Florence {1918-2017}

June 17, 1918 - October 7, 2017

Six months short of her 100th birthday my Grandma Florence had a small stroke in her home. She was rushed to the hospital and a few days later passed away. She was surrounded by her children and loved ones, and we were are all so grateful that she passed without pain.

Ninety-nine amazing years, she never lost mental facilities and lived at home until the very end.

Florence's life started on June 17, 1918, when she was born at home for $2.00, as that is all the doctor charged back then.

When Florence was three years old her family moved to Brooklyn, from the Lower East Side, purchasing a home that had two floors and a basement along with a "stall shower." My Grandma said this was so exciting for everyone because only the nicest homes had separate showers. The home consisted of only two bedrooms and one bathroom, but lots of living space including a parlor.

Florence at age two with her two siblings and mother Pauline.

Florence's father always worked as a furrier, growing up my Grandma remembers always having new fur coats. Because she and her sister were only 18 months apart my Grandma said "we looked like twins in our new fur coats."

In the summer all the children would play on the streets. Four corners, kick the can, softball "from sewer to sewer" and tennis were favorites. Morris and Pauline added to their family again with Selma and a few years later with their last daughter Eleanor.

The fur business was hot back then, and my Grandma remembers living quite comfortably, even through the depression. They had a car, a Studebaker touring car which they all would ride in joyfully through Brooklyn.

Florence married and had three children of her own, my dad being the youngest born in 1953. They led a happy and comfortable life. Florence loved her grandchildren and greatgrandchildren fiercely and made sure everyone understood that her home was always open to visitors.

Grandma, you will be missed. I love you and aspire to be as thoughtful, loving and wonderful as you have always been.

Second grade and Kindergarten!

Two days after returning for Maui James started second grade! He was a bit nervous, a bit excited and quite a bit sad to have summer winding down. He ended up having a fabulous day and loving his teacher. James eats hot lunch every day and plays with his friend Ian most days at recess.

This bunny didn't start for another week and was SO nervous and anxious on her first day. Yes, this is a smiling photo but there were lots of tears and anxiety even when she had to say goodbye to me.

 James was trying to help, make her feel better. Sweetest big brother.

 E wanted to see Juliet after her first day of school and she came out of the class with a huge smile, saying it was "a great day." We've had some anxiety each morning before drop off, but overall the transition has gone smoothly and has been easier than it was with James.

After we hugged and kissed Daddy I asked her what she'd like to do. She chose Wendy's and a visit to the park.

And while my kids are at school I love to spend my time hiking. I'm not able to go daily (things like grocery shopping, laundry and responsibilities keep me out of the mountains) but I try to make it up there weekly. When this view is thirty mins from my house the tired legs and burning lungs are worth it.

Watson!

I am so behind on blogging it's getting ridiculous. However, Mr. Watson needs a post of his own.

Two days (two days!) before we left for Yosemite the kids and I were taking a neighborhood walk, which we do almost every day. As we neared our favorite old home we heard a yowling. It had to be a cat, and the yowling was loud.

James and I looked at each other and both raised our eyebrows. "Let's go see if that cat needs help," I said. We walked back down the lane and around into the church parking lot. High high in a tree was a cat!

He was so scared. (Here is a video I shot and uploaded to Instagram.)

I wasn't sure if he could get down so I called the fire department and they directed me to animal control. Luckily, after this, the cat had an audience and he started making his way down the tree head first. A few tense minutes passed and finally this cat (now we could see he was a kitten!) was low enough for a neighbor to climb up and grab him.

As he was lowered I took him into my arms. He was tiny. Scared and meowing. The kids were entranced. We asked the gathered neighbors if they knew where this cat belonged. No one did. So we brought him home to feed him up, get him a drink and put up posters.

E was worried, what were we supposed to do with a kitten when we were leaving for Yosemite in two days. He had a point.

This kitty had no chip, was sick and full of ear mites, but was the biggest love ever. He could clean, use the litter box and mostly was just dying for affection. We hung up posters and called the local shelters, and after two days, decided he was ours.

He got along really well with Mabel the entire week we were gone. Now two and a half months later he doesn't even look like a kitten. He's hilarious. Jumps and runs and plays with toys all day. He wants to snuggle on your face and neck and give kisses on the lips.

