so thrilled to be together to celebrate his birthday and to see him! It’s been a few months since he’s been back on the mainland in Boston.

Food, check. SM, PSM’s brother put on his grill master hat and heated up the charcoal, about fourty minutes later there were burgers, dogs, veggie burgers, buns, all ready to go. Time to unleash the clambake. Lobsters, steamers, corn, chowder, chicken, coleslawy, melted butter, we had it all. Everyone dug in, adults, kids, all ages. some of them even wore lobster bibs!

There was more eating, drinking, music, merry making. So much fun.

Piata time! The kids went first, MGS was first, of course! Three kids later, they were all very happy. Grown ups next. PSM took one good swing and hooch for everyone!

Cake, check. PSM had very fond memories of Tom Carvel and his ice cream stores and that voice! And what he asked for, Fudgie the Whale, one of the Carvel signature ice cream cakes. And ice cream sandwiches. I found a place on Staten Island for dry ice and dad was fabulous to pick it up on Thursday, Fudgie the Whale and flying saucers and transported them, to LaLa’s, then to GES’ on Friday. The amazing thing…between the dry ice and ice and ice packs, that cake stayed in the same shape until this afternoon! It was soup when I served it, but it made it in one piece! Thank you dad!

Speech, check. Yes,PSM was the centre of attention, his favorite thing! I said a few words before the piata, about him and thanking everyone for being there to help celebrate this awesome man, and then we sang happy birthday, it was perfect.

After food, cake, piata and song, there was more hanging out, talking, beach, games, then all of a sudden it was about 5:30/6pm and we were all getting hungry again, so fire up that grill and it didn’t take too long, the brickets were still warm. So, about 7:30pm, it was another round of food, good,less to take home!

Oh, there was another snag with the beer…the first tap stopped working, someone went to get another, that didn’t work. Third time, someone came to get the keg and brought us a few cases of beer. When we packed up, some folks got parting gifts!

By now, it was almost 9pm, everyone who was still there helped clean up, fold chairs and throw away trash and pack the cars. A lot of thank yous and goodbye hugs. Then it was over…GES and i took the coolers back to Woodmans and headed home.

I have to tell you, it was a great day. The location was perfect, the weather, wow, perfect! The food, perfect, the guests, perfect. Everyone said they had a great time and it really felt it. Only one or two people couldn’t make it, but everyone that was there was just right, it made me so very happy to see everyone and how much they love and like PSM and how happy he was by everyone that was there.

I can’t wait to show you his last present, I gave it to him when we got back to GES’ tonight, but I’ll show you on his birthday.

Thank you to everyone who made my fellas day grand. I love you all.

{June 27, 2017} Lessons Learned in Amsterdam

It was a great trip. Great to be with family, exploring a new country, learning a lot.

I believe I mentioned that our apartment was in the Red Light District of Amsterdam. That part of Amsterdam, it’s difficult not to be in the red light district comma but there are areas that are a little more intense than others.

‘A red-light district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc. are found. Areas in many big cities around the world have acquired an international reputation as red-light districts.’ When you mention Amsterdam, that’s what a lot of people think of. Well, that and weed.

The term red-light district originates from the red lights that were used as signs of brothels.

Author Paul Wellman suggests that this and other terms associated with the American Old West originated in Dodge City, Kansas, home to a well-known prostitution district during the 19th century, which included the Red Light House saloon. This theory has never been proven.

The other thing very popular and prevalent in Amsterdam is the freedom to smoke marijuana just about anywhere. And they do. Every time you walk by a coffee house, undoubtedly there are people smoking weed, or if you just walk by a stoop, a park, it doesn’t matter somebody is smoking. And living in the US you forget how many people outside the US smoke cigarettes.

All that being said, now how do you explain things like this two kids, who don’t exactly understand the fact that it’s legal and it’s common practice.

GES explained to EJS on the first day that it was legal to smoke marijuana and that it was a choice, like drinking is a choice.

