Grandparents

Posted on May 4, 2013 by erin

FilKONtario report posting has been interrupted because earlier this week, my paternal grandmother passed away. The funeral was today.

(This picture is from my bridal shower in 2008)

My paternal grandfather (pictured above, at Justin’s wedding), died in 2009, and my maternal grandmother died in 2001, not long after I moved to Buffalo. I wrote about losing her here.

(One of my favorite photos of her. I don’t have any more recent photos scanned.)

I know I’m very lucky to have known all of my grandparents, and to have them in my life as long as I have…but it’s very heavy on my mind that I only have one grandparent left. I’m too exhausted to put any more thoughts together right now, so I’ll leave it with this.

(at grandpa’s 85th birthday party in 2007)

Confession

Posted on February 23, 2012 by erin

Sometimes I think about doing something like Kelly’s “Ask Me Anything,” but Im sort of afraid no one will actually, y’know, ask me anything.

Anyway…just one thing before I sign off, for anyone who didn’t see it on facebook already…it’s my grandpa’s 90th birthday today! Happy birthday, grandpa!

(That pic is from his 85th…I can’t believe that was 5 years ago!)

Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on May 9, 2010 by erin

Love you, mom! 🙂

Nine years

Posted on January 23, 2010 by erin

Angie Trombetta Morelli

This post is a couple of days late, as I have been busy and distracted…I also forgot to make a couple of important phone calls, and for that, I feel terrible.

Miss you, gram.

Baby Fiona

Posted on January 17, 2010 by erin

Hi all…my cousin Meghan just started a blog to keep family and friends up-to-date on her little girl, Fiona. Fiona has been at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh since she was born, and she’s still got quite a road ahead of her. Fiona was born premature, but that’s not the only battle she’s facing–she was born with an omphalocele.

Meghan and her husband have been spending a lot of time at the Ronald McDonald House, a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

I know Meghan, Tom and Fiona would appreciate any positive energy/thoughts/prayers you might be able to send their way. Thanks!

Stuff

Posted on November 24, 2009 by erin

Time for a few stream-of-consciousness ramblings…

Life taken over for the past week or so by end-of-quarter grades. Survived. Also survived report card night fully intact. (Last night, parents could come to school and pick up their child’s report card, and talk to any teachers they wished to talk to. I was VERY nervous, but it was fine.)

Wish we had the whole day off tomorrow instead of a half day, but I’ll get by. 😉

Adam Lambert’s performance at the AMAs? Over the top? Yes. But what do you expect, America, from the guy who cites Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, and Lady Gaga as favorite artists/influences? And how is it any different than anything, oh, say, Madonna has ever done? Seriously. She is literally famous for pulling this sort of thing at awards shows. (Incidentally, apart from the S/M overtones, the whole thing reminded me a lot of Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted” video. Coincidence?)

Just as a general statement to all–the busier I get, the more absent-minded I get. That means I do things like forget to answer my e-mail. If I forgot to answer your email, I humbly apologize. :-/

Still in the market for a smartphone. Currently considering the new Motorola Droid on Verizon…

Got to meet my very first niece (!!) over the weekend. Had a nice visit with David and family, but forgot to bring the camera. Will take pictures over the holiday. If you’ve been following me on facebook, you know that it’s been busy, busy baby time on both sides of the fam. Rand’s nephew had a baby boy, making me (despite my protestations that it’s simply not possible) a great aunt. My cousin Meghan went into labor about two months early and was rushed to Pittsburgh to deliver. Baby Fiona is just over 2 pounds, but I understand she (and mom) are both doing fine. The family appreciates all of your kind words/thoughts/prayers.

I started reading Margaret Atwood’s new book, but lord knows when I’ll find the time to finish it. I’m enjoying it so far.

I finished reading the Ed Brubaker Daredevil Omnibus. Wow, did that one end on a downer.

I’ve made micro improvements at DDR. I’m still playing at the lowest level (thanks for that tip, Linda!), but I’m starting to get the hang of it, I think.

I’m sure I have more to say, but I’m gonna call this a post. Tomorrow, I bake. If I am so motivated, I will post photos. Happy almost-Thanksgiving!

Week in review, part 1

Posted on August 21, 2009 by erin

Wow, it’s been kinda crazy around here this week. I spent the early part of the week mostly recovering from the wild weekend of two weddings. Wedding #1 was in Syracuse–we drove out Friday night and hung out with my family. There was a Tully’s right across the street from the hotel, so we spent a lot of time there, eating and drinking way too much.

I wasn’t in a great position to get decent pictures at the ceremony or the reception, but my dad got some good ones. He’s been uploading them to facebook, so perhaps I will snag some of them there.

I did get to wear my awesome vintage dress:

(looking at these pics, I really need a haircut.)

We left the reception at around 10 to head home to Buffalo so that we could get some sleep before waking up early Sunday morning to drive to Cleveland for wedding #2!

We made it there in good time, and enjoyed our first Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony. The bride, as she had always promised, walked down the aisle to an arrangement of “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” played on the organ. Most of my pictures are up at flickr (except for some reception pics that I didn’t edit yet).

Stephanie looked fabulous in her RED wedding gown! I had a great time catching up with some people I hadn’t seen in quite a while. And even though we were exhausted, I stuck it out until the very end of the reception and the ceremonial playing of “American Pie” (it’s a sorority thing). I’m glad I did–even though that song seems so much longer than it used to!

Oh, and Stephanie’s reception had a photo booth. Way cool, and lots of fun. 🙂

Congratulations and best wishes Niki and Josh, and Stephanie and Brent!

Fun with my kitchen

Posted on February 8, 2009 by erin

While Rand is off gallivanting about the UK, my mom and dad came up to Buffalo to help do some work in our kitchen. Our main goal? To get rid of this:

I hate wallpaper. I curse the man who invented wallpaper. And this? Barf. It looks it should have been in someone’s guest bathroom in 1986.

Here are a few other “before” pix of the kitchen:

This light was hanging above the kitchen table. Not really my style. I think the pink/blue flower motif was supposed to match the wallpaper. And I’m not entirely sure the bulb was supposed to be hanging down like that.

This is not to demonstrate what a mess the countertop was, but to give somewhat of an idea of the rose counters, white cabinets, and ugly, ugly wallpaper combo. Oh, and you can see a wee bit of the blue valance above the kitchen window, too.

Just a close-up of the cabinets.

The last person who lived here was obsessed with white. I really want to replace this white sink…and while the faucet looks pretty, it is not at all practical. Because it’s so high up, every time you use the sink, water splashes *everywhere*.

While I was at work on Friday, my parents began stripping wallpaper. My dad made a trip to the hardware store, where he learned that there is special primer for painting over wallpaper. Score! No more stripping.