He's healthy and happy and looks so much like Rumpus it's fairly ridiculous. We named him after John Watson from Sherlock but decided that his personality was much more Sherlock's than John's. I wanted to change his name to Sherlock but was overruled by the family. I still call him Sherlock in secret sometimes. 😉


Look at his white knee socks on his back legs!

A couple of my favorite IG photos of him:

Juliet loves taking pictures of Watson (above), her is of my favorites of her's:

What I'm most thankful for

I am beyond beyond thankful for these three. Nothing else matters when I've got this.

I asked them for a kiss. I love that they were willing. And the fact that James promptly wiped it off as soon as they were done. Goofs!

Spring weekends and thoughts on love and loss

Life is feeling extra special these days. Days are filled with kids laughing, blossoms gently falling in the air, and the grass getting greener by the minute. We spent most of the weekend building new garden boxes in the backyard for my birthday (which is on Friday!). 

Lately I've been thinking a lot about love and loss. How so many people, millions, live through excruciating heartbreak in their lives. I don't carry such a burden. I married my first boyfriend and have been wildly happy ever since. I have two healthy kids who are happy and well fed. But, I think often about heartbreak and how very very lucky I am. 

Really, I have everything a person could ever ever want. And I don't take it for granted. I don't.

The world is so very very unfair for so many people. Although the world is blooming around me, filling every part of me with happiness and color and laughter, I work on not forgetting.

Tulips are just starting to bloom. We caught the earliest ones at Temple Square.

This girl makes me happier than I can say. She is seriously the funniest person I have ever met.

Making their childhood magical is the best job.

Spinning spinning in the sunshine until we fall down and laugh at how silly and wonderful and crazy this world is.

The evolution of my hobbies (obsessions)

As I've grown older I've had a lot of hobbies. I'm not just talking photography and gardening, I'm talking hobbies that boarder on obsessions. Being obsessed with something is not healthy if it interferes with your daily life, but obsessions that make you happy, make your daily life richer, well those are good hobbies (err.. obsessions).

As I've pondered my hobbies over the years I've realized some of these hobbies make for my very best memories, and make me the happiest I've ever been. Truly. Each hobby shaped me into the person I am today, and each one holds such fond and strong memories of who I was during that time of life.

Looking at them all in a list brings back a flood of nostalgia, of friends I was hanging out with at the time, of love I felt for E, of becoming a parent (which was very much my favorite obsession).

The reason why I've been pondering these hobbies so much lately is because I have a new one: BBC Sherlock. A tv show. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much I love thinking about a mere tv show. I mean, I haven't thought about pretend characters as much as I am now since I was 14 years old. That is embarrassing. But, it brings me a lot of happiness, so I'm just going to roll with it.

So, a list of the things I was and are obsessed with, starting with when I was merely 14 years old:

Junior High school - Lois and Clark aka Superman
I adored this show in Jr. High. Thinking about it now brings back such happy memories. My best friend and I were obsessed with Dean Cain (the Clark Kent/ Superman actor) and it makes me smile to remember how much time I actually fantasized about kissing him.

High school - "Haunted" places
Again, such happy memories. My friends and I were absolutely entranced by ghost stories and weird/abandoned places in high school. Our favorite Saturday night activity was getting a pizza and then driving around looking for "haunted" places. I know all the stories, all the locations, and all the "hauntings". Such good times. This is also when E and I started dating and so the memories are extra special.

College - Ghost towns/ Urban exploring
After high school I got much more into Urban exploring, which is a term that means exploring abandoned urban places. I read some amazing websites, explored some amazing places, and thought about abandoned structures pretty much all the time. E and I loved to check out ghost towns and abandoned highways, and every last forgotten home down near the farmhouse was explored.

Have some extra time? This is the best Urban exploring website out there. LOVE it.

This mill I explored alone. The entire creepy inside of the mill and I was alone. Most definitely one of the bravest moments of my life. I found a unlocked door in the basement and crawled in in the middle of the day.

Lots and lots of abandoned houses. I've talked about exploring abandoned houses a few times on my blog, I just love it. Here is one of my favorite posts about exploring abandoned homes. And here is another one. 

