July 4th Weekend

Such a terrific July 4th Weekend!  The gang was all here ready to celebrate, relax, eat and drink.  They came from miles around - Buffalo, Ossining, and even New Jersey.  Incredible cooking especially the extra special July 4th cake - Tim made!  $50.00 worth of red, white and blue sprinkles. The weather was gorgeous.  Hiking, gardening, golfing, crafting, reading and napping.  So much fun.  It was Mom's first July 4th with the entire group. I was thrilled to have her here and I think she had an awesome time. She looked so cute in her Tulip cardigan. Thanks everyone for coming and making it such a success!

Mother's Day Catch Up

Still playing catch up.  Mother's Day weekend was lovely.  Tim's parents came up for the weekend.  Tim cooked a delicious meal and we pulled out the Amsterdam tulipiere because we had our double daffodils blooming.  Mom looked so cute in a new sweater and Tim's Mom gave her a cute floral vintage pin.  Sunday, Tim made and Egg Strada and blueberry waffles - so nice!

May Birthday Catch Up

I am playing catch up with postings at the moment.  There has been so much going on in our lives for the past few months that I am completely behind.  So, pardon me as I catch up.   My birthday came and went and Tim did an awesome job of making it special despite my constant attempt to deny that I was having a birthday.  He took me to this great restaurant in the city which is our current favorite place to go - Taboon.  Awesome cocktails and beautiful light space.   The food is mediterranean and we started with fried cheese and ceviche and then octopus and lamb meatballs and dessert and GIFTS!  The theme was outdoor grilling and I got some awesome new tools and cookware.   Thanks Tim for a great day!

Exploring....

Robert Moore Shuford was my Grandfather.  An incredibly gentle, loving, intelligent, soul.  This week - I was helping my Uncle and Aunt pack and leave North Carolina to move to Florida.  They are awesome and incredibly generous.  Over the past couple years as they transitioned from larger homes to smaller homes - they have had to slowly leave behind objects that they can no longer fit into their new lifestyles and homes.  I am glad to say that I am the fortunate and grateful recipient of some of their treasures.  Both my Grandfather and Uncle were wood workers and I love that I will carry on this tradition.  Both Grandfather and Uncle were engineers in different fields but very specialized.  My Grandfather was an engineer for Frick refrigeration and the top photo was him working in his offices. His back to the photographer - I love this pic.  I also love the pic of my Grandfather working in his wood shop in his basement in Pennsylvania.  I am going to blow this up and frame it to put in my wood shop.  I have another photo of my Uncle which I plan to blow up as well and hang it along with my Grandfather's pic.  One of the "gifts" this week is this amazing set of drawers and workbench that my Grandfather made some decades ago.  They are beat up but still functional - but it's what is in the drawers that is magical.  All of these great tools and bits and chisels that he used while working on many of his projects.  There are also meticulous notes he took while working on projects in his impeccable hand.  He had amazing penmanship.  Every drawer I opened was an intimate peak at his personality.  So excited to spend hours exploring and getting to work with his and my Uncle's tools.