EJS really didn’t like the smell of either cigarette or marajuana and she was covering her nose with her shirt we told her that was rude, and she shouldn’t cover her face like that all the time. So I came up with a way to do it a little more politely, and it’s something I do now, which is to crook my finger and put it under my nose on my upper lip as if I’m thinking, “we’re thinking we’re thinking”, if you could see us looks pretty funny but, she did it she didn’t it was not as obvious. And if we were walking together I would tell her when the smoke was gone.

The next concept to explain, I’m sure you figured out, is the red light district. Not an easy thing to explain to a 10 year old who is full of questions. But after a few days I think I came with up with something and she agreed. I said to her “EJS, you know when you walk by a toy start in a mall, and you look in the window and you see something that you want?” She said yes, I said well then it’s the same concept it’s just a different type of toy store for adults. She said oh, with a bit of recognition and I said ‘is that a good of good enough explanation? Yup. I said are we done? yes.

I hope the lessons learned have helped!

{June 24, 2017} Amsterdam…Day Seven

Last day? What? I just got here! Well, it’s a busy day so let’s get started!

Breakfast at dad ahe LaLa’s hotel, then tickets purchssed and off to our first activity. Ever since EJS’ first Uber ride, I created an Uber monster! Now she wants to order an Uber pedi-cab!

We started our adventure at The Heineken Experience. It was great! And we know how I feel about beer!

There was invention, taking chances, history, innovation, recognition, experimenting, excellence, family and so much more.

We learned about the brewing and cooking process and that it takes about 28 days to beer! And that the foam actually protects the bubbles. I tasted it the wrong way and the right way, didn’t get any better! Ha ha.

We saw the stables, all of the horses are named after current and former owners and family members. One of the cooler parts of the tour was an interactive experience where you get to ‘be the beer ‘. You get to feel what it’s like to be the barely, when it gets wet, the mixture gets heated, shaken. A lot of fun, EJS’ favorite part.

We even got to bottle our own beers in the end! Can’t show you mine yet! Everything made it safely!

After a nice lunch, we walked to the Museum Quarter, listened to some music and met the rest of the family. GES, ACS, MGS and EJS went on a canal cruise and dad and LaLa and I headed across the courtyard to The Van Gogh Museum.

What an experience! I so love his work! The few pictures here are the ones snapped before being told no photos.

It’s interesting, I’m so used to his older self portraits, especially the ones after he cuts off his ear, his earlier self portraits were so moving, intense, there was so much promise and hope in his eyes. I wish I could have taken more photos to share with you.

There were a few that were ‘out of the norm’, the Japanese influence, skulls, I loved the one of the skull with the cigarette, it tickled me, dad even got me a t-shirt!

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to go, truly wonderful. I have to thank my parents for instilling in me an appreciation and love of art.

After the museum we met up with the family for some playground time, then on to a Dutch restaurant for dinner, a walk and head our respective hotel/apartments to pack, tomorrow we all fly back to reality.

What a week its been. I’m so glad I got to spend it with my family.

{June 22, 2017} Amsterdam…Day Six

What a day! Lots to do, let’s get started!

Today was all about being joodse, Jewish. We started in the Jewish Quarter at the Portuguese Jewish Synagogue.

The Portuguese Synagogue, also known as the Esnoga or Snoge, is a late 17th-century Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam, completed in 1675. The Amsterdam Sephardic community was one of the largest and richest Jewish communities in Europe during the Dutch Golden Age, and their very large synagogue reflected this.
We toured the catacombs, which housed texts, torahs, gowns, crowns and pointers.

The gowns cover the Torah when it is closed and not in use, the crowns cover the finials, the ‘bars’ used to roll the Torah, the crowns have been referred to as the ‘bridegroom of the law’ and the pointers, which come in different designs, traditionally a finger, which is pointing, keeping your place as you read from the Torah.

