Today is the Feast of All Souls.  It’s also the anniversary of the death of my Grandmother, Rose Hurney.  She died nine years ago today and I miss her. She was one of my best friends as well as my grandmother and she was pretty special.

My beautiful Grandmother

I spent an awful lot of time with my grandmother when I was a kid.  I lived with her on occasion, and even when I didn’t, I was at her house a lot.  She lived in a big house in Baldwin, NY – which is on Long Island, about 25 minutes from NYC.  My grandparents had about an acre of property which is a lot for the area and my grandmother’s gardens were legendary.  She made rock gardens and flower gardens and she had statues and stones and throughout the yard were Catholic iconic symbols, Jesus, Mary, and the angels.  There was also a statue of Benjamin Franklin, but that’s more about Poppy and we’re talking about Grandma today.

(Here’s one of the angels with what appears to be a pet duck)

She ruled the roost and she was definitely “in charge”, my cousin Steven called her Sarge and it fit. Sunday dinners were always an event and you wouldn’t even think about going anywhere else on Thanksgiving.  That was her day.  She would start two days before and if you lived close enough to come over and help, you’d be assigned to polishing the silver, or ripping the Arnold’s bread into pieces for the tons of stuffing that she made.  Her stuffing was the kind that dreams are made of and not one of my family can bear the thought of Thanksgiving without “Grandma’s Stuffing”.  She would get up while it was still dark and start the bird – which was always the biggest you’d ever seen – and she would make dish after dish.  Mashed potatoes, stuffing, turnips, creamed onions, each dish more delicious than the next, and the gravy was beyond compare (Wondra flour – she swore by it and I still use it) and then people would start to descend upon Grand Ave. (that’s what we called her house – we called everyone’s house by its street name).  It didn’t matter how many people showed up, she would feed each and everyone of them until they were stuffed.  And people showed up. Invited, uninvited, surprise guests, it didn’t matter.  There were always left overs and I don’t know how she did it, but she did.  Without much help, I might add.

(The kids’ table at Thanksgiving circa 1973?
That’s me in the red jumper)

She was the glue that held our family together.  My family fights, a.l.o.t – but everyone would put aside their differences and come together to make her happy.  We all loved her so much and we all thought that each of us were her favorite.  That’s just how she made you feel.  The years that I lived too far away to come to dinner, I would call her as I put the stuffing in the oven, we’d go over what I was making and who was coming to her dinner and have a cup of coffee together, long distance. I cherish the memory of those conversations.

Sometimes, even now, I’ll think to call her and there’s a moment when I forget that I can’t.  So, I say a little prayer instead and send her love wherever she may be.

My grandmother, me and Nana (Grandma’s mother and
another of my best friends 1989?)

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I’m drained.  I finally watched Across the Universe and I have to say, I loved it.

Let me state right up front, I’m a crier.  I cry at ev-er-y-thing. Commercials, movies, television shows, watching my children, watching other people’s children; I cry when I’m happy, I cry when I’m sad, when I’m hurt, scared, awed, inspired.  You name it, I’ve cried at it.  My children bring me a box of tissues before we even start watching Extreme Home Makeover (which we don’t watch anymore, cause I got sick of crying every Sunday night). So there it is.  If you see me crying, don’t acknowledge it, I’ll only cry harder, k?  Thanks.

That being said, I cried throughout this entire movie.  From about three minutes in, to the very end.  I had to pause the DVR so that I could compose myself to watch the credits.  (I always watch credits; I figure if all these people worked this hard to entertain me for an hour and a half, the least I can do is read their names)

The music, of course was phenomenal, I expected that – I’m a big Beatles fan – but what I didn’t expect was to be so surprised and delighted by the arrangements.  The female voices, from sweet and pure (Lucy, Prudence) to smoky and gravelly (Sadie – Dana Fuchs totally rocked as Sadie) – but the blending of the voices and the deviations from the original arrangements were just lovely. Don’t get me wrong, the boys were great too – Max singing at Jude, when he got off the ship?  Sob much, Christine?

The way that the imagery complimented the songs – the dreamy quality of the underwater scenes and the stark juxtoposition of the footage shown on their faces.  It was so striking and it really brought so much to the emotion of the story.  Crazy good cameos by Bono, Eddy Izzard and Joe Cocker – you have to see it to believe it.

Reminiscent of Hair (the movie musical, not the show musical – the movie is a bit slicker than the stage show) and a little bit of Moulin Rouge – I really enjoyed this one and saved it in case I want to watch it again later.

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Did you know that there are Pumpkin Peeps?

Me neither.
And did you know that my children wanted to eat them for breakfast?

No, I did not let them, I’m mean like that. I made them wait till lunch.
Further, did you know that there are pink M&Ms? Me neither! You’d think someone would have told me that, right? Nope.

They fund the Susan G. Komen foundation and hello? They’re pink!
And we didn’t even trick or treat, so how did all this candy get here?  Hello Jim.

And what’s more… We went to Michael’s yesterday – have you been there lately?  They completely remodeled and the store is terrific. But while we were waiting on line to check out, I saw an end cap with all different colored bags of M&Ms blues and greens and pinks and yellows and white – perfect for party favors that complement your theme.  I love complementing my theme.  Have you noticed?

It is OK to use my photos or content provided a link back and proper crediting is given