Updates

As I tried to update the "About Me" information I had to change the number of cats.  I changed from 3 to 2.  But the good and the bad of it really was a change from 3 to 2 to 1 to empty kitty nesters but then, happily, back to 2.  In just a few years a lot of changes.  A lot of tears, and then, a great deal of joy and laughter. 


Thankfully, not much else changed.  And I am truly grateful for that.  There is something to be said in life NOT changing.  It doesn't mean life if boring.  It doesn't mean I am not doing anything with my life.  It means that in many ways, the good parts of my life are still there.


Since my last post I have traveled to Puerto Rico, Ireland, Argentina, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Germany.  Each trip unique and amazing 


Oh, and we moved.  We had joked that we would leave our home feet first because we were too lazy to move but alas, the commute got to be too much.  The drive time seemed to be getting longer and longer no matter what the weather.  The final straw was a late night at work when we both left well after rush hour and taking two different routes ended up with almost an hour and half drive to go less than 30 miles.  In good weather!   We looked at each other that night after commiserating about our drives and said, let's move.  We started looking at homes on the internet that night.  A few months later we made an offer on a home.  And only three years after that, we sold the old house and were completely moved out of it....................so I guess we were still really lazy.  We moved in to the new house one car load/trailer at a time.  Then three months later we hired a moving company to get the last of the big stuff moved.  The next 2 years and 9 months would be sent cleaning and remodeling the old house.  We made a deal with a friend that he could live there in exchange for doing some of the work.  Then after he found a home of his own we finished the rest.  Part of the reason we weren't in a huge hurry to sell was the down market.  We probably got close to 40% more by waiting for the market to recover.  And in fact when we were ready to sell the first time homes were selling faster than they were getting listed.  We sold when starter home inventory was at record lows.  And we sold not to someone that would flip it or rent it, but to a sweet family just starting out.  THAT was the most important part.  Our much beloved home went to a couple that would cherish it as their first home where they raised their family.  That house had the best spirit.  So much love.  It was wonderful to pass it on to someone who wanted the home for the same reason. 


Looking back, the other big change was losing my Aunt.  I knew, when I said goodbye to my Uncle that she would soon follow and she did.  Six short months later.  And that broke my heart.  I have never been closer to two people outside of my immediate family.  They were my world.  There are still moments when I think I should call them to tell them about something and it takes my breath away to realize that I can't.  I tell them in my heart.  I talk to them still in my thoughts.  They may be gone from this world but they will never be gone from my heart.  Coping with their loss has been hard.  The hardest thing I have ever had to do.  But we have brought many of their things home with us.  Pieces of furniture that have been around since I was a baby.  The yellow chair/stool that sat in her kitchen.  It's in my kitchen now.  I can't tell you how many dozens of hours that I sat in that chair talking to them while they cooked meals.  In the new house we gained a family room so it was only natural to use their sitting room furniture.  It's not the same as having them there but it provides some level of comfort, of familiarity.  And I know they would love that the things they loved and used endured.  That it has passed on to another generation.

What do JFK, Roosevelt, and Nixon have in common you ask?

My father recently got some pictures from his aunt that we hadn't seen before. Which lead to a story and the realization of an interesting odd habit in my family:

So, my family has had a few odd brushes with former presidents and their families.

When I was young I went to a friends beach house. While riding our bikes I managed to collide with a limo. The passenger happened to be Nixon.

But ladies and gents, that is not all.

Back in 61 my father got the chance to be a runner for the Kennedy campaign. See back then they needed people to run film to get developed. Well, my Aunt was dating a gent named W who was with the A/P. He helped my dad score the runner job. And then he got him a special pass to be out on the main floor. And then, the big score. Access to the Shrine auditorium on the night of Kennedy's acceptance speech.

So Dad was running film down a hall and managed to run into a sweet lil' ol' lady. Who just happened to be Eleanor Roosevelt. And then he had the honor of arranging all of the Kennedy children (cousins, nieces, nephews) for the big family photos.

