December 31, 2010

Tomorrrow we start the new year. I love fresh starts and I am especially looking forward to this one. Many resolutions are rolling around and of course the wording of them is what is important. Not the standard I am going to lose weight this year. But rather I am going to eat healthier and get more exercise. I started running again last year and I would like to get back into non competitive racing as a way to motivate the  run training. I am looking at some of the race calendars and would like to pick out a charity race to run every month starting in April...maybe March if I can find one in Florida. I would also like to read more. This past year I have only read a handful of books. Probably because more (read that too much) time has been spent on the computer. I got caught up in the facebook gaming and while it is fun and I have enjoyed it, it has become too much of a non productive pastime. Sorry facebook friends but I won't be checking in nearly as often...another resolution.

And blogging... I have a couple of ideas to keep in more regular touch. Self improvement and fun I hope. Trees, plants, birds and fish. I recently read that most 10 year olds can name more action heroes than tree species. My first blog series is going to address that issue so I might be able to insure when AJ is 10 he will know his trees. Stay tuned.

Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday John

We love you and miss you. Life goes on however hard it seems sometimes. Pictures from our holiday this year. Christmas eve at Janet's, Christmas day at home. Your birthday with the Georges. You were remembered at every event.

The gift of Life

After John and Jessica started donating blood in high school we established the tradition of giving blood at Christmas as a family. It was fun to go to the donation center together and know that we were doing something worthwhile. After John was diagnosed with cancer we really understood the value of giving blood. Chemotherapy is very hard on a persons physical system. Often John got a unit or two of blood after a treatment. Sometimes he needed a unit or two before he could receive a chemo treatment because certain levels like white blood cell counts were too low. I particularly remember his last Thanksgiving when he received 3 or 4 units of blood before he came home to Perrysburg. He remarked several times that weekend about how he almost felt good. He would definitely have more energy after receiving the blood. I too have been the recipient of another persons blood after Jessica was born. After delivery complications I received what I always called, the blood of some big strong iron rich guy because I felt great. Of course it was shortly after that when it became known there were no HIV screening guidelines for blood donations. Poor Steve couldn't get a life insurance policy on me until I had a negative HIV test.

And so today we made the trip to the donation center in Toledo. Jessica was a better picture taker than me. She finished first. I was off in a corner with my back to she and Steve,  hence the partial finger in the shot of Jessica. Mike came with us. He remembers doing it with John. But he is not a giver. We kid him but understand. Today I encourage everyone to think about what a blood donation has meant in your family. It might be the best Christmas present you could ever get or give.

Merry Christmas 2010

John Stanford Memorial Bowl Pool

John always loved the college bowl season and he ran a football bowl pool every year. Steve and I have continued the tradition. Today after 4 games I was in first place. Yay!!! Not only do you pick a winner but also you must assign a confidence number. I am never sure quite what to do other than pick the team I want to win. Unfortunately my Spartans are not going to be favorites. I picked them with a low confidence number. Today I see the report that one of the better receivers has a broken foot. I can only hope to avoid an embarrassment.

Great dinner tonight with close friends. There is something to be said for the art of entertaining. Way to go Lois! My style will never quite be that good. Elegant comfortable and great food.

Metals and Ribbons for Mike

Mike is in Columbus this weekend for the Special Olympics State Swim meet. He called yesterday after getting a silver, second place metal in the 50 meter free style and a fifth place ribbon for the 25 meter free style. He is in a relay today but I have not heard how they did yet.

We had a great time at a holiday party last night and Jessica and I have been baking up a storm since she got home. Her latest indulgence is scones so we are tweeking scone recipes to see if we can compete with the $$$ pricey Starbucks variety.

More holiday festivities today then hopefully a quiet Monday to get back in control. Looking forward to the annual new years resolutions.

We'll have a White Christmas

COLD temperatures are forecast through next week so it seems apparent that Northwest Ohio will have a white Christmas this year. The snow has been pretty. The cold temperatures have been bearable because the sun has been out. The wind on Monday was the killer.

