Looking Back....

One year ago today!  Happy Anniversary Aya and Alex!  So hard to believe this was the wedding weekend last year.   Biggest party I was ever involved in planning....   and ultimately the most fun! 

 A gorgeous, low-humidity day for a ceremony...who knew August in Atlanta could be so auspicious.

with this ring....

a princess and her hand maidens...

the groom protecting his bride...

Jumping for joy!


Aren't weddings fun...whichever side you are on.  Wonder who among us is NEXT...?!

Update on the Sub Deb Girls

  After our recent beach trip, the Sub Debs girls were feeling great about our weekend and our friendships.  We always seem to have even more contact after such a get together and it is fun to email back and forth about the smallest of things.

    Here we are looking mighty cute (Jane was behind the camera and Karen was picking up shells).

     Ginny always wears her cancer sucks sweatshirt on these trips.  In 2005, she was diagnosed with lymphoma, did two years of treatments and has been rolling along for five years now.  Well last week she found out that her tumor who she calls Bertha is growing again although slowly.  Back to treatment as of this past Wednesday.  The SubDebs have rallied around her but Ginny is the toughest of us all - nothing but a great attitude and looking ahead - already she has a plane ticket to California in July with her son and his family!

     Here's to you Ginny - a fantastic role model for all of us and the strongest Sub Deb Girl of all.  We know you are going to knock Bertha right back out of the ballpark and we are with you all the way!!!

Happy Mothers

Motherhood.  The best thing I ever did.  Also the hardest but most rewarding job I've ever had.  Really. Nothing unique in this observation!  But the realization of these cliche observations becomes even more profound the further you have been away from the "hands-on" part of mothering....  Generation after generation...

Hands Full.    1954.  Tony's mother had her hands full with four children....

and this was a couple of years before Tony was born!

Hands Full, literally.   1961.  My mother with me and my brothers.  This is her passport photo, back in the day before every U.S. citizen is required to have their own passport, no matter how young.  We were going on our first trip to Japan as a family.  By ship.   Sounds like ancient times.

The fun.  1992.  Brendan and me, at his kindergarten Field Day 

(Undokai) at Sarejio Yochien, Tokyo.  

The exasperation.  1966.  Tony's mom keeping an eye on her 

two sons, Tony and Mike, while they keep an eye on her.  West Point, NY.

The wonder.  1990.  Chandler,  2 weeks old, and me.  Chatham, NJ.

The scent.  The snuggle.  Tony's mom with her tenth grandchild, Alex.  1986.  Chatham.

1968.  Garden City in the back yard.  Tony's mom already had her sons standing
at attention,  especially her youngest Tony.

  My mommy and me. Dressed up for Christmas time. Schenectady, NY  1958.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hills and Dales Saturday April 20, 2013

 Here we are on a book club field trip to LaGrange, Georgia to visit an estate called Hills and Dales.  This wasn't a trip connected to any particular book we read, just an excuse for a little Saturday excursion.  Hills and Dales is the family home of the Callaway family (as in Callaway Gardens and Callaway Golf)  The home was built on the original estate of Judge Blount and Sarah Ferrell.   Mrs. Ferrell made it her life's ambition to create a formal garden reminiscent of an  Italian villa.   Her garden was known in town as Ferrell Gardens or The Terraces.   Fuller Callaway purchased the estate from Mrs. Ferrell in 1912 and began construction of his mansion which was completed in 1916.

   In this photo Lori, Susan, Cheryl and I are standing on the steps in front of the formal entrance side of the home.  The more common entrance is on the side with a porte-cochere.  We had a private tour of the house with our guide Joanna.  Photography wasn't allowed inside the house, hence no interior photos for this blog.  We all agreed the home was (surprising for its time) outfitted with some conveniences and luxuries that can be found on many house-hunter wish lists today: things like a full-body spa shower,  master bedroom coffee bar....lovely bright kitchen breakfast area with an appealing black & white tile floor... large kitchen island w/ built in pot rack...a mudroom off the kitchen, to remember a few.   We were lucky to have the whole house and gardens almost completely to ourselves.  What a delight to be in a pretty place on such a pretty day!

Unusual window treatment of espaliered magnolias.

Cheryl, I and Lori are basking in the sunshine!

 The elegant and stately Italian villa which was built in 1916 for
Fuller E. Calloway, Sr.

