22 Sunday Feb 2015
Posted in Family and Friends
Usually, by the time there’s a third grandchild, particularly if all three are siblings, there aren’t many pictures of the ‘last’ one.
So that’s our excuse for posting these of Ryan, age 20 months, as ‘captured’ at a recent play date at our house. Photos come courtesy of Ellen Miller, known as “Nonna” to the three grandkids.
19 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in Family and Friends, Go Sox
Tags
"MillersTime" Contest, Listen to Your Father, Max Scherzer, Mike Rizzo, Nats, Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals, Yunel Escobar
According to the Washington Post:
The Washington Nationals radically altered the baseball landscape Sunday night, ending a winter of relative inactivity by agreeing to a seven-year contract with free agent pitcher Max Scherzer, according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks.
I shoulda listened to my father, the chess player.
He tried to teach me to take my time when my opponent made a move that perhaps seemed weak, foolish, or one I didn’t understand. He warned not to jump too quickly in my next move and to beware of what further moves my opponent might have in mind.
For the most part, I’ve followed that advice, at least with reference to MillersTime.
16 Friday Jan 2015
Posted in Family and Friends, Go Sox
Tags
baseball, Family, Loyalty, Nationals, Red Sox, Tyler Clippard, Values, Winning, Yunel Escobar
My post yesterday, Nats: Terrible, Terrible Decision, reminded me of what most bothers me about baseball, a game I’ve loved for as long as I can remember (at least six and a half decades).
05 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends
Tags
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", Blue Fin, Chinatown, Civic Hall, Eataly, Excellent Dumpling House, Genesis, International Center of Photography, New York City, Rockefeller Center, Saks, Sebastiao Salgado, Tarallucci E Vino, Times Square, Union Square, Upland Restaurant
* Any resemblance to the NYTimes series “36 Hours in ____” (you name the city) is mostly accidental.
Most New Yorkers stay as far away from the city as they can the last few days of the year, but we actually love it. So, we planned to meet our KC daughter there just before New Year’s. In the end, she couldn’t make the trip. But we did.
32 Hours in New York City
05 Wednesday Nov 2014
Posted in Family and Friends
The best baby-sitters, of course, are the baby’s grandparents. You feel comfortable entrusting your baby to them for long periods, which is why most grandparents flee to Florida. – Dave Barry
Telling us some story about having their ‘floors’ redone and having to move out of their house for ‘at the most’ two weeks, our daughter, son-in-law and their three kids (it felt like at least a dozen) moved into our quiet, “retirement home” in mid-October. They just left to return to their own house, and I sure hope they like their ‘redone floors.’
For those of you who largely use MillersTime as a way to keep up with the grandkinder, here are some pictures from the last two and half weeks, mostly taken with Ellen’s iPhone.
31 Friday Oct 2014
Posted in Family and Friends, The Outer Loop
Tags
"The American Prospect", "Tom Paine", Campaign for America's Future, Center for Responsive Politics, Ellen Miller, Pike Permanent Select Comittee on Intelligence, Public Campaign, Ralph Nader, retirement, Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, Sen. Committee on Governmental Affairs, The Sunlight Foundation
Today mark’s the final day of public service (1968-2014) for Ellen Miller.
Ellen’s first work in Washington was with Ralph Nader at his Center for Responsive Law and at his Center for Auto Safety. She then worked with Sen. Abraham Ribicoff at his Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and also with the Pike House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Following her government service, Ellen worked for two journalistic enterprises, Tom Paine and The American Prospect and also directed the “Project for an Accountable Congress” at the Campaign for America’s Future.
Most of Ellen’s work, however, was invested in the three organizations she created and lead, The Center for Responsive Politics, Public Campaign, and The Sunlight Foundation. All three groups have been focused in different ways on the issues of money and politics, on how our elections are funded, and on accountability and transparency in government. All three organizations continue to exist.
