Good morning Mr. and Mrs. North and South America and all the ships at sea. Let’s go to press. This is Sam Tofias, cub reporter age seven months, reporting in from Boston. And I want to tell you all about my granny’s latest visit here.
ICYMI: Boston has been slammed with snow. My very first winter here, and it’s like Syracuse or Rochester. I’ve been up to my neck in the white stuff.
See what I mean? Our weather has been a disaster. But my granny was intrepid- just like Admiral Byrd. She flew straight into the blizzard just to see me.
And did we have fun. Did you know that my granny wears sunglasses indoors and red paint on her fingernails? I thought this last was pretty cool. I couldn’t stop staring at them. And, boy is she funny! I laughed at everything she said.***
(***Don’t tell my gran- I wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings- but this isn’t exactly true. I chuckle and giggle at just about everything these days. Teething issues aside, that’s just how I roll. I’m a pretty happy-go-lucky fella.)
Mom and Dad put me in charge of the itinerary. Every day, I got to decide -weather permitting- what we did.
What I wanted to do : Eat, sightsee, play, take baths, listen to stories, use my Jungle Jumparoo and cruise around in the car.
What I didn’t want to do: Nap.
Granny was game for anything, btw. (And I give her an “A” for story-reading, and she’s a great audience for my jumping in the Jumparoo. However she got kind of a fail when it came to carrying me around. But since I weigh almost the same as she does, I’ll give her a pass.)
Oh, I forgot. Some of you might not know what a Jumparoo is. It’s awesome.
It makes cool animal sounds- lions roaring and elephants trumpeting- and I bounce and bounce. It never gets old. Granny says it’s good for my legs, too. She knows a future snowboarder when she sees one.
Anyway, when I deigned to stop jumping, I decided it was time for a little culture. So I bundled everyone into the car and we headed to the Museum of Fine Arts.
The MFA was swell. Lots of great old stuff here. Gran loved all the chinoiserie furniture.
And I thought I saw her trying to pry a very small Mondrian off the wall to take home with her.
Here we are at Gainsborough’s famous portrait of Mrs. Sarah Siddons. She was world-renowned actress, and every year, Granny’s home town of Chicago gives out an award named after her. I explained all of this to Gran- as you can see below.
Fashion Note: You will notice that Granny is wearing a Bogner parka and faux fur hat indoors. She never took them off. Not even in my house. Granny has the metabolism and heating system of a lizard and she is always cold.
After a great lunch in the MFA’s New American Café, I was getting a tad restless. Time for a car ride so Granny could admire the snowy New England scenery and Mom could get a milk shake for dessert. We made a quick pit stop at Shack Shake. (I know Mom loves them, but $5 for a shake? Come on. I thought I was in Pulp Fiction.)
Then it was time for home, another Jumparoo session, a bath with all my attendants and three of my favorite story books before bedtime.
(Where The Wild Things Are was too scary for Gran, so she read Llama, Llama instead.)
The rest of the visit was pretty much more of the same. Eating, driving, jumping, laughing. It’s a tough agenda, but somebody has to do it.
But before you could say “snow melt,” my gran had to go. Flights were being cancelled right and left, and the governor was calling for a ban on any non-essential workers coming into Boston. We heard that the T and the buses were going to stop running, too. So I made an executive decision and Granny’s trip was cut short.
Off to the airport we went- with a stop at Flour first, of course. Mom loves their pecan rolls.
My granny’s visit was short but sweet. Btw, she’s getting pretty good at this grandmother gig. She laughs at all my jokes, and even kissed me once or twice- when she thought no one was looking. It’s sappy but I’m used to it. My mom never stops kissing me!
That’s it from your roving reporter. I feel a Jumparoo session coming on.
And so with baby lotions of love, this is your Boston correspondent, Sam Tofias, who knows that all the lights on Commonwealth Avenue are never as bright as the candle in the window when you come home.
My, Ellen, you sure have a precocious grandson. Sam is lucky to have you as a grandma. Lovely story, and I’m sure your readers are delighted that your microhiatus from blogging is over. Once you get your bearings back in Chicago, I’ve got an interesting crossword project that you might be interested in, though you’ll probably say it’s for the birds.
Thanks, Doc. And your puzzle offer is intriguing. Would it be about Jack Sparrow, Tony Hawk, the Eagles or Anthony Pelicano per chance?
It’s just a flight of fancy for now … need some serious magic realism to get it off the ground.
Fascinating. I’ll be sure to watch (for) the birdie.
Very cute! Glad Sam and his folks showed you such a great time. He is adorable.
