Family | Peaches Prattlings

{February 21, 2015} Goodgies

Goodgies are for good luck.

This is something that my family does to wish each other luck, for whatever. It could be for an exam, a presentation, an interview, competition, whatever you could use a little extra mojo for. You wish each other good luck, we give goodgies.

It started with my parents when we were kids, I don’t know if it was my mom or dad who started the tradition, but they both did it and it’s something we have come to value, still doing it for each other and now, with the girls, better known as my nieces.

You start by standing in front of the person, put your pointer fingers on the temples of the person you are wishing well and then the important part…you make this weird noise with the back of your throat.

Now, it’s always better to have the person on front of you you are giving goodgies to, but it can still be done over the phone.

The important thing is to announce “ok, it’s time for goodgies” and then you do your thing.

It is a wonderful tradition I hope never ends and to all my friends and family, if you have something coming up that you need a little extra luck for, let me know and I’ll be happy to “give you goodgies”

{February 20, 2015} Kiss the boo boo

This is an age old tradition that is the responsibility of the parent, grandparent, auntie or uncle.

I am inspired to write this post based on the ouchie, yes, I said ouchie, on my head as a result of my miscalculation of the attic door opening and hitting me on the forehead, ouch! that would be putting it mildly!

As I sat there reeling from the shock of the door hitting me and the intense pain of the moment all I kept thinking was, “ouch!” and “who is going to kiss my boo boo? ” and lastly…”I want my daddy! ”

Why do we want our mommies and daddies to kiss the boo boos? Well, from early childhood when you have an ouchie, mommy or daddy will kiss the boo boo and make it all better…there’s is magic in those kisses.

Muwah (that is a kiss noise)..all better.

{February 18, 2015} Skiing with EJS!

What an experience this was! Oh my goodness!

EJS has been taking ski lessons since she was about three years old and each year, she just keeps getting stronger and better at it. She takes lessons each season on Saturdays and MGS is doing the same.

This week, the schools are out for mid-winter break and today, I was EJS’ play date! We drove up to Nashoba, http://www.skinashoba.com/, where she takes lessons and she’s very comfortable with each run.

We got up there about 11:30, found a place to stash our stuff, get her a hot chocolate, which was too hot, btw, so we left it with our stuff and when we came back at lunch, it was just right, sweet!

Then it was on to purchase lift tickets for both of us and away we went! GES has been telling me what a great skier EJS is and today I got to see it!

The runs there are a little shorter, so it gave us the opportunity to do a great deal of them and we did. We probably skied at least 8 runs before we went in for lunch, about an hour later.

She is, as GES says, a very good technical skier, she did the chair lift on her own, didn’t want me on the chair, ok, just wait for me so I can see where you’re going!

Watching her was so much fun, I had pride “There was my niece, skiing on her own, no poles, no fear, just go!” Then there was…where is the little girl I played with? She’s in there somewhere.

I wish I could show you the video, but I’m in it!

After skiing the second half, after lunch of course, we packed it in, grabbed our gear and away we went. We did stop to have some fried dough with powdered sugar, yum! And on the way out “Thank you, JJ” for what? “For the funnel cake and spending the day with me” Did my heart melt or what? So very proud!!! Shows she was raised right!

Sleepy time!

{February 16, 2015} A trip down museum lane…

I love museums, practically raised in them.

I am inspired to write to you today because the family went to the Boston Museum of Science today, thanks PM for the suggestion.

Different museums have different meanings to different people and are seen in different ways, as you can imagine, just like everything, right? Going to a museum by yourself is enjoyable, if you are into museums, for the same reasons as going with others, but sometimes it’s just more fun to go with others, to enjoy, admire even, be inspired, learn from each other and what you see and maybe even laugh a little. The last one I do with my dad often when we go to the modern art sections of museums and scratch our heads and think…hmmm…really?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love modern art, there are some artists that some people don’t get, like a Rothko or Stella, even a Pollack but I really love them, their paintings may look like gibberish to some, but I am moved and see meaning when I look at them. What I’m talking about are the things that don’t make sense to us, like a black dot on a blue canvas or a pile of insulation on the floor, maybe they are about the struggle to stand out in a sea of people or how to stay focused when there is chaos all around, I don’t know! But my dad and I wonder often and laugh often, but that’s alright. The point of art is to elicit a response and that’s just what it does and tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter what we think, it matters what the artist who created it thinks, right? Ok, moving on.

