Tomato drill

Julie: How was school?

Ashton: Good, mom. We had a tomato drill and had to go into the basement.

Julie: Tomato drill, huh?

Ashton: YES, MOM. THAT'S WHAT I SAID. A TOMATO DRILL!

Grilled bunny

Awww ... bunny looks like he's just taking a nap, doesn't he? She? It?

I'll get back to the All About Anne stories when I get some more photos scanned. Today, Sharon is going to tell us what happened to the bunny in this framed photo displayed in the front bedroom.

We were on our way to Chicago - just a typical trip for a long weekend visiting family and shopping. We stopped at McDonald's, then near St. Charles we saw a bunny in the middle of the road.

I remember saying, "Hurry up, little bunny!" And when I looked in the mirror, I didn't see it, so figured it must have gotten away and we kept going. We stopped once more - in Indiana - and then continued on to the suburb outside of Chicago where Jake's brother lives. We parked the car, unloaded and went inside.

There are some great places to shop all around that area, so the next day my niece Katie and I headed out to engage in some serious retail therapy.

When we came out of the first store, there was a crowd of people gathered around the front of the car. They were all talking excitedly and taking pictures with their cell phones.

I said, "Uh oh. That can't be good."

Katie offered to take a look.

As I stood there with our packages, just another curious onlooker, Katie hurried back with the news.

"Aunt Sharon! It's a rabbit!"

Right then I flashed back to the bunny in the road the day before. And I knew. And I realized that maybe, just maybe, we might have heard a tiny little thud after seeing that bunny who later disappeared.

No more pretending. I loaded the bags in the car, then went around the front and joined the gawkers. It sort of looked like it was just hanging out, taking a nap - it was so peaceful! Then this grandma approached me and offered to take care of it. She said, "Oh honey, that's gonna stink!"

But I told her we had to leave it there because I knew my husband was not going to believe this. That poor thing was really wedged in there.

So Katie and I got back in the car and figured why go all the way back home now? We might as well go to lunch. But the whole time we were driving, people would drive by, laughing, hanging out of their cars taking pictures. At the restaurant and two other stops I tried to park far away from the other cars, but it never worked. Every time we came out people would be there gawking. So we finally headed back to show the boys. After taking photos to show the insurance man, my brother-in-law extracted the rabbit. It was the darndest thing - hardly any blood. It really did look like it was resting. But that rabbit - which had to weigh at least 10 pounds - did about $1,000 worth of damage to the car, knocking out the front grille.

This happened not long after Jake had retired a little over three years ago. One of his new daily routines was to trap squirrels and the occasional skunk in our yard and then load them in the car for a trip out to the country where he would release them. He kept a running record of how many he transported each day.

So armed with this knowledge and the story of the poor grilled bunny, two of my friends decided we were a menace to rodents. One day during a staff meeting I looked up to see a little parade of stuffed rabbit, squirrel and skunk holding "Free the Rodents" signs pass my window.

I was always so sure we would see pictures of the bunny on the Internet, with all those people and their cell phones, but we never did.

All About Anne

This is my mom, Anne. Wasn't she beautiful? I think Uncle Norman told me she was 16 when this picture was taken. She was always tall for her age - and at 16 could often pass for 21.

It was an exciting time in history, especially in Northern Virginia, when Anne was a teenager.  But one of Uncle Norman's favorite memories from this time took place very close to home.

Anne was real popular and had hundreds of boyfriends, began Uncle Norman. But we could never tell her we liked a boy or she'd go right out and pursue others. Phil was one of the ones we liked - he was just the nicest guy.

Mom Mom lived with us then, and she always stayed up late. Especially when Anne had a young fella visiting. She saw it as her job to keep an eye on things. And then she'd go through the rooms and turn off the lights, check the doors and just close up the house for the night

Oh, Anne and Phil would go sit on the swing to kiss ... just outside of Mom Mom's view. Well, and our view, too. Watching Anne and her suitors was a favorite entertainment for us younger kids - and gave us some good teasing material.

So on this one particular night we were looking out the window (and listening, of course) with Mom Mom when we heard Phil say, "Don't move!" and all of a sudden saw a mama skunk and her baby scurry past the window with the two lovebirds not far behind.

Well that was some good material for a good long while ... teasing Anne about when she and Phil scared the skunks.

Meet Norman

It's been one month and 11 days since I posted here. And since I first left my home to stay at Sharon's house. Wow. Friday was the first time since Jan. 4 that I spent the night at my house. Lizz and her roommate were home for the weekend so I got to camp out here, too. Minor crisis with a backed-up drain/overflowing washing machine Saturday just as the girls were starting to do laundry ... but a handy guy from church fixed it so we were back in business by evening. Phew.

Today I'd like to introduce Norman. Norman is my uncle - one of my mom's three younger brothers. I've been told that if I'd been a boy I would have been named Norman Paul. I think that's so cool. Isn't little Norman adorable here?

Uncle Norman - aka Uncle Looboo (I forget why - but that's what I called him when I was a kid) has been telling me some stories about my mom the past few Sundays. For many years, I'd let the stories told by my aunts and uncles just wash over me. I'd say, "tell me again about ..." but I've decided it's time to pay much closer attention and write them down.

So tomorrow we'll begin the All About Anne series. And maybe along the way we'll learn a little more about Norman and some other members of our family.

Fire up the grill ...

... and throw on some memories.

Just found this photo of my grandfather the other day. Doesn't he look the happy grill-master?

"How do you take your steak? Yeah. You'll take it medium-rare and be glad about it, bub."

I'm happily installed at Sharon's for a week or so. What a day. Feel like I moved my entire house. But I'm looking forward to spending quality time with my sister ... and picking her brain for some good childhood memories.

OK ... Isn't that just the cutest apron? I love this picture.

Speaking of ... when I did the Casa al dente post last month, I mentioned photos of that house. I guess the photo I found is not so much house as me (on my 21st birthday - with my Dirty Dancing hair). I know I have another pic of the interior somewhere - but maybe this will keep you occupied for a while. (Oh! Nurse Lizz just called. She's back at school all safe and sound.)