You've Come a Long Way Baby!

 This time last week I was attending a big event!

You've come a long way my girl!

(Indulge me...it's one of my favorite pictures.)

My little girl has become a big city gal!

This is the view from my hotel room.

I was in Washington DC for 

Kate's graduation from

George Mason School of Law.

Kate driving us to the ceremony.

Group picture before the graduation.

Proud parents!

Afterward we had an informal meal with special friends and family.

The restaurant was nice enough to specialize Kate's dessert!

Final pictures for the day.

Job well done Kate!

Now onward to that bar exam!

Happy Easter Weekend!

I'm off this morning to drive to

Washington DC,

to spend the weekend with

my daughter Kate.

(Please send good karma my way,

that I won't get lost too many times!

It's a given I will some…)

Hoping everyone has a 

wonderful

Easter weekend!

"Those Lazy Days of Summer"...Say What???

I have been on an "unintentional" vacation from my blog.

Did you notice?

After writing my last post (June!!!),

I was feeling a bit stale and kept waiting

for inspiration to hit for my next post.

It never did and the whole summer seems

to have flown away.

I may have been uninspired,

but I haven't been idle.

Here's a little catch-up on what's

been happening this summer

at Buttermilk Cottage.

We had to say a very sad farewell to Chaos.

You might remember he was my bother Rick's dog,
who was going to stay here while
Rick and his family were in Germany
for a three year tour with the Navy.
Sadly, Chaos who was 16 years old,
began failing.
He was here a little more than a year
and it is amazing how he worked
himself into my heart.
You were a good dog Chaos
and I miss you.

My daughter Kate made a quick trip home
and sorted through loads of her things
that have been in storage in my
basement for the past three years.
She has made her move out of NYC
(goodbye publishing),
to Washington DC
(hello law school).
She now has her own apartment
and can finally take some of her things
to make her own nest.
Good luck Kate!

After anticipating it for the past year,
my sister Nancy and I finally took our trip
to Germany to visit Rick and his family.
(More pictures will be included in a later post.)
Due to their outstanding efforts
we had a wonderful vacation!
Thank you Rick and Terry.

I've been busy baking for the past few
weeks in anticipation of the upcoming
neighborhood yard sale,
during which we host a
"Bistro on the Porch."
So far, I have stocked away in the freezer
8 loaves of zucchini bread
(lovely zucchini from my Dad's garden)
8 dozen brownies with white chocolate chips
2 Lemon Blueberry Cakes
1 and a half Cinnamon Cakes
(Half the cake stuck to the pan and we had to eat it.)
The event is less than two weeks away
and I really should have something in the oven right now!

And finally, I have been knitting mittens all summer!
I have designed a cozy pair with wool and mohair
and will be listing them in my Etsy shop soon
in ten different colors.

So, a couple of months may have elapsed,
but you're up to date with me!

Reflection Time...Again!!!

I don't know how it happens so quickly,

year after year,

but here it is once again,

my birthday.

I never regret birthdays,

I'm thankful to have another one to celebrate.

I don't regret that my energy level

is not what it used to be.

It's just a reminder that I need to listen to my body

and take the time to sit and

read that book,

watch that old movie on TV,

or spend an hour or two just enjoying the view.

All those piles of home projects

that never seem to end will wait.

I don't really regret my years at all.

On one level it is very liberating

when you come to understand

you don't have to prove yourself to anyone,

anymore.

Those days of trying to impress bosses,

friends, relative and mere acquaintances

are finished.

I am what I am,

take it or leave it.

That doesn't mean I don't have regrets.

I think my number one regret,

as I reflect on my life this birthday,

is that I didn't relish, really relish,

my daughter Kate's childhood.

What wouldn't I give to have more days

of that sweet little girl by my side,

"helping" me in the kitchen,

or her eagerly bringing me a favorite book

to read to her...for the 100th time

(please let me read it to you another 100 times),

or those countless hours in the car,

just her and me,

when the barriers seemed to come down

and conversations seemed to flow.

Kate now lives hundreds of miles away from home

and is doing precisely as she was taught to do.

She is being independent, and thinking for herself.

And she never ceases to take my breath away!

(An update note on Kate,

who has been living and working in NYC

as an editorial assistant at a major publishing company:

She will be moving to Washington DC

at the end of the summer,

and beginning the next dream of her life

by starting law school.

Bravo Kate!)

So, the lesson learned from this regret

is to hold tight to the time we do have together,

whether it is a phone call or a visit.

And it does not only apply to my time with Kate.

I want to really relish the time I have

with everyone I love.

I want to slow down, even more,

and take the time for

another hour's conversation.

I want to really relish the people in my life,

Kate, my sister Nancy,  my parents,

my brothers and their wives,

my knitting buddies,

my friends, relatives and neighbors.

