The Next Reunion: We need interaries

Please tell us when you are arriving and if you need transportation from the airport, etc.

New beadwork

I am trying out a new type of bead. This is one of my cats. I will be making more. It is about an inch tall. I think it is really cute, and so does Steve. He laid claim to this one when it came out of the kiln.

Jan

New Year's Reunion - Texas Style

Arrangements are now firm for the Family Reunion 09. Our "venue" is booked, Jan has her tickets, and the details can now be planned. We'll keep you updated as things change.

Harrisons in History

Alert!

Well! It's official. Soren is now Dr. Harrison. I'm sure he would never spread this news around, but I'm proud of him, so I'll do it. He has earned a Ph. D in Nuclear Fusion Technology.
Thatsa my boy!!

Remember this?

Finley's Blog

Here is a link to her very own blog with pics.
Enjoy!
http://babydigiovanni.blogspot.com/

Alan and Cadyn

Finley Sophia DiGiovanni arrives in the world

This morning, Cadyn and Alan birthed Finley DiGiovanni, yet another addition to the growing next generation of Harrisons. She is 19 inches long, 6 lbs. 11 oz., with dark wavy hair, and blue eyes (for now); and is perfectly healthy.

She cried once when she first came into the world and has been quiet and content since.

Momma is doing well, although tired - and appears to have the next two days holding court with a large list of family and friends.

Here are the initial pictures - Alan has better ones that will be posted soon.

How powerful is Obama?

Obama is ahead in Wahoe County, Nevada - considered a bellweather county in the presidential race. Another measure of Obama's coattails is the Senate race in Texas. Considered unobtainable, the Democratic challenger is now within striking distance. With the massive African-American vote and immeasurable youth vote, unaccounted in the standard polls - nevermind the lack of cell phones contacts in most polls; there may be upsets across the country. This race is likely to be a bellweather of another kind - that of a huge landslide.

Reunion Plans

Well Folks - plans are coming together for our gathering in Austin, Texas.

The dates: Dec 28 to Jan 3rd.

The Place: A victorian mansion and neo-tudor cottage in Hyde Park, a quaint neighborhood in Austin near the University and the downtown area.

A block away from Maya's new studio apartment

Here's the hype:

Immerse yourself in comfort and style

Daydream on a swinging bench -- with a beverage in your hand

Unwind beneath the tranquility of magestic pecans amidst soothing gardens

Imagine yourself on double-deck wrap-around porches

This graceful century-old Steamboat Victorian features an exquisitely appointed formal sitting room, oval parlor with bay windows and grand piano, formal dining room, breakfast sun room, 1,100 indulgent square feet of balconies, premium guest accommodations and an intimate guest cottage on the grounds.

Conveniently located 5 minutes from The University of Texas at Austin via free campus shuttle and also frequent local bus service to downtown.Central location in Hyde Park affords guests many conveniences and amenities just minutes away:

5-minute walk to 6 neighborhood restaurants, 2 cafes, and 2 groceries, Shipe park and pool, Elisabet Ney museum, and community theater. 5-minute drive to Hospital Districts on Red River (St. David's and Brackenridge) and 38th Street (Seton and Austin Heart).
10-minute drive to downtown, Capitol, 6th Street, Warehouse District, 2nd Street Design District, Convention Center, Long Center for Performing Arts, and Town Lake Hike and Bike trail. Also the UT Bass Performing Arts Center, the UT Erwin Events Center, Whole Foods Headquarters Flagship Store, Amtrak Rail Station, and West 6th Street District.
15-minute walk to Central Market organic grocery and park, Triangle Park, shopping, and Farmer's Market

15-minute drive to South Austin sights such as the South Congress District, Zilker Park, Barton Springs Pool, Barton Springs Restaurant Row, and St. Edward's University.

Concierge service available for personalized local entertainment and dining options.

For the technical sophisticates, may we entice you with a 120" widescreen 7.1 Dolby ProLogic HD theater, Playstation 3, TiVo, and of course, complimentary high-speed wireless internet. We understand that even commercials are mesmerizing.

New pic

This is the newest picture of Tristan. I still haven't seen him in person...

www.g-tphotos.com

We posted a website - It's a start....We thought you might enjoy looking.

  Terri and Gary

A Texas Reunion Plan

Just a warning ... whenever two or more are gathered together - and they're Harrison's - a reunion plot is hatched.... It's unclear how much scotch was required, but Mike, Evan, Soren, Maya, & Christine met up in Boston, and another New Years reunion was proposed; this time in Austin, Texas. Which is a good thing, because there's not much to say about Texas, except for Austin.

I've run it by a few of us, and Mike, Bob, Gary, Terri, Jan, and Steve are committed or willing to explore cheap ways to get there. Cadyn and I are already scoping out houses (and even a "venue") for us to stay. So, everyone is invited to join us in Austin between December 28th to January 3rd. Maybe Pat will parasail his way there. The only expense is to get yourselves there, and the cost of food for your day.