Jessica has finished her first semester of grad school and will be driving home from Boston on Thursday. It will be nice to have her in the house to brighten and lighten the mood. I am sure it will be busier than I have become accustom to. That will be good. I am heading out today to finish up some shopping then will do some more baking and finish the Christmas cards. I actually might get it all done this year. Having the cookie exchange was great because it forced me to bake earlier than I might otherwise have. It will be nice to sit by a fire and write cards.

Holiday parties still abound. It is great spending time with family, friends and colleagues.

Sometimes I feel bi-polar

This time of year is going to be wonderful/awful for the rest of my life I have decided. I love Christmas! I love peace on earth, goodwill to men! I love the cold weather and snow in December. I love the whole spirit of Christmas.I love seeing people in such giving moods.

But it hurts now too. It should be a happy time and in a day to day measure it is; but there will always be something missing. It can't be fixed. No matter how happy and into the moment I am at some point it always seems to come back to what isn't here. My family, no matter how big it ever gets will never be complete again. I am happy, but at the same time I am sad. I have a hole in my heart that cannot be filled and it seems so much closer to the surface this time of year.

I am putting up the shield again and heading for the decorations. The Christmas tree is up and needs lights and ornaments... There is an ornament for each of my children's first Christmas. One for Jessica, one for Michael,... and one for John. See how much fun decorating the tree is.

Coming back for an edit I must add something of my experiences today to set the mood for this post. I started the day with a funeral of a dear friends mother. Sad, emotional, and a reminder of life and death. From there I immediately went to a Christmas cookie exchange. Good friends, good food, singing Christmas carols and having fun. The roller coaster of life. The tree is lit. But I never got to the ornaments. They will be my start for Sunday.

Pearl Harbor Day December 7, 1941

My Dad September 1943 (18 years old)

I am sure there are many people today that can tell you exactly what they were doing on December 7th, 1941. I am not one of them but I surely know the feeling of memorable dates in history and how easy it is to place yourself back into the exact moment. My greatest historical moment would be the assassination of President Kennedy. I was in a band rehearsal when the announcement came over the school intercom. I can remember the conversations with friends between classes for the rest of the afternoon. I can remember it like it was yesterday. And with that knowledge I know today must be a painful reminder to many people.

Today I want to take a moment to salute the many veterans who served in the military branches during World War II. This includes my Dad, Harry Cornell, who served as a tail gunner in a B-17. Many of the details of his time during WW II can be read about in the book, "Dead Engine Kids : World War II Diary of John J. Briol, B-17 Ball Turret Gunner". John was a crew member with my Dad. This website shows some of the details and pictures of the crew. http://www.cloudnet.com/~jfb/. The book is an excellent read for WW II buffs.

 Take a minute to look at it and thank a veteran today.

Thanks Dad! Glad you are still here to remind us our freedoms are worth fighting for.

A matched set

Technical difficulty! Picture of the new dryer will not upload. Hope this isn't indicative of future with this appliance. Will try again. Got it today. Something up with some new google software to upload pictures. Monday laundry was a pleasure.

Why do appliances break (during the holidays)

Last year I got a new furnace for Christmas. This year I get a new dryer. Yesterday my nearly 30 year old dryer went bang and stopped. I quickly had a mental debate about calling a serviceman or going to the appliance store. It seemed to be a no brainer. Two years ago when my washer died I replaced it with a shiny new one that had a much different look than the dryer. I have lived with the mismatch because it seemed silly to replace something that worked just for the esthetics's of a matching set. Well I now have the matching set again but for who knows how long.

Happy December first. Let the holiday season begin.