Ellen told a gathering of friends and co-workers last week, “It’s been an incredible run…I’ve been extraordinarily lucky…and I’ve had a lot of fun.” She also said she is “not one bit wistful” as she happily looks towards her retirement and has no plans other than some extended travel, lots of photography, and spending time with her three grandchildren.
PS – For a bit more on Ellen’s retirement, see her Time to Pass the Baton.
02 Thursday Oct 2014
Posted in Family and Friends
For those of you who weren’t in Las Vegas June 21, 2014, as well as those of you who were, here’s a three-minute video of the Elizabeth Miller and Brandt Tilis wedding.
Just click on the link below.
Enjoy.
08 Monday Sep 2014
Posted in Family and Friends, Go Sox
20 Wednesday Aug 2014
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends
Tags
"Abuse of Weakness", "Beautiful", "Frank", "Kinky Boots", "Once", Broadway Theater, Central Park, Family & Friends, Garry Winograd, Lincoln Center Films, Metropolitan Museum, New York City, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Pace Gallery, Peter Luger's, The Astor Court
It was Ellen’s idea.
“Let’s plan a trip in August to NYC,” she said. “It’ll be similar to our one-week-a-year trips to a foreign city.”
I was skeptical: “NYC in August?”
But then I”m a married man, and so we headed to NYC last Friday, returning home today, five nights, six days later.
18 Friday Jul 2014
Posted in Family and Friends
24 Tuesday Jun 2014
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends
Tags
"MillersTime" Contest, Brandt Tilis, Elizabeth Miller Tilis, Elizabeth Robin Miller, Las Vegas Wedding
The most frequently asked question of Ellen and myself this wedding weekend: “Why was it happening in Vegas?”
Just as we’ve been clueless about a number of decisions in Beth’s (Elizabeth since ’98) life, we can only surmise.
So, I decided to ask MillersTime readers to use your knowledge of Beth and/or Brandt (as well as your imaginations) to list some possible reasons they chose Las Vegas as the site of their wedding.
To start you off, here are a few possibilities Ellen and I could think might have been in their minds:
16 Monday Jun 2014
Posted in Family and Friends
1. Grandson Eli starts the Memory game with me. (He likes to go first. And to make up the rules too.)
2. Eli, legitimately, crushes me in the first game.
3. In game two, Eli (barely) loses. Has minor ‘meltdown’ (formerly referred to as a ‘tantrum’).
(OK. The pictures aren’t as good as Ellen takes. But you get the point.)
My question is about winning and losing.
09 Monday Jun 2014
Posted in Family and Friends
Tags
Our family tends to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, weddings (one of those coming up soon) and other good occasions for about a week for each one. And so Saturday started the week of celebration for Ryan Orgad’s first birthday. The actual day is Thursday, but we always get these things started early.
Mostly, I’ll let Ellen’s pictures below tell Sunday’s story, but there is one piece I want to add:
Before Annie was born, Ellen and I were talking about what our hopes were for our first born. I remember saying, “I hope he/she has a wonderful smile.” If you’ve followed Annie these three plus decades, you know that indeed happened.
But so did something else. Annie married Edan Orgad who has his own wonderful smile. And then they had three kids in five years, each of them came with a wonderful smile too.
Enjoy the photos:
30 Wednesday Apr 2014
Posted in Family and Friends
Do you have (or know someone who has) a laptop computer that is not being used?
How about an iPad, a tablet, or even an e-reader (Kindle, etc.)?
You can put your ‘used’ technology to good use by donating it to The Rainforest Academy in rural Belize. Your donation will help young people who do not presently have access to technology.
28 Monday Apr 2014
Posted in Family and Friends
12. “You may be Big Brother, and I may be Little Brother right now. But one day, when I am 2 inches taller than you and outweigh you by 16 pounds, you will be Elder Brother, and I will be Younger Brother.”
Submitted by Land Weyland of Chino, California.
When I asked Land if he was Big Brother, Little Brother, Elder Brother, and/or Younger Brother, he wrote:
