Family Picture Wednesday

Back to my mother's side of the family!

This is my beautiful great-grandmother Serafina Graziano. I don't remember too much about her as she died when I was a child. I do know she was an accomplished seamstress. But.....

......I visited her hometown of Termini Imerese in Sicily and walked the street where she grew up. It was one of the best parts of my trip. Her hometown is on the northern coast of Sicily and is just lovely. This is Via Stenio, her street.....

.....and this is a picture that I took of her town  in 2006.

These folk are her parents, my great-great-grandparents. On the left is Angelina Filippello and her husband is on the right, Salvatore Graziano. See how one of his eyes is kind of droopy? My eye tends to do the same thing!

This is my great-grandfather Gaetano Metildi. He was born in Celano, Italy. The only thing I remember about him was that he gave lots of kisses!

These are his parents, my great-great grandparents, Cecilia Rosati and Luigi Metildi. Look at how tiny her waist was!  

The story I learned about Luigi is very cool. As I was researching his birth, I found that he had been abandoned in the town square as a newborn just a few days old, and was found there one morning. My great-great-great-grandparents adopted him a couple of years later. Larry likes to tease me that he was from Romanian gypsies and I'm not Italian at all! I have wondered if the couple who adopted him might have really been his birth parents. Great-greatgrandpa died when a big earthquake hit his town in 1915.

Demolition Day

SO.

This is our road in front of our house and this is our driveway. Or what used to be the driveway. The town is building us a new road (!!) and so now we are in a complete and utter mess, as Simon Cowell would say.

The mess of our driveway.

Sidewalk and driveway in shambles.

The shovel picking up the concrete sidewalk in our yard.

Actually this is pretty cool. 

He's bringing the concrete 

slab over to the pile to drop it.

And there it goes! The house shook.

So after the guy dumped all the debris into the dump truck, they put some dirt down so we can drive over it.  What a summer it will be, watching all this go on!

"I'm going to Larry's."

This is about the funniest thing I've heard in a LONG, LONG time. Get this -

Larry was outside talking to our neighbor and she had a story to tell him. Turns out she and her five year old daughter had a "disagreement." Next thing she knows, the kid has pulled out her suitcase, and packed it with her pillow, blanket and clothes. Mom asks her where she is going. 

Little girl declares, "I'm going to LARRY'S."  

So the mom, with a straight face, says okay, she figures we're only next door and she knows where the kid would be. 

That's when the little one says, "Well, I'll give you another chance, mom."  

Is that funny or what? 

Larry went nuts laughing! He is a good grandpa-type guy and plays with the little girls on their swing set and all, and now she wants to run away next door and live with us. Or live with just Larry apparently.

THEN,

a few days ago, the same little kiddo and her baby sister show up at their house with tulips. 

"Here mom," they say. "These are for you!"  

The mom asks the girls where they got the tulips because they don't have any in their yard. 

They say, "We got them at LARRY"S!"  

So the mom is thankful, yet all mad because they picked someone's flowers and tells them they should never do that. 

Then the older one, looking confused says, "Well, Larry wouldn't mind!"

I love it. He's like Captain Kangaroo or something.

Reflecting on Mother's Day

The Lord has blessed me with good women in my life, in particular my grandmothers and aunts.


This sweet picture is of my father's baptism day in 1921.  On the left is my Great-Aunt Rose. She didn't bear children but she mothered us all. She took care of me when my mother couldn't. On the right is my grandmother Melina. She was the best woman I ever knew.  She is so beautiful in this picture. The baby of course, is my dad. 

This is my Aunt Nickie. I loved this woman. She is my father's sister. She died a couple of years ago, in her 80's. She was my great example of a lady and an extraordinary mother.

And my Grandma Ceal (Cecilia) - you've read about her in past blogs. She was my pal.

And this is my mother, when she was young and beautiful and still fairly okay. I love this picture.

Someday, in the eternities, I'll have my own kiddos. Will I be ready???  Yikes.

Borrrrring.....

There is nothing going on. The census work is done for now, my diverticulitis is acting up (at least I think that's what it is,) we need a new furnace and I'm TIRED. If this isn't the most boring blog post ever, I don't know what is. I'll post a picture  just for kicks.

