Thanksgiving 2005: A Relaxing Day

Today, we prepared our part of Thanksgiving Dinner (Deviled Eggs, Desserts, Veggies / Dip and Fruit Bowl). The kids are outside playing by the creek behind Granny's house. We have an action packed day tomorrow with beginning with the five mile run-walk (walk in my case!) called The Bolt. Proceeds go to benefit Nashville's homeless.

If you were not there to sample our desserts, check them out below.


Our version of the California Rolls comprised of coconut (rice), fruit roll-ups (seaweed wrap), white cupcake (body), cucumber / carrot (gumdrops), wasabi (green coloured frosting).


Acorn cupcakes. Chocolate cake (body), with almond (stem), caramel ("top half") and chocolate frosting ("bottom half").

Thanksgiving 2005: Morning at the Tennessee State Museum with Dr. Rau

This morning, Michael and I went with his Uncle Karl and friend, Walter, to the Tennessee State Museum to view the Rau Collection again. It was more inspiring the second time around, and it really reinforced my opinion that Sisley and Pissaro were powerful painters. Although they were founding members of the Impressionist movement, it seemed like they were overshadowed by their peers. At this exhibit, they have found equal footing. Some other highlights also included a Cassatt, Fragonard (six at the DIA), and the two below.


Hendrick Ter Brugghen
Backgammon Players | circa 1627
Oil on Canvas.


Lucas Cranach the Elder
The Elder Judith | circa 1525
Oil on wood.

Thanksgiving 2005: Morning at the Frist Center

We went to the Frist Center today and attended two exhibits. One was "The Splendid Palette" which featured 14 privately held (!!!) pieces of art by some of the best known and well-renowned French artists including Bonnard, Cezanne, Fantin-Latour, Monet, Pissarro, Redon, Renoir, Sisley, van Gogh, de Vlaminck and Vuillard. Note the words "privately held" ... The owners of these pieces were kind enough to loan these pieces so the public can enjoy them. It's amazing to think that each one of these actually sit over someone's fireplace or desk.

Also, Thomas Cole and The Hudson River School were featured prominently in the other wing. To me, it was just stepping back and viewing landscapes the way nature intended before machines and the Industrial Age. There were several paintings of Niagara Falls in the 1830's with farmhouses in the backgrounds and dirt roads around the rim looking towards the Horseshoe Falls.

Another interesting exhibit was an installation entitled "Neural Architecture." The kids enjoyed stepping past the motion sensors to turn on the lights. We did not have a chance to check out the Murano exhibit unfortunately .... Maybe we will come again this week!

One place we did make it to was the ArtQuest room. The kids loved this area where families can paint, draw, sketch and participate in many activities. One area we really enjoyed was the area for printmaking. Anita and Dad designed and scratched out own unique prints. The volunteers admired Yummers piece and said it was one of the best ones they had seen from someone her age. Minnie etched out a Monet one from the exhibit, and I etched the one of the Sisley pieces. All of our prints came out wonderfully. We are going to have the kids' framed!

Also, The incredible Rau Collection is in Nashville at the Tennessee State Museum at its final appearance before it travels to Europe. We saw this impressive collection last year in Cincinnati. Michael wants to go see it again... we'll see. :O)

Finally --- Admission to the Frist is free through December 31, 2005 if you donate a can of food. This is the second time we have been to The Frist, and we are still very impressed that Nashville has such a fine art venue. There are beautiful and well-done brochures for all of the exhibits, and the staff are very friendly and eager to answer questions. It's a definite "must-do" if you're there!


The kids and I standing outside of the Frist against "The Splendid Palette" backdrop.

Thanksgiving 2005: En route to Nashville

This year, we decided to spend Thanksgiving with Michael's family in Nashville. As our typical "break" from the drive down, we decided to make a visit to the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky on our way to Nashville. We were pretty impressed with their solid collection of art including a Cezanne, Monet, Sargant(!!), Tissot, Lichenstein, Gainsborough, Charles Peale and a remarkable Rembrandt. One room was totally dedicated to a paneled parlor that was removed from a home in Devon, England. The woodwork was one-of-a-kind and certainly would not be seen in many newer homes today.

There was also a retrospective of Mary Ann Currier who impressed us with her use of oil pastel and unique composition of everyday objects with famous scenes and artists. As with all art work, photographs do no justice to these pieces when you are vieweing them in person. The Rembrandt was particularly impressive 'cos it looked like a photograph of the sitter.


