Relatives. Relatively speaking.

Relatives. Relatively speaking.

I am an orphan. No mom & pop, sibs. Yes, I do have cousins by the dozens, BUT: if you never see them. Have only seen most of them less than 30 times in my life, does that count as family?

Set 1: Used to live in Huntington, LI, NY. Saw them every couple of years until they moved to the West. Then, never. 3 girls, 1 boy. Wouldn't know them if I fell over them.

Set 2: 4 girls, two I have seen as adults and would recognize and am fond of. The others, totally unknown.

Set 3: Their father, my mom's half-brother, I saw during WW2 when he could get home, then post-War, after he was married and before my grandparents died, maybe 2-3 times. After they (2 girls, 2 boys) moved to NH, and my folks moved to NH, I saw them a couple of times a year. Jeannie (the eldest) lived with us one summer while she took advanced courses in PT in NYC). After my parents died, nada. In fact, the only thing I can remember about my uncle during that time was that he asked if I would return the sap yolk that Mom had. It belonged to his dad. And the mahoghany tray, inlaid with mother of pearl with a picture of the Taj Mahal that he had brought back from India from the War. After that, I don't think he was in touch. I got a Christmas card from my cousin Sue (in Feb or March) telling me that he had died in August 2006. Uh huh.
Her other sibs? Heaven knows.

Set 4: Various - Tommy? If alive, in FL. Hooper? Still in Marblehead MA, I think. Skip (Warren) in Chevy Chase, but I haven't heard from him in a few years. He and his wife had 2 sons, but one committed suicide in 1997 - a golden boy who was most likely bi-polar.

So that's it. Family but no family.

I called Roger today to wish him happy Fathers Day. Had a very nice talk with him and Carolyn. We are Matt's family, along with Nancy, his sister, Matt's aunt. Matt may remember the Clarks but he has only seen Jenny Hartley once or twice and I don't think he has met the others at all.

On a completely different note: I am now the Senior Warden of St. Mark's Church. Elected last Wednesday when I was feeling really sick with diverticulitis - but Dr. Kaplan thinks it wasn't, but on Cipro none the less.
This is a learning process. I was thinking of designing a shirt with the graphic of a pair of cut off blue jeans with wings - Flying by the Seat of Your Pants. But wearing my adult persona I think that asking questions and taking guidance, I may be able to help St. Marks.

Last Sunday I took lots of pictures of the arborist in the tree (about 5 stories up) and the parishioners reaction to that and also snaps of the church people. Today I posted them on the church bulletin board. I will be interested to hear the reaction.

After church I had breakfast and COFFEE, lounged, then went to the craft store to buy artificial flowers for the fire place. Otherwise it just stares at me - a black hole.

Yesterday I went into Manhattan to buy more nylon storage cubes for my laundry. Instead of a hamper, I have a cube in the closet, but realize I could pre-sort my laundry if I had one for dark and mixed as well as white. Now I do. Wash time will be easier, as long as I have quarters.

Tomorrow a 6:30 meeting. Tuesday 8:00 AM:11:30AM. Wednesday, Doctor at 2:15, church at 5:00 and hopefully music at Novo at 7.

Things to do: Laundry, Space Bagged storage to basement, Bose set up, Mauricio call, notes to Judy and Susie, Rummage/Flea Market sorting down in basement.

Hmm, almost midnight - pumpkin or bed. Tough decision.

Family Outing

Today was Dani's wedding shower up in Tarrytown NY. I wore a really nice dress that I had purchased last summer - can't remember where. The DeL's drove me up along with Dinora. I knew almost everyone but didn't mingle much. Food great and too rich, but I could have chosen something else, so my fault.

Came home, found none of my emails from yesterday answered.

Could have cleaned up, done laundry, put things away. Didn't.

Lots of churchish things tomorrow.

Friday and backwards

The allergies turned me into Bomzie! Wednesday is a blur, I think. I do remember being very grouchy - in fact Father B. asked if I had forgotten to take my anti-grouch pills. This changed to I did take a grouchy pill. After the service I decided not to go to Novo but to play in the garden. David M. was there so we sat on a bench and talked for a long time. Probably much better than going to Novo. Then home, reading, sleep. Oh yes, now I remember - I sat in bed and read 5 days worth of NYT. Oh, and went to Bed Bath Beyond and returned something before church.

Yesterday I wanted to get up early, do laundry, go to drugstore, etc. etc. but sat in bed and finished the book I was reading night before. Then I got up, washed in cold water (brrr!), dressed and went in to have lunch with Velma. I checked my email before leaving and found Dorothy wanted to garden in the pm. I went to 'Shop the Block' - the museums on 53rd have 20% sales one day a year if you are a member of one. I go each time and hardly ever buy anything. This time I found some nice layered glass picture frames, so bought 3 small and 3 medium before meeting Velma. Great lunch and visit (as usual). Then headed home, quick like a bunny, to meet up with Dorothy. I waited and waited. (probably not THAT long) then she called. I had actually dashed past her while she was having a haircut and she ran out to call my name, but I was chugging along too fast.

We went over about 4 and left about 7+. I dug and weeded and heaved and hoed (not hoed, but raking, it's an expression). And watered. Dorothy planted about 100 basil plants and 50 marigolds. We stopped to chat with Angela, Maria, Melissa, Lenny, Lisa, Nikki, Rebecca & Endeshaw - and Jean, the nice lady who sits in the garden. Next time no gardening on the FarmSpot night.

Hobbled home, showered at length (hot water back), found nothing on TV to watch. Cursed the piles of clothes, went to bed and read and slept.

