Morning Folks June 1, 2009

Morning Folks and Rabbit Rabbit Rabbits to you, this fine June 1.

As most of you know, I have been on the Cape a couple of weeks. The weather has been less than perfect, but I have been a busy gal and have had a blast these past 2 weeks.

First, my friends Malaryn and Denys hosted a visit with my Peeps at their home on the Vineyard. It was cold, but the company was warm.

Rick
Kitty, Denny and Malaryn

Too chilly to sit on the porch, although we tried.
Denny and Frank

Kitty and Elizabeth

That was Saturday.

Then on Sunday, I drove to Sudbury and met my Uncle Lee and Aunt Kath, now living in Maine and my cousin Liz and her daughter Nicole, who both live in California. The reason for the trip was to go to houses that Uncle Lee had lived in during his childhood. Since he is my mother's brother, these were also my mother's homes.

Before the tour, the first thing we did was have lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Those of you who know me can imagine how I reacted when Uncle Lee ordered Eel and raw Octopus.

I had chicken. But the sink in the ladies' room was really cool.

We went to about 8 or 10 addresses in Waltham, Woburn, Somerville and Medford. We took pictures whenever we found the addresses and I will be able to document them all in our family tree that I have been working on. One of the houses we went to in Waltham had just been sold to a nice family who invited us in. It was quite an experience for the Kelly family who had a couple of kids, including a boy of about 12, the same age Uncle Lee was when he lived there in the 1930s.

Mrs. Kelly and Uncle Lee, Nutting St., Waltham.

They were very gracious and it was fun to see where all the members of Uncle Lee's family slept back then. The little girl's bedroom had been Uncle Lee's room. It is now a lovely lavender and she was very curious to know what color it was 70 years earlier when Uncle Lee lived there. He wasn't sure, but knew it was wallpapered.

Capen Street, Medford Hillside. Once Uncle Lee's great grandmother's house, now a fraternity house for Tufts students.

Morrison Ave., Somerville

The site of the store my great grandfather ran in Woburn.

We stayed at the most fabulous B&B in Stow, MA. Built in 1743 it was so beautifully decorated and the woman, Vickie, who ran it was such an amazing cook.

Amerscot Inn B&B. Stow, MA
Nicole, Liz, Inn Keeper Vickie, Aunt Kath, Uncle Lee
Grounds at the B&B

Uncle Lee and Aunt Kath's bathroom.

My room

We each had a lovely room with our own baths and wide screen TVs and fireplaces and WiFi. The grounds were just wonderful. We had to leave because Uncle Lee was afraid he'd gain too much weight if we stayed any longer.

Dining Room

In addition to Vickie's cooking, we visited our favorite ice cream spot, Eriksons, twice.

So, yes, we had to leave.

Poking around cemeteries is something genealogists love, so although it might sound morbid to some people, I find it fascinating and full of history.

We decorated graves in Wadsworth Cemetery for Memorial Day. We planted geraniums at my Hall family graves, my mother's Aunt Kath's family, Bradshaws and Rogers. Aunt Kath's mother's grave.

Uncle Lee took a little breather and sat with Mom while we planted the geraniums. When I took this, he told her to smile. He has a funny sense of humor.

And then in Woburn we decorated the Waters gravesite. It was a team effort decorating the graves from both sides of the family and in-laws some of us didn't know. It felt good to honor these folks.

We had trouble finding the Waters family plot at the Woodbrook cemetery in Woburn. Nicole found a website on her phone, but couldn't download the pdf file of the map of the cemetery. So, she called her husband Dan in Sacramento to access the website. He led us up and down the streets, via cell phone while looking at the site online and we were able to locate it.

Later when I looked at the cemetery website, I found a whole plot of another branch of the family that included one woman, Lorena Pelsue Hyde Grammer, who according to my mother had a wooden leg. They called her Gramma Grammer. We found Grampa Grammer when we were at the cemetery, but Gramma Grammer is buried with her first husband, Nathan Hyde. Grampa Grammer was her second husband. (I just love that name.)I wonder if they are related to Frazier?
Kelsey Grammer

We watched the Sudbury parade from Wadsworth and ran into some folks who had gone to school with Aunt Kath and my Dad. Fred and Rosalind Bonazzoli were the son and daughter of my grandmother's good friends and neighbors. That was fun to talk to them.

Al Bonazzoli, my grandparents' contemporary, was the first colonel of the Sudbury Minute Company and his grave is in Wadsworth. Each Memorial Day, the Minute Company pays tribute to him with a gun salute and a song on fife and drum. His daughter, son and daughter in law were there to watch the annual tribute.


We saw friends at the parade, among them Betsy and Hal Cutler, St. George Melinda and Lynn Connor.

I got a hug from one of the Selectmen and a big wave from the Fire Chief, who was driving some vips in the parade. It was nice that they both still remembered me.

