Hunt Valley |
Part 2 Nancy Murdock Monday, January 15 Shopping: Monday, Martin Luther King Day, I also had the day off, so Bob had planned that part of our celebration would be combined with his trip to the audiologist. After the appointment, we drove up to Hunt Valley Town Center, an upscale shopping area, which was new to me. In some ways, it reminded me of Disneyland Main Street. I learned afterward that it was also called Main Street in Hunt Valley. We had lunch at Noodles & Co., where I had a delicious, healthful version of Pad Thai, which was topped with raw bean sprouts. Bob ordered a dish that featured Italian pasta. We both added the seasoned, braised tofu chunks. We brought home about half of our servings. I finished mine and a small amount of Bob’s for lunch on Wednesday. We browsed along the street, stopping at such important finds as a Caribou Coffee shop. Then we spent some time at Greetings & Readings, which has a splendid assortment of well-displayed greeting cards, a few birthday decorations and games, and an excellent display of books, complete with cozy places to sit and enjoy them. This gave me a chance to pull out my romance novel and sit while Bob was skimming the shelves. We noticed a small coffee bar with muffins and cookies, so we enjoyed some decaf and split a cinnamon muffin. We had fun looking at what the other side of the street offered, including Filene’s Basement, which reminded us of our Massachusetts years. During our years in the Boston area, we considered Filene’s Basement a great place to browse. But we decided not to go inside, feeling that it couldn’t be the same now, as Filene’s has been merged into a conglomerate of good department stores. Getting back to our car required a little more finesse than parking it. We had parked in the Light Rail lot, not knowing that there was a lot nearer to the stores. It was an easy walk over to the stores, crossing the rails at the crosswalk. However, by the time we finished browsing, the trains were parked for the night, and we couldn’t cross at that crosswalk without climbing up over a train, which I am sure wouldn’t have been a pain-free decision. We finally spotted another crosswalk farther away, when we reached a spot where the white lines could be seen, down a few inches below the level. By then, we were ready to buzz on home, leaving the Wegman’s grocery store for another time. It had been a good birthday trip. |
Gallery photo |
Part 3 Nancy Murdock Tuesday, January 16 Celebration at Work: In mid-morning we received a message at work that our component would have a meeting at 1:30. I wondered if this was a meeting to announce someone’s promotion or receipt of an award. Happily, I managed to get back in time from lunch (where I had gone late). As the first person to arrive at the meeting, I staked out a good, comfortable chair for whatever news we would receive, in case it ran longer than I was estimating. When Russ, our Director, came in, he started by saying, “The purpose of this meeting is to honor one who has just passed a really significant birthday. “ He went on to say some very nice things about my passion for my work, the number of diverse things in which I had an interest, etc. Later I noticed that on the card they all signed, he had said, “To one of the most vibrant people I’ve ever known. Happy Birthday!” The cake was a delight - a HUGE delight! It was a moist white cake with soft, thick white frosting, which had been decorated as a quilt with colored sugars. It even had a little lace-edged pillow at one end! It had been made by Ms. Dessert, the best cake bakery nearby. It was a very impressive cake! Right after we went back to work, my friend Donna brought me a personal gift of something she said she had seen and had said to herself, “I need to get that for Nancy!” It was a Happy Birthday Beanie Baby bear , wearing a hat that looked like a birthday cake with one candle. I can’t wait for the next birthday among the group that one couple often invites us to, as they have a community birthday hat - bigger, of course, with more candles. The birthday celebrant wears it during the party. I think it was also on Tuesday that my lunchmates (“The Eccentrics”) sang Happy Birthday to me at lunchtime. Even some who are embarrassed to do something like that in public pitched in, trying to look cool as they did it. Joe said he was okay with it as long as he wasn’t the one sung to. They also had me tell the details of my birthday celebration. I had a great time discussing the concert with them, especially as Miles had gone to a similar concert the night before. It was a great day! Thursday, January 18 Sew & Tell 1: On Wednesday, I got an email that both Shelley and Deborah would be coming to the Thursday Sew & Tell. Shelley, who seldom can make it because she is stationed several miles away, would be in a training class at the Headquarters complex. So Thursday as I hung my 65th birthday quilt (from S & T) outside my cubicle, I looked forward to a fun meeting. To be sure everyone passing by knew the significance of the quilt, I pinned a short explanation next to it. Since I knew these two friends