Monday, April 23, 2007
April -- Busy Times
It has been a while since I have written... mostly because I have been busy, both with work and with travel. A number of people have come to visit and I even got back to the states for Easter with the family! I left off with Jessica and her son Josh....
After Josh left to return to school, Jess and I took a trip to Bath, a lovely old Roman City about 1.5 hours from my home. We had a great time, even took in a “spa day” at the new roman baths that include multi-scented steam rooms, rooftop, outside mineral pools and an indoor whirlpool. Communal bathing at its best… with “swimming costumes” of course... Jessica couldn’t believe that suits were required… I would not have done it if they weren’t… then again, I don’t look any better in a suit than I do naked!! :>)
I had to travel to Amsterdam for work and Jessica came along. She went on a tour of the flower gardens and a downtown walking tour. I finished my work Friday evening and we took a dinner cruise on the canals… It was great! Some of the canals are so narrow that boat barely fit! We saw lovely, lit, bridges, converted houseboats and lots and lots of bikes… Amsterdam is a very colourful city! We even ventured into a “café” where Jessica proceeded to tell all that would listen that we were original “flower children” from San Francisco. A very young man behind the bar handed us what looked like a menu with names on one side and prices on the other. This was the “weed” list... He recommended one that he thought would suit two former “flower children.” We made our purchase and asked if could roll the joint for us. He explained that things had changed since our day and they now have little filters. How helpful!!(I still started coughing… the main reason I am not a “pot head” today!) Anyway, we each took about two hits and decided that was enough. We passed our purchase off to a very nice looking young man at the bar and went our merry way. By the time we got unto the train, we were in full on giggles…Nick called during this time and while I tried to sound coherent, he noticed something wasn’t just right…. “You’re stoned, aren’t you?” he said. (Hey, it’s legal in Amsterdam!) I tried to deny it, but then both Jess and I started laughing like silly little high school girls and it was all over. He immediately called his sister to tell on me… Can’t a girl have any fun??
Shortly after Jess left, I headed home for Easter. It was great to be home. I was very homesick, despite the visitors. It was a short visit but packed with lots of family time and especially Adriana fun. To note, I also met Nick’s new girlfriend, Ashley, another very attractive, trim, interesting person whom he has known since they were freshman in high school. (They met in the Hillsdale Mall one weekend when he and Ben and Andre were hanging out there). She lives in San Francisco and is an event planner for a very well respected destination management company… (They just handled former President Clinton’s visit to S.F.O…
After Josh left to return to school, Jess and I took a trip to Bath, a lovely old Roman City about 1.5 hours from my home. We had a great time, even took in a “spa day” at the new roman baths that include multi-scented steam rooms, rooftop, outside mineral pools and an indoor whirlpool. Communal bathing at its best… with “swimming costumes” of course... Jessica couldn’t believe that suits were required… I would not have done it if they weren’t… then again, I don’t look any better in a suit than I do naked!! :>)
I had to travel to Amsterdam for work and Jessica came along. She went on a tour of the flower gardens and a downtown walking tour. I finished my work Friday evening and we took a dinner cruise on the canals… It was great! Some of the canals are so narrow that boat barely fit! We saw lovely, lit, bridges, converted houseboats and lots and lots of bikes… Amsterdam is a very colourful city! We even ventured into a “café” where Jessica proceeded to tell all that would listen that we were original “flower children” from San Francisco. A very young man behind the bar handed us what looked like a menu with names on one side and prices on the other. This was the “weed” list... He recommended one that he thought would suit two former “flower children.” We made our purchase and asked if could roll the joint for us. He explained that things had changed since our day and they now have little filters. How helpful!!(I still started coughing… the main reason I am not a “pot head” today!) Anyway, we each took about two hits and decided that was enough. We passed our purchase off to a very nice looking young man at the bar and went our merry way. By the time we got unto the train, we were in full on giggles…Nick called during this time and while I tried to sound coherent, he noticed something wasn’t just right…. “You’re stoned, aren’t you?” he said. (Hey, it’s legal in Amsterdam!) I tried to deny it, but then both Jess and I started laughing like silly little high school girls and it was all over. He immediately called his sister to tell on me… Can’t a girl have any fun??
Shortly after Jess left, I headed home for Easter. It was great to be home. I was very homesick, despite the visitors. It was a short visit but packed with lots of family time and especially Adriana fun. To note, I also met Nick’s new girlfriend, Ashley, another very attractive, trim, interesting person whom he has known since they were freshman in high school. (They met in the Hillsdale Mall one weekend when he and Ben and Andre were hanging out there). She lives in San Francisco and is an event planner for a very well respected destination management company… (They just handled former President Clinton’s visit to S.F.O…
Another cool thing is that I got to spend some time with my new grand nephew who was born just the day before I left from the states in January. He is now three months old and I must admit, one of the most handsome babies I have seen. Albeit he is as white as the driven snow… He is, however a happy, sweet child… I actually think he might be in love with me. As I held him, he smiled, looked lovingly into my eyes and tried to talk!! Yes, he loves me!! Olivia, his big sister is also as cute as can be. She let me put him in “her crib” to nap and then decided he needed to be tickled, so she crawled in with him… He is going to have to be a strong kid because she is not going to let him get away with anything!
Steph and I did a "hair bonding" appointment with our regular stylist, Julie, in downtown Santa Cruz. Boy it was good to be home… My brother and sister in law (Dan and Shell) along with Tony, Kelly and Adriana, joined us for a great dinner at Chianti’s across the street.
Saturday was spent letting Adriana pick out a dress for Easter. She is three years old. Her mother and I took her to Macys. She picked out, and tried on at least ten dresses. Some she didn’t like because they did not twirl or they were too stiff or “not right”… she is going to be trouble for her parents… she knows what she wants. We ended up with an adorable blue and white dress the passed the twirl test and included a cap that reminded me of Shirley Temple… She loved the hat too!!
Easter was at Tim and Corrine’s. It was a lovely day and all the Kelly’s with the exception of Matt and Kathy’s family were there. The sun was shining, everyone was in a good mood and Tim made his infamous Gin Fizzes. Coco’s scalloped potatoes and honey baked ham, always the best, were complimented with the pot luck of dishes everyone brought.
My sister in law (Steve’s sister) Diane, had a stroke about two months ago. She is currently rehabilitating in a nursing home in Lafayette. Her youngest son, James, brought her to our Easter celebration. She is in a wheel chair, has short term memory loss, but was genuinely happy to see all. Boy, see what smoking can do to you! (She has been a chain smoker for over 50 years!)
Adriana and I spent a lot of time together. We played croquet in the living room, made a tent with her tunnel, made chocolate chip cookies and watched “Happy Feet” more times than I can remember. I painted her finger and toe nails, helped her sketch in her new drawing book and read from the Princess Story Book… We took the dog to the park, played hide and go seek and went to visit my friends. She is the perfect grandchild!! In between her whistling (yes, she taught herself how to whistle) she told me that I was such a nice grandma and so “butiful.” She told me over and over again, “I love your grandma…”
She is the best!!
While I was home, Steph was packing for her move back to Maui... Yes, again. This will be the third time. She says she can get a better job and will be happier. She wasn’t planning on staying home as long as she did anyway, she said… Anyway, she has shipped our old Explorer to drive over there, packed up everything she owns (which isn’t much) and back she went. She left the day after I did. She says she is very happy. She got to swim in the ocean, eat at her favourite restaurants and smell the sea air. Her cousin Nicole had a baby boy, Jack, and she has been able to spend time with them. She is living with her friend Rachael. Job hunting has been first priority. Knowing her, she will have a job in no time… she says they are hiring everywhere... We’ll see. Her brothers are mad at her for moving back but she didn’t care, she felt she had to go. They’ll get over it.
I also visited my friend Emily who is recuperating from a very serious neck/spine surgery made necessary by a virus that destroyed almost 40% of her spinal cord. She was in surgery for 8 hours!! Now she is dealing with wearing a neck brace, daily I/V doses of antibiotic and painful physical therapy. She has limited use of her right arm and a weakened left arm… Please pray for her, she has a long road to recovery.
My friend Sally joined me for the visit with Emily. She took a break from her latest project, helping her son Matt and his girlfriend Danielle with the remodel of his newly purchased home. (see blog) They have put in new doors, replaced windows and added insulation… Better them than me!! Sally says she won’t be able to travel to visit me until this project is done… I’ll be back by then!
The Noce family got together for dinner in honour of my nephew Virgil’s visit from New York with his six year old son Anthony. It was very fun, but sad, as we were missing Steve. Adriana could not stop flirting with Anthony. She chased him around and around and they were both laughing. It was so good to see the circle of life. It wasn’t so long ago that Steph and Virgil were doing the same thing.
It was so good to be home. My house is withstanding my absence just fine. Tony and Kelly are doing their best to keep things going and do a lot of entertaining which makes me happy. That is what the house is for. I know it is hard for them to live in my house but I really appreciate them being there. At least I have somewhere to stay when I come home.
My friend Barbara returned to the United Kingdom with me. She has never done much travelling and was a bit nervous about the trip… She is doing great! Using her rewards miles from one of her credit cards, she was able to fly “upper class” on Virgin. This means she got a bed and anything she wanted going over. She slept for five hours!! Anyway, we have done quite a bit together and she has gone out on her own. We went into London, (I like to show people how easy it is to take the train and then get on the tube to get around.) For the first time, she and I took one of the double deck bus tours around London. It was very interesting. The weather was perfect, which made the day all that more enjoyable. She made her way to Windsor for the castle tour all by herself. Just today she took herself to London and visited the British Museum, taking the train and the tube…I was very proud of her…
While she was here we took a trip to Paris via the Euro star… such a nice way to go!! I had reserved a package deal through Expedia. Yes, you guessed it; we got bumped due to over booking at the hotel we wanted to stay at (literally across from the Louvre. ) We had to walk several blocks to another, much smaller hotel. At first they put us in room that was so small, that if you wanted open the bathroom door, you had to move the bed…So, in true “Uncle Jack” fashion…we upgraded! We moved to a junior suite that was more to our liking.
Besides shop and eat well, we did a lot of walking and we saw a lot. For me, the highlight was visiting the Museum d Orsay… original Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Mamet, Toulouse Lautrec. It was fantastic! Our only problem was that we had spent 6 hours in the Louvre and didn’t realize that two museums in one day were too much. Our “dogs were barking…” as they say. Included in the Orsay tour we had a spectacular dinner in a 16th century mansion and decided it had been a great day.
The following day we took a tour to Versailles… Oh my God! The garish, unabashed show of wealth and privilege… No wonder the French think they are better than anyone else!! That is what it came from… For the last night we took a dinner cruise on the Seine... the food was good and the ambience even better. Along with a strolling violinist they had a strolling cabaret singer who entertained us all night, singing the “Ave Maria” as we passed Notre Dame. Of course, the lights of the city were magnificent.
While I was home, Steph was packing for her move back to Maui... Yes, again. This will be the third time. She says she can get a better job and will be happier. She wasn’t planning on staying home as long as she did anyway, she said… Anyway, she has shipped our old Explorer to drive over there, packed up everything she owns (which isn’t much) and back she went. She left the day after I did. She says she is very happy. She got to swim in the ocean, eat at her favourite restaurants and smell the sea air. Her cousin Nicole had a baby boy, Jack, and she has been able to spend time with them. She is living with her friend Rachael. Job hunting has been first priority. Knowing her, she will have a job in no time… she says they are hiring everywhere... We’ll see. Her brothers are mad at her for moving back but she didn’t care, she felt she had to go. They’ll get over it.
I also visited my friend Emily who is recuperating from a very serious neck/spine surgery made necessary by a virus that destroyed almost 40% of her spinal cord. She was in surgery for 8 hours!! Now she is dealing with wearing a neck brace, daily I/V doses of antibiotic and painful physical therapy. She has limited use of her right arm and a weakened left arm… Please pray for her, she has a long road to recovery.
My friend Sally joined me for the visit with Emily. She took a break from her latest project, helping her son Matt and his girlfriend Danielle with the remodel of his newly purchased home. (see blog) They have put in new doors, replaced windows and added insulation… Better them than me!! Sally says she won’t be able to travel to visit me until this project is done… I’ll be back by then!
The Noce family got together for dinner in honour of my nephew Virgil’s visit from New York with his six year old son Anthony. It was very fun, but sad, as we were missing Steve. Adriana could not stop flirting with Anthony. She chased him around and around and they were both laughing. It was so good to see the circle of life. It wasn’t so long ago that Steph and Virgil were doing the same thing.
It was so good to be home. My house is withstanding my absence just fine. Tony and Kelly are doing their best to keep things going and do a lot of entertaining which makes me happy. That is what the house is for. I know it is hard for them to live in my house but I really appreciate them being there. At least I have somewhere to stay when I come home.
My friend Barbara returned to the United Kingdom with me. She has never done much travelling and was a bit nervous about the trip… She is doing great! Using her rewards miles from one of her credit cards, she was able to fly “upper class” on Virgin. This means she got a bed and anything she wanted going over. She slept for five hours!! Anyway, we have done quite a bit together and she has gone out on her own. We went into London, (I like to show people how easy it is to take the train and then get on the tube to get around.) For the first time, she and I took one of the double deck bus tours around London. It was very interesting. The weather was perfect, which made the day all that more enjoyable. She made her way to Windsor for the castle tour all by herself. Just today she took herself to London and visited the British Museum, taking the train and the tube…I was very proud of her…
While she was here we took a trip to Paris via the Euro star… such a nice way to go!! I had reserved a package deal through Expedia. Yes, you guessed it; we got bumped due to over booking at the hotel we wanted to stay at (literally across from the Louvre. ) We had to walk several blocks to another, much smaller hotel. At first they put us in room that was so small, that if you wanted open the bathroom door, you had to move the bed…So, in true “Uncle Jack” fashion…we upgraded! We moved to a junior suite that was more to our liking.
Besides shop and eat well, we did a lot of walking and we saw a lot. For me, the highlight was visiting the Museum d Orsay… original Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Mamet, Toulouse Lautrec. It was fantastic! Our only problem was that we had spent 6 hours in the Louvre and didn’t realize that two museums in one day were too much. Our “dogs were barking…” as they say. Included in the Orsay tour we had a spectacular dinner in a 16th century mansion and decided it had been a great day.
The following day we took a tour to Versailles… Oh my God! The garish, unabashed show of wealth and privilege… No wonder the French think they are better than anyone else!! That is what it came from… For the last night we took a dinner cruise on the Seine... the food was good and the ambience even better. Along with a strolling violinist they had a strolling cabaret singer who entertained us all night, singing the “Ave Maria” as we passed Notre Dame. Of course, the lights of the city were magnificent.
The Eiffel Tower still sparkles every hour!!
Who knew that a year ago I would have been to Paris five times since August... I can almost be a tour guide!!
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