Having a moment......

I don't know why, but I've been "having a moment" a lot lately about the people in my life who I miss terribly....my mom, my dad, and my Laurel ! How could it still seem like a bad dream after all these years? Right now is just one of those moments ! If there's such a thing as blogging in heaven, I hope they're reading this so I can tell them one more time that I love them !

Across the Pond - Day 4

Today is Tuesday - November 10, 2009
Linda is very excited that this day has arrived, Zachary and I not as excited as Linda, Ashley not excited at all (she opted to meet us afterwards).
I must say that I did enjoy looking at much of the art, especially the Impressionists. Linda enlightened me with many of the techniques used by various artists, pointing them out when able. As a matter of fact, she was pointing out something in one of the Monet paintings when one of the guards yelled at her for getting too close to the painting. She was about a foot away from it, but I guess that's too close for them ! Zachary and I both agreed that Linda has just as much talent, if not more, than many of the artists in the gallery. She wasn't so agreeable, afterall, we were looking at VanGogh, Monet, Manet.....So, big deal? My sister is just as talented than any of them !

Across the Pond - Day 3

This turned out to be a very educational day, learning much about the history of the tower which began in 1066 under the reign of William the Conqueror. A Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) told us many stories of blood, guts and torture. The three torture devices displayed were the Rack, the Scavenger's Daughter, and the Manacles. We all know what the Rack is...as for the Scavenger's Daughter-a metal device that goes around ones body in a crouching position and compresses you for an hour....the Manacles hung you by your wrists for 5-6 hours. We decided to take a poll on what our "choice of torture" would be....I chose the Scavenger's Daughter, Linda and Ashley both chose the Manacles, ugh !!! 1 hour of torture seemed a lot better than 5-6 hours....thank God we'll never have to know which is worse.
We also got to see the site of 7 private executions, including Anne Boleyn in 1536.
Another thing we learned was that to become a Yeoman Warder, one has to have served in the armed forces for a minimum of 22 years, obtained the rank of Lt.Colonel, received the Medal of Honor, and then apply for the position. Currently there are only 33 of them in the world. They also live on the premises, with their families, along with the Governor of The Tower, doctor, and chaplain.

Ahhh, The Crown Jewels were next, along with the coronation items. The Imperial State Crown, which was made for George VI in 1937 and altered for Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, has over 2800 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 5 rubies, and 273 pearls. The Coronation Robe is made with spun gold and weighs in at 20 pounds !! I asked Linda, "Do you think she wears the robe for any other occasions?" What do you think her answer to me was?
"Sure she does, when she gets out of the shower!" Then Ashley asked it she ever gets to wear the crown....again, Linda replies, "Yes, as a shower cap when she also gets to wear the coronation robe!" We giggled throughout the jewels !!

Afterwards, we met Zachary for dinner and had a delicious Italian meal at L'Ulivo in Leceister Square (similar to NYC Times Square), then called it a night.

Tomorrow we're off the The National Gallery to see some art !!

Across the Pond - Day 2

We got off to a late start today....afterall, all that travelling wiped us out. Off to Westminster Station in search of Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Did I say "in search of Big Ben"? As you walk up the steps to the street level Big Ben greets you with open arms, so huge, so impressive with his very proud stature. I just couldn't stop taking pictures of him. Whereever I was in the city and caught a glimpse of Benny, "snap" the camera went. Today was Sunday so of course we would be able to go into Westminster Abbey, right? WRONG !! It was closed for a private ceremony to celebrate Remembrance Day, England's equivalent to our Veteran's Day. We were able to walk around the grounds of the Abbey and see the thousands of miniature crosses with red poppy's in remembrance of all the soldiers who served. It was nice to be able to take the time to pray for all soldiers...past and present.
After the Abbey, we walked through Green Park towards Buckingham Palace. In the distance we heard music coming from the Mall heading towards Trafalgar Square, of course it was in the opposite direction we were going. We stopped at Buckingham Palace, gawked at the guards for awhile (what a boring job), then proceeded up the Mall towards Trafalgar Square. Of course, we then heard the music coming from the exact street we just walked down...obviously something important was going on and we missed it, the story of our trips !! It was probably the Queen. Who would want to see her anyway....she's a bit stuffy and we don't like how she treated Princess Diana.
We went to Chinatown for a delicious dinner, then back to the apartment to rest up for tomorrow...The Tower of London !

Crossing the Pond

Well, it's almost time to leave to fly over the pond to London ! Maybe I'll be able to blog while I'm there....until then, CHEERIO !!!!

My Gorgeous Godchildren

Take a look for yourself, guaranteed you will agree !
Rory, age 24
Zachary, age 20
Jessica, age 6
Lucas, age 4 months

See, I told you so !

Why? A Pet Peeve of mine....

Why? I ask why do people drive with their hoods on? Is it a matter of keeping warm or looking cool? If your cold, turn the damn heat on in the car !! Driving while hooded is just not safe.....I don't care what anyone says, it blocks your vision ! I think this should be the next thing cops should begin ticketing !

How it came to be !

La Dolce Vita? About 15 years ago, when Devon was just 3 years old, I wanted to get a tattoo but just couldn't decide what to get. For years I thought about this damn tattoo...nothing felt right. I didn't just want any tattoo, it had to be meaningful to me ! The next problem was where to place this tattoo? After many a year, I just gave up. Then, my darling little girl asked me if she could get a tattoo when she was about 16 years old. Of course, being a mother, I told her "NO" before I even considered it....afterall, wasn't that what I was supposed to say? Then I bagan to think about it and started to consider it. I didn't share my feeling with her, I just waited to see if she'd ask again. Of course, a few months later she asked again and I made the mistake of saying, "I'd think about it."

(Hey wait one minute..this posting was supposed to be about how I came up with the name of my BLOG ! Well, Devon's tattoo was how my tattoo and BLOG name came to be.)

Devon then turned 17 and she would regularly ask me about getting a tattoo. I told her that it would have to be a meaningful one for me to consider it. That was like dealing her Black Jack, a homerun for her. She knew just how to play her cards now !! She told me that she wanted to get a tattoo for "grandma". How could I say no to that I ask you? I told her that when she turned 18 I'd think more seriously about it. Well, her 18th birthday came very quickly the following March, and now she had the "unfortunate" excuse to get a tattoo for "grandma & grandpa". I caved in and Devon got her first tattoo on the top of her foot....it says "LOVE" with a heart as an extension of the "L". I have to admit that I loved it, the tattoo and the location !! She wanted me to get a matching one. I considered it, but decided not to do that. I agreed with her to get it on the top of my foot like she did, but I would get something different ! Then one night I was home with my dear friend Robin and it came to me !!! "La Dolce Vita"......the sweet life......I love it !! I love my life and my mom's name was Vita, how perfect !! And.....that's how it came to be ! Maybe my next post will be about my experience getting the tattoo and Devon's tattoo #2 !! Oh yeah, and how scared I was to tell Linda about the tattoos !! Until then.....

"Hmmmmm, could I, should I ?"

First, I must thank (?) Annette for getting me started on this "blog thing". I never had an interest until I started following her blog and thought, "Hmmmm, could I, should I?" Why not?
So many questions came to mind. What would I call my blog? What would I write about? I don't even know if I'm ever going to tell anybody about this blog; maybe I'll just keep it private, all to myself. Well, I'll see how it develops and take it from there. Until we meet again !!