Exciting few weeks

How could I ask for anything more? Summers in Cleveland never disappoint. The last few weeks my Cleveland Indians have been up and down but still very exciting! How can you beat 'beating' the dreaded Yankees, then Carlos Carrasco dueling CC Sabathia, Pronk's walk-off come back win all heading into the All-Star Break where Cleveland's representation consists of Asdrubal Cabrera, Chris Perez and Manny Acta.

I was fortunate to experience a dear friend's very first ballgame at Progressive Field and trip to the Terrace Club for girls' night out!

On the man front, an unprecedented summer like no other, though absolutely nothing has panned out yet.

In the movie, "Pretty Woman," there was a scene where the twins were speaking of Edward's 'flavor of the month.' Ironically, it seems there have been different boys stepping up to the plate each month....May had a charming boy-next-door suitor who still remains a friend....June brought a social media pal, who again, still remains a friend. July just brought an unsuspecting charming friend who I met at a station party in a bar of all places, and I instantly fell for his smooth lines. I violated many of my rules, one being never meet anyone in a bar! I could not resist. Where will this go? Who knows, but all my friends say just have fun and savor each moment.

My mystery man tossed me a line like I've never heard before charming me to no end. We have
a mutual friend so when I thought he left without saying goodbye, I still had a glimmer of hope knowing both of us could track each other down through our mutual friend. And sure enough, I received an email from my mystery man ....which started this unsuspecting rollercoaster ride leading who knows where?!????! I've seen my mystery man a few times already. Fingers crossed.

On the home front, very proud that I am finally crossing a few things off of my 'to do' list including important doctor appointments.....for the first time in a long time I feel as if I am catapulting the highest mountains....with an uneasy background feeling of 'what if' waiting for all of my test results. What will be will be.


Finally, wrapping up this whirlwind stretch at the "Taste of Tremont." What a tremendous festival. If you've never been before, please go next year.... you will sample the greatest fare of foodstuffs, adult beverages and music like no other. This street fair a small slice of the pie encompassing what happens in Cleveland, Ohio all summer long. It's a great place to live. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world!

The shy girl always winds up in the spotlight

Never fails.

The shy girl always winds up in the spotlight, at the center of attention in extremely uncomfortable situations.

It's quite funny. I am very shy yet when I say that to my close friends, they gawk and balk at me.

When and if I get to know someone, you can't shut me up.....

Normally, I'm quiet as a mouse. I think people don't want to hear what I have to say. I don't tell great stories. I don't know a single joke. I'm not a smart ass always coming up with the funniest put down or zinger. I am not too keen on details and an awful public speaker.

I abhor going out to bars or restaurants alone. I refuse to dine alone or just sit at a bar unless I am meeting someone.

I'm ok with going to a function that means something to me and dealing with the folks I may see or meet there.

So what in the world possessed me to meet some friends for dinner, and bring my emmy award?

The story behind the story. A dear friend of mine and I chatted last June the night we found out we had each just won an emmy award. The word spread and mutual friends we have said they wanted to treat us to dinner.

Fast forward 10 months later and, tada, we all were finally able to sync our schedules and meet for a delicous multiple course dinner at Blue Canyon. The one pre-requisite: Kim and I had to bring our emmy awards because the chef had never seen one and no emmy had ever entered Blue Canyon.

Let me tell you, trudging into a restaurant with a big bag containing an emmy does not keep the shy girl out of the spotlight. Chef Brandt was overjoyed to see them up close and personal. We took pictures and had to keep them out on the table during our meal.

And what a meal we had! Mom and I had been to Blue Canyon a few times before. The food is tremendous! But I must admit, when the chef himself keeps coming out to make sure we are good and everything is going well, quite a night! We all got different meals, different desserts so we could taste and share. And every single morsel of the 5 course meal rocked my world! Oh, I will definitely be back (without emmy).

Yes, it was a blast! Mostly because I was with 4 dear friends who I just adore. Bob, Lisa, Kim, and Amanda are 4 of the nicest people you will ever come across. The fact that I have the privilege of calling them friends such a bigger honor than all of my emmy awards combined!

Happy Easter!

I'm so proud that we've been able to successfully celebrate each holiday /holy day as if we would when Mom was alive.

We have not skipped a beat!

Holy Saturday played out flawlessly with last minute baking, cooking and then the blessing of the food! I took the liberty to toss in a few family pictures and a few other important mementos with the wine, cheese, butter, salt, meats, eggs, candy, breads, horseradish, and so much more!

Then taking the baskets to church with candy-filled plastic eggs for all the kids attending all of the Easter services. I'm sure their parents will be so thrilled!

You walk into church and immediately are overcome with the beautiful scent of all the lovely flowers. Every Mass was delightful. And it's always nice to see people who may not come to Mass that often, or attend other churches but love OLP and come home for the really special occasions.

