Sunday, January 26, 2014

Christmas Clearance

One of my late Christmas presents was a new laptop. New technology in the hands of an old person. So far I have managed to get my pictures from my phone onto my new laptop, but I don't have the editing program that I had on my old laptop so my pictures from the new laptop are posted "as-is" and not very satisfactory to my way of thinking. In the meantime, I have been going back and forth between laptops and I found some pictures from Christmas on the old laptop that need to be shared for the sake of history and posterity and etc. etc.

So here is a baker's dozen in Christmas leftovers--hopefully not too far past their freshness date:

The Christmas cover from our cute small-town newspaper...


Uncle Tyler (and the ipad) entertaining the nieces

Adorable little June practicing her walking skills with Nana--
she has since gone pro and runs around like a superstar.

Miss Norah and Miss Bailey opening Christmas gifts


Twas a few days before Christmas and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
Because Ninja was on duty.

Just a funny picture of Ninja's "Cat From Outer Space" impression

We had three join our family since last Christmas:
One daughter-in-law and two granddaughters.
As per tradition, they all get stockings that match the Gale Family lineup.


The General Store was decked with boughs of holly and
looked very festive. Best sandwiches in the town!

Another festive place in our town:
The gazebo Christmas tree in The Pleasance --a beautiful park on Main Street.



Some Christmas crafting with Nana

Our little chef enjoying one of her Christmas gifts:
real chef tools--while sporting her hand-painted Christmas apron and
PopPop's chef hat!

Sam instagramming The Lumberjack from King's--
our favorite place for a hardy breakfast.


And our mailbox bit the dust one last time. 
We finally solved the mystery and solved the problem.
But that is a post for another day...

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Some Ballet in the Big City


As I mentioned in my previous post, Siara and I went into New York City to see 
George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, performed by the New York City Ballet.
The grand-daddy of all Nutcracker Ballets.
Her hubby Tyler went with us and we had a fun adventure in the big city.
We took the train from Fairfield Metro to Grand Central and
 the Subway to Lincoln Center. 
It was a rainy day but that didn't dampen our spirits a bit.
We had lunch together and then Tyler went off on his
own to explore some museums while Siara and I enjoyed the ballet.
It was spectacular--the Christmas tree grows up from under the stage into the rafters
and it's huge! At the end Clara and her Prince fly above the stage in a sleigh.
The costumes were beautiful and the dancing exquisite.
Is that enough adjectives for you?
It was truly an experience. 

The Subway poster for the Nutcracker

Some amazing Subway entertainment


I love the beautiful Subway mosaic art...


Looking at the overpriced souvenirs during intermission.


Siara, my stylish ballet attending companion....
You will be proud of her, as I was, that
She didn't jump up during the overture and
shout "Let's get this show on the road!"
She's come a long way since her exuberant, spunky little girl days.
Oh, she is still exuberant and spunky--
just a little quieter when the occasion calls for it. 



Sunday, January 19, 2014

Happy New Year!

Things have been a little crazy around here--so what else is new right? I've had a moment to catch my breath so I thought I would do a little catch-up...

Sam's turn to put the Angel on the tree


Christmas came and went. Sam came home from college for the holidays and we enjoyed his company and the brotherly shenanigans that go along with having Sam and Shane together under the same roof. I enjoyed hearing him play the piano--I have missed that! It went too fast and we shipped him back to the BYU a few days after the new year.

Visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads


 It is an "off" year for us--our married children were all here last year so they would be spending Christmas with their in-laws this year. But Siara and Tyler came out from Utah to spend Christmas with us-- a lovely bonus. Also, since Scott and Nicole and the girls live close by, they spent a few days before Christmas with us as well. Good times.

WARNING: Old people medical stuff coming up...

Sadly, Andy had been in and out of the hospital and ER and doctor's offices since November trying to figure out what was causing him  excruciating pain in his back. They were throwing every possible drug at him and nothing was helping. It began to get frightening as the clues were not adding up to anything. Finally, the Friday before Christmas he went in for an MRI. It was an infected disc. The disc he had surgery on in September to resolve sciatica pain. The surgery solved that problem and started another. He was ordered straight to the hospital and told not to eat or drink anything. After hours of waiting, he was finally admitted and he found out he would have to be hospitalized for 4 or 5 days. The plan was to give him antibiotics through an IV drip three times a day and wait for the biopsy to grow enough to identify which bacteria was the culprit. We were looking at having Dad/PopPop in the hospital over Christmas. In the meantime, kids and grandkids were arriving and festivities needed to get started. It was the saddest of sads to visit Dad in the hospital and see him suffering and still wondering if he would get to come home for Christmas.

This is starting to sound like a lame Made for TV Christmas Special.

So let's jump to the ending:
The doctor decided they could give him a PICC line and he could administer the antibiotics himself at home. There was some more suspense as we weren't sure if the special PICC line installers would be available so close to the holidays--but they were! And they threaded that line from his shoulder up into the vein near his heart and he got to come home on Christmas Eve eve.

But that was the day I had planned months in advance to go to the New York City Ballet's Nutcracker with Siara. As per our Christmas tradition. The tickets were purchased, the anticipation building and the plans for a lovely cultural experience were in motion. How could I be at the Lincoln Center taking in the timeless story of dancing rats, heroic nutcrackers and lovely sugarplum fairies whilst my husband was abandoned to find his own way home from the Danbury Hospital? A decidedly less cultural experience (except for that bacterial culture growing in his back...).

 "Go! You are not missing the ballet for this craziness. I'll get home somehow. I'm just not sure if they will let me check out without proof that I have someone to drive me--don't worry! I'll be fine." he insisted.



Luckily, Scott was there to save the day and be the back-up driver
to fetch his father from the hospital if need be. 
But, Andy drove himself home.
 He is the CEO of toughness--
and just a bit crazy.



So we got to spend Christmas together.

God Bless Us, Everyone!







Happy Birthday Scott!

 It has been awhile since I updated this little family scrapbook on the internet. I like to pop over here from time to time and look at our ...