Happy Holidays to One and All

It is the Christmas season - and it is always hard.  I enjoyed the tree and presents and cooking together that your mom and I used to do.  After Taylor was born, I had the joy of watching him love the tree and presents, and after Emmerson, the fun of watching her open something wrapped up for her.

But after losing Shellee and you both nine years ago. I could let it cripple me, or choose to move forward with a positive attitude that there ARE people out there who love and respect me and there WILL be even more if I let them in

Merry Christmas to all, and we WILL all have a happy new year - despite the political situation of the United States.

Love,

Grandma Nici

Doctor Who and the end of an era

I love Doctor Who - and the fact that there have been new doctors after it seemed that the series was dead in the water has been amazing!!!  PBS in the late 70’s starting running all episodes from the beginning and I taped them every Sunday night on my VHS recorder that allowed ONE timer setting. I came home every Sunday from a late meeting and watched the newest recording. Fell in love. Still am.  I hear the new doctor will be a woman....can't wait!!!  Of course, the writers may not be any good, so we will see how good the stories are.

Sadly, my boyfriend of 8 years and I have decided to be just friends.  One of the biggest losses (other than the emotional) is, perhaps, the loss of family for someone who doesn't have any. My ex had family, which meant bar-b-ques and baseball games, and piano recitals and holidays, and children who have known me since before they could walk and were always thrilled to see me (altho no one ever called me Grandma cause I was just the girlfriend). Unlike a divorce where the ex can still hang out, the ex-girlfriend is an ex-ex. 

Now it feels like I am EX everywhere.  But I'm going to keep writing here because one day....

We got our first snowfall already!!!

Love and Kisses

Grandma Nici

Kittens and Class Reunions

Happiness reigns at my house.  I caught both of the kittens and found out one of them is already gentle enough to pick up and pet.  The other....not so much.  There names are Taz (the grey tabby - after the name your mom gave my kitty, Kaz) and KoKo (the white lynx tabby - after the kitties in the books by Lillian Braun).  I sure hope KoKo will get tame too.  They get along very well.  Next job is to have them neutered (they are both boys) and see if I can get them adopted by someone or ones.  We will see!!  

Meanwhile, I went to my 50th High School class reunion in Highland, Illinois - a town near where Grandpa and Grandma Mahlandt live.  I visited with your mom's father...Curtiss...and his brother, your Great-Uncle Neil and his wife Janet and met a couple of your 2nd cousins.  Your other two Great-Uncles have passed away but there are some first and second cousins around.  You won't know anything about your Grandfather, but he has always hoped to meet you both.  He has pictures of you and your mom he keeps in his wallet.  Perhaps someday you can meet and know us both.  Who knows!!!

Love and kisses,

Grandma Nici

Downton Abbey is in Town

I was a big Downton Abbey fan while it was on television.  New York is hosting an exhibit of the show with clothes, letters, sets, and scenery including whole rooms.  I am going tomorrow and am very excited.  Maybe I can sit at the dining room table and pretend I am on the set!!!

Love you both

Grandma Nici

Beach Weather and Kitty Kats

It's August and the weather has been nice and hot.  I've been to the beach twice and I just love it there.  I get too brown, which is bad for the skin, but I kinda also like how I look brown.  This will probably be the last year...age is catching up with me.  Went to see Gordon Lightfoot in a small concert - look him up...he did "story songs".  He is still pretty strong, despite his age.

I decided to start doing some good.  A cat had kittens at my apartment building and they got away (old enough to jump) before I could capture them.  But there are a few other feral cats around the building so I bought a trap and have begun trapping them and having them neutered.  Then I release them back into the wild (they can't be tamed, unfortunately).  There are two kittens, however - a white one that is the only surviving one from the kitten litter (the mother and 3 others disappeared) and a grey tabby that has begun hanging out with him.  I'm going to try and capture them and maybe they will be young enough to socialize and get them adopted.  Here's hoping!!

There is a lot of talk about gun ownership right now because of all the school shootings in the United States.  I am really glad the two of you don't have to worry about that sort of thing in Monaco.  An interesting story though (think about this.....) there was a kid who stole a plane, thinking he could fly because he played video games.  Course, he crashed the plan, and...well...game over.  Do you wonder if kids will think the same thing about guns because of the games?

