Christmas Tree - Green

One of the fun things we do on Hummingbird Hill is the tradition of buying a real Christmas Tree. We purchase a tree that is dug rather than cut, and has a great big rootball so we can plant it. The one problem is that the tree can not be allowed to dry out. We decorate the tree and leave it outside in front of the large window, rather inside the house.

Each one of our grandchildren get a tree that is "theirs". Of course lately, we have had more grandchildren than Christmases. Some just have to wait in line.

Donovan's tree is the largest (of course), and was already at HH. It is the one that gets decorated each year.



This is Donovan and group decorating his tree.










Iain's tree was also already at HH, and it gets decorated a little (more each year). Here is Iain and his tree.













Lina's Tree

Rory's Tree

Audra's

Alesandra's and Ella's (we had to move to the other side of the driveway).

This year was Dexter's. This is Dexter (with a friend) picking out his tree:

& this is his tree:

This is the first group of trees:

Next year is Gabby's and 2010 belongs to the unknown Baby Murray.

Aren't we blessed?

Other wild visitors to Hummingbird Hill...

We had a group of "Wild Indians" whooping it up at Hummingbird Hill!

Sorry Ben Franklin...

...I usually agree with Ole Ben, he is a most interesting character, but I am glad he was not influential over the choice of bird for America's symbol.

He wrote in a letter to his daughter "...Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on."

He was quite uncomplimentary about the Bald Eagle. How could he question the grandeur of the Eagle?

Look who came visiting our Hummingbird Hill...

What I have been doing, rather than posting....

There is so much happening...

The joy:

We had a new baby granddaughter on Friday around 2 PM, courtesy of Maria and Joey. Gabriella is beautiful, don't you think?

The sorrow:

Later that day (rather Sat. at 4:30 in the morning) we turned off the interstate into a mass of water. Our county was flooding & it still rained 4 more hours. The town and the roads were closed, we had water in our new addition. The pond and lake were overflowing the dams...we had our own waterfalls. We also had a large lake instead of trees. Some poor people lost everything, and the farmers sure lost their crop.

This is one of the fields:

This is our woods along the road:

And this is our road:

Home again, home again jiggity jig

Well we are home, and actually have been. We landed late Memorial Day. I have been so busy, with being gone so long, work really piled up. And La Sirena moved last week-end so I have helped her pack and unpack, AND I have been suffering from the worst jet lag you can imagine. I have never been affected by it before. Not pleasant nor productive. By the way, in previous posts the day #s are all wrong, so ignore them.

Also, I have written this post 3 times. Each time I was just about to submit, the whole site went away. I hope I have better luck this time....

...but where was I? Oh, yes, we said good-bye to Lithuania. Well I still have stories to tell, later.

We left Lithuania at 11:30 PM on the 20th and arrived in Dublin at 12:30 AM. We had a room reserved right by the airport. We headed to Northern Ireland in the morning. All I can say is I never need to go back to Belfast again!

The people are really not friendly; although that is understandable. There is just not much charm in the city. Also, it was odd seeing statues erected to someone as if they were a hero, when I was raised considering them a villain. At any rate, we ended up not even eating there; we just moved on up the road. On to Carrigfergus.....

The Wedding

Day 4 and 5

I do not have anywhere near the time to do the wedding justice as we are just about to be picked up by family to meet even more family.
In all my life; Irish parties, huge family celebrations, Nebraska week-end long spectacles; I have never experienced anything close to this. It was solemn, joyful, wild, crazy, food, drink, speeches, toasts.....
The actual parties went on from being picked up by motor coach at 12:30 on Sat. to being dropped back off at the hotel last night at sometime after midnight this morning (Monday).

So let's start with the ceremony. It was beautiful in a wooden church built in 1798, and the bride and groom were glowing.

more to follow....

I am therefore I have proof.........

Day: 3 We rented a car and drove to Pete's hometown. We walked around and it was wonderful. Yes we were here before, but it was a fun yet chaotic time, with many people and very little space. Today it was just Pete & I driving into the town, walking, experiencing his home.

We went and spent a little time at his family farm (we were scheduled to do this Sunday), and just dropped in. We were welcomed and spent an enjoyable hour or two visiting and walking through the old orchard and very vibrant garden that his father used to speak of.

Later we returned to the hotel with the Brit side of the wedding. It was fun & we all had dinner.

The groom's dad is named Pete. Both got on quite well with each other & the younger crowd started calling them "The Petes".

I saved the best for last...I pressured Pete into walking to the church; it was locked. He wanted to leave, but I went & found the priest. We were able to get an official copy of Pete's baptismal certificate. He really does exist; its official.

Family, Family, Family....

