85 Means 58 Backwards

My wise old Grandfather once said that to me when I called him on his birthday one year...

Me: Hey PopPop, Happy Birthday!
PopPop: [In a deep Baltimore dialect] "Why thank ya, Darlin!"
Me: "85, huh? That's a lot of years!"
PopPop: "Well, now honey... it's only 58 backwards, but I started counting backwards for many years. I must be about 35 by now!"
Me: "Well, shoot, PopPop... I'm 22, which means I'm 22 backwards. I guess your method only works for OLD people."
PopPop: "Are we done here?"

In fact, my Grandfather is the antithesis of an old man. He is in his garden almost every day providing the Wise and Markel families with their entire stock of seasonal produce. He could converse on any subject and make you think he's earned a Doctorate in the subject. The best thing about my Grandfather is that he has the most calming voice and smile.

For those of you who don't know, my Grandfather used to be a dentist. My Mom would have to drive us all the way up to Towson to have him work on our teeth. As a kid, I was scared that something would hurt, which it most commonly does at the Dentist. However, the moment my Grandfather walked into the room, I felt much better because he would talk the entire time in his soothing voice that was so peaceful to the child I was. But the moment I tried to talk back to answer his questions, he would say, "Hold still, darlin,' I'm workin' on your teeth!"

Love you PopPop and Happy Birthday to the most handsome "58-year-old" I know!

(I love this picture... Son looking over at Father):

New to the blog

This is Bobby, guest blogger, husband of your usual author. I can hear the groans...but lets take a hack at this thing and see how it goes. Its actually pretty strange sitting on this side of the Barrick Times. The editor in chief is in bed asleep. She's been recently asking me to support her in this blog and post occasionally...the idea honestly first hit me as less desirable then that time when I...well never mind. I digress.

Since this is my first blog entry, and MC has worked so diligently to maintain this blog to keep our family and friends who live far from somd connected with us...I'd like to dedicate this to the world's biggest Martha Stewart fan, my southern belle wanna-be, the beautiful and talented Mrs. MC Barrick.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my bride. Its been nearly 14 months that we've been married, and I still can't believe all of the effort she put in to pull off our wedding day. Her planning was meticulous and her design ideas made the day as memorable to me as my first glimpse of her at the end of the isle. Thank you honey for all that you did for us and our guests.

Next we have a rare glimpse of Melissa in her natural habitat:


Well, maybe not. Lets see...oh yes...the kitchen is where you can find MC making some of the most wonderful baked goods and baseball snacks that you've ever tasted. These poppers she's making are a favorite of the Crab Pot in section 7.


When not in the kitchen you can find Melissa skiing... she's the girl with the bright red cheeks to match her gloves.


Or she can be found at the beach...(but rarely in the ocean)...


Or at the ballpark...


But wherever she is, she can always be found with a happy heart and a big smile that brightens every room. She certainly has brightened my life. I love you, MC.

Family Matters

This weekend, Bobby and I had the pleasure of having my brother, Bennett, and his family come to Cali and stay with us! We had some nice times as we toured all over the county and had some relaxation time as well. I took a ton of pictures as all 4 of them are so photogenic! Mary Claire and Elle are the cutest little girls and are turning into such precious little ladies.

We headed over to Solomon's Island on Friday and walked down main street, got some ice cream, watched the ducks (and some jellyfish), and had some piggy-back rides. Friday was Jen's birthday, so we cooked out by the pool and ate a LOT.

Saturday was my Grandfather's 85th birthday party, so we drove up to S.P. for that (pictures to follow).

Sunday, Bobby and I took the girls for a ride in Grace with the top down! It was a blast, and so funny to hear how much they miss my brother's Ruby (Jeep Rubicon).

Anyway, it was so nice to see them as they drove all the way up from Raleigh! Killian also enjoyed the company... he's been sleeping since they left on Sunday. The girls played with him ALL weekend and he is exhausted!! Here are some shots from the weekend!

Bobby making Sloppy Bananas with Mary Claire.

Happy Birthday, Jen!

Bennett and the girls.
9 years, baby! They are so cute.
I love this picture! (Jen, Mary Claire and Elle)
I love this picture, too!
Looking for 4-Leaf clovers.Playground at Solomon's... too cute!

I Know a Few Bums...

*This is dedicated to my 6 (one not pictured - sorry At-man) favorite engineers*

I know a few bums...

They drift through my home from time to time.
They like to drink beer and sometimes some wine.

They can always sense when I'm baking a pie
because they all run over without letting any time go by.

Sometimes they all like to sit on my couch like this
and watch baseball or baseball, and sometimes the Olympics.


...although mostly just baseball.

Although (one of) the cutest guys you just saw
does not partake in the drinking at all.

He just likes to be patted from time to time.
Sorry Buddy, no beer for you. Even if you were named after it.

The Annapolitan Tourist

Excusez - moi while I get a little philosophical and nostalgic in this post...


