News From Browntown

News From Browntown
Yesterday's plan to get yard work done after work did not pan out. Ended up spending the evening with Barbara - eating and knitting in Browntown. It was fun, peaceful and quiet.

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Show is fast approaching and the schedule of events looks really interesting. Not only will there be all sorts of spinning and weaving demonstrations but there will be lots of activities for those who have no interest in handwork/knitting (Dad). Sheep shearing demonstrations, working sheep dog demos, auction of spinning and weaving equipment, historical exhibits of old spinning and weaving equipment, Celtic music and a special Navajo Nation cultural exhibit that will include demonstrations of Navajo weaving and sheep raising - all that should be enough to interest Gary for a day, anyway.

Progress on the house face lift is going to be slowed down quite a bit as we are heading into a rainy few days according to the forecast. Paint can't stick in the rain. The painters have been chipping, scraping and power washing so that now all around the house it looks like a heavy snowfall - paint chips all over the place. I have no idea how we can remove it but maybe the painters will do that (hope so). Some of it is lead-based from the old days so it will have to be taken up off the ground to keep it from contaminating the planting beds around the foundation of the house.

It takes time but it will be nice when it's done and Dad and I probably will never have to worry about it again.

News From Browntown

Wonderful Mid-Day Surprise and a Second Chance to get Pix!

What a nice lunchtime surprise I had today when Aunt Stella phoned to tell me she and Vickie were on the way to Winchester and wanted to stop by my office! I have been a bit disappointed that we failed so miserably in documenting their visit with photos so this was a welcome second chance and, of course, another opportunity to visit. We met at Golden Corral and the four of us (John Thomas was also along for the ride) had a nice lunch. We came back to the office and I showed Stella and Vickie the blog. They were so pleased to see all of you and even got to be "introduced" to Kris! Stella's reaction was "Oh, she is so cute and I am so happy Win found somebody!" - can't you just hear her?

I took some pix (had to go the corner convenience store and buy a disposable camera) of us at the office so as soon as they are developed maybe Dad can post them here.

It was so great to see them and re-connect even for a short visit. We are all looking forward to another visit in Connecticut. Vickie has it all figured out where we will go to sightsee including a museum that has fabulous artwork including Degas, Monet, etc. Em, I also found out today that Stella and Vickie's nephew in California (their brother's grandchild) plays bassoon! He is 18 and has already played at Carnegie Hall with a group from his high school! They went to hear him play there and it was quite a thrill, of course.

The weather today is gorgeous! Hope I can get some yard work done this evening since the week-end will be a wash-out. It is supposed to rain both Sat and Sun.

News From Browntown

News From Browntown and Cockeysville!

Congratuations to Kris on being included in the art show! We will be there.

Yesterday evening was a real trip down memory lane! Aunt Stella and Aunt Vickie came to Browntown. They had supper with us and we watched the family DVD (they were so impressed, Win) and talked over old times. Aunt Vickie is 65 years old and Aunt Stella is 76. Hard to believe it has been so long we have known them. Vickie is the same but Aunt Stella has had numerous health problems. She had colon cancer last fall, is diabetic and needs knee replacements. She is also slated for some testing in May for a suspicious growth that was discovered just before she came for her visit here in VA. She walks with a cane, reminiscent of Nana. All that and she is still the same - quite cheerful and perky - interested in everything that you all are doing and wants all the details of your lives. Uncle Mario is not well either and is losing his sight. He cannot drive any more and, from the way it looks, Stella probably is not up to much driving either.

Lisa's son, John Thomas, came along with Stella and Vickie this trip. He is nine years old and was quite well-behaved. Stella informed us that he is "a little bit autistic". Actually he was obsessed with grocery shopping lists on the internet most of the evening and entertained himself quite nicely - he was thrilled when Dad printed out his five page shopping list from Pea Pod and Stop and Shop web sites. Also very affectionate and seemed to enjoy being with "my family" which he declared several times as he planted kisses on the cheek all around throughout the visit.

Dawnie and Chrissie are both doing well. Both married for many years to original spouses and Chrissie has 3 sons. Dawnie has no children.

