Highland Home

Dear Mom,

Leigh Ann and I fly down to Quincy tomorrow to get the house ready for its new owners. We are lucky to have found two gals who are excited to make it their home. Everyone says they are so nice.

Of course this brings up A LOT of memories. I told Miss Betty and Miss Patsy the weekend theme should be that Dr. Seuss quote, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." But I keep thinking about the fact you never cried when we talked about your cancer and the fact you were dying...but you cried when we talked about losing that house and everything it represented.

The back and forth we've enjoyed with our neighbors -- since 1990, but especially in the past years -- has been simply priceless.

So, in the interest of "smiling because it happened," here's a little walk down memory lane.

We moved to Highland Avenue in August of 1990 after you and Dad separated. It was a BIG change for us, since we'd grown up in the country, with plenty of space for bike riding and a big ol' yard full of pine trees and azaleas.



Our friends still remember the birthday parties and pool parties you would host for us...when we would turn the back porch into a roller rink, and Dad would accompany us on the drums while we skated all over the brick floor.








All of that changed pretty suddenly in 1990. You always said the most tangible sign of God's grace in your life was the availability of the house at 415 Highland Avenue, right when we needed it. And right where we needed to be -- surrounded by friends and "frelatives."

Funny enough, you'd never been one who sent photo Christmas cards, but you did send them that year...and the next year...and the year after that...



I think for you it was a way of sending a visible sign that we'd made a fresh start, and we were going to be okay.

And we were. There were so many good times in that house. Luncheons with your friends...

Family gatherings. (Look how little John and Julia are! And there's Mrs. Cook, years before she moved to Quincy from Durham, where she was my surrogate grandmother at Duke. Who could have known then she would end up right next door?!)

Late-night laughs and endless analysis sessions in that den. You liked to say we functioned sort of like three sisters in that house.

To make things work when we moved, we decided to divide up the chores. Everyone was supposed to have a particular night to cook supper. That did not last long after Leigh Annie made Hamburger Helper!!!

Here I am one day when I got so grossed out by the dirty windows that I decided to clean them. I am pretty sure that was the only time they ever got washed (other than when Miss Betty came down from time to time with her hose...). What was it Grandmama said about housekeeping? "Clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy."

You always remembered Blucher and Margaret had the living room painted Williamsburg Blue, so you were very happy the year you restored it to its rightful color! 

It may not have been our "childhood" home, but there were still a lot of rites of passage clocked during our 24 years there. Remember how excited Amanda and I were to go to the Maclay Christmas Formal? (And remember how I gave a hotter guy my number while my date was in the bathroom?! Oops.)


Prom nights...

Attending the annual Sawano Club Christmas Dance once we "graduated" into being allowed to go...

Getting our driver's licenses and first cars...

Leigh Ann riding back to Emory one Thanksgiving with Amy Curry...

Boyfriends coming to visit. (Remember when Eddie spent the night in Leigh Ann's bed, and you decided it was an opportune time to tell me you'd been listening to us talk through the vents for years?!)

Catching up with high school friends when we were home on Christmas or summer breaks from college...

Around the time we moved in 1990, I got a call from a strange lady who had recently moved to town and begun attending the Presbyterian Church. I can't remember who gave her my name, but she called me while I was at the Dyers' house and said, "I'm Juliane Hackney, and I heard you are a great babysitter! I have four boys -- but they are real sweet."

"Yeah, right, lady!" I thought. "Sure they are."

But she was right. They were sweet. And they all still are! We saw that last year when we went to Martin's wedding.

Here are William and Joseph one Halloween when I was in high school and passing out candy...

A couple of times, we amused ourselves by executing home repairs while you were out of town or otherwise unaware. I can't remember where you were the time we got some of your students to come over and take your iron bed to the body shop to have it painted dark green... Who's in that picture? Martin, Adrian, Fletcher and somebody... Or maybe you got them to come over and move furniture when you were painting? Who knows.

Another "extended family" shot -- we are looking forward to seeing Virginia and her gang this weekend. I showed her this picture recently, and she said, "Look how young I was!" (We cannot figure out who Bobbie is holding.)

I couldn't figure out how to end this post. So, as I scrolled back through the pictures looking for inspiration, I realized something big was missing. THERE WERE NO PICTURES OF RANIE!!! How could that be? 

I had to go back into the files and pull out a few. Just think of all the time we spent cooking in your kitchen...from the years when we were too young to drive to the Winn Dixie and had to use whatever we found...to the years when we made Christmas pecans and drove them around the neighborhood.