Going to museums with kids is another experience entirely, to see things through their eyes is a feeling like no other…the wonder, the fascination, the excitement, the boredom, the laughter, the enthusiasm, the interest. I’ve been to art museums with them, The Museum of Natural History in New York City, http://www.amnh.org/, and this was the second time I was with them at the Boston Museum of Science, http://www.mos.org/, and they didn’t disappoint. It’s interesting the things you think they will find interesting and maybe they don’t and then there are things you never thought they would be interested in and bam! MGS and I had some fun laying on a bed of nails, didn’t hurt and she loved it, remembered it from the last time and wanted me to do it with her again, it was great!

I’ve loved experiences I have had at different museums, dad and I go to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, http://www.mfa.org/, when we are in Boston together, we have a similar technique of touring exhibits and different galleries, another one we have enjoyed together is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, http://www.metmuseum.org/. You could get lost in there, walking around for days, doesn’t that sound wonderful?

I remember an art class I took in high school, he went with me to the Met and The Guggenheim, http://www.guggenheim.org/, and the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, http://www.moma.org/, to research particular artists. Going with my dad was a different experience than with my mom, a memory I will treasure and I would love to share with you, but not tonight. But I will tell you that that is probably one of the greatest gifts they ever gave me, a love and appreciation for art and museums. Maybe one day I’ll give you my personal guided tour of my favorite museums.

Living in Atlanta, I joined the High Museum of Art, http://www.high.org/, they had some great exhibits that would come through, it was never enough pieces, but it was nice to be able to go whenever I wanted. The best part was that sometimes I would go with a friend or two, but sometimes…if there was a really special exhibit, a large group of us would go.

My two favorite museums in Paris, France, not Texas, just for clarification, are Musee D’Orsay, http://www.musee-orsay.fr/, which houses one of the biggest Impressionist collection and L’ouvre, http://www.louvre.fr/en, where “To see each of the 35,000 art objects in the L’ouvre, taking 60 seconds for each, would take roughly 25 days each of a full 24 hours.”

There is so much more I want to tell you, so many more museums to talk about and I promise that I will, go into greater detail about the museums that I have visited, the museums that I have loved and museums I have not loved, [and I almost got carried away and posted works by a slew of artists I love, but I will leave you with pieces by the artists I named earlier, Pollack, Rothko and Stella. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Pollack, Rothko, Stella

{February 15, 2015} Rummikub

Tonight we played a few rousing games of Rummikub.

Let me start with a why…Rummikub is a game that I have played with my family since GES and I were kids.

Now, a what…The synopsis, if you check out the Wikipedia link, it will give you more details, of course, Rummikub was invented by a Romanian-born Jew, who hand made the first sets with his family in the backyard, then sold the first sets door-to-door and on consignments at small shops. It has become Israel’s #1 export game and in 1977, it became the best selling game in the United States.

Yes, I do play games that were invented after 1980, but these are games from my childhood, classics.

Rummikub is a combination of Rummy and Mahjong, I don’t know if you’ve played either, but Rummy is played with a deck of cards and Mahjong is played with tiles. If you have ever played Rummy, it’s played with seven cards and Gin-Rummy is played with ten cards.

Rummikub is similar to Rummy in that you have to make runs and groupings. You start with fourteen tiles and put them on the stand. Each player turns a tile over to see who goes first, then, technically, you are supposed to open with tiles totaling 30 points, but we play that you have to have a run when you open.

So…a run is when you have three of a kind or three in a row. There are four colors in the game, red, orange, blue and black, if the light is not bright enough the two colors each look very similar! Just as in Rummy, three of a kind have to be all different colors and a run would be all the same color, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. Now, you can have more than 3 in a row, no limit.

Then, there are other things you can do, break up sets and make new ones, as long as you don’t leave less thank three tiles together. If you can’t put anything out, pick a tile.

It may sound confusing, I know, but once you sit down and play, after a few minutes, you’re in it to win it! And look out if you play with EJS or MGS, they are good! Tonight, the whole family played, lots of fun!

Tonight, something happened that almost never happens, a run of one through 13! Picture proof!

The object, go figure, is to go out first and most important…have a good time!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummikub

{February 14, 2015} Gotcha Day

Today is Gotcha Day! And Valentine’s Day! Could anything be more wonderful?

What is Gotcha Day you ask, well, I’ll tell you. That is the day that Miss A and SDL became official!

