It's a Jungle Out There

No Resolutions, Just Change

2012-01-08T08:41:00.004-05:00

I am not the typical Type A personality. A friend always told me I am over-achiever. I was never sure what that meant. I just went to an online dictionary and read the definition. I think it was supposed to be a compliment. Not sure about that either.

I am also not a resolution maker. I used to be but I was never very good about keeping them, and I just set myself up for failure and disappointment. I know I'm not the only one in that boat. Have you ever been in a gym the first week of the year? It's standing room only for the machines. Check back in February. No problem.

Last year I did commit (not resolve) to use the 15th of each month as Purge Day. While I didn't purge on exactly the 15th, I did get rid of something/clean out a drawer/closet during each month.

Very refreshing. At least until this past week when I wanted something I had tossed 10 days before. But I will keep purging on a regular basis.

What I have committed to for 2012 is to finish things I start. I don't mean the painting I began in 1991 or the quilt I started in 1986. Rather, when I have something in my hand with a destination, I will NOT put it down on the counter half way there when I get distracted by something else. Although as I look around my kitchen counters right now I see two things that need to be put away. Be right back.

Okay I'm back. I put away the couple things I noticed. I also put clean dishes from last night away, took my vitamins, washed a couple more things and got another cup of coffee. I'm not sure if that's a plus or a minus considering I distracted myself from writing my blog about getting distracted.

I guess I'm a work in progress.

Any resolutions for you this year?

Hello Again

2012-01-07T09:44:00.010-05:00

I'm back. How many times have I said that in a post?

When I was trying to think of a title, I thought Hello Again worked. A couple weeks ago we watched the most recent Kennedy Center annual awards and Neil Diamond was honored. He must be 100 years old. I remember him when I was a kid. He's still a great performer. He's written so many songs that went on to be big hits not only for himself but for other entertainers. I saw Shrek, The Musical last week, too. Know the song "I'm a Believer?" Neil wrote it.

But I digress. So what I have I been doing over the last 10 weeks? Mostly I have been watching Paul suffer through a back injury, subsequent surgery and post-op recovery. Weeks before the surgery, which took place the week of Thanksgiving, he was in agony. I've never seen someone hurt that much. There wasn't much I could do but I tried to be home as much as I could.

The surgery. There have been serious complications which he has been dealing with since. Next week we're getting a second opinion. We'll see what comes of that.

Then there's my work with Adopt-a-Family. That take a tremendous amount of my time and energy from September through December. Most of that work is done now but I'm still spending a few hours a week trying to wrap everything up for another year.

Then there's the usual stuff that we all deal with, especially during the holidays. I can't say I'm sorry it's over for another year. As for the whole year 2011, good riddance, I say. It wasn't a great year for us, and it was a difficult year for many of my family and friends. New Year's Eve I kicked its ass right out. Here's hoping 2012 will be happier, healthier and more prosperous (whatever that means to you) for all of us.

As for the blog, I've thought about it a lot. I've wondered if I would ever get back to it. I've got several posts half written and many more ideas. I guess I'm not ready to wrap it up. Here I am.

Hello again.

Redheads Need Not Apply

2011-09-23T00:01:00.001-04:00

Cryos International, one of the world’s largest sperm banks, says they have more sperm from redheads in stock than they have requests for so they have stopped taking donations from redheads. They’ll make an exception if you have brown eyes.

Don’t sperm banks pay for donations? So if you’re a redhead whose been making a living through sperm donation, you just became unemployed. Can you imagine filling out THAT application for unemployment benefits? What if you have those contacts that change your eye color? Could they tell?

Apparently there’s a glut of redheaded sperm in the market. Somehow that sounds disgusting. They say they have 140,000 doses of sperm from redheads in stock. Do they keep them on shelves in a walk-in freezer or what?

The demand for redheads is still high in Ireland but the rest of the world, not so much. Cryos International’s office is located in Denmark. If they are getting most of their donations locally, what do they expect? But they also said they aren’t taking any more Scandinavian donors either unless they have brown eyes.

Worldwide only 4% are redheaded, in the US only 2% of the population are natural redheads The country with the highest percentage is Scotland with 13%. Since the sperm bank is looking for more Black, Asian, Hispanic, Mediterranean and mixed-race donors, maybe they should branch out and open an office somewhere else in the world.

I know what the issue is. Redheaded girls are okay but redheaded boys are not. That’s not my opinion, just my observation. Whenever I see a little redhead, boy or girl, I always tell them “Redheads are special.” It’s not easy being a redhead.

I am a redhead. My mother is a brown-eyed brunette and Dad was a blue-eye blond. So where did my red hair come from? Apparently from my mother’s father although he died before color photos so we don’t know for sure.

No one expected me to be a redhead. The story is when Mom was pregnant there was a family joke that if the baby had red hair, they would drown it. Yeah, I don’t think it’s very funny either. So out I come with a head covered with orange peach fuzz. Whoops!

I never really cared for my hair. I hated my freckles, too. I was six feet tall at 13 years old; which made me a 6’ 13-year-old redhead, which was really not easy. Do you know tall boys are at 13? About 5’3.

I was about 28 years old when I realized that being a 6’ redhead wasn’t such a bad thing. Apparently lots of women, and maybe their men, wish they were redheads. Supposedly 30% of women who dye their hair go red as opposed to 26% blonde and 27% brunette.

But don’t me get going about the names they call redheads. I HATED being called Red. Carrot Top was the worst. The only nickname I didn’t mind was Rusty. Sounds like a stripper. One time my granddaughter Madeleine looked at me and said “Your hair’s not red, Grama, it’s ORANGE.” Out of the mouths of babes.

Redheads are known for having tempers. Redheads don't turn grey, they turn white. We also tend to lose our color later in life than people with other colors. I can attest to that. The white in my hair makes it look blonde, but I refuse to put any permanent color in it. Paul hates it when someone refers to his wife as a blonde. “She’s a redhead!” He likes saying his wife is a 6’ redhead.

I found this website that has all kinds of crazy info about redheads. It also has this quote from a very famous redhead (who wasn’t a natural redhead) which I think is terrific:

"Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead."
Lucille Ball

Live Aid Part 2

2011-09-22T11:30:00.002-04:00

I got some interesting comments about my first Live Aid post. "You went to Live Aid?!" I think they meant "I can't believe YOU did something so cool." Everyone said "I watched Live Aid on television!" The unspoken part of the comment was "Right before Mom put me down for my afternoon nap." Just kidding!!

As I mentioned, Joan Baez opened the show with Good morning children of the 80's. This is your Woodstock and it's long overdue. For the record, I am NOT a child of the 80's. I'm a child of the 60's. Or maybe late 60's early 70's.

I was too young to have been at Woodstock in 1969. And I didn't watch it on television because it wasn't ON television. I did, however, have the double album. And I could recite every announcement, every introduction and sing every word to every song. And I had to hide said album from my father who didn't approve of some of the lyrics.

Twenty-nine years old at Live Aid, I think I may have been older than the majority of the crowd. There were performers and bands there I didn't really know or care about but there were plenty I did.

I had a Cream poster in 1967. I am a huge Eric Clapton fan. EC was at Live Aid, one of the highlights of the day for me. I never saw Cream in concert but I've seen EC many times. Believe it or not I remember he did She's Waiting, Layla and White Room that day. Phil Collins played drums.

Then there was Ozzy. Another early favorite of mine when he was with Black Sabbath. I had their first album entitled Black Sabbath. I have a newspaper article with the schedule for Live Aid. Ozzy had the unfortunate timing of the 9:50 a.m. slot. Can you imagine? The Prince of Darkness at 10 a.m. Just doesn't seem right.

Then there was Madonna. Right after the big story broke that she had posed for Playboy and Penthouse. Her name was everywhere in the news, and her career took off after that. When she took the stage that day there was a lot of whistling and cheering from the crowd. Her first comment was "I ain't takin' shit off today."

A few months before their album Live at the Apollo was released Daryl Hall & John Oates (Hall & Oates)and David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick of The Temptations-fame played at Live Aid. I'm a huge fan of Motown, and they put on an awesome show. They played late in the evening but they got the tired, sunburned crowd on our feet singing and dancing. Unfortunately David and Eddie died a few years later.

