remembering reflections

I loved this piece by Jackie Pansari entitled "Reflection on Japan".
There are little Japanese newspaper cut-outs at the bottom of each
glass piece. I simply fell in love and can't give any rational reasons,
so be it. This was at the Burchfield Penney Art Center and yes, I
did buy a couple of items in the gift shoppe.

My inner clock is goofy today, but I'm enjoying the peaceful early
morning hours before I head out to the Legion for a good work day.

buffalo ~ street hockey sunday

The StepRob and I had a few hours to explore downtown Buffalo and there was a big hockey event here with ex-stars and young players and bales of smelly hay and lots of fun, it looked like.

This is Ani DiFranco's Church of Revolutionary Music Babes (or whatever), but it's right downtown and is a big deal. Lots of churches and temples in Buffalo. The downtown is sort of dead, alas, like so many cities across the country.

A wonderful brunch at Betty's on Virginia Street. Even better than Bob Evans!

And then, the great surprise. Rob loves museums. Who knew? This is a
tapestry at the new Burchfield Penney Art Center and we found some
other wonderful art here too. I'll write about another piece tomorrow,
but I wanted to cover the very nice day I had with "the boy". We don't
have a chance to just hang out together and I think it was special for
both of us. Then dinner with Rob and his delightful wife, Sarah, and
early to bed for my 6am flight to SF.

Smooth JetBlue home and a slow de-packing afternoon and a few
little house tasks. I'm so glad I made this family-heavy trip, it was
cause for some trepidation beforehand, but well worth it.

a full day of family, food, beauty

We started the yesterday with a big family breakfast gathering at Bob Evans, a block away from the Red Roof. As of this morning I've had 4 meals here. Who was Bob Evans?

The granddaughter was fabulous and the bat mitzvah was fun and inspirational. There were two rabbis (one female, one male) and both stayed on topic (the g. dot Lindsay) and I thought the ceremony was extremely interesting. It was my first.

After lox and bagels, etc., five of us headed for Niagara Falls. Some rain, some sun and ALL outstanding. We just stayed on the American side, but what views.

I have been to Niagara Falls twice before, but never walked around the
park up here to see so many falls and vistas. We all needed to stretch
our legs and have some time to appreciate this wonder. My step, Nancy,
and I needed some moments for private chats and catch-up and we
found it yesterday, as we strolled and ooooohed and ahhhhhed. Lovely day indeed.

Last night was the party at the country club. Not too many photos, alas,
but there were about 50 young girls all dressed up in delightful finery.
They had their special room and music, glow-stuff, balloons, photo
booth ~ they roamed in groups of 10 or so, and when one of us would
venture into their dance area, they would all leave. It was great to
watch them and know that the g.dot would have this night and day
of special memories with her family and friends.

This morning ~ back to Bob Evans and then some quiet time before I
see Rob and family later. Many goodbye hugs and wet eyes as the rest
of them head for Pittsburgh, Chicago, Utica.

day one in clarence, ny

Rob and I started with coffee, of course. He knows
everyone in town AND their children.

Willow tree in Rob's front yard.

The front yard. No sprinkler system ~ nature does it!

One tends to forget how green the rest of the world is, even in summer.
We had a busy day of running around on errands, but I did get a nap
in before the rest of the family arrived yesterday afternoon. We were
almost late to temple in Buffalo and you know that makes me tense,
but there were a lot of people to organize in assorted "big" SUV-type
cars. The g. dots here are very sweet and fun. Today is Lindsay's Bat
Mitzvah followed by a Kiddush Luncheon and then a party at the
Country Club tonight. Wonderful sleep last night!

more coffee, honey?

It's 8:45am here in Buffalo and I just finished a large breakfast
at Bob Evans down the road. A typical not-SF-like coffee shop
with perky waitresses on the good side of 50 (or 60)? In any
event, my cell rang during the sunnyside up part and it was JetBlue
telling me they would be delivering the "mishandled" bag before
10am today. Oh, double hooray!

I did sleep a bit, after taking inventory of every single item that
might have been lost in the bag. Then I expanded to a shopping
trip to find something to wear to all these family events and it's
amazing that I slept at all. Oh, the mind, the mind.

The youngest stepson, Rob, picked me up at midnight and he really
is a joy. I almost killed him during his teen years, so seeing him
now with the grey hair is a shock. But that same delightful humor
that kept him alive when he was young, was most appreciated
after consecutive hours on planes.

I have experienced lost luggage so many times that I now travel
with a photo and I include the dimensions of my bag. It was a
huge help. And I stay calm. Talk about a nasty job, dealing with
folks with lost luggage.

Weather? A warm almost-drizzle. Real summer.
OK, I need to unpack.