Happy Birthday Taylor

Happy Happy Birthday to Taylor - a HUGE 12 year old this year.  Are you shaving yet?  Ha Ha

June is NOT warm

It has been an extremely cold June here in the northeast.  We had two snow blizzards in May, and on June 4 it was only 63 degrees.  I don't know what weather is like in Monaco, but for here that is VERY cold.  I wanted to turn on the heat in the apartment, but they had already switched over to air conditioning.  So I am in jeans, a sweater, shoes and socks.  Normally, I would be at the beach in the sun!!  Well, I am going this weekend so it had better be nice!!

Going back to Florida for July 4th to see the fireworks.  They are always good.  Although I can also see the fireworks in New York from my balcony which faces that direction!!

here's hoping for warmer weather soon!!

May 4th ....... just some Star Wars Humour

May the Fourth be with you

And spotted in London's Heathrow Airport

It's Easter PEEPS time!!!

Made these for the kids.   Don't you want one too???  And it's no April Fools!!!

Happy Birthday to Emmerson and Nici!!!

Happy birthday Emmerson on the 13th and Grandma Nici on the 14th!!  I told mommy that you should have waiting another day to be born so we would have the same birthday!!!  Here is an amazing princess cake for you.

Happy Valentine February!!

Wow, February has been very strange.  Very warm one day, and terrible snow the next.  I am healing from my second foot surgery which went extremely well.  A friend of mine sent several jigsaw puzzles and I have been doing them while I am resting.  Have you ever done a puzzle now that you are older?  Taylor did a United States state puzzle when he was only 3 years old an learned the name and location of all the states.  Do you still remember them?

This one is 1000 pieces and is almost 2 feet square!!

Love and kisses
Grandma Nici

Star Wars Last Jedi

Hurrah!!!  Went to see Star Wars Last Jedi today - one day before my next foot surgery.  It was so wonderful - I wait and wait and wait for the new ones to come out. 

In 1977, when the first star wars came out, I bought all the little characters to play with (well, Shellee got some too!!)  In 2007 I sold them and got a tidy sum for all of them.  Someone in England bought them and I shipped them over.  Interesting, Star Wars is still as popular today as it was all those years. ago!!

Love you and miss you

Grandma Nici

Merry Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas my darling grandchildren!!  How much I love you both and wish I could give you lots of prezzies and tons of kisses.  These are pictures from the last two Christmases at my house when you lived with me!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Made some very cute gifts for Thanksgiving this year.  Will share with all my friends and the relatives who will be at Thanksgiving dinner.  Does it make you hungry?

Love you both and miss you on the Holidays more than ever.  This is your mom and me in Thanksgiving 2004 (before you were even born!!)

Grandma Nici

Back From Florida!!

Back from Florida!!  The surgery was very successful and I'm already walking in a real shoe.  It will take a while for everything to be normal, but I knew it before I started.  I will start physical therapy to work on walking in a week or so.  Going to go back to Florida again next month just to get a checkup.

Meanwhile...it's Halloween!!!   What will you be this year?  A pirate, a princess, a witch, a Jedi?  That's it....a Jedi!!  I love Star Wars and all the movies are so much fun to watch.  I am usually a sailor because I have a real sailor uniform and a hat - so it is easy to dress up!!  See the wreath I made for my door below!!  Spooky!

It is slowly starting to feel like fall although summer just got here!!  I like spring better because it is getting warmer.  I DO NOT like the cold at all....So why am I living in the north???  So silly isn't it.

Love you and miss you both like crazy

Grandma Nici

Happy Groundhog Day

It's not really Groundhog Day, but I went to see a live play, made from the Chevy Chase movie "Groundhog Day" and it was WONDERFUL!  It was so much fun.

In other news, August 31, 2017 was my official day of retirement.  I no longer have to go to work every day and it is very wonderful.  Now I can spend my time writing, playing the piano, catching up on a million different projects, visiting friends, and updating the genealogy I started a couple of years ago.  Someday you may be interested in where you came from so I hope you will let me know when you want to see it.  We had some very interesting relatives.