The below photo is the one that started the conversation. From left to right, my Uncle Gary, My Father, his mother Flo (my grandma) my great grandma, W, and my great grandfather.

My aunt and W parted ways and shortly after she met my uncle G. They had 62 years of beautiful loving bliss together. On the night of the Kennedy acceptance speech W told my dad his biggest mistake in life was not marrying my aunt. Dad wasn't sure what happened to W but he was a good man who hopefully found true love.

Dad said that he spent a great deal of his childhood with my great grandparents. He said that Great Grandad was a good man. Not the typical old world Italian. He helped my GG in the kitchen, cleaned, and treated her like a queen. She was worth it. I wish I could have met him though.

My Funny Father

Conversation with dad:

Dad: Hi, I got some new sandals today.

Newt: Good for you dad.

Dad: Well, I needed some advice so I figured I would call my shoe expert.

Newt: Ok, ask away.

Dad: If I have on jean shorts do I wear black socks or navy blue socks with my sandals?

***dead silence***

Dad: Cause I don't want to embarrass myself.

Newt: Well, actually dad, do you have a pair of grey and blue striped socks?

Dad: I might, should I wear those?

Newt: Yeah, or wait, wait, do you have argyles?

Dad: I might, but if not should I get some?

Newt: Yeah, argyles would be perfect. And if you have those little bands you can put those on so your socks stay up.

Dad: Oh, I don't think I need those, the socks I have stay up pretty good.

Newt: Dad, don't ever have this conversation with Nettie. She will hyperventilate.

Dad: Oh, don't worry ***giggle giggle*** I wouldn't do that to her.

Newt: So it's just me you torture?

Dad: Yeah, and it's kinda fun.

Newt: No socks dad, please no socks. If you put on socks I'll have to personally fly out there and take your sandals away.

Dad: Well in that case I'm wearing black knee high socks with my sandals.

Newt: **sigh** I love ya dad.

Dad: Me too, River pooped so I gotta go clean up the you know what.

Click.

Newt then calls up Nettie

Newt: Hey, so, how do parents give their kids heart attacks?

Netttie: Do you want the list alphabetically or numerically

Newt: Dad just called to see if he should wear black socks or navy blue socks with his new sandals.

**Sounds of hyperventilation coming from the phone***

Nettie: What???? What???? Oh god tell me he's kidding

Newt: He was, as soon as he didn't ask me black socks or white socks I knew he was actually messing me with.

Nettie; Oh good, I wasn't breathing there for a moment.

Newt: I told him that was how you would react.

Nettie; Oh, that dad of yours............

Authors note: Nettie isn't my sister but my parents have always considered my close friends their kids. So to Dad she is a daughter.

And River is my dad's dog. And he calls me when he is out walking the dogs. Our conversations always end as soon as one of the dogs poops.

Weekend Recap and a Welcome

Our very good friends from Milwaukee came to visit us on Wednesday. It was WONDERFUL to see them all again. D&K and their four girls ranging in age from 16-6.

The two oldest girls Mo and Mal stayed with us. And they are wonderful!

Mo and Mal accompanied me on my lunch with Nettie. And then we walked around downtown St. Paul for a while. Which was followed by a trip to the Mall of America. And boy did we have a great time.

We had a big get together for dinner Friday night and then Saturday everyone came to our house for breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and coffee cake. It was simply fabulous.

We have also discovered that Lily and Caleb have come a LONG LONG way. And they were SO good about having all the people in the house, and they were SO good with the little one that we know that D&K can stay with us the next time they visit. We only limited the number of people because we weren't sure how the puppies would do with a crowd and with a little one. But they were fantastic. So, good to know, we can have company!

And the BIG BIG news for my family: I am an Aunt! Ava Marlene was born on Friday. Isn't she beautiful????? I will have better pictures tomorrow. It was one of the funnier phone calls. My dad called in tears and all he choked out was "She's perfect" I think he also managed to tell me E was ok and he hung up. Only to call back about 10 minutes later: "Ok, let's try this again but with less emotion"

I love my dad. He's the proudest Grandpa ever.

