Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Twelve Months



January 2013













February 2013













March 2013













April 2013













May 2013













June 2012













July 2012













August 2012













September 2012













October 2012













November 2013













December 2013




In honor of surviving another year another year coming to a close, here are twelve months of Mathews County scenes.  Not all are from this particular year, thanks to my inability to organize photos properly. Or at all.

Which means when I need to look for, say, a photo from June of this year--it is just easier to use one from June 2012 since that's what I located first.

Anyway.

Thank you for visiting this crazy little space where I share my crazy little life from this quirky yet quaint and beautiful little part of the planet.

May 2014 be your best year yet.




























Monday, December 30, 2013

New York


After a successful Christmas, Santa Claus takes a break 
and presides over Little Italy in NYC


In spite of all outward appearances, this blog is not dead--and it is still about Mathews County, Virginia.

But.

Somewhere leading up to Christmas week its owner was so preoccupied with incoming family, preparations for Christmas, her mother's birthday (Happy Christmas Eve Birthday, Chesapeake Bay Mother!), the ardent desire to simply hibernate, and a whirlwind trip to New York City with her children...that...

...Well, she simply didn't have time to breathe, nor clean up the post-Christmas dinner dishes blog.

(The blog owner, having provided her excuses, will now shift to first person. The excuses, however, continue.)

Since I only returned home last evening, I still haven't had time to take pictures of Mathews and likely won't until later this week.

Therefore, we continue to interrupt this blog claiming to be about Mathews to glance at a Mathews County family's trip to New York, where I forced myself to use my iPhone camera by not bringing my regular camera.

These unedited pictures support my theory that I still have lots to learn with even the iPhone camera.

(I never learned how to use my regular camera either. Auto mode is all I know.)

Let's begin.





For three years now, I've gone to New York after Christmas to visit my blog friends Daryl and Kate (and Lauren, formerly of Connecticut, who is now in Tennessee - we missed her this year).

The past two years I've taken Son Sam and Daughter Maria, both of whom have a very deep love of the city.

Aside from the opportunity to see friends and spend time with my teens, my love of New York can be summarized as follows.


Exhibit A:  Zabars on Broadway, a complex, epicurean
wonderland cleverly disguised by an uncomplicated storefront.
Our hotel was within walking distance.  Be still my heart.
Mere words cannot describe what lies within that store. 






Exhibit B (related to A):  The omnipresence of food from all nations and cultures.
J'adore. I just love the options and endless possibilities.






Exhibit C:  Quirky statues spring up out of nowhere.






See?










Exhibit D:  Crazy-cool architecture










See?










Exhibit Whatever Letter We're On:  My two love the city.










(Statue of Liberty in the background.)
Son Sam wrote a college entrance essay on his love of this city,
and I was astounded at the depth of his expression.










I was also astounded at (and grateful for) his use of
the iPhone's GPS to do all of our navigation.










Here my two favorite humans stand in Little Italy, my favorite side trip this year.










Next time I want to save room on the itinerary
 and in my stomach for a dinner in this neighborhood.




















Kate and Maria at Artie's Delicatessan at 83rd and Broadway.
This and Zabars are within walking distance of Daryl's apartment and
our hotel.  Given all the driving I do in real life, being able to
walk to these fabulous places on vacation was heavenly.
Absolutely heavenly.










Daryl is the best NYC friend and hostess on the planet.
She's exceedingly patient with and forgiving of blog friends
who are so full from days of overindulgence that they order eggplant soup
instead of a reuben at a New York deli.
(Thank you, Daryl!)
Daughter, on the other hand, had her first taste of matzo ball soup.











One day we walked clear from 80th Street to Seattle, WA
across the Brooklyn Bridge.










Daughter Maria and I, neither of us strangers to long distance walking or running,
were grateful for a reprieve on the other side of the bridge.










Sam (right) continues to admire the city view.










After hoofing it across the thousand-mile Brooklyn Bridge with every other
waking person within a 50-mile radius, Daughter wanted pizza.  So we obliged.
Click here and here to read the story about Juliana's .










The views on the Brooklyn side of the bridge were really spectacular.




























































Speaking of spectacular, this may have been my favorite scene of all,
from Saturday's jaunt on the High Line with Daryl and Kate.





















This ad for a storage company reminds me why I moved from suburban DC to Mathews
when Son and Daughter were very young. I felt too crowded in the city.
Their rural foundation was unique; they had plenty of room to flourish.
But now they are ready to spread their wings and move on to new things.











If one or both decide on New York, I'll be thrilled.
Especially if regular Little Italy cannolis might be involved.
(And I am not really a sweets sort of person, but still.  Wow.)



We thoroughly enjoyed and exhausted ourselves but actually did plenty other than eat--in spite of my spin on events.  Friday we joined Kate for a tour of NBC studios that included visits to the Saturday Night Live, NBC Nightly News and Today Show sets.  That, along with all the food, along with getting lost in Brooklyn (in this neighborhood which was absolutely fascinating) were my favorite parts.

And of course seeing good friends.

And eating.

Did I mention the food?




p.s. Thanks, Daryl, for always being the perfect hostess.  And thanks, Kate, for joining us at the end of what's been a particularly tough year.  Thank you both for spending time with us.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Stingray Point Marina





















A few weeks ago I took these shots from Stingray Point Marina in Deltaville.





















































It's a busy week in the Chesapeake Bay Family household.




If I don't have the opportunity to post again, Merry Christmas.







Thursday, December 19, 2013

Holly Ball










Saturday night was the Holly Ball for Mathews High School students.  Based on Son Sam's desire to have a pre- and post-Holly Ball gathering at my house, I needed to have the place at least looking like it was ready for Christmas.  Above is the artificial tree I've battled since Sam was two years old.  Since this is a PG-rated blog, I won't go into the words that were hurled forth into the universe trying to get this thing up from the basement, assembled and decorated.  You're welcome.

Below is the also-decorated dining room where Sam, his friend Dillon and their dates ate rather than going out somewhere.

(Guess who did the cooking?)



















While I was cooking, Sam's date Kelly helped with Daughter Maria's makeup.

By the way, this is the first time 15-year-old Maria has allowed anyone to make her up for a dance. Although I've asked in the past, she was quick to show me the hand and shake her head vehemently.

This time, however, she agreed to it. (Thank you again, Kelly.) 





I adore this girl.
(Her brother too.)










Maria, Sam, Sam's date/friend Kelly and Sam's friend Dillon, whose date had not yet arrived.










Kelly ran cross country with Daughter; she and Dillon both play soccer.










Daughter's date Justin also ran cross country and broke more than a few records this year.










Dillon and his gorgeous date Ginna










Our lovely neighbors Sabrina and Robyn Barrack
stopped by to take Daughter and Date out to dinner.
They went to Richardson's.










I just love this picture.










My two favorite people.  (Dimples, anyone?)










There's so much I could say about this. It's as if they're trying to be good, but there's
a little twinkle in their eyes.  Like they're already fast forwarding to the post-dance gathering in my
 basement, an event that lasted until HAS IT ENDED YET?











Dinner for the seniors






We all survived the Holly Ball. 



The End.