were coming on Sunday, when we would likely have a small celebration for Amy and me, the two January birthday gals, I didn’t expect anything to be happening on Thursday. So when they each pulled out a great dessert, I was pleasantly surprised. Shelley had a large Ms. Dessert Lemon Cream Cake, and Deborah brought Trader Joe’s apple pie. I had some of each and enjoyed both heartily. Deborah, who gave me dark chocolates from Trader Joe’s as a birthday gift, also gave me the remaining apple pie to bring home and share with Bob. I persuaded Shelley to take home the lemon cream cake and bring it to the Sunday meeting, instead of giving it to me Thursday. Our fridge was already full of the two other birthday cakes, and we didn’t want to end up with more than we could actually handle. Friday, January 19 Great Leftovers and More Gifts: We have been nibbling the big cake for days, and today (Friday), I finally cut it up and stored it in covered dishes. I had to rearrange most of the refrigerator to get it in there. We had already reduced Colleen’s cherry chocolate cake, which was not as high, to manageable sized pieces to go into storage containers. Bob gave me some more birthday gifts, including a Franklin Crossword Puzzle Solver, which he had ordered by mail. I’m hoping that all of my crossword activity will help ward off Alzheimer’s Disease. Saturday, January 20 Still Celebrating: Today, on my brother Steve’s 70th birthday, I am still in process with my 75th! We finished the pie for dessert tonight. I am hoping to be able to share some of the cake tomorrow during Adult C.E. We also watched a “Rumpole at the Bailey” episode from the DVD Bob gave me for Christmas 2005. This has been a great, long holiday season!! |
75th B-day quilt Gallery photo Whole quilt |
Part 4 Nancy Murdock Sunday, January 21 Sew & Tell 2, Another Unexpected Party! Bob finished his deviled eggs to send to my Sew & Tell meeting just in time for me to grab one to eat and then pack the car for the meeting. I figured there would be a couple of fun things to eat, especially with two birthdays this month (Amy’s and mine). First I walked into Seminole Sampler (the quilt fabric shop where we meet once a month) with the eggs and a few other things, turning right into the room where we bring our goodies. Then I went back to the car for the rest of my things, including a bag of quilting paraphernalia I was bringing to show Evelyn how to make her first block. I had also brought the S&T gifts from my 65th and 70th birthdays. The 65th was our first group birthday quilt, chaired by Lynda Brugge, when there were only six of us in what was then our little weekly craft group, started by Lynda. In 1997 it was a really innovative quilt, with panels containing lots of little conversation prints starting with one of the letters in my name. After that start, we began giving group quilts, including several more Name quilts, to members when they had a decade birthday, retirement party, or baby. They’re fun to make but require a large stash of conversation prints to select from. I had not expected to have anything special for my 70th birthday, since I had received the wonderful “Fabricating Nancy” quilt only 5 years before. But they surprised me with a very innovative bag for quilting items, poetry, etc. Each member, plus Bob, did a block with a quotation, using some light green fabric I had hand-dyed. Beth put it together with soft green ultrasuede and other fabrics. It has zippers and lots of pockets. I have loved it from the first time I laid eyes on it! And it’s big enough to carry a large wallhanging! So for January 2007, with two birthdays to celebrate, I thought maybe someone would have made a cake, and we would be receiving a few small gifts. But after I had placed the deviled eggs in the eating room, I walked into the sewing room and noticed that the table with space for me to sit at had a display of wrapped gifts dominated by a huge, heavy gift basket of snack foods from Harry & David’s. I opened the card, expecting it would be signed by all of the Sew & Tell folks, and the other gifts would be for Amy. But - surprise - the large gift basket was for me, from only two people - Barbara and Tobi! And the other gifts were also for me. I could only hope that Amy had already opened hers, as I was late for the meeting. They had really done well by me! When I got the call to come to the other room to eat, they held me back a little and told the others who hadn’t yet picked up food to hold back also. I wondered if there was a cake with candles. But no - they proceeded to give me a fantastic, innovative art quilt! It’s so unusual that I need to write it up for Quilting Arts magazine. First of all, they had started this in August but been quite relaxed about it, as they expected just to make a block from each of them, then put them all together to make a quilt. But they decided they were running out of time, so each little quilt block got quilted and bound. They are either 6 ½ “ square or 7" square, depending on how each one interpreted the instructions. Then they had to figure out a way to display the “blocks,” which were actually