Day 2: This trip is more about visiting, not sightseeing, so it was a day of meeting in a coffeehouse with a new cousin (well new to us). She is delightful, beautiful, a musician and singer. In fact she travels all over the world singing. We had fun; she speaks a little English, I understand a very little Lithuanian (more facial expressions) & we depended on Pete's translation skills. I think he only turned to translate for me & said it in Lithuanian, twice. This is a big improvement.

Best news; she said we will meet about 40 more members of the Dambrauskas Family, Sat. at the wedding. He is beside himself with joy. He said he may end up with more family than me....I don't think so.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Vilkaviskis. So leaving Vilnius I had to do 2 things; see the Vilnius Madonna and sit at my favorite corner.

I did both. The Vilnius Black Madonna, the Mother of Compassion, takes my breath away. I still can not get over that I saw the original once in my life, let alone twice! She is widely renowned for her healing power and a symbol of harmony. I need all in my life at his moment.

There is a corner in the old town, that I just love. I was standing on the cobblestone last visit & a strange sense of having been there before washed over me. This time, I had. Pete & I had a drink and the rye bread & cheese snack that I love & can not get in Chicago. Well good-bye Vilnius, till we meet again.

mb

Shall I try again????

Ok, I have had a difficult time getting started again. As a matter of fact, I am just as busy as when I was in school...maybe even more so. I have not felt as if I finished, and I am dragging..so, let me try again. I never got back to writing about Lithuania, and now I am back visiting for a family wedding. Maybe this will be a good place to start....2 years later.

So Day 1. I think I may have caught up on my rest. I slept for 15 hours straight! This is just not me & if you had offered me a million dollars, I could not have gotten up. Pete was on his own until dinner. We then walked the city and noticed some differences. Two years of being part of the EU has made good differences & not so good differences.

Here is Pete on the main street (Didzioji gatve) in 2006 ....

Here is the continental gentleman on the same main street in 2008.

Now for the not so good change...

This is the charming street of the hotel we stayed at in 2006...

We are not staying at the same hotel, but we walked by it...check out the modern (?) facade next door.

I'm back... well sort of...

It has been a long time since I have posted. I am pretty sure that my absence has not had a very large impact on anyone, however. I hope some thoughts and inspiration will come to me at some point; but now my brain feels like mush. If it ever gets working again, I may have some interesting things to write about. I guess practice makes perfect. It is a start.

Closed for Construction...

It has been awhile since I have blogged, as I had predicted. Although I am on a brief break at the moment, I am still buried with work. I am, therefore, giving myself permission to close until after the new year...or not....

I know I am very fortunate in my life. Sometimes, however, good things cause problems, too. Like Monk says, "Its a blessing and a curse.". Blessing: I get to be in a doctoral program; Curse: I have no time for anything I like to do. Blessing: I come from a loving, large family; Curse: It hurts so much when you lose one of them.

This picture is of two of my little brothers and my younger cousin (the one in the middle with the bow) on the occasion of his First Communion, about 1962. 2/3rds of this little group are dead; my brother on the right (hit by a drunk driver, 2003) & my cousin (sudden heart attack, last week).

Thus, due to the pressure of school, and the potential morbid tone of my posts, a temporary closure seems to make most sense. See you next year.

And let's not forget another birthday of great importance...

...the birthday of my cousin; a sister of my heart. She is exactly three days older than me. We have celebrated our birthdays in one form of togetherness or another, as long as I can remember. Hmmmm, I remember... while blogging about my grandson's 15th birthday, I remembered our shared 15th birthday(How can I have a grandson that age?).

I lived (and live) in Chicago, she lived (and lives) in Nebraska. We wrote very long letters to each other (paper & pen, believe it or not) and added to them every day. During year 14, leading up to the 15th birthday, we often wrote of how we were looking forward to this most important birthday. We were going to be allowed to date boys once we turned 15. As luck would have it, there was a dance scheduled just after I was to arrive from Chicago (I am sure it was to celebrate our birthdays). We had the boys all picked out. Not only that; we each had a new dress to wear to the dance.

I finally got to her farm, we ran upstairs to her (and her real sisters') bedroom. I pulled my new dress out of the suitcase & she pulled hers from her closet. Yep, you guessed it...the same dress! Well almost; they were very "mod" with a black and white, large houndstooth check bottom and three decorative buttons just above the checks, however one top was green & one top was orange. I really can't remember which color belonged to which one of us.

We just laughed, went to our dance & had a blast...the boys are long gone, but we are still sharing our birthdays...

A most happy birthday my dear cousin, Rita; and may we have very many more; together.