Then there was Mick Jagger and Tina Turner. During their duet of "It's Only Rock and Roll" Mick took off his shirt. In the video you can see he continues the chorus, and goes to the side of the stage. When he comes back to the stage he's in a new shirt and a different pair of pants. As they continue the song you can see Mick reach over, grab something and rip Tina's leather skirt off. She finishes the song in a leotard. Clearly an early wardrobe malfunction.

I looked over some of the yellowed newspaper articles I collected before and after Live Aid including some critics' reviews. Critical is right. They were tough. Nobody there cared. I was too far back from the stage to really see and watched on giant display screens, early Diamond Vision. The quality was terrible but nobody cared. We were there.

On the way in there were signs everywhere saying cameras were prohibited. I think the ticket said that, too. Bags were searched at the gates. In my backpack I had water, snacks, sunscreen, shorts, t-shirt and my Olympus OM10 35mm. They never said a thing.

The concert sold out. We paid $65 for tickets which said $35 on them. Which is a bargain now and not bad then for so much music. Back in the day I used to go to 2-3 concerts a month, and the price of a ticket was about $5. I went to so many concerts in my teens and 20's it's a wonder I can hear.

There were other Live Aid events in several countries in addition to London and Philadelphia and they were all linked by satellite. It was called a Global Jukebox and one article talked about the "technical wizardry." We saw cables between poles all over the stadium. You'd see remote-controlled cameras run back and forth across the cables filming the crowd. How far we've come.

That was the first time I saw the human wave. There were beach balls bouncing all over the stadium. The temperature got up into the 90's and they used fire hoses to try to cool the crowd down. I don't now how well it worked. Sunstroke and heat exhaustion were the medical issues of the day. There were very few reports of drug overdoses.

After the show news reports quoted security as saying "it was so calm it was scary" and "fewer problems than any sporting event." I remember back then, even at large concerts like Live Aid, people were well behaved. I never saw anyone arrested at shows in the 70's and 80's. Probably because they were all mellow from the pot. I did see lots of flasks, wine skins and bottles confiscated or poured out at the door but that was part of the fun, to see if you could get something in.

That day there were reports of up to 85 women waiting in line for the restroom. The one time I went I waited in line for 30 minutes and then went into the men's rooms. I don't know about now but back then it was pretty common to see women going into the men's room.

But, of course, the show was supposed to raise money to help end hunger in Africa. Supposedly a lot of money was raised. How much of it actually got where it was supposed to go, who knows. But I'm pretty sure most of the people there that day, myself included, were not thinking about anything other than the music and the experience.

Listen to Yourself

2011-09-21T06:59:00.005-04:00

Have you ever had a visit with a doctor that just didn't feel right? That happened to me yesterday. Nothing specific but I just didn't feel comfortable. I noticed the office wasn't as clean or organized as I expect, but I didn't think it was enough to make me leave. I wish I had followed my instincts at that time and left. But because I had waited to get the appointment I thought I should stay.

I guess my discomfort showed because towards the end of the appointment the doctor actually asked You just don't want to be here, do you? I said no and told him not to take it personally.

The practice was a specialty that my regular doc referred me to. The guy I saw was actually an associate in the practice of the doctor she suggested. But I couldn't get an appointment as soon as I wanted and since it was the same practice I thought it didn't matter. No need to get into the particulars but I'll tell you I'll only go back for a review of the tests.

If further tests or treatments are suggested, I'll be looking for another referral.

As I often tell others, you are your own best advocate. Educate yourself to the best of your ability, ask questions (that's never a problem for me) but most importantly Follow your gut. If something makes you uncomfortable, don't put yourself in that situation again.

Just sayin'

We Were the World

2011-09-12T08:28:00.011-04:00

It's 11 p.m. Friday, July 12, 1985. After working second shift my significant other of the time came to my house, and we climbed into my lime green Pinto and headed south.

We drove through the night and arrived at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium just before 7 a.m. The gates opened soon after when we filed in to show our $35 tickets that we paid $65 for. It's general admission but the crowd is amazingly orderly. No pushing, no shoving just a lot of very excited music lovers.

At nine o'clock Joan Baez came onto the stage and said Good morning children of the 80's. This is your Woodstock and it's long overdue. The place went nuts.

That's how The Live Aid concert for African famine relief began in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. There was another concert going on at the same time in Wembley Stadium in London, England and both venues were telecast worldwide.

I remember hearing that there was only one arrest at JFK in a crowd of more than 100,000. Now parents brawl at their kids' little league games.

Once inside we had to decide what side of the stadium would be best. Forget the field. There's no seating and will be shoulder to shoulder all day. There would also never be any shade.

I'm a redhead which means the sun and I are not friends. It can burn me like toast. I needed shade for at least part of the day. I was prepared with water in a plastic Tupperware jug (no little bottles of water back then), sunscreen, light clothes, food and my white fedora. I was very cool in my fedora which I still have.

There was a point about mid-afternoon when the sun began to get to me, and I was getting dizzy. I remember he said We can leave. To which I replied No way, I'll go inside, throw up and come back before we'll leave. It didn't quite come to that.

The one time I did go to the bathroom it took me 30 minutes, and I missed a whole act. I vowed not to need to do that again. Stopped drinking water, stopped bathroom breaks.

Can you see me there in the section on the right about half-way up? Maybe not.

The 16-hour, all-day and much-of-the-night concert featured some of the biggest names in rock music, including Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Madonna, Bob Dylan, and Paul McCartney some in Philly, some in London. Phil Collins actually played both sides of the Atlantic. He played in London then got on the Concorde and came to play for us.

Between the two stadiums there were nearly 175,000 people and another 1.5 billion viewed it on TV. The event, organized by Bob Geldorf of The Boomtown Rats raised over $100 million. The phone lines worldwide were repeatedly jammed by people calling to donate during the concert.

The show lasted in Philly until 11:30 p.m. when more than 100,000 people walked, stumbled and dragged themselves, once again in very orderly fashion, out to the parking lot and into a two-hour traffic jam. We drove north a couple hours and found a hotel off the highway where after more than 40 hours without sleep we collapsed and slept for 12 hours. Those were the days.

Here's part of the line up in Philadelphia:

Duran Duran, The Hooters, Bob Dylan, Four Tops, Patti Labelle, Hall & Oates, Billy Ocean, Ozzy Osbourne, Run DMC, Rick Springfield, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Judas Priest, Bryan Adams, The Beach Boys, George Thoroughgood & The Destroyers, Bo Didley, Simple Minds, The Pretenders, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Madonna, Neil Young, Tom Petty, The Cars, Kenny Loggins, and too many others to name. Some are gone (some really gone) and some are still rocking.

In anticipation of the event I started collecting magazines and then newspaper clipping afterwards. Everything I could find I put into an album along with photos I took that day.

Here's some my memorabilia including my ticket, concert program, fan, and the magazines and newspaper articles.

And now I've decided it needs to go. I'm putting it up for auction on eBay. Let's hope someone else is as notalgic for those days as I am.

The Purple Suede Jacket

2011-09-11T07:00:00.001-04:00

When Paul and I began dating in the early 80's I had been divorced for a couple years. I managed to keep the house in the divorce. Of course, the mortgage came with it. Although it was a very satisfying feeling to own my own home, financially it was a struggle. I used to say my money ran out before the month did.

There was a little boutique back then where I liked to window shop. One day there was a purple suede jacket that I just had to have. It was definitely not in the budget but I bought it anyway. Before taking off the tags I showed it to Paul.

The next time we went out he asked where my purple suede jacket was. I told him I had decided to return it. He asked why and I said I had changed my mind. When he pushed for a better reason I sheepishly said I found out I needed two new tires for my car, and I couldn't afford both. His immediate response was Let me buy it for you. So I kept the purple suede jacket and over the years nearly wore it out.

Eventually it went out of style, or at least out of MY style, but I never gave it away. It's still in a garment bag at the back of a closet. I checked this morning. At first I couldn't find it and I got a funny feeling in my stomach and thought I couldn't have. A little more searching and there it was.

This morning while talking about purging some clothes, Paul said we have entirely too many jackets and coats and need to give some to charity. I agreed but thought But not my purple suede jacket.

One day, hopefully far into the future, when the grandkids are cleaning out our house they will come upon a purple suede jacket and I'm sure they will wonder Did Grandma really wear this? Yup, I sure did.

Next Time I'll Get It Right

2011-09-09T17:21:00.003-04:00

I have been in the airport and clapped when spontaneous applause broke out when a group of soldiers in uniform came through the gate.