Next was a trip into the synagogue sanctuary itself.

The inscription above the entrance is from Psalm 5:8: “In the abundance of Thy lovingkindness will I come into Thy house”.

This is a simple synagogue. Large in size, but simple in decoration. Very different from the synagogue in Hungary, not sure if you remember those images.

The women sit upstairs, there is a separate entrance towards the back of the synagogue outside.

When Amsterdam started to become more and more populated with Jews, it became common for people to refer to it as the “New Jerusalem.” This nickname developed because of the Jewish life that Amsterdam was beginning to become fulfilled with.

Next, we toured the rest of the complex. We saw the Boardroom, hats of the members of each delegate, the head rabbis throughout the life of the synagogue and Jewish community. We were able to tour different areas of what makes the synagogue and Jewish community run.

The mikvah, this is the ritual bath for women, the winter synagogue, a sukkah, this is the structure built during the time of Sukkot, it is made of natural materials and will often have a thatched roof so you can see the sky when eating and give thanks.

Next it was time for a bit of lunch at a nice out door cafe then back to the Jewish Quarter and the Jewish Museum. The ticket was clever, one ticket with for tabs for the four places to visit. I really didn’t like calling them atttactions.

The Jewish Museum was a mixture of paintings by Jewish artists, not depicting any Jewish themes I’m particular, just their work. There were historical pieces, some not easy to look at.

I found it interesting that the doors would only open when the previous door closed, this was at two of the locations.

After the Jewish Museum, went to the Holocaust Memorial and Museum. These were both difficult places to visit, but so important.

The museum had artifacts and stories of those who had perished in the camps. Some of the items were given to friends to hold until they came home and as you can imagine, none of these were ever returned as so many thousands and millions of items like them.

The one picture that I took was a quote from the poem, Peace by Leo Vroman: “Come tonight with that refrain about the ending of all war, sing it a hundred times or more and every time I’ll cry again”.

Across the street was the memorial, incredbly sobering. The tributes are powerful and seeing your family name sends chills down your body. I went behind the memorial to look at some photographs and it was as if the cats were keeping watch over something sacred.

If I tell you we had had enough somber moments, I hope you believe me. Touching, heartbreaking, tough, but necessary. If we forget, we risk repeating.

We started to walk back to dad ahs LaLa’s hotel and drip, drop, call an Uber! Good thing because about 10 minutes after we got back, the sky opened up. The gods were bowling some strikes!

Finally, what do Jews do after temple, normally on Friday nights? Chinese food! We went to The Sea Palace and were very pleasantly surprised! The Asian food in Amsterdam has been fabulous!

After dinner, dessert and a pedi-cab ride, how much more fun can we have? I tell ya!

One more day! The adventure continues! See you tomorrow!

{June 20, 2017} Amsterdam…Day 4

Madurodam. That’s it, Madurodam.

What a place! An entire city built of miniatures! I’m not taller than much, so pretty cool! Dad had been there about 47 years ago, it’s built up a little since then. For EJS, LaLa and I, it was a first.

It was a train and then a tram trip to get there. A first for EJS, some great experiences and firsts have been had!

It was opened in 1952, each item featured are 1:25 scale replicas of famous Dutch landmarks, historical cities and large developments.

The buildings, trees, cars, people, all created with such fabulous detail. When you take pictures from certain angles, toy can’t tell its not “life size” until you see a person or baby stroller go by.

Madurodam was named after George Maduro, a Jewish law student from Curaçao who fought the Nazi occupation forces as a member of the Dutch resistance and died at Dachau concentration camp in 1945. In 1946, Maduro was posthumously awarded the Medal of Knight Fourth class of the Military Order of William, the highest and oldest military decoration in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for the valor he had demonstrated in the Battle of the Netherlands against German troops.

This was a tribute started by his parents and the entirety of net proceeds from the park go towards various charities in the Netherlands.

Back to Amsterdam, regroup, dinner and rest… tomorrow is another adventure!

