Looking Back, Looking Forward

I was going through some old journals recently and found some words I'd like to share about what I've learned from my family.  This is June 1993:  "From my grandmother Nanny Ryan, I learned to cover myself at night-no matter how hot.  This has always stuck with me and I never thought much about why I do this until Jim asked once why I always have covers on.  From my grandmother Nanny Flynn I learned of the strength of women.  She was unique in her time and she taught me that was OK.  From my grandfather Weenie Flynn I learned "Everything will take care of itself"-I have trouble remember that.  I also learned how it feels for be cherished.  .....I'm not sure what my grandfather Grampie Ryan taught me.  I remember that he seemed naughty and daring.  We have such a streak in our family.  From my dad I think I've learned to try to be prepared and accurate.  An interesting legacy.  From my Mom, I"ve learned so many things that I use every day.  Things that carry over.  For example, don't ever put a utensil into mayonnaise that's been in anything other than mayo.  Let sleeping babies lie.  Write to your mother.  Manners matter.  Small sentences-big ideas!"

The end of a year--the end of a DECADE seems like a good time to reflect on such things.  Happy New Year.

Christmas Gems

This is Ryan on Christmas Day in the hot tub at Scott and Linda's.  He's disappointed you can't really see the steam coming off his skin nor can you see the snow (they got walloped and have a lot more snow than we do), but not so disappointed that he isn't using this as our new desktop background. 

This was one of those unexpected Christmas surprises that come along once in a while if you are very lucky.  This year, I received a couple of those and they made me feel very fortunate as well as helping to get me into the season a little bit finally.  Over the years I have tried to learn to be gracious when receiving a gift that comes as a complete surprise.  I think Christmas should be about paying these forward.

So, a little gem for you involves the Ryan family and some recent new information I've uncovered.  I was seeking to find out a litte more about a story Uncle Tim told about some kind of shooting accident with the Ryan boys (Grampie and his brothers).  I didn't get anywhere with that, but I did discover some interesting news about Dad's uncle William Ryan Jr.  William Jr died in New York City at his home on Madison Avenue at the age of 38 in 1933.

There are so many little gems for me in this shot little obituary I got.  First, I guess I never realized any of the Ryan boyos left the Gloucester or Massachusetts or fishing life.  It was a pretty big surprise to learn that Uncle Bill (as I"ve dubbed him) died in NYC.  He was buried in St. John's cemetery in Queens--which I have visited for the Italians!  Little did I know there was one of our Ryans right there (well, it's huge so it's probably not "right htere" but nevertheless).  The article also note that he worked on Ellis Island for the immigration station hospital!  How interesting that must have been!  Makes me wonder if he contracted something in his workplace that led to his early death.  There is also a daughter listed that I did not previously know about.  The 4 short paragrahps in this article provided all kinds of sparkling gems for me to ponder over. 

I know it's been two weeks since I've posted here.  Yikes.  I didn't quite realize all that time had gone by but I appreciate that Judy, Paula and Chris are contributing.  That makes this a whole lot more fun for me, so thanks for that!  Happy New Year (can you believe it's been a decade since 2000??? Why does that seem so weird to me?)

MEET SUNNY!!!

HI EVERYONE, HOPE YOU ALL HAD A VERY NICE CHRISTMAS! LOOK AT WAHT SANTA BROUGHT US! HER NAME IS SUNNY. 7 WEEK OLD YELLOW LAB. SHE IS A HANFULL TO SAY THE LEAST, I AM SURE JUDY AND FAMILEY CAN RELATE. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. CHRIS AND LORI

Did everyone see Paula hit the papers?  Check it out here .  I love the post that brought memories of Nanny and Weenie back.  Great picture. 

Memories of Nanny

I was baking cut out Christmas cookies late last week. I can't use my rolling pin without thinking of Nanny. You see, my rolling pin was once Nanny's. Mom had it after Nanny passed away, and I got it after that.

While I'm rolling out the dough it is impossible NOT to think of how many batches of cookies, how many pies this ol' rolling pin has helped bring to the table... Nanny sure could bake a great pie, couldn't she? I don't remember Mom making as many, mostly because Nanny was there on special occasions and would do the baking.

There is a dent in the end of the handle. I'm sure Weenie would lay claim to that. He used to say Nanny would hit him on the head with her rolling pin! I think I used to believe him, when I was very young. It makes me laugh to think of it now.

I don't recall baking with Nanny very often... altho she did teach me how to bake a great pie crust. But I can't make rolled sugar cookies without thinking of her, not because SHE made these kind of cookies, but because she used that rolling pin before me (either to bake a pie, or to keep Weenie in line).

