How Does Your Garden Grow?

A new garden flag adds a splash of color

to Mud Season

A reflecting pond by Gruff's bench

The grass is always greener over the septic tank

Some snow still left in the backyard

A weed with tiny, white flowers finds its way to the sun

Crocus poke their heads above the ground

Daffodils and

tulips are a 

sign of Spring.

How does your garden grow?

Saturday Afternoon at the Movies

This idea came from a Facebook meme:
Over 10 days, post your 10 all time favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain.

Only I had a hard time picking out just 10 movies so my favorites over the next few hundred Saturdays 😸 in semi-alphabetical order:me favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain.

Only I had a hard time picking out just 10 movies so my favorites over the next few hundred Saturdays 😸 in semi-alphabetical order:

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) Robert Donat, Greer Garson

If you haven't seen this movie, it's available for rent on YouTube.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. My (3rd) cousin sent me picture of his grandmother (my first cousin 2x removed) and pictures of members of his family

2. My (3rd) cousin's daughter (3rd cousin 1x removed) came to visit for coffee and..

3. The basement repair was completed and the ventilation system installed.

4. I saw Timex the chipmunk (or one of his descendants) foraging by the honeysuckle vine.

5.Last class for the Winter term, and I had to pass out the student evaluation forms. One of my students who has taken several classes with me  said he's running out of superlatives to describe me. I said write down that I walk on water. And I think he did! 😸

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

The other thing that my father-in-law was interested in was becoming a grandfather. We were not in a hurry for that at the time.

One night at the dinner table after dinner, he started to ask me a question which Concordia tried to shut him up.

He asked me, "Joe  when you go to bed what do you do?" The moment he got to the word bed I knew what he was after. I looked at him with a puzzled, innocent look and frown, "I go to sleep." He got up  and headed for the parlor saying as he was shaking his head and in Italian about the stupid Americans didn't know anything. He's going to wait for the stork to bringa the son."

During the first year or two the housing area was tight. It was hard to get an apartment. We were looking and I asked my co-workers to be on the look out. One day I got a chance when my co-worker came in and said that there was a vacancy in his town of Cambridge. Knew the name of the landlord and gave me the address and her telephone number and hot to get there.

I called and made an appointment and Mary and I made it after work. We looked at the place. It was a parlor, bedroom and kitchen. The area was not far from the Charles River and still close to work. We took it. We were so happy and we went home together and told my in-laws what we had done. Boy, did they get mad. This was on a Friday. On Saturday, my father-in-law, Domenic called my wife into the parlor and asked her what did I do or say that made your husband leave us? She explained that we would like to have a place of our own as we were crowded as it was. On the same morning, Concordia who washed our laundry as well as theirs threw ours on the floor and told Mary, "You wanna leave, you washa your own clothes. I no do it no more."

Strictly Italian. You have children. They marry and still live with you. Why should children leave? In Italy, they do not.

There was a television interview with young Italian. And the interviewers couldn't get over the fact that they still lived with their parents. One was married and every night, he went home to his parents and had dinner there while his wife ate with their children. Another built a house and it was unoccupied because he still lived with his parents. The interviewer even spoke to a professor of sociology who stated it was Italy. And that families are close in this country.

[ed: This story surprised me and made me laugh. I have to add a story from my own young adulthood. Around the age of 25 or 26, after a broken engagement, I began to get restless. I was still living at home. All my girlfriends had or were getting their own apartments. One weekend, I broached the subject to my parents. My mother cried for the whole weekend and wouldn't speak to me. Dad called me into the living room and said, "What are we doing to make you so unhappy that you want to leave?" I told him they had done nothing wrong. It was just time for me like all little birds to fly the nest. He listened to me. Said, you have made a thoughtful argument (ever the lawyer), but there would only be one reason you would want your own place and that would be to "entertain gentleman." There are only 2 ways you can leave my roof. You can get married, and he gave me a leveled look. Being the smartass I am I asked, what's the second way? "You can go out in a box." That was the end of the discussion.

My brother was expected to go out and sow his wild oats, but as a young woman, I was not allowed to reap a harvest. Double standards.]

Wordless Wednesday

T Stands For Cousins

Two weeks ago, I blogged how I had made contact with a cousin on my maternal grandmother's side. We've been sharing information and in an e-mail, and he included one of his daughters as she's been doing some genealogy and made a trip to Italy a couple of years ago.

Color me giddy blue when the daughter contacted me to say she was in the area and could we meet. She was going to be on her way back to New York so I asked if she wanted to come to the house as she would practically be driving by the house. Well, just 10 minutes off the Mass. Pike on her way home.