SDL has wanted kids for a long time and started the adoption process many moons ago. Finally, it was getting closer and I remember getting an email from her, “Auntie G…how would you like to see a picture of your niece?” Let’s just say, I had tears in my eyes when I opened the attachment and I couldn’t say anything to anyone! Not fair! I wanted to shout it to the world, but my lips were sealed!

SDL started going to a far off land, Kazakhstan, to meet the little one who would soon be her pride and joy.

She had set up a blog so that some friends and family could keep up with their progress. It was great! Every day she would post so we would know what was going on and on the days she visited with Miss A, pictures of the two of them. Soooo cute!

What a doll baby! She was adorable and wonderfully fat (only when children are babies is it ok to tell a mother her baby is beautiful and fat!) and she smiled like crazy. Simply wonderful.

There were multiple trips to Kazakhstan for bonding and paperwork. Finally…the day had come…it was going to be official!

Mother and daughter were officially a family, it’s called Gotcha Day and what a wonderful coincidence that their Gotcha Day was February 14th, Valentine’s Day.

As you know, Miss A is not only the light in her mother’s life, she is so very precious to me and I love spending time with her, watching her grow and blossom into a bright, precocious, soon to be five year old, I cannot believe it!

What better day to become a family. Happy Gotcha Day to SDL and Miss A and Happy Valentine’s Day to them and everyone out there!

{February 11, 2015} My brother-in-law

Is pretty great.

I haven’t talked much about my b-I-l, that’s brother-in-law for those not in the know. I know I’ve mentioned him in posts, ACS, but I haven’t told you much about him and what he means to my family.

I remember when my sister first brought him home, I wasn’t sure about him, but come on, I’m the big sister and no one is ever good enough for my baby sister. We happen to be the same age, well, for a few months we are, born the same year, he’s January and I’m September, so same age for a few months, but I still call him my baby brother, he’s married to my baby sister, see how my logic works?

I have to tell you, he is a great father. He’s loving and silly with them and firm when he needs to be, he loves them and they adore him, you can see it on their faces and hear it in their voices.

When it comes to my sister, there is no one better to take care of her, after me and our dad, of course, wink wink, but he has been amazing, especially over the last year and a half. He went to every single doctors appointment, treatment, procedure, you name it, he was there, sitting by her side when he could and keeping the rest of us informed, a very important job.

He is a generous person and very popular with his friends, many of them from childhood. The joke is that everyone we meet went to camp with him, I always ask, but the reality, he lives in the town he grew up in and a lot of the people we meet, he went to camp with. He is someone who works hard and people know they can depend on.

The reason I am telling you all of this is, yesterday, he did something really nice, which he does, but it helped me out a lot. I had that appointment with the GI in the morning and it had been snowing and when I came outside, he had cleared off his car so I could take it. Even clearing it off before he left for work, moving the other car so I could get out and then he went back for MGS so they could leave for school and work.

He helps a lot of people and they appreciate it and yesterday, for me…props to him.

{February 8, 2015} Good old fashioned snail mail

I may have talked to you about snail mail before, but I am here I am doing it again, with a twist.

My dad is a great supporter of snail mail, he sends letters back and forth with EJS, I believe LaLa does as well. There have been times we’ve exchanged letters, the old fashioned way, and I enjoyed it and here and there we write, but not consistently.

I have a very dear friend, CGS, who is great at letter writing and I actually owe her a letter, which I will be completing very soon. We were great about writing back and forth for a while, then life gets in the way, then great about it, then…

Well, it’s a new year and I want to try something. Three years ago I set out to blog every day and except for one day last year, I have done it. They say, as I’ve said before, it takes twenty one days to form a habit and I would like to form a new one.

I was inspired a few weeks ago and bought a brand new box of stationary when I was at Barnes & Noble, hard to get out of there without buying something fun, this time was no different.

So…I have my new box of stationary and I want to use it. I want to send letters, it has 30 sheets and envelopes, let’s see who wants to help and exchange with me. I am going to put a post on Facebook to see who wants to become my pen pal.

There are two people who will have letters in the mail in the next two days, I hop they know who they are, daddy…wink wink.

{February 3, 2015} Carwash with MGS

This weekend I had a fun experience.

I don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but I am not a huge fan of car washes, never have been. I think my dad even remembers me not enjoying them either, I don’t know what it is, I’m just not a fan, weirded out.