I was part of the screaming, clapping throng of family and friends in the hangar at Quonset Point Naval Air Station when my cousin Nelson came home four years ago from his second tour in Iraq. A National Guardsman since he was 18, Nel was 54 years old at the end of that tour. I still get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when I think of that day.

I know about the Thank a Soldier Gratitude Campaign. So why did I hesitate to show my sign of gratitude to the man in uniform I saw getting his groceries in the market yesterday? I thought about it. I was uncomfortable. I thought he might not be aware of the gesture. Pretty lame excuses.

Please take a moment and watch this video.

Next time I'll get it right. I promise.

Good Night and Goodbye Irene

2011-09-07T13:05:00.005-04:00

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit us last week. Even so with high winds and rain, more than half the population of the state lost power, some for more than a week.

We were without power for three days. The 25# of ice in blocks I froze in preparation wasn't enough to keep our refrigerator cold long enough to avoid losing most of what was in it. It was no great loss.

The deck looked like a whole tree had been shredded. We had two trees come down in the yard and a fence was blown down. We were lucky. The picture above is a tree in one neighbor's yard that fell and landed on another neighbor's house.

There is no public water in our area so we have a private well. The water is pumped from the well into the house. No power, no pump, no water. And no flushing toilets. You can flush by pouring a bucket of water into the tank but you have to have that water available, too.

We were fairly well prepared. Paul had filled a container with a few gallons of drinkable water, and I had bought three gallons of bottled water. We filled up two other containers which probably held a total of ten gallons to flush toilets with and wash with.

It is amazing how little water we used. We did the usual washing and brushing of teeth. Paul heated water to take a half cold bath/shower a couple times. I went to my mother's once for a hot shower. She had running, hot water.

We managed to cook a few meals. First on the camp stove in the garage while the storm was going and then on the gas grill later. I used regular dishes and heated water to wash them.

When the lights came on after three days we had only used part of the utility water and were no where near using all the potable water. We were stunned by how little water we had used.

Even though we think we are fairly conservative and try not to waste water, it was amazing how little we managed to exist on. I guess we should try a little harder.

Trips Down Memory Lane

2011-08-27T14:22:00.006-04:00

I know few of you are from Rhode Island but I thought I'd share (read steal) this post from the company blog. It included me and a note about my purchase of a Les Paul guitar for $150 back in 1972 when I was 16.

It was a fun post and I was glad to be included. Take a read.

Meet My Friend Sophie

2011-08-05T20:42:00.009-04:00

My first apartment was on the third floor of a beautiful Victorian house that had been converted to apartments in the 50's. Our apartment was in what had been the servants' quarters. With 1,500 sf of living space, 9' ceilings and huge rooms, it was a mansion compared to the little house I grew up in with a bedroom that measured 6x10. I loved my apartment.

Harry and Sophie were an older couple who lived on the first floor. Harry worked in New York City. Every Monday morning Sophie drove him to the train in Providence and then picked him up on Thursday.

Sophie was alone a lot. And so was I. I was 19 when we first moved there. If I was having a bad day or just needed an ear, I would knock on her door with some made-up question, and she always seemed to know that I needed someone to talk to. She would invite me in for a cup of tea, and we would sit and talk for hours. She was so wise, and I loved spending time with her.

Their apartment was full of odds and ends of furniture. Sophie refinished many of the chairs and tables herself. But what I remember most was her needlepoint. She had pillows everywhere and had recovered chairs and sofas with her needlepoint.

Her apartment was so cool. It was the main living area when the house had been lived in by a single family. It had huge rooms, 11' foot ceilings, massive windows and a marble fireplace. It was what I envisioned apartments in New York City must look like. Sophie had such style.

Fast forward 30 years. Last week someone who also knew Harry and Sophie back then mentioned her name. He had seen it on his cousin Judy's schedule. Judy is a hairdresser and colors Sophie's hair. What are the odds?

I've thought about Sophie over the years and took this as a sign I needed to call her. I found her telephone number and called. "Sophie?" "Yes" "This is Sandy from Prospect Street." "Who?" "Sandy from the third floor on Prospect Street." "Sandy?! I can't believe it!"

Sophie is 95 years old.

Yesterday we had our first visit in nearly 30 years. We spent the afternoon sitting on her sofa surrounded by so many of the pillows I remember. Although there are many, many more now. The sofa is a different one but there were chairs, pictures, paintings, drawings and a piano that I remember. And Sophie still has the style, wit and sense of humor I remember 36 years ago when we first met.

She wears hearing aids and can't do her needlework any longer because of arthritic hands. She's a little frail in body but her spirit and mind are just as strong as ever. We had a wonderful visit. She couldn't believe the things I remembered about our days as neighbors, and I couldn't believe how little she had changed. We laughed and reminisced about Prospect Street. And we shared sad stories and a few tears.

The afternoon flew by, and I didn't want to leave. When I finally had to go, we promised each other that we would visit again soon. As we stood at the door and hugged she looked into my face and was still saying "I can't believe it, I can't believe you called." And I said "Sophie, once you're in my heart, you're always in my heart." I'm so glad I called her and can't wait to see her again. Maybe I'll just knock on her door with some made-up question.

It's Usually Nice to be Nice

2011-07-23T17:21:00.006-04:00

Recently one of the bloggers I follow wrote about meeting some new people in Ottawa while there on business and how well they got along.

She said that she meets nice people everywhere she goes and said part of that is because she talks to everyone.

That sounds like me. Although no one ever believes me, I was very shy until my late 20’s. It’s amazing what reservoirs within yourself a divorce forces you to tap into. Today I'll start a conversation with just about anyone anywhere.

In my business (real estate) I meet new people all the time. I used to do a lot of relocation work. Not so much lately since people seem to be leaving Rhode Island rather than arriving. Often the realtor is the first person someone new to the area meets. I’ve had relo clients in my car for 4-5 hours at a time. I’ve always said I can make the smallest talk you’ve ever heard.

And because I’m often the first person they meet, I’m also the first impression of what folks here are like. We New Englanders seem to have a reputation for being cold, stand-offish and not welcoming to newcomers. I’ve never quite understood that because I just think we are the warmest and fuzziest people on earth. But I’ve heard it often enough to know that's the word on the street.

At some point in the day I usually mention that I was born and raised here. Often I hear “Gee, you don’t sound like you’re from Rhode Island.” My answer to that is “Thank you, thank you.” I have worked for years on neutralizing my RI accent for a variety of reasons, but mostly because it can sound downright dumb.

My favorite comment heard from a relo client was a woman who said “You’re not at all what I expected. You’re really nice.” She said it like she had just tasted Japanese puffer fish and found she liked it. I really didn’t know what to say after thank you. I just smiled.

What I wanted to say was “glad I could dispel that myth for you, lady. Now get out of my car and go home.” But I would have said it with a smile.

Happy Birthday, Paul

2011-07-21T00:01:00.004-04:00

Today is Paul's birthday. I wrote a post on his birthday two years ago. It's one of my favorites so I thought I'd repost it today. It says everything that's still in my heart. So here it is.

2011-07-19T00:01:00.001-04:00

So Paul runs into this couple we know from a restaurant we all like to go to. They chat for a bit and then Bentley asks Paul what he thinks his best attribute is. Paul thinks about it and says his moustache. Paul has a great handlebar moustache that lots of people, men and women, comment on.

Bentley says "No, your wife!" Gonna have to buy that man a drink the next time we see them at Joe's.

Grrroogle

2011-07-18T08:51:00.008-04:00

I got up really early this morning all set to sit for a couple hours to read some of my favorite blogs that I have neglected for a long, long time.

I was off to a good start until Google Reader began to throw me out every time I attempted to post a comment

If I had more time and more technical knowledge I would move right over to WordPress but I don't and I don't so I'm stuck here for now.

I really miss some of you and certainly can catch up on my reading but I know I like comments to let me know who has visited so I hate to not leave a message. Oh well, I tried. I'll try again later but for now, I'm off to work.

Have a great day.

Sleeping is Such a Waste of Time

2011-07-10T00:01:00.002-04:00

I haven't used an alarm clock in at least 15 years. Unless I am getting on an early plane. Then I set three clocks and still wake up every hour. I probably should just stay up.

It's not that I have any real trouble sleeping. But I usually wake up about 5:30 a.m. Then my brain starts to run, and I lay there thinking about things I could be doing, lots of things I'd like to be doing. Sometimes I'll stay there and try to go back to sleep but most of the time I get up. It's my favorite time of the day. If the weather is right, I'll sit on the deck with my coffee and the dogs. Or I'll read.

