Kicking off Memorial Day weekend, Karen and I (and our baby daughter, Briana) headed off to the All-America city known as Lowell on Saturday. For anyone curious, the city of Lowell did win the title of "All-America City" in 1999 after being a finalist for the award the previous two years. Despite the award, I am still not sure there is a lot to like about Lowell... as much as the city would like to have you believe there is.
The trip to Lowell was another milestone for Karen and I. After all, the road trip was the furthest we have gone with Briana since she was born a little over two months ago. And apparently, Briana did not seem to mind the ride as she basically was asleep the entire way up.
So what is in Lowell besides textile mills? Karen's cousins (Karlene and Matthew), Karlene's husband (Tommy) and Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul). As Karlene is big on tradition, she invited us up for our annual Memorial Day trip to Gath Greenery which is located in Dunstable. The rest of Karen's relatives would join us later for after-Gath celebration.
Anyway, it was a thrilling time at Gath Greenery. Karen basically looked for some vegetables to plant in her garden this year while I watched Briana. In case anyone is curious, I think it's going to be a zucchini and squash year this year. After some chitchatting with the owners and such (who apparently are now grandparents to a child similar to Briana's age), we headed to Karlene and Tommy's for a cookout.
Needless to say, the cookout was good. I devoured many ears of corn (I love corn) and steak tips. Yum. I would have eaten more if I could. And from there, the hilarity ensued. And by hilarity, I mean that some of Karen's relatives joined us after the cookout. Naturally, with family gatherings, there is a lot of "rigamarole"... a term that I first heard of within Karen's family when they described themselves to me.
The family topic for the day: recipes. Now I suck at recipes. And truth be told, I should have tuned everyone out like Karen's cousin, Matthew. Matthew seemed very good at tuning things out as he was engrossed in a book... something he has not done in quite a while, or so he told me. (And as a side note, Matthew has a friend named Meg Ryan which I thought was funny.)
Anyway, these family things always start off with the best intentions. Unfortunately, the idea snowballs into something bigger... and then the rigamarole. You would think that people would learn from past history. It almost reminds me of that classic Bush quote: "Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." Almost...
Awhile ago, Karlene and Karen thought it would be a great idea to share all of their Nana's pictures with everyone in the family. So, they spent countless hours scanning and indexing picture after picture while Nana's place was getting ready to be sold. Good intentions? Absolutely. Huge undertaking without any thanks? Yep.
Flash forward to today. The grandiose idea this time around: Nana's recipes. Karlene and Karen again thought it would be great to share Nana's recipes with everyone who wanted them. Good intentions again? Yep. Huge undertaking again? Absolutely considering the volume of recipe requests. And personally, I think what makes portions of this undertaking ridiculous is that there was a request for an iced tea recipe. I mean... really? A recipe for that? I don't even cook and I know making that is simple.
Anyway, that's just my opinion about the subject matter. But to each their own. I'm curious to see what will be the big idea next year. Needless to say, the recipe idea was a main topic of discussion for the day. Thrilling, I know.
Showing posts with label lowell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lowell. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Monday, August 31, 2009
I Suck At Going To Lowell
On Sunday, I found out that there is a lot to like about Lowell. For anyone curious, "There is a lot to like about Lowell" was once the slogan used by the "All-America City" of Lowell. To me, I find it strange that a city needs to promote itself. It almost makes it seem like the city needs to repair its shady self-image or something.
I don't know if Lowell has a shady past or anything, but if someone said, "you know, there is a lot to like about Mike... He's an all-american guy..." What would you think? You'd think something is wrong with Mike, right? (Or that he's ugly. Or possibly both.) My thoughts exactly.
Needless to say, I suck at going to Lowell. Karen's aunt (Denise) was having people over for a cookout. And it so happens that Denise lives in Lowell. It is Denise's daughter, Karlene (and her husband Tommy) whom Karen and I generally see during the New Year... along with some other family traditions.