tiny quilts. The updated plan was to use magnets in them and apply them to a fridge, etc. But then Beth and her husband, Dave, thought it would be better to give the whole quilt, not a batch of small ones that might fall off the fridge when it was opened, so Dave got a piece of heavy “chicken wire” (but not the kind I grew up with) which they “bound” in two colors of duct tape. Beth put in enough small magnets to hold the quilts up on the background screen. A title quilt at the top, 2 ½ “ x 13", says “Do the Quilt Block Shuffle.” This is the most unusual quilt I have ever seen. You can interact with it by moving the squares around at will. Bob has had a fine time, re-designing and enjoying it. One other thing is memorable about this day, also. Shelley brought her famous garbanzo (chickpea) cake with berry sauce, which I really love. She admitted that she and her husband, Nelson, had finished off all of the lemon cream cake, which had not been her intention! When we got ready to go, I was given all the leftover whipped cream, strawberries, assorted salads, and assorted munchies, such as Soy and Flax Tortilla Chips. |
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Part 5 Nancy Murdock Friday, February 2 Final Gift: Bob has been giving me additional gifts he had planned, included a crossword puzzle solver electronic aid; a bathroom clock that gives the time, date, day of the week, and temperature (a replacement for a clock we received several years ago and relied on until it recently gave up the ghost); a box of chocolate truffles; and a really great thermometer that he stuck onto the outside of the patio door. It’s at eye level, in good big numbers. Today Bob gave me his final gift for this exciting birthday. We went to the Olive Garden restaurant in Columbia for a delicious meal in mid-afternoon. Ostensibly it was lunch, but we wanted to avoid a long wait to be seated, so we picked a slow time. And I had served breakfast very late. The Italian food was really good, and we had immediate seating and excellent service. I ordered portabello ravioli with smoked cheese cream sauce, and minestrone soup; and Bob chose five-cheese baked ziti with his minestrone soup. When the soup came, along with tasty soft breadsticks with butter and garlic spread, I took one look at it and realized it would be a complete meal at home. So I said very definitely to Bob, “I’m going to take home the ravioli.” You can probably guess the next chapter. Naturally, I wanted just to sample the ravioli. Oh wow, that sauce was really, really good! Well, I could still take home most of it. Most turned to some, and finally Bob looked at the empty plate and asked, “Weren’t you planning to take home the ravioli?” It’s no wonder we’re all overweight in this era. Somebody obviously feeds us too much! And it tastes way too good! Bob brought home most of his five-cheese ziti, and we split it for dinner, along with two of the four breadsticks. Saturday, February 3 Finishing up: Tonight at dinner we finished the final two breadsticks from the birthday meal at the restaurant. The birthday cakes and various gift chocolates are all gone, and the dish of cream cheese with salsa (from the S & T party) was finished a few days ago. (Colleen really loved it!) I would say that we made very good use of all the food I brought home. In fact, the salads from S & T on Sunday comprised at least two noon meals at work. The cakes were good to the last crumb, which got scooped up about 10 days after I received them. I have received many messages and cards from family and friends. I am still pinching myself to have received so much attention for a single birthday. I feel really, really loved and very pleased to be here, especially since both of my parents died of natural causes at age 52. I’m looking forward to the 90th now, wondering who will be helping me to celebrate and whether I will know what is going on. Grandma Howlett lived to age 92, and I recall how sharp she still was at her 90th birthday party. My mother and Aunt Doris, who co-hosted the party, had asked Grandma what she would like for her gift. Grandma said she would like to have another volume of Winston Churchill’s "History of the English-Speaking Peoples." So I have a good example to follow! |
Photo by Natt |
for all of us to live by Ian Murdock Well, I wanted to go to this party But came down with the terminal blues There I stood for an hour and sobbed in the shower Then just couldn't drag on my shoes And the Taoist within me was wordless My Christian spit nonsense in tongues The strength that I had went so suddenly absent It sucked the breath right from my lungs Everyone Our choice will be ashes or dust One day soon As each of our voices is hushed Does that bother you? Do you want it to? But hey! others will come and discover The joy in the things we once did They'll have our last names and look kinda the same There will always be one little kid And there's nothin' like bein' a kid Everyone Let's give all the love that we can Let's let them Remember good times that we had Are you listening? It's the greatest thing... So I won't put a gun to my temple Or pray for a train to hit me We haven't earned death 'til we've drawn our last breath And there's no telling when that'll be No, no, no telling when that'll be I wanted to go to this party And I see that it's still not too late I'll push off those blues and I'll pull on these shoes Yeah, the darkness and silence can wait Well, the darkness and silence can wait All the darkness and silence Will... wait. |
