Weekend in Western New York...
...is the name of a Kamikaze Hearts song, apparently? But I was really just thinking of the Mountain Goats song "Weekend in Western Illinois." I'm going to have to check out this Kamikaze Hearts business and see if they name-check Wegman's.
Marisa and I are doing Christmas with her family this year, and while really, we both see most of our immediate family members around most of the important holidays, this does mean I'm not going to Rochester for Christmas this year for the first time ever. So instead, we visited Rochester in October, before their six-to-eight-month winter begins, to see my grandma (when there aren't any weddings or graduations in the immediate offing, I see her mostly at Christmas). My mom and sister came from Saratoga to visit too.
Visiting Rochester does not usually mean doing much in particular. Usually it's Christmas Eve, so we sit around and eat and wait for the rest of the family members to show up, and eat, and watch kids open presents, and eat some more. Then my sister and I go to the movies. It's a pretty small house. Visiting on a non-holiday, it was actually pretty similar: Gram made pizza, which we ate. She made lasagna and sausage and meatballs, which we ate. And when we borrowed my mom's car to go see Rayme in Buffalo, she (my grandma, not Rayme) made chicken cutlet, leftovers of which we ate the next day. Gram said that we are welcome any time. I am forced to conclude that she finds cooking for us far, far more enjoyable than I could find cooking for anyone. But I'll take it.
Because this was a trip to visit my grandma in Rochester and Rayme in Buffalo, and it wasn't Christmas Eve where I basically see almost all of my extended family at once, I sort of forgot how many relatives I might see just by showing up in the Rochester suburbs. My grandma's brother Ergie lives with her now. Aunt Laurie picked us up from the airport. Aunt Joan came over for dinner on Sunday. So did Uncle Joel and Aunt Stacey and their kids. And I saw, let's see, five out of thirteen cousins? Which means with me and my sister around, seven out of sixteen grandchildren were accounted for at some point? I think that's right.
There are so many grandchildren in this family that they fall into two tiers. I'm the oldest of the sixteen. The first eight, almost all in their twenties (save me, and my cousin Paul who will be twenty in December, I think), is six boys and two girls. The second eight, born between 1995 and 2004 (I think), is six girls and two boys. Symmetry! Anyway, on Friday, Marisa and Meg and I went out to see my cousin John's band play at the Bug Jar. My cousin Mark was there too, but his band wasn't playing that night. Then on Sunday we hung out with my cousins Elizabeth and Heather, who just got back from Disney World. They do not have a band. Yet.
That's what we did this weekend. We ate and saw family and saw Niagara Falls. I feel like a lot of October has been seeing people who do not live in my city. I had dinner with Rob last week. I had brunch with Chris and Shannon the weekend before. I am pre-gaming for the holiday season.
Pictures!
Marisa and I are doing Christmas with her family this year, and while really, we both see most of our immediate family members around most of the important holidays, this does mean I'm not going to Rochester for Christmas this year for the first time ever. So instead, we visited Rochester in October, before their six-to-eight-month winter begins, to see my grandma (when there aren't any weddings or graduations in the immediate offing, I see her mostly at Christmas). My mom and sister came from Saratoga to visit too.
Visiting Rochester does not usually mean doing much in particular. Usually it's Christmas Eve, so we sit around and eat and wait for the rest of the family members to show up, and eat, and watch kids open presents, and eat some more. Then my sister and I go to the movies. It's a pretty small house. Visiting on a non-holiday, it was actually pretty similar: Gram made pizza, which we ate. She made lasagna and sausage and meatballs, which we ate. And when we borrowed my mom's car to go see Rayme in Buffalo, she (my grandma, not Rayme) made chicken cutlet, leftovers of which we ate the next day. Gram said that we are welcome any time. I am forced to conclude that she finds cooking for us far, far more enjoyable than I could find cooking for anyone. But I'll take it.
Because this was a trip to visit my grandma in Rochester and Rayme in Buffalo, and it wasn't Christmas Eve where I basically see almost all of my extended family at once, I sort of forgot how many relatives I might see just by showing up in the Rochester suburbs. My grandma's brother Ergie lives with her now. Aunt Laurie picked us up from the airport. Aunt Joan came over for dinner on Sunday. So did Uncle Joel and Aunt Stacey and their kids. And I saw, let's see, five out of thirteen cousins? Which means with me and my sister around, seven out of sixteen grandchildren were accounted for at some point? I think that's right.
There are so many grandchildren in this family that they fall into two tiers. I'm the oldest of the sixteen. The first eight, almost all in their twenties (save me, and my cousin Paul who will be twenty in December, I think), is six boys and two girls. The second eight, born between 1995 and 2004 (I think), is six girls and two boys. Symmetry! Anyway, on Friday, Marisa and Meg and I went out to see my cousin John's band play at the Bug Jar. My cousin Mark was there too, but his band wasn't playing that night. Then on Sunday we hung out with my cousins Elizabeth and Heather, who just got back from Disney World. They do not have a band. Yet.
That's what we did this weekend. We ate and saw family and saw Niagara Falls. I feel like a lot of October has been seeing people who do not live in my city. I had dinner with Rob last week. I had brunch with Chris and Shannon the weekend before. I am pre-gaming for the holiday season.
Pictures!