It was a good visit and I am planning to go up to Connecticut sometime before the end of the year to visit. It seems doubtful that Stella will make another trip here considering her health as it is now. Even if she improves somewhat marginally she will still have much responsibility with Mario so I am thinking she may not get back to Virginia as her own life becomes more complicated. She has been a wonderful friend through the years to all of us and I think the world of her.

Emma requested addresses so here they are:

Stella and Mario Uttaro
54 Elton Street
New Britain, CT 06053

Paul Berry
2471 Gooney Manor Loop
Bentonville, VA 22610

As usual, we forgot to take pictures of all of us at last night's gathering. I will see Stella again before she leaves Friday and will try to remember to get some pix to post.

News From Browntown

Grammy Posted!
See Grammy's report in comments below... doin's on the compound!

News From Browntown

Family Time and New Adventures
I should have reported before now on the lovely family contacts we had last week-end.

Last Saturday we met Kris and Christian for lunch in Harrisonburg. The weather gifted us with a torrential downpour (really was a gift since we are in such a drought right now) but we all four managed to arrive at the appointed restaurant at the same time. Unfortunately the very nice, intimate Italian place we chose is a dinner-only establishment and we were way too early. We opted for the Japanese Steakhouse next door mostly to get out of the rain. After some confusion related to culture and customs (yes, such confusion can happen even in the Shenandoah Valley) we were seated and had a nice time to visit.

Kris and Christian are understandably excited about the prospect of re-locating to Europe. Christian is looking forward to strengthening family ties and Kris is just looking forward, period! Both are really enthusiastic about the new phase of their lives and it was a real pleasure to see Kris so eagerly anticipating an adventure. Christian is leaving in early May and Kris will follow along sometime after the Luzi family event in June. Dad and I both were grateful for the chance to be together probably for the last time in a long, long time and ended the day feeling very positive about the future for them.

Saturday was a "good-bye" day and Sunday was a "hello" day. Win brought Kris to Browntown to have lunch with us. It wasn't really a "meet the fam" event (you know how those ocassions can be) since it was only Dad, Grammy and me there. Kris is completely delightful, on the correct end of the political spectrum and is a Weight Watchers veteran! You can imagine how she fit right in. I wanted to find out about her Little Sister but there was so much else to talk about I didn't get the scoop on that. We are really hoping there will be lots of opportunities to be with her. Although it was bright and sunny, the temperatures were very cold and it was not a walk around day so she didn't get a real tour of "the compound" ... next time.

It has been a quiet week. Browntown lost one of it's very long-time residents with the death of Mr. U.J. Clegg. Election season in Browntown won't look the same without all the campaign signs in his yard proudly proclaiming his loyalty to Democratic candidates.

Easter week-end plans call for services on Friday night and Sunday morning (I have become a real "C&Er" since my church attendance has been spotty at best this winter) and yard work in between! If the weather cooperates it will be such fun!!

Happy Easter

Pictures from Dogwood Festival

For some reason I was unable to upload photos last night with my post. Here are pics from the festival.

Dogwood Festival

Well, it was certainly a good weekend here in Atlanta. Andrew and I spent most of the weekend hanging out with friends at the park. Saturday didn't look so good in the morning, when we woke up to rain and mud. Thank goodness that didn't last, and it finally cleared up about 3 in the afternoon. It turned out to be a nice afternoon, we heard some music, watched the frisbee dog contest (which was hilarious). Of course the party migrated from the park to our house Saturday evening. Always good times on 991 Rupley.

Today the weather was fantastic, about 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. Again, we spent most of the day in the park, listening to music and people-watching. It was great fun. I would recommend to anyone who is interested to check out www.bobbyyang.com. He is an excellent musician that we heard today, rock-violin.

Back to the grind tomorrow... Hope everyone has a good week!

News From Browntown

Springtime in Browntown

Spring 2006 has been nothing but excitement for ol' Bob (I Love Weather) Ryan, let me tell you. Within the past four day period the northern Shenandoah Valley has been whipped around with the following meteorological events:
Tuesday
blizzard conditions resulting in measurable snowfall
sub-freezing temperatures
daytime overcast skies dark enough to trigger automatic night lights
afternoon temperatures in the 70s
sunshine and blue skies
All that within seven hours of one day!
Wednesday
Sunshine and blue skies
tornado warnings
Gusting wind warnings (especially on the Interstates)
lashing rain and sleet
high temps in the upper 50s
Thursday
Sunshine and blue skies
high temps in the upper 60s
Friday
All I can say at this point is ... whew, we made it this far!
It is raining (a good thing) and overcast
Temp forecast is for 60s today but no sunshine or blue skies expected for a couple days