Happy baking to you all this holiday season!

One Bite at a Time

Saturday morning less than two weeks before Christmas and I have most of the whole day ahead of me. I've been thinking about being sort of "stuck" in neutral about Christmas (or much of anything else). I found myself kind of wandering around the house somewhat aimlessly last night, my eyes resting on various piles of stuff just screaming for attention. There's too much of it and I find I can't really concentrate on any of it. Maybe lack of concentration is lending to the lack of Christmas spirit.

I know this about myself: when things start to get whelming, I have a tendency to freeze with inaction. The tasks seem too big. The pile of Christmas cards is a good example. In order to deal with the pile, I need to gather up the address book, stamps, return address stamper and even a pen. I've already dug these cards out from under the bottom of the pile of stored STUFF, isn't that enough?

And I don't need to tell you cards aren't the only pile around here. A while back, I bought a book about directing a school play to help advisors take on this huge task and this minor purchase gave me a philosophy that helps me almost every day. The book was called How to Eat an Elephant. The simple answer is "one bite at a time".

I've adopted the "one bite at a time" tool to deal with these times when I feel somewhat frozen faced with huge disruptions or jobs. So, today, "one bite at a time" I plan to just DEAL. I'm putting on my favorite Christmas movie (Muppet Christmas Carol); preheating the oven for cookies; and tending to the clutter. One pile at a time.

Of course, you might notice I'm blogging rather than dealing with the messes ( a minor procrastination ). Ryan is sleeping downstairs so wrapping gifts is out for now. That's OK. I can deal. It's about 9:30 AM. I'd better have some Christmas spirit by dinnertime, damn it. I'll keep you posted.

Merry Christmas

I am having a difficult time this year as well. I do not have any excuses. I give Chris credit for visiting the cemetery. I do not do this nearly often enough and avoid it whenever possible. I do not know why. I didn't even send out Christmas cards again this year (again) I am looking forward to seeing all of you in January. I always have a lot of laughs and that helps keep me going.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AGAIN!

OK, SO SOMEHOW I SCREWED UP THE LAST POST AND STORY NEVER MADE IT. LET'S TRY IT AGAIN.
SORRY FOR NO PICTURE. FORGOT THE CAMREA.
LORI AND I WENT TO THE CEMETARY ON SUNDAY TO DECORATE THE TREE WE PLANTED A FEW YEARS BACK. IT WAS VERY COLD ON OUR HANDS AND I HAD A HARD TIME BEING THERE, LIKE I ALWAYS DO, BUT WITH LORI'S HELP AND SUPPORT WE GOT IT DONE.
WE ARE HAVING A HARD TIME WITH CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR TOO. NOT QUITE FOR THE SAME REASONS THOUGH. APRIL WILL NOT BE HERE UNTIL MID JANUARY AND IT'S HARD TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT CELEBRATING AND PUTTING UP A TREE ETC...
ANYWAY, LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE WHO CAN MAKE IT TO PATTY ANNE'S AND JIM'S!

Season's Greetings to you too

We have all seen this one. I can remember when this was taken right in our own living room on Dennison Road. Must be the photographers would come to the houses in those days, like doctors and milk. Ah....the good ole days. Too bad Judy's not in this one, but have no fear--I have more! I remember those tops were red and white. Looks like we were in shorts so maybe it was late summer when this was taken. Season's greetings from Mom and Dad from about 45 years ago!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I am having a hard time getting into the spirit of the season. Anybody else struggling with this also? I don't know why. I WANT to be in the Christmas mood. I WANT to feel happily smug with the hidden Christmas gifts and in the knowledge that the day will get here whether I am ready or not. But I'm not there yet.

I figure it probably has to do with my children getting older so the "magic" isn't there the way it used to be. Even when we were younger but were getting older such as in this picture (1971 Buffalo St), I could still feel some of the anticipation and excitement. Now anticipation and the calendar seem more like the enemy than the blessing it should be.

So I went out and got baking supplies today. I'm going to light up one of the holiday candles and get out my favorite Christmas movie: Muppet Christmas Carol and pretend I'm Martha Stewart. It does help that there's some snow on the ground. You are welcome to join me. I'll give you a cookie and some milk. Or some beer. That would be more in tune with family holiday celebrations!

ME AND MY BROTHER!

OK, WE ALL LIKE THE ODD PHOTOS WE HAVE AND CAN SHARE. THIS IS ONE LORI LIKES. THE BROTHER IS NEVER HAD! LOL!

TAKEN AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO EARLIER THIS YEAR.