Grappa Stories by Eddie Smitmajer : Part 4

These are recordings of my grandfather's stories as he told them around his kitchen table one day in 1988.  I have fond memories of sitting around their kitchen table and listening to these stories.  I'm so glad we got some of them recorded.  I remember his accent, and just the way he talked ...

This is an interview Mande Matucheski (my sister) did with Grappa Eddie Smitmajer for a school project.

10 Travels [Link to Audio]


11 WW2 [Link to Audio]


12 World's Fair [Link to Audio]


13 Violet  [Link to Audio]


 



14 Fishing in Canada  [Link to audio]






 

Listen to more :
Grappa Stories : Part 1

Grappa Stories : Part 2
Grappa Stories : Part 3
Grappa Stories : Part 4

Grappa Stories by Eddie Smithmajer : Part 3

  

These are recordings of my grandfather's stories as he told them around his kitchen table one day in 1988.  I have fond memories of sitting around their kitchen table and listening to these stories.  I'm so glad we got some of them recorded.  I remember his accent, and just the way he talked ...

This is an interview Mande Matucheski (my sister) did with Grappa Eddie Smitmajer for a school project.

07 Dynamite   [Link to Audio]

08 Truck Driving [Link to Audio]

09 Flying [Link to Audio]

Listen to more :
Grappa Stories : Part 1

Grappa Stories : Part 2
Grappa Stories : Part 3
Grappa Stories : Part 4

Grappa Stories by Eddie Smitmajer : Part 2

These are recordings of my grandfather's stories as he told them around his kitchen table one day in 1988.  I have fond memories of sitting around their kitchen table and listening to these stories.  I'm so glad we got some of them recorded.  I remember his accent, and just the way he talked ...

This is an interview Mande Matucheski (my sister) did with Grappa Eddie Smitmajer for a school project.

04 Questions [Link to Audio]



05 Candy by the Ceiling [Link to Audio]



06 School  [Link to Audio]



Listen to more :
Grappa Stories : Part 1

Grappa Stories : Part 2
Grappa Stories : Part 3
Grappa Stories : Part 4

Grappa Stories by Eddie Smitmajer : Part 1

These are recordings of my grandfather's stories as he told them around his kitchen table one day in 1988.  I have fond memories of sitting around their kitchen table and listening to these stories.  I'm so glad we got some of them recorded.  I remember his accent, and just the way he talked ...

This is an interview Mande Matucheski (my sister) did with Grappa Eddie Smitmajer for a school project.

01 Fish Hawk   [Link to Audio]


02 Languages  [Link to Audio]


03 Missionaries and Cannibals  [Link to Audio]




Listen to more :
Grappa Stories : Part 1
Grappa Stories : Part 2
Grappa Stories : Part 3
Grappa Stories : Part 4

Pictures from France : Dinner at Genevieve's in St. Flour

 

Here's the storyboard version which I'm learning to do in my online Photoshop Elements Class.  For an explanation of what and how, go here.

 The old city of St. Flour, on the hilltop.  

We elected to drive up to the top rather than walk up the goat path.

 One of the towers in town.

 We decided to have dinner Chez Genevieve.   

This is some of the decor on the wall around our table.  

A bouquet of silverware is quite appropriate for a restaurant.

 The view out the window at our table.   

 I love these chimney tops and roof tiles.  

 My dinner partner, CL.  Oliver was there, too, and not at all happy that I wanted to eat here.  It was a tiny restaurant with 2 floors.  The kitchen, the chef, and the bar were upstairs.  It's amazing what wonderful meals are made in such tiny kitchens in France.   Genevieve's was filled with local people--which is a good sign of good food!

 The sun was setting as we ate, and offering a magnificent light show on the fields in the distance.  Every time I looked out, the fields were a different color, from greens to golds and finally to gray.  It was remarkable.    Then there's this slate tile rooftop that made me think it was the skin of a big slumbering dragon ...

 More of the decor.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques, or scallops, with fresh basil pesto on the noodles, and I forget what the vegetable in the cup was.  Delicious and light!

I Am Enough

 

May 18 is a special anniversary for me.  Some wonderful things happened to me on this day through the years ...    It all comes down to LOVE.  This is the day I committed to myself in 1996.  "With this ring, I thee wed."  No more being a door mat.  I would stand up for myself, when no one else would.  And it's been getting better ever since!    I met my then-future husband later that year.  But I had to work on this relationship with myself for that one to work.  I'm glad I did.  ;-)

My friend Scott told me once, "You are enough."  I'm sure that was something he needed to hear, too.  We do that for each other, say the things we each need to hear.  That bit of encouragement to go on, and accept who we each are.  Unconditionally.

