It's a simple string of Christmas lights containing 50 all clear bulbs. We've never used it, preferring multi-colored lights, but it's still in our decoration box (or rather one of our decoration boxes). There is nothing special about this string. Strings like this are available at almost any store that sells decorations.
Each year as I pull out the lights to decorate our Christmas tree this set of lights makes me smile. Many years ago we belonged to a neighborhood gay and lesbian group (GLOW) which held potlucks each month. In December GLOW spiced up the potluck with a Yankee Swap.
For those who have never experienced a Yankee Swap let me explain. Each person brings a small wrapped gift. Each person participating is given a number. The person with number 1 selects and opens a gift. Then number 2 selects and opens a gift. At this point the person with number 2 can either keep the gift they opened or swap it for the gift number 1 has. This continues until everyone has opened a gift. As things get further along each person who has a gift taken away can choose to swap with another person, though not the one who just swapped with them, before moving to the next number. At that point the person with number 1 gets to select any of the gifts. There may be variations depending on the specifics of the particular swap - gag gifts vs. useful things. Some swaps require that number 2 decide whether to take number 1s gift or open another before actually opening another. I know of one group that requires the participants to bring the worst gift they received the year before- rumor has it that there is one gift that has been at each of their Yankee swaps each year. The Yankee swap which GLOW did was always a lot of fun - lots of laughing, though we rarely came away with anything we really wanted or needed.
Which brings me back to the string of white lights in our decoration box. At one of the last Yankee swaps that GLOW held our friend Robert ended up with this box of lights. Robert is Jewish and didn't have a use for the lights, so after the swap he gave them to us. I think Amy gave him the gift she'd ended up with. The lights got stowed away with our decorations and there they have stayed. Each time I open that box I think of Robert.
Robert has been a true blue friend over the years. We don't see him often - usually only at our Passover Seder and when we have parties. He does call every once in a while just to check in. We haven't seen Robert much in the last couple of years. He's been battling cancer and has been too tired for much socializing. He did do me a huge favor just over a year ago, and despite the ravages of the treatment he helped me buy my car (he makes his living helping people buy cars), but we only saw each other once during that process.
The other night as I pulled out the lights for our Christmas tree I came upon that box of clear lights, and smiled thinking of our friend. Before continuing on with the decorating I took a moment to think about Robert and all of the love he's given us over the years. We may never use those lights, but they'll stay in that box - a yearly reminder of our friendship with Robert.
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2009
Sunday, July 05, 2009
The Garden
July 7 Update: S sent me the names of the flowers I didn't know. They're appended below.
We had dinner with our friends B and S tonight. Among their many talents, B and S are incredibly good gardeners. Their yard is always a treat. And coupled with our first sunny day in forever the opportunity to sit amongst the luxurious greenary was one not to be missed. I took my camera along and now you can share some of the beauty as well. Click on the pictures to see them larger.
And by the way we had a lovely evening with our friends.
Clivia - this sits at the edge of their yard offering a splash of color to the dark greens of this shady spot.
I don't know the name of this one, which sits at the edge of the driveway.
Update: Nicotiana
I found this little one hiding under a bush in the front.
Day lily.
Pink roses and yellow primrose.
A delicate pink-purple frond.
Update: Astilbe
Purple blooms.
Update: Angelonia
This spiky red flower was a bit past its prime.
Update: Bee Balm (Monardia)
A bit of garden whimsy.
B reflected in Amy's sunglasses.
We had dinner with our friends B and S tonight. Among their many talents, B and S are incredibly good gardeners. Their yard is always a treat. And coupled with our first sunny day in forever the opportunity to sit amongst the luxurious greenary was one not to be missed. I took my camera along and now you can share some of the beauty as well. Click on the pictures to see them larger.
And by the way we had a lovely evening with our friends.
Clivia - this sits at the edge of their yard offering a splash of color to the dark greens of this shady spot.
I don't know the name of this one, which sits at the edge of the driveway.
Update: Nicotiana
I found this little one hiding under a bush in the front.
Day lily.
Pink roses and yellow primrose.
A delicate pink-purple frond.
Update: Astilbe
Purple blooms.
Update: Angelonia
This spiky red flower was a bit past its prime.
Update: Bee Balm (Monardia)
A bit of garden whimsy.
