SHARE YOUR WORLD – SPECIAL HOLIDAY EDITION 2016
What is your favorite holiday?
Our anniversary. I know it’s not a national or religious holiday, but that’s part of why I enjoy it. No pressure. We can do a lot, a little, nothing … or delay it until the time is more convenient. It’s our personal holiday. We can do whatever we like.
What types of food is associated with your holiday?
If it is just us — and it usually is — Japanese. Sushi, sashimi, and tempura. The last time we went out — and I think it was, indeed our anniversary, we realized the rice we cook at home is better than the stuff they are serving in the restaurants. My green tea is better, too. We have become rice and tea snobs. Now, if I could just master the art of tempura!
Do you travel for your holiday?
Frequently, yes. It’s a good time of year, mid-September. It’s one of the reasons we chose that date to have the wedding.
Good weather, usually. It is past the worst heat of summer, but before the danger of snow. Also, hopefully, it’s not in the middle of hurricane season. We’ve traveled to Cooperstown twice (that’s upstate New York). To Maine several times (Ogunquit, Jackman, Freeport, Kennebunk). Locally to Cape Cod (Hyannis, Barnstable, Martha’s Vineyard, Bourne).
Up to New Hampshire (Lincoln and the mountains nearby). Vermont (friends in Peachum). Various places in New York, especially and most memorably to Coney Island — Brooklyn, don’t you know.
And we’ve stayed home and partied. Gotten remarried twice.
We’ve gone to Arizona twice. Last year, we deferred the journey until the following January because we wanted to be there in cooler weather, this time. Our previous visit was late August/early September and you could cook eggs on the sidewalk, depending on how you like eggs.
This year? It’s number 27, a sort of off-year. So maybe we’ll celebrate our birthdays instead. We were born a month apart, me in March, Garry in April. I’ll turn 70 and he turns 75 … which is definitely not an off-year. I feel we ought to do something, but it will depend on money … and the weather … and if I think we can actually gather enough of a crowd to make a party. Everyone lives in a different states these days. Gatherings are difficult. Moreover, you absolutely cannot predict weather in early spring in New England. It might be gorgeous … or blowing a blizzard.
Is it a religious or spiritual holiday?
Define religious. Define spiritual.
Is there a gift exchange?
Not so much anymore. Tokens. Cards. These days, if we need or want something, we get it. We had been saving for a rainy day, but then we looked up and realized … “Hey, it’s raining!” Usually the trip and travel is the gift. And the cameras we are carrying!
How long does the celebration last?
There’s no rules about this. We start talking about it months ahead. We ponder. I look to see if I can squirrel away a few bucks and I check prices on places i think we might want to go … and which aren’t so far away that the drive would be more stressful than fun. Otherwise, we go out to dinner. And that’s good too.
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Categories: #gallery, #Photography, celebration, Holidays, Humor, Travel
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
That is so cool your favorite holiday is your anniversary. Speaks of your coupleness (is that even a word) but I think you know what I mean. 😀
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Thanks Cee 🙂 It OUGHT to be a word! I definitely know what you mean.
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LOL! Is that The Boss up there about to get a knuckle sandwich from Garry? I think Mr. Steinbrenner looks more lifelike as a wax figure….
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Yes. Garry met His Nibs on a variety of occasions and he was (apparnetly) as awful as you might expect. I gather his son is now running the organization. Garry says he is running it better, but it’s not a very high bar. It would be hard to do worse than dad!
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Squirrel, “The Boss” may have set the stage for our President-Elect. I wonder how many managers will be fired.
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That is so sweet! Yes to be happily married and having such wonderful anniversary is something to celebrate! Congratulations and I wish you and Garry many more anniversaries!!
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Thank you. I’m hoping for a long run too!!
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It’s cool that you guys really celebrate your anniversary in style! September is usually pretty safe weather-wise pretty much everywhere. You may not get the best weather but you’re unlikely to melt or freeze.
