Larry Slotkin's Funeral

This past weekend Brett and I attended Larry Slotkin's funeral (my Aunt Debi's father).  My Dad and Aunt Lori came into town and so the four of us went to Costa Mesa to go support Debi, Amanda, and her family. I had known Larry for years from the many combined family gatherings, so I felt it was important to be there and represent.
This was the first Jewish funeral I have ever attended and I was very interested to see how it differed from a Christian funeral that I am familiar with.  The funeral was a very nice tribute and celebration to Larry.  Everyone that spoke did a nice job in sharing many memories of Larry.  My cousin Amanda had put together a little power point of all these pictures which was very nice to see.  She even added Frank Sinatra in the background because he would play Sinatra all the time.  At the end the 23rd Psalms was said followed by a prayer in Kaddish.
After the funeral and graveside, we went to the Slotkin residence and had a nice catered meal from Larry's favorite Italian restaurant.  The food was really good and the dessert was even better.  Even though funerals are a sad time, it's always nice to catch up with everyone and celebrate the life of that individual.  I would also like to add that I admire my Aunt Debi who was seriously the rock for her family during the final days of Larry.  She is a fantastic and lovely person!

Dad, Aunt Lori, and Uncle Jerry 

Someone thought we were models

My cousin Amanda and her beau Corby

My Aunt Debi with the flowers from the Carpenter family.

 

Feeling Crafty with Pumpkins

I was feeling crafty this last weekend so I took on a project that I was excited about.

Before

After 

(They came out so cute!)

The Gummy has left CA

My paternal grandmother aka "Gummy" Ruth Carpenter, left her house in Yorba Linda after nearly 50 years to go move to Utah a couple of weeks ago.  She will be 90 at the end of November and because she is slowing down, her 4 kids decided it was time to move her to my Aunt Dona's and to sell the house.
I must say that it was a bittersweet moment because I've had many memories in that house over the last 25 years.  It's where I spent a lot of time with Papa and Gummy as a child, it's where we always had family gatherings on holidays, it's where I actually lived for 18 months after college, and it's also a reminder of the "falling out" that has strained my relationship with Gummy.
The last month, my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Debi have been cleaning out the house like crazy to prepare for the move.  It wasn't easy for them due to how difficult and demanding Gummy is.  There were a lot of family heirlooms that they were trying to save after Gummy kept giving them to this lady who thinks she is related to us.  It was a lot of drama, but my grandmother likes to do that.
I do feel grateful and because I was given the piano, the patio furniture and a bedroom set for my spare bedroom.  This bedroom set was a huge blessing especially the dressers because Brett and I were overflowing with just the one dresser that we have.  I also really love having a piano again so I can actually play.

The piano

Dressers

On Monday, I went to the house for one last time to pick something up.  I walked through the bare house and started to become emotional.  I'm going to miss this house!  But then I laughed!  Brett and I noticed a box with her pots and pans and we found the pot we burned that created such drama.  We took it home and plan on giving it to her as a Christmas present. ;)

4751 Lavell Dr. Yorba Linda, CA