Since I'm not working, I am going to Florida for 4 whole weeks this time to have surgery on my left toe.  It has been giving me trouble for years and is very painful, so fixing it on the 21st of September.  I'm quite exciting about having it done so I can go dancing again.  It was been several years since I could dance because of the pain in both feet.  If this one is successful, I will have the other one done in January.

Also am fortunate to see Sir Paul McCartney in concert this evening.  I can't wait - it is the first time I've ever seen him and this may be his last tour.

School will be, or just was, starting for you both this month.  I know school can be challenging but I really hope you will take the time and energy to apply yourselves to your studies.  I'm sure you are in a very good school so you are learning important information.  It is only for a few years (although it seems like a lifetime at your age) but everything you learn will be used afterwards.  Even the math!!
Spend the time now to learn all you can because once you grow up and start working there is a lot less time until you get to my age and can retire!!

Love you both very much, and miss you as always.

Eclipse of the Sun

It was very exciting on August 21, 2017 here in New York City.  There was an almost total eclipse of the sun.  Everyone left work and stood out in the street with all the homemade devices to be able to see the eclipse without damaging your eyes (I used a long mailing tube with a pinhole in one end, and cutout to view, and white paper at the other end.  It was amazing seeing all the people on the street enjoying the experience.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR

Today is your birthday, and you are eleven years old.  That is quite an advanced age for a young man.  Hopefully you are learning a lot of very cool things in school and enjoying your trips around Europe.  It is quite an accomplishment to be able to see all the things we "Americans" dream of seeing  once in our lives, and for you it is just a car ride away!
I am enjoying my new apartment.  There is a lot less work to do than there was in a house.  No lawn mowing for one thing, and no shoveling the snow!  There are people that do that for the whole complex.  All I will have to do is clean off my car when it snows.  And I can walk to the grocery if I need to.
I went to Florida again early this month with my friend for the 4th of July and the fireworks were wonderful.  I often wonder if there are any fireworks in Monaco for anything?
The outdoor theater in Central Park did a play called "Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare and it was really wonderful.  It was a very hot night but I still had a lot of fun seeing it performed live.  This month is also Restaurant Week in New York City, which means you can get a 3 course meal for just $39 at some of the finest eating places in the city.  It is quite a lot of fun to try new places.
Love to you and Emmerson.  I miss you very much.

Grandma Nici

Neil Diamond Concert

Wow, we went to the Neil Diamond concert on the 17th.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was worth it.  He sang for 2 hours straight - talking very little - and did all the songs I wanted to hear.

It was very nostalgic for me.  Your mom got me tickets to a Neil Diamond concert for Christmas on December 11, 1985.  It was in St. Louis, and we lived in Edwardsville.  I drove to the concert at the Arena, where the Blues hockey team played.  I had 8-tracks of all his songs that I had played for years on the stereo, and had cassettes I played on the player in my car.

The concert was very crowded and it was close to Christmas so everyone was very cheery!  It was wonderful, he did every song everyone wanted to hear.  There were no cell phones then - on the slow songs people held up cigarette lighters to show appreciation.  He did a Christmas medley and asked us to take out our car keys and jingle them.  Imagine 19,000 people jingling keys, laughing and cheering and singing along.  When we left, there were so many cars we couldn't move for a good long while.  I put the cassette in my car, cranked up the volume, and everyone close all sang along with our windows rolled down.

When we got home Shellee looked at me and said with eyes wide "I knew every song!!!"

It was no wonder, she had heard them played in the house almost since she was born!

Love you TWO

Grandma Nici

Spring has NOT Arrived!

It is almost Memorial Day and we still haven't had any spring.  There were two warm days so far, but the days still aren't above 60 and the nights are in the 40's and 50's.  I think Spring got stuck somewhere!

We will be back in Florida for Memorial Day.  I really do like it there.  It is a nice condo - really big, and has a lovely pool to swim in that is very warm.  Which is good, because I hate to be cold!

This month has been very quiet, not much going on.  There was a delightful ballet "Don Quixote" that I really enjoyed but I don't have any more tickets until next month.  Broadway gets very quiet until the summer season starts - can't wait to see who wins the Tony Awards.

Love you!

Grandma Nici