This is the Pike Place Market in Seattle. We went there after the Alaska trip. The flowers were gorgeous and plentiful!

Family Picture Monday

Now for my father's side of the family -

This picture I love. It's my dad (Nicholas Cardella) as a little kid looking very dapper in his uncle's grocery store. This had to have been 1927 or '28. On the top shelf is all kinds of cereal, like Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Puffed Rice and Rice Krispies. I think my dad is standing in front of the candy bins. I love his socks!

Then this is my dad's father, my grandfather Giuseppe Cardella. He was born in Agrigento Sicily in 1884. This may be the picture taken on his wedding day.  He was a shoemaker and shoe repairman and opened his own shoe store here in Rochester. He arrived in the USA in the early 1900's. 

My mother said that he was so sick with cancer and was in bed a lot when I was born, but was SO happy that I had come along. He wanted me near him, so she would plop me down in the bed beside him so we could get to know each other. He died in 1953 when I was exactly three months old. 

These next folks are his parents, my great-grandparents. You will love their names - Nicholena D'Amato and Gerlando Cardella! My father was named after this grandmother. It's a funny story. Traditionally, the first born child was always named after the paternal grandfather. The next child was named after the maternal grandfather. Baby number three was named after the paternal grandmother. My father was third in line so he was named Nicholas, which is the masculine form of Nicholena. Well then baby number four comes along and it's a girl, so they named her after the paternal grandmother as well. So there was a Nicholas AND a Nicholena! My father and my aunt were both Nickie's!  

I love it.

But isn't this such a classic photo? When my dad got older, he looked almost exactly like this grandfather of his. They had the same smile. He was a shoeman, too. So was my father.

My dad - doesn't he look like his grandpa above?

AND, here is me. That dog is just the coolest thing in the world.

Everything hurts

even my toes.

This walking so much I know is good for me but good grief.

I dream about the census.  It's taking over my life!!!!

One guy today told me he didn't believe that I was from the census bureau. He said that nobody told HIM we would be going door to door this year. And he reads the paper EVERY DAY. Well, excuuuuuuse me! 

I had to laugh.

Walking my feet off

Well. my U.S. Census training this week was good. I haven't walked this much since I was in Italy!!! 

My feet are sore. 

It's fun though. I'm meeting nice people and making some money and having the government pay me for exercising. 

I won't need to use the treadmill for weeks!

Larry, the baby dog, and snow

It snowed. 

On April 7. 

I was mad but guess who had a GOOD time?  That's right, Larry and Harley!!

Larry put him on his shoulder like a pirate with his little parrot. How cute is that?

THEN, Larry made snowballs out of the pink water dish I keep outside for the dog. His own little arsenal. Larry throws them, Harley races for them. Unfortunately, the wind blew them over the railing. Bummer.

The future is as bright as our faith

We thank thee oh God for a prophet. I felt that so much more this weekend. 

These are some things I learned:

- each temptation we overcome strengthens us, not destroys us

- our ability to face and overcome afflictions is evidence of God's love

- pay attention to those who are wiser and more experienced

- spiritual darkness is a natural consequence of bad choices

- focus on our blessings as members of the church

- the future is as bright as our faith

As a friend kept saying during her labor, "it's okay, it's okay, it's okay..."

Friend Picture Friday

Life hasn't been too interesting lately so I'm thinking you might like to see more pictures. These are wonderful people I know:

Trisha, our sweet "daughter"

at BYU, who will be a Phys. Ed. teacher 

after she graduates this year!

Sonnia, she is like a 

sister. We can talk about

ANYTHING. And do. But 

she lives in Las Vegas 

so we burn up the phone lines

I feel blessed to have good friends in my life, who are more like family. There are more of you of course. I just need pictures!

Family Picture Monday

This is my grandmother, Cecilia Metildi. She was married to my grandfather from last week with the baby fishing pole. Will you look at this picture below.  I love this picture. She thought it was cute, too. We laughed over this together. She would say, " That bow in my head is bigger than I am!" And look at her umbrella! This was taken here in Rochester, around 1912.

This next one is at her Catholic first communion, probably 1916. There is so much to like about this shot - her shoes, the curls, her beautiful veil and the background!

Then this is 1952. She is holding my cousin Joyce, the one who died last year. I think I kind of look like my grandmother in this picture.