The rain is a good thing since we are in a drought and the Spring growth is considerably less spectacular than usual due to lack of moisture. The winds have been incredible. The windows and roof on the poor old homestead rattled and roared as loud as I have ever heard. Two nights this week it was kind of like trying to sleep by the side of a railroad track with a never-ending train passing by. There will be very little outdoor fun this week-end so it is a good thing that we have some indoor plans. We are meeting Kris and Christian for lunch in Harrisonburg on Saturday. They will be in Bridgewater packing up Kris's show and we got our bid in for a bit of time with them. We are looking forward to it since it is so seldom we get together these days. Might even be the last opportunity for a good long while if they re-locate to Germany.

Sunday we are very excited to meet Kris (Win's Kris, that is - this could get confusing) and have Win home for a few hours. I hope the weather is decent enough for a walk around "the compound" and a look at Browntown in Springtime. Although Spring is not at it's best this year what with the meterological events, etc. (see above) at least Kris can see where Win grew up. I have no doubt a ride up to the 4-H Center will be in the plan.

Dad is in Baltimore this week and comes home this evening. He is gearing up for the house painting/maintenance/repair project that starts next week. I guess he will end up with a lawn chair out there in the yard supervising - at least during the hours he is home. He might need some pointers on sidewalk supervising from Uncle Rich - I think Unk got pretty good at it when they were building their house in Berryville as I recall.

Grammy has had a busy week with the funeral of a garden club member's husband and helping Rose pack up to move from Stephens City back to Front Royal. In fact, she spent the night at Rose's last night and it felt quite lonesome on "the compound" with just Cleo and me.

Maybe I need to learn how to take pix with the cell phone so I can do what other bloggers do and post pix of such things as Spring snow, weird sights on the highway, Cleo doing stuff (napping mostly these days), etc. What do you think? Oh, I have to remember to get before and after pix of the house, too, before the face lift project starts!

Paasville is no more!

Saturday was Easter Craft Day in Browntown! Auntie Char and I completely indulged our craft obsession (and dragged Grammy into it, too) with a craft afternoon on Saturday. We made felted Easter eggs and it was so much fun - also no calories which is perfect.

I bought the raw wool from a yarn crack dealer - oops, I meant to say from a local yarn shop in Winchester - and got the Kool-Aid at the grocery store. According to the knitting blogs (which now control my life, by the way), Kool-Aid is excellent dye for wool. Bright, lurid colors, non-toxic and, just a great permanent staining agent as moms of little kids can attest to. You can see from the pix that it certainly met the expectations and hype. Fun, fun Easter egg colors and the wool even smells like candy!

Anyway, it was quite a process - a bit more complicated than the Paas dye jobs of Easters past. I dyed the wool on Friday night while Dad googled "weird craft and knitting obsessions and mid-life crisis in women". After the wool was all dyed and dried, the house smelled like Hawaiian Punch and I talked Dad into making a felted Easter egg with me. Dying Easter eggs and setting up Paasville was always one of Dad's favorite Easter traditions as you all may remember. He accepted the change of method and material gracefully and we each felted an egg and it worked! After that successful little test I was ready for the Craft Day.

Saturday afternoon Auntie Char, Grammy and I spent the afternoon playing in warm, soapy water with colored wool and came up with more than a half dozen eggs which they took home for party favors (they even had little baskets which I forgot to photograph). This morning I got up and made what you see here. There is enough wool left for several dozen it appears so I may finish them out this week. How fun! Win, this is a wonderful craft for kids at camp. It involves a lot of water and throwing wet, soapy wool around - literally. You ought to check it out if you have never done it before.

Dad and I are planning to go the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in Ellicott City MD the first week-end in May. Can't wait for that! Lots of wool, yarn and knitting. Dad is planning on some "alternative" activities in the area, I believe.

Here is the wool in all stages: white is the undyed, raw wool; colored is the Kool-Aid dyed raw wool; and the felted Easter eggs are in the basket. By the way, that basket is one Emma made herself when she was in about third grade!





Easter Eggs all felted and drying in the basket