Friday, April 6, 2012

Friday, April 6, 2012

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2005 at Mattie's third birthday party. The theme that year took us away from the color red (seen at his first two parties), and featured the color BLUE. That was because Mattie LOVED the TV show, Blue's Clues. Mattie had a Blues' Clue party, which included 3 clues and notebooks. I had the kids roaming all around our home for clues and just like on the show, when they found the clues they came back to our living room to "think" together and solve the mystery of what Blue wanted to tell Mattie on his birthday.   

Quote of the day: Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. ~ Helen Keller


Peter and I were both in less than happy moods today. It was 57 degrees and very windy, and when I saw this outside when I awoke, I wasn't motivated to get dressed and do anything. So I turned to my computer and developed the Mattie Miracle Walk flyer for this year. Though we are technically on vacation, I haven't been able to get away from my Blackberry at all, and I attribute this to the fact that I am in essence running a small business. The Foundation, in order to be successful, must be run like a business, and as such, people contact me at all hours of the day, and expect a timely turn around to their messages. Not having a staff makes this rather challenging, and therefore, I feel compelled to always be on. This morning while working on the flyer, I received a call from a reporter at Georgetown University Hospital, who wanted to interview me regarding the Foundation's contribution to the snack cart (which offers free snacks to inpatient families), particularly focusing upon the incredible chocolate donations we have made to the cart in July and October of 2011. After working this morning, I could see Peter was restless and wanted to get out and do something, so we decided to head to Lewes, DE. Again, I will tell you about our day through photographs.

Last night, I received a text message from Marisa. Marisa is our bake sale coordinator at our Mattie Miracle Walks, and she also assisted me with Mattie when he came home between cancer treatments. Marisa wanted me to know that she saw an amazing Mattie Moon in New York. As I was reading this, Peter went outside on Ellen's deck and looked for the moon as well. Here is the Mattie Moon over the Atlantic that we saw last night.

As we entered Lewes today, we saw this cute replica of Lewes Lighthouse welcoming its visitors. Lewes was the earliest settlement in the state, and because Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, the town refers to itself as "The First Town in the First State." Lewes was the site of the first European settlement in Delaware, a whaling and trading post that Dutch settlers founded on June 3, 1631 and named Zwaanendael (Swan Valley).

This is what the quaint town center of Lewes looks like. The street is lined with shops, antique stores, and restaurants. For a few moments, shopping and browsing crafts and antiques took our minds off of our thoughts of Mattie.

Peter and I had lunch together at the Buttery. The Buttery is located in this charming Victorian home and we sat outside on their patio, which was enclosed and heated. Surrounding the Buttery was a beautiful garden filled with all sorts of tulips. At lunch we began talking about the funk we were in. However, this conversation was short lived, since it can easily lead us to feeling teary eyed. Once we start crying, it is sometimes hard to stop, and it is also hard for others to understand exactly what our issues are. Not that it is their business, but calling attention to ourselves is definitely not our ultimate goal while having lunch.

As we were leaving the Buttery, I noticed this beautiful floral display for Easter. So naturally I pulled out my camera and started snapping pictures. The manager at the store came up to chat with me and I think she was happy that I thought her composition was attractive, since she just put it together.

As we were walking through the town, outside one of the houses, were lilacs. There is nothing like a lilac, they are intoxicating. I stopped to smell this blossom, and I pulled Peter over too so he could experience it.

Lewes is a very picturesque, small, and serene town filled with parks. This is just one of the parks I snapped a picture of. The town is filled with glorious spring trees.... cherry, dogwood, Chinese maple, Redbuds, and the list goes on.

Lewes has beautiful Victorian architecture, and I entitle this picture, "The Yellow lady."

This beauty is "The Pink Lady!" I am only sharing two house photos with you, but these painted ladies are everywhere throughout Lewes!

This photo has absolutely NOTHING to do with Lewes.  Through the colorful flags, you maybe able to see that there is a purple store whose name is "The Fractured Prune." The Fractured Prune has been a running joke with Peter and I for two days now! Actually this company is a franchise, and honestly when I first saw the store I had NO IDEA what the Fractured Prune could possibly sell! It turns out that the store sells homemade donuts. I was so perplexed by the name of the store, that I googled it tonight and found out this touching story behind its VERY ODD name. I love food, but the words "fractured" and "prune" do not lend themselves to anything appetizing to me.

How the "Fractured Prune" got its name.......................... Back in 1976 when Tom Parshall purchased Josh's 46th Street Market, he was thinking about a new name for his enterprise. Several friends gave him suggestions, but he felt they all lacked imagination & individuality. He had been reading through the abstract of the land he purchased, and an unusual name caught his eye. Back in the late 1800's a woman named Prunella Shriek had owned much of the land in that area. Tom didn't think too much about it until one day he was browsing through the Baltimore Library and came across a book titled "Ocean City Love". As he looked through it, he was thrilled to see Prunella Shriek's name with a paragraph devoted to her. Even though she was in her seventies, she was the only woman who competed with men in traditionally men's sports such as ice skating races & skiing competitions. She was an excellent tennis player, and was county ping-pong champion circa 1895. Being older and somewhat brittle, she often returned from some of the more vigorous competitions in a wheel chair or on crutches. Thus the townspeople began lovingly to refer to her as "Fractured Prunella." When Tom read this, a voice in his head said, "Hello", he would name his enterprise after this wonderful & spunky old lady, and call it "The Fractured Prune®".

While driving back from Lewes, we had to cross over the new Indian River inlet bridge to get into Bethany. This bridge recently opened and cost the State of Delaware $150 million. This bridge replaced the old bridge and its radical change in design from the original bridge means that all supports are out of the water, so erosion caused by salt water to the structural elements will not be a problem. This bridge reminds me of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge in Boston, MA.

Each night, Peter and I go out bunny seeking. Peter caught on camera this wonderful bunny! A real Easter sighting.... I just wish he brought Cadbury Eggs with him!