Doesn't this look like a photograph? An item of beauty by the incredible Rembrandt.


The kids and I by a Monet landscape.

Jens

Our good friend from Eastern, Jens, came for a week-long visit last Thursday. The last time we saw him was three years ago, and when he walked through the back door, it seemed like he never left. :O)

Let me tell you: Jens is a really easy house guest putting up with our current renovation situation (- OK, "current" means two years here -). He also helped Michael with a snaking project in the basement where the water did not go down the drain easily (and then at all). We rented the 50 foot eel (i.e. sewer snake) from our friends at The Home Depot and when that did not work, we had to go back for the 100 foot eel.

Remember this folks:
1. Never flush baby wipes down the toilet. You will be VERY thankful you heeded my advice.
2. Anyone who will stand with you and puts up with crap (literally) and be fairly enthusiastic about it is a true friend.

We miss you already, Jens. Hopefully, we will have made some more progress on the house by your next visit!

'Tis the season ...

It's been a while since I've been to Costco, and I'm amazed at some of the products that they have available now. I've highlighted two items below.


holla if you got the dolla(r)s ...


"honey, i'm going to pick up some cheese, toilet paper, and my casket..."

First Parent Teacher Conference (11.14.2005)

Today was our first Parent Teacher conference with Ms. Hagen about Yummers. Michael and I were both really nervous about the appraisal. As a parent, you hope that your children absorb the knowledge you're giving them. One way you find out if you've done a half way decent job is through these meetings with their teachers. I guess we shouldn't have worried too much ... The meeting went really really well.

Ms. Hagen reviewed samples of Anita's math and reading / comprehension tests as well as her progress report. Strengths were noted with a "+." An "=" sign meant that the student was where they should be. The "/" sign meant an area of improvement. Thankfully, no "/" --- woo hoo! Overall, we were very pleased with the assessment, and we are very happy that Ms. Hagen has realised Anita's brilliance. (Ahahahahahaa! :OD)

Blissfield, Michigan: We found our vanity!

We spent the afternoon looking in antique malls for a vanity to put in our new bathroom upstairs. We went to The Hitching Post in Adrian, Michigan today. We struck out there unfortunately, so we travelled through Saline, Tecumseh and a lot of cornfields to Blissfield. Blissfield is about 30 minutes south of Ann Arbor. As you can imagine, it is a very small community.

We went into Blissfield's largest Antique Mall and found this cool piece of furniture! We will convert this buffet into a double sink vanity for the bathroom upstairs. It will be really cool. :OD


Our future vanity!

Nick Viola's Birthday Party (11.12.2005)

Today was Nick Viola's birthday party. He has been a long-time buddy of Anita's since they were at Academic Gardens. He is in Ms. Hurt's multi-age class next door to Ms. Hagen's class. So, they still see each other often and play with one another at recess. The funny thing was it was like an Academic Gardens alumni reunion with Nick, Nicky B, Cameron, and Vinnie. Vinnie's brother, Marco, goes to Academic Gardens with Minnie. So, it was a fun time had by all.

Nick's birthday party was at the Compass Cafe on Main Street which was a short 10 minute walk into downtown. The kids had a great time running and playing in the gym area. They also had plenty of pizza and a SpongeBob cake!

On a side note, we have a very busy weekend. Aside from gymnastics and Nick's party, we finished homework and are in the process of creating a new sign for the Butterfly Garden at Farrand. The kids and Michael are using the profile sander to sand the sides of the sign down. All for now - will post pictures of the sign tomorrow night.


Cameron, Anita and Minnie at Nick's birthday party.

First Farrand Movie Night: Herbie Loaded (11.11.2005)

Tonight the family went to Farrand for the first ever Farrand Movie Night. This evening's feature was "Herbie Loaded." It was an entertaining movie, and I think the kids enjoyed the movie, too. I *loved* the Herbie shows when I was younger. It was a great event for kids to get to know one another better, enjoy a movie and support the school. Where else can you get popcorn for 25 cents?


Anita and Nick at Movie Night.


Minnie relaxing before the movie begins.

Freecycle Find: Canna Bulbs!

