Daily Prompt:

Tags

dance, dinner party, music, postaday2014

What are your earliest and fondest memories of dance?

My parents came over to the United States in 1967, a couple of months before I was born. I don’t know where my mother found the courage to leave her entire family while very pregnant with her first child to come to the United States, not speaking the language, but she found it. I know that my great aunt (Tantine Georgette) was a source of great comfort and introduced my parents to many of her friends, that was a huge help. It was those friends that became my mother’s best friends for the years down the road. My father was a very outgoing and easy going person, so for him it wasn’t such a traumatic move, but for my mother, I can barely imagine how it must have felt, I do know that my Tantine Georgette was a lifeline and the friends that she introduced into my parent’s universe made our lives wonderful because they were all French and it made our little circle feel as if France was always nearby.

My parents and their friends had the best dinner parties and after all of the food was eaten, the party moved away from the dinner table and onto the dance floor, which at whoever’s house the party was held at, was inevitably the living room. The records were sorted out and out came the samba, the rhumba, the tango, the waltz and the slow dances and even though these were my earliest memories of dance and music; it doesn’t mean that I was a bystander, I was out in the middle of the dance floor and getting my first dance lessons from my father and my father’s friends.

I especially loved dancing with my father, he always sang to the Platter’s, “Only You” was one of his favorite’s as was “The Great Pretender”, that was another one. When he taught me the tango, he always hummed to the beat while we danced and that helped me keep count with him without actually counting, his sounds kept the steps and the music in time, all in my head, it felt right and I didn’t have to think about it, just follow my father.

I miss those days.

Baby boy is a rockin-roller

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dogs, hotels, pets, postaday2014

The baby boy is very busy this weekend, he has two big gigs. It is so exciting! Little by little they are playing bigger venues, they are working on a full length album so who knows, one of these days, they may get to go on tour. Hooray for the baby boy and his band The Vanities.

As a result of the baby boy’s musical commitments, Jack is obligated to accompany us over the next few days. Today and tomorrow, we are in Boston and Jack has never been. These days hotels seem to be much more friendly to dogs or maybe it seems that way because we now have a small dog and not a lumbering 140 lb German Shepard. Rex was the kindest, most gentle giant ever, but trust me, he was hugely intimidating and not on purpose. He parted crowds of people just walking down the street. Jack stops conversations just because he is so, so cute.

The staff at the hotel are so kind here, but today they went up and over the call of duty. They sent up a dog bone shaped tin filled with doggie cookies, a chew toy and a plastic baggie holder. Jack is loving the doggie cookies. I took him for a very long walk and now he is sleeping soundly. This is a good experiment because we are planning to move to Boston in the future so Jack should start getting used to life in Boston.

Daily Prompt: Shake It Up

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birthday, party, postaday2014

You’re 12 years old. It’s your birthday. Write for ten minutes on that memory. GO.

Why couldn’t it be 13? I can’t for the life of me remember my twelfth birthday so therefore I am making an executive and I will share my memories of my thirteenth birthday, trust me it was a good one.

My mother is the baby of the family so I have older cousins and that can be a very good thing at times. One of my oldest cousins Martine, who is fourteen years older than I, was married and had a baby, she lived near Marseilles in France and for four years running, during my teenage years, she would take in myself, my little sister and her younger sister and brother for a period of six weeks. Can you imagine spending six weeks near the French Riviera when you are a teenager? It was glorious. It was a family affair and my cousin Martine spoiled us, she cooked these special meals and there were fun parties on the weekends with her husband’s business colleagues/friends.

My birthday, Martine and her husband decided, was a perfect excuse for a big party. Did I mention that Martine’s house was right on the Mediterranean, her backyard led right to the private beach and the Sea. We always ate on the terrace and the Mediterranean was right there in all of her glory. Those years were idyllic.

Anyway, the presents were standout one of my favorite presents ever received; the Tommy album by The Who and the Rubik’s Cube. I played my Tommy album ever day for what felt like forever and I played with my Rubik’s cube everyday until I solved it, three months later. I still have it in my bedroom, right on the mantle of the fireplace. Martine made my favorite dessert at the time, homemade rice pudding, on top of all of the other things she was making for the party. Our other cousin Didier was also staying with us and he is the family favorite; he should be a comedian, he is so funny. At every family gathering we all try to make sure that we are within hearing distance to Didier because you are always guaranteed to laugh, outright belly laugh when he gets going.

We ate, we drank, we laughed and we danced. That was one of the best birthday party’s ever in my memory.

