Remembering Francis

I wasn't following the whole Pope selection gossip while the news pundits were so eagerly sharing it.  I was keenly aware that history had been made with Pope Benedict's resignation; a point I earnestly tried to share with my 7th and 8th graders who were less than impressed.  Regardless, I am very pleased with our new Pope Francis.  He's so stinkin' cute!  I'm sure people generally don't refer to the Pope in such a manner but I'll bet his mother did.  She was Italian, after all.

His selection and new found fame brings to mind our favorite Francis and his alma mater St. Bonaventure.  So, here's a rolling run down a lane that starts with the selection of a new Pope and I honestly don't know where it will end.

Here's a man who helped me understand the Franciscans to the extent that I do.  Although I would also note that it's difficult for me to separate Franciscans from St. Bonaventure as an institution and culture.  Father Crispin looks so happy in this picture and I loved that he would come to Walton to perform family weddings.  They must have maintained the friendship through letters and perhaps some phone calls as I don't recall him visiting otherwise.  It saddens me terribly that he died so tragically due to smoking.

And, of course, there's Francis P. Flynn.  I always felt loved and cherished by him and I miss him to this day.  He's the reason we all know how to spell Francis and the difference between that and Frances.

This is Mom's graduation from St. Bonas.  Weenie looks a little stilted in this picture, not his usual self.  Perhaps because his daughter will be getting married within a few months?

Playing cards is one of my favorite memories, even with the cigarettes and Genny!

Easter on Olive St in Silver Creek.  I imagine Nanny took the picture which I don't remember her doing very often but it's obvious that she must have taken her turn behind the lens with the movie camera as well as with the Brownie.

I hope you all have a good Easter--I'm sure it will be well covered for Pope Francis by the press but I'll just be happy remembering our Francis.  But here's another Easter memory for you--

This is a great picture of Chris "only" 55 years ago!  It must have been his first Easter.  I'm guessing Easter from the sharp duds.  These days we would never put a balloon in a crib but I guess we all survived.

Happy Easter.  We will be hugging babies in Gloucester.

Last Day of Winter

I'm doing some serious catching up here.  I have the house (and therefore the computer) to myself for the next several days while Jim is away so I plan to make the best use of the time by sitting right here getting caught on several pending matters.  Blog included.

Old Man Winter just HAD to come along with this most recent mess, didn't he?  Oh well, I don't mind too much because I know for sure we are on the downhill side of winter--at least officially since Spring begins tomorrow morning.  I did find it a little confusing to be hearing spring birdsong while scraping/dumping/shaking snow this morning.  The blue jays and the cardinals came by for a visit today.  I practiced retirement by sitting and watching for them, camera-at-the-ready, despite the cold.

The blue jays seemed to accuse me of ruining their return home; all the while enjoying the bird seed feast.


My absence from the blog does not mean there isn't news to share--because there's actually quite a bit of it.  So you may find several posts in a row to accommodate my adaptation to time alone at home.

First of all, I'm sure most of you have seen that Amy accepted Michael's marriage proposal which occurred during her birthday dinner celebration this past weekend.  Welcome to the fold, Michael!  They haven't made plans so I'm sure any and all helpful suggestions from aunts, uncles, cousins will be appreciated.  :)

Speaking of cousins, I heard from Dad's cousin Bill Gleason!  I had come across pictures of his Gleason grandparents during my research so I wanted to share them with him.  I wanted some verification they were actually his grandparents so I could add them to the family tree.  These are not blood relatives but I am interested regardless.  Bill and Anne's grandfather Gleason was named Patrick and there are some interesting coincidences there but that story will wait until another day (probably tomorrow!).

Anyway, I wrote to him and was very happy to hear back from him.  His letter confirmed these were the right people and included some interesting stories about them. 

Apparently they ran a dairy farm and these are pictures of his grandmother Delia. Bill says:  "The two showing my grandmother in the laboratory were the most interesting.  The laboratory was a relatively small room behind the kitchen at 78 Walnut ("the homestead").  I never heard my father or anyone else in the family talk about the lab or their mother being the technician.  I wonder how or where she got her training."  The Gleason family determined the picture on the right was probably taken in 1915, based on a study of the calendar on the wall in the picture compared to a perpetual calendar.  Now, that's the kind of research that makes me smile!

Bill is older than Dad by a couple of years (he's now 87) so I was particularly glad to hear from him and to know he's well enough to plan to travel to Maryland next month to celebrate his son's 50th birthday.  How lucky for them!  I hope I am able to see him again myself soon.

It's St. Joseph's Day today which is a holiday similar for the Italians in some ways that St. Patrick's Day is for the Irish.  And tomorrow is Spring, damn it!

The Glass Slipper is So Back!

Santa brought me tickets to Cinderella on Broadway and yesterday was the big day!!!  Although the ticket taker was no Cinderella herself, we made our way into the theatre and found our seats with plenty of time to spare.  Most of our row and most of the row in front of us was empty until just a very few minutes before the curtain rose when in trooped a lovely little princess parade to take their seats.  We got to sit in the vicinity of maybe a dozen 5-6 year old girls all dressed up like princesses for the show!  Their reactions most definitely added to the enjoyment of the show.

