Still Here

In spite of all outward appearances, this blog has been picked clean by turkey buzzards who circled over its dead carcass for months. is not yet dead--nor am I!  (Click for sound of applause.)


After many months of wearing a bath robe all day resting and focusing on getting better, I finally am.

As of this moment in time, my scans have all come back clear of Hodgkins lymphoma, and if all goes well/clear for the next two years, I am pretty much good to go--at least on the lymphoma front. One of the unintentional benefits of doing so many scans is you discover things you didn't know you had, such as an ascending aortic aneurysm.  For now, nobody seems to be concerned about that, so I'm pretending like I don't need to be either.  I've definitely sharpened my denial skills in the past year, that's for sure.

In addition, I gained weight and lost hair, sadly. But I can work on losing the weight and finding the hair.  Actually, it doesn't sound very good to find hair, so let's say that the hair will grow back instead.  There.  Better.

Although I've been away from this blog for a while, lots has happened.  For example:

• In the spring of this year, this dead blog turned ten years old!
• My son graduated from UVA and is now living in Costa Rica working for Global Leadership Adventures as a camp counselor of sorts.  
• My second child completed the second year of architecture school at UVA with good grades.
• My father, although weak, is back to cutting grass and chopping wood and conducting perimeter checks of Waverly Lane on his golf cart. All good.
• My mother, not without some health scares of her own, has had good test results lately.
• I am back to work four days a week but squeezed in an End of Chemo Celebration Trip to Moab, Utah, with my blog friend Lauren.  We went on a jet boat tour of the Colorado River, went on a slickrock jeep tour, ziplined, and toured Arches National Park as well as Dead Horse State Park.  I highly recommend a trip to Moab for an unforgettable experience.

My intention is to return to blogging somewhat regularly, but it all hinges on my home internet working properly.  My internet is free of charge thanks to a deal my parents worked out with a local provider who put a tower behind their barn.  It's been spotty service at best here lately.  But assuming I have time to take pictures and my internet is up and running I hope to get back into a routine of some sort here on this crusty old blog.  

In the meantime, thank you for reading.

Alive and Kickin'

Once upon a time, Chesapeake Bay Daughter graduated high school and delivered the best Valedictorian speech her mother had ever heard.

One of these days Chesapeake Bay Woman will post the video of that speech, which was funny and relaxed and awesome and perfectly delivered--even if she, the mother, does say so herself.

Then, one day, forty thousand and ten other things happened, including sporadic internet and laptop functionality, and Chesapeake Bay Woman let her blog die slide.

In spite of all outward appearances, this blogger blog isn't dead.  Not yet.

There is too much to report and not enough time to do so. At least not until this blogger is Empty Nesting (effective mid-August).  So much has happened here in Mathews since I last checked in.

I promise to return to regular blogging updates as soon as time permits.

I hope all is well in your world!

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.

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.

Three Things

Mother, Daughter, Father

Thursday is at our door once again, which means it's time to share three things.

1. Tuesday night Daughter was inducted into the Beta Club at Mathews High School. The ceremony included a speech from the club's Vice President, aka her brother, as well as a series of mistakes from others that made the whole thing one of the funniest school events I've attended in a long time.* (Click here for what I am always reminded of when required to act dignified in an environment that demands laughter--act being the operative word, and dignified being subject to interpretation.)

2.  It's been raining lions and elephants cats and dogs nonstop the past few days.  Last evening's high tide brought water way over the dock and well into the yard.  The wind and driving rain create an environment that says one thing and one thing only:  Hi. Ber. Nate. Already.

3. In my second week of Employed Unemployment or Vacation Without Using Vacation Time due to the government shutdown, I've begun the process of hibernation cleaned out two huge closets, made homemade chicken soup, napped visited the library, napped attempted to skim through a few books, and more.  So much so that Son remarked that the government should shut down more often.  He couldn't see a down side to it, especially as he reached for a paper towel to wipe off the barbecue sauce from the ribs I slow-cooked in the crock pot yesterday.

* 4. If it ever stops raining and my desire to hibernate dissipates mood improves, I'll try to write the Beta Club Comedy of Errors story.

Now it's your turn to share three things.Whatever is on your mind.  Anything at all.

Remember, three is just a suggestion.

Son (aka Beta Club Vice President) and Daughter
My two favorite people.

One Year

Senior and Sophomore

Yesterday was the first day of school for Son and Daughter.

One year ago, after Son's first day of school, we drove to Norfolk

for a major surgery to correct a birth defect.  

We were in the hospital for five brutal days.

He was out of school for about a month.

One year from now, he'll be entering college.

One year ago she spent her first week of school being cared for by 

my mother and Middle Sis, who flew in from Georgia 

to help out while Son and I were at the hospital.

One year from now?  

High school junior.

~~~~~

What a difference a year makes.

~~~~~

Click here, here and here for posts related to the surgery, which seems like ages ago.

(Everything is fine now.)

Happy Start of Another School Year.