Thanksgiving Reflections - 2017

It has been ten years since my first Thanksgiving post.  I want to say "Thank you" to my readers who have been along with me for all those years. Much has changed in the last decade.  I met my husband, I reconciled with my children, I lost my parents (actually, my dad passed away eleven years ago), and I gained five grandchildren. I also have become fully comfortable with who I am.  It seems with each passing Thanksgiving, however, that even as I remember all the good in my life I think more and more about those who are no longer with me: grandparents, parents, my sister, and many others - I learned this past week that a friend from my magical teen years at Brantingham Lake left us.   The top image in a photo of a pencil drawing of my parents home of 30 years in Virginia Beach where we had so many Thanksgiving.  It was a Christmas gift to them and was done by a local artist based on a photo that we gave her.  When my mother passed away, the framed drawing came back to me.  It now hangs adjacent to photos of my parents on their wedding day. 

On a happier note and looking forward, the husband and I are hosting one of his nieces and her husband (they have hosted us in the past) and four friends )the table is set as shown above.   We will be joined by our niece's daughter and her husband and new baby for dessert along with another couple.  I've already baked three pies - my grandmother's pumpkin pie recipe, pecan and an apple/raspberry pie.  The husband has been busy as well.  It should be a fun afternoon.  On Saturday we will get together with my two daughter and the five grandchildren - it will be another fun time that we are looking forward to.

I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all my Facebook friends and my readers who celebrate the holiday -  thanks for visiting the blog.  May all enjoy this special day of family and friends.

Mariners Museum - Titanic Centenial Event

Since I was a child I have been fascinated by ships and the sea - even though during my earlier years and through high school I did not live near the coast. I still recall as a teenager going to New York City with my dad and walking down to the Hudson River wharves to see the liners Queen Elizabeth 2 and the Italian Line's Raffaello. Since moving to Hampton Roads I have come to truly enjoy The Mariners Museum in nearby Newport News which keeps alive the amazing history of ships and shipping. I wrote a while back about a fundraiser that will take place on April 14, 2012 - the centennial of the last night on board the R.M.S. Titanic. The image below gives information on tickets. You can also get information here.

The boyfriend and I are attending the First Class recreation of the last dinner on that fateful night almost 100 years ago along with my youngest daughter (who will be wearing a Edwardian like sequined gown) and some friends - our neighbor is on the museum board - and some of the boyfriend's clients. One of our dear friends is truly a kindred spirit with the "unsinkable" Molly Brown and will be a great edition to the evening. True to form, the boyfriend, a/k/a "Martha Stewart" will be doing hair and making Edwardian styled hair pieces for my daughter and friends. I hope local readers will consider attending if they are free on April 14th (unfortunately, the event conflicts with the EV Commonwealth Dinner that same night).

Click image to enlarge

Happy Easter!

I want to extend Happy Easter greetings to readers who celebrate the holiday. Today we will go to church with the boyfriends parents and then take them out to lunch. I'd rather attend a Lutheran service, but we will go to Hampton Baptist - which thank God is not affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention - since his parents have been active in that church for years.

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Yesterday, we spent the better part of the day moving things out of the storage unit and back into the house. The painting is not yet complete, so everything is staged in the center of the great room and will be moved to rooms as they are completed. The marble floors that are now throughout the first floor look gorgeous and the PVC wainscoting when painted will look elegant and at the same time be waterproof. Indeed, everything from three feet above floor level is non-water absorbent, including the insulation, concrete board that was used instead of sheet rock, and all of the shoe moulding and trim that is likewise made of PVC. If the house ever floods again, we will truly be able to hose it out.

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Once everything is back in place, we are going to have a party for friends and neighbors how have been so kind and supportive over the last five months. The boyfriend, a/k/a Martha Stewart, can't wait to have a full kitchen again after so many months.

Happy Birthday Martin

I went out with several friends this evening to celebrate the birthday of my dear friend Martin, pictured at right in the ABOVE PHOTO. Since coming out, Martin and his partner, Christopher (pictured at left of the photo), have been some of my dearest and most supportive friends. They have literally become family to me and in some ways saved my life. We had a great time at Empire, a tapas bar/restaurant on Granby Street in Norfolk, and then stopped by to see the young, hot, beautiful (but sadly straight) b/f of our friend Mary Beth who was with us. It was a fun evening and I hope the coming year brings happiness and success to Marty!! I also hope Mary Beth's secret "no-hang over" cure works!!!