Anyway, as usual the food was delicious. It seems like it has been a long while since my in-laws got together. Granted, we got together last week to celebrate Karen's grandmother's (Nana) birthday. Last week, however, was very brief.
Whether true or not, it seemed like in the past, Karen and I went to a lot of family gatherings. That was, of course, back when Nana was not in the nursing home. Since Nana entered the nursing home, the family get-togethers have been few and far between. (I'm obviously not complaining.) Of course, that's just my opinion.
Regardless, it was nice to attend a family gathering again yesterday. And as it's my nature, I may have instigated a little. Nana's sister (Mary) actually came for the cookout as well.
As long as I have known Mary, she has never had a great memory. At one time, she used to refer to people as "Whosywhatsit". It's like seeing someone who you think you should know, but can't remember their name... and when they say "hi"... you point to them and say "hey... you..." I sometimes fear that I will become Mary because my memory is equally terrible. Unfortunately, her memory has gotten worse with age.
So naturally, I had a little fun with Mary yesterday. Mental note: don't anger the elderly. Mary, after forgetting who I was after telling her minutes before, asked if I were in high school. As much as I enjoyed having a youthful look, I told her that I was in kindergarten. She didn't like that I was teasing her. I was relatively sure that she would forget everything I said in a matter of minutes anyway. In fact, I was banking on the fact that she would not even remember who I was after a few minutes. But when I was teasing her, she sure did give me a nasty look.
All right, so maybe I'm no boy scout. But for the record, I did already tell her that I had graduated college moments before she asked me if I were in high school. I was just having fun.
Anyway, it was a good time at Denise's... even if she does live in Lowell. I found out, by the way, that Lowell has a "Plan E" form of government in which the city's councilors elect a mayor amongst themselves (and not by the city's residents). I found that quite peculiar.
The topic of government came up because Karen thought Tommy would make a great mayor of Lowell, much in the same way that I think my friend (Cass) would make a great mayor of Quincy. By the way, vote Cass in the next election for Quincy's mayor! And for those of you who do not live in Quincy, it's okay to still vote for Cass.
After all, it turns out that the current Mayor (Koch) received votes from non-Quincy residents. Shady? Most definitely. Of course, I still have to convince Cass to run for mayor... which could be problematic. But I can dream... (And for the record, I think Tommy would make a great mayor of Lowell as well.)
I don't know if Lowell has a shady past or anything, but if someone said, "you know, there is a lot to like about Mike... He's an all-american guy..." What would you think? You'd think something is wrong with Mike, right? (Or that he's ugly. Or possibly both.) My thoughts exactly.
Needless to say, I suck at going to Lowell. Karen's aunt (Denise) was having people over for a cookout. And it so happens that Denise lives in Lowell. It is Denise's daughter, Karlene (and her husband Tommy) whom Karen and I generally see during the New Year... along with some other family traditions.
Anyway, as usual the food was delicious. It seems like it has been a long while since my in-laws got together. Granted, we got together last week to celebrate Karen's grandmother's (Nana) birthday. Last week, however, was very brief.
Whether true or not, it seemed like in the past, Karen and I went to a lot of family gatherings. That was, of course, back when Nana was not in the nursing home. Since Nana entered the nursing home, the family get-togethers have been few and far between. (I'm obviously not complaining.) Of course, that's just my opinion.
Regardless, it was nice to attend a family gathering again yesterday. And as it's my nature, I may have instigated a little. Nana's sister (Mary) actually came for the cookout as well.
As long as I have known Mary, she has never had a great memory. At one time, she used to refer to people as "Whosywhatsit". It's like seeing someone who you think you should know, but can't remember their name... and when they say "hi"... you point to them and say "hey... you..." I sometimes fear that I will become Mary because my memory is equally terrible. Unfortunately, her memory has gotten worse with age.
So naturally, I had a little fun with Mary yesterday. Mental note: don't anger the elderly. Mary, after forgetting who I was after telling her minutes before, asked if I were in high school. As much as I enjoyed having a youthful look, I told her that I was in kindergarten. She didn't like that I was teasing her. I was relatively sure that she would forget everything I said in a matter of minutes anyway. In fact, I was banking on the fact that she would not even remember who I was after a few minutes. But when I was teasing her, she sure did give me a nasty look.