If you haven't been to Austin - it's quite the place. The Live Music Capital of the World; gateway to the Texas wine country; in the midst of the beautiful Hill Country; and home to old hippies, cowboys, artists, and a whole town committed to staying "weird". Just to reassure you - Bush's governors mansion was recently set afire and Texas is poised to return back to Democratic rule - so you'll be protected from any fervent partisan republicanism.

Something fun that everyone should try...

This was from Thursday the 10th. And I wasn't kicking and screaming at all...

update on Gary

Gary is feeling better every day!  The surgeon was very happy with how he has recovered from the surgery - and said that he does not need to come back to see them.  He is released to go back to work, but cannot lift anything heavy and has to "pay attention" to his body!  He goes back to the cardiologist on the 18th - to see what they have to say.  He finished his medication today (amiodarone) - It's nasty stuff.....with lots of side effects.  So he is glad to be off of it and hopes he does not need to go back on anything like it!  We will find out more about that on the 18th when we go to see the Cardiologists.  The Infectious Disease Doctors have ordered more blood for more tests and still do not know what has caused all of this  We would be happy to know what caused it all.  Looking back, we think Gary has had symptoms related to the effusion for over two years - and he even went to a cardiologist during that time.  Sooooo - we are optimistic that this will improve life, overall.  Wouldn't it be great if it never returns!

That's the state of affairs around here.  We will be watching carefully over the next few days for any effects of going off the meds.  Hopefully, he will be just fine!  He looks great, is tired (understandable) - is taking lots of bird pictures and gets stronger every day.

Love you all,  Terri

It's a girl!

Due Oct. 15, 2008

Just a few of the pics we took. The desserts were all made from scratch and displayed at a buffet the last day.

Thanks Pat.

Pat figured out how to invite me to this blog, so I can post and upload pictures. This was the Cruise ship we were on, and it is docked in Ketchikan. The water were fairly rough at times

we love these tanagers when they pass through.

white and maybe a partial albino female baltimore oriole

whoopee!! we beat the Insurance Company!!

I am such a bitch! but, sometimes, it pays off. The insurance company backed off and will pay for Gary's hospital/medical bills! That's a huge monkey off our backs.

Bob.....where are the pictures?

Gary is recovering well....just tired a lot and we still do not know if this will reoccur or if it is cured. We are just waiting. He wants to take a short ride on the Harleys this weekend, but I am nixing that.

Have a wonderful Memorial weekend. It snowed here, today - Happy summer......Love, Terri

From Bob (until he joins the 21st century)

I don't think I can create a blog. So far I have not figured out more than just replying. Let me know what I am doing wrong. We are back from our cruise. My god, I think I am bougouise. It was very luxurious. Lots of everything. Alaska is very beautiful. The towns are still very small. Juneau's population is 13,000 and is not accessible by road. It was the perfect setting for the opulence of the ship. They had art auctions where the opening bid was $50,000 on some pieces. They had a couple of Salvator Dali's. It was great. Once I figure out how to upload pictures to the blog, I will put a few up.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Gary is home!! :)

Gary update

Drainage tubes are out and he's dying to get out of here! He also lost the last IV drip! So, we are closer each day to going home.
:)

Getting close to going home!

We are out of ICU - The doctors, today, said that all the preliminary tests are negative. That's a good thing since those were the nasty, scary, things. The other cultures will take a while.

He may get the drainage tubes out tomorrow - that would be great. He is sitting up more and took two walks around the hallways today.

Marian and I have the house cleaned (as best as my house can be cleaned) - and ready for him to come home. :) Terri

out of surgery - gary

Gary is out of surgery - it has been a long night - but he is now sitting up and he has the respirator out. He's happy about that!
They found a LOT of fluid around the heart - it was amber colored or "straw" colored and it is now draining. He has a variety of tubes...I don't know when those come out.

But, he is sitting up, smiling and anxiously awaiting a fruit slushy that Justin has gone out for. I know he is starving!

They are sending samples of the sac and the fluid to pathology - but it will take three to four days to get results. They believe it is bacterial.

That's all I really know - and when I know more, I will let you know.

Justin and Marian are with me and we are all offering Gary lots of support and Love.

Love, Terri

gary update

He has significantly more fluid around his heart - they really think it's a bacterial infection. He is scheduled for surgery tomorrow AM - they will remove the fluid and analyze it.

His chemical stress tests yesterday were normal. So, there is no damage - Yeah!

Sorry about spelling errors, etc. We are all sleep-deprived around here.

Love, Terri

gary again

He is doing much better - they have given him drugs to kick his heart into a regular heart beat. They have decided that he has Post viral syndrome Pericarditis and tomorrow they are doing tests about the fluid around his heart, etc. He is sitting up, has more energy and we are all looking forward to going home, soon. Terri

Gary

Gary is in the ICU cardiac unit at Renown Hospital in Reno. He has fluid around the heart and unexplained abnormal heart issues. He also came in with pneumonia.....I took him to emergency on Saturday and they transported him here. The pneumonia is generally under control. This PM is the first night he has not spiked a fever. He is also on a med to regulate his heart rhythm. He has scared us the last few days. Justin flew in and is with me and Marian flew down from Seattle. They did an echo cardiogram yesterday and hopefully we will see the cardiologist today to find out what the plan is regarding his heart issue. He's tired of all the blood tests and EKGS and miscellaneous other tests - but I feel that they are taking good care of him. I will keep you posted.

