Yearly Archives: 2007

Sunday morning – Party

I wasn’t sure how last night’s party was going to turn out .. or how we’d all feel about it… but in the end it was really good. We had lots of help from our friedns with set-up, so that part was really easy… even so, around 4 in the afternoon yesterday, I was so tired, I couldn’t imagine having a party.. it had been rainign hard all day and the though of hundreds of soaked party gowers tromping around the house was pretty hard to get my head around… but… the rain broke right before the party started.. and people started showing up right at 7.. and by about 7:30.. the place was packed. the mood was good.. Sam was very present in all of our minds.. So was being together and having fun… I have no idea how many folks showed up.. but the house, barn and yard were still very full at midnight… we finally got everything quited down around 1:30… a great night.. and here it is in pictures: Thanks to all who showed up !

-me

The lull before the storm.. some of our friends did some last minute decorating

Sam’s room was a favorite hang out before and during the party. It always has been

Max’s friend Chris was goign as Wloverine (he really looks like Wolverine). He wanted some claws.. so I welded him some yesterday afternoon

Samara (named for the little helicoptery things that fall off of maple trees) and Brittany are soem of the first to show up

Garret looking thoughtful (I think)

The inside ligths before many folks showed up


Max as Buddy Holly !

Me as Times Square

Kids hanging out int the garage.. about 7:15

Dinae is the Sue – Chef.. a lawyer cook !

Jessie – nice version

Jessie – mean version

Main room aout 7:30

People !

My lights in Rger B’s chestpiece (Roger.. you won a custum competion category .. we’ll get you your prize)

The art school kids.

Emily came as a tatooed person.. and the rest of the Pratt kids did her ink .. it was amazing.. all of this was done using Sharpie pens we had around the house

The food table started to fill up

Sam was never out of my mind for a second

Spooky food !


Abbot came as his brother Mason (who called from Italy with Tyler, Rusty and Alex right before the party to say
‘happy party’)

Ryan came as his brother Eric

Jackie came as herself


Shoes must come off.. huge piles at all doors

Things started to get really busy around 8:30

Willa the pterodactyl

Chadwicks !


Self portrait with headband


Many small hang out areas scattered through the house.. tpy room, tower, sams room, tv room, barn etc


The view towards parking

Gabe as flashy light up dude

The front of the house


STarirs were always packed


Art kids chillign out in Max’s room


Sumner and friend


Juergen showed up from Germany.. (OK .. he was already in Burlignton).. Always good to see him !


The moon even came out !


Me and Sam again


Mary with stars in her eyes


It was crazy around 10.. We did the custume contest..


Marie K won most scary


Howdy and Keen won .. something.. Funniest ?

Emily won most elaborate

The SLoans (Jeff won.. ‘most basic’).. they got these smiles in the mail from their dentist earlier in the day

These guys got best team

Here’s the official prize list:

Most Basic :  Jeff Sloan
Best Classic: Bill Rogers
Most Outrageous: MJ Dickerson
Most Colorful: Rebecca Kelley
Scariest: Marie Kenny
Funniest: Howdy and Keen (Dylan Peters  and Stephen Mignano)
Most Unusual:  The Trojan (Roger Bombardier Jr.)
Most Elaborate: Cat Von-D (Emily Susen)
Most Original: Austin Kemp
Cutist:  Little pirate dude
Best Group: Lumberjacks – theyy sing ! (owen R-C, Ben Feinsen, and Nick Exler)

Lots of kids around the bonfire


And music going all night in the barn.. this was a quoet set with Erin B. doidg Regina Spekter


Gabe did some great fireworks

I did some homemade fireworks

Lots of folks were outside.. I think this was about 11

The view from outside


A tribute to Sam


We collected a good amount of canned goods for the food shelf..


Around midnight.. things still pretty busy

Nate playing Sam’s Sheckter

Thinking of Sam.. he would have loved htis party.. I hope he did

By 1:30.. things are empty.. still about 25 folks about.. but the room is clean-ish
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That’s all for now.. DIan’es been up cleaning for over an hour.. I need to get craking.. Thanks again to all who came.. and Happy halloween to everyone…

Trick or treat Sam !

