The Party

My brother and I asked my parents how they would like to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary, and they told us they would like to have a party for their closest friends.

The past 18 months have been hard for my parents and their friends; at least half a dozen of their group have passed away. When you live to be in your 80s, it is likely that you will endure the passing of some friends, but it is still a blow to the heart, every time it happens. The cumulative effect of so many memorial services has been hard. A gathering to celebrate a happy occasion was welcome.

My parents are natives of Seattle, and some of their friendships go as far back as grade school. That is something to think about, right there. To live in a community, to know people and share memories that far back is a rare blessing.

Jim, Caroline, Gregg and I discussed the menu and divided the responsibilities, and the result was a happy evening. We had a slideshow of photos, beginning with their wedding day and continuing through this summer; chocolate favors, seashell centerpieces, a dreamy cake, beautiful flowers, delicious food ("surf and turf") and a gathering of good friends and family.

There were toasts, good wishes and joy all around. My parents are very happy...and that makes me happy.

From the slideshow:

Bride & groom glowing after the ceremony

Mom's father, Morton, and mother, Emilie, with Mom & Dad

Cousins Margaret and Leslie, friends Elaine and Marjorie, Dad, Mom, Morton (Coco), Nana Edna (my dad's mother - isn't she beautiful?) and Nana Emilie

…and from the party Sunday night:

David, me, Gregg, Dad, Jim, Mom, Caroline, Phil, Rachel

Gregg, Dad, Mom & David before cocktail hour begins

Seashell cake (from New Renaissance Cakes)

Phil & his beautiful girlfriend, Rachel, who came up from California for the party

Lovely ladies: Caroline and Mom

Elsa, Patsy & me (Patsy was my teacher in PRESCHOOL)

Mom & friends

Caroline, Jim & friends

Mom, Dad & friends

Gregg, me with friends. All three of the couples at our table have been married over 60 years!

The happy couple cutting their cake



 

Homemade centerpiece



Happy 60th Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy 85th Birthday, Dad!

Dad, Gregg, Mom & David

You are still setting an example for all of us of a good, full life, well-lived.

Dad, David, Phil & Jim

David, Katie & Dad

Dad, Mom, Deb & Jim

Mom, Dad & N201YV

We love you & wish you many happy, healthy returns of the day!

Happy Birthday, Kappa!

Happy Birthday

to my wonderful dad!

He's turning 84 today.

I'm very blessed to have this

hilarious,

kind-hearted,

principled,

outgoing,

enthusiastic,

theatrical,

strong-willed,

entreprenurial,

active,

entertaining,

inquisitive,

loving man

for my father, and the grandfather of my children.
He plays tennis, golf, rows a boat, rides a bike, reads to school children, takes painting classes, helps his friends, grows vegetables and flowers in his garden, reads and writes letters to the editor of the newspaper.

Kappa was born into a prosperous family, two years before the Great Crash, in which all of the family's savings were lost. His parents divorced, and he started to work part-time at the age of 12. He performed in local theater and repertory, graduated from high school, enrolled in the University of Washington, and then enlisted in the Navy to serve (and to avoid the draft - he said he didn't want to march) in WWII. Once the war was over, he finished college on the G.I. Bill. He went into radio broadcasting, and from there into advertising sales.

After my parents' marriage, at the request of his father-in-law, my father went to work for my mother's family's company. That didn't work out well, so after giving it his best for 14 years, he started a new company when he was 40 years old. He learned to fly an airplane, and overcame his fear of flying, built a cabin with his own hands (and my mother's help), put all three of us kids through college, sent us to summer camp, trained us all in his business, taught us a strong work ethic, and has helped to put his grandchildren through college. He is a true family man.

If you'd like to see more photos, check here, here & here.

I love you, Dad! Have a wonderful day!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of you wonderful dads out there, who help us to become mothers...

...and to raise happy children, who give (and model) healthy love and support, who would do ANYthing for your children. Thank you for coaching, teaching, cuddling, comforting, working, diapering, feeding disciplining and loving. Thank you for being positive role models and loving caregiver-providers.