Today it is snowing! We drove in to work in blizzard conditions. Oh goodie. What the heck happened to spring. This is SO wrong. So very very wrong. Sigh........................

Friday Quickie

Ahhh, home sweet home.

The best part about coming home: Hubster, happy pups, and our bed. I love our bed. I hadn't slept well all week. But last night, I was dead to the world.

The other cool part about homecoming: 40 degrees or so. I actually sat outside at the airport while I waited for Hubster. It was glorious. A little on the cold side, but glorious none the less. I sat on the rock bump (should have taken a picture) and read till he came.

The only complaint was having to smell this while I waited. Gross!












My last meal in California:

I did get way way too close to loosing that tasty burger on the plane ride. (TMI!) It was a rough ride as soon as we began our descent and till after we landed. I was green and not happy. The only thing that kept me from grabbing ye ol' blue bag in the seat pocket in front of me was the two cuties I was sitting next to. No way was I going to loose it next to Abercrombe and Hollister. HELL NO!

I do have my old lady pride ya know.

Last thing I need to have go out on the pool boy rumor mill is that I get airsick.

It will make it that much more expensive to find one when I am good and ready to have one.

Notes from sunny CA

Well, it was a fantastic weekend of family. Nothing exciting, just good quality family time. And that is more important than anything in this world.

My boss and I went window shopping on Rodeo Drive last night. We fell in love with a pair of sandals that were a mere $795.00. We considered splitting the cost and sharing custody since we wear the same size shoe.

The people watching was FANTASTIC!

The oddest part of the night was that we kept seeing a group of people walking around and one of the men in the group was carrying a big fuzzy blond clown wig. No idea why, they looked so ordinary tourist.

Then this morning my boss told me that some guy in a blond wig robbed a jewelry store and then was shot by police. This was in a different part of Los Angeles.

Total coincidence but how odd is that?

Speaking of odd - I hope I never get so desparate for a job that I have to do this:

And now for some family pics

My Aunt and Uncle with my parents pups - River and Othello
Me, my dad and my mom

My Aunt with LilyLily hiding under the couch

Finding the Family Tree

So, the cosmic spirit is coming full circle in an odd sort of way.

Not too long ago I talked about googling my dad to get his address. And when I did that, as I mentioned in the post, I saw a bunch of stuff about my estranged Grandfather. The man I never met, and the man my father hasn't seen, heard from, or really mentioned for 60 years.

Well, Saturday I talked to my dad in the morning and he said he was going to meet someone for lunch and he would tell me about it when he got back.

The person he went to see was his first cousin on his dad's side of the family.

Apparently she called him out of the blue because she was in town and wanted to meet him.

It has been 61 years since they last saw each other. My dad was 4.

But when they walked into the restaurant they recognized each other immediately. He looks exactly like his father, she looks exactly like her mother. My dad remembers his Aunt even though he hadn't seen her since he was 4.

So, they talked for three hours. She told my dad all about his Father, his Grand Father, and even about his Great Great Grandfather.

The conversation was like they had seen each other every week, natural, and easy.

They want to have a family reunion this summer. And she is somehow going to set it up so that my dad can call and talk to his father today (Sunday)

Imagine that, after over half a century, he will talk to his dad.

He's excited.

I never knew that my father missed his father. Or that there was that "empty" space in his life.

It was sooooo cool to hear the excitement and anticipation in his voice.

So, the cosmic ball is a roll'n.

And I can't wait to see what will happen next.

But hopefully, if all goes well, there will be a family reunion in Ohio this summer and we will get to meet our family for the first time.

I can't even imagine how strange it will be to meet complete strangers that look, sound, and act like we do.

I'll keep you all posted as things happen.

Strange huh?

Weekend Recap

Saturday was a good day home with the pups and the hubster. We put together our new elliptical machine that we got. It was quite the project. But when we were done we had no left over parts and the machine worked!