{June 19, 2017} Amsterdam…Day 3!

Amsterdam day 3! Already? Crazy!

Everyone had a sleep in, expect dad and LaLa, we had planned to meet at their hotel for breakfast, so they set an alarm, sorry! Everyone slept until about 930/10am and then GES, EMS and I headed out in search of food, adventure and culture.

We found a cafe for cheese sandwiches, breakfast was over, EJS had a waffle as we roamed the streets and canals of Amsterdam. People watching, food, conversation, sounds good too me!

We walked over a lot of bridges and found one with two ‘trees’ of locks, so cool! EJS found this very cool!

Then it was on to The Van Gogh Museum, which turned out didn’t open until 4pm, so the Rijks Museum is it! This is where many Rembrandt, Vermeer, Heals, Steen and even a Van Gogh or two are shown and one of the most famous Rembrandt paintings, The Night Watch, which is actually called The Spring Company of Frans Banning Cocq Fran’s Wilem van Ruttenburch. This was called The Night Watch because the painting was so dark, when it was cleaned and restored, not so dark and dirty!

Next was a bite to eat, then model ships and some weapons, many of which have amazing embellishments or carvings. Is this what they mean by the art of war? Ha ha, sorry.

We had ships, now we need music, dishes and jewelry, I think we’ve covered it all!

After the museum, street musicians, gardens, magic, dancing fountains and the famous IAMSTERDAM installation.

Next, a canal tour for dad, LaLa, EJS and I. We saw the oldest boat in Amsterdam, 180 years old! The green one. Do you see the stork? They would put symbols of the business above the doors, if you guessed midwife, you’d be right! Also, do you see the house that looks like it’s sinking? It is! They are having to replace the wooden posts under the houses with concrete because they are rotting and the houses are slowly sinking!

We learned so much! The cranes were put at the top of the houses because at one time, that’s how they brought in their items, since it was all on the water, now, since the stairways are so narrow, they move their furniture that way!

What else? 12k bicycles are fished out of the canals each year! If people grow tired of them or want someone else’s spot, push! It was a really nice canal ride with a great crew.

Then back to the apartment, out for dinner and walk dad and LaLa back to their hotel and a nice walk back to the apartment. You can see a little of the nightlife, action and Red Light District going on.

What a day! What’s tomorrow hold?!

{June 18, 2017} Amsterdam…Day 2!

I know, creative titles here!

I slept in! Wow, first morning to sleep past 530/6am in three weeks! Wahoo! Go time difference!

Dad and LaLa arrived in Amsterdam and called me when they got to their hotel. I got up, showered, packed and headed out on the ferry to meet them. Their room wasant ready, the only drawback to arriving in a new destination early morning, the rooms aren’t always ready.

I met them for breakfast and a wall around, looking at the sites, bikes and boats. When the room was ready, they settled in for some rest and a shower.

During this time, GES, ACS, MGS and EJS had landed and were heading to the air bnb we were staying in for the week. I grabbed by bags and headed in that direction.

MGS was under the weather, so they took turns going out to explore and stretch their legs. Eventually dad and LaLa arrived, actually with GES and ACS, they had found each other wandering towards each other, go figure!

We decided to stay in for dinner, it was nice, ACS cooked and we ate. Good food, conversation and family. Doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you’re together. Nice spending Father’s Day together.

After dinner i walked dad ahe LaLa back to their hotel and wandered for a few hours taking in the sites, trying not to get high walking by every coffee shop in the city!

It really is a stunning city!

{June 9, 2017} Happy birthday GES

My baby sister… Well, she’ll always be my baby sister, no matter how old she gets.

And each year she gets older, I get to watch her grow even more fabulous, as a person, wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend.

She’s smart, funny, silly, goofy, stubborn, methodical, a planner, steadfast, loyal, a good listener, silly, fun to be around. I could go on but this part would be a mile long! She’s my sister, I’m biased of course!

