To Have and Have not

My dad and I went to see this movie on the big screen together.

Bogie fell in love with a young Bacall in the film. You will notice the great song by Hoagy Carmichael that is dubbed to Lauren by a young Andy Williams.
You will notice a little circle that joins her dress, tt has a tiny picture of Bogie in it.

grandpa phillips fave movies

Grandpa loved this movie.Dad had glorious memories of his glamorous aunt rose taking him to the cinema and even taking him on plane trips...just for fun.

grandpa phillips fave movies

Happy Anniversary Grandpa

Ironically, we just lost Grandpa Del and tomorrow is the first anniversary for my dad.
It has been an incredibly difficult year for us, we look forward to Spring Festival(Chinese New Year).
In the true tradition, we clean the house from top to bottom, get hair cuts, buy new outifits, and this year, plant an extensive garden.
Grandpa Phillips was a beautiful singer. He loved Francis Albert.
I post this little film because my dad had this huge voice, and loved the quietness off Jobim.

Little Red or St Pauli Girl

Our Christmas season was a busy one, so Mimi has just discovered some of the lovely things that were left underneath the tree.
I am convinced that next year ,we will all chip in for a cow in a distant village and call it a day.
Mimi "found " this lovely costume and set about to a new adventure.

Delavan Wayne Sipes

Delavan Wayne Sipes

WATERVLIET - Delavan Wayne Sipes was born on Nov. 22, 1925, in Jackson, Mich., to Delavan and Vivian (Fillmore) Sipes. Del died peacefully on Jan. 2, 2010, after a long battle with leukemia.

Del was proud of his career as an educator, first teaching in the Detroit Public Schools and then at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Mich., where he pioneered the Biomedical Instrumention Technology program and taught various electronics and science courses for thirty years. As president of the Faculty Forum, he helped bring the "mutual gains" form of negotiation to the college.

Del retired in 1986 as professor emeritus, moving from his home at Wolverine Lake to Paw Paw Lake, Watervliet. He was active on township boards and committees, eventually earning the sobriquet of "Del Quixote" in this conservative southwest corner of Michigan.

A passionate researcher, writer and environmentalist, Del served for many years as president of the Paw Paw Lake Association, the editor of the Michigan Lake and Streams Newsletter, and as president of the Woodland Nature Conservancy. His weekly column, the Paw Paw Lake Almanac, was enjoyed by the community for 628 issues of the Tri-City Record.

Del was a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving as a radar operator on the USS Breeze, a mine sweeper, in the Pacific theater of World War II. He was a graduate of Wayne State University and University of Michigan, grateful for the GI Bill of Rights.

Delavan was a deeply spiritual man, but not in the traditional way. He was writing a book based on the teachings of Edgar Cayce, ancient Sumerian and Egyptian scripts and the startling commonality among historical readings around the world. He was also writing vignettes of his childhood, some of which were to be published as a children's book.

Del is survived by Jean K. Christensen, his love of 26 years; his sister, Eulene Hummel; his children, Gretchen Anderson, Debora Sipes-Burgess, Pamela Borchert, Bennett Sipes, Valerie Rogers, Timothy Sipes, Terry Sipes, and their respective spouses; grandchildren, Keith Anderson, Carrie Koffman, Montana Burgess, Lucy Burgess, Adam Borchert, Kelly Borchert, Alex Borchert, Denali Sipes, Logan Sipes and Mimi Sipes; great-grandchildren, Keira Anderson, Noah Koffman-Adsit, and Persephone Burgess-Sorge. Also Holly Christensen, Laurel (Christensen) Camen, Bari (Christensen) Dilworth, Vanessa Camen and his Animal Aid dogs, Quizzer and Max.

Memorials may be made to the VFW National Home for Children, 3573 S. Waverly Road, Eaton Rapids, Mich., 48827 or the Rose Arbor Hospice, 5473 Croyden Ave., Kalamazoo, Mich. 49009. Condolences or memories may be e-mailed to the Hutchins Funeral Home at hutchins.home@ sbcbcglobal.net, or snail-mailed to Jean Christensen, 5660 Woodland Ave., Watervliet, Mich., 49098. A memorial celebration will be held at a later date.

Mimi took this photograph with her camera.

the old days

I can google my children. I can put their names into a search engine and things pop up.
You know when you have reached a point of total disconnectedness when you google your children and realize there is content online that you had no idea existed.

On one hand , if you google Paulina Schemanski, you will find many different things. A published article, a crazy night in some one's basement.

When you google Mimi Sipes, You get this,

Will Child Social Services and Nancy Grace be knocking on my door now or later?

Ice Skating with daddy

Last day of winter break, we went to the skating rink. Daddy and Mimi took to the ice while grandma and I watched.
Everyone else in the world had the same idea. The rink was packed.
Mimi was a little intimidated by the crowds , she was hanging on tight.

Jonathan Ben Zev

We have a lovely friend named Jon, Mimi simply calls him Jon Ben Zev, as if that is his first name.
Jon came over to visit while he was home from college.

Jon also brought his fabulous dog Calvin. Mimi and Jon ran and played in the snow with Calvin for quite some time.
The amazing thing about it is that Jon ran around and played with Mimi on his shoulders the whole time. It made me hurt just watching it.
I just snapped these photos with my iphone.

Mimi De Laurenta

One of the gifts Santa brought Mimi was a group of play scarves.The scarves came in a group of complimentary colors.
At first, Mimi didn't even give them a second glance.

As the day progressed, she rediscovered them and set about to her drapery and design.

I thought I ordered the extra large Christmas crown?

Bob the littlest Christmas Boy

As I look through our Christmas morning photos, I realize that my nephew Bob had the best Christmas ever.
He seems to be the most documented participant in our Holiday morning festivities.

One of my traditions is a Christmas morning breakfast. I usually have some sort of Christmas cracker, that snaps open with a pop and has a toy and a paper crown for each guest to wear at the table.

This year I found these snazzy crowns and well, as you can see,everyone has really large noggins.
The crackers will be back next year.

Christmas Eve with Aunt Cinny

Christmas eve was spent with Aunt Cinny and Uncle Greg. The typical Christmas eve for Terry's side of the family includes tons of gorgeous food, piles of gifts and this year Aunt Cinny's rendition of Mrs. Claus.

With family and loving friends and neighbors, we stuffed ourselves and made merry.

Mimi and Gabby were the only children and were showered with attention as we all absorbed their holiday excitement.
The evening was lovely.
Mimi received her yearly high heeled shoes from Aunt Cinny, and they have become a wardrobe staple.