Winter Olympics!

The Winter Olympics are almost here! I don't know if I like the winter games better than the summer games, but I'm excited that game time has almost arrived. Just a couple more weeks to go! I had hoped, about a year ago, to actually go to the games, since they are in Vancouver, B.C., which is so close (relatively speaking), but other things seemed to pop up, or out, actually, so I will be content to sit by the fire, and watch the festivities with Sohna on my lap. The picture I posted above is of the 1920 Olympic Hockey Team, traveling by boat to the games. What a team, eh?

So lucky to have been raised amongst catalogs!

If you've seen the movie "Best in Show", you know this is a line from the movie. After arriving home from the acupuncturist, who told me in no uncertain terms, that I am to stay OFF my bicycle until my back settles down, and the only exercise I should be doing right now is s t r e c h i n g and walking, the mail carrier delivered a catalog from Garnet Hill. There is this adorable shower curtain (never mind that I am not in the market for a shower curtain, adorable or otherwise) that has bicycles on it!

Yoohoo! Oh, Lady Luck ! Where are you hiding?

We just came back from our momentous trip to Reno. Momentous, you may be asking? Really? Momentous? Yep. Here's why:
1) Great Grandma Alice (Grammie), had never met Sohna...and she's absolutely in love with her.
2) Flannery has never been gambling...and now that she's legal, those quarters were just burning a hole in her pocket.
3) Krus has never seen snow...and there was lots and lots of snow.
4) Krus ( and Flannery, de facto) has never been to a casino in the U.S.
5) I thought it would be really swell to take some photos of the four, count 'em, four generations of Smythe/Williams women...which never did happen, thanks to a gravely immune-deficient great grandma (Alice) and (unbeknown to me at the time) a very, very germ-laden grandma, (I prefer the term Grams, thank you very much) me.
6) I was looking forward to seeing my friend Mellanie, catching up on our families, and quizzing her about her quilting compulsion (if, in fact, it is a compulsion; not sure about that one).

So, over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we drove, post haste. We did not stay with my parents, who would have been completely overwhelmed by that many people to put up for a night or two. It's actually a good thing we did not stay with them. We decided to stay at the Silver Legacy, which was certainly adequate for our needs, albeit somewhat odd, since our parents live in Reno. I've never stayed in a hotel in the same town that my parents live in.

It seems that, although we left Lady Luck at home, we took along a very nasty germ that decided to lodge itself inside me, and I spent the entire trip barricaded in a stuffy hotel room, writhing with fever, cough, and a wicked, wicked headache.

So, of the six "reasons" (excuses?) on the 'why we are going to Reno' list, it looks like we accomplished most of them:

Krus did, in fact, see and touch real snow. His comment (an intelligent man of few words): "Cold. Very cold."

Flannery and Krus did, in fact, manage to lighten their pockets a wee bit at the casinos. (The operative word here is wee, as none of us had any real business gambling in the first place, and some of us gamble just to get the free watered-down alcoholic drinks.)

Of course, last, but certainly not least, Great Grandma/Grammie Alice was enthralled with Sohna, and never put her down for a second, except when Sohna needed to eat.

Sadly, no pictures were taken of the momentous occasion of the multiple generations of females together in the same room at the same time, because I was in the infirmary at the time, and in my feverish, germ-ridden and probably extremely contagious state, not available for any photos, historic or not. Ryan very agreeably drove one of the cars, which I appreciated very much.

Looks like some sort of trip will have to take place again at some point in the very near future, in order to get the four generations together before Maeg, Krus, and Sohna move to Seattle. I doubt Grammie Alice will ever be well enough to travel to Seattle, but then again, she's defied all odds by staying alive this long, so one never knows. I won't be tossing in any ante on that bet.

A friendly welcome to Sunnyvale!

I had a surprise this morning when I went out my front door to collect the morning newspaper. I found this little gift from a neighbor, commenting on our Welcome sign (the sign is at least 15 years old...Flannery made it when she was in Girl Scouts, and she's 21 now)!



I wonder who 'Dee' is? If you can't read her writing on the adorable Valentine Grow Kit (for strawberries), it says "Hello! Love your welcome sign. Dee"

Isn't that just so thoughtful? I guess I'd better start this grow kit, so when 'Dee' walks by, she'll see that I've planted it. Maybe I'll be able to offer her a strawberry someday! Thanks, Dee! That was downright neighborly of you!