Friday, November 26, 2004
Ahhhh, Blogging...
So ... I am in NY (kinda like Kate!!) ... but I'm in the REAL part of New York (not to be confused with Canada (or with Canadia, as one of our students pronounces it!)) I'm in BUFFALO, NY. I drove up (all day) on Wednesday, and tried to blog that evening about the drive. But, alas, I couldn't get through to blogger. I thought that maybe it was my mother's dial up connection. (C'mon, Mom ... get into the 21st Century!!) But, no ... today I got through with no difficulty at all!!
Anyway, I spent all day Wednesday driving. It was raining, but the traffic wasn't too bad (I left Northern VA at about 4:15 a.m.) Spent the driving time listening to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novel #5 ("High Five") and talking on the cell phone (which is a great way to pass the driving time. Kate (& Pat and Casey) even called me from the New Jersey Turnpike at about 8:20 a.m. so that they could pass their driving time, too. I also stopped for a couple of hours at my brother's house in Elmira (about 2-1/2 hours from Mom's) to visit with he and his wife and their three sons (a 2 year old and twin 6 month olds). Such fun!! :-)
I will interrupt myself with a short quiz for you: who do you think forgot to bring a coat to Buffalo? Yup ... Lou Ann. DUH!!!
Thursday was spent with what's left of the Buffalo based Aepelbacher clan (most of the Aepelbachers have moved to warmer climates ... as I have done). There were 11 of us (a FAR cry from the 40 or more that we used to always have). We had a nice time ... called the Florida Aepelbachers on the cell phones, ate lots of yummy food, and basically caught up with each other (and listened to my cousin Sandy talk about her pet pot-bellied pig.)
Today, Mom and I drove to Elmira for a luncheon and the twins' baptism. My sister-in-law's family is so wonderful, and we had a lovely day. The baptism was done in a private ceremony ... which allowed all of the little kids to run around (there are 7 grandchildren in the Graumann family) and for the babies to cry all they wanted without parental embarrassment and it allowed for the priest to do a much longer ceremony (about a half hour) than he would have been able to do if the twins had been baptized during a regular mass. I served as a godparent (or, more accurately a "witness", as I'm not catholic) to the younger twin, Will.
While Mom and I drove to Elmira and then back again, we listened to "Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham. If you haven't read it (or listened to it), it's a wonderful short story. And, I look forward to seeing the movie version (called "Christmas with the Kranks") that is out this season.
That's it ... I will start tomorrow with a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up the staple items that cannot be purchased anywhere but Buffalo (Weber's mustard, sponge candy, etc.) I will then have breakfast out with Mom (the second time in two days) ... as we both love having breakfast out, but rarely get the opportunity to do so. Then it's off to spend the remainder of the day driving through central New York state and Pennsylvania, across the Mason-Dixon Line and the rest of the gruelling drive on south through Maryland and into VA.
In closing ... on Thursday morning, when I called the friends in Northern VA with whom I usually spend Thanksgiving, I mentioned that it was snowing here in Buffalo. The response was a loud, "Well, DUH!!" :-)
Will blog more next week.... (Possibly with online pictures of the nephews to share!)
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