Friday, December 30, 2011

Jen & Bill in 3D

Bill saw his first 3D movie today - Hugo.  This was not just a movie outing but an example of the ways Bill and I have to compromise to stay married.  He went to a matinee (it is a long standing complaint of mine that we went to matinees BEFORE we got married only to find out that he doesn't like to see movies during the day AFTER we got married.  A classic bait & switch) and I agreed to the back row (for some reason Bill thinks the cool people all sit in the back. The closer rows are for those of us who are vision impaired). 

Here we are rockin' the 3D glasses (and yes, I did wonder who else has worn these before me and what contagion might be present)


Thursday, December 29, 2011

Morning, Tigers...

The wicked good witch of Atwood is shrinking....

Wyatte was all business waking up Joey this morning.

We taught the kids to show their food.  This will be a big winner back home with their Mother.

All smiles after Malikai jumped on Joey's head to wake him.

The boys want to be shipped to Army Camp with Dad.

Wyatte's packaging wasn't well thought out.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Resolution Wednesday

The boys are all clean after their shower.
They just went to bed after a little cry-fest.....not bad...
huge hug from Malikai
Every year we fill out a summary of the year from each of our perspectives.  We choose something new we did, most memorable moment, resolutions, and then our favorite movies, books, songs, foods and things to wear.
I'll fill it out for Jennie:
Favorite Movie - Hot Tub Time Machine
Favorite Book - Everyone Poops
Favorite Song - Britney "Til the world ends"
Favorite Food - Doritos with ketchup
Memorable Moment - the joy in waking up next to Bill
Resolution - treat Bill like royalty

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Call it... a hunch



Jen is still walking around doing her best Quasimodo impression.  She corrected me and said she was more like Igor (pronounced eye-gore) from Young Frankenstein.

She was feeling well enough to go to two movies today.  She gave a mediocre rating for Young Adult.  And we both give an enthusiastic two Buttered Popcorns for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (despite the fact that it was 2 hrs and 45 min long).

Monday, December 26, 2011

What a difference a day makes

Christmas?  What's Christmas?  By noon all traces were eradicated from #11.  It would have been earlier but I hurt my back on Christmas Eve and I'm not moving at my usual pace.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas 2011

Christmas Day .... Jennie got me a Callaway driver.  I can't wait to get to the links.... time for a road trip to Scotland!

Jennifer trying out her new Onion Glasses.  She misread the instructions and bit the onion instead of cutting it.
 After we opened our presents we went over to Mom's for dinner with Scott, Tina and Eric.  Mom cooked a full meal highlighted by a spiral ham.  She's amazing... back is killing her, but she was determined to put on the full spread.  It was perfect.

Christmas Eve all the boys were over.  The grandkids wore their uniforms and told their Dad to wear his, too.  We had our traditional cocoa at The Port Tavern and went back to our house where Santa had just arrived.

The boys were adorable opening presents.  Bret put together a special stocking for each of them.  
It's always great to have Christmas through the eyes of the kids.


Mother got a handmade UDub mug from Joey.  I photo bombed her picture.

Eighteen years old and still excited over Christmas.  I hope they never grow up... Joey, Bret and Jen, too.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas in Sudbury

Today was my "Girls Christmas" with Lisa, Danielle and new friend Sylvie.  (Danielle has been upgraded to old friend now that Sylvie is newer)  The day started with Thomas helping to bake cookies.  He sifted flour like a pro but I would expct nothing less from Chef Lisa's offspring.

 The real fun began when the kids were sent outside and the wine was opened to accompany lunch (which was comprised of a cheese platter).   It's only 7pm now and I'm already completely useless on Christmas Eve eve.  Looks like my own molasses cookies (Bill's favorites) will have to wait until tomorrow morning.  
Here's Lisa, Danielle and I looking very merry!!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

I'd give anything to have made this myself

For the first time, our picture is not our own - I WISH we had thought of making a nativity scene out of pork products.  I shamelessly stole this from a Facebook link because I wanted my close friends and family to share in the joy of the lord represented by a baby pig in a blanket for the holidays.  
I also find it quite funny that they are going to COOK it - as though it needed to go further than just being assembled, now they are also going to make it edible. Bravo, stranger, bravo!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

BRET!