I am the lucky recipient of a box of Canna bulbs from a kind person from one of the FreeCycle groups. Apparently, they are not frost resistant, so we can't just leave them in the ground (rats!). I drove by this HUGE bright red Canna plant every week day when I would drop Anita off at school. Now, they have probably dug the tubers up for the year.


Hope ours look like these!

Free Paper Airplane Link

I think this is awesome ... I can't make a paper airplane worth a damn. Now, I can learn, and I want to share this link with you! :O) Make your sons and husbands / significant others / friends green with envy! Check it out and try it yourself.


A picture of a plane you can create (for free!)

The Three Billy Goats Gruff: The First Grade Version

The first grade / second grade multi-age class did readings of classic tales today. Anita was selected as the Troll. As you can imagine, she had a number of lines and did a great job reading them. Michael and I were both present while she was reading her lines. We spent the rest of the time with her reading the chapter books from the Farrand library. If you want the video, you know what to do. I'll have to put it on a CD though and send it ... it's over 100 MB! Argh ... I'll eventually figure out how to compress the file into a smaller size.


Gearing up for the big story!


The troll in the middle ... :O)

We found this after we left the classroom. In proper grammar, this translates to:

My favourite classic tale is: The Emperor's New Clothes.

It is about: A man that was paying people money to a man that was not doing anything. They were supposed to make clothes but they did not do it. They pretended they were doing it.

I like it because it's a good book. Anita


Yummers' book report.

Girl Scout Troop # 84: Investiture Night (11.03.2005)

Anita and her troop were officially recognised as official Girl Scouts. It was a two hour program with pomp and ceremony. Of course, I have some video if you're interested. :O) You know what to do.


The newest troop at Farrand Elementary!

Halloween 2005

I think everyone eagerly anticipates Halloween no matter how old you are ... even if Halloween was on a Monday. Anyhow, at Farrand, they have a yearly character parade where all of the students walk in a big circle in front of the school. It was REALLY cute. :O) We have some video if you're interested... just leave a comment or send a note.

We went trick-or-treating after dinner. The kids were Spiderman (Minnie) and a Princess (Anita). An hour into our travel, it started to sprinkle. By this time, the kids couldn't sling their bags over their shoulder. :O) If we could have stayed an extra hour, the kids' pillowcases would have had been filled all the way to the top. All and all, it was really good!


Anita's first Character Parade!


The Halloween Kids!

Greenfield Village

As part of my company's work initiative, they have formed a local commmittee to plan fun things to do to bond with colleagues. The first event was scheduled today at Greenfield Village. My company picked up the cost of the tickets for the family and paid for a wonderful buffet-style lunch. We had spent a GREAT afternoon there. The weather was perfect again: Sunny, mild, without a cloud in the sky. I had not been here in over ten years, so I was curious to see what it looked like now. I was really pleased and VERY impressed with the improvements and updates that have been done.

There were so many things to see and do like riding on the oldest operating train, riding in a two horse-drawn carriage, and visiting the houses of some of America's greatest luminaries:

- Harvey Firestone's childhood home: Tire magnate ... and great-grandfather to Mr. Bill Ford.
- Robert Frost: He lived in Ann Arbor!
- Noah Webster: Yes, he of Dictionary fame.
- Thomas A. Edison: Inventor (duh!) and a close friend of Henry Ford. Pretty amazing man!
- The Wright Brothers: From Bicycles to Airplanes!
- Of course, Henry Ford's childhood home and other fantastic buildings were open and available for viewing.

We were in a house from 1750 Connecticut (- the one by the windmill from Massachusetts -), and the woman who was in period dress described the types of chores that kids Yummers and Minnie would be doing. The woman concluded with "watering the garden" to which Yummers quickly interjected and said, "Oh, I do that already. I water our garden everyday!" to the sounds of amused laughter. Oh geez. ;O)

In another room, there were two other women who were in period dress who were washing dishes. I asked them if the herbs and spices that were drying were from their garden. After replying "Yes", Yummers asked them if they had any "Basil plants" which were her "favourite type of garden plants." They had plenty of basil plants that were already harvested which seemed to satisfy Yummers curiousity. :O)


Heading into the Village. This is actually about 15 minutes from my office in Dearborn.


Sir John Bennett's clock was brought by Mr. Ford to Greenfield Village. This clock rings on the hour. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to watch this happen.


The Ackley Covered Bridge came from Pennsylvania and took 100 men to put together.


Here is the Connecticut house where Anita amused visitors.


