Julie Andrews

Life List

Posted on by Megan

In my blog-stalking, I’ve recently noticed lots of “life list” posts or blogs and thought I should get on the bandwagon. One, because it’s probably a good idea to think about what I want to accomplish in this life. Two, because it’s a whole heck of a lot of fun to dream, isn’t it?

So, following in the footsteps of Walking the Long Road, Damn You, Little Rock and If You Ask Me here’s my life list.

  1. Go back to Prague and come home with crystal.
  2. Flip a house.
  3. Take a cruise in the Mediterranean.
  4. Gamble in Vegas (and maybe even win big).
  5. Buy a house and make it a home.
  6. Adopt a dog. [If it’s a Corgi name it Radar.]
  7. Read more classic literature.
  8. Watch all of Julie Andrews’ movies.
  9. Take the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, Austria.
  10. Take my parents on a vacation.
  11. Trace my family genealogy.
  12. Make homemade ice cream by myself.
  13. Own a paperie.
  14. Take an autumnal trip through the New England states.
  15. Relearn how to throw pottery. [I was in elementary school the first time. Does that even count?]
  16. Travel abroad with Adam.
  17. Write a novel.
  18. Get aforementioned novel published.
  19. Visit Paris.
  20. Sit and sip in a Parisian Cafe.
  21. Win the lottery.
  22. Learn to surf.
  23. Visit all 50 states.
  24. Take a road trip through Tuscany.
  25. Have a street named after me (even if it’s just my driveway).
  26. Get my M.Ed.
  27. Update my blog on a regular basis.
  28. Resist the urge to change my blog address again.
  29. Visit the Storm King Art Center.
  30. Broaden my culinary horizons (aka find more foods I like).
  31. Learn to tat.
  32. Learn to crochet.
  33. Carry on the tradition of my Great-Aunt Lila and Great-Grandmother Mama Ward’s handmade snowflakes.
  34. Host Thanksgiving dinner for my entire family.
  35. Buy a real ironing board.
  36. Actually iron.
  37. Make fresh pasta.
  38. Get married. [once]
  39. Become a mother.
  40. Adopt a child.
  41. Find the most ridiculous items possible in a Dollar Store and share them with the world.
  42. Meet Meryl Streep.
  43. Go to the Ellen Show.
  44. Go snow-skiing in Colorado again.
  45. Volunteer with Ozark Mission Project.
  46. Grow a succulent garden.
  47. Attend the Olympics.
  48. Be an Olympic athlete. In curling.
  49. Go to the Oscars.
  50. Go to Wimbledon.
  51. Bowl a perfect game.
  52. Create a signature dish.
  53. Visit Nantucket.
Free graphics found on pugly pixel. Personalized by me.

I Love to Laugh

Posted on by Megan

Mary Poppins Movie Poster

Growing up my sister and I split our weekends at our Grandmothers’ homes. This is the last in a series of two reminiscing about those weekends.

On the weekends we stayed with GranMerle, we’d make spaghetti, eat Oatmeal Creme Pies like they were going out of style, play smut, dominoes, and a host of other card games, listen to GranMerle recall moments from her childhood, listen to 8-track tapes, play with the Playmobil dollhouse, and eat the best homemade banana pudding (made by GranMerle, of course). Not to mention accompanying her to her weekly hair appointment, playing Barbies, and generally being her shadow for about 36 hours.

But one of the things I remember most is watching Mary Poppins practically every weekend we stayed with her. [Which led me to buy it when the limited DVD edition came out]. What is it about Mary Poppins that is so intriguing? Is it the fantasy sidewalk chalk world they jump into? The practically perfect measuring tape Mary uses? The spoonfuls of sugar she encourages the children to take medicine with? Or maybe dancing chimney sweeps, which I’m pretty sure led to me inquiring to my parents about a chimney sweep of our own once or twice. There’s also that hilarious guy named Dick van Dyke…Through it all, I fondly remember Grandmerle often opening up her hide-a-bed sofa for us to pile up and watch Mary Poppins on, she would always be totally concentrated on the movie just as we were, until we bribed her for another Oatmeal Creme Pie, that is…

I don’t know if it was coincidence or not that Julie Andrews had the starring role in both movies that we obsessively watched at our Grandmothers’ homes, but either way it helped me name her one of my favorite actresses of all time. To this day, I cannot get over how much love our grandmothers gave us when we visited them. I’m sure they could quote the movies in their sleep, but they never once complained about having to watch them over and over and over again with us. There truly is nothing like a grandmother’s love.

The Hills are Alive…

Posted on by Megan

Sound of Music Movie Poster

Growing up my sister and I split our weekends at our Grandmothers’ homes. This is the first in a series of two reminiscing about those weekends.

On the weekends we stayed with Ottie, we’d make homemade potato chips, walk across the street to Maxine’s Diner (now Mama Max’s) for burgers, “ice skate” on [aka polish] her hardwood floors to a Dolly Parton record, play with our aunts’ old Barbies and make their furniture out of shoeboxes, have a nightcap of Coca-Cola in a small glass, and pick cherries off her cherry tree. Not to mention playing with her dog, Foo-Foo, planting flowers in her flower beds, and generally being her shadow for about 36 hours.

But the thing I remember most is watching The Sound of Music practically every weekend we stayed with her. So it shouldn’t surprise you that it is one of my favorite movies of all time. In fact, I consider the opening scene to be one of the best in the industry. It’s perfect: the blue ski, the lush mountains, the perfection in Julie Andrews’ voice. Every time I watch it, I want to be her. There are so many things about the movie that I love, like the confidence she finds in herself, because really? What is so fearsome about 7 children? Then there’s the strapping Christopher Plummer as Captain von Trapp. I mean, hello. Then towards the end of the movie there’s one of the best scenes, the talent contest. I remember Maddie and me laughing and laughing at the lady who bows her way across the stage to accept her award, then bows her way off the stage with flowers in her arms when we watched it with Ottie, sometimes even rewinding just to laugh some more.

I don’t know how Ottie never got tired of watching this movie over and over again with us. I mean even classics can get old after a while, but she was always there, in her chair doing needlepoint or a word puzzle or absolutely nothing but watching along with us. It’s just one of the many ways I remember Ottie today.

Up next? Weekends with GrandMerle…