About mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Mother, Grandmother, Teacher-Traveler, often packing or unpacking, esp since 4th COVID jab.

Posted on October 1, 2022 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

LONDON — your grandmother’s p.o.v.

I stayed last week with a brilliant and generous former (CA) student, Megan, whom your moms and/or dads know. I also met up with another former (MN) student — & part of his beautiful family. They came and met me, near Megan’s: again, very generous, as I’m pretty sure it meant a 30-45-minute train ride across London.
As for London — you have all been to London or will go or…I hope you want to go (start working on the ‘rents).
The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was the day before I arrived. Everybody seems hopeful about their new king, Charles III. What do you (seven of you, I mean) know about Elizabeth II or Charles III, I wonder?

I Love My Athens Neighborhood — I think you would, too!

Posted on March 4, 2022 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Dear Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, Mary, Seamus, Francis, Joey, Peter, and Genevieve —

**I do not work at Melissa on Fridays. I take my clothes to the laundry. Along the streets of Exarcheia I see many wonderful things.** **On my way back to the studio, I stop at the market — everyone keeps 2 meters’ distance and is well masked. I obey those rules, of course.**
**But NO, I do NOT buy squid. Or octopus**!

FISHERMAN FINN

Posted on August 6, 2021 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

This morning Finn’s fishing rod reel broke, but even so, look what he caught!

**Sometimes Finn goes out in the morning to fish**. **Greece has fires, which is very sad (not near us), but the morning is wonderful.**

South Bend: Game On, Sort of!

Posted on October 20, 2019 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Dear Grands,

Mary loves soccer. Here she walks the sidelines, cheering on her teammates. Yes, she’s sporting her unicorn robe – chilly day in The Bend.

Coach M gives a tip to our Sweeper.

Mass late yesterday on an almost-empty campus. It’s Fall Break. No football game, no students, beautiful weather.

As Mass began, Mary leaned over and told me that she really didn’t care for pizza(again). She’d like a real dinner.

So here it is: chicken tenders-and-fries.

PS Cheerleader Mary loves her Blue&Gold Ponytail.

And so, Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, Francis, Seamus, Joey — here’s Mary’s Cheer of Cheers for you–

Easter with DONKEYS

Posted on April 21, 2019 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Happy Easter to you, Francis, Seamus, Mary, Kieran, Augustine, Finnian, and Cecilia —
Hydra, where I’ve spent Holy Week, is a small island not far from Athens. NO CARS ALLOWED here, so it’s donkeys, donkeys everywhere. They meet the ferries to carry luggage up to hotels and guesthouses.

Mostly, they seem to carry loads of…everything: I’ve seen huge jars of olive oil, of paper towels, and cases of wine, milk, orange juice.

In my days here, I saw this woman and her donkey a couple times.

Construction workers and their donkeys, I see all the time.

Oh, and here’s what I eat for lunch — delicious, really. Really!

THIS…

Here are 10 Greek seconds from Mass. Can you guess what those small green leaves are from? Hint: it’s Palm Sunday, not Easter — all over Greece

A Layover!

Posted on October 19, 2018 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Dear Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, and Francis —

I’ll be on my way tomorrow but got to spend this afternoon at Mary’s school. She wanted you five to see some photos —

Some of you have heard or (seen?) this artist…

Paul Cezanne (left) and Mary Briel (right)

Mary loves her uniform. And don’t you love her booties?

Mary’s kindergarten teacher is kind, creative and patient (and a grandmother!).

Father’s homily was about making sure that the faith grandparents pass on includes a sense of justice and inclusivity. ASK MOM or DAD (or Ceci or Finn, I’ll bet)!

Missing you ALL already!

“Teacher, Teacher, what means ‘Stand by Me’?”

Posted on May 23, 2018 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Dear Francis, Mary, Kieran, Augustine, Finnian, and Cecilia —

Did you watch the Royal Wedding, or anyhow some of it, on Saturday? I hope you saw the part I showed my students at Melissa today, but if you didn’t, WATCH THIS. Your parents can explain how the song became an anthem, a sort of symbol, during the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.

For now, look at these words near the end. See what a great English lesson it was for the young women!

If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea,
I won’t cry, I won’t cry
No, I won’t shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.

Two questions as they listened:

“‘I won’t be a friend!’ But, Teacher, why not?” I explained, and they understood instantly: “I won’t be afraid!”
The title of this blog (“What means ‘Stand by Me’?” ) was a little tougher. I really wish one of you had been there to help me out. But then one of the young women shouted and pointed to her friend sitting across the table — “I know, I know — like you, like me, like you AND me. Here at Melissa!”

The women at Melissa are amazing. Sometimes, I just sit back and watch them teach themselves.

Missing you all!
xx —
Eebie
P.S. Did you know that Auntie Elizabeth has done art with them here?
E.B.

MARY, MARY — the BESTS

Posted on April 17, 2018 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Hi to Francis, Kieran, Finnian, and Cecilia from MARY…

Best Sunflower cupcake — from Gerardo’s

Best Star Wars laser-wielding characters – Worcester Art MuseumBest – or anyhow, BIGGEST Roman mosaic in North America – Worcester MuseumBest Swim lessons – Assumption College

The Dog and I

Posted on September 19, 2017 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Dear Francis and Mary,

(K,A,F& C, this is old news for you, so I’ll write this to the Littlest cousins)

Very early this morning, I came again to the village where Ceci, Finnian, Augustine, and Kieran live. The human Cronin’s aren’t here, but MANGO came out to greet me!

He nearly knocked me over, so we went outside. We played “Fetch”!

This afternoon, Joachim came over to take Mango on a run. I met them along the way. Mango was very tired.

They went back to the house for food and water. I kept walking. That white city is called Lausanne.

I took this video just before the rain began to SPLAT, and the thunder began to ROAR!

You probably can’t hear the cowbells, but they make a sort of CLANG. Mary, you can play that on the piano. Francis, you can make that noise with your mouth!

Swiss Mountains!

Posted on May 21, 2017 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Hi, Mary and Francis,

Today, while Ceci stayed home to prepare for her tests (Pre-IB Exams, they’re called), WE went to the mountains! Auntie Teresa, Uncle Chris, Finnian, Augustine, Kieran and I.

We had lunch overlooking this trail. It is the Cronins’ favorite bike path in the Jura Mountains.

Across the way, we saw Mount Blanc. It is a very, very big mountain. Do you see the snow? Even in summer!

Ahead of us, Uncle Chris rode 1/2-way up into the mountains. Finn rode for awhile on paths at the top. As Gus watched, Uncle Chris helped get Finn’s bike ready for the trails.