On November 30, today, I’ve been retired for seven years. Small problems, inevitable new problems, and obsolescence have me considering using fairly dear savings for a new 16″ Macbook Pro. It looks really good, but do I need it? Digital work is a lot of fun, sometimes I get to help friends, but looking at …
Category Archives: Family
Five
I figured her mom would have a real cake with candles and singing. I wanted to do something different so I did an alaska. It’s been years, but it’s all pretty standard technique. Genoise in the morning, simple syrup, apricot glaze, and cherry syrup later that day. I compiled everything with three kinds of ice …
Half my age
Well, this was kind of the birthday card. This year the kid was half my age- I’m 66. I did the card, had it printed, gave it to her, and everything was good. My granddaughter, however, seemed a bit “uncomfortable.” When I showed her the digital version, she was visibly uncomfortable, then said, “I should …
Observations
Party on the Moon It’s always a treat to have a conversation with my granddaughter. We got gas at the local market and decided to go in for a couple of pastries. When we finished pumping, someone claimed the last parking space. I suggested driving around the block but she was a little concerned we’d …
pictures on a wall
Shortly after my granddaughter started spending time with me at 6½ weeks, I put cartoon drawings of her toys on the wall so she’d have something fun and familiar to look at. Her verbal skills grew rapidly and her toys changed, too. Now, at 4½ years, and way past Tinky Winky and Dipsy, she agreed …
heart breaker
Fell off of a stool. I was three feet away. Poor kid. Mea culpa.
plates
She was on the floor showing her mom pictures she colored in pre-school. She held a stegosaurus kind of creature and said, “See? He has all these plates on his back!” From the sidelines I said, “He must have a restaurant.” She said, “No, grampop; these aren’t round plates.” Four years and just about three …
sister I never met
Years ago I visited Mt. Zion Cemetery in Pottstown to try, on a whim, to find the grave of Ginette Stong. She was my sister, born November 7, 1946. She died a week later, on November 14. I know there had been several disappointing miscarriages but this death — of a one-week old infant — must have been devastating …
john
My brother, John. This is a photo I took in July of 1976. John liked the image. I hadn’t seen him since 2010, then on May 8, I had a phone call from a friend of his letting me know John had been discovered dead on April 19. He was born on February 11, 1948. …
thirtytwo and almost four
Wow, I love this drawing so much. “There’s mommy. I’ll put me over here. And I’ll give me pigtails. Maybe mommy, too.” The cheeks and eyelashes are an addition I’ve never seen when she does me and her. Crazy. No training that I’m aware of- purely her own. When I first showed this digital file …