3 Days to Kill: a movie review

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Kevin Costner, movie review, movies, postaday2014

Last night my hubby and I went to the movies to see the latest Kevin Costner action movie 3 Days to Kill. Across the street from our hotel is a very nice movie theater AMC, it has thick, comfy, leather seats and snack trays attached to the seats, so very comfortable. I couldn’t help make a quip “these seats are dangerous for me” my hubby laughed, I am notorious for falling asleep at the drop of a hat.

3 Days to Kill wasn’t my first choice, I had wanted to see the Monuments Men but we had missed the showing by 10 minutes so it was Kevin Costner for us. After the movie I was happy that we had missed Monuments Men, not because the Kevin Costner movie was the all time best movie in the world, but because I felt as if I had just enjoyed a mini vacation in Paris, France. I knew that Kevin Costner was in a new action movie, but what I didn’t know was that the screenplay was written by Luc Besson and that it was set in Paris. Now the movie itself was pretty good, a very good blend of action and family dynamics, but what held my attention throughout the movie was the city of Paris. It was shot throughout Paris, especially in the 19th arrondissement near the Butte de Chaumont, a beautiful park not far from the Montmartre district. My cousin Pierre and his amazing wife Isabelle took my baby girl and I on a walking tour of the 19th arrondissement and while I was watching the movie, I had the best memories flashing through my mind of that day with my cousins.

The movie took place not just in the 19th, the action took us all over on both sides of the Seine and even down into the Metro. We got to see the outdoor markets, the indoor epicerie or gourmet food stores, there was even some action in the luxurious George V hotel, there was a piece of Paris for everyone. So for anyone who would like a wonderful visual tour of Paris, I would recommend 3 Days to Kill, you will feel as if you had just stepped off the plane. 🙂

Pumping Gas

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gas pump, Ma'am, Miss, postaday2014

I got such a tickle from the simple act of getting our fuel tank filled. Yesterday we drove down to my mother’s house in Astoria, New York to cut the trip to Virginia in half. We had a lovely visit, my mother made us a roasted filet mignon, a gratin of courgettes and baked sweet potato fries; it was delicious. This morning we left early and when we were halfway through New Jersey, I decided to stop at the Walt Whitman Rest Area to get Starbucks coffee, go to the restroom and fill up on gas.

I always forget that the rest areas on the New Jersey Turnpike are all full serve gas stations, a rarity these days. I haven’t used a full service gas station in years, I can’t think of one in Massachusetts, it is such a habit to get out of the car and pump my own gas, it isn’t even on the thought radar to not do it myself.

When I was little, that was not the case; growing up full service gas stations were the norm, not the exception. I remember my father pulling up to the pump and the gas attendant walking over, taking care of the fuel and then washing the windows and checking the oil. My father would pay the attendant and give a nice tip, exchange some pleasantries and we would be on our way.

This morning at the pump, I pulled up and the young gas attendant asked very politely “What can I get for you Ma’am” Yes, I am a Ma’am at my ripe old age of 46, in his defense he was maybe twenty so I am definitely a Ma’am to a twenty year old. He took the credit card and started pumping and then without asking, he started washing the windows, I was so impressed that when he passed by my window, I put a five dollar tip in his hand. He was so pleased that he said “thank you, you’re so generous!” I replied “you deserve it, I haven’t had my windows washed in never” and I smiled at him. When he came back with my card and the receipt, he said “have a great day Miss” I smiled and said “thank you and you have yourself a wonderful day as well” and I pulled away. I graduated to Miss! That made my day. I have to confess that hearing the word Ma’am is slightly depressing. I always thought of it for much older ladies, not someone my age, even though it is a sign of respect I know.

But I was tickled to have gone from a Ma’am to a Miss. It doesn’t take much to tickle my ribs. 😀

Daily prompt: New Sensation

Tags

eighties, hair styles, memories, postaday2014

Ah, sweet youth. No matter whether you grew up sporting a fedora, penny loafers, poodle skirts, bell-bottoms, leg-warmers, skinny jeans, Madonna-inspired net shirts and rosaries, goth garb, a spikey mohawk, or even a wave that would put the Bieber to shame, you made a fashion statement, unique to you. Describe your favorite fashions from days of yore or current trends you think are stylin’.

This post is mostly about hair, my hair and I’m sorry Christine, but your hair as well. Christine is my little sister and we sported the same hairdo’s back in the 70’s and 80’s; being siblings we have more or less the same type of hair. Christine’s hair is blonde and much curlier, but I can be just as frizzy as she, even though my hair is more on the wavy side.

We were both guilty of the mullet; honestly I think that everyone at one point or the other sported a mullet during the early 80’s. The 80’s weren’t very fashion friendly either in terms of hair or fashion. I remember shoulder pads, bright makeup, head-bands, leg-warmers and the skin tight jeans. I would not want to revisit the 1980’s on a runway or at a hair stylist show; the eighties were over the top; big hair, big makeup and big everything.