Come on ... You know I'm cute! :O)


Henry Ford went to school in this very building.


Our trip was not complete without the ride on the "oldest train in the Midwest." It's powered by coal!

Erwin's Orchard and Cider Mill: Pumpkin Time!

Today was a beautiful Autumn day in Michigan. The weather was slightly warm, sunny with not a cloud in the skky. We decided that we would head over to Erwin's Orchard and Cider Mill to pick our pumpkins. It was a BLAST!

We took a ride on the wagon out past the apple orchards and were dropped off at the pumpkin patch. It was really busy at the mill with many kids playing in the hay maze, play area and petting zoo. Strangely enough, we were the only four people who were on the wagon at the time heading over to the pumpkin patch. After we made our selection, we waited in line and when the tractor came back, both wagons were full.

When we made it back to the mill, we had cider and (Pumpkin Spice) donuts at a picnic table by the kids play area. They were delicious! The kids had a great time jumping from one haystack to another in the hay maze, bounced around on the bouncy slide, and played in the play area. We were all pretty worn out by the time we left.

However, not too worn out to enjoy a nice time around the firepit in the backyard roasting marshmallows with our neighbor Susan and her nephew, Jack. It was a perfect way to end the day. Without further ado ... here are the pics!




I'm feeding bees honey!








The kids at the top of the bouncy air slide.

Grab a bear (beer) and let's attend training!

I had a SameTime conversation with a colleague from Germany. There's a training session today, and I thought part of the exchange was amusing. The beverage of choice should be "beer" (not "bear"), but I'm sure you get the gist. Love the Germans!

Minnie's Halloween Party # 1: Ms. Brandi's Class

Academic Gardens will have three Halloween Parties for their students. Today's party was for Ms. Brandi's class, and the kids look so cute (as you can tell by the photos. Here is the Snapfish link to see the other 42 pictures!

 
 
Minnie in his Spiderman pose.


Minnie and Nicholas the clown decorating cookies.

Monkfish are ugly

Fai just called me a minute ago from a restaurant that she and Jamal were eating at. We were talking about monkfish and how ugly they were. So, I just did a search on Google again ... well, judge for yourself from the sample I found below. Fortunately, they are very tasty fish. At least they have some redeeming value!


Hello handsome ...


This fisherman from Massachusetts captured this one off the Atlantic Ocean.

Google "Failure" and See What Happens

I found this on another blog... Try this:

1. Go to Google's website.
2. Type in "Failure."
3. Press the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.
4. If the Google staff haven't changed anything, you should see the same results I did.


Before pressing the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button...

Editor's Note: Read Google's official position here.

15th Annual Pizza Pumpkin Night @ Farrand

The Farrand PTO plans such awesome events including the one we went to tonight. Today is the 15th Annual Pizza Pumpkin Night. The PTO have done this a long time which is why the event is organised well, and the prizes are nice. The first game we played was the fishing game. Yummer threw out her line and received a Hello Kitty purse. Then, it was Minnie's turn. He threw the line over so hard into the "fishtank" that he made one of the student assistants wince and say, "Ouch!" Oops ... :O) See the picture below.

We played some other games, ate pizza in the cafeteria and played more games. Yummer saw a lot of her classmates. She also won two games of Bingo! She picked out a pink Hello Kitty bag and a Bingo game. Minnie won the Haloween Cakewalk twice and received two boxes of a half dozen cupcakes. We're looking very forward to the next event!


The fishing game that injured the student assistants!


Anita and her self-portrait.


Minnie with the first cake he won in the Halloween Cakwalk game.


An extreme smile from Anita who won the first of two Bingo games.

Fai Leaves for Seattle

I received a call at 3.30 AM EST... "Peg, we're here." I get dressed quickly, head downstairs and outside. The whole family (mum, dad, Tien, Robin and I) were taking Fai to the airport. First, however, a breakfast at Denny's! It has been a while since we had breakfast together as a family ... Probably as long as I have been married!

After Denny's, we took Fai to the airport. It's really strange to think that she would be 2400 miles away from her family on the same day. She called and left me a voice mail while I was in a meeting to let me know that she made it OK in Denver. Then, she called me again while I was driving in the car that she made it home to Everett, Washington, headquarters of Boeing.

Thank goodness for AIM which brings Fai a little bit closer to home. I'm looking forward to more pics and video of the area.