June 9th is a great day in history, so many great people were born on June 9th, Donald Duck, Johnny Depp, Natalie Portman, Mike Ryba and Cole Porter, she’s in good company!

A few great things happened this date in history.

In 1948 – Foundation of the International Council on Archives under the auspices of the UNESCO. In 1973 – In horse racing, Secretariat wins the U.S. Triple Crown. And in 1934 – Donald Duck makes his debut in The Wise Little Hen. In 2017 – GES’ big sister, me, got to spend her birthday with her little sister.

And the most important date in history, June 9, 1975, I became what I was meant to be, a big sister, GES was born. I will never forget waiting for mommy to come home from the hospital, going to get her and holding my baby sister in the back seat of the VW Beetle Bug [and you thought my love of these cars started with mine!]. And it’s been an amazing ride ever since.

Happy birthday baby sister, I love you. I can’t wait to see what this next year holds!

{June 4, 2017} A great weekend

Laid back, but full.

I got to dad’s Friday night, Saturday I got up and headed to Queens to see one of my oldest friends and her family.

Ok this term has come up a lot lately and what I find is, as we get older, saying “one of my oldest friends” starts to sound like my friends and I are old! Not so. These are friends we’ve known the longest! But that takes longer to say!

So, back to Saturday. I drove out to Queens to see CGS, we met at a local diner near her house. She was with her youngest, after we got a table, her husband Joined us, then two more kids, her oldest was still sleeping, as a teenager should be doing!

We realized we have known each other 32 years!!! What? We were just in high school, not possible! She was actually pregnant with her first at my wedding! He kept making his presence known! And the dress she wore… it’s how she told me a few years later she was pregnant again!

We had breakfast, talked for a while, then went back to their house, it’s a new place since I was last at their place. A great space, much better suited for them. We talked and laughed, eventually everyone but the youngest, CGS and I went to a baseball game. That left us to talk more, laugh more, go down memory lane a little.

Then the three of us went to the park, got some dinner, back to the park, back to the house and then we realized it was almost 10pm, time to go! Hugs, kisses, promises of visits and maybe a girls weekend…

What a fabulous time! Had it been a year since we’d seen each other? Didn’t feel like it!

Today, breakfast with dad ahe LaLa, they headed out to their fun afternoon and I went to a very good Sri Lankan restaurant to meet another “old friend”, WM, he even remembered exactly when we met! February 24, 1990, what a memory!

We have been friends who have been in and out of each other’s lives here and there but when we talk, no time had passed. I regret that I wasn’t able to get to his wedding. I promised to be at the renewal!

His wife, NSM, is smart, funny, attractive, caring, understanding and she loves nt friend, what more could I ask for? Their girls, H2, twins and eleven years old, what a pair! Outgoing, gregarious, smart, funny, clever, enthusiastic, loving life, wow!

When I met them for the first time, they both hugged me, I wasn’t expecting that, but welcomed it fully. They talked to me, told me jokes, about school, boys, they’re dumb, by the way…love it!

We talked, caught up, got to know each other, laughed, talked about the future, travel, I’m not sure we missed anything!

We talked about our families, his mom, who I loved. I used to call and visit her even when he wasn’t around, she was a very special person. The girls were one when she passed, but they love looking at her pictures and talking about her, they said she was sunshine and light. They told me a while later I was sunshine and light, I’m in good company.

I hated for our time to come to an end, but it did. Hugs, kisses and promises to keep in touch more and don’t let another 10 treats go by between visits. I for one would like to keep that promise!

Back home, dad and LaLa were hanging out, we had some dinner, yes, I was hungry again, we had eaten three hours earlier!

Then friends, H&L T, came over for a visit, so great to see them. My dad and HT taught together so many moons ago. Catch up on family, grandkids, travel, life.

Then it was time to put on jammies, pack, relax and get ready for tomorrow. Stuff to do and travel!

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