Melee of things

A few weeks ago I took the boys age 8 and 10 and the girl age 14 off their parent's hands.

For lunch they filled their bellies with drinks, spaghetti and meatballs and desert at the Ikea store restaurant and when I later inquired about their supper preferences and expected to maybe hear McD's or such other fast food place, they emptied my wallet in a 'Sushi Palace'.
No, not a plain Sushi Bar but a Palace. 

How times have changed!

On my 10th birthday, shortly before the end of war, I asked for apples.  My mother went begging to some farmers and returned with the gift of 2 wrinkled ones which made me very happy.
    

60 years later, 10 years ago, Pasha, Besito de Luz and I sat around the kitchen table talking and laughing all afternoon whilst sipping wine, slicing carrots, cucumbers, avocado  and things I don't remember, sniffing the ingredients of the sea and choosing what to artfully combine with the rice for a pleasing effect to the eye and palate when rolled in seaweed on the bamboo mats, all in preparation for the sushi party of the evening, my 70th birthday.   Again I was not only happy but also overjoyed about the gift of togetherness of mother and children.  Yes, Moselito was also present but only interested in coming to the table to eat.


I don't know what awaits me on Sunday.  

Day Three

To Val-David again where Mireille exhibited two of her works.  I have seen and bought a smaller one of her creations a few years ago but had not seen any of her larger works.  Our paths cross occasionally in the village. We hug and kiss cheeks.  She recently told me that she no longer sculpts her hands being 'done'.                                                                           She now composes music, writes the lyrics and guitar in hand performs in small places here and there.  

   

A cold glass of sangria while waiting for our food was much appreciated by all.

What you see is not all she got.  The goat cheese made itself invisible.  

  

A few more photos and then back home .

Day Two

35 minutes drive to Mont Tremblant

  

                                                                                       
                                                                                          We took the easy way up

South side

Hard rocks in hiding

North side

Day one with Pasha

She arrived tired from her 6.5 hrs Jeep drive, eager to get into position to capture the blaze of autumn colours.     
                                                      
                                                     Parc des Amoureux - Val David 

Killing time..........

until Pasha arrives.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Arrangements need to be made for Nikita and Dakota to wiggle their tails and Chester to purr when she gets back home and it's a 5+ hours drive for her.  My thoughts are with her on that long drive - 16 lanes changing to 8 and then to 6.     

She wants to preserve our Autumn leaf colours as seen through her camera lens.

If I dare to suggest it, we might even discuss planing for an 'all of the families' bash to celebrate our upcoming big 0s.
"What, who wants to think about that now.  Next year comes soon enough, no rush about that, I don't feel like talking about it".  I can hear it.

Numbers never bothered me until I did not fit into this or that any more which to my delight, for a reason that I am proud of, happened very late in my life.  

Oops, she just called.  Should she maybe do the last stretch on the 117 or should she stick to finishing off on the 15 or or or.....it would be cool to take a country road and blablabla.
I suggested she should come here as usual and take it easy for the remainder of the day. 
It is supposed to get warmer and warmer till after the weekend and the show has not reached its peek as yet.




  

World Autism Awareness Day

As I read the 'Spiegel' and the 'Guardian' this morning I was reminded of 

                                                   

                                                                                             Nov.15, 1972

I don't know what Moselito knew way back then.  I had never heard of Autism....now we are both fine with it and life is beautiful. 





                               

They came, they played, they laughed, they argued and Oma is exhausted.

Yes, woof woof, this is the path that leads to the corral where Major is kept. 

He did not 'woof' us that the horse was in the barn.

Where are skateboard sharing rules to be found?
Sneak-a-Snack and Hungry Man were not happy with the ones I made up for them.  They prefer to wrestle over who gets to put his foot on what.

The fishing license was on hand but the boys had forgotten the rods at home.

                    





                    So, what's next?  Let's climb the pole!

           Let's remember this tree so that we can catch the bird on the way back down the mountain.

The boys are back to school.  Not to be seen again till Christmas.


  

The Boys

I have been kind of 'goofing off' lately doing easy on my brain things. 

When Noah, aka Sneak-a-Snack welcomed the arrival of little brother Hayden, aka Hungry Man, I went out and bought these two little journals.  The very first page asks "what is Noah/Hayden up to"  and the following pages give the answer. 
The question is always asked by me, Oma, and the answers can be from either the boys themselves or their parents or other family members or their friends.

I wish I had a drawing talent.  It would have been so easy to just draw a few lines to go with the text.  Something like a comic book but.....  

The way I planed it, I need to be around till age 90 to see their faces when these little journals are given them.  

Moselito

I picked him up on Friday afternoon to be with Ellena, as he says, for 10 nights.  His vacations with me are not only highlighted with X on his calendar but are also referred to  by the number of nights he sleeps over.

Today, Tuesday, he said  "10 nights sleep here".  As I answered "some nights have passed already", he replied  "Friday 10, Saturday 9, Sunday 8, Monday 7, Tuesday 6, today 6 more nights sleep here".

Amazing!  Enough to 'make' my day.

I am so grateful for such surprises and wonder as to how much more is in his brain that I/we are not aware of. 

..........something fell apart and

I need to pack a few clothes, lipstick, meds, empty the fridge, water the inside and outside plants never mind, close all the windows, pack the car and drive drive drive.

Mini-daughter can use some help, two boys age 7 and 8 will be off school at noon today, small bakery needs to open doors as usual, some deliveries need to be made, boys want to be driven to school and be picked up at noon, 2 dogs and 2 cats need to be fed and let in and out, food needs to be cooked and served and life must go on as before when a certain male was sharing the chores. He packed his suitcase.

