Note: This blog entry is long, so I’ve divided it into two parts. If you want to read the whole entry, click on MORE as this entry ends below.
As many of you know, Rick and I celebrated our 25th anniversary on October 17th. We decided to do it up in style since we are so close to New York City. We had tickets [orchestra, 3rd row center] to WICKED and planned to go to our little restaurant off Fifth Avenue afterwards. We had hired a car to take us in, pick us up after the show, take us to the restaurant, and finally to bring us home. We could have driven ourselves, but for this special occasion we didn’t want to worry about where to park or driving after having some anniversary wine. We thought it would be simpler. Easier. After all a driver would know exactly where they were going and we wouldn’t have to worry about anything. Or would we?

The Getting There

It was a rainy day. The driver was due to arrive to pick us up at 5:00 p.m. since on Tuesday nights, the shows all start at 7:00 instead of the usual 8:00. We were certain that a two hour window would get us there in time even with heavy traffic.  About ten minutes before five, the phone rang. It was the driver saying he might be about 5 minutes late. Okay, we can handle that.
5:20
and he still isn’t here. We’re starting to panic a bit at this point since it is a rainy night and we have no idea what the traffic is going to be like going in to the city. Rick calls him on his cell phone and he tells Rick where he is; about ten minutes away at this point. It’s going to be close. He finally arrives [it’s 5:35] and we hurry into the car. He tells us that he Googled our address and he didn’t believe the route it told him to take, so he took a different way. DUH! Then he proceeds to ask Rick the quickest way to Manhattan from here. Hello! Isn’t he supposed to know? Why does he think we hired a car and driver?? The good thing is that he appears to be a good driver and he’s driving fast but not recklessly.

tick, tock…tick, tock…

Traffic appears to moving and we relax a bit. Maybe it won’t be so close after all. We settle back into the comfy seats of the Lincoln Town car. Until that is, we come to a dead stop in traffic and we’re not even to Paramus yet. Not a good sign. Our driver doesn’t think it’s a good sign either. Stop and go traffic continues for a few miles, then opens back up and we’re moving pretty good again. The driver takes a cell phone call from his daughter and proceeds to chat to her for the next ten minutes. He tells us his family woes and how he can’t afford to fill up his fuel tank, so right now they don’t have any fuel oil. His wife is mad because for two days she hasn’t been able to take a hot shower. [Do we really need to know this?] We hit another pocket of barely-creeping-along traffic. After we get through that bad patch it’s
6:40
as we finally reach the G.W. [George Washington bridge].

tick, tock…tick, tock…

Our driver is starting to sweat. He says, “Well, it’s not looking too good. I guess I’m going to have to buy you some theater tickets if we don’t make it.” Trust me buddy, you don’t want to have to reimburse us for these tickets, they were mighty expensive, I think to myself. Rick is looking a little green at this point. Or maybe he was just getting into character for the show? At this point it wasn’t looking good for us to make it to the theater by 7:00. If we don’t make it, not only are we out the cost for the tickets but it would kind of ruin the whole evening that we had planned for so long. Bummer. And traffic on the Henry Hudson was not helping. He goes several blocks further then he needs to, so we end up backtracking.

It’s 6:55.

tick, tock…tick, tock…

More...

This tiny, itty-bitty bird’s nest was found just as I photographed it on a walk with Bart the other week down to the pond. I couldn’t resist.

I wanted to share one last photo of Fall before moving on to Countdown to Christmas; a series of articles and photos to get us all in the spirit of the Season. Today we are kicking off the Season with a visit to Ringwood Manor that is hosting their annual Victorian Christmas, then on to Skylands Manor for a Champagne & Candlelight reception. Stay tuned for more.

It’s sad to report, but after a rally on his part over the Thanksgiving holiday, our Bode is back to not doing well. We knew it had to happen, yet we had a little hope he could hang on a bit longer. We can tell the fluid from the tumors are filling up around his lungs and his breathing is more labored. The same with his tummy. He looks more round than usual due to fluids. He can still give me that smile and wag that silly tail of his though. He’s not eating very much but this morning he did manage a few biscuits with gusto. Today he has a little bit of a bloody nose and that’s not a good sign. He hasn’t told me yet that he’s ready to go, so we’ll just keep on giving him lots of love and attention until we can do nothing else for him. It’s going to be so hard to say good-bye.

In his honor, I’ve changed my header to a photo I took of him last week. Isn’t he handsome?

I sit listening to the timbre of my father-in-law’s voice. His voice is low and the cadence is nearly monotone. He is telling me the story of how he and Rick’s Mom met, fell in love, and got married. He is nearly 81 years of age, but as he weaves his story, the years slip from his face and I see the younger man he was at one time. It’s a great story, and one that should really be written down or at the very least, recorded. He won’t be writing it down as he has macular degeneration and is slowly going blind. He sees enough right now to get by with a little help with the details of daily life. He won’t be reading this blog entry unless his wife reads it to him.

This man and I have not always seen eye to eye. I have been known on occasion to argue and bicker with him, making for fractious relations. Over the years he has mellowed, and so have I. In the past my eyes use to glaze over whenever he started on one of his stories. Okay, yeah, whatever. That was my attitude. Maybe I’ve gained maturity. Maybe more tolerance. Or maybe I’ve just come to appreciate the stories more and how they are told. Whatever it is I found a new appreciation for him tonight.

I caught glimpses of the man he was before I knew him. I liked what I saw. Maybe I never took the time to see it before. Maybe he didn’t allow me to see it. Regardless of the reason, it’s a good thing. 

Note: I wrote this when Rick’s parents were visiting us back in October.  I was ready for bed that night, but I felt so strongly the need to write my feelings down that I went downstairs, brought up Rick’s laptop and wrote these words. It was meant to be a private post, almost a diary entry if you will, just for me. When Rick read it he thought I should share it.  I was not sure I was going to share it with the blog, but I have now decided I should. Tonight on my father-in-law’s 81st birthday, I offer you this private entry in honor of Vaughn’s 81st.

I finally finished my set of Gracious Parcels for firefly’s Habitat for Humanity project. I’m pretty pleased with how they came out considering I had never tried these stitch patterns before. I made each one with a different stitch pattern, and made homemade tags to explain what they are supposed to represent.

I did Grass in a basketweave stitch; Autumn Leaves in a broken rib stitch [the easiest of them all]; and Bountiful Harvest is a combination of broken rib and rib-and-ridge stitches. I made this one up with the broken rib representing wheat fields in a taupey-brown yarn and rows of yellow “corn” for the rib-and-ridge stitch. It’s really fun how the “corn” rows stick up and form a rolling ridge.

I’m packing them off in today’s mail to their new destination. I hope they conform to what she wanted for her squares. I had to rip out and recalculate my stitches several times to get a 7 inch square, or as close as I could come to one. So, it was a learning experience for me all the way around.