Thanks, ML. And he is media-savvy, too. I bet he follows in his old man’s political footsteps. President Tofias? Secretary of State Tofias? (Although President Eliza Roffe sounds pretty good, too. Hmmmm….)
Ha! Could be….maybe Sam could be her successor?
I’d be very ok with that. And then Suze or Delia Dee? A new political dynasty to give the Bush family some run for their money.
I can see Sam has already acclimated to life better than my grandson. Parker freaked out being immersed in snow. I guess that’s the price you pay growing up in LA. I saw no mention of “Goodnight Mr. Moon.” Clearly a classic that Sam needs to be exposed to. Sam has that look of being totally content in life. Like Parker, I guess their only concerns in life is where their next meal is coming from – breast or bottle. Glad you got out of Boston before yet another round of snow. My sister (who lives in Sudbury) feels like it is Armageddon. There is nowhere to even shovel the snow.
Yes “Goodnight Moon” is a classic. And a personal favorite. But Sam likes “Llama, Llama, Red Pajama,” and who am I to argue?
Parker will learn to surf soon. Who cares about snow?
And yes I just got more snow photos. It’s dumping as we speak. Omg.
Welcome back, Ellen!
You obviously need to take breaks from this, but it feels like some television special you don’t care about has interrupted your favorite weekly show. But,please, no summer re-runs or guest bloggers (ala Johnny Carson) (>:
Love,
Me
Thanks, Scott. Glad to be back. And thanks for the review.
I’ll take your “no guest blogger” rule under advisement. Who knows- a guest “host” might be a good thing. (And I hope Sam didn’t think you meant him. He’s very politically-connected, you know, and I wouldn’t want him unhappy.)
So glad your visit was great and you enjoyed that most beautiful happy baby!!!!
Didn’t realize Tasha was such a foodie !!!
All THREE of them are! Zach is the best cook, too. His gazpacho last visit was superb and he made me the best in-house hamburger I ever ate – along with Kenny’s. I have to watch it every moment of the visit. All they do is ply me with yummy food. Thanks, Betsy. Love to all.
Ellen:
Sam just e-mailed me (yes at the age of just several months most kids are more adept at using computers than any of us over a certain, not to be mentioned, age). Any way, he told me that he didn’t want to go to some stupid art museum. He said you surprised him with your visit and he had to eat the tickets he had purchased on line for 50 Shades of Gray. He said due to the teething thing, he literally ate the tickets!!
He also said that although he really likes you a lot as he loves that you dote over him, he questions your intellectual abilities. He said if he lived in Chicago and it was January or February, and if he could get out of that Jumparoo, he would have bought a ticket to South Beach instead of Boston.
He also wrote that he really likes that first snowfall of the year. It’s really pretty. But he said he is over the snow thing and wondered if next winter you could just take the whole family to Maui.
I’m not surprised that Sam contacted you looking for support. He knows you’re a pal. And you’re right. He loves South Beach. In fact, he was just there the week before my visit and thought the sand and surf rocked. (Better than the Jumparoo.)
Thanks for the update and if I am a real SAVVY WOMAN, I’ll make enough to jet them all to Maui.
Glad you’re back girl…..Sunday is never the same without you. Sounds like you had a great visit with Sam and the rest of the family. As a Grandparent, it is always fun to spoil them a little, especially when you live so far away. I am looking forward to my trek back to Tennessee this June to do some spoiling myself with my 6 Grandkids back there. To me the hard part is always saying goodbye until the next visit….they grow up so fast. By the way, what is that white stuff in the picture….okay I’ll stop. Until next time.
It’s nice to be back. I missed all of you. And you’re right- all kidding aside- it’s hard to say goodbye. Bittersweet. As to the white stuff, you Arizona guys don’t know? It’s the cool stuff we like to ski on.
Dear Ellen:
Yes, we all now know that Sam is adorable (which he is) and the snow never misses Boston (which it does not) … BUT how about Sam, Granny Ellen, Natasha and Zach going to the Boston MFA.
It warms my heart, even on a cold, snowy day, when friends travel to visit a grandchild and take precious time to check out a museum. And whether my heart beats faster for Gainsborough or Chinoiserie furniture or Mondrian (what, no Warhol?)…I say three cheers for the Tofias-Ross family, and of course the Boston MFA. Keep traveling, even if you have to abandon “Elba” for a moment.
Love, Joan
Dear Joan, as my resident art expert, so glad you rang in here. Glad you approved our MFA outing. Now if only you had led the tour! Love and thanks.