All dear, dear people,

who are so easy for me to take for granted.

My sister left me a sweet birthday card this morning

with a note telling me to only do the things

I want to do today.

What to do with this wonderful gift of a new day...

Relish it!

(All images are from Google Images,

except the one of Kate and me!)



Weekend in NYC



Last weekend I flew to NYC to spend the weekend

with my daughter Kate.

It was a whirlwind trip,

and I'm still playing catch-up.

I arrived around lunch time on Saturday.

We headed to So Ho and "Prune,"

a resturant I had recently read about,

but there was an hour and half wait,

so we wandered around and found

the So Ho Park and had lunch there instead.

We shared the onion rings, which caught both our eyes

because of the curry mayonnaise served with them.

First rate!

Kate and I have always been big movie fans,

so we caught Tom Cruise's new movie,

Rock of Ages.

Kate, who  had just seen the Broadway play

the weekend before decided she

liked the movie better.

It was fun to see Tom Cruise

in a totally different role and finally,

not taking himself too seriously.

On Sunday morning Kate took me to

Ess a Bagel

to try her favorite NY bagel.

We had a great brunch and the bagels are wonderful!

Afterwards, we took a long walk through Central Park.

It was the perfect day for it--pleasantly warm

and there were lots of street performers.

That evening we saw a Broadway show,

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

It was the show's final night,

so I can't urge you to see it!

It was a big, flashy, campy, over the top,

show and we both had fun!

Did I mention it was a whirlwind trip?

The next morning Kate put me in a taxi

for the airport as she headed off to work.

Short, sweet and non stop,

a perfect weekend!

Happy Birthday, Darling Girl!

Can it be?

Is it your birthday?

Again...already???

I remember as though it were yesterday...

Your Dad and I received the call from the adoption agency.

After five long years of waiting for you,

 finally, you were waiting for us.

I cannot describe the total giddiness that call caused.

We had been watching our progress on the "list" and

fully expected one more year of waiting.

Then, out of the blue (heaven???) there you were!

And now, after what seems a long/fast road,

you're all grown up.

Your imagination was always obvious.

Your smile could always melt my heart.

Your talent was/is abundant.

Humor me and let me share one of my favorite pictures of you!

(By the way, I couldn't find a picture of you at the piano.

Remember the year you took violin, flute AND piano lessons,

...every week?

I love holiday time with you!

And vacation times!

Oh, the places we've been!

But most of all,

I love you!

Happiest of days, darling Kate.

You are the sunshine of my life.

Home Again

I made it home last night from my NYC trip

and I'm happy to report all is well.

Kate's procedure went well and

with no side effects,

so we were able to do some fun things.

***

Getting there was a challenge.

After sitting all day at my local airport,

one delay after another,

I finally flew out... an hour AFTER I was

scheduled to have arrived in NYC!!!

The upside to all that was I got

bumped up to first class on the

flight from Atlanta to NYC,

so I was somewhat appeased.

Flying first class versus coach is a

whole different world!



Google Image



Kate was able to go to work on Thursday and Friday,

so I had lots of time on my own to explore.

I spent lots of time just walking and soaking it all in.

I wandered into the NY Public Library

because I couldn't remember if I'd ever been inside

and happened upon a wonderful exhibit

celebrating the 100 year anniversary of this building.

It was a eclectic display of all sorts of things

ranging from music scores notated by Beethoven

to an actual Ku Klux Klan robe (creepy).



Google Image



I walked into St. Patrick's Cathedral

and spent over an hour enjoying the beauty

of the building and the artwork found there.

It wasn't all serious touring though.

One night while at Times Square

I caught a picture of "The Naked Cowboy."

He's quite an attraction/street performer and

there was a line of gals waiting to have

their pictures taken with him.

Kate and I choose to pass on that experience!

We got lucky one evening and were able to pick up

tickets (half price!!!) for CHICAGO at the

TIX Booth in Times Square.

They were excellent seats, center mezzanine.

This is a show I've wanted to see since

the movie came out a few years ago.

It did not disappoint!



Google Image

On Saturday we went to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art

and saw the Alexander McQueen exhibit,

SAVAGE BEAUTY.



Google Image





This special exhibit was organized by

The Costume Institute,

includes more than 100 of McQueen's pieces

and spans his career from

his post graduate collection of 1992

to pieces from his last runway collection

after his death

in 2010.



Google Image



The pieces range from the sublime...



Google Image



...to the absurd.

But every piece is a stunning  work of art.

***

New York City is a world unto itself.

I enjoyed every minute of it, but

on the flight home yesterday,

I couldn't help but think,

my most favorite place to go is...

home.