Here in the Hills

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

a bit of the eve

This was a rather nice photo of me with Garrett Parks, Betty's oldest son, as we ate our New Years Eve dinner---the picture was taken by his sweet wife Karen, with her iPhone.

And below, a picture I took of them, later in the evening.

When I saw Garrett at Christmas, I was struck by how much he looked like his Dad with his beard. Larry had a beard for quite a few years before he died, and it was most attractive......

I took another picture of Garret on New Years Eve that reminded me of a picture I had taken of Larry, when Betty and Larry came to visit me in Hawaii, where I had rented a house on The Big Island for 14 weeks. They came in late June of 1974, just at the end of my time there----in fact, we flew back to Los Angeles together, with gobs of Fresh Frozen fantastic Hawaiian fish, which Betty and Larry kept in their Freezer, and when we felt very nostalgic for those balmy days in Hawaii, we would have a Hawaiian dinner and be transported back to those lovely special days.......

One afternoon, Betty, Larry and I had gone up to the Mauna Kea Hotel for one of their sumptuous Sunday Buffet Brunches.....We sat at a very nice table and did everything at a very leisurely pace----it seemed we never ran out of things to talk about.....I took a couple of pictures of Larry, who was sitting across from me----Betty between us, on his right. In the picture below, he was looking at her as she was talking about something and I have always loved this picture......

The photo below is of Garrett, on December 31st, 2013.

It was kind of astounding to see these two photo's together.
Larry turned 60 in December of '74 and unfortunately died in April, 1975.
It makes this photo of him all the more precious.

It brought back many memories of many many happy times gone by, and also, here we were, creating new memories---as my friend Hanna used to say---"You collected another wonderful memory for yourself..." And she was right. We had a really lovely fun time on this Eve of the New Year of 2014......

Betty and Larry's younger son, Andy, and his darling wife Katy, were here, too......

I think Andy, there in the foreground, would look very much like his Dad, too, if he had a beard----he already does, without the beard.....Next to him is the incredibly talented Maddy----Garrett and Karen's daughter, who is about to turn 18 in a few days from now.....For those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time, you will remember her from earlier New Years Eve gatherings---another favorite picture of mine is Betty with Maddy back on New Years Eve 2006, on the brink of 2007.

Going back to the picture above this one, that very handsome young man is Maddy's boyfriend Chris, and next to him is dear dear Katy, Andy's wife......

We had some very yummy food and we had a lot of laughs when we played the White Elephant Game.....and there will be more pictures soon----but here below is just a little preview of some of the Goodies that were in the Game......

Just a bit of a tease......

More To Come.......

19 Comments:

DesLily had this to say:: What a big smile this post gave me! I love the first photo ..you look well and happy!.. I loved all the pictures though.. I miss your "ladies that lunch" pics when I knew you were having good times.. this reminds me of that. I am glad you had such a good day and a good time..
loved the photo of Betty also.. I remember I animated that black and white photo of Betty and Larry walking by the ocean water.. don't know if that was Hawaii or not... and you are so right that Garrett looks like his handsome dad.

great post Naomi! I can tell is was a great day and that alone makes me smile.; Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 4:23:00 AM PST
LL Cool Joe had this to say:: What a great photo of you! I love it, and I can't help but notice how good that food looks that's on your plate.

And yes, wow son and father look very similar! I forgot about your New Years Eve get together! Can you believe I was in bed by about 9.00pm that night, as I was still on English time, so it was a bit of an anti climax really!

I'm looking forward to seeing all those presents close up!; Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 6:11:00 AM PST
Lynn had this to say:: What a wonderful gathering! I'm so glad you had a good New Year's Eve with such beloved friends.

And there is indeed a big resemblance between father and sons. Like Joe - I'm looking forward to seeing more about the White Elephant game - I always enjoy that, too. :); Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 11:18:00 AM PST
Arkansas Patti had this to say:: What a wonderful gathering with your adopted "family". A lovely shot of you. I know you all missed Betty so much but having such dear folks around you to bring in the New Year had to be so special. Wow, has Maddy grown up.
I think both of his sons look so much like him. He was such a handsome fellow and sadly passed so young.
Looking forward to the white elephant gifts. I love that idea.; Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 4:10:00 PM PST
Jammie J. had this to say:: My goodness, those two men are definitely their father's sons!

I can't believe how grown up Maddy is now... and with a boyfriend!?! She's a lovely young lady now, not the little girl I remember from your past postings. Happy New Year to you!; Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 10:50:00 PM PST
Unknown had this to say:: You ate ALL that?? xx; Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 7:26:00 AM PST
Diane J Standiford had this to say:: BEAUTIFUL PIX---BEAUTIFUL SUBJECTS!; Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 7:50:00 AM PST
Riot Kitty had this to say:: That looks like such a fun time! Everyone looks so happy. And you can definitely tell the family resemblance - almost eerie with those two pictures.; Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 4:51:00 PM PST
sonia a. mascaro had this to say:: What a lovely photo of you, Naomi!
Sounds you all had a great New Year's Eve with so many beloved friends.
Just a great post Naomi! I'm looking forward to see more pictures. :); Friday, January 10, 2014 at 9:58:00 AM PST
VV had this to say:: I enjoy it when I see a glimpse of a loved one in their offspring. It tells me a part of them goes on. It looks like you had a wonderful gathering for New Year's Eve.; Friday, January 10, 2014 at 6:16:00 PM PST
jani had this to say:: Hahaha....Who had to go home with the item behind the lady's hand (1st item on the left!); Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 5:05:00 AM PST
savannah had this to say:: Happy New Year, dear lady! xoxox; Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 6:20:00 AM PST
Rain Trueax had this to say:: Great photos from way back and this New Year's Eve. How wonderful to have such long term relationships. The young men do look a lot like their father :); Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 4:41:00 PM PST
colleen had this to say:: I see the resemblances. Although I think Betty's sons have her more chiseled features and so does her beautiful grand daughter. I am always shocked when I catch glimpses of myself in Bryce.

So much warmth and fun loving in the new photos, a meaningful tradition. Happy New Year!; Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 8:27:00 AM PST
J C had this to say:: What a wonderful way to spend New Year's Eve, with good food and good friends. And...I really like that (is it charcoal?) drawing on the wall.; Monday, January 13, 2014 at 4:29:00 PM PST
J C had this to say:: What a wonderful way to spend New Year's Eve, with good food and good friends. And...I really like that (is it charcoal?) drawing on the wall.; Monday, January 13, 2014 at 4:30:00 PM PST
Jeanie had this to say:: I can't think of a better way to spend the holiday and see in the new year with children of your dear friends -- who are now dear friends themselves. Did I tell you I thought of you as I was watching Betty in "On the Town" over the holidays? I'm so very glad you could spend this time with them.; Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at 7:49:00 PM PST
OldNavy had this to say:: Looking forward to more party pics. I'm going to find films with Betty in them & share them with my folks, thanks to you introducing us to her. Always interesting to see family characteristics passed on down through generations. I've noticed some of the less desirable ones in my family! And with the horses and cows in past years.; Thursday, January 16, 2014 at 10:07:00 AM PST
kenju had this to say:: Naomi, I am sorry to be so late getting here. We have been dog sitting and I had little time to browse here.

I am so glad that your NYE dinners continue, even though Betty is no long with you. Her sons do resemble their handsome father.; Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 12:43:00 PM PST