Post collage - Travel
Once I had money to travel I spent most of my time thinking/planning/imagining and scoping out our next adventure. E and I traveled a lot in our mid twenties. England, Amsterdam, Tanzania, Italy, Austria, Japan, Canada and every single National Park we could manage. Many many years of possibly my favorite memories of my life (second to being a mother of course).

Travel may seem like a weird thing to label as an "obsession" but for a very long time I was obsessed. My thoughts drifted to little else, only where I've been and where I couldn't wait to go next.

Early twenties - American Girl dolls
Remembering how much I loved dolls (well into adult hood) makes me realize how much poor E had to put up with. I loved dolls. I thought about them all the time, buying new things for them, making new stories up, and even taking Violet on our honeymoon (thank you E, you deserve a metal). Dolls were my life up until I had James. I made so so many friends on the doll message boards, some of which I still consider my closest friends today.

Some of my very favorite doll moments can be found in the Kit mystery albums: Mystery at the Farmhouse, Mystery at the Cabin, Mystery of the Abandoned Barn (because of course I've got to combine my love for dolls with my love for abandoned places!), and The Mystery of Christmas Eve.
Plus, of course, there are tons of traveling Violet albums.

Can't wait to share these types of memories with the kids one day.

Early twenties - Harry Potter
Each of these hobbies hold such a special place in my heart. Harry Potter is no different. While I loved seeing the movies in the theaters on opening night, the books are where my heart lies. Nothing got me more involved with the Harry Potter world than the release of a new book. I would read all the theories, contribute to discussions, and generally geek out on how much I love Harry Potter. Oh, and re-read the books again and again.

I love Harry Potter so much that's it's enough that it somewhat defines who I am (crazy, right?! Ask any Harry Potter fan and they will totally get what I'm talking about). And Dumbledore? He's my all time favorite.

I AM SO STOKED to introduce the kids to the books. Their minds will be blown.

Late twenties until current - Children, being a mother
It sounds trite to say, but becoming a mother, and immersing myself into motherhood was and is a hobby/obsession. Of course, becoming a parent changes you, it changes you for the better to your very core. But motherhood is an obsession of mine. I revel in it. I immerse myself totally and completely. Being a stay-at-home-mom has made me happier than anything I've ever done.

I am not the perfect parent, far from it, but I like to give my children a magical childhood. We tell stories. We play outside year round. We build forts and get muddy and laugh and laugh. Bringing this to the two people I love most in the world is my favorite obsession of all.

Early thirties - Instagram
About two years ago I got very into Instagram. Yes, Instagram that is just merely a photo posting app on your phone. But I connected with other mothers around the world and I loved that this platform pushed me more with my photography and my creativity than anything in recent past.

I challenged myself to getting the perfect shot, the perfect lighting, the perfect expressions. Instagram was and is a way to share my love of motherhood and photography with other mamas out there.

While I still love IG, my obsession has shifted a little. As kids grow bigger and more independent they are less willing to be the object of photos, and part of childhood is living without a camera in your face. So I've lessened my presence on IG a bit over the last four months.

Current - Sherlock 
I said above that I totally admit and embrace the fact that being obsessed with a tv show (made up characters that really don't exist) is pretty geeky. But as I love dolls and Harry Potter so I'm not too worried about my geeky rating.

I LOVE this show. It is kinda crazy. Like I haven't felt this obsessiveness towards a show since Lois and Clark (twenty years ago!). I like detective stories (Law & Order SVU was a favorite of mine) but it is so much more than that. It's a love story. It is. Don't laugh. I truly feel that Sherlock and John Watson are going to end up together. And it makes me so happy.

Poor E, he not only had a doll join him on our honeymoon, but he has to listen to me go on and on about what I believe are two gay detectives. This man needs an award.

I know that it's kinda crazy to think that Sherlock will end it's five seasons with John and Sherlock together in a romantic relationship, but I do think that is where the creators are going with it. Call me crazy, I don't mind. 

Plus, the story is really just so good. Predictions are so fun to make, even if they end up totally false. I loved that with Harry Potter, and once the 7th and last book came out, and all questions were answered, it felt like such a sad moment. Part of the fun of getting into a fandom is trying to figure out where the creators are going with it. 

