When we were in Washington D.C., my father and I stayed at the dorm of the College of Preachers next to the Washington National Cathedral. It was nice going back to a local, quiet neighborhood at the end of every day, away from the hustle and bustle of the mall.
Looking back, the thing I enjoyed the most during my trip to Washington D.C. (other than hanging out with my father) was the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. And my being a librarian didn’t have anything to do with that. While we were waiting for the library to open, I was thinking we probably wouldn’t be there longer than an hour. We ended up staying for most of the morning and into the lunch hour!
Five days ago I returned from a trip to Washington D.C. with my father. We had a great time. Rather than put up a separate page of pictures, I decided to post several blog entries over the next week or so and include the photos that way.
On Sunday most of my family got together to celebrate the baptism of my grandnephew, Adam Bloy. It was the first chance I had to meet the newest member of the Bloy family. Here are a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.
Last night my sister-in-law called to tell me that the baby my nephew and his wife were expecting was born! It’s hard to believe that the toddler who used to come over to our house, stand and drool over the magazine rack while he intently tried to pull out the magazines with his tiny hands is now a father.
Congratulations to Mike and Kirstin and Happy Birthday to the newest member of the family, Adam James Bloy. May you live a long, happy and healthy life.
There are two things I always think about on the Winter Solstice (which is today). First, I am thankful the hours of daylight will start to get longer after today. Secondly, I always think of my Grandmother, Clara Bloy. December 21 was her birthday. This time of the year never went by without her making Pfeffernusse Cookies (I’ll have to check with my mother, but that recipe looks pretty close). When my family went to visit Grandma Bloy for Christmas, we always got to take a big batch of those crunchy, spicy delights back home with us. That’s probably one of the strongest memories I have of Grandma Bloy. She passed away 24 years ago and I’m not sure I ever told her how much I liked those cookies.
Thanks Grandma — for the cookies and that wonderful memory.
Update, December 24, 2007
I just posted Grandma Bloy’s recipe for pfeffernüsse. Use that if you want the authentic Bloy version.
Not having grown up Catholic, my family never celebrated St. Nicholas’s Day when I was a kid. Today however, I got a real nice e-card that led me to do a little research on St. Nicholas and his legend. That makes me think about starting some St. Nicholas traditions of my own. Thanks Dad.