She said she would be happy to stop by for coffee and... I had coffee pods, baked some of Ma's cookies (gluten and sugar-free). The cookie was  flavored with vanilla and lemon for the frosting.  The cookies looked like Easter chicks. Being Italian, I couldn't stop there so I made a cheese pizza. One side with gravy (sauce) and cheese and the other side with a bit of olive oil and cheese as the Young One has problems with tomato. Himself made a salad.

We compared notes on our share ancestor, her great-great grandmother and my grandmother are first cousin. Her father had written information on his grandmother's children and their children. So I was able to add to my family tree.

My young cousin told me she had taken a trip to Italy to Ariano Irpino (formerly Ariano Puglia) where her 2nd great-grandmother and my grandmother were born.  She had gone looking for records to apply for Italian citizenship. She told me Italy allows citizenship if you have an Italian ancestor. Italy recognizes jure sanguinis or citizenship by blood. There are all sorts of hoops to jump through and necessary documents.  While in Ariano, a tiny town, she was at the town hall for records and casually asked if there were any residents with her last name. She was given directions and told to go see this man, A. And the clerk even wrote her a letter of introduction so A wouldn't think she was an axe murderer.

As it turned out, A was actually related to her father's side of the family. He invited her into his home. I think she said he was an artist and painted. On the wall he had a picture of family members and she said one of them looked exactly like her brother.

We enjoyed good food, company, stories, and pictures. She has a sister who lives in Massachusetts, she said she visits frequently, and I told her she was welcome to stop by any time. I was so excited by her visit, I forgot to take pictures of the table set with food and our beverages (tea for me and ginger ale for her) until she had left, and I was cleaning up.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Happy Mail

Nan was in San Francisco on a working vacation. Working for her daughter and vacation for Nan who tagged along. Nan kindly sent me

a Saint Patrick's Day card. Nan's the only one who ever sends me St. Patrick's Day cards. Makes me smile as I'm only Irish through marriage. Thanks, Nan. You always brighten up my day.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

The female cardinal perched for a while in the honeysuckle vine. I think she was checking for a potential nesting spot.

Heavy rains caused water in the swale and in the basement to run quickly.

After the heavy rains, came more light snow.

Heavy winds during the middle of the night caused a tree to come down in the New Girl's yard. We thought it was a weird thunderstorm. And then wondered why an electric company bucket truck  was parked at the end of our driveway. We didn't lose electricity, but the tree must have taken wires down from the pole in the middle of the picture to the corner of the New Girl's house. The crew took 4 or 5 hours to repair the lines.

Poor Dido shivers in the cold of the latest snow.

Clearing skies and hopefully the end of the never ending Winter.

About the only good thing about snow at this time of the year with the high angle of the sun, the snow is gone by the afternoon.

How does your garden grow?

Saturday Afternoon at the Movies

This idea came from a Facebook meme:
Over 10 days, post your 10 all time favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain.

Only I had a hard time picking out just 10 movies so my favorites over the next few hundred Saturdays 😸 in semi-alphabetical order:me favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain.

Only I had a hard time picking out just 10 movies so my favorites over the next few hundred Saturdays 😸 in semi-alphabetical order:

Ghost Rider (2007), Nicolas Cage, Sam Elliott

If you haven't seen this movie, you can rent it on YouTube.com

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. The female cardinal was in the honeysuckle bush looking in the sunroom and kitchen windows to make sure Dad's birthday preparations were going on.

2. 100th birthday party for Dad

3. The male cardinal perched in the honeysuckle vine. Dad thanking me for his 100th birthday party

4. The Vernal Equinox and the cardinals visited the honeysuckle vine. I think they are looking it over as a potential nesting site.

5. A student brought in an individual apple pie for everyone in class. It would have been her daughter's 21st birthday. Her daughter didn't like cake, but loved apple pie so the pies were a way to honor the memory of her daughter.

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

My next look for a job was with the Veteran's Administration in the Insurance Division.When we went into the Service, the Government offered each inductee life insurance. It was optional and one could sign up any time. At the time I had ten thousand dollars worth. I filled the long application and a short time later I was hired. At 26 years of age I began working for the Government.

The previous summer I got talked into taking courses by Mary. I wasn't so sure that I would go to college. I took two law courses. Your mother suggested that I go to college and see if I would like it. I knew I would.Reading and learning were things I enjoyed doing.

Mary and I talked things over and she thought I should study law and become a lawyer. It wasn't my wish as I still thought I would like to be a social worker.

I signed up and went into the law school. It was called Portia Law School Today,, it's called New England School of Law. Eddie Dressler also went there where we met and became friends.