I was not asked for help but how could I not at least try to be of some use.           

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Sting in Berlin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Y-mCzvUe1EM

Dear I. and dear B.

The phone rang, I answered, it was the door, the postman announcing himself. As I walked down the hall to meet him half way I said “I think you rang the wrong door, I have not ordered anything”. He just smiled and handed me the brown carton box he was holding and told me that it did not fit into my mail box.

Back in the apartment I looked it over and started talking to myself. "What could I have ordered,  did I order that thing I looked at, I don’t remember paying for anything.  I must look at my credit card statements". I had to fetch the bread knife to get that brown thing open. STING!!! My thoughts racing. "I thought a blog is a kind of secret thing, how could she find out my address, can’t be from her, it must be Pasha, I told her about discovering Sting through a blog, what, it's from I. and B.!!!!??, we did not discuss music, how come they know about my late discovery"?

Sting is playing as I am writing this. Would you believe that a few months ago I did not even know who Sting is. A German lady who’s blog I follow suggested I listen to him on Youtube. I listened to his Berlin concert with the London Symphony, wow – over and over again. Then I told Besito de Luz about it and she reminded me that Pasha was playing Sting from morning till night the one time we visited her together many years ago. Really?

And, you know what I just pulled out of my document holder on my desk? A pamphlet advertising ‘Direct Cremation’. A cheap way to be put away - $799. Now –never mind inflation, I’m not ready yet. The girls know it’s sitting there for them to use when the time comes. And, you know what’s attached to the pamphlet?? You’ll never guess.   

A note telling them to invite whomever wants to join them for a good meal and to play some music should they decide to celebrate my life. Music in this order: Desert Rose(Sting), Hallelujah  (Leonard Cohen) and of course some classical at their choice (I think I know what it will be). Now, do you believe that I am sitting here, blown out of my yesterday washed black socks, having a Porto and swinging to the music?

I am embarrassed to confess that I don’t know Jesse Cook. Will listen to him later.

Thank you soooooo much both of you. I am so happy about this nice gesture of your’s and won’t say “you should not have done that”. Enjoyed your visit very much.

 

Much love and warm hugs to both of you                       Tante Ellena

 

A short visit

Many years ago if 15 is many, my first born, a Sunday Child, also known as 'La Puce' and/or 'Pasha' could arrive whenever she wanted, twins, dog and all and stay as long as she wanted. At midnight or 4 in the morning or 9 in the evening. My door  was never locked. Now, it's better I know the time of her arrival. She called to say "I'll be there in about half an hour, I'll stay for a while because cottage won't be ready before noon". The twins have their own life now. La Puce now comes with Nikita dog only. She knows that she can't visit with dog and that's why she rented a cottage 30 min car drive from here. I reminded her that Nikita will have to stay in car while she pops in to kiss and hug Mom. Since it was to hot for dog in car, we agreed to meet somewhere around the corner. As I was nervously fixing this and fixing that while awaiting her call to tell me she arrived, I got more and more upset, ran outside to the front of the building and searched for neighbours sitting on balconies or patios. Out of 10 residents in the front only 4 were out. It told them each that I was about to commit a criminal act by allowing a dog on the premises. None of them cared. When La Puce called I told her that it was ok to come in with dog.  

I was lucky she did not turn around and leave again

since a neighbour who was not out when I made my announcement stepped out on her balcony and greeted her with "no dogs allowed here". "I know, drove 7 hours do get here, dog stays in my arms for next 30 minutes". Sad thing this is being faced with no this and no that. I want to be back in my house again.

We had a great time together.
La Puce introduced me to this gentle homeless cat which had welcomed her as she and Nikita reached the chalet. She named her Booty whereas I would have named her Clipped Ears (15 cm missing top of each ear).

      
We got some exercise with the paddle boat on Lac Gagnon and made sure not to put much distance between us and the shore since my legs were not much paddle help.

Perfect trio    Daughter - Nature - and I

4 hours later: Not only do I need a ghost writer I also need a blog fixer.

Mont Tremblant mini pleasure jaunt

My Mini-daughter, also known as the Mom of Noah and Hayden booked our stay in a two-storey condo apartment.  The GPS was sending us higher and higher up on a winding country road.
"Are you folks sure that this gadget knows what it is doing?"
"Yes Mom, yes Oma".
As we entered the apartment I dropped my luggage and stepped out onto the patio to take this picture.

I opened my eyes to this the next morning

but after the sun had come to steal the fog nothing stopped us from enjoying the day

Oooof, now it's my curser that gives me problems.

Pride

I am so blessed to witness so many memorable events in my family.                                                                

Grandson Hayden is sitting on his well deserved victory laurels holding his diploma for graduating from 'small school'. He will now go to same 'big school' as older brother Noah.

Moselito is proud to present his and his classmates's pottery creations.

There was so much more but the pottery workshop master, our dear friend the  'Amazon', suggested I'd better stop taking pictures when she saw me lean on a wall on which some plates were on display.

Me: "Oh no! So sorry. Hope the artist is not looking".
Amazon: "Don't worry. It's al-right, we'll make more".
She is such a treasure, this lady. Our sons and daughters in need of special care love her to pieces and so do we parents.

And yesterday the Bell Choir performed for the Fathers. Moselito's father did not attend the concert but Moselito smiled anyway.

And Audrey, the music teacher, is also loved to pieces by all.

PS: Have not decided yet if I'm going to send a picture of the Bell Choir to Moselito's dad. He lives strictly kosher now.