All right, so maybe I'm no boy scout. But for the record, I did already tell her that I had graduated college moments before she asked me if I were in high school. I was just having fun.
Anyway, it was a good time at Denise's... even if she does live in Lowell. I found out, by the way, that Lowell has a "Plan E" form of government in which the city's councilors elect a mayor amongst themselves (and not by the city's residents). I found that quite peculiar.
The topic of government came up because Karen thought Tommy would make a great mayor of Lowell, much in the same way that I think my friend (Cass) would make a great mayor of Quincy. By the way, vote Cass in the next election for Quincy's mayor! And for those of you who do not live in Quincy, it's okay to still vote for Cass.
After all, it turns out that the current Mayor (Koch) received votes from non-Quincy residents. Shady? Most definitely. Of course, I still have to convince Cass to run for mayor... which could be problematic. But I can dream... (And for the record, I think Tommy would make a great mayor of Lowell as well.)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
I Suck At Hanging Out With Karlene And Tommy
saturday was quite the eventful day.
the day started off bright and early as my brother-in-law's (pj) brother (michael) stopped by for a quick visit. awhile ago, karen and i were talking to michael about air conditioning. in particular, we were asking if michael and his family would be interested in taking our old central air unit.
when the second floor was added to our house, karen and i asked the contractors to see if they could integrate the new duct work with our exisiting central air unit on the first floor. unfortunately, to have an efficient system the answer was no. thus, karen and i had a new central air unit installed to control both floors of the house.
as a result, the old original central air unit has been sitting in the garage ever since the second floor was added. and truth be told, the original central air unit was not even that old. it might have only been used one year. money well spent...
needless to say, karen and i were ecstatic when michael said he could use it. we were happy because 1) we did not have to throw a perfectly good central air unit away, which as fans of recycling were music to our ears; and 2) we have more room in the garage again.
anyway, michael and pj came bright and early to pick up the central air unit. (michael lives in the neighboring town of pembroke, so the transporting of the central air unit was not that far.) to our surprise, michael brought us blueberry bushes in return. it was a very nice gesture that he did not have to do.
following the central air unit pickup, karen and i went to get our big merchandise ticket for the day: a vacuum. for awhile, karen and i have been talking about getting a new vacuum. our old vacuum... aside from putting out a lot of heat... has not been picking up dirt that well.
i am guessing one of the reasons why the vacuum has not been picking up dirt that well is because the filter needs to be changed. every year around memorial day, karen and i would order a new filter for the vacuum. unfortunately, for the past few years, we have neglected to get a new filter. (that is how long we have talked about getting a new vacuum.)
the new filters were rather costly for the vacuum. in doing the math, we figured that it made no sense to continually purchase new filters because eventually the costs accrued for the filters would exceed purchasing a new vacuum altogether. hence, we had stopped buying filters for our old vacuum.
unfortunately, we kept talking about getting a new vacumm and never did... for years. we had even researched and looked into a specific vacuum. so one day, as i was browsing through the weekly ad for best buy, i noticed that the vacuum that we had looked into was on sale.
and thus, karen and i decided that enough was enough... and we made the executive decision to just purchase the new vacuum... before it would be another few years. anyway, we bought the new vacuum. it's a dyson. (for anyone curious, we love the vacuum. it's awesome!)
anyway, following our excursion to best buy, karen and i headed to lowell. (insert "there is a lot to like about lowell" tagline.) karen's cousins (karlene and tommy) live in lowell. i am not exactly sure how the "tradition" started... and karlene is big on traditions... but for some reason karen and i apparently head up to lowell on memorial day weekend. and this year was no different.
now, i suck at hanging out with karlene and tommy. the tradition generally includes visiting a garden store known as gath's and kimball's ice cream. in addition, this year's festivities would include the cleaning of karlene's craft room, and the fixing of their computer.