I had completed my pre-law requirements when I when I worked in Waltham. 

In the day time I worked  at the Veteran's Administration and at night I would go to the law college. The professors were all practicing attorneys. They knew their business. Uncle Vincent [ed: a lawyer] when he learned that I was studying to be a lawyer said if I made the Bar, he would help me.

I worked for the Veteran't Administration for 8 years. I got promotions and also an increase in salary to train a section leader who spent more time in a bar room than at the office. He was a political appointment.

I also was selected to be one of the people who would work the the auditing group and certify the amount of the insurance and interest to be paid.

Of course, my going to law college made my parents happy, my in-laws, and Mary who thought it was great. And my father-in-law, since I was at night school, would set my dinner to one side. No one in the family could eat until he set my portion to one side.[ed: This was done so Dad would not have to eat the leftovers as he got the very first portion]

I was also doing well with my grades. I had a to do with one of my teachers. When he marked me absent. I told him that I was there because I could not afford to miss a class. When this came up prior to this incident we had a test. And I had created the impression I wasn't that intelligent. He said for a student who isn't smart you did very well on the test. I asked if he could tell me what I got. As it was a tricky sort of test on the giving of and applying the law of another state in your own state. He said 100.

Later after I graduated I met him on the street. And he asked me how I was doing. I said I got my first case, a tort, but I'm waiting for my cousin to help me once he finishes with what he is working on. He said do you have any of your letterhead? I said yes. He had me go to his office. Talked to me what the matter was about. And he dictated a letter to his secretary and I mailed and kept the copy.

The fact that a person is a lawyer means nothing. You need additional training in the real world.

Wordless Wednesday

T Stands For Happy 100th Birthday

St. Patrick's Day, 17. March would have been my dad's 100th birthday. We always had a family party for him on his birthday and with this being the 100th birthday, I thought he needed a celebration. I invited The Brother and His Wife, The Nephew and His Wife, and they brought the adorably cute Grand Niece.

Earlier in the week, the female cardinal (Ma) perched in the honeysuckle vine to supervise the party preparations.

Festive decorations.

Just before the Brother and Company arrived, a herd of turkeys crowded around the bird feeder and the seed I had thrown on the ground. Himself said it was all my dad's brothers, sisters, and their husbands, wives coming for the party.  😸

The coffee and tea station was set so guests could help themselves. Keurig pods of Dunkin' Donuts Coffee, and Dunkin' Donuts Vanilla Coffee.

Himself and I mostly prepared a Keto friendly meal. Mixed green salad, eggplant Parmigiana (the eggplant dredged in almond flour, egg and fried by Himself). When I was planning the menu, this just didn't seem to be enough food. I'm Italian so there has to be mass quantities of food on the table. I was very happy when a few weeks  ago, I found a fabulous recipe from Jan at The Low Carb Diabetic. This was a Greek Style Roasted Mushrooms with Red Peppers. Keto friendly and very easy to prepare and to customize. I don't like Feta cheese. I don't like any raw cheese, and I wasn't sure the flavors of mint and lemon would go well with the gravy (tomato sauce). So I marinated the peppers in balsamic vinaigrette and used basil and oregano as the herbs. Himself roasted the mushrooms and put the dish together. This side dish got a rave review. Thank you, Jan. 

Dessert was where Himself and I would go off the Keto reservation. On the table from left to right: the dessert Himself had made me for Valentine's Day, Gluten free Brownies with Strawberries and Chocolate Ganache (not sugar free), Ma's Anise Cookie recipe made gluten free and sugar free.  And the very special

San Giuseppe Zeppole or Sfingi (Sicillian) which is a sort of cream puff. The filling can be a custard cream filling or a Ricotta Cannoli Cream filling which is what I used. Ricotta cheese is Keto and to make it sugar-free, I used the Swerve Powdered Sugar sweetener which is also Keto approved. No need to go totally off the reservation. 

The zeppole is supposed to be crowned with an Amarena cherry (couldn't find), maraschino cherry (didn't have and not Keto), so I used the Keto approved Black Berry.

These zeppoles are made only once a year to celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. The feast is celebrated on 19. March and is Dad's name day. It's also Father's Day in Italy.

I spent all week practicing to get this pasty right. I actually tried to convert it to gluten free the way I had with Ma's cookie recipe and I tried to halve the recipe while practicing. The pastry is a choux pastry and didn't puff. It really needed the gluten and the whole amount of ingredients to work. Fourth time was a charm.