B reflected in Amy's sunglasses.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Kayaking with RT
As most of my friends and family know I love kayaking. I like nothing better than spending hours on the water. And given the chance I will extol the joys of kayaking to anyone who will listen. My college roommate, and good friend, RT has heard much about my kayak trips and more than a year ago we started talking about getting her out on the water. She was having shoulder issues earlier this summer, but they have improved and our schedules finally aligned (despite her partner's broken arm) so this morning instead of heading out to Meeting, I picked RT up and we headed off for a kayak adventure.
For this first trip, we chose to launch from Charles River Canoe & Kayak in Newton. This site offers rentals and is on a gentle portion of the river. CRCK also has rental sites on Lake Cochituate in Natick and on the Charles in Boston. I don't recommend large lakes for a first kayaking experience because of wind induced waves and power boats, and the Charles in Boston tends to have quite a few power boats as well. The stretch of the river in Newton and Waltham is narrow enough to avoid the waves of open lakes and doesn't tend to have many power boats, so it met all the criteria for RT's first kayak paddle. We headed out early to avoid the inevitable crowds on this beautiful, sunny Sunday.
After making sure that RT was being taken care of by the rental staff I headed to the parking/duck feeding/launch area on the opposite shore. Once on the river it took me a couple minutes to find RT. I'd expected her to be hovering on or near the dock, but she had ventured out further to watch a blue heron having breakfast. I was entertained to discover that the rental staff had given her a boat that matched her hat.
We headed downriver, which is not my usual choice when doing a loop. Heading upriver first takes you under a number of roads (rt 30, on ramps for the turnpike and 128, the turnpike, and 128) so it takes a while to get to a section where you aren't listening to constant road noise. By heading downriver first we escaped the road noise fairly quickly, and the current on this stretch of the river is fairly minimal. Adding to that this morning was a stiff breeze blowing into our faces which we both decided was better to have at our backs on the way back.
We chatted as we paddled - about paddling, family, friends, and everything under the sun. Our pace was relaxed, a pleasant paddle on a gloriously beautiful day.
The river critters were quite active this morning. During our paddle we saw ducks, herons (3 in total), and to RT's delight swans with cygnets. We did resist the urge to sing the ugly duckling, though it was a close call.
For this first trip, we chose to launch from Charles River Canoe & Kayak in Newton. This site offers rentals and is on a gentle portion of the river. CRCK also has rental sites on Lake Cochituate in Natick and on the Charles in Boston. I don't recommend large lakes for a first kayaking experience because of wind induced waves and power boats, and the Charles in Boston tends to have quite a few power boats as well. The stretch of the river in Newton and Waltham is narrow enough to avoid the waves of open lakes and doesn't tend to have many power boats, so it met all the criteria for RT's first kayak paddle. We headed out early to avoid the inevitable crowds on this beautiful, sunny Sunday.
After making sure that RT was being taken care of by the rental staff I headed to the parking/duck feeding/launch area on the opposite shore. Once on the river it took me a couple minutes to find RT. I'd expected her to be hovering on or near the dock, but she had ventured out further to watch a blue heron having breakfast. I was entertained to discover that the rental staff had given her a boat that matched her hat.
We headed downriver, which is not my usual choice when doing a loop. Heading upriver first takes you under a number of roads (rt 30, on ramps for the turnpike and 128, the turnpike, and 128) so it takes a while to get to a section where you aren't listening to constant road noise. By heading downriver first we escaped the road noise fairly quickly, and the current on this stretch of the river is fairly minimal. Adding to that this morning was a stiff breeze blowing into our faces which we both decided was better to have at our backs on the way back.
We chatted as we paddled - about paddling, family, friends, and everything under the sun. Our pace was relaxed, a pleasant paddle on a gloriously beautiful day.
The river critters were quite active this morning. During our paddle we saw ducks, herons (3 in total), and to RT's delight swans with cygnets. We did resist the urge to sing the ugly duckling, though it was a close call.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
RT and Horton
(Not sure why I'm inclined toward pictureless posts today, perhaps it's the rain, but here's another.)
When I first saw the trailer for Horton Hears a Who several months ago I knew that I would have to see the movie as soon as it came out, and that I would have to see it with RT, my college roommate. I read a lot of Dr Seuss as a child - The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Green Eggs and Ham and even the little known I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew - but I had never read Horton.