The Lights Flickered

As a mom I always told my kids when the lights flickered it was someone in heaven telling us they were looking in on us. I know this is probably just an old wives tale but on 2 occasions I remember remarking to the kids about a  light flickering. Shortly after my brother in law died  we had a family room lamp that would go off for no apparent reason. And the same thing happen after my father in law died. So when amidst all of the food preparations on Thanksgiving day the kitchen light flickers we all laughed and talked about John checking in on us. Now, I admit,  my kitchen light has had a flickering problem that I am sure is an old neon light ballast that needs to be replaced, but the light hadn't had a problem in months. And it was only a problem when you turned the light on. Thursday the flickering occurred while the light had been on for several hours.

We all enjoyed remembering and including our thoughts of John in the festivities of the holiday. Of course as a mom when everything has returned to "normal" I still am pondering the thoughts of John. If in fact there is another dimension, be it heaven or space or whatever,  I would like to think we can check back in. And I would be happy to have John see that we have all moved on in our lives. That is what he would want. The family and friends that filled our house this weekend were wonderful. We ate spectacular food prepared with love. We watched football. We were happy. But what makes me sad is that John wouldn't see all of the little moments that we still so badly miss him. Of course even as I write that I know he knows that. We love you John, we miss you. Happy Thanksgiving....thanks for checking in on us. We are doing OK.

Black Friday Fun

No shopping for us but Jessica, Michael, and I met Jesi and AJ at Bass Pro to see Santa Claus. AJ gave Santa his requests and was off to see the train display.

Thanksgiving Pictures

We had a great Thanksgiving Day. Lots of work, but fun when everyone pitches in to help. We skyped with Mom and Dad in Florida where the temperature was 90 while we shivered in the low 40's here in Ohio. Our evening dinner included all of the traditionals and yes I did find a rutabaga. There are NO leftover rutabagas for today. First time ever!! Steve has continued to tweak his recipe so those of us non lovers of rutabagas have finally agreed that they aren't so bad. Unfortunately it is his loss now. Jesi, her sister Beth, and AJ joined us for dessert and after dinner festivities. So much fun so much to be thankful for.

Tuesday before Thanksgiving

The preparations have begun for the annual feast at our house. The turkey was not thawing very quickly in the refrigerator so I took it out this morning and have started the quick thaw method. We will brine tomorrow and so I also made the vegetable stock for the brine solution. The kitchen is beginning to smell like the holidays. A trip to the grocery store today should provide all of the other essentials. Of course I have not found the required rutabaga yet but I am confident that it will be out there today. We have a full table with family and friends. Jessica is due in later today and Mike will be coming up after work tomorrow. They are both looking forward to Mom's traditional preparations which include making an apple pie while watching the Macy's Christmas parade. We still remember what a wonderful Thanksgiving we had in New York for Mike's 10th birthday trip. It doesn't seem like it could have been 16 years ago.

Thinking of everyone this Thanksgiving and wishing safe travels.

I loved this blog

Well I am making a committment! I have referred to the blog history three times this week and so I am thinking this is not the time to stop posting. Of course the reasons for posting are different, but I have really enjoyed looking back at certain events and being able to find the "real" details. Like I think it was a year ago and in fact it was 2 or even 3 years ago. I started the blog never thinking about it having a life of its own. Now it has. Stay tuned for more postings.

Great weekend lots of memories

Jessica and AJ

This is a picture of Jessica and AJ outside of St. Patricks Church in Toledo.

Our niece Gretchen Miller (Judy Stanford Miller's daughter) was married Saturday night. It was a beautiful wedding and a great reception. It was fun to see all of the relatives and enjoy the festivities. I was surprised at the impact on me though. I was once again overwhelmed with thoughts of my John. He loved the family weddings. He would have had a great time at this wedding. I spent much of my time Saturday night with AJ and I could not help but think about John as a father. I still miss my son.