-me

Saturday afternoon – Halowween Party tonight

It’s about 5:30 in the afternoon and I’m taking a few minutes now to do a short blog in case I’m too tired later after the party. We’ve spent the day mucking out the house in preperation for the party … we’ll spend tomorrow mucking out the party to get back to the house. It’s a tradion that goes back 26 years with us. I don’t beleve we’ve mmissed a year that we’ve been living here (with the exception of the 2 years we lived in england and 3 years in pittsburgh while I was in school) . In recent years we’ve tried moving the party to the Jubilee barn in Huntington.. but it’s more fun here.. Fun is a funny word tonight .   We’re all thinking so hard of Sam as we get the place set.. .. Halloween was always his favorite holiday.. he was in his element. costums, candy and the possibility of mischief. He just loved these parties.. and in recent years his friends were the bulk of the people who showed up. All four of us knew that we had to have the party this year as always. Sm would have absolutely wanted it.. I’m not sure what to expect this year.. who is going to show up ? Might be few folks.. might be many.. we’ll see.    I’ll post some pictures form the party later.. Hope to see some of you tonight

Trick or treat Sam
-me

Thursday night – urge for going

Once again we were all awake around between 3 and 4 AM.. this is definitely the best jetlag I’ve ever had… The one good thing is that it makes it easy to get Gabe to school on time. 7AM no longer seems early… Driving Gabe to school this morning it hit me how tough this time of year is for people.. after fall colors have peaked, after the warmth of summer and before snow. The shortening days and the persistent clouds, mist and drizzle have a way of getting into your soul. Everything’s muted and.. I don’t know.. sad, I guess. We’re all ready for bed by 8PM.  We’re going to have to work hard to keep our spirits up over the next few months. .. I drove hoem today thinking of a Joni Mitchell song that my college friend Alan introduced me to.. it’s called Urge for Going by Joni Mitchell

 

 

 

Urge for Going

By Joni Mitchell

 

I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
And shivering trees are standing in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go

I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

I had me a man in summertime
He had summer-colored skin
And not another girl in town
My darling’s heart could win
But when the leaves fell trembling down
Bully winds did rub their faces in the snow
He got the urge for going And I had to let him go

He got the urge for going
When the meadow grass was turning brown
Summertime was falling down and winter was closing in

The warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying and all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and racing on before the snow
They’ve got the urge for going, they’ve got the wings to go

They get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

I’ll ply the fire with kindling and pull the blankets to my chin
And I’ll lock the vagrant winter out and bolt my wandering in
I’d like to call back summertime and have her stay jut another month or so
She’s got the urge for going and I guess she’ll have to go

And she get the urge for going when meadow grass is turning brown
All her empires are falling down
Winter’s closing in

 

I even found a good recording of it here

 

Oh man.. I need to sleep… I promise more tomorrow…
Gnite all, gnite Sam !

-me

 

ps. Just got the wonderful news from my friends Rafe and Laurence  that they’ve just had their second baby this morning !  Congratulations !!!!

 

Sophie Constance Nedelec Mazzeo

Oct. 25, 2007, 8AM, 7.75lb/3.5kg

 


 

Wednesday night – super jetlag

Ugh.. I typed in a complete Blog then Myspace crashed.. so here iI goes again.

I can’t ever remember being so jetlagged. Right now my body is tellign me that it’s 4 in the morning just like at 4AM this morning it was telling me it was 1 PM. I went around like a zombie most of the day.. Max joked that we’re so out of wheck that we’re almost on his timezone now.    It’s more than just the diffences in TimeZones, though.. it’s also a culture zone lag.. Gabe and I were both commenting how wierd it was to be driving to school this morning and being the only car on the road.. now swarms of people, no beeping horns like in India. . I like both places.. they’re just very different.
   One of the other wierd things to get used to is how differnt the ‘how was your trip’ thing goes for me now. in the past I used to carry around a bunch of trip stories in small tasty nuggests to doll out when some one asked abotu the triup. Now , thanks to this blog, someone is likly to start givig me their impression of our trip, what they liked and what they didn’t . For example, I took my car to Road Res-Q in Essex Junction  (a great place to take your car !) today to get a tire fixed. I hadn’t gotten a foot in the door before Phil, a guy who works there started asking me about India. wand the Haloween party  Phil hangs out at talent and was a friend of Sam’s and is a friend of Sumner’s, the Tounsands and those guys. He said he reads this blog everyday (hey Phil) .. It’s such a fun and wierd connection to people..
   Speakign of the Halloween party, It’s this Saturday.. Sam would have wanted us to keep up the tradion.. so please come party in his honor.. We’re having a custom contest  so “come as you aren’t” and when *fabulaus prizes*   (read that last sentance in a cheesy emcee voice for best effect )  In case you missed it here’s the invite

OK.. now I really have to sleep. Goodnight everyone, Goodnight Sam
–me

ps. Rmember at my birthday  last Feburary  when we made liquid nitrogen icecream at my birthday party ? Well, I put a short video clip of that on my myspace blog.

Sometime about 2 weeks ago, Myspace picked up that video and featured it on their home page. Since then . 293,471people have viewed  the video. That  really shows how powerful internet media can be.. !