Even as a teenager I don't remember sleeping late. Lots of nights when I wake up, I'll turn on my light and read for a little while until I feel sleepy again. Those mornings when I let myself go back to sleep and then wake up after 7:00 a.m., my first thought is What a waste of time.

Would You Like Some Cheese With That Whine?

2011-07-09T11:53:00.006-04:00

The whole month of June and the first week of July have disappeared since I last posted. Paul even mentioned last week that I haven't posted in a long time. Nice to know he checks occasionally. I suppose the five of you who visit have moved on.

So where have I been? I’ve had a few ideas but nothing very interesting to say and I'm tired on whining. But the only way to really explain my absence is to whine a little.

The last few months have not been much fun. Let's see, in March I broke my wrist. After seven weeks in a brace it's healed but I still have an area that hurts, so I'm going back to have it checked. Who knows what that is?

Also in March Paul was diagnosed with a herniated disc, L4-L5. It was probably caused by a heel stomp on a frozen beaver dam last winter. Damned dam. The ground and dam weren't frozen the last time he stomped on it to break it up, so who knew?

I picture the beavers watching from across the swamp doubled up with laughter at the stupid human laying on the ground in pain after NOT destroying their dam. Yes, I know it sounds like there's a story in there. There is but for another time. Maybe that will keep you coming back.

So the orthopedic doctor said surgery was an option but there were other treatments to try before going that route. One option was steroid injections which helped ease the pain but didn't do enough to avoid surgery. So we lost a couple months there.

The surgeon needed an approval from the GP who ordered a stress test which fortunately, or unfortunately, showed two blockages. This past Wednesday, after a heart catheterization, a stent was implanted in one artery and the other was opened with angioplasty.

And I know, people say...."Oh, a stent. That's no big deal." Anytime someone is sticking a pointy thing in my heart, it’s a whopping big deal. Paul had a stent implanted in 2000 after a heart attack so he knew what to expect but this time it was more complicated. Not only because he's eleven years older, but also because he laid on the table in the operating room for nearly 4 hours waiting for the second doctor.

It went well and that’s behind him but there's still the issue of the back surgery which now can't be done for at least eight weeks. In the meantime, more damage is being done to the nerve which the doctor said is being 'crushed.' Usually you hear of nerves being 'pinched.' I'd rather be pinched than crushed. This sounds to me like it's a bit more severe.

Hopefully the next couple months will go quickly. And maybe then I won't have anything to whine about. Nah, I'll probably find something else.

Where is My Mind? I Know I Packed It

2011-06-06T00:01:00.001-04:00

Paul and I just returned from our annual week on "The Beach" in North Carolina. For those of you NOT in the know, that's the Outer Banks or OBX. One day during the week we visited Edenton, a little town inland. When Paul asked a store owner where she lives she said 'on the beach.' Beach? What beach is near here? She meant the Outer Banks, about 90 minutes away. So now we just call it "the beach." As in, "We just got back from a week on 'the beach' in North Carolina."

I love road trips. I hate road trips. I love them because I can bring EVERYTHING. I hate them because I can bring EVERTHING. And I do. That used to mean clothes, shoes, and my lotions and potions. Now it means that plus the electronic stuff. The picture above is the inventory of the equipment I brought. That would be:

One laptop

One iPad

One iPhone

Four cameras

One PDA (I just keep it around for the old memos and numbers I haven't transferred yet. Or as a friend said "Because I like to carry a lot of shit around."

Plus all the cords, mice, thumb drives, card readers and I don't know what else.

As for clothes, I pack one suitcase but as Paul begins to load the 4-Runner, I keep tossing things in. Hey, there's room. Why not fill it?

Paul's motto always was pack light, carry money. Somehow I've just never learned how to do that. I'd rather just bring everything. And I do.

It's Six O'Clock. Do You Know Where Your Pets Are?

2011-05-18T17:31:00.003-04:00

I was sitting here a couple hours ago and suddenly Rosey and Lucy ran for the slider like they wanted to kill something. There was a beautiful Husky standing on the deck looking into the kitchen.

I went out through the garage and called him off the deck and out of their sight. He romped over to me in the yard. I checked; no tags, just a training collar. I tried to shoo him out of the yard but he just wanted to play.

I've never seen him before. We live on a country road, and the houses are a little ways apart. I know all the families nearby and have never seen this dog. Paul thought he had seen him in the area but didn't know where he belonged.

I reluctantly tried to chase him out of the yard, Lucy and Rosey were still having fits in the house, but he just kept coming back to me. Finally he wandered off to the house next door where he tried to get in the door. I heard loud voices trying to shoo him away.

It seemed like he was lost and trying to find a house to get into. If I didn't have two dogs who don't share I would have brought him in while we tried to find his owner but that wasn't going to happen. Lucy the Jack Russell Terror wanted to rip his throat out. Rosey thought he was a little too friendly if you know what I mean.

Finally he wandered off. Paul called and left a message for the town dog officer. We made a couple calls to neighbors further down the road but no one knew him.

I don't see him out in the yard or around the road, and now I'm wishing he would come back. We'd keep him in the garage at least over night but now he's gone, and I'm going to worry wondering what happened to him.

A dog can wander off. That can happen to anyone. But why would you not have tags on him so that someone could find who he belongs to?

An Aha! Moment

2011-05-14T16:08:00.006-04:00

I can be a bit messy. There! I've said it.

Right now you can barely see the dining room table because of all my 'stuff.' But I have to give credit where it's due in saying that Paul really doesn't gripe about my messiness too often even though he's pretty organized. His brother David was here doing some carpentry work a few years ago. He needed a certain grit sandpaper and over the telephone Paul was able to tell David exactly where the sandpaper was in the green cabinet in the garage where he kept it in increasing order of grit. He's that kind of organized, in some ways.

So Paul doesn't complain often about my clutter but he has always been on my case about drawers and kitchen cabinets left open. He has bitched at me enough over the years that I make a concerted effort not to leave them open. Especially after he walked into a kitchen cabinet door I had left open and snapped it right off, not at the hinges either. Fortunately David was here and repaired it.

However, Paul is not without some organized messiness of his own. We have a wooden bowl on the island in the kitchen which is supposed to be a fruit bowl. Right now in addition to an apple there is also a deposit slip, rebate coupon for wine, several envelopes and a note about a landscaper. We actually had some bananas go bad in there last week because we couldn't see them under the papers.

This I will not take the blame for although I know he will say some of the stuff in there is mine. I wouldn't do that if he didn't start it. There is always a pile of keys, cell phone, pen, glasses and notes which do not belong to me beside the fruit bowl. Somehow some of it often migrates into the bowl.

It has come to my attention recently that leaving drawers and doors open is beyond my control.

We were watching some cop show last week and when the detectives came into the apartment of a missing person, one of them commented on the condition of the place because it looked like it had been ransacked. The other cop's response was "unless a girlfriend or wife was here." When the first cop seemed puzzled the other guy said "you know how it is, women leave drawers and doors open thinking they are coming back to it, and they don't."

Aha! You see, I can't help it, I'm wired that way.

Two Years of Scribbling

2011-05-07T10:28:00.016-04:00

On April 9, 2009 I wrote my first post here at It's a Jungle Out There. As of today I have published 273 posts. That sounds like an incredible amount of words.

When I began I really didn't have a clue what would be or could be involved with writing a blog.

I made a pledge to myself never to write about politics or religion which I've been true to. I have written about happy times and sad times. I've written silly posts. I've used it as a place to vent, and I've often used it as a way to says thanks.

Occasionally it begins to feel like a job, and that's when I take a break. So far I've always come back.

It seems I write well enough to make people laugh a little and cry a little. I have a few regular readers, and I appreciate their loyalty.

Many followers have come and gone, too, so maybe I've bored a few. I love to hear from people through comments but in the long run, this is for me. I have a gadget that shows me how many people visit on any given day and where they came from. I can tell from locations that a few friends and family are checking in.

At the beginning of last year I found a site where you can have your blog made into a book. I did and I love it. I had another made with my 2010 posts and plan to do it every year. I think of it as a yearbook and a great way to look back. And I don't have to worry about losing my blog to some computer glitch. Here's what they look like.

Occasionally I pick one up and browse. I did that recently and found some posts I had forgotten. I thought I'd republish some of my favorites. It was difficult to narrow it down to these few but here they are.