(pictured below is the sign for the garden store... and wally.)
as far as garden places go, gath's is great. the place is run by the gaths out of their home in dunstable. mr. gath is very helpful... and funny. he does a great job with his plants. karen... and apparently karlene... enjoy going to gath's to find plants for their respective gardens. (karen and i also picked up some things for the cemetery for our son.)
after gath's, we enjoyed kimball's ice cream in westford. as far as ice cream goes... kimball's is by far the best. for anyone curious, kimball's is another family run business. their home-made ice cream is simply delicious. (cue rachael ray's "yum-o" sound.) with their gigantic portion sizes, i would recommend kimball's ice cream to any ice cream connoisseur.
from there, karen, karlene, tommy and i went back to their place in lowell for a little cookout dinner. (yes, we had ice cream before dinner.) and then... the fun started.
karlene is a little sentimental. she keeps practically everything that is given to her. in addition, she purchases things to hold on to for future use. as admirable as those qualities may be, the result is a room full of stuff... lots and lots of stuff. as of late, karlene has been trying to de-clutter her craft room. i would guess that her wanting to de-clutter her room is somewhat related to the recent cleaning of her grandmother's place.
nevertheless, karlene asked for karen's help. and as weird as this sounds, karen loves helping to organize things... especially other people's things. so while karen and karlene tackled karlene's craft room, i got the enviable task of fixing their computer.
naturally, i get the computer-related task. that is my "thing" in the family... perhaps due to my genetics. just kidding. for some time, karlene and tommy's computer has been unable to read data from the disc drive. in fact, the disc drive does not even show up as an accessible drive.
before i started of course, tommy and i reviewed some of the applications on the computer. after my little schpiel about microsoft's internet explorer browser, i convinced tommy to forego internet explorer and use mozilla's web standard-compliant firefox browser. (go firefox!)
browsers aside, it took me awhile to diagnose the problem of the inaccessible disc drive. at first, i thought the problem was due to the installed driver for the piece of hardware. sadly, i was mistaken. after some tinkering... and a brief moment where i had rendered the computer completely inoperable... tommy and i discovered the problem: an older version of itunes.
truth be told, i never would have guessed there was a connection between itunes and an inaccessible disc drive. my guess is that because itunes has a disc burning feature, that somehow the older version of the application caused the disc drive to be inoperable. nevertheless, the easy solution turned out to be updating itunes to the current version offered by apple. once itunes was updated, the disc drive appeared. unfortunately, we did not discover this possible solution until the wee hours of night... and by wee hours... i mean 4 in the morning.
the day started off bright and early as my brother-in-law's (pj) brother (michael) stopped by for a quick visit. awhile ago, karen and i were talking to michael about air conditioning. in particular, we were asking if michael and his family would be interested in taking our old central air unit.
when the second floor was added to our house, karen and i asked the contractors to see if they could integrate the new duct work with our exisiting central air unit on the first floor. unfortunately, to have an efficient system the answer was no. thus, karen and i had a new central air unit installed to control both floors of the house.
as a result, the old original central air unit has been sitting in the garage ever since the second floor was added. and truth be told, the original central air unit was not even that old. it might have only been used one year. money well spent...
needless to say, karen and i were ecstatic when michael said he could use it. we were happy because 1) we did not have to throw a perfectly good central air unit away, which as fans of recycling were music to our ears; and 2) we have more room in the garage again.
anyway, michael and pj came bright and early to pick up the central air unit. (michael lives in the neighboring town of pembroke, so the transporting of the central air unit was not that far.) to our surprise, michael brought us blueberry bushes in return. it was a very nice gesture that he did not have to do.
following the central air unit pickup, karen and i went to get our big merchandise ticket for the day: a vacuum. for awhile, karen and i have been talking about getting a new vacuum. our old vacuum... aside from putting out a lot of heat... has not been picking up dirt that well.
