Videos from Sandy

OK.  I'll admit.  There's not a whole lot you can do when the ENTIRE TOWN is out of power.  So we took to the roads, despite the warnings of elected officials.  What follows is a collection of videos from before, during and after Ms. Sandra. 

This first one is from Monday morning, before the storm.  We took Hogan for a walk at Compo Beach in Westport.  You'll be able to see some of the things people were doing to prepare for the storm.  The wind was already whipping, enough the blow the shedding fur off the ol' boy!  When you faced into the wind, you got a pleasant (?) microdermabrasion treatment -- the cheapest of its kind in Westport!

 

 

 

After sleeping in the Family Room (something else the elected officials advised against, since it involves a large bay window), we woke up Tuesday morning to some fairly calm weather.  The wind gusts and whistling during the night were really scary.  Everything they say about a train coming through is pretty accurate.   Here's what I found when I went out the front door.

 



 

 

The "Big Surprise"...Revealed!

So, last week, I created quite a buzz on Facebook with a "teaser" I put out about a "big surprise" that was in store.

Don't know what everyone was expecting, but what ensued was , indeed, quite a surprise! 


The Backstory:  In 1982, at 17, I set off to Sweden to live with a family as an exchange student.  At the time, I had three Swedish "sisters":  Lena (15), Nilla (10) and Anna (5).  The Rudolfssons were a gregarious, loving family -- not unlike the Fischers back home -- and it was an AMAZING experience!  In subsequent years, all three Rudolfsson girls lived in Erie, joining the brood of fifteen other foreigners who spent time at the Fischer house over the years.  Additionally, my cousin Amy (of Syracuse fame) lived with the Rudolfssons for one high school summer.  That's a whole lot of "exchanging" of students, I'd say!


Over the years we've stayed in touch with the vast majority of those siblings, a few more than others.  And, thanks to Facebook, now more frequently than ever! Round about January, I put out a request asking our "siblings" to help Mom and Dad celebrate their 50th, and I never would have dreamed of the response that came from middle sister, Nilla:  "I'm coming and I'll bring my daughter Emma!"


It was hard to keep this "secret" from Mom and Dad over the ensuing months, but somehow we managed.  The Swedes flew into JFK and spent a couple of days in NYC.  I joined them for part of the time. (see photos from our adventure in this outstanding album).  And then we made the long drive to Erie.   For the last two hours of the drive, we schemed about how to best surprise them without giving anyone a complete heart failure!


Bottom line, when we got to Erie, I asked Mom to come out to the car because I "had some things in the back seat that I need help with."


What follows is the series of pictures from that moment.


Mom opens the door, and there's Nilla (with her camera poised, of course):

I took this one from outside the car:

And then this one:

And finally, this one:

Just a few minutes later, Dad came home from Wegman's and we had to pull off the surprise all over again.  This time, we told him that he had to help us bring some things up from the basement.  And here's what he found at the bottom of the steps...

Chili Time and a Little "Borderline"

I'm not that into the Super Bowl this year.  And I should be.  After all, I LOVE football, and geographically, you can't live more squarely in the eye of the Giants - Patriots hurricane (deja vu, here's my post from that last time we found ourselves at this place).

So, to get myself into the spirit, I've donned my official Steelers jersey (Todd has reminded me that my team is, indeed, not playing in the Super Bowl this year) and concocted an amazing batch of chili (I shared my secret recipe in the post linked above).  Of course, we have enough to feed a small army, and this is one type of "human food" that we don't share with Hogan.  So we'll have to freeze the leftovers.  ...unless you want to stop in for a bite!

So aside from watching commercials and enjoying the performance of a 50-year old virgin in tights, I've decided to cheer for the red, white and blue team.  And eat chili.

New York City Cab ...

...that's the name of the wine that we drank at City Winery.  I thought that was pretty darned clever.

About a year ago, I pondered our Marc Cohn groupie status.  It seems like the guy is always "touring" (if you can call it that), and since he's from New York, he plays a lot of venues close-by.  Lucky us. 

Last night's venue was, perhaps, the coolest ever (or neck-and-neck with FTC Fairfield Theatre Co.).  City Winery is a real, working winery located in the heart of SoHo on Varrick Street.  It's a tapas restaurant and wine bar with restaurant-type seating.  Admittedly, we decided to go at the very last minute, so we had just about the worst seats in the place -- and even then they were still great!

Here's an old favorite:

Love that guy...even on an "off" night!

Mushing in Quebec

Two years ago, we learned to mush a dog sled.  We took a week vacation in Quebec City, and part of that was a "trip to the country" that involved a sled-driving lesson.  It was one of the most physically demanding things I've ever done. 

Among other things, I was frustrated about the fact that the dogs understood French -- it made them seem very sophisticated.  So we had to speak French to command them. 

In any case, it was a "bucket list" kind of afternoon.

Fast forward to 2012.  We decide, again, to attend Winter Carnival in Canada (most people would head South at this time of year).  So we're looking at the schedule of events when we realize that we can take a piloted dog sled ride along the St. Lawrence River -- no work involved.  Sign me up!

Here's the video of the first few seconds of the ride:

 

 











The key differences on this trip:  bright sunshine, warm (?) temperatures, and a chance to sit back and enjoy the ride!  Some of life's greatest pleasures!

Best. Birthday Gift. Ever.

When I was a college student, my dad started sending me flowers for my birthday.  At first, it was a giant pom pom mum with pipe cleaner eyes and a pipe cleaner smile (an innovative FTD creation of the 80s, I'm sure). 

On my 21st birthday, he got all "fancy" and sent me 21 roses.  And every year thereafter, I enjoyed roses for my birthday -- one for each year.  I've always enjoyed those, despite a few "glitches" over the years (miscounted roses, missed deliveies due to business travel, frostbitten flowers in January).  There's something to be said about getting a cheerful boquet of blooms in the dead of winter.  The best!  Dad also sends Mom flowers on my birthday, too.  She did all the hard work, after all!

A couple of years ago, I asked Dad to hold back on the roses.  With my advancing age, it was getting to be pretty expensive and it was starting to look like a funeral home in here!  All that said, I usually don't "expect" too much on my birthday.  When you're within a month of Christmas, the gift thing tends to blend all together anyway. 

Birthday 2012:  Todd and I went away for the weekend, and I thought that was my gift.  It was COLD in Montreal -- the site of our getaway -- but exactly everything I LOVE!  And then.  The gift.

Inside a carefully selected greeting card was a neatly folded e-mail receipt.  The receipt was for the best gift.  Ever.  (...all due respect for the blooms, dad).  For my birthday, Todd made a contribution to the Carla Fischer '87 Endowed Scholarship Fund at Syracuse University.  It's a gift that means the world to me and will help make a difference for someone else, too.  It touched me like no other gift in a long, long time.  That, and the fact that he bought me my own personal DVD of "The Express" made for a pretty special birthday.

We still have a long way to go to meet our $50,000 goal, but honoring my mission on my birthday is a step in the best direction. 

WANT TO HELP SEND A STUDENT TO SU?

Click here to make a contribution of any amount to our endowment fund. In the field "My gift is designated for" click Other. Then type Carla Fischer '87 Endowed Scholarship Fund when prompted. Your contribution is tax-deductible and could be doubled if your employer has a matching gift program.