Ranie and I were both "back in the nest" in 2002 and 2003 when we were working girls, and she would come down on Monday nights for reality TV. It was so much fun to be part of her wedding to J.T. She was amazing over the holidays this year. I don't know what Leigh Ann and I would have done without her. 

But maybe there's something perfect about ending the post with these early 80s shots from outside the Subers' house, where we will be on Sunday night for a farewell party. 

Because there was a time before we moved to Highland Avenue. And there will be a time after. We will always miss you, but we will watch Benjamin, William and Andrew grow up and make their own memories on that special street. 

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be...

A house is made of brick and stone. 
A home is made of love alone

Saudade,

Lynsley

March On!

Dear Mom,

Wow, a month has flown by! I got out of the habit of posting and then just got lazy. Of course you don't need a silly blog to know you are ALWAYS on my mind and in my heart. But here are a few things I would have enjoyed sharing with you...

Since St. Pat's Day is Monday, I'll make it a little 17-item roundup of recent events:

1. Spring is on the way! 

Last Saturday, I had a fantastic jog in the park. It was in the mid-50s. It's the same way today, and I should be back out there, but I am, er, in need of rest. More on that in a minute.

2. Bahamas trip! (AKA Spring Break 2014)

I posted all of the photos on Facebook, but here are a few of my favorites. So much fun!! When I was standing in line at immigration, the steel drum band started to play, and I had a POWERFUL sense of your presence saying, "YOU GO, GIRLS!!!" I knew you would be so excited for us and so happy I was treating myself to something special. It has been good to have this long, cold winter to mourn and feel sad when I needed to, and of course I miss you terribly, but I know you want me to be out doing fun things and enjoying my friends. It was such a terrific group, and we all loved every minute. We played on the water slides like we were little kids.

3. The Ashby Family 

Ellen, George, Preston and Forrest were here last week for Spring Break and treated me to dinner at a delicious Greek place on Friday night. It was wonderful to see all of them. They enjoyed the gorgeous weather on Saturday too, and Ellen sent me this snap of them on the Brooklyn Bridge.

5. Clarice's Birthday 

Ranie Claire's birthday was last Sunday. I amused myself by posting a shout-out from Luke Duke, above. We thought it was so cool in elementary school that Ranie's bday is 3/9, mine is 9/3, and Tom Wopat's is 9/9. This was back when we thought a half birthday was a real thing... 

6. Bargain Hunting

I almost bought this skirt at the Carlisle outlet Melissa introduced me to...it was marked down to $25 from some ridiculous price, but then I remembered I have bought too many on sale skirts, and if you don't get the perfect top, you never wear it. I've decided to focus on dresses at bargain basement establishments.

7. TJ Queen

LA was tickled to find a crazy deal on a new piece of her Hartmann luggage at TJ's in San Diego. It turns out they have "runway" sections at certain stores with higher end brands. I went to my trusty depot near Columbus Circle and found some tempting items, but I stopped myself from buying an Elie Tahari sequined skirt marked waaaay down. See above. In addition to lacking a perfect top, I was lacking an occasion for which a sequined skirt might be appropriate! 

8. Fun with Travey

Travis and I met up recently for brunch at Jeffrey's Grocery in the Village. He'd already eaten, but he was still a good sport about sharing a bloody mary and a seafood tower with me. Then we saw the Oscar live action shorts. So fun! I really love those. You can get them via some of the on demand outlets, but we went to the IFC Theater on 6th Ave. It was my third year in a row of seeing them, and it's a fun little tradition.

9. Oscar On Demand 

I ran up a nice little cable bill at home watching:

Captain Phillips

12 Years a Slave

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity 

Blue Jasmine 

In theaters, I saw:

American Hustle 

August: Osage County 

I considered writing a whole blog post about August, as it gave me much to ponder, but I'll just say it made me deeply grateful for the strength and grace with which you handled your cancer. It was awful watching sisters at odds with each other and a selfish, whackadoodle mama. I'm not sure whether I'm glad I saw it or not, but I guess it put a new spin on our own recent funeral hijinks. My comment to my friends was, "Why pay good money to watch a movie about a fictional dysfunctional family when you can watch your own for free?!" 