I was so pleased with how the zeppole came out, and I'm sure Dad would have loved them. We also had a wonderful visit with the family. Ma and Dad would have loved that, too.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

95

days until the Summer Solstice and the first day of Summer. Yes, I know the Vernal Equinox and the first day of Spring is in two days. Though I'm happy that signals the end of Winter, New England Spring weather can be cold and wet though not as much snow. Still a bit Wintry.

So I'm looking forward to hazy, hot, and humid weather. I can hear you groaning.Winter just lasts too long.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Spring was in the air this week with mild temperatures and sunshine

Sunset and

weird color light in the evening. A hint that heavy thunderstorms would be rolling through

Mild temps and sunshine during the week melted most of the snow in the front yard.

An ice skating rink in front of the bird feeder.

A highway of tracks through the back yard.

Still lots of snow in the back.

How was your week?

And a Happy Birthday to my dad who would have turned 100 years old today. Buon Compleanno, Papà

Saturday Afternoon at the Movies

This idea came from a Facebook meme:
Over 10 days, post your 10 all time favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain.

Only I had a hard time picking out just 10 movies so my favorites over the next few hundred Saturdays 😸 in semi-alphabetical order:me favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain.

Only I had a hard time picking out just 10 movies so my favorites over the next few hundred Saturdays 😸 in semi-alphabetical order:

Frankenstein (1931) Colin Clive, Boris Karloff

If you haven't seen this movie, you can rent it on YouTube.com

Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Ink dropped by in a dream for a cuddle and nap on the big bed

2. Excited by finding some clues about my maternal grandmother's family.

3. Good times at the Douglas Public Library where participants made illuminated bookmarks.

4.  Warmer weather and I wore a Spring jacket.

5. Pi Day Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie (not Keto) and Blueberry Cobbler (Keto, sort of like pie) with Halo  ice cream

How was your week?

Happy Pi Day

Wordless Wednesday

T Stands For Another Piece of the Puzzle

Sometimes researching your genealogy is a bit like trying to put a puzzle together without an idea of what the final picture looks like. That's where I'm at trying to find  links for my mother's side of the family. The Elders didn't really talk about their families or maybe were waiting for us in the younger generations to ask. And we didn't.

The above photograph is my grandmother seated on the right when she first arrived in this country from Italy. She was about 16 or 17 years old the picture is from 1910 or so. The young woman on the left is her cousin. My mother had told me that but she never mentioned the woman's name and the photograph is not labeled.

Recently, I connected with a first cousin on Facebook. My grandmother lived with his family when he was young. Maybe he would know the answer to my questions.

He didn't have the answers I was looking for, but he had a couple of clues. When he was between the ages of 8 and 11, he went with my grandmother to Yonkers, New York.  to visit her cousin. He had the last name of the family and he said Grandma's cousin's name sounded like Sipipinella. He also mentioned the name of a cousin close to his age. He told me this cousins profession and the last place he worked/lived in New York. This cousin would be the grandson of Grandma's cousin and our third cousin.

My cup of tea and sticky note pad where I scribbled the information while chatting with my first cousin.

Through Ancestry, I was able to search through records and came up with the name of the woman I think may be my grandmother's cousin. Her name was Giuseppina. Which to a kid half paying attention to old ladies talking might sound like Sipipinella.

An Internet search on the male cousin's name brought me to LinkedIn. I sent my first cousin a message asking him if the name of Grandma's cousin was Giuseppina and the LinkedIn link for the third cousin. Yes!

The hard part was sending a 25 word or less note (LinkedIn restricts the message size) with all my bona fides to my third cousin without trying to sound like a stalker, axe murderer, or a relative looking for a handout.

I was excited last night to get a note from him saying he had tried searching at various times for that part of his family and he sent me his contact information. And now I'm another step closer to fitting this section of the puzzle together.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Happy Mail

A couple of weeks ago, Lady Caer Morgana from The Wicca Life held a raffle for a Spring wreath. I was in such desperate need of warm weather and sunshine I entered, and I won the wreath. Informed Delivery from USPS told me a package was arriving on Friday.

Himself and I came home from running errands and there was a giant box on the front stoop.

My first thought was "What the hell did I buy?" This couldn't be the wreath. Two years ago in another contest by my Lady, I won a 6 inch Winter wreath. I thought the wreath I was expecting would be a companion piece.

And it was.  Just a bigger, 12 inch wreath. So very cute. Pastel colors, flowers, and a fuzzy bunny. Perfect timing to remind me to set the clocks ahead an hour this weekend.

My Lady even included a lovely Spring card with a decorated envelope

Even the back of the envelope was decorated.

Thank you, my Lady. The wreath was a wonderful surprise and now it's adding cheery color and warm weather thoughts to the Studio on this once again snowy Sunday.