From the Basement to Keating Doherty Elegance on Thanksgiving

During those thirty days of "Sandy-cleaning" had an elegant break, a Thanksgiving at  John and Chipper Keating Doherty's.

And elegant it was!

Brought mostly UN-elegant work clothing from California and could not really go shopping for something proper to take this awesome old family friend who also hosted my brother who canceled his annual Vermont Thanksgiving.  Because my days were dedicated to the basement, had little time for shopping.

My son Don came down from NYC to join us and bought a bottle of wine.  There were no fancy wine gift bags so I looked around the basement and had to get creative quickly in order to make our offering more presentable. I had a few pickings from my favorite pepper tree plant from my home then took a few of my mom's silk flowers to clean up and washed a basket that might have been my sister's...Lois, whose archival work, for the most part, although damaged, thankfully survived Sandy!! The "wood roses" that I gave mom over twenty five years ago got damaged in Sandy but the beige colored wheat survived. They added a bit of texture to the arrangement!

Will post a few pics later but here is our small offering at the grandioso Thanksgiving!

Whew!

Our Miss America, Miss New Jersey 2012

Uncle Henry's granddaughter, our cousin Joyce's daughter, Lindsey Petrosh, did a magnificent job representing New Jersey in the Miss America Pageant this past week!

Wherever I went in Vegas, whoever I spoke with, added Lindsey's name to their list of picks for Miss America.  She was OUR MISS AMERICA and what a royal week it was for her biggest fans.
Royal fans from Egg Harbor City (so many of them!), royal lodging with my sister Joan and her husband Mike in their Grand View Time Share, royal meet-ups and receptions, royal Wimberg cousins and our royal Queen of New Jersey!

Among the photos in the archives were pics of Uncle Hen and Aunt Lil.  During the time I lived in Hawai'i in the seventies, Uncle Hen and Aunt Lil came to visit Oahu.  I did my best to treat THEM royally. Took them around the island, brought them to a few local parties and most of all just loved being with one of my dad's favorite brothers. (Uncle Hen was the only sibling of my dad to meet the father of my children!)

Uncle Hen took this photo of Aunt Lil and me.

Dad's Love for Horse Racing!

Dad owned a few horses.  Redcoat was one of them.  I remember one day the phone was ringing often when I was a kid.  Locals saw that Redcoat was running.  It was put in the race at the last minute. Although it was a long shot, those who knew dad, bet on it and it WON, big time!

This was one of dad's jockey's jackets.  It might have been Redcoat's, not sure.  Mom could never toss it even though horse racing was not her "cup of tea".  Finally after years in storage, Hurricane Sandy stained, ripped, wet it enough for us not to feel guilty tossing it.  (This is where a photo is almost as good as the item itself.)

Jockey's jacket damaged in Hurricane Sandy.

Karen Visits 3 North's Dinosaur Remains!

The North West room that was once part of "The 3 North Archives" was used to gather items for garage sales.  Karen's items faired the best throughout Hurricane Sandy.  Most were in plastic tubs.

Among Preferred Photos, The Frank Byrne Family Visit 7300!

Around 1961 Lois introduced Frank Byrne to Mary Beth Rudden, who was living with Aunt Elizabeth. Frank had been working in Long Beach, California. Soon after they were married Mom drove cross country from NJ to CA with them.  We often joked that "Mom Mom Wimberg was a special part of their honeymoon"!

What a mom full of awe and what a wonderfully compassionate Byrne Family who we all love.

(Recently another photo found was one i took of the kids while i went to help out when Mary Beth was in the hospital and Frank went to stay with her.  Will post that later.  In the photo, the Byrnes kids were playing with a gift I brought from Mexico '68 for my dad who loved UNUSUAL things.  It was a live bug, decorated with rhinestones that lived in a little plastic cage and ate balsa wood.  My dad gave it a name, OLEY and took around town and even to a few bars.  His Christmas Card that year of course included OLEY.  Will find a few pics later or ask Betty, Frank's sister, who I stayed with for about ten days or more during the time I was salvaging photos and family history after the hurricane!

The Mary Beth, Frank and kids at the
Wimberg Homestead!

Mom Mom's Old Sweater Salvaged from Sandy

Now, keep in mind, I was compelled to return to NJ to salvage history which might some day enrich the Wimberg Legacy, primarily to honor my mom and dad. But every day that has passed, convinces me that there IS A BOOK IN THIS BASEMENT!  Unlike our Wimberg Websters in New Zealand and their awesome family journals, mom and dad's stories are in the letters, (prior to email, and photos, prior to digital).

But hey, there are other "COSAS" in this basement; things, stuff, Wimberg advertisements, treasures, or as the HOBBITS would say, "MATHOMS".

As the workmen with Aaron and crew from Chicago would say, "There are some cool old things down here, and you won't be able to find them at Walmart".

As the days got cold in November and one chore would lead to five more chores, I removed my shirt for one of those mathoms, MOM MOM"S OLD SWEATER!

There I am with my fabulous NEW-OLD SWEATER that has

pockets and incredibly great karma straight from Marion Wimberg!

(photo by Laura)

And...

There's my shirt (that I wore for five days straight) as I listened to Hawaiian music.

There's a woven Tongan fan, (mathoms like THAT love salt water and will survive any storm).

Am wearing my blue gloves, (Tried several gloves beforehand but couldn't perform detail work on photos so tips of fingers were getting tiny cuts and blisters. Thank you my favorite son, Don, the world needs problem solving dudes like you.)

There's that baby light in the background (...remember that?)

Of course, as in almost EVERY basement, the boiler and water heater! (Wouldn't it be great if someone designed functional items like that to be so beautiful they could all be placed upstairs in the middle of the living spaces...ya know, like the fire place used to be! Not down in basements where flooding occurs. Then SANDY or any hurricane that passes through wouldn't damage half as many!)

AND...above is the ceiling that mom and her bro, our Uncle Joe, painted years ago.  All those glorious pipes add to the ambiance which I have come to love...sort of!

"Goombye" Hard Wood Floors, Hello Blankets

Blankets for drying

...Dad's old Egg Harbor City letters and cards.