Look at our boy!  Bret is home for the holidays!
Jen and I continued our joke about my mother being a floozie when she was younger!
Bret turned red as a stop sign when we called her Trudie the whore!
(again, for new readers, Trudie was the opposite, never a trollop, always a good girl!)

Bret had a beer at dinner with us!  That has never happened!
I usually don't use exclamations but this occasion merits it!

The Matriarch looks on judgingly!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Merry NPPS Christmas!

Christin and Denise received their NPPS Christmas presents this evening - Jane Austen scented candles.  What did Jane smell like, you might ask?  Apparently, gardenias.  I assume this was the living Jane, not the long deceased Jane.

Especially appreciated were The Hour tags  - Denise got Ben Whisaw as Freddie Lyon (http://www.bbcamerica.com/the-hour/characters/freddie-lyon/)  and Christin got Dominic West as Hector Madden (http://www.bbcamerica.com/the-hour/characters/hector-madden/).

Downton Abbey countdown...SIX DAYS!!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Pot Luck

Tonight was our annual festival holiday pot luck at Vicki's house.  Here's Vicki cutting a slice of her Bourbon Cake (make cake mix and substitute bourbon for water!)  
 Lucia assumed that the puffy ball on the end of a string was some sort of sex toy that Vicki left lying around the house.  Between that and a story of a Yankee Swap sperm hat, we were in rare form tonight.  
Meanwhile, back at the homestead, Bill is on the porch with his cigar and Son #1 is home from boot camp and visiting his friends at the tavern downtown.  The holiday week has officially begun!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

If it feels right, go with it

Joey's home!We did our Godfather impressions using a few grapes as props.  No reason... just felt right.

I tried on a pair of pink cords at JackWills in Boston.  No reason...  just felt right.  It wasn't right.  It was very wrong.

Newbury Street in Boston.  Very right... very Christmassy.  We went to a choral concert at the Old South Church.  Beautiful show.

Jennie is always the right choice... be it Christmas or otherwise.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Still angry 73 years later

Jen wraps while watching A Christmas in Connecticut.  It was a strange little movie from 1945.  Jen loved it.  I had to work to get past one of my movie rules - "Don't watch movies based totally upon a lie".
We ended the evening watching a bit of "The Wizard of Oz".  Oz was robbed in the 1939 Oscars.
Here is the list of movies nominated that year:


Gone With the Wind (Selznick International Pictures; MGM)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (MGM)
Love Affair (RKO Radio)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Columbia)
Ninotchka (MGM)
Of Mice and Men (Hal Roach; United Artists)
Stagecoach (Walter Wanger; United Artists)
The Wizard of Oz (MGM)
Wuthering Heights (Goldwyn; United Artists)

Gone With the Wind won... total crap.

I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!

Looking forward to left over venison

Dinner out with Alison and Loren last night in downtown Newburyport.  Alison and I debated the pros and cons of moving to Atlanta (con!! con!!), Bill obsessed on square footage as Loren talked about the size of the houses on offer down south (who needs 9000 sq ft??)  and we firmly established that if you want to stay warm this winter, don't come to Atwood street where the thermostat is only moved up past 60 for special occasions.


Thursday, December 15, 2011

Head on a stick series # 27, plus a bloody leg

When you take the corner from the hallway toward my office you are met with heads on a stick.
Everyone asks me what those heads are for.
I want to say things like "These are the head of employees I have fired".  But, alas, even I know that is not going to be met with the intended humor all the time (I sit next to I.T. guys... not known for nuanced humor... too literal)
Jennie will not be happy to see that her scowling face greets my workmates every day.
Bret just sent me this fine photo of his leg... played in a game of flag football and dove at someone. Proud of him.  I can't remember having a raspberry so colorful in all my baseball sliding days.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Hen Night

Stacey, Di and I hit the Beacon Grille tonight for a good catch up.  We talked books quite a bit and  I gave a hearty endorsement to The Enthusasticast (in case they have a Google alert on their names - Happy holidays Mark and Jon!!)  Hopefully they now have two new listeners.
Joey is home and on Atwood but didn't make the blog tonight - sorry Fletch!  But there wil be many more opportunities for Joey sightings over the next three weeks.  Stay tuned.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Peeping Bill

Watching Jennie wrapping presents through the window....  