This one I think is about 1968 or '69. She was happy in her kitchen. We were happy too, because she was an amazing cook! She looks pretty here.

In this last shot, she is almost 90 years old. We were such good friends. We did a lot together. She was so smart, but even more, she was very, very wise. She had a GREAT sense of humor! We laughed together. I learned countless words of wisdom from her. She is always with me when I cook. I miss her terribly, every day. She was my champion.

Mars

NASA says this could be a mud volcano on Mars. For some reason, this strikes me as incredibly funny. I want to see a mud volcano.  Man, can you imagine how cool that would be? It says it could be dredging up little martian microbes. WHAT???

ANYway, for further fascinating information, check out the Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Does this officially make me a geek?

Weebles wobble, but I won't fall down

This has been a very interesting two weeks, with Larry out of work, and the two of us trying to feel our way around our emotions and thoughts.

It's been mostly good!

It took him days to fix the commode (refined way to say "the terlit.") He said he would fix it when he was ready. I told him that's why men get nagged. Excuuuuuuse me! Minor bump in the road which took a very good detour into a fine discussion. 

This morning we curled up in the family room and discussed:

 

1.  leaving a legacy,

2.  ethics, and

3.  section 49 of the Doctrine and Covenants 

Those three things. 

I've also been filing stuff today. 

Larry was outside with Harley. 

We watched Judge Joe Brown, Judge David somebody and Judge Marilyn with his mother. 

She LOVES judge shows. And COPS. And American Idol. And of course, the Yankees.

Baseball season is around the corner and I for one, am a very happy woman. Those guys look so stinkin' cute in uniforms....

Family Picture Sunday

Lately I've been thinking about my ancestors, so I thought it might be fun to include some old pictures here once in a while. I may even include some of me! Then if I ever scan some in of Larry, I'll include those, too.

So, here is the first -

This is my grandfather Anthony Iannidinardo as a baby in Italy. He is my mother's father. He was born in 1899 and died in 1987. He was a milkman, back in the days when milk was delivered to your door.

 We were pals. I called him "Pop" or "Papa." He loved baseball, especially the Yankees. We had season tickets to the Rochester Red Wings games for a few years and had a blast going together!

He loved to take us kids on rides. We went to Niagara Falls EVERY year. He also appreciated good food, so he took us out to eat every so often. Because of him, I learned to like apple pie with cheese, lamb roast with mint jelly, and tomato juice with a dash of salt in it.

When I had chicken pox and couldn't go to school, he taught me how to play Chinese checkers. We played regular checkers, too.

He was very cool.

This is him as a young adult -

And then as my grandfather with my grandmother. This is in the very early 60's.

I miss him!

Look! No snow!

It was a gorgeous day yesterday; kind of warm, kind of cool and very sunny. So I go out the back door and there is baby Harley looking depressed and sad and forlorn without Larry. He just sits there waiting for him to come out. Sometimes he barks.

So of course, there goes Larry out to keep him company. I tell you, those two are pals. Harley LOVES him. But I have to keep reminding Larry to wear a hat, because look at his head! He is going to get sunburn, or worse. That man.

Now this -

Larry lost his job on Thursday.

He was one of 200 hundred people that day who got "downsized" because of budget issues. 

Friday was weird. Larry was kind of lost. I was home and we wandered around the house. We watched one of our classes on the history of language, took a nap, read some Calvin and Hobbs books 

and talked a lot. It was definitely a weird day but good. We are surprisingly okay about it as we try to figure out our next step.

Yesterday we went to the temple and felt really peaceful. It was good. 

2010 U.S. Census

A few months ago a friend mentioned that the Census Bureau was hiring people to prepare for the census next year. So I looked on the website here , applied to take the test and lo and behold, I was HIRED! 

It's very cool. I get to swear an oath and even get fingerprinted. 

Then there are four days of training in April. 

I get to wear a badge! I mean, really.

 

New and improved

WAY better after a haircut, (but no makeup.) Still scary.

AND a very happy birthday to KayLee, Linda and Lana  (the first baby I ever witnessed being born and now she is 22 years old.)

Scary photo

So here is the latest picture of the old folks. Larry looks adorable. 

I, of course, need a trim.

Or something.

My hair makes me crazy.

Larry says, "Be thankful you HAVE hair."