Gene's Game Room |
Gene Murdock February 26: When I win the lottery I will move into a big house with lots of rooms for all my hobbies and interests. One room will be designated as the Game Room. It will have to be quite large, because in it will be a pool table, a poker table, and several card tables, plus plenty of comfortable chairs. The toys I choose for this fantasy are what I would call “comfort” toys to suit my “seven year old” mentality. So there would be no weapons of any sort, no electronic gadgets, no devils and dragons stuff, and none requiring other than a modicum of physical activity. For example there would be plenty of board games like Monopoly (several versions of it), Trivial Pursuit, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry, and even dominoes. No chess, checkers or other heavy concentration pursuits. Also I would have a few card games like Milles Bournes, Skip-Bo and Rook plus several regular decks for all the other common card games and, of course, to build big pyramids with. A few action toys such as a model train set, Mousetrap, Operation, Battleship, Tiddly Winks, a bean bag throw, a pachinko board on the wall, plus yo-yos, jump ropes, hula hoops, and jack stones. And of course some building toys like alphabet blocks, Legos, an erector set, Lincoln logs, and Tinker Toys. Then a bunch of miscellaneous items like Kitty-in-a-keg, Jig-saw puzzles, Play Dough, Silly Putty, and Mr. Potato Head. Also Yahtzee, Toss-words, Etch-a-sketch, draw/lift/erase pads, Wooly Willy who can be made into various forms with a magnet dragging the iron filings around, and finally a View Master with plenty of viewing cards. Along the walls would be displayed my collections of cabooses and trolleys, model airplanes and stuffed toys. The stuffed toys section would include Raggedy Ann and Andy, Paddington Bear, Rubber Duckies, paper dolls, Barbie and Ken sets, and my new friends, Sulley, Mike and Boo from Monster’s Inc. Outdoors would be a concrete patio with a permanent hop-scotch diagram, and a good supply of sidewalk chalk for releasing creative energies. There would be a croquet field, horseshoe pits, a swing set, bubble making supplies and plenty of balsa gliders. That’s what’s in my Field of Dreams Game Room; what’s in yours? |
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Margery Aukstikalnis January 17: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Nancy!!!!!!! In lieu of Christmas Cards and Birthday Cards, I vowed this year to write to all my family and best friends on their birthday. Well, it's still only January and I'm late already! I didn't count on being sick on someone's birthday! (Just a GI thing.) I guess I'll have to aim for a couple days before the actual date to ensure timely delivery. The problem is I always think of people ON their birthday. I wake up in the morning and say "it's January 14th. OH! It's Nancy's birthday today! SO, even from bed and bath that day, I did think of you! We are coming out of another cold spell (record breaking cold). It was 13°F Monday morning with 40 mph winds! It sure doesn't feel like Arizona! Yesterday it never hit 40 all day. The normal for this time of year is 30 in the morning and 65 mid afternoon. Even the pets don't want to stay out for long. We received a delightful card from Meredith this Christmas. I'll be writing to her soon. She only lives 15 miles from Jack's brother Paul. We hope to visit him next year at Christmas time. Perhaps we can lunch with Meri one day while we are there. Jack's other brother, Tony and his wife Barbara are in Fiji now, on the way to spend a month in Australia!! If I could go anywhere in the world it would be Australia, ever since I read books about it in high school. Especially the farm country; it sound so beautiful. We are going RVing for a couple days in the Benson, AZ area. We leave this noon and expect to be back Friday evening. We LOVE Douglas, but every now and then we need a touch of "civilization". We hope to take a trip to Tucson next month. It's four or five hours round trip, which doesn't leave much time for shopping and sight seeing, so we would go via RV and spend a night or two. March will bring us to Mission TX to visit some Fitzwilliam friends, and April we will be back in New England for awhile. Meantime we are only as far away from family and friends as our phone and/or computer! I love it! Anyway, hope your day was fabulous. We'll look forward to the next Muse to see what kind of interesting events you enjoyed for your birthday. And THANK YOU, by the way, for keeping us all tied together with your wonderful newsletter. No matter how busy our lives get, we always take time to read notes from family!! |
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