The first one is about my friends Chet and Nellie and our search for their horse farm. Recently Nellie was considering buying another horse. The people she was buying from wanted references. She sent them a link to this post.

This one about Colonel James Kasler is one that most touches my heart. I did try to find Colonel Kasler to share this with him. I found some people who know him who I think forwarded a link on to him. I never heard from him but I hope he read it.

This is about a lecture given by Elie Wiesel. For me hearing this man speak was a chance of a lifetime. Very powerful and very important.

And this one about Ben is a happy post. I write lots about our dogs, Rosey and Lucy, but this one is about a golden retriever that I helped find a home for.

If you are a regular follower, thanks for stopping by; if you're not, I hope you enjoy.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

2011-05-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

One of the bloggers who I read regularly wrote recently about watching the movie Black Swan and then going to bed. I haven't seen the movie, and probably won't, but I've heard it's pretty creepy. I don't care for scary movies much. I prefer to be entertained not scared.

Debby told about hearing weird noises in the house after going to bed that night. Her husband apparently sent her downstairs to find out what it was. He probably didn't hear it and figured she could ruin her night's sleep rather than his. She said the noise lasted for 20 minutes and she never found out what it was.

Regarding things that go bump in the night, Paul is just about deaf in his left ear. I learned that on our first date when we sat at the bar in a noisy restaurant waiting for our table. As we chatted I had the feeling he couldn't hear me but didn't find out for sure until later.

It's the result of shooting without ear protection. Usually when you are right-handed when you shoot a shot gun or a rifle, you use your right eye to sight on the target and you tuck your right ear into your shoulder. Your left ear is exposed to the percussion of the gun. Sounds like I know what I'm talking about. Living with a shooter/hunter for 25 years you learn these things.

He told me by the time you realize you've damaged your ear, you're saying a lot of "Huh? What?" and it's too late. So I learned early that if I want him to hear me, I should be on his right side. If I want to mumble things about him, I should be on his left.

So what ear do you think he puts to the pillow at night? The good one. Consequently he hears just about nothing. I, on the other hand, wake up when a mouse farts in the attic.

And we do have mice in the attic. And they dance above my head at night. I think they are doing the rumba.

Paul did wake up one night to find me standing on the bed pounding my fist on the wall above the bed trying to scare the mice away. I don't think they ran away. I think they just held still until I laid back down. Then they started again.

We don't have a small house. Why do they feel they have to dance in the corner of the attic above my side of the bed? Why can't they dance over the spare bedroom?

Want To Play Barbies?

2011-05-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

Recently someone donated a Barbie doll to us at Adopt-a-Family. We buy and give away dozens of Barbies every year so what makes this one remarkable?

She's a 1964 dark brunette swirl ponytail Barbie doll that appears never to have been out of her box. I took her out, certainly not to play with her, but to take pictures. I've got her for auction on eBay with a reserve price of several hundred dollars.

Crazy you say? Not necessarily. Recently a 1963 vintage Barbie sold for $601.99. I'm hopeful our doll will sell for nearly that much.

See the label on the end of the box? It says Sears, Roebuck and Company and shows a price of $2.19. With inflation that would be $15.79 in 2011 dollars.

If you're interested, check her out here. Or maybe you're heading to your closet to dig out your own dolls from your childhood. When this auction is over I know I am.

What's the Buzz?

2011-05-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

Sunday on my FaceBook (yes, I reactivated my account but am spending very little time there) I posted:

The girls are here! All 12,000 of them. They arrived yesterday from Georgia, and we picked them up today. We moved them into their new house this afternoon and hopefully they will start decorating IMMEDIATELY. Honey for everyone for Christmas!

We've been talking about starting an apiary for a long time. It's a fascinating culture. I did a little beekeeping many, many years ago but was only a helper so my experience handling the bees was limited. But I do remember lots of information about apiculture and the equipment. This spring we looked into it and decided it was time.

We took a class offered by the local beekeepers' association. We met some local beekeepers and got some recommendations of vendors of equipment and bees. We bought some hives and frames, known as woodenware, and placed our order for 3 pounds of bees. Yes, you buy them by the pound. Most of the package bees bought in this area come from Georgia.

Paul painted the hive bodies, found a spot in the orchard and got the equipment out there. We picked the bees up Saturday, and I put them in the hive that afternoon. I felt really comfortable working with them. I wore a full suit, no sense in getting stung plus the more comfortable you are when handling them the better results you'll have with them.

The colony arrives with a mated queen. She's in a separate little cage with the bees and you have to put her into the hive in that little cage. She is usually able to get out in about 24 hours. We can't open the hive until they've had 3 days to get settled and the queen hopefully begins laying eggs.

One more day and I can look to see how they are doing! Here are some photos. I'll update more as things begin to happen.

Getting the equipment ready.

Paul brought the hives out to the orchard and picked the spot.

All ready! Just need bees.

This is what 3# of bees looks like.

That's me putting them into the hive.

Come on in.

So far, so good!

What an Eerie Feeling

2011-05-02T09:49:00.006-04:00

When I have trouble going back to sleep in the night I do what I call "read myself to sleep." There's always a book by my bed and right now it's Craig Mullaney's The Unforgiving Minute subtitled A Soldier's Education. Written in the first person, the book follows Mullaney, a West Point graduate, Rhodes scholar, Airborne Ranger and U. S. Army Captain, to his service in Afghanistan after 9/11.

An often brutal but very interesting book, it's a subject I wouldn't generally read but I'm glad I did. It might be a book we should all read to learn some of what our soldiers go through to prepare for service. But this isn't a book review.

This morning about 5 a.m., once again I couldn't get back to sleep. I flipped my reading light on and picked up The Unforgiving Minute. Not really a book that should put me to sleep, I figured I'd give it a try.

The point I had reached in the book was pivotal in Mullaney's career. The infantry platoon he was leading in Afghanistan was caught in a firefight with al-Queda fighters, and for the first time one of his soldiers was killed.

The incident occurred at an area called Losano Ridge which is about 2,000 feet from the Pakistani border. At the time the soldiers determined that some of the incoming attack originated in Pakistan. It was estimated that more than sixty al-Queda and Taliban fighters were killed.

I managed to go back to sleep for a couple hours. When I got up this morning the national news was reporting that Osama bin-Laden had been killed in an area of Afghanistan on the Pakistani border.

What a strange coincidence.

Hello, My Name Is........

2011-04-25T17:08:00.006-04:00

When I got married for the first time 36 years ago I thought it would be cool to hyphenate my maiden and married names. That lasted about 6 months, the name not the marriage, that lasted a little longer.

Since each name had three syllables and eight letters, it became cumbersome fast, so I opted to just go with the married name. I was 19, and wanted everyone to know I was married so I was fine with that.

I have known a few women who hyphenated their names. It seems less common now as more women opt to just keep their maiden names which makes more sense to me. Even those who use both names give their children their husband's surname rather than the hyphenated combination. I always wondered about that.

I finally saw what I worried about in the wedding announcements in Sunday's paper. Yvonne Hines-Bruce married Carl McCarthy and is now Yvonne Hines-Bruce McCarthy. I don't think that's going to fit on too many magazine subscription forms.

And what happens when their daughter, Jennifer Hines-Bruce McCarthy marries Joseph Jones-Smith Parker? Does she become Jennfer Hines-Bruce McCarthy Jones-Smith Parker? The kid's not going to be able to remember her name until she's 18. And imagine the monogram on the towels.

Sad News

2011-04-23T16:59:00.007-04:00

Here is a link to a post I wrote in July of 2009 about my friend Joe, aka Santa. When I wrote that post we didn't expect to see Joe again since his doctors had given him only months to live.

But Joe did things his way. He was back to volunteer that December with us when his 'boys', members of his motorcycle club, brought him in his motorized wheelchair to volunteer a few hours one night. Joe sat at a table and checked gifts out as the families picked them up. He called out the family numbers loud and strong, but at the end of the evening he was exhausted.

Last fall I got a call from Joe saying he planned to make an appearance during Distribution Week in December and would help as much as he could. Tuesday of that week in the middle of all the craziness of getting Christmas gifts to more than 2,000 needy kids I got a call on my cell from Joe. I found a quiet corner to sit and talk.

We had never talked often but I noticed a big difference in his voice. He was worn down and tired. He told me he was all done and couldn't fight any longer. He was calling in hospice.