But… cleaning the car is a necessary evil and in the spring and summer I actually love washing my car by hand, in the winter, it’s a bit chilly and Annie needed it, badly. First… all the snow! Second, she had been sitting under a tree and there was sap like crazy on the windshield and windows, needed to be done.

Sunday, I picked up MGS from the temple where GES and EMS were doing stuff and we had some shopping to do, but first, and you should have seen her face light up when I said “How about we go to the car wash, how would you like to sit in the front seat with the butt warmers going?” Oh boy! You know it! And away we went!

We got there and just before we went through, she climbed into the passenger seat, I turned on the seat warmers and in we went and oh the excitement and joy, how could I not join in! The look on her face and each new section, she called out what was happening or asked me what it was, so cute. It was probably the best experience I had in a car wash, I so wish you could have seen her!

Here’s something for your listening pleasure!

{January 26, 2015} My weekend in Atlanta…

Was it busy? Yes it was! Was it awesome? Yes it was! Do you want to hear about it? Yes you do!

I told you a few things here and there, but here is the blow by blow, so to speak.

Friday I arrived in Atlanta, after an uneventful flight, which is always a good thing, and watching The Equalizer. Let’s just say, I heart Denzel Washington! This was a feel good movie in the best sense of the word! [Now, if you don’t know anything about it, until I write a review, just know it is a violent movie, but awesome!]

After I landed, I got my rental car and did something I should not have done, but I did anyway, which I told you about on Friday…I went to Fellini’s Pizza for a slice, salad and soda, ah memories [http://www.fellinisatlanta.com/fellinis.html]…After a filling lunch, I went to Junkman’s Daughter [http://www.thejunkmansdaughter.com/] to look around and met a charming chick working the shoe department upstairs, Twinkle, we had a nice chat, she really wants me to give Hedwig and the Angry Inch another try, I promised to.

Then I went to see CC and JC and their adorable son MC. They bought a house a few months ago and have asked me to come and see it when I was in town, unfortunately, I was not able to the last few times, but Friday, it was on! CC and MC had made some very yummy and healthy cookies earlier, they were so excited to share with me! While I was getting a tour of the house, MC kept saying “Ladies, ladies, come on!” How cute is he! And what a great visit we had!

After I left, I headed to JCT’s house to spend the night. She was on her way from the airport herself and I was going to get there before her, so I was lucky and got to spend some one-on-one quality time with her mom, who I affectionately refer to as Mom. We talked health and happiness, kids and crocheting, had cups of tea, it was wonderful. Then JCT’s brother GC came home and we chatted for a bit, until JCT came home.

When JCT came home, we talked and talked and laughed and talked until almost two in the morning! Isn’t that happens when besties get together? Did you forget… this is still only Friday!

Slept a few hours, got up, chatted, caught up some more then it was time to shower and head out to meet CKM for brunch at Home Grown, http://www.homegrownga.com/, waited a few minutes and then hopped up to the counter for breakfast.

After a great breakfast and good conversation, we headed to the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k Expo to volunteer and I picked up my race packet. Our shift was 1:30-6:30, our feet hated us at this point! After the expo it took us almost an hour to get out of the parking deck! Then another 30 minutes to drop CKM off where she was meeting friends for dinner. The only other bad thing was that RJS was having a get together for her birthday, which is actually today! Happy Birthday! And I missed it, but I made up for it today, sort of.

I headed to JT’s house to wait for BG, I was going to crash with him since we were riding to the run together. I was so tired, I just crashed art JT’s house. A few hours of sleep and 5:30am on Sunday we were in the car and on our way downtown, smooth sailing for a while, then lots of traffic, taking us about an hour to go about five miles, par for the course, ha ha, runners joke.

I hope you were able to check out my posting on the Hot Chocolate race yesterday. We were both a bit tired and sore, my feet were mad at me, but we did it! We headed back to BG’s to shower and headed back downtown to Sweet Melissa’s, http://www.sweetmelissas.com/, for brunch with some good friends.

After brunch, I drove to JCT’s because I left my Surface charger, grrr…and then to SDL’s house for a visit and some quality one-on-one time. Lots of talking, laughter and love. I crashed there for the night, even got to brush Miss A’s teeth for the first time…so many new firsts with her!

This morning I headed to see RJS for a little bit before making a mad dash for the airport and getting to the gate a few minutes before the flight took off! Even luckier that it took off at all, as a huge snow storm is coming to Boston tomorrow! So bad that they closed Logan airport at 8pm tonight!

So… that was my weekend, you tired? I am!

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