I thought you all would want to know...... Love, Terri
PS - He would be pisssed to know that I'm tell you all - :)

Springtime in Seattle

Who would have thought that I'd wake up to this on April 19, 2008. Dakota loves it. She has spent a lot of time trying to convince us that we should go outside....

Bragging? or documenting the decline of Evan's dreams?

Well, Evan is becoming famous in Beantown. Just what thousands of dollars spent on a fine education will get you. Check it out:

http://drinkboston.com/2008/03/15/the-independent-best-boston-bars/

and

http://drinkboston.com/2008/03/26/event-scotch-for-old-people/

Recipes from the reunion

I have to say, the food at the reunion all those months ago was fabulous. The best I've eaten in some time. I would really appreciate it if anyone/everyone who cooked would post their recipes so others (read "I") could cook those themselves.

I've finally found a candidate I can support

I love this guy. He is a lot like me. I'm going to write him in since I'm so disgusted with the main stream candidates. He admits to using the 'F' word. Read more about him here.

Film Recommendation

An offhand (but enthusiastic) comment from Maya -

By the way, have I told you to see There Will Be Blood yet? If not, Go see There Will Be Blood. It's absolutely fucking amazing. Daniel Day-Lewis expands my conception of what a human being can be and do. It's as though he has discovered a new way to exist. If I were to found a religion, I would base it on this performance. He's... I saw it a month ago and I still can't figure out the words to describe his performance. You know how every year there's some performance that people sort of casually say, "It ranks among the greats," etc.? Well, Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't rank among the greats - he is better than Brando or De Niro or whoever. He makes them look silly. I cannot overstate this: He kicks the greats' asses in this movie. Go see it.

A taste of Maya

I was working late and had the TV on in the background, when on came the Actor's Workshop or whatever James Lipton's show is called. He had John Cusack on, whom I liked in Grosse Pointe Blank and Being John Malkovich. But I had never heard of Say Anything or High Fidelity. So I asked the family expert. This is a small taste of what you get when you ask Maya.

Where have you been? You had three kids -- they were watching these movies.

If you see Say Anything, you will be witnessing the precise romantic and emotional conditioning of the women my generation (and the previous generation). John Cusack's character grew to become the absolute, secret ideal of every woman I knew from high school to college. Songs were written about it in the 90s. Most of these women have since grown somewhat -- but I can't overstate the influence of this character.

The movie itself is a pretty good small movie directed by Cameron Crowe -- Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, etc. -- before he "sold out." That is, it has the feel of an independent film before they sold out too. The characters are human and funny, the acting interesting, etc. Incidentally, I think you've seen this: I have a vague memory of watching it in the theater with you and Cadyn when I was maybe... nine?

High Fidelity has a similar relationship to music obsessives. I still hear them making references to the movie to explain aspects of their life or taste -- privately, though, because since the movie became widely popular, they're too cool to admit to liking it.

It has a before-he-got-big Jack Black, it's about neurotic, self-obsessed, selfish, and pretentious men who simply cannot understand women. But they have really, really good taste in music. There used to be theories that this is who Lloyd Dobbler (the character from Say Anything) may have become after having his heart broken too many times.

Anyway -- between these two movies and a couple of other random ones, John Cusack's recent decline takes on tragic dimensions. He was for a while - and had the chance to be forever - the cultural ideal of the men and women of an entire generation. Then he made Must Like Dogs and America's Sweethearts. Tragic.

Give her a try.

New Addition

I know I didn't tell everyone, but Brandon's girlfriend, Tiffany, was pregnant. She had her baby in early December. (I found out yesterday.) She had a boy, Tristan Michael Harrison. That's all the details I have. I'll let you know if I get any more information.

For those who missed the snow...

This is out the front door. Remember when we could walk out with ease?

Here is the garage roof Sunday morning.

This is the top floor balcony

A wonderful reunion!

Thanks to everyone who made Gary's birthday evening the best, yet! He was touched and will never forget it.

We heard from Michael today (1/6/08) and were glad to hear that everyone made it down the mountain and to their destinations. We spent yesterday on the road. We left at 3:00 AM to get Justin to Reno for his plane - we knew the original flight had been canceled, but had him on one later (7:00) - We woke up to snow, wind and no power. The trip was slow going, but we made it safely to Reno, and Justin got on his plane. He waited two hours to takie off and just made his connection in Atlanta. He called us last night and was home safe and sound!

We hope that Karen is happy with her snow! We are glad to have it in the mountains, and will take it here also, to help ease draught issues.

Tomorrow, it's back to reality. Jobs - etc. I guess the good times can't last for every.

Happy New Year to everyone! We love you all. Terri and Gary