Puzzled

Today we tackled a 3-D puzzle of Venice, Italy. It took the combined effort of three people about six hours to complete, barring a quick pop and fudge break for sustenance. The detail in the puzzle is incredible; I can almost hear the lapping of the water...*sigh*

Snowed In

D. and Dad worked on this puzzle while I baked cookies and made fudge.

5 People, 4 Batches of cookies, 3 Cameras, 2 Pups, and 1 Big Ole Bird Later...

After sleeping in the next day and cycling through showers we hit the city at the early hour of 4pm. Shopping on the agenda we headed to Soho, jumpin' on the subway...

Merry X-Mas mom, here's the best we could do for an all kid pic


Alright, Alright, Fine!

Stopping at Housing Works Bookstore for some hot chocolate.


Indulging in a bottle of wine and pizza in Little Italy we decided to pick names for Christmas

A Sarah Smile

Head towards Time Square

How many logos do you see??

Struttin' in Times Square long enough to say llllets go

Leaving Times Square we headed to Union Square for more shopping. Being a bit shopped out ourselves J Bro and I took refuge in a bar while the others checked out some more stores.

J Bro

Sister D

Sister S looks smiley and happy but inside she's excited to sit after two full days

Thanksgiving Kirby Kid Style: A Brooklyn Loft Welcome

Thanksgiving day in Brooklyn started out as any normal Thursday for an unemployed person. Waking up by the sun and getting jumped on by puppy dogs. From there Daph, J bro and I began the pre-thanksgiving loft prep. Cleaning ensued since a new addition to the puppy family created double the hair!

Soon I left to run last minute errands in the city while J-bro went to pick up Sister S & J as Daph tackled the Thanksgiving Feast.

After getting multiple texts about Sister J staying on the plane since it went on to Rome, i was pleased to see both of my sisters already relishing in a glass of wine after I came home from errands.

Bottles of wine cracked, neighbors stopping by and after many rounds of basting with a soap dispenser later(pics on hold due to a sister D error), the turkey finished around 11pm. Compliments of Daph and J Bro, the menu consisted of Collard greens, bread, turkey, squash, yams, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. To say the least, we all fell asleep in a heavenly bliss.

Built by J-Bro, claimed by Cinder...

2 couch kickin' it

95th Birthday Fun

J and S treated Grammy to her first ever spa day. J and Grammy started out with Estee Lauder makeup sessions at Macy's then S and Grammy went in for a spa pedicure at Misbehaven. Although she felt everyone was going to "too much trouble," Grammy thoroughly enjoyed everything. Of particular note was her nail polish color choice. She chose Tasmanian Devil, which she calls "The Devil Made Me Do It." Now she wonders what her podiatrist will think at her next appointment! Our day ended with meeting Dad for dinner at La Casita and then homemade ice cream and marionberry cobbler at home.

PUMPKIN CARVING

Begrudgingly, I carved up two pumpkins for our front porch the night before Halloween. Hubby, D, is always quick to enlist me in this annual endeavor, but I always moan and groan about the mess and effort it requires. Now that the kids are gone I thought it was more trouble than it was worth, but I was surprised to find that Mom, who has since turned 95, really enjoyed my efforts. In fact, although I did the scraping, cleaning, and cutting, she designed the sexy, pouty pumpkin on the left and became quite involved in its transition.

Salute Italia

Venice & Rome

Here is my final email. Again I have no idea where I last left off especially because this computer won't let me go to my blogspot to check. So bear with me:

Yes, Florence was unanimuously not our favorite. It was hot and muggy and caused crankyness. The last night was finally cooler, however we were both glad to be on our way to Venice. Venice was amazing. The water was gross and it smelled, but in comparison to Florence anyway, it was paradise. Our moods immediately changed and we were instantly intrigued by its nooks and crannies. I dragged J to a couple of modern museums. This was my favorite in part because it was the latest things that I have gone over in my Art History courses. It was also a nice change of pace to everything that we have seen here. I respect their motives more than the artists during the renaissance period, but I will respect the artists of that period more than I ever will the modernists. Either way, it was exciting to see. Our hotel was awesome in that we could open our window and instantly see a small side canal which gondaliers were continuously using. The whole concept of seeing water right up to the bottoms of doors was just plain wild! We did tons of walking around and still checked out the neighboring islands. This was definitely an awesome city to end in. I think mainly because it did not feel like a city. Overall, I have instantly fallen in love with all the places that do not feel like cities. They are the ones that I will remember forever. Jen left early this morning to catch her plane. I, however, stayed behind and enjoyed the day. Again it was odd to be by myself. Nonetheless, I walked all over Rome. I just recently had my last and my favorite Italian meal of Tortellini Bolognese (sp?), of course complimented with a glass of red wine. Drawing and writing ensued. I will definitely miss this life of doing whatever I feel whenever I feel, but unfortunately a part of me is ready to take what I learned and apply it to my own life. Watch out people because I'm comin' back! Feel free to give me a call after Wednesday of your time! I hope all are doing well. Keep, Keepin it real!

D (kirbs)