We talked for a while, and for the first time he told me what brought him to help us originally. When his daughter was going through some tough times years earlier, she applied to Adopt-a-Family and we provided gifts for her two children. Things eventually improved for her and her kids, now grown and on their own, but she never forgot about us and neither did he.

At the end of our chat he said his daughter was coming to cover the time he had volunteered to work. I said it wasn't necessary but he said she wanted to and would be there.

I'll keep my last few words to Joe to myself. After we hung up I went into the bathroom and cried.

His daughter Kelley came by that evening and helped us. It was my first time meeting her and we talked about her dad and she confirmed the story he had told me. At the end of the evening I hugged her and asked her to keep us informed.

That was last December. We didn't hear anything from the family until yesterday afternoon when Frank, one of Joe's 'boys' from the bike club, called to tell me Santa had passed away that morning. Incredibly he had kept going two years longer than the doctors said he would.

As I said to Frank, he did it his way. As a group the Adopt-a-Family Board of Directors will be going to the services to pay our respects to our friend "Santa." And as I promised Joe, Paul and I will be riding in the memorial ride that will be held in his honor. It's the least I can do for such a loyal friend.

I Should Know Better

2011-04-20T06:07:00.000-04:00

Last night as we were heading upstairs to bed I happened to think that we haven't tested nor accidentally set off the smoke alarms in the house in a very long time.

I walked over and pushed the test button on the one in the upstairs hallway. I could see a red light inside but the alarm didn't go off. Our house is new enough so that the alarms are hardwired which means if one sounds, they all do. It didn't go off and none of the others did either.

I went back downstairs and pressed the test button on that one; nothing. We have been living in a house without smoke alarms!

As a real estate agent it's partly my job to have a property being conveyed to a new owner inspected prior to the sale by the city or town fire marshal. At the closing we have to have a certificate saying the house has been inspected within the last 60 days and the alarms (both smoke and carbon monoxide) are no older than ten years, working and properly placed . No certificate, no closing. It's state law.

And here we are, living in a house, for who knows how long, without functioning alarms. Our house is nearly 30 years old. So the detectors should have been changed long ago but since they had been working (I thought) I wasn't concerned.

I send post cards twice a year to clients reminding them to change their clocks because of daylight savings time AND to change the batteries in their smoke detectors. Talk about not following your own advice.

Shame on me, shame on us, mainly because I know better and because we have been living in a house WITHOUT smoke alarms. That's scary.

Have you checked your detectors lately?

Isn't That Special

2011-04-19T08:08:00.006-04:00

I have been trying to decide whether to purchase an iPad. A couple months ago I posted a comment on Facebook asking "Who has an iPad. Why? What do you use it for? Do you like it?" I got such a variety of answers they didn't really help.

This week I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy one. At nearly $1,000 for the 3G model, it's an investment. But I've debated it for so long it's not an impulsive purchase. Yesterday I went online and ordered it.

I just got an email telling me that my iPad was shipped.....from China. I guess I shouldn't be surprised but can't we find something made in America? Not an iPad, I guess.

I bought a pair of flip-flops a couple years ago that were made in Connecticut. When I saw that I just HAD to buy them. I try to find things to buy with the Made in America tag. It's nearly impossible. Even though the quality of American-made products has declined (if you can find one) I'd still rather buy something made right here in the good ol' US of A.

If anyone has one to recommend, let me know.

NOTE: My friend Anita mentioned a television show that talked about products still Made in the USA. I googled it and found this site.

There's a Blog For That

2011-04-15T06:00:00.003-04:00

You really can find a blog about anything and everything. I haven't heard the stats recently but not that long ago I read that there are 50 million blogs out there. I guess that explains why I only have 11 readers.

Last summer the day before we left for our cruise on the Danube River I purchased a new piece of jewelry. I knew it should be insured but I didn't have time to get it on our home owner's policy, and I was really worried about going away without insurance. When the jeweler gave me the appraisal I needed to insure it I mentioned that I didn't have time. He gave me a brochure from the Jewelers' Mutual Insurance Co. and said you can get a policy in one day.

Sure enough I called them, faxed the appraisal, gave them a credit card (of course) and received a policy that day. The surprising part was that they were considerably cheaper than my homeowners insurance.

Anywho, I got an email today from Jewelers' Mutual with a link to their blog. Today's post is about what to do if a piece of jewelry goes down the drain. An additional suggestion I've heard is to put a piece of nylon stocking or cheesecloth over the vac hose so that it doesn't actually go into the vac but even if it does, it's a lot easier to retrieve it that way than taking the plumbing apart, assuming it's still in the trap.

Better yet, take it off before getting into the shower.

Calgon, Take Me Away

2011-04-13T14:00:00.002-04:00

Reading about a blogger friend's trip to Turks and Caicos and looking at another friend's pictures from Jamaica and her daughter's destination wedding has me longing for a visit to Playa del Carmen, the Mexican Riviera. Not to mention this terrible winter that seems to be over.

My father died suddenly in November 2000 and Paul's father died the following January. To say that it was a difficult few months is an understatement. By the time February arrived we were exhausted, emotionally and physically. Beach vacations have never been a big draw for us. I'm a redhead so the sun is NOT my friend. The sun is not a problem for Paul with his Mediterranean heritage but he doesn't hold still very well and sitting on a beach has never interested him.

But that winter/spring we needed a vacation somewhere warm and mindless. I called our travel agent and said "Find us a place to go. It has to be warm. I want a pool and a beach. I want to be able to walk to the beach from my room. I don't want to take a a taxi, bus or donkey to get there, and I want to be able to walk back to my room if I want to use my own bathroom. The only decision I want to make is whether I want red wine or white wine with lunch. And I want top-shelf booze at the bars. I don't want to be drinking Jose's Vodka."

Bless her heart, Donna sent us to the all-inclusive Riu Palace in Playa del Carmen in Mexico, one of the best all-inclusive resorts in the area. It was paradise. There were palm trees close to the water so I could be in the shade and my easy-tanning husband could be in the sun.

Each morning I got up and sat on our balcony overlooking the beautiful resort and read. We would go to breakfast and head to the beach where I would read. After lunch and a little more time at the beach, I'd head back to our suite, get in the tub and read. It was wonderful.

Since our vacations typically include some sight-seeing, we took a day trip to Chichen Itza, a Mayan archaeological site. The day we visited coincidentally was the spring equinox which is one of two days in the year when the sun causes triangles to form on the main stairway of El Castillo pyramid. The sun creates a shadow that appears to be the body of a 120 foot long snake that creeps downwards until it joins a huge serpent's head at the bottom of the stairway. It's a day of pilgrimage for many locals, and we were lucky to be there on that particular day.

We went back to the resort every winter for a few years but it's probably six year since the last visit. So Julie's and Kathy's photos of beautiful beaches and sunshine have me thinking back to these wonderful vacations. Where's the telephone? I need to make a call to the travel agent.

In the meantime, here are some photos I stole from the resort's website. Even though this is basically advertising, this is really what it looks like. You can see why I want to get back there. Now.

It's Too Late, Baby

2011-04-04T09:25:00.009-04:00
I remember when online shopping became available. I jumped on that right away. I love sitting in my sweats at 10 p.m. with a cup of tea or glass of wine ordering clothes, gifts, whatever. Although the wine can be a bad thing because it probably loosens the purse strings.

Because of my broken arm, last week I ordered our groceries through an online delivery service a local grocery chain offers. They deliver everything to your door. They charge $10 but I'm happy to give someone ten bucks to do my shopping, bring it to my door and put it on my kitchen island. I'd probably give them another ten bucks to put the stuff away. I think it actually saves me money because I stick to a list, no impulse buying.

I didn't get into online banking until a few years after the shopping but I pay all the bills I can online. I don't write 100 checks a year. However, I do check our accounts online several times a week to make sure nothing funny is going on. And we do business with a credit union that I know monitors members' credit card activity closely, and I have faith they would spot something before it got too far. But I know, things can happen and there are risks.

Before he got used to it, Paul would see me whip out my credit card to place an online order and ask "do you really think that's safe?" My answer was "it's all over, dear. The info is already out there." And I would remind him that when they swipe his credit card at a restaurant, the info is transferred by modem over the Internet.

A few minutes ago I called the local Toyota dealership to schedule an appointment to fix a recall. No, not the stuck accelerator. I never thought that was anything other than operator error. This has to do with a master cylinder brake thingy.

