Category: Family Matters

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It Really Was Super

All of the Super fans may have gone home, but the Kahuna kids are still talking about the Big Game.

It happens when we pass the billboard that’s still up on I-69.

It happens when the Fox and I sneak into SweeTies on our way to pick up Mam from school.

“Mom, the Giants NEED this cake, right?”

It happens when they see the Super scarf BgK received as a member of #social46.

Once the Superbowl is on his mind, we have some version of this conversation:

“Are they playing the game, Mom?”

“No the game is over.”

“The Giants winned, right? The Pantries are the losers.”

“That’s right, the Giants beat the Patriots.”

“Go Giants!”

MaM is planning on going on a zipline, ANY zipline the minute she weighs enough. (She spent a good portion of Saturday afternoon watching the zipliners zoom across downtown.) She’s practicing her Roman numerals, and she’s still talking about how she swallowed her tooth during the SuperBowl.

She now knows who Madonna is (how is it that she didn’t before Sunday? I have no idea) and would like to hear more of her music.

I hope that, at least through stories and pictures, they always remember Indianapolis’ first turn as Superbowl Host.

I have a feeling it won’t be the city’s last.  Nicely done, Indy!

 

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Tis the Season for…Wine-Making!

We’ve trimmed the tree, we’ve started the Advent calendars, and the month of December is in full swing. I haven’t done too much to get ready for it this year- I attempted last year’s calendar (one of my best brainstorms ever, if I do say so myself), but a lot of the rings are blank. I hung the garland up on the mantle anyway, and guess what? It hasn’t occurred to the kids yet that maybe something is written on the rings. That’s ok with me.

One thing I did do to get ready this year is…make wine. It’s true. Back in October, some girlfriends and I got together, went to Harmony Winery in Fishers and made a wine kit for the holidays.

It’s quite the process, making wine, even when you’re starting with grape juice and not in the vineyard.

After sanitizing our hands and donning aprons, we set to work creating the concoction that would then ferment for about six weeks. I don’t remember exactly what we were doing in all these photos- but it took about an hour, and we had a lot of fun!

 

After Thanksgiving, we returned to bottle our concoction (actually, it was a different kit- long story, but we mixed one batch, bottled another, and took home bottles of both). The bottles were ready and Kevin put us right to work!

After sanitizing, we took turns filling the bottles with Riesling. After bottling, came corking. After corking, came foil seals. After foil seals came customized labels. After all of that, we had a toast for a job well done, for done it was. We bottled about forty bottles total, and all five of us carted out a box of our creation.

Look at the finished product. Now the real dilemma is, do I really gift the fruit of my labor, or do I enjoy it myself?

 

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Happy Birthday, Grandma!

A few weeks ago (ok, nearly a month ago), my grandma turned 98 years old! We kind of make a big deal about her birthday, because, well, how many 98 year olds do you know?

We had a party for her at my parents’ house, and of course there was cake. She brought her collection of birthday cards to share with us- she must have received over fifty cards. (PSA: Send birthday cards to the elderly people in your life! They love them!)

We had a lovely afternoon together, and as the day went on, she began to reminisce. As she gets older, her memories go back further and further. She used to talk about the sixties, now she talks about the thirties. She surprised us all by reciting, word for word, the opening monologue to the radio program, Our Gal Sunday. As she began to talk about the show, I started Googling for more details. She was wondering the exact year it began, and how long it ran for.

Between websites devoted to old time radio and Wikipedia, I was able to help her fill in the blanks. It was a fun way to share some time with each other.

Smart phones and the Internet, bringing generations together!