 Doesn't this espaliered shrub look like a six-fingered hand slapping the pool house...

 Meandering around the house into the formal gardens.

 We were told the long rectangular troughs were for storing the bricks and foundation blocks, but I can't remember why, maybe for maintenance...

 Close up of a calla lily in the greenhouse pool.  Calla lilies were the favorite flower of the  first Mrs. Hallway (Ida Cason Callaway) and have become a Callaway icon.

 Lori admiring the orchids.

Gorgeous white phalaenopsis orchids....they look like they're just begging for a wedding invitation.....

                                  Aren't these polka dot caladiums as cute as can be?

                                         The greenhouse framed by the snowball hydrangea.

The lovely snowball blossoms resembled paper lanterns hanging from the tree....perfect for a wedding photo opp....Can't you just see a bride and groom in this photo?

 An organic arbor formed by some very old cedar trees and framed with wisteria.  We thought this would be just the site for an outdoor wedding.... Insert bride and groom here

....

Lovely view from the garden looking towards the kitchen side of the home.        

                                              Close up of the original Ferrell garden gate.

 The contempletive section...

 This little oriental-style ceramic birdhouse was tucked in the shrubbery near the gate...

                                                  One of the original (read very old) trees...

                                           The formal boxwoods in front of the visitors center.

                                                 Cheryl and Susan at the end of the tour.


I liked this quote found in the tour brochure:
"Life is short, and as we pass this way but once, why not strew our paths with rose petals, so as to leave fragrance on life's way?"....Ida Cason Callaway, 1929.

Good Things Come in Surprise Packages

April 22, 2013, just seven days after the terrible events in Boston...it hardly seems possible.  A week of horror, disbelief and confusion.  There was a bright spot in the middle of the week for me, when I came home to discover a USO package on my doorstep.  I could have been knocked over with a feather.  Flowers from Brendan! Gorgeous, unique patriotic white roses tinted blue and red.  They had the appearance of colored tissue paper once they were in full bloom.  I took them to work so I could enjoy them all day.  Early Mother's Day present?   Late Christmas gift?  Doesn't matter, it was a floral hug from the other side of the world during a week of distress and sorrow.  

That Was Then...This is Now

     In my last post, I talked about my childhood girlfriends and our upcoming beach trip.  I started thinking about my mother and her girlfriends, many of whom she has also known since her school days.  These women are a strong group and they have been a wonderful example of how to support one another through both good and bad - the happy times of babies, childraising, weddings, grandchildren and their own long marriages.  But they have also been there for some harrowing times - serious illnesses, deaths of spouses, parents,  children and sbilings, children who were in trouble or just troubled and the many bumps and bruises that life brings to us all.

     There they were at a charity fashion show when they were in their 30's.  Now in their mid 70's to early 80's, they have no less fun - bridge, trips, Saturday morning breakfast every week, Buddy Dinner once a month and almost daily contact.  Here they are at a recent cocktail party to introduce the new daughters-in-law of Betzy's grandsons.

Here's to our women friends and all the joy, fun and support they bring to our lives! 

Getting Stoned...

Ladies night out at the Atlanta History Center on April 15, 2013.  It was a few hours of very welcome distraction from the awful and bewildering bombings at the Boston Marathon which had just occurred earlier that afternoon.  We went to hear Curtis Stone, celebrity chef, TV personality/host of Top Chef Masters.  I had no real notion of what was in store for the evening;  I  wasn't sure if it would be a cooking demo, or traditional lecture.  It turned out to be a delightful, entertaining event.  It felt like we were a talk show audience. The highlights were when the affable Australian chef  took questions from the audience.  We fell in love with Pips, a woman (with an Australian daughter-in-law, no less) who was herself in love with THE chef and guest-of-honor.  Tons of  laughter at their banter...and Pips entertained Chef Stone enough for him to whip out his phone and videotape her.  Perhaps we'll  find it on YouTube...   It was a fun evening that ended with a book signing.  You can read more about him here:  http://www.curtisstone.com/About-Curtis.aspx

or here: http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters

 Cindy shakes Curtis' hand....note how polite he was to stand up....

 I must be stoned...he's a blur.  That's Susan getting books for Margaret and Frank.

 A gracious host, with a hug for all who patiently waited in line for a signature...

He sure is eye candy....candy? No, dessert!