This spread of breakfast for two, just cracks me up. Two years ago, Don and I stayed at the iconic Hotel Savoy in Kansas City and breakfast was included. The hotel room was cheap and sadly neglected, but the restaurant was piece of heaven. The night before we filled out 2 forms, checking off as many dishes as we liked... at least that's what the hotel clerk recommended. In the morning we were served dishes which included, lobster, oysters, lamb and veal. Two weeks later, there was a kitchen fire and the hotel never reopened. Memorable Breakfasts: My older brother making jelly omelets for my younger brother... A sunrise picnic with my mom and sibs, cooking eggs on the grill in a Michigan park... Numerous Easter brunches with my kids, giddy over fabulous buffets, decorated with pastel candies... Biscuits & Gravy in a crazy Florida diner, hearing stories from retired local carnival/circus folk... The smell of bacon and cantaloupe in my grandmother, Daw's cozy kitchen...
0 Comments
I love unexpected animal friends. I guess these two weren't exactly friends, but they tolerated each other, nicely. The chicken and cat were residents of a farm near Eminence, Missouri where we stayed a couple years ago. A few minutes after I took the photo, there was a great flurry of excitement when about 50 birds... geese, ducks, peacocks and chickens surrounded us with all their sounds. It was feeding time on the farm and they thought we had food. Odd Animal Friends: My baby bunny who nursed from our mama cat... The llamas and family pets, at an Oklahoma farm I visited... The famous gorilla, Koko and his kitten...
I love this photo of Heidi posing with Degas' Little Dancer, in the St. Louis Art Museum. She had a lot more fun with this piece of art than Monet's water lilies. My kids were lucky to start their years in St. Louis, where museums were free and you could enjoy a short visit. Without investing in tickets, we were allowed to stop in and enjoy just enough... so everyone left happy. Museums & Kids: Seeing my kids' enthused recognition at the Van Gogh Museum, thanks to Grandma's (Vincent themed) puzzle and book gifts... Watching kids work with other kids to build a giant foam arch at the St. Louis Science Museum... Being a fretful teacher of a large preschool group that grew wild and giddy at the sight of a mummy in a St. Louis museum... In 1969, I watched my older brother wait for the guard to turn his back, to lift my 7 year old brother (named David) so he could touch the toe of the original "David" statue in Florence.
Two years ago, Don and I watched this scene in Roatan, as the sun lowered. We watched kids earlier in the day, using the retired boat as a giant ocean toy. It seemed to be open to anyone and each kid showed a little personality when they had their turn to climb high and leap with the rope. In the evening, the sunset and pendulum movement of the kids was hypnotic. I secretly wanted a turn! Memories of Sundown Play: Chasing lightening bugs... Capture the Flag and Hide & Seek... Looking for the first star... Sweaty kids, smelling like bug spray... The sound of cicadas and crickets changing the atmosphere... My mom's whistle, calling us home...
This is a crazy photo from before I was born. I believe my dad borrowed a little something from the costume shop at the Grinnell College theatre. I'm guessing my brother didn't know it was dad inside the suit. Mac, the boxer was trying to figure it out, too. It's hard to take your eyes off the big beast and boy, but if you do... you'll see the old pump organ behind the bear and the round table, nearby. Both sit in my house now. So many memories of family, gathered around both. Furry Costumes of the Past: I volunteered to wear an Easter Bunny costume for a preschool celebration, but was so afraid my own child would detect my voice... Heidi at 2, shoved her way through crowds to cling to any furry costume at Disney World... I loved the English Sheepdog costume in a Peter Pan production at FSU. Our family didn't get the costume, but "Nana's" doghouse on stage, ended up being our boxer's doghouse...
In 1960, my brother took this photo of our milkman, when we lived in Florence, Italy. I was very fond of this sweet man who carried our bottles of milk in his bicycle basket, to our apartment. He also had a shop down the street, where he sold dairy products. At age 11, I loved stopping in with my siblings and picking out a frozen treat. I also loved our milkman's gentle manner. He seemed quiet and thoughtful... a relief from all the playful teasing we American bambini got from all the other shop owners. I had him sign my autograph book before we moved back home. Milk Memories: The metal milk box on the front porch in Iowa... Spooning off the layer of cream at the top of the bottle, in Italy... Milking a cow just once and gagging after sipping a warm sample... Making milk better with Nestle's Quik...
This was taken on a hike outside of Santiago, Chile 4 years ago. Don and I were jolted by this view of the modern buildings, tucked between the flower covered fence and a range of mountains. The shiny city looked like it had literally grown up in a green valley. City Skylines I Love: The view of St. Louis & Arch, from across the Mississippi... NYC skyline when it includes Statue of Liberty... Shanghai with the Oriental Pearl Tower... View of San Francisco from Golden Gate Bridge... I live in Houston area, but I like the contemporary skyline of Dallas better...
This photo has always cracked me up. Mom is wearing her paisley pants and nifty slide sandals, as she climbs under the hood of our old Ford Country Squire station wagon. I was 18 and probably teasing my mom about how silly she looked. But really I was learning from my mom. She was newly divorced and very determined! Things I've Fixed: A flat tire, with my mom... My bicycle chain, many times as a young kid... An antique child's "Morris" chair, although it has since fallen apart... Many a toy with Super Glue... My dollhouse windows when a bratty 3-year-old guest punched his hand through each...
I love looking out windows, even when the view isn't as impressive as this one in Roatan, Honduras. I could pull up a chair and stare out most any window and be amused. A scene with nature is like watching a painting that moves... with wind or rain or birds. But I do love watching people activity just as much. I'm always a little envious of Jimmy Steward in "Rear Window", stuck in a cast with his binoculars and a window! Watching from Windows: Gazing out (many different) kitchen windows, while doing dishes... Watching all the canal activity from a hotel window in Venice... Seeing sunrise from bed, through our cabin's loft windows... Watching the world go by from train and plane windows... Seeing the Mississippi River from the little windows in the St. Louis Arch...
Today I'm focused on the good news we heard a couple nights ago. Heidi "face-timed" us from the Tokyo airport, just while she and Jamie were getting ready for their 23 hours of travel back to Austin. It was Tuesday evening and I thought Heidi was calling for an update on the election. But she had good news... Heidi and Jamie were engaged! Here's the first photo I took of them. I have to laugh, that we had just met Jamie for the first time and I was already pulling out the camera! Congrats Jamie and Heidi! Good Phone Calls: All the wonderful calls that have announced news of baby's births... Calls from the kids when they've made it safely to their destinations... Calls I answered on an old black phone from Don, when we were dating and there were no cell phones or Caller I.D... Scott's call to our hotel in Bermuda last March, to announce his engagement to Chali... A call from playwright Edward Albee in response to a letter I'd written... Birthday calls that have included singing, which always makes me laugh...
|
Happy List
|