I know you hated Woody Allen, and I felt a little guilty watching Blue Jasmine given the recently revived molestation controversy, but it really was an amazing movie. Cate Blanchett was profiled on 60 Minutes, and I loved this quote so much I wrote it down: 

"A lot of us, our lives are built on a fictional sense of self -- who we aspire to be versus who we actually are." 

10. Oscars

Jared Leto gave the sweetest speech recognizing his mother. Of course it made me cry. 

11. The Boys 

Adam and I had a fun dinner at Marea when Will was in town. It was a bit of a midweek budget buster, but we all loved it. Will is such a doll. He asked the Quincy Facebook gang if anyone's ears were burning. ;) 

12. Yikes

I have been texting with my pals about the latest "great publicity" for our alma mater. Is that proof positive that book smarts and common sense do not always go together or what? Jeez, I can't imagine making such terrible choices at such a young age. Poor gal. 

13. Thank you, thank you, thank you 

The notes Miss Patsy got us from Art in Gadsden have come in handy for writing notes in appreciation of the sweet donations people have made in your memory to Big Bend Hospice, Centenary and RFM. I amused myself sending this card to someone I thought would appreciate it. I'm probably about the youngest person in Quincy who remembers this landmark building! 

14. Sweet Treats 

Have been enjoying the homemade cane syrup that Libboo sent me in her care package! Dennis is such a sweetie. I put some blueberries in my waffles last weekend.

15. Harlem Nights

The SSGs had a night out in Harlem recently, as Marianne is moving to California, so her time to enjoy her neighborhood is limited. We all got dressed up (note this was the THIRD time my leather dress made it out this winter!) and hit several fun spots. We are actually doing a repeat tonight for M's going away party. I am a little worried whether I can hang, as I'm kinda running on fumes. Because...

16. Restaurant Bucket List 

A good friend of LA's was in town on business and let me join his gang for dinner at Le Bernardin. It was amazing...we did the tasting menu + wine pairings. But that combined with pre- and post-dinner cocktails did not set little Lyns up for success at the office! Oopsie. Someone is too old for such midweek nonsense. It was delicious and such a treat. I wish I could go back and taste it all again. 

• Chef's Tasting Menu 
• BAY SCALLOP-SEA URCHIN
• Nantucket Bay Scallops and Sea Urchin; Marinated Granny Smith Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
• Reuilly, Sauvignon Blanc, Domaine de Reuilly, “Les Pierres Plates”, Loire, France 2012
• KING FISH-CAVIAR
• Warm King Fish “Sashimi”; Osetra Caviar, Light Marinière Broth
• Yuki No Bosha, Yamahai Junmai Sake
• LANGOUSTINE
• Sautéed Langoustine; Truffle and Chanterelle Aged Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Côtes de Jura, Chardonnay, En Griffez, Domaine de L’Aigle á Deux Têtes, Jura, France 2011
• CRAB
• King Crab Medley; Warm Matsutake Custard, Seaweed-Shiitake Broth
• Carrot Eau de Vie, Hans Reisetbauer, Austria
• HALIBUT
• Poached Halibut; Opal Basil and Shaved Fennel Red Miso Citrus Sauce
• Riesling, “Dragonstone”, Leitz, Rheingau, Germany 2012
• WHITE TUNA-KOBE BEEF
• Grilled Escolar and Seared Wagyu Beef; Fresh Kimchi Asian Pear, Soy-Lemon Emulsion
• Nebbiolo d’Alba, Cerretta, Giacomo Conterno, Piedmont, Italy 2009
• PISTACHIO
• Passion Fruit Mousse, Meyer Lemon, Pistachio Ice Cream
• Muscatel “Seleccion Especial #1”, Jorge Ordóñez, Malaga, Spain 2011
• S'MORES
• Smoked Madagascan Chocolate Crémeux, Graham Cracker Sablé Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream
• “Sitia” Late Harvest, Domaine Oikonomoy, Greece 2000

The scallops and sea urchin had a citrus sauce that made everything seem so fresh and light. I loved the broth on the king fish and caviar (mariniere is a white wine and mussel broth). The richness of the truffle with the langoustine was so decadent, and it was perfect as a small dish. I would absolutely return...even if I were on my own dime next time! Thank goodness for generous friends. ;) 

17. Bop in NYC

This just in from the Bedenbaugh gang. Hope to see them tomorrow. 

That reminds me...the 8th grade was in DC this week. It was sweet to see the posts, especially the one from MJ that she was missing CSS.

Wonder what NEW THINGS they discovered this year?

Saudade,

Lynsley