I love Annapolis. For those of you who know me down in SOMD, you know this because I talk about it constantly. My knees still go weak at the sight of a midshipman...although now, most of them are younger than me, which is a little weird now. Ah, those handsome summer white uniforms walking blissfully around the harbor as gaggles of 'tweens turn their heads in the most coy of manner to follow the most wonderful of sights. Oh how I miss it.



Anyway, I came to Annapolis on Friday to meet some friends for lunch and afterwards, traipsed around downtown (in my heels, no less... can we say cobblestones?!) to take some pictures. I was a little bashful at first because of how indescribably nerdy and tourist-y I looked with my camera strap around my neck, big black sunglasses, bright yellow skirt and yes, the heels. Perhaps next time I go somewhere to take pictures, I'll dress less conspicuously (self-conscious, much?).


I digress. Walking around, I had forgotten how beautiful and quaint Historic Annapolis is. I walked along several back roads with colorful houses and rows and rows of American flags on the doors. How patriotic. I'm an emotional person, so I shed a tear over that thought, but continued to walk.



After snapping about 200 pictures (I love digital photography), the blister on my heel was beginning to talk to me telling me to get back in my car and go home: first because the sky was ominous and it was going to rain, and second, because my heels would be very angry if I kept walking. My (now) big blister also told me to go to Starbucks before I got in my car. Not really, but I went anyway. How I love my grande iced skim caramel macchiato. Shortly after I was on my way back home, leaving my beautiful memories back on Main Street where they will remain forever over-romanticized in my mind. But that's ok, because anyone who's lived in or near Annapolis knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

What a difference only 4 years makes. It kind of makes me feel old... I'm too young for that.

Today, I met up with 4 wonderful girls who I used to be a nanny for in high school! I haven't seen any of them since I stopped working for them, so it was so fun to catch up and reminisce about old times. Meredith, Caitlin, Emily and Hannah are the sweetest, nicest, most beautiful girls ever. All of them are very different, but they all get along really well with each other. I had so much fun being their older sister (I felt like) more than their nanny.

We would cruise around Annapolis after making about 478392 stops at Rita's, they all played Field Hockey due to my influence (I like to think) and I could never, NEVER get Hannah to eat corn, steak, or even a PopTart. It was encouraging to see she now eats PopTarts! 2 of my babies are now in college!!! 1 of them has a cute, CUTE boyfriend... Oh, the drama!

Anyway, here we are 4 years ago after my high school graduation (along with my niece, Patience - the baby) without Hannah:


And here we are today, 4 years later.

Boys meet Grill

Most weekends during the summer, you can find all residents of Jeeter Way at the patio next to the pool, grilling tools in hand, and bathing suits still dripping from the dip we all took earlier. Aside from the strong smell of charcoal that will be forever ingrained in my mind, the most delicious smell of a freshly grilled burger sharply stands out to me on a hot, summer evening, ever so slightly enhanced by the faint smell of chlorine still damp in my hair.

This weekend we celebrated the birthday of our friend, Al. I love cooking for Al because his reactions to my food are always the best - they make my head swell up like a balloon with conceit. Anyway, we celebrated with some Coney Dogs (as Eric is from Michigan) and burgers topped with spicy Guac and to top it off, Shawn (Eric's wife) made Al a double-chocolate cake and meticulously placed 24 candles on top.

So to commemorate our weekend traditions, here are some pictures from our get-togethers:

Contemplation... Al and his cake.

Atmun. There are no words.Me and my honey.
My honey giving me the stink-eye for taking so many pictures of him:
Eric and his Coney Dog:

How many engineers does it take to light a birthday cake?After almost getting struck by lightning, here's what showed up!

Solomon's Island

First of all, let me just say - WOW. One thing I love about living "down south" is being close to the water. Being a very proud Annapolitan (or Severna "Parkie"), I just love being by the water. The sunsets, the humidity, the breeze, the faint fishy smell of the Chesapeake... I love it all.

Tonight was an especially beautiful evening in Cali, so I decided to cross the bridge and head over to Solomon's to capture the glory. Oh, the glory it was. I don't think I've ever been able to capture a sunset like this before. Anyway, if you've never been to Solomon's Island or Southern Maryland for that matter, I highly recommend it as it does truly have its charms. Anyway, here are my shots from this evening... I hope you enjoy!

Our favorite restaurant in Solomon's, The Solomon's Pier.
The famous Tiki Bar. Every spring for its opening, they close down Solomon's Island and it's one giant Tailgate party in the street (yes, Solomons is only one street)!
Cute house.
Even the fire hydrants have pride - the Pax (Patuxent) River Bridge is on top (the same one you see in the first picture).
Cute little boat shack. If they sold live crabs here, it would totally fit.
Blue Heron on the river.


Our Lady Star of the Sea Church... the oldest Catholic Church in Calvert County. We've heard it's beautiful inside. An old barn sits right on the waterfront at the beginning of Solomon's, almost right under the bridge. There are acres of corn fields behind it, somewhat out of place, but beautiful!


Ready to come visit? We'd love to have ya'll down!