Breakfast at Denny's.

5 Weird Habits About Myself

Fai's tagged me on her blog ... so, now I'm going to list the ""5 Weird Habits About Myself" (in no particular order):

1. I get annoyed when people say I have black hair ... It's brown, folks.
2. Occasionally, I play Sobics on weeknights until 3.00 AM.
3. I am very picky about spelling and grammar. I always point out things that are incorrectly spelled or if grammar is not used properly. (Depending on the social situation, I will cringe inwardly.)
4. I always wear sunscreen on any exposed parts of my body or cover up as appropriate. The sun is not my friend.
5. I am very frugal. I would rather go to a fast-food restaurant and snag napkins rather than buying them from a store.

Any others I might have missed? Let me know!

Old # 1: I have no hair or very faint hair on my forearms. Check them out (discreetly) next time you see me.

Brownie Troop # 84 Excursion: Maybury Park and Corn Maze

Brownie Troop # 84 took their first trip to the corn maze at Maybury Park. The whole family went, and it was FUN! :O) It didn't take us very long to go through the maze due to the kids' amazing ability to guide us through. In fact, it was still light when we finished!


Welcome to the corn maze!


Anita and her fellow brownies on the wagon back from the corn maze.

Free Roses from Freecycle!

Hell yeah! We're getting four or five free rose bushes from a Freecycler in Wayne today. I'll post some pics when they are in the ground. We're going to get them today after we pick up the kids.

I saw the post in one of the Freecycle digests I am subscribed to, and I immediately sent the person a note not thinking that they would still be available. The post was an hour old, and believe me, things go pretty quickly off the list. Ask Fai, who I helped today get rid of her stuff before she moves to Seattle (BOO HOO - but that's off-topic!)

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Editor's Note: Pictures of the roses will go here! :O)
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Stay away from Elevator No. 4 @ IBM Southfield

A funny thing happened to me today while I was at the IBM Southfield building. It was just like any other day... I followed two people into Elevator No. 4. They just came from the cafeteria and both got off at the 5th Floor. I continued on my journey up ... and up .... and up ... past my floor (10) to the 15th floor. Then, the elevator stayed on the highest floor of the building and then moved to the 11th floor. I waited for a few seconds, and then I pressed several floor buttons without avail. I could hear the other elevators on both sides of me going up and down.

Finally, I pressed the button that rings security.

Security: "Security!"
Peg: "Hi, I'm in Elevator No. 4... I'm stuck at the 11th floor."
Security: * Pause * OK, "We'll have to call the Elevator Engineer Company."
Peg: "OK, Thanks!"

After a few minutes, the elevator opened its door at the 11th floor. In walked another person who was talking on his Blackberry. I informed him quickly that this elevator was not working right. However, I thought that if the door opened, the elevator must be working... so, I stepped back in. (I used the analogy that this is the part in a movie, where I would yell at the screen, "Don't go back in there, you idiot!!!" Argh! :O))

In the midst of all this, I tried to call Michael (no answer) and then ended up calling and talking to my sister Fai. Finally, I had to hang up during this confusion.

After the man was done with his conversation, he and I introduced ourselves and exchanged plesantries. We eventually ran out of things to talk about, and we had to make a few phone calls to inform people that we would be late. I spoke to my one colleague, Patty, during this time and she said that she was also stuck last Friday in Elevator No. 4. ARGH!

Every now and then, Security would call:

Security: "Are you doing OK in there?"
Peg: "Yes. The door opened up at the 11th Floor. Someone is here with me now."
Security: "The next time the door opens: Leave the elevator. The Elevator Engineer will be here in 20 minutes."
Peg: "OK. Thanks!" (In my head, I'm thinking, "Why the heck didn't I do it earlier?!")

Finally, the Elevator Engineer arrived and pried the doors with his hands. Hallelujah! We both said "good-byes," left quickly and went to the other elevators. After all, I was helping set up a booth at the IBM Ice Cream Social today!

I IM'd with Patty, and we both looked up this guy that I was in the elevator with. Here is his title:



Here I was with a top-level Senior Manager, and I never knew it. Wished I was a bit more witty... but at least I didn't say anything inappropriate either. Phew ... :OD

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Editor's Final Note: It looked like they had fixed Elevator No. 4 when I left the building 'cos people were all filing in there. But, I'll skip to the other elevators from now on! :O)