The producers don't tell exactly the Cinderella story we are accustomed to.  In fact, as Cinderella is racing out of the ball at the stroke of midnight, she rushes back to the staircase and grabs her glass slipper back before the Prince can pick it up.  You could literally hear the gasps from the little princesses as well as from the teenage princesses seated behind us. 

It made me very nostalgic for those days when the kids were little.  Amy sang "In My Own Little Corner" for one of her Talent Show presentations and I believe she compared favorably to the version we saw yesterday.  Of course, there have been other versions available to view--Whitney Houston did a fair job as the Fairy Godmother in the 1997 Brandy production.

But the 1967 TV version with Lesley Warren will always remain my favorite.  Stuart Damon was familiar to us from General Hospital in later years and he does a great job here.  We like this version better than what we saw yesterday.

Regardless, it was a great day --we even had brunch at an Irish pub nearby.  It was right around the corner from the Letterman Show and we hear tell this place is where he goes after the show tapes!  Anyhow, they told a great story, it was a wonderful set and it brought back wonderful memories.  

Nothing's Impossible!!!

Finding the Eagles

Many of you have seen the pictures, but we had a great day yesterday over in Walton looking for the eagles.  We had driven over the check out the place Paula had told us about on the Cannonsville Reservoir.  We saw wildlife, but not eagles.  We were heading over to Hamden to see the nest over there when Paula let us know she was done visiting with Tim and Pam. She offered to join us and be our "eagle guide". 

We headed back to the Cannonsville spot and again, had no particular luck.  We were leaving the area and Paula spotted a white head high atop a tall evergreen.

This is telephoto and cropped.  It wasn't as obvious as this but Paula had "an eagle eye" (HAHA).  We took some pictures from afar and then cautiously approached for a better view.  We just barely got settled to gaze at him when he took off in glorious flight!  I was snapping pictures as fast as I could--my camera was not in auto mode for continuous shooting but I didn't dare take the camera away from the eagle to change the setting.  I didn't want to break the spell.  He just glided, soared and generally made his presence known over the river for quite a while.  Jim opened the sunroof so I could pop out and take some shots from that angle.  It was really magnificent and we surely have Paula to thank for her advice and keen eye.

This one was from the sunroof angle as he left our immediate view.  Sail on, big guy!

This adventure brought to mind the Nevins family and their apparent love of the outdoors, hunting and fishing.  There are no end of pictures of them in Canada on these adventures.  It appears that Gammy Nevins did not join them but EVERYONE else seems to be there. 

It seems that Henry (Mom's grandfather) enjoyed Weenie's company too!

I think this is Mom with Nanny and Henry Nevins in Canada

When I wasn't our hunting eagles with my camera, I was sitting here at the computer continuing my family research.  I was presented with this document I'd never seen.  YOu know those Ancestry.com commercials where they say they just clicked the shaking leaves and VOILA!  Well, that's exactly what this was.  Henry died in Canada which, of course, must have created a raft of paperwork.  This is one of those.  I found it interesting and thought you might too.

Belated February Birthdays

Paula reminds me of the other birthdays celebrated in February:  Bill, Julia, Delaney.  I didn't mean to exclude them--I was just trying to pay special homage to birthdays that are special for some reason this year.  Sorry!  March:  Aiden and Amy (let me get a little ahead of the game)

Additional February Hodgepodge

I knew there was something I forgot to include in the earlier February post.  I follow the Good Morning Gloucester blog (and if you love Gloucester too, I highly recommend it) and they had lot of footage of the recent storm.  I was particularly moved by the power of the sea during the storm in this video:

I am reminded that some of the storms that took our ancestors occurred in February.  Far out to sea.  I can't imagine the power of the storms out on the ocean.  I can really respect their courage in the pursuit of their livelihood.  God Bless them all.

February Hodgepodge

Still having a little trouble getting back into a routine.  I hope this isn't a pre-retirement indicator!  I believe I will feel a great deal more motivation once I've regained some perspective following retirement.  Can't lie, though--the prospect is a little scary.  No more work.....all day every day.....it's kind of intimidating.  Not so much that I'll change my mind though!

It's Mardi Gras today and I have to admit to feeling a little bit celebratory--we got an unexpected day off from school due to water problems.  We even got the word last night so that it was a glorious evening anticipating how to spend this gift of time and relaxation.  It's these little February holidays that I grab on to in order to make my way to spring.  It's a tough month without something to hang on to. 

Valentine's Day this week.  Those bright splashes of red in the stores and decorating establishments draw your eye away from the snow and ice.  It's just a fun holiday though I guess it can be rife with tension and worry or perhaps disdain depending upon your relationship status.  Regardless of that, there are bright decorations and CHOCOLATE treats available everywhere.

This is a classic -- I don't know WHY he doesn't appreciate my efforts to celebrate Valentine's Day!

February also brings Ryan P's birthday!  I hope the first birthday away from home wasn't too difficult for either Judy or Ryan.  I know it was hard for me the first time so I imagine others feel the same.  I don't think my kids felt that same twinge but I did.  

Happy 19th Ryan Patrick!

February also brings Paula's birthday and birthday celebration.  Hmmmmmm........what a way to end a month!

Less said about this, the better