It was nice to go to the parade that remains exactly as it has been for many years. I love it.

South Station
They took Uncle Lee to South station so he could catch the bus back to Maine since he didn't want to spend another day in a car full of women and the women folk headed down here to the Cape.

We visited Chris Waters, my cousin Danny's son, who is earning his Doctorate at Woods Hole. We went to a couple of places in Woods Hole.

Then went back to South Yarmouth, poked around at Christmas Tree Shops and just chilled and chatted. The weather wasn't very nice, but we had fun and enjoyed each other's company.

Then, Saturday, we went to a surprise shower for Bill's fiance Kim, at her mother's house in Merrimack NH. There was a Hawaiian theme because that's where they are heading for their honeymoon.

It was good to see Cindy, Angie and Steffie, too. But they had to leave early and I didn't get too much time to visit.

Kathy, Ed's sister came with me. She had made a beautiful quilt for the kids and I knew nothing about it. What a surprise. It was really gorgeous!

Kim only broke one ribbon. I hope she has more opportunities to break more before the wedding! You men probably don't know about that. That's okay. We can have secrets.

We had a great visit and a lot of laughs.

Hope you have a great June!
Love,
Suz

Morning Folks May 15, 2009

I guess I am about at the end of the procrastination period before I pack for my 3 month stay on the Cape. I guess that's because we are leaving the day after tomorrow. So, after I post this (another excuse to procrastinate), I will be rummaging through clothes, making lists, doing laundry, ironing and organizing my "stuff".




Ed will be driving up there with me and then flying back home next week. He'll come back at the end of July and have a nice long vacation with me there. I am so lucky to have a husband who doesn't mind fending for himself or being alone for so long. And, who doesn't mind working to support my Massachusetts habit! Thanks, Sweetiepie.









I have a busy agenda planned, too. Memorial Day weekend, my cousin Liz
and her daughter Nicole
are flying out from California to rendezvous in Stow where we will be joined by Liz's folks, Lee and Kath Waters who live in Maine.

We are staying at a B&B in Stow The Amerscott B&BMy room at the B&B.


We will be going to the Wadsworth cemetery to tend to family gravesites (and to get some valuable genealogical information. Cemeteries are always full of great info.) Then, we will take a tour of Sudbury and surrounding towns finding homes where Aunt Kath and Uncle Lee lived during their childhoods. We have voice recorders, cameras and notebooks at the ready to get all that history down. I am calling it our Magical History Tour. It will be great fun.

On Monday, Uncle Lee and Aunt Kath want to see the Sudbury Memorial Day parade, which is always a great way to commemorate the day. On Tuesday, they will follow me to the Cape where we will spend a couple of relaxing days before they head up to Maine, where Lee and Kath now live. That will be lots of fun.

Then, I have several social events coming up, including a conference in Yarmouth where I will see all my former colleagues at the Mass Municipal Accountant and Auditor's Association meeting. We accountants know how to par-tay!
Partying Accountant.

And we have two weddings to attend later in the summer that we all are so excited about.


Ed's Niece Alison, who is from the Cape, is getting married at the end of July.

And, of course, my Bill and Kim are getting married in August (How wonderful!)

And, I have lots of other family and friends to visit and that will be lots of fun. I got into trouble last summer because I never made plans with Linder. That won't happen again, Kiddo.


I have a class reunion committee meeting to go to in the middle of June. I've been doing all that work by e-mail so it will be nice to see everybody in person. Forty years! Wow.
Planning the reunions is always fun.

Earlier in the day of the meeting, I have made a golf date with a classmate. That should be interesting. I am going to try not to embarrass myself! You know how highschool kids talk.


Speaking of golf, the other day we had our farewell round with our friends, the Perini family, here in TN.

You might remember them from my blog back on March 18, 2009. (click on the archive at the right side of the page) Ray and I were teammates again and Ed and Ray's wife Carolyn were a team. We played select shot like we did the last time when Ed and Carolyn beat us by one stroke. Their son George was along, too, encouraging as always. But, this time, we won!!! We shot a 41 and they shot a 46. Thanks for so many laughs and a lot of fun out there, my friends. I'll be back at the end of August and we'll play a tie breaker!

Victory is sweet.

Someone has to lose.

I really should be careful not to give you all the wrong impression. Ray and I only used a few of my shots, but there were a few impressive ones. Ed bought me new "women's" clubs for our anniversary. That has helped me some. But, I am still struggling and usually 3 or 4 putt every hole. But my chipping is much better and I think my drives, although not longer, are straighter. So, it's all good.

So, my next blog will be posted from Massachusetts.

Weddings, history tours, reunions, golf...Do you think I can fit in some beach time while I am up there? Watch me!

I better go start packing. Have a great week.

Love,

Suz