We also watched The Lake House - We had set out to watch a different movie, The Ice Harvest, but when we popped it into the DVD player it wouldn't play. Turns out the DVD was cracked.
Sigh..................It's bound to happen with the mail order DVD service once in a while. Anyway, The Lake House wasn't too bad. It was a little slow so we actually watched portions of the movie in fast forward. But, it was a sweet romance.

Sunday I got up early and Girl J and I went up a bit north to see my brother and sister-in-law. They live in San Jose but were out here for a wedding. It was a nice drive up. A little over 2 1/2 hours. We picked up Marc and Elizabeth and headed out. Basically that part of the state is all about outdoor recreation so there isn't a lot to do if you aren't going to boat or fish. But we wandered down the road a bit and decided to walk around the little town of Nisswa.

And we had a blast. We browsed all the little gift shops, had some lunch and followed that up with ice cream. We were also able to hook up with Girl J's cousin. She lives in the area so she came down to the ice cream shop and visited with us. Then some more wandering and shopping. The thing that amazed me about their little downtown shopping district is that from the outside the shops look like tiny little small town boutiques. But it is so deceiving. The shops are huge. The buildings go much farther back than the facade lets on. So we were constantly amazed at how much there was to look at every time we walked into a different store.

After that we dropped off M&E at the home of a family member and then headed back down to the cities. And it was a very busy drive home. I never knew so many people go out of town for the weekend. The roads were really crowded. On the way back we stopped and met Girl J's step daughter for dinner. It was a little more than the half way point so it was a perfect break. Then home we went.

When I got home the hubster told me that Lily pretty much spent her entire day staring at the front door waiting for me to come home. I felt a little guilty but also enormously glad that she loves her mom so much. We worked so hard to get her to this point it just did my heart good to hear she not only feels safe but loves us as much as we love her.

The hubster also bought a truck load of mulch. Lost of gardening to do now! I need to clean up the gardens so we can put down the mulch. It has worn down to dirt in a few places so it's time to load the yard back up. About every other year or so we have to do this. Last year we just spot mulched so this is the year for the "hard" work.

But our yard never looks better than after a brand new fresh layer of mulch. And the flowers are growing so well this year it should look spectacular when we are done. And I will take lots of pictures.

We were given a half day on Tuesday so my 4th of July holiday got to start early. I met Girl J at the Mall of America for the semi-annual sale at Victoria’s Secret. I didn’t find much but when we moved on to DSW I found these:

Aren’t they fabulous????????

After our shopping trip I had to take Soc’s to the vet because he has been pulling out the fur along his back. At Dr. Skadorn’s office my cat is famous. Or maybe that is infamous. For one he’s crazy, for two he tends to have problems with crystals building up in his urinary tract, and for three, along with the crazy goes being high strung and very in need of routine. So apparently his new routine includes ripping out his fur. But the doc said we caught it plenty early. We are trying some non-invasive methods first to get him to stop. This includes coating his fur with bitter lime and putting a t-shirt on him. He hates the shirt so we are seeing if a bandana is enough to dissuade him. ***Note we are doing full blood work-up to rule out any physical problems he might be having just in case.

Our 4th of July was pretty quiet. They hubster worked on a new utility sink in the basement and I did random busy work around the house. I watched Good Night and Good Luck which was excellent. And I also watched most of Casanova. It was ok. Nothing to write home about.

Though we planned for a 4th of July in the basement we didn’t need it. Maybe all of the fireworks people have been setting off for the last two months helped, or maybe it was because the next day was a work day but the dogs were virtually unphased.

Of course timing couldn’t have been worse, I looked at the clock and got Lily and pups out about 9:15 to go potty, trying to get ahead of all the fireworks shows. But, as with the last time, as soon as Lily stepped outside our neighbors set off ALL their fireworks. But she did pretty good. I was proud of her.

We did start our Eureka marathon. It was fun. Nothing spectacular but good family together time.

