Sunday, January 23, 2011

A Party!

When we told Miss Millie that we were going out for the day, she wasn't interested- she'd found a nice warm spot, even if it is a strange spot. A strange spot for a strange cat.
Aunt Marie is the older sister of my late father in law. She'll be 90 next month! She thought she was going to her son's 60th birthday party. Surprise, Marie! Ralph and I picked up Mom Florence, Frank and Charlotte, and Stephanie and we went off to NE Philly. Brookside Manor is near where Steph's first apartment was.
The centerpieces were beautiful, and high off the table so they didn't block the view. The food was delicious.
Aunt Marie looks so much like her late mother, Nanny Rose! Uncle Jack died a few years ago. She's with her sons, Jim and John.
Marie and Florence are the matriarchs of the family. This was Mom Florence's first big social outing since her surgery. She was so happy that she was able to go see Marie and her nephews.
Ralph, Frank, Florence, Marie, Jim and John. Stephanie went with us, and she sat at the "kids" table. The kids were John and Jim's children, and they and Steph were trying to figure out what kind of cousins they are. Hmm, their grandmother and Steph's grandfather were siblings, so their father's are cousins, so that makes them- cousins of some sort.
The families never visited much due to some tiff years ago that no one remembers, and was probably something totally trivial. It's become a funeral get together family, so it was delightful to get together for a happy occasion.
John is retiring next year, so he was asking Ralph for tips on how to spend his time. Ralph had a lot of suggestions for him.
Also at our table was Ralph and Frank's cousins Frannie, Gerrie and her husband Joe, and Michael and his wife Debi. It was great to visit with them.

It's 13 degrees out! Sunny, with some breeze. But 13! Is that necessary? I know it's January, but really! When it's this cold Steph has to drag Whiskey out of bed. She takes the dogs out, and as soon as they're back inside he jumps back in bed and doesn't even want to get up to eat. Now that's a dog with sense!

Plan for today- laundry, possible trip to Target, go to my Mom's to swap out library books, and to stay warm! More snow is predicted for Tuesday, possibly a significant amount.

And the beat goes on!
Holly

1 comment:

Manda said...

They are second cousins because they have the same great-grandparent! First cousins have the same grandparent, second cousins the same great-grandparent, third the same great-great-grandparent, etc. You get into the once-removed when you switch generations, so Sharon's kids are my cousins once removed, and their kids will be my cousins twice removed.