Easter Sunday just a beautiful day!

The only flaw is that Uncle Bill is in the hospital. My Aunt and I visited with him for a while before we headed to our big family dinner. It's hard to see someone you love sick, with really no chance of ever getting better.

Unfortunately, my family has seen this too often. I know, when you begin getting older and everyone around you is even older, it's a way of life. I'm glad I've been able to visit with my Uncle regularly! Uncle Bill is our 'father figure.' He always has been and will always be. It's very hard seeing our 'father figure' dying so soon after Mom passed away.

It was nice spending the day with the family again out at the farm. There were even more chickens this year than at Thanksgiving. And little Sereta.

It was a very late night. Later than I expected. Too much food, as usual.

Most of the stuff I made DID taste like Mom's --except the bread which did not rise quite as much but everyone was very nice pretending to like it! Aw, just toss it in the toaster with some butter, and it'll be fine!

Trust me, even with all the adversity over the last 15 months, I know how lucky and blessed I am....and thank God every single day.

Christmas Eve traditions

I'm proud of how I keep plugging along knowing what I want to accomplish this holiday season but not being too hard on myself if it does not get done in a timely fashion.

I've already established that I WILL send out our annual Christmas letter. As of this writing, the letter is not quite finished but the holiday season goes on for me until at least the Feast of the Three Kings!

I've also decided that I will continue making all of our Christmas cookies, even if I have to make some of them around and in the New Year.

This is my favorite time of the year. I know we've lost a great lady, but I will not let her down and stray from both of our most Sacred Holy Time and favorite holiday.

So today, I had more errands to run than anticipated but did get them all done. There's always one thing I forget that I can not find at the last minute. Happened again this year unfortunately.

An emotional day. I ran into Mom's old physical therapist who had no clue she had passed. And then as I shared the "Mom rainbow" story with the owner of The Dancing Sheep, I made her cry which in turn made me cry. I'm telling you, Mom is physically gone, but she and her amazing persona and the stories of how she is STILL with us continue affecting our lives and others.

We decided that everyone would go to Mass together, as always, but changed which Mass. Does not matter for me. I sing them all!

However, it was nice because after Mass, I had a bigger stretch of time before I had to go back over to Church.

I firmly believe we have the prettiest church in the Diocese. And our Pastor is a gem. It's a win-win situation! Then factor in the holiday music and you have a wonderful night.

I absolutely adore the music we sing each Christmas Season. The Bells usually play a few of the Masses and our Choir Director David gets his friend who plays the violin to accompany us.

By the time I went over to Church, I had laid out all of our hor'doerves for after Mass. The house smelled so wonderful. AAAH! It must be Christmas!

I like seeing so many old friends who don't come to Church the rest of the year or they come back to Cleveland to visit family at Christmastime. And, no snow. It's a beautiful Christmas Eve.

Father Gary personalizes so many of his sermons. He brought a tear (OK, many tears) to my eyes at the Mass my entire family attended. He saw everyone sitting out in the congregation and threw in a line saying 'he sees those in the pews who may be having a harder time this year because they've lost a family member this year...' I lost it. I had to mask it being in front with the choir, but it was very hard. Finally, by the end of the Mass, I had to bail out before the end of the closing song because it was just too hard.

We had a good night.

We ate, spent time together, laughed, the girls did some fast hand moves trying to teach the boys, and the boys taught everyone how to tie a tie!

I could not have asked for a better Christmas Eve --except to have Mom here with me. But then I get a smile on my face because Mom is spending Christmas Eve with Baby Jesus this year.

Steel drum, hot dogs, apple pie, and ......

Ok, so I stray from the normal saying of 'baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.'

Never a dull day in our lives. Never a free day. Oh, what I would give to have 24 hours of absolutely nothing to do. Unfortunately, it does not usually work out that way.

Today was fun, however.

Special celebration at Mass where we sang a few songs in Swahili....then onto the Annual Parish Picnic!

Today's theme: The Caribbean.

Jam packed. So many people showed up, it was wonderful to see.

As parishioners entered the grounds, they were serenaded by a Steel Drum Player....and the sweet smells of hot dogs & hamburgers grilling, beans and rice, and too much food for any one person to ingest in a sitting.

It was a family affair with many members gathering for lunch....and finally giving my niece her long overdue birthday gifts!

Then off to the Notre Dame Cathedral Latin Chicken Dinner!

So soon after lunch?

Well, we'll get takeout and savor the fresh barbecue in the confines of our own home!

An absolutely beautiful, sweltering summer day --one of the waning days of summer.

A relaxing drive....a spin around the grounds to see if there are any crafts to buy.....pick our fresh apples, maple sugar candies, apple pie and then our fresh barbecued ribs and chicken dinners!

Home just in time to watch the Indians and the Browns......and then eventually delve into another amazing meal which we did not have to cook!

Ah, the life!