Recently my older brother passed away. His name was John. He was an Executive Chef. During the winters he worked in Florida and summers he worked at the SandBar, a restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard.  

In Florida he sometimes worked a food truck that he named Johnny Fives! He arrived early this year to renovate the kitchen and outdoor bar and eating area. He was a great cook and a really hard worker. I used to visit restaurants that John helped open. We would go to the taste testings. It was fun trying different foods and I was always excited to see him

He loved pets and owned a German Shepard named Zoe.  I always saw photos and videos of her on FaceBook. She looked so sweet and innocent. When we finally had a chance to meet her, she lunged at my Dad and bit his arm and ripped his jacket! She still looks sweet in her photos, but I’m standing back!

We went up to MV to view my brother. I was happy to be able to see him to say goodbye. The next weekend we went back up for the service. It was in a small church in Oak Bluffs and was so nice.

Afterwards we went over to the SandBar for a small reception. I was only sad that John wasn’t there to celebrate with us. I do believe he was there in spirit watching over us. On the way home we saw the most beautiful skies and a rainbow. I knew then everything was ok for John! I met all of his friends and co-workers and owners of the SandBar. Now I know why loved working there. I am keeping in contact with Mark and Mike ~ the owners. They are fun guys. I also had a chance to see John’s Mom again. She is a very nice person. We all like her very much. I also met four of John’s closest friends from Florida. They are like his family too.

I will miss my brother very much, but am glad that I can see his photos and videos and hear his voice. That brings me some comfort.

I mentioned in a past blog that I love going to concerts. I have been looking at concerts coming up this summer. I may try to hit one or two. I was remembering some I have attended in the past . I have seen too many artists to mention, but here are a few country concerts that put on a great show: Rascal Flatts (4xs,), Taylor Swift (3Xs’), Brad Paisley, Scotty MCCeery, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Jake Owen (Met Him), Keith Urban (2x’s) and Carrie Underwood~ are a few.

A very special one that I will never forget was the first Rascal Flattls concert. One October day I went off to school on the bus. The last thing I said to my mom was to call the radio station because they were giving away concert tickets that morning. So my mom got through (Almost a miracle) and answered the question correctly. Not only did she win first row tickets, but also a Meet & Greet with Rascal Flatts !! It was Awesome!

Taylor Swift was also singing that night. It was when she was really young and just beginning her musical career. I stood at the edge of the stage for the entire night and was so close. Gary Lovx gabbed my hand at one point.

After the concert ended the crew came out to break down the stage and pack up the instruments. Apparently they change drum tops for each concert. One of the guys came down and handed me a drum top signed by Gary, Jay & Joe Don. This topped off the night. It was Amazing. I will never forget it! Love XTU, Love Your Show! (radio station where I win all the tickets)

I attended Gladwyne elementary school , kindergarten through 5^th grade. It was a great place and many of the parents volunteered for different committees and activities with the students. A really neat one was “The Book Nook Press”. It was like a parent run company. Every year each student was able to write and publish a book or two. I wrote nine books while There! Some were stories that I wrote myself, and one was a class assignment to write our own version of a Paddington story.

Another was for a geography project, to map out a world trip and research all the places I would go. Then we had write letters to our families to describe where we were visiting. It was fun because it was like a virtual vacation. Each chapter contained an envelope addressed to my parents and the letter was place inside. We used pictures of stamps from each country for the envelope. Some of the places I visited were San Diego, China, Italy, and Greece. I used pictures from the internet and some of my mom’s photos from when she traveled.

It was fun writing my  Paddington the Chef story. We read Paddington in my class and then the teacher assigned us to write our own Paddington adventure. I love to cook and one of my favorite shows on the Food network was Emeril (Emeril Lagasse) – Bam! I made Paddington a chef who was a disaster in the kitchen and Emeril came to his rescue!  My Brother John is a chef, so he also appeared in the book!

Other books were about my surgeries, my dogs, and rainy day fun. 

In first grade my friend Chelsea helped me illustrate my book. When I could not find photos, or clipart, my mom would help me draw pictures. Her artwork was really Awesome! After the stories were written, we would be interviewed by a parent from the Book Nook Press, who would then help us edit our story, break it down to pages and decide where pictures would go. A week or so later we would visit them again to approve the editing and choose a binding and a back cover for our book, which was from old wallpaper samples. When many books were ready for binding a large group of parents (mostly moms) would meet and complete our books! It felt really great to see the finished product. A real hard covered book, just like the library, with me as the author!  I love looking back and reading these books. They are something I will keep forever.

With Easter approaching tomorrow I have been thinking about my cousin Matthew. For many years our families spent this day together. Everyone would come over to my house and we often had Easter egg hunts when we were younger. My Mom made a bunny cake that we waited all year for! It was always fun being with my cousins.

This past February was very sad time for our family. My cousin Matthew passed away on Sunday February 14^th. The whole family gathered in South Carolina to be with him. On Valentines Day we each told matt how much we loved him. Matt was 22 years old. When he was 15 he came down with a sickness called Transverse Myelitis. At the same time he also had seizures, which caused brain damage. Because of these two things, he was left a paraplegic – not able to move anything except turn his head a little. He was also suffered intellectual disabilities. So he could not communicate. We were never sure during the past years what he could understand. He was also on a ventilator to breathe.

He lived at home with 24 hour nursing care and was not able to leave his house very often and participate in life’s activities. His life had changed dramatically, and so did his family’s. It was very sad. He is my Aunt Dona’s and Uncle Stu’s Son. He has one younger brother Ryan, who is now 20.  It has been very difficult for their family. Earlier in February Matt was sick and had to be admitted to the hospital. He was too sick to get better.

Matthew had a fun energetic personality. He loved telling jokes and pranking people. He had the best laugh. When he lived in New Jersey we spent many holidays & birthdays and visits together. When he was older, he loved music and concerts. He always had his earphones in and ipod on! I am happy I had the chance to know Matthew for 15 years before he moved away.

I think his spirit is now free after being trapped for seven long years. I will always have good memories of our time together and will always love my cousin Matthew. Here is a link to a sideshow of Matthew ~ If you would like to see it. You can copy & paste to your search bar.  http://play.smilebox.com/SpreadMoreHappy/4e444d344e5441314e7a493d0d0a