This post marks the last post of November - only two weeks since visiting my parents in New York and two days since celebrating Thanksgiving. Before bidding farewell to this month and getting caught up in the excitement of next month, I thought I would share some final things for which I am grateful. I am grateful for where I grew up. This little town sits on a peninsula of water - beautiful, serene, and with all the creature comforts of a small town. BUT, the Douglaston Manor is just thirty minutes out side of Manhattan, which is to say, that in addition to sailing boats we can hop on a train and experience the best of what the city has to offer. It is a truly special place.
A point worth making.... One of the reasons this place remains quaint (even historical) is because a small group of committed people fight relentlessly against the massive development and homogenization being pursued by commercial developers. I am thankful to my mother and my father who are part of the committed few fighting to keep the neighborhood from being commercialized.
Below is a small slide show of my folk's house (the same house they lived in for the past 48 years), our block - Hollywood Avenue, and the surrounding neighborhood. I like the idea of sharing these pictures with you, because it's part of who I am.
The other thing for which I am grateful is my mother's sense of aesthetics (and creativity). I always love coming home, because my mother has a great eye and, inevitably, she has rearranged small nooks and crannies around the house. Somehow my mom can take simple items and display them in such a way that they look important. I didn't inherit that same sense of style, but I know enough to know it is quality worth appreciating. Maybe these aren't the best examples, but it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.
So today, let's share our appreciation for places that are near and dear to our hearts. Describe a spot on the map that, when you close your eyes, you remember vividly and with fond memories. For me, it is the Douglaston Manor, in Douglaston, New York. How about you?
Maybe I'll get to learn a little more about each of you today. And, for that, I would be grateful.
Signing off until Monday... when we host our second Friendship Party, featuring a week of inexpensive gift ideas!
P.S. 648 licks to the center of my Tootsie Pop. Richard is questioning my Tootsie Pop eating technique. What can I say? That's what it took. Six hundred forty eight licks. Maureen, your vote of 223 came the closest, making you the winner!
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HELLO FROM FLAGSTAFF, AZ!!
It's almost 9:00 on the east coast and no one has posted yet!
Tera - this is for your ... and CKB, I have no doubt that you'll be among several other people who will appreciate this:
When I close my eyes, I can vividly picture the summer camp where Tera and I met each other and spent a summer of our childhoods (childrenhood?) as campers together, and then a summer together as CITs (Counselors In Training). Its such a special spot to us, that we took a detour on our way to get our hair done for her wedding to stop at that same summer camp. Unfortunately it's no longer functioning as a summer camp, but nonetheless being there brought back a flood of wonderful memories!
Julie... It has been fun tracking your progress across the country. Thanks for including us.
Flagstaff is a beautiful place.
The place nearest and dearest to my heart is my "other home" known as Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming). Although I have spent just two short summers there, those summers were possibly the best summers of my life. It is a whole other culture and a different way of life when the nearest Walmart is 2 hours away. Being so secluded your co-workers become like your next of kin. Potluck dinners with 15, 20, or 30 people were always a favorite. I was getting paid to be in one of the most beautiful areas of God's country. . .and i LOVED it!
Another favorite (can I have more than one favorite??) is backyard memories of childhood. . .swing sets, sand boxes, climbing trees, riding bikes, soccer, and playing "the game" with other neighborhood kids. . .note: we spent our time as kids OUTSIDE PLAYING, not inside playing Nintendo, and again, i LOVED it!
When I close my eyes, I vividly remember summers spent in Gatlinburg, TN with my dad's side of the family. Every summer for at least 10 years in a row, we would rent out a big chalet and all stay together for a few days. I remember switching around throughout the different cars during the trip and laughing with family. I remember waking up in the morning in a room with my cousins and coming upstairs to find grandpa making bacon and eggs. I remember that every trip we had the same routines: our second day there we would go down to the chimneys, and swim around in the river. The older we got the more daring we became and we would jump off the rocks into the water. I can perfectly picture all of us kids sitting on a rock watching my uncle make his way down the river climbing rocks and thinking he was 'so far away'. I remember that on our last night there we would always go to the Applebarn for dinner as a family and then go to the arcade/go kart place to play games together. I remember nights spent with my cousins in the chalet thinking how much fun it was to feel like I had 'sisters' (I have all girl cousins and no sisters). I remember those days now and smile because we are hardly ever all together anymore. I think back to days when we spent our summers together as kids, and I'm thankful for the memories I'll always have of my family.
Maybe I'm not as sentimental as some... it could be that I'm from the midwest and my small town of 90,000 although rich in history, was inbetween the hot spots of downtown Milwaukee and Chicago.
My parents helped build their small brick ranch style home 50 years ago(about 1,100sq. feet) on a postage stamp size lot, equal walking distance to the grade school and junior high, that both my older brother and I attended.
We lived on actual grided blocks with lanes going north to south and streets going east to west. Lake Michigan is about 3 miles away from my first home, we often got lake affect snow falls... so high you could jump off the roof and tumble into a snow drift.
Summers were sticky, no central air conditioning yet, neighborly block parties with each end of the lane baracaded for the entire day, doll buggy parades and my brothers voodo vagon... go cart made from left over wood and training wheels, roller skates with a key, kick the can until the street light came on, and riding my bike to the PDQ to buy a sip n dip, swimming pools that would loose the water if someone jumped in and bend the side wall.
Happy Christmas's with a flocked tree, picture memories in black and white... all is good in the midwest of Wisconsin.
Julie,
Glad to know you have made it to wonderful AZ! Give me a buzz when you get settled in! I will be over toward that side of town next weekend for a soccer tournament...maybe we can get together!
You might want to look at the revived Douglaston memories site, http://www.douglastonmemories.net
I wanted to say hello before the friendship party starts, I look forward to participating this week. =)
I am from a tiny town in southern NJ called Alloway. My house is nestled in the woods, and most of the town is either woods or farmland. My grandmother's property includes a "forest" of pine trees that my sister, cousins and I played in for hours on end while we were growing up. I can vividly remember crawling under the branches to hide and chasing the others through the trees. Back then, it seemed like the pines went on for miles.
638 licks to the tootsie roll center???
I don't know if I am in for the Owl's Nest on the 7th or not... I'll be travelling back from a baby shower that day.
Hey... weren't we supposed to vote on a flavor for next weeks game??? I logged on thinking that I was going to have something decided for me today. :)
Home Sweet Home! That's all I have to say.
Cheryl...
If you're out there and wondering, yes. We were supposed to vote on your secret ingredient. I am SO sorry. We will have an answer by Monday at 5:00 p.m. (CST).
All the Turkey Day excitement got to me. Sorry.
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