Monday, December 12, 2011

NPPS*

The *Newburyport Period Piece Society met tonight.  We are watching a Masterpiece Contemporary called The Last Enemy with Benedict Cumberbatch.  We all like Cumberbatch for his portrayal of autistic intellectualism but we REALLY like the intro by Matthew Goode.  And he likes me.  Just before he puckered up on screen he whispered my name....
But I think this sums up the NPPS better than anything - an essay written by Denise's son H.  He just forgot to mention the wine.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Brooklyn Breakfast

Breakfast was interesting on this trip.  When we first arrived at the B&B (which was really just a B and you had to pay extra for the other B) we were told how fabulous the breakfasts were and that they were worth the extra $10.  So Friday morning we ordered breakfast and ate with our two German friends.  We had eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, etc.  The owner was there, chatting it up with us and it was a great time.

Saturday we sign up again with Jeff.  It's just the three of us.  When we get there the table is all laid out with fruit, granola, various toppings and yoghurt.  After a few minutes, a woman comes in with hot biscuits.  That was it.  And the owner is no where to be found.  Obviously now that the cute German girls were gone, he had better things to do in the morning.  

Sunday morning we decided to venture out.  Jeff left early that morning so Bill and I hit Park Slope again and found a wonderful little cafe playing awesome music (Sam Cooke, some french music, blues, etc). The wall had a cool mural and there were funky chandeliers.  I sat in a window bench with the NYTimes. This is Bill ordering more tea.  
I was briefly convinced that Jimmy Fallon was having breakfast with a toddler in the other window seat (does Jimmy Falon have a kid?  Maybe it was a nephew?) but Bill thought the guy looked more like what Billy Joel's son would look like if he had one.  In other words - no celebrity sightings on this trip.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Saturday NYC

Our last full day in NYC.  Half the city was dressed as Santa, an elf or a sexy Santa or Elf.
Jeff and I caught two basketball games at Madison Square Garden.  Joey's University of Washington lost to Duke in the first game.  Those rich Duke families travel well.  The stadium was packed with Duke alumni.  Even their band was made up of grey haired alumni.  It would have been cute if I didn't hate Duke.

 Meanwhile, Jen didn't dress as a sexy elf, she dressed as a sexy Jen.  She had a fun day shopping.  From the sounds of it she really made some headway shopping for the toughest to buy for person, herself.
 Jeff dressed as a psycho Jeff.


Friday NYC

We made new friends over breakfast yesterday(Friday).  Two girls from Germany who gave us titles of Germany movies (one is a musical comedy western) to watch. Check out
Schuh des Manitu Superperforator on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGFX5r-4Bq0

 We met Jeff for lunch and then, on the waitress' recommendation, the New Museum.  It was a bit of a dud actually - you have to sign a waiver to ride the Mirror Carousel and the Slide.  This is Bill and I on the Mirror Carousel.  Do you see any wind blowing through my hair?  It moved so slowly that you could barely tell it was happening.  What did I waive?
 The Slide was definitely more fun but it only lasted about 20 seconds.  You lie on a cotton cloth and go down two stories in a tube.  Bill tried to get a picture of me in it but it happens too fast.
 Christmas in NYC wouldn't be complete without a trip to Rockefeller Center.
 Here we are waiting for the B train back to Brooklyn.  We then tried to find the pizza place recommended to us and wound up driving back over the Brooklyn Bridge.  Gave up and ate again in Park Slope.  Bedtime 1 AM.  zzzzz