my family tree

that's my great-grandfather

i never met him,

but i'm pretty sure since we're related

that he's holiding a huge bowl of pasta with meat sauce

and sprinkling it with sauce on top :)

he travelled around the world.

this is my great aunt evdoxia...

she was everyone's favorite aunt

(especially my mom's: they used to stay up late when my mom was bitty

and watch the corny old black and white horror movies-

which were not corny or old back then)

i'm pretty sure she was my great-great aunt from my grandma's dad's side.

i heard she was a famed storyteller.

guess that's where i get that from.

the girl to your left? that's my grandmother

i lived with her until i got married and moved on out,

and she lived with my parents until she needed to

go to a rehab center by my house.

isn't she cute?

that bitty baby to the right of the pic

is her brother, Jerry.

my grandma was a massive homebody

the complete package as a housewife and

the matron of the family.

my grandmother eventually married this guy.

that's my grandfather, on a ship.

another member of my family who travelled around the world

any and every way he knew how.

so cool.

he was an artist, a photographer...

so creative.

he would have flipped

with the thoughts of internet,

photoshop,

and digital cameras.

i don't imagine he'd be that different from me.

i was named after him.

that bitty baby there?

that's my mama.

i think she took off her shoe in this pic.

uber-mischievous...

she used to make fun of the ladies

that used to go over and visit my Grandmother and Great Grandmother,

wreak havoc by running away,

and saved her cat that was about to get abused to death...

all before she hopped on the boat to ellis island.

she's got stories out the whazoo.

(like me!)

never could sit still.

(i can)

and knits, makes the best tea

and gives the best hugs.

that's my family in their manhattan apartment. Grandma is holding a cat.

they loved cats.

shots of my family hanging out at cafes and

tavernas with each other and friends.

that's my Daddy in that bottom shot there.

quite an adventurous bunch of people...

and the apple doesn't fall far from the family tree