Emma 1977 ~ 2011

When I received the news that Mrs. Dub had just given birth to Dub Girl #3, I was actually already on the way to the airport to go to Utah for another reason. I was going to the funeral of my brilliant and beautiful niece ... Emma ... who was only 34 years old. She died very suddenly of something that normally takes someone 2 or 3 times her age.

Mrs. Gee and I drove straight from the airport to the hospital, held that precious 5-hour old baby for an hour or so and then drove straight to the Viewing.

The circle of life ... and it's ultimate plan ... were not lost on me.

Emma was honored in grand style on Saturday when many, many people came to pay tribute. Her family (my sister's family) did a splendid job and we all came away inspired and uplifted.

Thank you, Emma, for all of your giving. Give our love to the PDaddy.

(You can see her obituary here. I tried to save and transfer the picture, but it just wasn't happening.)

~ I {Heart} New York ~

So ... don't think for one single minute that my lack of blogging activity is due to my need to pack, organize and ... pack.

No sirree ... in the middle of the TONS of things to do right now, I took a week off and spent some time with friends and family in NYC.

I have not a single regret and I do have a plethora of fabulous memories. (I won't say exactly how many of them involve food, but just think ... plethora.)

The occasion for our trip was the 20th Friend-a-versary of my daughter, Mrs. Dub and her bestie, Mrs. Jay. Mrs. Jay's mother ... my bestie ... rounded out our foursome. Sonny Boy and the Mrs. served as our local tour guides. And by "tour guides", I also mean "heavenly food guides."

But don't be expecting much from me in the near future.

Seriously ... I have GOT to pack.

Not just for the Birds ...

So ... I can't say we had the most traditional of Thanksgiving dinners. As you can see it involved lawn chairs, a concrete floor, a make-shift table and a beautiful centerpiece (dropped off by some friends.) We did eat turkey and I did make a pie (lemon meringue). There were only 3 of us (me, PDaddy and Gin.) We talked a lot on the phone to the others ... some with video chats.

And ... as I'm sure is more than obvious ... we counted our many, many blessings.

And named them one by one.

How about you? How was your T-day? Mostly I want to hear about pie.

from sea to shining sea ...

So ... we saw fireworks all right. Forty solid minutes of fabulous, frenetic fireworks. We actually made a whole day of it. (Hot dogs for lunch [at Ted's in Tempe ... originally from Buffalo, NY] but ... alas ... no apple pie.) It was hotter than ... HOT, but once the show started it was as pleasant as can be. This particular show draws the biggest crowds in the Phoenix metropolitan area, but it was the first time we had seen them there.

However ... for forty minutes as I gazed at this spectacle, I took a mental journey over 35 years worth of Fourths. Thirty five years of rockets glaring and bombs bursting. Thirty-five years worth of ... awe.

We have seen fireworks from coast to coast. At Padre's stadium in San Diego. At a high school stadium in Perris CA (where an 18 month old Sonny Boy threw up all over the place.) At the Rose Bowl where we were also treated to a show that involved Wilson-Phillips. (I was no doubt wearing shoulder pads.) We have also seen fireworks over a lake in Gaithersburg, Maryland., we have seen them on the "mall" between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial and from a parking lot in Virginia where we viewed 3 or 4 different shows over our nation's capital.

In our home here we have seen them drenched in sweat. Always, always drenched in sweat. Never, never has it mattered. We have seen them over mall parking lots (and once on the grass across the street where the sprinklers promptly went off) and on the top of parking garages. We have seen them at "Rawhide" and "Westworld". We have seen them at the Diamondbacks game. We have seen them from Dad's high rise office building and from a patch of dirt road up the street from our house. We have seen them with babies and with teenagers and we hope to see them with the grandkids for many years to come.

And I am pretty certain that every single time ... drenched in throw-up or sweat or the awe-inspiring glow from the sky ... I had the presence of mind to think about, and be grateful for ... America.

And to be grateful to Neil for singing about it.

'cause there's no room on the little table for a big vase ...

So ... I am sending the above-pictured and afore-posted flowers to PDaddy as he recuperates from some annoying complications ... to other annoying complications.

This is also to explain my recent hiatus from the blogosphere and possible future gaps as well. Nothing like a good excuse than spans the globe.

So ... PDaddy is "da bomb" (thank you DIL steffa) and weathers these storms with humor and grace. Nurses cry when he switches floors and everyone wonders if he is a doctor because of his wealth of knowledge.

However ... amazing as he is (and he is) ... neither of us can chalk up all of our blessings to his good looks and my natural charm. You see we have even more amazing Family and Friends. Family and Friends who pray for us daily and constantly show their concern in fabulous, practical ways.

Thank you Family. Thank you Friends. And thanks in advance to all my Bloggy Friends all who will no doubt put a little PDaddy in their hearts as well.

We are fine. We have watched a lot of World Cup Soccer and Discovery Channel Space Program Documentary. We have eaten a lot of hospital food and lived to tell the tale.

But, thanks for asking.