Here we are at Friday. Up early enough to close the windows because the trees and bushes were being sprayed for insects. Puttered around, made coffee, cursed the piles of clothes, checked email, showered, dressed, took more dry-cleaning to a different dry cleaner, went to Home Depot, bought good hose nozzles, new fencing (we ran out on Thursday), checked out the garden path materials and headed back to St. Marks. Despite no water, I decided it was a good thing to put in the 90' of fence and test the nozzles. Hot? Oh yeah! Dehydrated? You bet. Job accomplished I headed home, stripped and showered at length, after drinking a few glasses of water. Splitting headache from the sun, etc. No Gatorade so I thought OH, I CAN have a V-8! And did. And electrolytes back in place, I felt better. Good enough to realize I hadn't had lunch and needed to go to the drugstore.

Down the street, met one neighbor. Went to drugstore $98 for meds. Off to Jahn's the neighborhood traditional eatery, had yummy food and coffee. On the way home met 2 more neighbors. Got home and actually put some clothes away. Some.

Thank goodness Martha couldn't come today. I am so embarassed at the state of the house! I feel like the before in a Makeover show. And you will note I am writing this and not working on the clothes........

Sent a ton of emails, spoke to a number of people, cancelled out an order for a new cell phone - too confusing. Watched Washington Week in Review and here I am.

Tomorrow is Dani's shower. Sunday is Church - Coffee hour (me in charge) - Money Counting (didn't the Lord have something to say about that....?) and then the DeL's. They'll probably have to scrape me up off the floor.

Later.

allergies

Itchy eyes, skin, even my hair itches! Yikes.

Monday

Rain. It has such a wonderful effect on me. I think I used to hate it as a child but now I really appreciate it and the sound.

Not much in the clothes swapping done today but got rid of all the niggling tasks I had to do and cooked chicken w/artichokes, olives and bay leaves (thank you L!). Got a 20 minute nap in and went to Jazz.

Val and Jacob were there. Jacob, 2+ still refers/responds to me with No or Nyet. I may bring him around by the time he's in his 20s, maybe. FRB and Frau Doktor came in for the music so I sat with them. They are fun to be with so worth giving up my front row seat for the music.

I still got home to see Murphy's Law which is good. I like James Nesbitt.

Herding cats was not successful and the VERY IMPORTANT meeting with FRB, WRM and Lenny is stalled for now. One can't make AM, Two can't make lunch and Sunday morning is a tenuous fallback. Herding cats IS the term. Men, such posturing!! Oy.

Bernie tomorrow.

Am I the last to discover? Probably TMI!

Am I the last to discover that hair conditioner is wonderful to use to shave your legs? Mmm!
Bath & Body Works Ginger Mandarin (or something close to that name) smelled great, moisturized the leg and was Smmooooth!

Okay, so I am on the slow track there. The first time I shaved my legs was at camp. I was about 10 and had been warned by my mother Never to shave them. (and why did I have my own razor? Some mixed message somewhere. Hairy pits?) Wow, the smooth sensation. I was hooked on the feeling. In fact razors and I are close. When I am getting ready for an event, I shave my legs. When I took a shower just before my wedding, out came the Gillette. Labor pains? Shower and shave. Chemo and no hair? Gillette and I were buddies along with Foamy for any important outing.

The past few days have been hot and muggy but it's raining now and about 67. Yay! Double triple yay because I don't have to water the garden AND the sprinkler man came over to church and turned on the sprinkler heads!

Garden Club tea yesterday (my building group, not church). We were steeled for the Young Ones to come and demand slides, swings, etc. Not one of them showed. Average age at the tea was easily 70. It turned out that the hostess and I know so many people in common it was like 1.5 degrees of separation! And she reads mysteries so we can trade books. Her bookcases have more than mine, but maybe she has more bookcases.... All in all it was fun. I think I heard the Garden Club president say I was hosting the tea next year. Say, What? I haven't done it in 40 years. I did it the first year my Mom was president. She is famous in our limited circles for putting in railroad ties to stop the erosion.

She is also famous because she was my mom and a wonderful person. I am still trying to achieve or try to be as accomplished as she was. Hard task. When I was a child I looked just like her in pictures of the comparable age. Once when I was washing the car (late teens) a woman walked past me, came back, and said, "Excuse me, are you Bessie Cutler?" I laughed and said no, I was her daughter. The lady had worked at The New York Times* with my mother.
As I get older, I think I look more like my father and his mother. This aging process is so interesting because I think I am more like my dad emotionally, or whatever is not physically.

I was thinking about taking an intensive course in Spanish in order to be able to communicate with the Latino congregation but Walter and Father Brown said I would be more useful being around the neighborhood during late July and early August, so nix to that and it is okay not to spend $1600. Dorothy will be away then and I wanted to be away, too. Guess I will have to buy a calling card for Portugal.

L&M gave me about 75 CDs to either list on www.lala.com or sell at a Flea Market. I input them tonight and had hits for 10 already. Since I only have 2 envelopes left I have prepared those and requested more from lala.

I received my second Fresh Direct delivery, eaten some prepared foods and thought about the others. I've decided that it might be good for people who work and have limited time, but without their coupon of $25.00 off on each of the first 2 deliveries it isn't such a good deal for a retired person who likes to read supermarket circulars. They are expensive and there is so much packaging material!!! Boxes, wraps, plastic! Yikes. Definitely back to shopping with my neighbor Jim on Tuesdays - easily save $10 a trip.

Pan called me this weekend as I was going to the tea. Good talk but too short. My turn to call next.

Out of here now!
Stay tuned.

*Both my parents worked at The Times in the 1930's. They met there and were married in 1934 I think. I am a true Child of The Times.