And in closing here are the pictures I promised:

The Hubster's Back

Blurry picture of the dragon we just added

And then all of mine(in case you haven't seen them enough :-) )

Happy Tuesday

I'm back. I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on but I promise!

We had a marvelous long weekend. The trip to Wisconsin was wonderful. On the way there we came across a roll-over on 94 Westbound. (we were going east thank goodness) There was about a 3/4 mile back-up of cars and semi's. The poor people had been there since about 6:00 in the morning. We drove by about 8:00. They were outside of their cars, lawn chairs out if they had them. Getting to know their nearby "neighbors". Then for about 10 miles it was eerie emptiness. The highway patrol had detoured traffic off 94 so the West bound highway was completely empty. Once we got to the detour point the traffic was backed up for miles. It was incredible!

Doc's was a lot of fun. Dad didn't get his tattoo :-( I say again :-( but we couldn't pressure him, it's too personal and too permanent. I however have a giant tattoo on my leg. And the hubster has a new dragon, a moon, and clouds on his back. I owe ya'll pictures of his back. My bad.

Then Saturday we went to Alexis Bailey vineyards for our little party. It was PERFECT! Good food, good wine, great family and friends. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect afternoon. The harp player was excellent.

Sunday was Father's Day. We took my dad and the hubster's dad to a chinese buffet. (My dad's favorite thing in the world). It was a lot of fun.

Monday I took them to a local place for breakfast and then we went back to Barnes and Noble. Dad loved that they had a big used book section so he wanted to browse it again. Then I took them to a marvelous little used bookstore called Sixth Chamber on Grand Avenue. It's about the cleanest and best smelling used bookstore I have EVER been in.

I finished The Historian. It was a terrific book. And yesterday afternoon I started "the Darwin Conspiracy" by John Darnton. I am more than half way through already. It's wonderful.

Oh, sorry, I bet you are waiting for pictures: This is actually a show so the pictures change as you watch it. Or you can click somewhere on the box and it will take you to the site.



Enjoy!

Some Regularly Scheduled Nonsense

*Dad called last night to tell me about the “feedback” they were getting from their coffee shop friends. The couple that they spend the most time with told my folks that they need to pack up and move to MN. They told them how much happier my parents seem with me around. They also said that I “lit up the place” with my twinkling eyes and sparkling personality. How my enthusiasm and kindness seemed to make the coffee shop a better place. I didn’t even have to pay them to say that.

*Yesterday I received a package and in it was the olive oil I ordered from Italy for the hubsters birthday. I’m so very excited that it came in time for his big 40 party! Now I just have to find other Italian yummies to add.

*I got another package yesterday from a friend. Inside the box were edible goodies. I didn’t really eat much dinner because I sort of filled up on the yummies. But that’s the advantage to being an adult. I can have dessert first. And I can ruin my appetite.

*I’m reading a very good book called Shadows Fall by Simon R. Green. I love this author and I was holding off reading the book till a special occasion. I figured that the combination of vacation and the holidays was a special enough occasion so I started it last week. This book is wonderful. Green writes a series called the Nightside. And in the books they mention a place called Shadows Fall. It’s a town where legends, hero’s, monsters, and mythical creatures all go to when man stops believing in them. He wrote this story to go more into detail what life is like in this town. Everything I have read by Green stretches the imagination and brings to life all the things we wonder about. He’s an amazing author.

*You know you’ve reached a new level of relationship with your parents when you have this conversation:

Dad (while getting into car) : “Ouch, shit that hurt”
Newt: “You okay dad? What did you do?”
Dad: “Oh, just hurt myself getting into the car.”
Mom looks back at me and says: “He sat on his balls”
Newt: “You can just let me out here.”

I promised dad I wouldn’t blog about that so don’t say anything to him.

*Speaking of stuff – Dad is fascinated by the idea of blogging. He always asks me what I talk about with my internet friends. He also asked me if I ever blog about him. And I told him that I do talk about him on a regular basis. “Good things I hope?” he said to me.
“Of course.” I assured him.

