The Candy Dish

 

This candy dish filled with Andes Creme De Menthe Thins sits on my desk, not so much because I want to eat the candy, but as a reminder of the special friendship I have with Nancy, Celeste, Gretchen, and Karen. The five of us can laugh and laugh and laugh! After the incident below, Celeste thought it was appropriate for each of us to have a candy dish containing Andes mints.

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, our friend Nancy decided to brave the germs and head into the community to deliver groceries. I believe she was employed by Instacart. At the time, this was considered a dangerous job! She was on the front lines of battle. She was in our prayers, for sure. Then one day she sent this text:

Nancy: So I got an order today from a Gretchen G...I thought to myself, wouldn't it be funny if it were my dear sweet friend. And then I got to the end of the shopping list and I had to buy men's Depends, and I thought to myself...oh dear, this could get awkward!

It turned out the Depends were for a different couple, so Nancy didn't have to show up with them at Gretchen's door. I won't share the whole hilarious text exchange, but the part that has to do with the candy dish is below:

Celeste: Nancy, did you get a tip? Probably an Andes mint on that order.

Marianne: I don't get the Andes mint comment. Please explain.

Karen: Just because they're old and think that will suffice.

Marianne: I still don't get it, ha ha.

Karen: LOL! It's like getting an oatmeal cookie at Halloween. Get it?

Marianne: No. You're talking in parables.

Celeste: Old people would have them in a cut-glass bowl by the door and give you one, thinking that was enough of a thank you.

Marianne: Ohhh! Now I get it.

Karen: That was even funnier!!!

Celeste: Are you sure?

Marianne: I'm dying over here

Karen: Marianne looked over at her cut glass bowl filled with Andes mints by the door as she read this...

Karen: "You're talking in parables" is the new classic comment!!! Love it. I'm screen-shotting all of this!!

Maybe you had to be there, but every time I read this text thread (which Karen saved and sends to us once a year), I laugh so hard my belly hurts. Love these ladies so much!

Read more

It's a Mystery

 

I was flipping through a random Life With Riley book this evening and came across this blog post from 2014. It had me rolling on the floor. In case you missed it or forgot about it, I am posting the link below because I want everyone to have a laugh today.

The Case of the Missing Spoon

Read more

Through the Decades

 

Since I turned 66 this year I decided to go through the photo archives and pick out one random picture for each decade of my life beginning at six. Here I am with a neighbor girl - Cheryl - playing outside in the summer.

At 16, I was a cheerleader for the Highland Park Bantams. 

When I was 26, I worked at Arthur Andersen where I met Don. This photo was taken at Niagra Falls with my friend Lisa. We were at a company party called "The Prom."

When I was 36, Peter was one year old. We spent a lot of time in the summers at Chagrin Valley Athletic Club swimming and hanging out with neighbors.

When I was 46, all my kids were in school, and I got a part-time job as the librarian at Valley Christian Academy. But here I am, on a sister's trip with Carolyn to Amish Country.

This is a very random photo - a selfie, I believe - taken on the balcony at Beaver Creek Lodge when I was 56.

And here I am, at 66, with four of my precious grandchildren, celebrating my birthday at Daniel and Heidi's house.

 My real birthday was spent in bed with the flu in Naples. I am just now recovering.

Read more

2024 Recap

 

The highlight of January was my 65th birthday. I didn't mind getting old because my family gathered around and sang Happy Birthday to me.

Ezra Calen was born on March 4. Although Marina was sure she was getting a sister, she was thrilled to have a little brother instead.

On April 8, we witnessed a total eclipse of the sun.

Also in April, Peter and Kendall went on a European vacation. They visited Amsterdam, Paris, and Nice.

In May we had a girls' trip back to our old stomping grounds - Waco.

On May 21, Peter shot an Albatross at Manakikki Golf Course.

.

Our second granddaughter, Reese Danielle, was born on July 6.

Daniel graduated with an MBA from The Ohio State University just in time to welcome...

their third son, Noah Sean, who was born on July 22.

August was the month Josh and Katherine visited Colombia with the kids for a Ruiz family reunion.

August was also the month in which Don had his first immunotherapy treatment for melanoma. We are so thankful it was caught early and his body is responding well to the treatments.

On August 25, we gathered the whole family at Progressive Field to watch a Guardians game.

Even with these three cuties!

The tree fort rebuild project was completed in September.

Just days after his lymph node surgery, Don attended a Guardians playoff game in October with Peter and Daniel.

and we went on our 11th VBT bike trip, to Greece, from October 17-26.

Sadly, on November 11, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Sheltie, Riley. I still tear up every time I think about him.

He will always be cherished as a special part of our family.

These six turkeys made our Thanksgiving special.

And we couldn't be more blessed to have such a wonderful family to celebrate Christmas with.

To finish the year, on December 30, Dean learned to ski!

2024 was quite a year. The most special part was the birth of three more precious grandchildren. They are all wonderful gifts from God.

Read more

Be Agressive! B. E. Agressive!

 I think I've said it a couple of times, but in high school, cheerleading saved me. It saved me from becoming a couch potato, it saved me from being a wallflower, and most of all it saved me from getting into a whole lot of trouble.

This was the time in my life when there wasn't much supervision at home (my dad left and my mom had to find a job). I needed something to keep me busy and accountable. Cheerleading was it. I found the best friends, the best cheerleading advisor, and the best exercise I could have imagined.

This is a photo of me on the shoulders of my best friend, Peggy.

Every weekday in the summer, I would ride my bike several miles to the high school where we would practice cheers for about two hours. We not only had to get ready for the football games, but we also had to get ready for the cheerleading competition. 

 We had to raise money to buy our uniforms and go to cheerleading camp. No one had any extra money for these things. We held car washes every Saturday we could at different gas stations in the community. We also made very large posters that the football players ran through when they came out onto the field. It was great fun!

This is the six of us outside on the high school lawn. We were all skinny because we jumped for two hours a day and we didn't have time to eat. Peggy is in front, then Debbie, Patty, and Cindy on top. I'm leaning over on the left and Carla is leaning over on the right. We had strong backs to hold everyone up.

I still love all these girls today. 

Read more

Throwback Vacation

Just for fun, I thought I would post some photos from a 2003 road trip we did as a family. The first stop was Niagra Falls. Katherine was 14, Daniel was 12, and Peter was 9.

Next, we stayed at Smuggler's Notch in Vermont.

As a side trip, we did a tour of the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory.

Daniel wanted to see if the wax policeman figure in our Boston hotel was real.

Boston Harbor

We spent some time in Boston and had to stop and see cousins Ben & Will.

Before heading home, we also stopped in New York City.

Ground Zero

Central Park 

Read more