Hello Again

To say that it has been a busy summer would certainly be an understatement. To say that I have not been on the computer would be an untruth. So why has the blog not seen more action? No good answer for that. Perhaps the blog has served its purpose and I don't have the need for the emotional support that I got from writing to my friends and family; knowing they looked at the blog to see how we were all doing was very comforting at times. The responses were always great. I loved sharing everything and knowing that people were interested. I think a lot of this summer has been living life instead of recording it. I am sure I will look back on this blog and read about events that I do not really remember because I only got through them. Writing about these events will give me a history of a dark time period in my life. The fact is that I am living life and being very busy with daily details.  I still really miss John but life has gone on and all of the good things in his life are still here. The memories are not so painful now. I laugh, I have fun, I can enjoy my life. I didn't for awhile. It was too hard to understand the whys of some of the events and not remember the good things. I will not say I am totally past that now, but I am definitely getting there.

So with a rainy day on the horizon and a cup of coffee here is the latest in the Stanford household.

Jessica is now a student at Brandeis University in Boston. She started classes Monday, working toward her MBA with a focus in international business and marketing.  I still have a road trip in the works to transport the rest of her stuff to Boston sometime later this month. This will complete my coast to coast summer adventure. Being in the same time zone is going to be a real bonus for mother daughter phone conversations. And with Boston being only a 10-11 hour road trip I expect we will see more of each other too.

Mike has moved into his new digs in Bowling Green and is doing OK. He is struggling with cooking for himself and his weight has become an issue. He has all of the tools and information to diet and exercise, but like many of us taking action is the hardest part. He enjoyed spending time with Jessica this summer.

Jesi just had a birthday party for AJ who turned 4, on August 28th. It is so much fun to see Marty and Annal, but it also reminds me of AJ's first party when John was there to watch his son. Some raw memories will never go away. But Saturday was fun. AJ is such an intelligent young man. So much like his Dad and Mom. He is truly a mix of both John and Jesi, not only in looks but in personality too. I love being around him, although I am beginning to understand why we have families when we are young. His energy level wears me out. We go to the museum and the zoo together and have even visited Steve's office after a trip to the Imagination Station (the Toledo science museum or old COSI). AJ liked having lunch with Grandpa in the office conference room and looking down at Toledo from high above his usual viewpoint. We all continue to learn more about diabetes and hope within AJ's lifetime a cure is found. He now has a pump which delivers the insulin continuously and has the long range potential to make his life easier. Jesi does an amazing job of parenting.

Steve and I have enjoyed the summer. Our trip through the California, Oregon and Washington State wineries with Jessica went too quickly. Our time on the golf course and the back deck will sadly be winding down for another year. We missed Tortola this year but have a plan in the works for sometime next year.

So I end with a thoughtful quote. Have a great day and take time to enjoy life!

"Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies. "~Erich Fromm

Too much to do too little time

Such a long time since I have made  a post. Sorry. The road trip was sooooo much FUN. There are so many pictures and stories to tell and it is just too time consuming to handle while we have Jessica here with us. She leaves for Boston sometime late next week.  She has secured an apartment and school will start August 23. Until then we are just enjoying having her around. We are all enjoying time spent visiting with friends and family. Time with AJ has been special. He knows his aunt Jessica now and she hopes to keep it that way. After I get her off to Boston and my house cleaned again I hope to put a short story of the trip on the blog. We did find that the internet was pretty available but we were just too  busy to keep up on a daily basis. I thought it would be easier at home but I didn't factor in everyone who wanted to spend some time with Jessica before she leaves again. Life is good. We love having her here.

P.S. Mike got moved into a new mobile home in a  park in Bowling Green. He is renting for a year and if this situation seems to work he may be able to buy. The people seem so nice  and he is just over 2 miles from work. Hoping he can meet some friends here. He has been up to Perrysburg more to spent time with his sister too. He misses her.

America the Beautiful

Bye Dad on Saturday night after a great week of wine tastings

Vancouver BC, on Sunday

Walk in Big Sky , Montana

Old Faithful Erupts at Yellowstone

Mount Rushmore

Back road mountain pass from Yellowstone to South Dakota





Thelma and Louise are in Mitchell, South Dakota tonight after 2 more wonderful days of travel. Sensory overload has been the key phrase the last few days. From Seattle to Vancouver. A visit with friends in Big Sky. Yellowstone park....Mountain passes....Mount Rushmore. We truly live in a beautiful country.