The young lady in the service department asked when I wanted to bring the car in. I said Friday at 3 p.m. Fine, we'll see you then. Wait. She hadn't asked my name. Half expecting the answer, I asked "Do you know who I am?" "Yes, I see your caller ID and I looked you up in the computer. You're all set, Mrs. S."

See what I mean? It's all over, it's out there.

I've Had Better Weeks

2011-04-03T07:00:00.000-04:00
You're familiar with Veni, Vidi, Vici. I came, I saw, I conquered.

Last week: I woke, I walked, I stumbled, I fell, I broke.

Sometime in the night when I got up for a trip to the bathroom, it became a trip to the floor, or the foot board of the bed, I'm not sure. I remember thinking my wrist hurt but when I got up I shook my hand and thought, nothing broken.

I went back to bed. After a few minutes I realized how much it hurt so I got up, took some ibuprofen and found an icepack. In the morning the first thing I said to Paul was "I broke my arm." He never heard me fall, and he thought I was overreacting.

Which reminds me of the time I fell skiing many, many years ago. As I sat on the slope I said "I broke my collarbone." "How do you know?" "Believe me I know." It was more than fractured, it was shattered but that's another post.

I don't think he believed me about my arm this time either, but I had a feeling. A very painful feeling. Paul went to work, I went to the walk in clinic. They took an ex-ray. The doctor said he didn't see any fractures and sent me away. Thirty minutes later I got a panicked call from the doctor telling me they had a radiologist look at the films who said I had a fracture. Come back immediately. He put a splint on it and told me to call an orthopedic specialist.

My biggest fear was a six-week cast which would have made life very difficult. As in "keep your cast out of the water," which would probably mean no showers. Monday afternoon, after a very painful weekend, I saw the ortho doc. Another set of ex-rays, and he confirmed I had a fracture of the radius.

Three of them separately poked and prodded my arm and wrist and kept asking "does this hurt?" Initially it didn't but when they were done it did, everywhere. When the doctor finally told me he thought I would be okay with the splint, no cast, I nearly kissed him on the lips.

Keep it on all the time but take it off to bathe. Just be careful he said, don't fall on it again. No kidding? I have to go back in two weeks for an ex-ray but in the meantime I'm being careful. It still hurts but it's better.

The week just kept getting better. Monday, after a few weeks of back pain and trips to the chiropractor who finally said he needed an MRI, Paul had to resort to walking with a cane. Of course we couldn't get a regular appointment for the MRI soon enough so on Tuesday I took him to the Emergency Room where an MRI showed a herniated disc between L4 and L5.

I've never seen him in so much pain or take so many heavy-duty drugs to control it. Yesterday he saw an orthopedic surgeon (not the one I saw on Monday) who confirmed the disc problem. Hopefully the recommended treatment will avoid surgery. Time will tell.

Between my big, black brace/splint on my arm and Paul's limp, or cane, we look like the walking wounded. Like I said, I've had better weeks.

Dan, My Friend and Hero

2011-04-01T09:00:00.003-04:00
It seems the word hero is thrown around in the media pretty regularly lately. Often I don't think it really applies. I think I know what a hero is, and it's my friend, Dan

On September 11 as I sat watching the horrific scene in New York City on my computer, Dan walked by my office. I knew that he had been in the service during World War II but I didn't know where he served. When he stopped at my door, I asked, "Dan, where were you on December 7, 1941?" "Pearl Harbor" was his answer. Even as I sit here now, I get goose bumps when I write that as I did at that moment.

Before I could ask another question he said "I was a Navy flyer. It was my job to fly officers around and I wasn't on the ground when it happened." I was stunned. My mouth literally dropped open. To think that the man standing there, my friend Dan, had been at Pearl Harbor that day was unbelievable. Had I not asked that question, I'm certain he would never have told me.

A few weeks ago another friend sent me this link to a site about the 1940's. I thought he'd appreciate it so I sent it on to Dan. I got this back: "The PBY seaplane you see being towed out of the water during the attack is my squadron. I was only 19 at the time. The PBY is a patrol bomber, looks small now but at the time was a huge plane equal to the flying fortress. Most of our planes were on the ramp but we had 6 at anchor on alert. All were destroyed."

I never hear anything about Pearl Harbor without thinking of Dan telling me that he had been there. It’s still incredible to me that I know a man who was there. Now in his 80's and still dabbling in the business, real estate is Dan's third career. After the war he worked for the FAA testing the equipment used for instrumental landings until his eyes kept him from passing the necessary physical exams. He still gets together with some of his old flying buddies for lunch when I imagine they share stories about flying and aviation in general.

Years ago after a scary, bumpy airplane flight that I told him about, Dan said..."no plane ever crashes from turbulence." Now whenever we're on a flight and it gets bumpy and I'm digging my fingernails into Paul's leg, he always leans toward me and says "Remember what Dan said." I'm sure I'll always remember that and many other things my hero Dan told me.

Go Figure, Sigmund

2011-03-19T09:16:00.006-04:00
Do you remember your dreams? I rarely do. Sometimes when I wake in the night I think I have to remember that one! But it's usually gone when I wake up or soon after. I seem to be remembering more lately. Age? Menopause? Both?

Do you ever wake from an interesting or pleasant dream and try to go back to sleep to keep it going? I remember last night's and I tried to go back to sleep to continue it. I really wanted to know what happened!

Paul and I were driving through New York City and then, somehow, I was out of the car, walking and he had driven off. I don't think we were fighting or that he threw me out of the car because I was happy. Or maybe he did and I was still happy.

I had a bag, like a canvas bag, with me at first but later it was a backpack. I also started out with my long-gone cat, Tigger. She began walking with me and then was in the backpack with her head sticking out. Later it was Lucy, the Jack Russell Terror.

I started walking though a neighborhood that seemed Middle-Eastern. The sidewalks were full of people in chairs, walking and standing. There was no where to walk so I walked in the street. Eventually I came to a sidewalk along a grassy area but not a park.

That's when the cat and the backpack seemed to appear. I remember looking down the street and thinking I live on this street in Rhode Island. All I have to do is follow it home.

Soon friends Phil and Linda appeared and walked with me for a while. Then they were gone. My cell phone was in my pocket but I had the ringer turned off. Later I listened to several messages from Paul. He was freaking out wondering where I was.

That's where I woke up.

It wasn't until I began writing this post that I thought about a very strange coincidence. I read every night just before sleep, and I have been reading The Little Book by Seldon Edwards. The story is about a man mysteriously transported from 1988 San Francisco to 1897 Vienna.

Sometimes I also read in the night when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. I did that last night. Just before I went back to sleep for the second time, the character in the book had just met Sigmund Freud. Freud is well known for his theory about interpretation of dreams. Part of his theory is that all dreams are forms of "wish fulfillment." There has been no mention in the story yet of his book The Interpretation of Dreams, but I still thought my recollection of my dream was a strange coincidence.

Cue the theme from The Twilight Zone.

Charlie's Not the Only One Who Needs An Intervention

2011-03-10T00:01:00.001-05:00
I was in a car accident today. An 85-year-old lady backed into me in the parking lot of the library. I only learned how old she was when I went to the police to report it and they ran her plate.

I am not anti-old people. Hopefully I'll get there one day. I just hope I won't be driving myself there. I hope that I'll know when it's time to stop driving

When I realized she had hit me, I got out of my car and stepped in front of her so she couldn't drive away. In retrospect that probably wasn't too smart, but it was obvious she didn't have a clue she had hit me. She left a pretty good scrape on my bumper. When I walked around her car looking for the damage, there were so many scrapes, dents and dings it was difficult.

She was so frail she could barely speak. She was doing the old hand over hand steering which is fine if you're going 5 mph. She also wasn't interested in giving me her name or any info. When I asked if she had insurance she said no. When I asked again she said her son takes care of all that. So why doesn't her son realize she may no longer be a safe driver? How could they not know?

Twice she said she had her backup lights on. I told her I was stopped. It was obvious she was driving away, through me or my car. She kept saying she really had to go and pick up her great granddaughter.

She left and I drove to the police station. I felt a little foolish when I said some old lady backed into me in the library parking lot. The officer at the window sort of gave me the "you're kidding me, right, lady?" look. I asked him, suppose she decided to file a report? Couldn't I be accused of leaving the scene of an accident?