A little more relaxed

Believe it or not, we've had TWO count 'em TWO days home without leaving the house once. It has been so, so nice to actually be home. We are getting some chores done, and reading and cooking and baking. 

So while this is a short post, it's a happy post. Finally.

My grandmother

used to say, "Things get better. They really do. If that weren't true, everyone in the world would be walking around crying all day. Grief never goes away, but it does get better."

Thank you, Joy!

Joy explained to me how to change the side bar color of this blog and now it looks just right! Thanks, JOY!

My toothaches apparently came from trauma from my last orthodontic adjustment. That adjustment hurt like no other. My mouth was really sore. It seems because of that, my bite was off from the shifting teeth. The tops and bottoms were knocking against each other. Hooray for my dentist who fixed it! There was more stuff from that adjustment but you don't need to hear all that. It's much better anyway.

My ring is still beautiful.

I just love the colors of this blog. It's ME!

Crazy days

Here are some things that are going on:

- work is busy because lots of volunteers and staff are in Buffalo for the plane crash.

- I have a toothache, well actually two toothaches and they came on all of a sudden and today I have to go to the dentist for help!

- Larry presented me with this gorgeous anniversary ring and I love him (and the ring.) At the jewelers, he placed it on my finger just like when we got married and I cried and then I kissed him. The owner said, "THAT'S the kind of reaction we like to see!" 

- Harley the Puppy next door was outside barking this morning for Larry to come out and play. So Larry gets on his coat and goes out. Is that dog spoiled or what. Or is it Larry that's spoiled?!

- My shoulder surgery was supposed to be last week. Back in December, I KNEW I shouldn't have it done, but it didn't make sense not to. There is a tear. It needs to be repaired. But something told me not to do it. So I prayed about it and I felt that the answer was to go to my primary care physician for his opinion. I went. He said if it doesn't hurt, don't fix it. So I went home and prayed about it again and felt that the answer was not to have the surgery. So I cancelled it.

Then our friend got sick and then he passed away and if I had had the surgery, I could not have been there for his wife. 

What I learned is this -

If you get a prompting that doesn't make sense, listen. If it does make sense, it's easy to obey. But when it doesn't make any sense, that's when it's so important to pay attention. 

I am so glad I did.

At peace

Our friend Bob had a grand send-off today, with a wake full of friends and family yesterday and then a beautiful funeral this morning. 

This is one of the picture boards, the one with his grandkids. Although we are all sad beyond belief, we have peace knowing that there is eternal life. We'll see our loved ones again. We just MISS them so awfully much when we can't see them.

I think I'll go hug Larry!

Blog experts

Okay all you blog extraordinaries. I need help. 

As you can see, I changed the look of our blog and I love the new colors. 

ALTHOUGH.

If any of you can tell me how to change the green color on the right side, like where the weather is and the archive, I would be happy. I don't even know if it is possible but if anyone knows, it would be you young whippersnappers. (I'm feeling old lately!)

Today is Saturday. It has been a very hard two weeks and I'm glad they're almost over.

Two good men

These are our friends Barb and Bob Ford, Christmas Eve 2008. Bob passed away on the 11th. His funeral is Saturday.

These are our friends Christine and Matt Burnett. Matt died this year on January 25. This picture was taken in 2005 right after baby Maria was born in a fast and furious birth.

We love these good people like family.

I'm sorry that these last few posts have been sad. It's how things are going and it's how I feel. We pray.

Saturday afternoon

This has been a really hard week. Our friend is so sick. His wife finally decided to spend nights at our house for a while 'cause we live closer to the hospital. She is so awful tired.

The weather got really nice today. We're not freezing our buns off! The January thaw came in February.

Tomorrow is Ward Conference, so I don't have to teach my Gospel Doctrine lesson. That's a real blessing.

I'm craving a cheeseburger.....and lots of chocolate. 

There is too much sadness around

In the past year or so: My Aunt Nickie died, my Aunt Mary died, my cousin's fiancee died, our friend Gary died, my cousin Joyce died, our friend Matt died and now another of our dearest friends, Bob, who has been fighting lung cancer for two years is in ICU fighting for his life. 

Plus so many other things.

It's too hard and I don't know what to do.

I guess this is when you leave it to the Lord and He carries you.