i am guessing one of the reasons why the vacuum has not been picking up dirt that well is because the filter needs to be changed. every year around memorial day, karen and i would order a new filter for the vacuum. unfortunately, for the past few years, we have neglected to get a new filter. (that is how long we have talked about getting a new vacuum.)
the new filters were rather costly for the vacuum. in doing the math, we figured that it made no sense to continually purchase new filters because eventually the costs accrued for the filters would exceed purchasing a new vacuum altogether. hence, we had stopped buying filters for our old vacuum.
unfortunately, we kept talking about getting a new vacumm and never did... for years. we had even researched and looked into a specific vacuum. so one day, as i was browsing through the weekly ad for best buy, i noticed that the vacuum that we had looked into was on sale.
and thus, karen and i decided that enough was enough... and we made the executive decision to just purchase the new vacuum... before it would be another few years. anyway, we bought the new vacuum. it's a dyson. (for anyone curious, we love the vacuum. it's awesome!)
anyway, following our excursion to best buy, karen and i headed to lowell. (insert "there is a lot to like about lowell" tagline.) karen's cousins (karlene and tommy) live in lowell. i am not exactly sure how the "tradition" started... and karlene is big on traditions... but for some reason karen and i apparently head up to lowell on memorial day weekend. and this year was no different.
now, i suck at hanging out with karlene and tommy. the tradition generally includes visiting a garden store known as gath's and kimball's ice cream. in addition, this year's festivities would include the cleaning of karlene's craft room, and the fixing of their computer.
(pictured below is the sign for the garden store... and wally.)
as far as garden places go, gath's is great. the place is run by the gaths out of their home in dunstable. mr. gath is very helpful... and funny. he does a great job with his plants. karen... and apparently karlene... enjoy going to gath's to find plants for their respective gardens. (karen and i also picked up some things for the cemetery for our son.)
after gath's, we enjoyed kimball's ice cream in westford. as far as ice cream goes... kimball's is by far the best. for anyone curious, kimball's is another family run business. their home-made ice cream is simply delicious. (cue rachael ray's "yum-o" sound.) with their gigantic portion sizes, i would recommend kimball's ice cream to any ice cream connoisseur.
from there, karen, karlene, tommy and i went back to their place in lowell for a little cookout dinner. (yes, we had ice cream before dinner.) and then... the fun started.
karlene is a little sentimental. she keeps practically everything that is given to her. in addition, she purchases things to hold on to for future use. as admirable as those qualities may be, the result is a room full of stuff... lots and lots of stuff. as of late, karlene has been trying to de-clutter her craft room. i would guess that her wanting to de-clutter her room is somewhat related to the recent cleaning of her grandmother's place.
nevertheless, karlene asked for karen's help. and as weird as this sounds, karen loves helping to organize things... especially other people's things. so while karen and karlene tackled karlene's craft room, i got the enviable task of fixing their computer.
naturally, i get the computer-related task. that is my "thing" in the family... perhaps due to my genetics. just kidding. for some time, karlene and tommy's computer has been unable to read data from the disc drive. in fact, the disc drive does not even show up as an accessible drive.
before i started of course, tommy and i reviewed some of the applications on the computer. after my little schpiel about microsoft's internet explorer browser, i convinced tommy to forego internet explorer and use mozilla's web standard-compliant firefox browser. (go firefox!)
browsers aside, it took me awhile to diagnose the problem of the inaccessible disc drive. at first, i thought the problem was due to the installed driver for the piece of hardware. sadly, i was mistaken. after some tinkering... and a brief moment where i had rendered the computer completely inoperable... tommy and i discovered the problem: an older version of itunes.
truth be told, i never would have guessed there was a connection between itunes and an inaccessible disc drive. my guess is that because itunes has a disc burning feature, that somehow the older version of the application caused the disc drive to be inoperable. nevertheless, the easy solution turned out to be updating itunes to the current version offered by apple. once itunes was updated, the disc drive appeared. unfortunately, we did not discover this possible solution until the wee hours of night... and by wee hours... i mean 4 in the morning.
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