Giving thanks 2012

This morning I volunteered to help my friend Marcia at the Rowayton Turkey Trot, a fundraiser for the Rowayton Arts Center.  It was fun standing in the middle of the road in my orange vest, directing the runners where to turn at the intersection of Pennoyer St. and Rowayton Ave.  I didn't notice until the end of my shift that the race organizers had drawn a turkey on the pavement at each intersection.

Besides cheering on the racers, I suggested that what they were calling a hill around the corner was really just an incline. On my way home I passed a group of day laborers at their usual spot near the train station.  Will they get any work today?  Do they know it's Thanksgiving?

Charlie appreciates good art!

Early this morning 4 year old Charlie called to ask whether we knew James Flora wrote children's books.  Charlie had just borrowed one from his local library and learned that this was the same man whose paintings hang in our home.   Here's a section of the Flora painting in our sun room:

How cool that besides his album covers and paintings Jim Flora also wrote and illustrated children's books including My Friend Charlie and Charlie Yup and his Snip-Snap Boys.

5 Moose in Maine

Every year the Fabs and Wallersteins go to Portland Maine in August. Every other year we bring the Tretolas with us too. It is so much fun I don't even have a favorite part. The big reason we come here is because of family. We have 2 family members here and one moving here tomorrow. The family members moving here tomorrow are Aaron, Lauren and their new baby  Ellery. We are so excited to see them. The family members living here are Aunt Nancy and Grandma Neetie. 

Doing the Puff & Strut

Yesterday many came together to celebrate a wonderful public art project at the South Norwalk train station. Duvian Montoya, a graduate of Norwalk Public Schools, expressed how meaningful it was to him to have such a prominent installation in his hometown. As is so often the case, public officials did the puff and strut, recognizing themselves and taking credit for a job well done. Those in the know perhaps smiled along with me, remembering the work of mostly unrecognized champions who got the project moving in 2010, back when it was mired in government bureaucracy. But at the end of the day it's all about the talented artists and members of the public who get to enjoy their work.

Paying it forward in Greenwich

I've sometimes had a love-hate relationship with Greenwich.  This year's award ceremony at Hamilton Ave. School was definitely a time to feel the love. Graduating seniors who attended Hamilton Ave. return to be recognized and to speak with 5th graders.  Vito Sperduto, a successful businessman and Harvard graduate, returns every year to pay it forward. He told the students how he arrived at Hamilton Ave. from Italy in the 1970's not speaking much English.  This year he gave a scholarship to Nicole LaPointe-Jameson who will attend Columbia University.  I met Nicole and her proud parents, Noel and Lise, when I served as interim principal at Hamilton Ave. in 2005.

Fathers Day 2012

Dad shows me how to drive Ivy's  tractor.
Stanwood, Washington 1959

Today is our nephew Aaron's first Fathers Day.  We began at the Unitarian Church in Westport where family and friends welcomed our great niece Ellery (Queen of Babies) into the spiritual community.  For the second time this year I crossed paths with Ken, an octogenarian former colleague of our late father.  I remembered something my daughter told me about consequential strangers and realized it was more than chance that brought Ken and me together today.  The church is around the corner from a lovely mill pond where our Dad stayed at the company guest house before the rest of us made the move from Seattle to Connecticut in the 1950's.  It has been a remarkable day with new and old memories thanks to Ken and Ellery.

Strawberry Picking

Sunday was perfect for our annual visit to Jones Farm to pick strawberries. I've been going there for more than 20 years. This year three Fab kids, Grandma (that's me) and our friend, Jackie, picked two full flats  from our assigned rows in less than an hour!  Pretty good considering Jackie was a first-timer and Charlie is only three.  The first year Sam picked berries he found one that looked like Mickey Mouse.  Now it's a contest to find the most unusual looking berry.  Sam won again.

The real work begins after driving home in a car filled with a luscious aroma that smells nothing like those artificial air fresheners. Ripe berries need immediate attention.  After dividing our spoils I ended up with two quarts of frozen berries (tartes, trifles, smoothies, lemonade, delicious in a glass of prosecco), a quart of strawberry rhubarb sauce (skip the food coloring, yummy on ice cream, yogurt, puddings) and shortcake for dinner.  One of the best parts is reconnecting with the childhood memory of picking berries with Grandma Dora and Grandpa Carl in Stanwood, Washington.