*While I was out of town the hubster built the dogs a potty shelter. Yes, you read that right, a potty shelter. Our little Lily hates the rain so he figured that if he built her a little potty shelter she may be more willing to do her thing outside. I’ll let you know how if it works.

*Well, that’s enough nonsense for now. Have a great day!

She's BAAAAACCCCKKK

Newt sums up the glorious past few days.

Ready --- Set --- Go!

Lily was amazing and fantastic on the plane ride. She got out of her little carrier at security, stayed in my arms and didn’t pee on me. Got back in her carrier with ease and seemed to actually enjoy the plane ride.

We had three seats to ourselves so she sat next to me the whole trip.

Upon arriving at my folks house in San Diego she promptly went outside and after a little confusion over lack of grass she piddled in the rocks. (They have an all rock landscape given the desert climate).

She then fell fast asleep in the kennel – I put her kennel up on the bed with me so she would know that mommy wasn’t going anywhere.

Upon getting up Wednesday she went outside and piddled in the rocks again.

We are now 2 and 0 on the piddling.

I gave dad his very cool James lee Burke character shirt. He put it on immediately and said it was his favorite Christmas present ever.

Dad and I went off to the coffee shop and I met all their friends. And he showed off his shirt. And the guys were a little bit jealous.

We rented some movies and then went to In and Out burger. Yummy!

Then home for a little relaxation.

Lilly went outside again and piddled – 3 and 0!

Mom and Dad made one of my favorite dinners: Corn Beef Tacos.

Then dad and I sat in the recliners and read. He listened to my Ipod and I listened to his.

We then watched a very very strange movie: Mirror Mask. I think they described it as drug induced eye candy. Which it was.

Once again my princess girl piddled outside – 4 and 0!

Thursday morning I got up early. Made coffee, read my book and took Lily outside – yep 5 and 0!

Then Dad and I watched another movie: House of Sand. Very good movie. Slow, no action, but still a good movie.

Then we were off to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Ontario.

Poor little Lily got car sick on the way.

But then once at the house she was more than willing to go potty out on the grass. 6 and 0!

Spent a lovely time with my Aunt and Uncle. We took care of some banking issues they wanted to take care of. And ate a fabulous meal – or 2 at their favorite place: The Whole Enchilada.

The entire stay at their house Lily went outside. Such a good girl. And I always put her kennel right by me at night so even though she was at yet another new house she always knew that mommy was around.

She is at this point: 10 and 0!

The folks came back and picked me up and we returned to San Diego Saturday night. Mom and Dad watched some tv and I read a little and went to bed early.

Sunday we got up and headed off for our Weiner Wonderland Parade. Too much fun!
We finished Sunday night with a nice dinner and a couple of movies: The 13th Warrior and Beowulf & Grendel. I enjoyed them both. Funny how we picked out two Viking movies. My parents hadn’t seen 13th Warrior and it’s one of my favorites so we rented that. And then I picked out Beowulf and Grendel pretty much because it has Gerard Butler in it. I can’t tell a lie and say I wanted to see it for any other reason.

At this point Lily is now 13 and 0! How awesome is that?

Unfortunately Monday finally arrived. And after a stop at the coffee shop we headed to the airport. Sigh………………

On the trip home Lily was again a little angel. And we lucked out with three seats to ourselves again. So she spent the trip back cuddling with me on the seat.

So, there you have it. Lily managed to go 14 and 0 for the season. Why oh why can’t she do that at home??????????

Overall it was a nice trip. Nothing spectacular. Just time with family that I love dearly.

Now hop on over to Flickr to see pictures from the trip!

A little bit more........

When I post at work I can't always get pictures to load. So, I wanted to share with everyone my Aunt and Uncle. Behind my Uncles shoulder was their camper. We went everywhere in that little thing.