Way back freshman year when RT discovered that I had never read Horton she was appalled. Shortly after I received a copy of Horton for my very own. It's in the bookcase next to my bed even now.
Work has been a bit nuts lately (preparing for an upgrade in late June) and I kept forgetting to call RT until the wee hours of the night. I finally grabbed a couple of minutes yesterday and gave her a call. After determining that she was in fact free today I mentioned that I wanted to take her to see Horton today. She was so excited that she decided not even to check with her partner, K, to see if she'd made plans for today. She'd been expecting to have to wait until the film came out on DVD because K was not interested in seeing it, she doesn't live near a theatre and doesn't drive long distances.
The movie was everything we could have hoped it would be, and RT was thrilled to watch not only the movie but also all the small people who were watching it with us. It is a testament to how good the movie is that there was very little unrest among the children. I highly recommend the movie. It has action, is visually interesting, stays true to the Seuss story, and delivers its message without being preachy. RT's favorite line - "...eats rainbows and poops butterflies".
After the movie we went out to lunch. We could have spent several hours more talking, but I had errands to run so had to rush off after dropping RT back at home. It was nice to be able to make RT's day and to remember that sometimes it's the little things that matter.
When I first saw the trailer for Horton Hears a Who several months ago I knew that I would have to see the movie as soon as it came out, and that I would have to see it with RT, my college roommate. I read a lot of Dr Seuss as a child - The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Green Eggs and Ham and even the little known I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew - but I had never read Horton.
Way back freshman year when RT discovered that I had never read Horton she was appalled. Shortly after I received a copy of Horton for my very own. It's in the bookcase next to my bed even now.
Work has been a bit nuts lately (preparing for an upgrade in late June) and I kept forgetting to call RT until the wee hours of the night. I finally grabbed a couple of minutes yesterday and gave her a call. After determining that she was in fact free today I mentioned that I wanted to take her to see Horton today. She was so excited that she decided not even to check with her partner, K, to see if she'd made plans for today. She'd been expecting to have to wait until the film came out on DVD because K was not interested in seeing it, she doesn't live near a theatre and doesn't drive long distances.
The movie was everything we could have hoped it would be, and RT was thrilled to watch not only the movie but also all the small people who were watching it with us. It is a testament to how good the movie is that there was very little unrest among the children. I highly recommend the movie. It has action, is visually interesting, stays true to the Seuss story, and delivers its message without being preachy. RT's favorite line - "...eats rainbows and poops butterflies".
After the movie we went out to lunch. We could have spent several hours more talking, but I had errands to run so had to rush off after dropping RT back at home. It was nice to be able to make RT's day and to remember that sometimes it's the little things that matter.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year
At the urging of my sister-out-law, Shelley, I joined a group of more than 60 haiku writers in sending snail mail Nengajou. The short description is that these are traditional Japanese New Year's cards, most often postcards which usually include some reference to the creature associated with the new year. 2008 is the year of the rat. Follow this link to read more about Nengajou.
The snail mail group has brought a wonderful array of cards to my mailbox. Both Amy and I have enjoyed seeing the different approaches and reading all the haiku. Pictured above is the card I sent. Each of the elements is something I created.
The photo at the top was taken in Brighton, Massachusetts a few weeks ago. (Although it looks like the middle of nowhere it was in fact taken from the Turnpike exit ramp looking north toward Cambridge Street.) The numbers at the bottom are details from other photos - the 2 is from a photo taken in the parking garage at work, the first 0 is from the ice castle at the 2004 Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, the second 0 is from the Wellesley College class of 1940's banner and the 8 is from the Wellesley class of 1981's banner. The rat is based on a mouse my college roommate (hi RT) used to draw next to her signature.
I hope that the new year brings each of you peace, love and happiness.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Waiting for Snowflake
Our pals, Sunshine and Snowman, are expecting their first child, Snowflake, in a couple of months. It couldn't happen to a better couple. The parents to be are kind, gentle, generous and fun-loving. And judging from the crowd at last Sunday's baby shower (Thanks Domino for organizing it!) the little one has a lot of honorary aunts to provide even more love.I can't wait to meet this new person.
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