More Birthday Blogging - Late entry

It was pointed out to me that I did not birthday blog for my grandson, on June 10th. In reality I had blogged & then deleted the blog. I was afraid I would embarrass him... a 15 year old wants to be on "My Space" not my space. However, now that his birthday is safely over, and I am sure he does not read his grandma's blog, I wish my very special 15 year old grandson; a very happy birthday & a wonderful year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLIN' DONOVAN

One Year and Counting....

Well, Pete and I have been married for one whole year. We have certainly had a wonderful and busy one. Two new grandchildren, many more family members, and other general life-building activities happened. We couldn't help but think this week-end of all the fun we had last year. The field looks quite empty without a big tent; and although everything is green now, its not quite like the sea of green of last year. Pete asked how long it would take us to call everyone to hurry over, put up a big tent & throw some food together. Too long for this year; but here is to many others....

To My Very First Sister I Ever Had...

I wish you a very happy birthday.

Four birthdays and a graduation!

Well I know I am late for many birthday blogs, but I must say I have had a very busy few days...
First, as of last Thursday, I have been a Mom for 35 years...

Happy Birthday, Jen!
Next, on the same day, my godson-nephew turned 25. He was Jen's 10th birthday present.

Happy Birthday, Bobby. Enjoy.
Then on Friday, Iain turned 10 & had a sleepover for 11 of his closest friends.

Happy Birthday, Iain, 10 is a very good year.
On Saturday, my wonderful sister-in-law Maria celebrated the anniversary of her birth as well.

Happy Birthday, Maria...let's toast your birthday soon.
Last, but certainly not least...Mary graduated from college!!!!!!

Way to go, Mary. Enjoy your week off before you start your master's classes.

Soooo, I ask forgiveness for not blogging in a more timely manner. I will try to do better in the future.

How Lucky Am I...

...or as my Uncle, Father Bob would say, "How blest are you".

My cousin Patty Joyce, her daughter Casey and granddaughter Sydney came through Chicago last Thursday. They were returning to Michigan from Nebraska where they celebrated her Mom's 94th birthday(Happy Birthday, Aunt Margaret!). Patty & her sisters began going through some of Aunt Margaret's zillions of pictures & Patty was showing some of them to us. Patty allowed me to borrow some & scan them. I was quite moved because some of these pictures were intimate slices of experiences that formed who I am.

As I looked at this picture,I flew back in time. That is Aunt Margaret, as always, serving food on the far left, other people are all over the house(you can be sure there are as many people in the kitchen on the other side of that marvelous 2 sided butler pantry). Grandma Nora is in the center of things & cousins of all ages are in various states of relating...this picture truly represents my Aunt & Uncle Francis' farm. You could drop in at any time and be treated as if you were one of their own & had been expected. It really was a safe & wonderful place.

At the last big get together there, my daughter (LaSirena)kept running in & checking with me...is it ok if I go on the porch with the other kids?...yes, you can go anywhere on the farm with the other kids...then, Mom you mean I can go in the yard?...yes anywhere, I then watched her out the dining room window, she was immobile with amazement, in she came again...you mean I can go out of the yard, out of the fence...yes, anywhere. The concept of so much freedom, for my little city girl, was too much.

When I think of the Fenton clan, I think of this place. Looking at this picture, brought it all back. It also finally dawned on me (duh) that my goal to buy a farm was really just an attempt to provide for my family and friends, something close to what Margaret & Francis gave to all of us. So I really was not looking for a place of peace (I will have to change my blog ID) in Hummingbird Hill, but rather a place of easy relatedness; joyful chaos.

Joyful chaos brings me to my next picture & the true source of what I love about my life: the hugeness of my family. On the Fenton side alone I have 46 first cousins. My cousin Rita & I are smack in the middle. We are surrounded by the baby boomer crush of kids, & we girls are the majority (in this age group). Keep in mind I had all brothers until Theresie & Colleen came along at(my age) 10 & 14. When I got together with my girl cousins I was a little terrified & alot overjoyed.

This picture is of just a very few of my cousins on an ordinary day creating joyful chaos. They are all +/- 3 years of my age. I am not in this picture, but I have been in many similar situations. Note, it is not ALL girls, but have you ever seen such a giggling, gaggle of gangly girls? Don't you think I am very lucky,...er,blest?

Happy 30th, Kelly

My sweet neice Kelly turned 30 today. I wish I could be in Florida celebrating with you. I will always remember the day you were born. It has been such fun being part of your life so far.

Love, Aunt Jane

Transitions

As I stated, changes are happening at Hummingbird Hill. Here is HH before:

and here is HH after Tom & crew spent several days working:

Another transition is the end of my very brief time away from class. I expect I will be less consistent in my blogs for awhile.