My sister and I weren’t really guilty of the fashion mistakes, we erred toward the more classic styles. We liked buttoned down shirts, tailored pants, we outgrew the tight jeans phase pretty quickly, and I did sport hats from time to time, I had a favorite Greek fishing hat at one point.

That was high school in the eighties for myself and my sister, we survived it pretty well I think. It’s funny what memories old family pictures dredge up when you dig them out of your mother’s photo box.

Daily prompt: West End Girls

Tags

Blandford, hill towns, postaday2014

Every city and town contains people of different classes: rich, poor, and somewhere in between. What’s it like where you live? If it’s difficult for you to discern and describe the different types of classes in your locale, describe what it was like where you grew up — was it swimming pools and movie stars, industrial and working class, somewhere in between or something completely different?

Blandford, Massachusetts is a small hill town located towards the base of the Berkshires, population of about 1200. Its geographic size is very large, but the population is mostly concentrated in its center. Blandford for reasons that unknown to me, is mostly of republican makeup, though this is no longer an upscale hill town. Long ago at the end of the 1800’s Blandford was much larger in population and very prosperous; something happened at the turn of the century that shut down most of its industry. What is so intriguing is that no one knows what it was, not even the Blandford Historical Society and trust me I have asked, because I find it to be a fascinating mystery. I have to get in touch with the intern who is working with Jeanne York, our resident historian; she is working on her PH.D and the loss of Blandford’s industry is part of her thesis. I will be very interested to find out what her conclusions will be or if she will be able to come to any.

Nowadays, Blandford is struggling as many hill towns are struggling; we have too many houses for sale which further weakens the real estate market. The reason why so many houses are for sale is because there aren’t enough jobs in the area. The jobs that are available are becoming farther and farther away; my hubby’s work is an excellent example. He has to commute from Blandford to Boston and now down to Virginia and New York. It is too hard to make a living and live in a nice place like Blandford far away from city life. It has gotten to the point that living in Blandford has become too costly in terms of gas, heating oil, water and real estate taxes. My hubby and I have decided that we are going to put our home on the market in a year or two and relocate to Boston now that our babies are on their way to independence. They needn’t worry about what we get in Boston, there will always be enough room for them; they may need to share a bed with Jack, but I know that Jack won’t mind sharing with them lol.

Way to go France!

Tags

Olympics, postaday2014, sports

As of today Friday at 10:22 a.m, France has won 15 medals at Sochi, hooray! The medals are of the gold, silver and bronze variety and are in Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country skiing, Free-style skiing, ski jumping and Snow boarding. I was very proud of the 4 medals that I had written about earlier, now I am just tickled all over proud for the French athletes and France. I know that compared to the 25 medals that the United States has won, 15 isn’t really something to hooray about, but France isn’t one of those countries that you associate with sports anyway. So when they win, I get a little more excited for them than I would for the U.S simply because historically, winning a lot of medals is how the U.S rolls, France not so much.

I realize that every medal is special, but I have always rooted for the underdog. For instance in men’s hockey, I’ll never forget the year 1980 when the young American hockey team of college amateurs took on the Russian team, career Olympians, and beat them for the gold, that hockey game was EPIC precisely because the Americans were the underdogs.

I sort of feel that way about French athletes, they always seem to be the underdog, so when they win, it is for me, even more special. Hopefully no one in France is reading this, they might be a little put out with me, or perhaps they would laugh and say “mais oui” lol

Here comes the sun, finally!

Tags

postaday2014, snow, temperatures, warm, weather

Happy days for me, an entire day with sunlight and warm temperatures. It is a toasty 40 degrees here in Boston and the sun is shining, it’s as if the snowstorm that we drove in yesterday had never happened. There are drips falling everywhere in Boston, melting snow hooray! Maybe there is an end in sight to this snow happy winter. So far the temperature forecast for the next week is in the mid 40’s, a long overdue break from the freezing mode that we have been stuck in, I have a big smile on my face with that piece of welcome news. Jack is happy too, the poor baby really doesn’t like to be cold.

I’m sure that the baby boy is happy that the snow is melting back home and I know that down in Miami, the baby girl is most likely wearing shorts today. The warm light is just at the end of the tunnel of winter, we are almost there just a few more weeks to go. 🙂

Jack is pooped

Tags

exercise, fatigue, Jack, postaday2014, tired

It’s almost 11:00 in the morning and poor Jack is passed out in bed, not moving. His new best friend Harry, my sister’s puppy, wore him out completely. My little Jack has maybe twenty minutes of running in him a day and he likes it that way. He isn’t used to two full days of intense cardio like he had with Harry. Harry can be a personal trainer for the lazy couch potato dogs such as Jack, poor lamb.