If you are a Sherlock fan, and don't mind reading theories, here are the best websites. Each one is brilliant and such a fun read. And if you don't agree that Sherlock is going to end up with John that is fine too. I won't be too offended. 

Well Then, Game Over

Deducing BBC Sherlock

The Loudest Subtext in Television

Ha! I wanted to write a short post about my love for BBC Sherlock and it turned into quite an epic post. However, writing it made me smile again and again. I realize now that being obsessed with something is totally not a new thing for me. It's a lifelong love. 

Send me your best Sherlock theories and a gold metal for my man that has to deal with all of this craziness. 

Rumpus

With a heavy heart I have some sad news to share, we had to put our sweet kitty Rumpy down today. For the last six months he's lost so much weight, he was almost unrecognizable. Wet food didn't seem to improve anything and in the last week his thin frame became even thinner. Plus, he was having a hard time moving, washing himself, and so many other things.

E and I were literally watching him starve to death before our eyes.

It was heartbreaking.

So, we decided it was time. Such a hard decision. How does anyone do it? Thinking "this is his last night" and "this will be the last time he's home" are such hard emotional thoughts as you scoop up your little black and white companion and drive him to the vet for the very last time.

Putting him down was humane. He was old. Very old for kitty standards so he led a nice long happy life. But choosing "today is the day" is terrible. Heart wrenching.

And seeing him take his last breath, purr his last purr (because he purred until the very end) and holding him while his body became still and his heart stopped, it's not easy. It is so not easy.

Rumpy, you will be missed. So so very much.

Rumpus was never satisfied until he fully invaded your personal space and got his face right in your face. He was all about love, this boy.

He was SUCH a love. 

And this may be one of the last photos I took of Rumpus. It was about three weeks ago. I love it. I love the light on Rumpy's whiskers and I love that James somehow looks much younger. Such a good memory.

Happy Hanukkah

I have some amazing Jewish ancestors with heroic and gruesome stories to tell. And, although I am not religious, it being Hanukkah is the perfect time to share.

Both my father's grandparents were able to escape Poland and the Hungry before things escalated and the World Wars began. They were in the United States by 1914, well away from the Nazis and Germany.

But quickly things turned scary and then terrible for the Jews in Europe. The only way they could immigrate to the United States was to be sponsored by a US citizen. Thousands of refuges were being turned away every year.

But my great-grandparents sponsored them, as many as they could find, as many as needed help. At the end of my Great-Grandfather's life, they had sponsored over 50 European Jews to start a new life here in the US.

These new immigrants had witnessed struggles beyond comprehension, many had lost family members to murder, so had been in concentration camps, others had run from Nazis, seeing their entire family shot beside them.

Horrific and terrible, and yet they all came to the United States looking for a new life, a new start.

Happy Hanukkah. Let love conquer all.

More detailed stories of these amazing people can be found on this old post, still one of my favorites.

Struggles with Juliet

I am struggling with Juliet. She is hard. She's been a much much harder two year old than James ever was (James was a difficult three year old).

About a month ago Juliet decided she was too old for napping. This was partially do to taking her binky away, so probably my fault. Once she stopped napping she started tearing apart her room during quiet time. Peeling the stickers off her wall (all the mushroom stickers behind her door were removed), climbing onto the dresser and emptying the drawers, and banging the walls with her feet for the entire hour that was supposed to be nap time/quite time.

Plus she's been punching, hitting and throwing toys.

Now all these things are quite normal for this age. But she NEEDS to nap. Like she's a mess without them. Every day feels like a new struggle and the time change only makes it worse. Today she woke up for the day (a day with no naps, mind you) at five am.

She was a pain at ballet. She was mean spirited for a visit with my grandma. She is trying every last bit of patience I have. And the weeks E is gone for the entire week (there have been quite a few of them) and it's just me, well I get tired and grumpy too.

Let's hope this phase is a short one. She's being so mean/fussy/tired/cranky that I'm over it. Blah.

Above: Dressed her in a new dress and took her to Gardner Village for a special Mommy/Juliet date while James was in school. She threw a huge fit that I only gave her one piece of candy from the candy store and it was so bad, and so long that I finally just had to take her home. I hate days like that.