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The only danger are hurricanes around here. It’s not a good time for that Caribbean vacation, so we went to Ireland instead. Aside from a daily dose of rain, the weather was lovely. I like personal holiday. We don’t have to compete with hordes of crazed shoppers or vacationers. It’s an “off time” for most areas. Kids are in school, so families aren’t clogging up the swimming pools at hotels 🙂
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I always have my time off from work during term time 🙂
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Term time … ? You work at a university? The school year has such a different rhythm. I miss it. When September was the real beginning of the new year 🙂
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No, I don’t work at a university, I take time off during term time as all the children are at school and so it’s quieter when I want to visit places 🙂
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The wedding anniversary was a date I never forgot, being 4th February. Mr. Swiss did not realise it for the first 10 years of our marriage and I had to remind him, but now he has it in his programme and in 2 years we will be celebrating our 50th – is that a golden thing or something? Time flies and so we take it one step at a time.You have some great photos of your celebrations. And in two years Mr. Swiss will be 80 years old – so it looks like a celebration year. Hope it will not be too much for us golden oldies.
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Yes. Golden. There’s such an irony to our golden anniversary being at a point in life where getting expensive jewelry seems rather redundent. I don’t even wear gold much. I still wear earrings and sometimes, rings, but pretty much nothing else.
Garry remembers now, too. Not only is it in his computer calendar, but not working, he remembers a lot of personal stuff he used to not think about. Our personal life is a big deal, but when he was working, I think he forgot he was married for months at a time 🙂
Well, we aren’t so far behind. I’m your age, just a few months younger. Garry’s turning 75, but your guy looks pretty good and Garry looks pretty good. WE seem to be the decrepit ones 🙂
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In 15 years, Bob and I only remembered our anniversary once. We went out to dinner and later discovered we had celebrated on the wrong day! Hopeless.
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Ours became more important with the passing years. Around year 20, I think, it became kind of amazing because we got married so late. We never expected to have so many years together. On the other hand, I didn’t expect husband one to die so young. Life is forever doing what you least expect.
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How old was he when he died, Marilyn?
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50.
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Wow. That must have been tough.
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It was tough and it took a long time. It should not have happened. This sad tale is full of “if only.” I try not to review it. If, if, if, if. The weirdest part was probably that Jeff had written a story a few years earlier that WAS the story of how he died. I always wonder whether or not the thought was parent to the event … or maybe it was foreshadowing.
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It was hard at age 70 with Bob. Can’t imagine losing someone at the young age of 50.
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I was 42. We’d gotten married when I was just 18. Jeff had had cancer (kidney) at 34 and a heart attack five years later. When at 50 he needed a valve replacement … and died of — well, many things, all of which could have been avoided. Malpractice and just plain medical stupidity, inability of anyone to stop Jeff’s self-destructive behavior … not to mention alcohol abuse and the aforementioned determinedly self-destructive behavior. We all do our best, but when a man is bent on doing everything he knows is likely to kill him, he will eventually succeed in dying. It was awful, yet somehow, not unexpected. I think it was worst for his son. Owen was just 18. I think Owen is still angry feeling (not unreasonably) that Jeff owed him some more years.
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I know you and Garry were together, parted, and got together again and married. How long after Jeff passed away did you meet Garry?
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Garry and Jeff were best friends. Garry is Owen’s godfather and Owen’s middle name is Garry. To say that this gets complicated is an understatement. I met both men at the same time and in the same place in 1964. I married jeffrey in 1965. I married Garry in 1990. In between I was living in Israel. Complicated.
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I love complicated stories and I’m receiving yours in delicious bites. I knew about the Israel. I thought you had dated Garry before, married him after but perhaps you just knew him as a friend before.
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I just sent you an email!
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love all your photos and thanks for sharing 🙂
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Thank you for visitng 🙂 You are pretty amazing yourself.
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I love how you chose your anniversary! 🙂 I enjoyed looking at the photos from your side of the world. Cheers from Finland!
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To be fair, the other big factor was the availability of Garry’s brother Anton, who is a big deal conductor, to sing at the wedding. Garry’s brother is the famous one 🙂 And the one with the busiest schedule anywhere. But it was good to have him sing for us.
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I tried to find Anton’s singing on YouTube but he was giving lectures. I did hear his choir – truly amazing. Does he have any videos of him singing, Marilyn?
Leslie
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There used to be some bootleg stuff of his performances on FB, but St. Olaf’s protects their stuff very well. We used to have a ton of Anton’s CDs, but lost them in the death throws of an old CD player. They don’t make them like that anymore … with good reason. If they died loaded with CDs, you couldn’t extract your music. This one died at Christmas and tool pretty much ALL our Christmas music with it.
So now, we have just a few. The DVD of the concert in Norway is a favorite. We’ve (no surprise) been to a lot of concerts when he is in this area. Always a treat 🙂
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I’m sure it is a treat.
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I think we put on a good show!
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