For day trips we would go up into the foothills near Big Bear in Southern Cal. There was a little town up there who was known for it's apple orchards. There was an amazing little cafe that made the best apple crisp in the world. They also had a little farm with goats. We used to get such a kick out of the little guys. They would come right up to the fence and let us pet them.

If we were really adventurous we would spend a few days camping up at Big Bear. On one trip we took our fishing gear and headed up into the mountains. My Uncle said he knew about a great fishing spot. We walked and walked for hours. He kept promising us that the lake was just over the next hill. At a few of the hill tops we saw some of the most amazing lakes off in the distance. But as night was closing in we had to turn back. Our lake seemed to evade us. But on the way back we stopped at this lodge. It was out in the middle of no where. My aunt and uncle ordered a cup of coffee and the waitress made me a cup of hot cocoa. The nicest people sat down and chatted with us. I remember one of the people was an old cowboy. He even told me I could call him Uncle Jim. It was an amazing end to a very fun day. It didn't matter that we never found that lake.

We had another favorite town that we would go to. Bishop, California. We went up there all the time. We camped or stayed at a Hobo motel. ( I can't remember the name of the hotel but their logo was a hobo) For my Aunt and Uncle's 25th Anniversary we went up there. They asked me what I wanted to do for dinner (it was their anniversary dinner remember) and me, being the total kid that I was said that I wanted to have peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches in the hotel - picnic style. We also needed to have oreos and milk. So my aunt and uncle happily went to the grocery store. Got all the necessary picnic foods and there we sat on the hotel room floor having an anniversary picnic.

For their 50th Anniversary I sent them a package with all of the same ingredients.

They taught me to fish and to take pictures. They bought me my first camera and then took me out on a road trip so I could learn to use it. I have slides of the trip to the elusive lake. Including a picture of Uncle Jim and the lodge we stopped in. I have to have them transferred to film or put in digital form. They actually were amazing pictures.

Because my favorite color was green they surprised me with a little fishing pole that was of course green. Their favorite color is blue. And it has always been a joke between us. My aunt will say "you turned out okay, little Becca, except what on earth did we do wrong that you like GREEEEEEEN?" "You're supposed to like blue."

We have the same joke going about Coke vs. Pepsi. They are hard core Pepsi drinkers. I prefer Coke. When I go to visit them they always get me some coke but they tease me about how hard it was to pick it up off the shelf and put it in their cart. They also make sure there are Oreo's in the house.

As soon as I get to their home I give them big hugs and kisses. And then as soon as I can I do two things. I go into the kitchen and smell their pantry. I don't know what is in there, or why it smells the way it does but it is a smell that triggers a million memories. I have only once smelled it outside their home and the wave of thoughts that hit me was amazingly powerful. Secondly, I go wash my hands with their soap. They use a soap I can't ever seem to find in the store but the scent is so distinct and so them. It triggers the same rush of memories.

Those memories are so filled with love. I think that is why I love to go sniffing around their house. That probably sounds weird. Am I alone in this little freak habit of mine? Or do other people out there experience the same rush of memory from a certain smell.

I thought I had blogged about it but I can't find my old entry so I'll finish this entry by telling you that last fall I happened to come across a reissue of a perfume my Aunt used to wear when I was a little girl. She gave me a bottle of it when I was really young. The bottle was almost empty but it had enough for me to feel like a big girl when I wanted to. I held on to the bottle my whole life. I still have it. And when I missed her I would open the lid and there she would be again. The perfume had been discontinued in the 70's. So I couldn't believe that Vermont Country Store managed to get them to remake it for them due to customer request. So I ordered her a bottle (and me). I couldn't wait for her to get it. I called her a few days after when it should have arrived. I just started the conversation with hi, how are you. And she went on to say "Your Uncle and I got a box the other day. And when we opened it we both stared at what was inside for a very long time. We couldn't believe what we got." then she laughed a little "Becca, how did you find it? I can't believe you remembered."

The more I write about them the more I feel the need to go visit them. I think a trip to Cali is soon in order.