One week on the Road

Hard to believe it was one week ago that Steve and I landed in LA. It has been a fast, busy, fun week. So many things to see. I determined today as I crossed the state line into Washington that I have been in all of the continental United States. And actually I have been in 49 of the 50 states. So the Alaska cruise is still high on my list of future vacations to complete the entire list.

A quick update of the last couple of days. We arrived in Oregon Wednesday night and spend Thursday on the road stopping at 2 of the Pinot Noir wineries of southern Oregon. We drove into Portland in time for dinner and an overnight stay with a former fraternity brother of Steve's. We determined the last time the four of us were together was in 1986 while we were skiing at Lake Tahoe. A lifetime had elasped with not much more than the exchange of Christmas cards but we all seemed to pick up as if it were only last year. That is truly the definition of friendship. If you are reading Mike and Carol it will be a highlight of our trip to reconnect with the both of you. After a wonderful quick tour of the city on Friday we were off to Seattle. Arrived in the city and had a great meal overlooking some of the islands of Puget Sound. Into the city tomorrow for the downtown tour and then we must say goodbye to Steve and the real Thelma and Louise road trip will begin. We have tried to talk Steve into continuing with us but I think he is ready to escape the female influence for awhile.

Goodbye California

It took nearly 5 days but we crossed the California/Oregon border tonight. We started the day from our Napa base and headed over the mountain to Sonoma. Stopped in Healdsburg for a Sonoma wine tasting then headed out to the coast highway. The scenery along this northern coast is spectacular. It is reminiscent of what I presume the Scottish or Irish coastline to look like. We also drove through the giant redwood forests. The trees are amazing. We stopped for dinner in Crescent City which is about as far north as you can get in California, then finished the day with the drive across the state line. Lots of pictures but too tired tonight to load them up.

Tomorrow we see some of the Oregon grape growing regions and get to Portland to visit with friends.

Roadtrip/Wine Tasting with Steve and Jessica

The road trip began on Saturday morning with Jessica saying her final goodbyes to LA. We drove to Santa Ynez where Jessica has entertained us with winery tours on previous trips. We visited one of our favorites, Gainey Winery and had a great lunchtime picnic before heading on to Santa Maria for the night.

The entrance to Bridlewood Winery

Ok it tastes good and this is fun

Jessica and Steve at Bridlewood

The view from the picnic table at Gainey

Pictures for Framing

That was about it for Saturday. Sunday was another beautiful day travelling up the California coast to Paso Robles for a personal tour of the Tablas Creek Winery. We made a stop at the Hearthstone winery and another at Zin Alley, where the owner and Steve struck up a friendship. We drove the Big Sur and had dinner at Nepenthe Restaurant. We first visited Nepenthe in 1980 and have tried to make it a regular stop anytime we travel the Big Sur. After dinner we finished the drive up the Big Sur and walked around Carmel. Driving on up to Montery Jessica noticed a thumping sound and we discovered a flat tire. A sad ending to a great day. I am sitting in the motel now while Steve and Jessica get the tire repaired and we are off to Napa later today.

Lunch at Tablas Creek

The view from Hearthstone Winery

Steve and Mike, the owner and wine maker at Zin Alley

Phoenix rising Statue at Nepenthe

The end of the day in Monterey

Happy Independence Day

We started the holiday weekend with the RCO summer party in our backyard last night. Belmont put on a fabulous fireworks show to top the evening off. The weather Was probably the best it has ever been for this big party in the 10 years we have been celebrating from our backyard. Clear skies and no wind. The no wind makes today much easier because there was no fireworks debris to clean up. I am still awaiting the crew to take down the tent but other than that we are all ready to continue the holiday weekend with friends and golf.

I hope everyone is enjoying the weather, the holiday and friends.

Special Olympics State Games Weekend

The Special Olympics State games are taking place in Columbus this weekend. The Law enforcement Torch run came through Perrysburg this morning. Mike may make the evening news on 13