This morning, I came across Myriam Joseph's Love Letter on the very same theme of I am Enough, found here on Tracy Clark's Blog.  I thought it would be appropriate to include Myriam's letter here because it so accurately says what I'm feeling, what I've learned :

Hello,
     It’s been quite some time since I have written you a love letter. In my first attempt, I drafted a letter full of apologies and regrets. I gave it my best effort, taking my time to detail the different choices I should have made and the opportunities I missed. I read it and reread it but it did not sit well to me. I realize that when I have written love letters in the past, I have written about the many wonderful ways in which my lover’s charms have affected my life. I write about the generosity of spirit my love shares with me and I write about the ways in which a simple glance from my love can make my heart sing.
     And then there comes you, my truest of true loves. Can it be that at 40 I am just realizing that you have been here all along? Can it be that after years of searching, reaching and longing, you sat quietly in my heart waiting until I recognized that everything I needed was within me. Thank you for staying true, thank you for staying with me, thank you for knowing that eventually I would come around.
     As you know, it hasn’t been easy, being bombarded with images and ideals that don’t reflect you. It hasn’t been easy navigating my way in a world were skinny thighs and designer anything hold the key. I’ve battled my way through, bulimia, bigotry and blond ambition and all along, there you were. I have shed many a tear on partners who supported my notion of being undeserving.  Only in moments of despair have I turned to you and asked for your help and welcomed your kindness.
     Your tender resolve to stay with me steadfast and committed has brought me to this secure place. A constant whisper among the crowd, reminding me that I too am important, that I too am worthy.
Just now I have begun to fall in love with the magnificent possibilities within myself. Just now, I begin to embrace the light that has been guiding my way for all these years. Thank you for revealing to me just how powerful and divine I am. What greater love could a woman want than one in which she is welcomed and forgiven time and again?
     Imagine my surprise when I realized, you have been the one I have been waiting for all along.

*******************************************
Myriam Joseph is definitely someone I would like to sit down and talk with someday.  
Read more about her Joy Spread the Word Project.

   


I'll end this post with one more quote that has meant a lot to me through the years :
“You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
― Max Ehrmann, Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life

I am enough.

Pictures from France : Eau des Miserables : Water for the Miserable

 

Toto's infamous Viper in a Bottle.

 

Toto Pons with his Viper in a Bottle

On the trip to France this past April, we drove out to Mailly to visit with Toto Pons at The Palace.

 His house was quite literally the area "Palace" many years ago.  Toto is an unabashed bachelor farmer out in Charolet country.  He was the neighbor across the road from Christian's Grandparent's Country House, and a great storyteller.    We had cafe espresso and cookies while we chatted.  Toto brought out the Eau des Miserables (Water of the Miserable) -- the famous Viper in a Bottle that is about 100 years old. 

On my first trip to France in 2000, we stopped at Toto's farm with the Johner cousins (Laurent, Delphine, and Katrine).  That was when I first heard/saw this Viper in a Bottle.  I would not have believed it, if I hadn't seen it myself!  Toto explained that  this was the medicine of the day.  The bottle was filled with alcohol, but it had to be strong enough to kill a viper.  This one was most assuredly dead.  And you had to imagine, a person willing to drink this was indeed miserable.  

This is a story I've always remembered, so I was pleased to finally get a picture of it!

The beautiful countryside around Mailly, France.  This is where Christian spent quality time with his grandparents, with many fond memories :

 

Toto's farm is on the left side of the road; The Barons country home is on the right side of the road.  The orchard runs up the hill behind the house.

 

This is The Grandparent's house across the road, formerly owned by Marguerite and Antoine Baron.  They had an orchard that ran up the hill behind the house, with bee hives to pollinate them.  When Christian would visit, his Grandfather would give him "honey and money."

Toto's Palace  on the other side of the road.  It is still a working farm today.   

In fact, I saw a squashed and dried viper on the driveway that day. 

 

Toto and Christian discussing the old days.  

You can see the bottle in the lower left corner.  It's always fun to hear Toto tell stories!

Lilacs on Toto's kitchen table.  See another version of Toto's lilacs.

Mud Days

The city is building a new baseball diamond in the park next to our house.  They hauled in big piles of dirt and clay.  Before they could spread it all out, we got pounded with rain.  We even made the national news for flooding.   The piles and mud puddles were great magnets for the neighborhood kids to play on/in.  Jenna Larson, neighborhood mom and artist, captured these pictures of the fun.    

Don't worry--the kids were all hosed off before entering the houses.

 

King of the Hill :  Oliver, Jevah, Aidin, and Seamus.

Happy Mother's Day

 Me and my mom, Holly Matucheski.

Me and Gramma Pickles (Mom's mom), Violet Smitmajer.

 Mother and Child share a moment of laughter.  Me and Oliver.

A rare picture of Oliver actually smiling.  

He usually turns into a gargoyle when the camera comes out!  

But we must have caught him off-guard!