Thank you, Gregg.

Thank you, Dad.

Thank you, Ed.

We love you!

Birthday Gifts

You may know that I turned 50 this summer, in Europe. I awoke in Switzerland, went to bed in Italy, and in between, enjoyed the day as I travelled through the mountains with my guys.

We saw many beautiful sights during the course of our drive that day from the Berner Oberland to Lake Como; for 17 kilometers, we saw almost nothing at all, because we were in a tunnel. Being slightly claustrophobic, that tunnel was NOT my favorite part of the day. But this, too, passed.

The trip with Gregg and David was itself enough of a "gift" for me. But some extra special things came with my 50th birthday.

When we arrived at our little hotel in Loveno, we got settled in our rooms, and then walked through the old fortifications into town to find a good place in which to eat dinner.

We chose the Osteria Il Pozzo, where the food was so good that we went back again, two nights later.

After dinner, we stopped at a gelato shop and each of us got a cone, walked through the town square, and back up to our hotel. We got used to saying "Bueno Sera" to the locals who we passed each evening, as we made our way up the hill.

On the night of my birthday, while we were getting ready for bed, we heard loud noises outside of the hotel. Looking out of our window,

we were greeted by this sight.

I turned to Gregg and said, "Honey, you called ahead and ordered this for me? Thank you; you're so thoughtful!" He smiled and said something like, "Sure, I did."

What a great coincidence for us, that the Italians were celebrating something on June 26th. Grazie, bella Italia!

My parents are very kind and thoughtful, too. Before we left home, they gave each of us some spending money. We all enjoyed browsing during our travels.

Gregg bought ONE THING for himself:  a hat. Typical of him.

David bought many things, mainly t-shirts that showed where he had been.

I spent a little of my money here and there, especially in the street markets of France. I bought a beautiful dress, a pashmina, a cute skirt and top in the south of France, and three tops (on sale) in Paris, in a shop on the Champs-Elysees. I bought my favorite perfume & some lotion (on the Riviera, at Fragonard), and some gifts for others. I was more than happy.

Before we left Paris, David wanted to see some of the great couture boutiques. I was happy to go to those stores and see the beautifully made clothes. We spent some hours browsing, discussing the great quality and style of the items in the windows, but only going inside a few of the stores. We saw Brioni, Gucci, Chanel, Tod's, and many others. We went into the flagship Hermes store, where I showed Gregg & David the custom-made saddles and the most beautiful scarves in the world...and then, David found the place he had been seeking all along:  Loro Piana, the great Italian clothier, which specializes in cashmere. We had told David many times that it was out of his budget, but he wanted to see it for himself, so we went inside. The most handsome man we had encountered in three weeks of travel (I wish I had a photo to illustrate!) assisted David as he looked at the scarves, sweaters and shirts.

What do you think happened next? David found the SALE RACK! Yes, even Loro Piana has markdowns, my friends. And David found a sweater there, that fit as if it had been tailor-made for him. He tried it on, fell in love and bought it from the best-looking and most courteous salesman in all of western Europe, who treated David as if he were a millionaire. The sweater was wrapped in a gift box, with two cedar balls (to prevent moth damage), and placed in a beautiful gift bag with a catalog. David was very, very happy with his Paris shopping experience. We started to walk back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.

David stopped me on the street corner. "Just a minute," he said. "Why didn't you get a scarf at Hermes?" I told him it was too expensive, that I had inherited a couple of them from my grandmother, and that those were enough. "It's your 50th birthday; you have birthday money. How long has it been since you've been in Paris?" I told him it had been a little over 30 years. "How long since you've been in Europe?" Ten years. "When do you think you'll be back here?" I didn't know. "I think you should go back and get a scarf at Hermes."

So  I did. They are all so beautiful that it wasn't easy to choose which one to buy. Here it is:

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for the beautiful gift! Thank you, David, for encouraging me! I wouldn't have done it without you.