I wrote out the report, and was told to call my insurance agent. I wasn't happy thinking I would have to put the claim for the damage through my insurance and may be on the hook for the repairs if they can't determine who she is insured with. The officer looked up her plate number and told me she was born in 1926.

It was story time at the library. What if a mother with a baby in a stroller and a toddler stopped behind this lady's car? Or if she was putting the stroller in the trunk of her car? It might be time to hang up the keys before she does more damage than a scrape on a bumper.

This is a time when the saying the child becomes the parent comes to mind. Taking the keys away from an elderly parent may be one of the most difficult things a child ever does. My mother willingly gave up driving when it was time, so I was fortunate. We were also fortunate that she came to that decision before something tragic happened. But I remember her car had a few dings and scrapes, too.

It's likely this lady's family will never know of this little mishap. I just hope they don't get a call one day saying she has hurt herself, another family or worse.

Come to Mama

2011-03-08T00:01:00.004-05:00

This little beauty, a Nissan 370Z Touring model, is for sale down the street from me.

If I trade in the lawn tractor, snow blower, and my change jar, do you think that would give it to me?

An Easy Mistake

2011-03-06T15:46:00.010-05:00
Two issues of Maxim magazine came in the mail last week addressed to Paul. Another arrived the next day.

Recently he found a postcard for a free subscription to Motor Trend magazine and mailed it. Motor Trend never appeared so maybe someone screwed up and sent Maxim. Yeah, whatever, I don't care. I turned 55 in January, the guy deserves some entertainment once in a while.

Can you imagine the problems such a mistake could cause in some houses. "Honest, honey, I ordered a subscription to People. I don't know how I got Playboy."

Or some woman orders Martha Stewart Living and here comes Maxim. That might be hard to explain, too.

You know inside the first few pages of a magazine where they tell you who the editor is? They often have a tagline below the banner. For example, Yankee Magazine's is New England's Magazine. Maxim's is Get to Know Us.

Nah, I'll pass. Paul, not so much.

A Penny Here, a Penny There

2011-03-03T06:00:00.002-05:00
I read an article about a North Carolina family that takes a break from spending any money during the month of February each year. Paul and I talked about it. I said I would like to give it a try for two weeks. I could tell by his expression he doubts I can do it.

Here's my plan:
No trips to the grocery store. The family in the article set aside $10 a week for milk and fresh produce. I don't know where they are buying their fruit, vegetables and milk for $10. That seems impossible. Our milk is delivered weekly so I won't stop that. I might be able to manage the produce on $10 a week but it will take some pretty careful shopping, and blinders when I go into the grocery store.
No dinners out. We can do that for two weeks with what is in the freezer and pantry. There might be a lot of macaroni going on but it's doable.
No entertainment. We have been going to the movies once a month lately. We only have basic cable but we do subscribe to Netflix. Again, that's a monthly fee I can't turn off for two weeks.
No shopping at all. For me, the original online shopper, that will require some reminding. I know I can do it.
No gifts. Not even money. Sorry kids. I'll try to pick two weeks that doesn't include anyone's birthday.
That probably doesn't seem like such a difficult project for two weeks but I admit I run through Dunkin' Donuts pretty often for coffee and a bagel. I'll have to plan lunches better. And we do go out to eat once or twice a week which will stop.
We are both on the road for work, so we won't be able to limit our gas consumption for work but no dinners or movies out will cut down on travel.
One expense I won't cancel is my cleaning lady. Now I know you're thinking that should be something I can do without for two weeks but it's Ana's job. She has worked for us for a long time, and it wouldn't be fair to cut her income for two weeks. I always keep that in mind when we go away. If we're gone for two weeks, I pay her for one. She's never asked, I just do it.
We'll still pay mortgage and utilities but the money that seems to slip our hands, mine anyway, will stop there.
I'll let you know how I make out.

A Realtor's Best Friends

2011-03-01T00:01:00.003-05:00
Here are some more apps on my iPhone that I'm having fun with.

I have three apps on my iPhone that I use in my real estate business.

The first one is the Flashlight app. Often I have to get a water meter reading in a dark part of someone's basement. If you don't have a flashlight to see the numbers on the meter, you're in trouble. The flashlight app uses the LED light on the phone and fills the screen with bright white light which is enough to be able to see in a dark corner of a basement or to read the water meter.

The next app that comes in handy is the compass. Often I'll have a buyer ask me which way a house faces. Sometimes it's obvious, others not. So I whip out my iPhone and check my compass. It also gives you coordinates of where you are and with a touch it will go to Google maps and show your location on a map and give you the option to use it as a GPS. There are several different options for a free compass app.

My father was a tool designer and retired from the Stanley Bostitch Company back in 1998. If Dad was here today to see the Stanley Bostitch level app on my iPhone he would be amazed. He would also have an iPhone with this app on it. He was always on the cutting edge of new technology. He had a GPS in their motor home long before anyone else had one. I use level app at home more than when I'm working. Yes, we have several levels around the house but this is so easy to use and so much more convenient than rummaging around in a tool box.

So these are three apps on my iPhone that help me out often at work.

This project is my own idea and I am receiving no compensation from anyone. I am in no way an expert on the use of this equipment or apps. Any additional info or corrections received from people will be considered and should anything be suggested that I feel is pertinent, I will gladly repost with corrections.

Not Enough Adjectives in the English Language

2011-02-28T17:07:00.003-05:00
The possible dismissal of all the school teachers in Providence has recently made national news. If you haven't read about it, you shouldn't need to in order to understand my rage when I read this quote and wrote a letter to the editor of the Providence Journal. It hasn't been published yet so I'll consider it done here:

In the February 23 Providence Journal, Providence Teachers' Union President Steve Smith, in response to the possible layoff of Providence teachers, is quoted he “now knows how the United States State Department felt on December 7, 1941.”

This is the most disrespectful, contemptuous and unpatriotic statement I have ever heard. That such an inappropriate and outrageous comparison to an event that led to the loss of millions of lives around the world was uttered by someone who is supposedly an educator is shocking and disgusting.

Please don't respond with a comment in support of teachers or unions. My disgust with this man and his quote has nothing to do with either.

Food for Thought-Sausage, Zucchini and Pasta

2011-02-27T11:39:00.008-05:00
It's been more than a year since I've posted a recipe. I cook a lot and am always trying new recipes or putting my own ideas together. Some are certainly better than others, but this is a real keeper. I put this dish together for the first time last night, and it was so good, I had to share it.

Paul never complains about anything I cook, although he does sometimes say I cook too much or too many vegetables. His usual comment is, You cook it, I'll eat it. But last night he pronounced this meal delicious. I have to agree. I absolutely love one-dish meals. This went into a nice big pasta bowl and looked very colorful. I forgot to take a picture of it. Next time.

We liked it so much I can't wait to try it again. I'm sure I'll make some changes but this is how I did it last night. It was really easy. Most of the work was in the chopping of the vegetables.

SAUSAGE, ZUCCHINI AND PEPPER PASTA

• 8 oz. pasta, fusili, penne, ziti, bowties are all good
• 1/2 pound spicy or sweet Italian sausage. (I used sweet and just increased the ground black and crushed red pepper flakes. It was just spicy enough.)
• red or yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian spices
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3/4 cup Marsala wine
• 2 peppers red, yellow or green, whatever you prefer, chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup blanched green peas
• Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta al dente. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook sausage until brown. Remove from pan. When cool enough to handle, cut into bite-size pieces.
3. Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft and transparent. Add the Italian spices, salt, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, 1/2 of the wine, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and saute until tender. Add remaining wine and chicken stock and cook until liquid has reduced to a thick sauce, about 20 minutes.
4. After sauce has reduced, add cooked sausage and thawed peas to the sauce and stir to heat through.
5. Toss pasta with the sauce to coat evenly. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

Makes about 3 servings.

Italian bread and a salad and you've got an easy meal! Enjoy!

Shazam!!

2011-02-26T09:24:00.001-05:00
Here's another app on my iPhone I'm having fun with.

You know when you're riding in the car and a song comes on the radio that you know but just can't remember the name of? Or maybe you want to know who's singing it. And the DJ either doesn't tell you or you miss when they do! Isn't that so annoying?

I know it! It's on the tip of my tongue. I'll think of it when I'm not trying to. It's driving me crazy!

How about when you disagree with someone about what or who it is?

Back in the day I could tell you the name of a song and the artist after just a few notes. Old age and new music has taken care of that talent.

One of the favorite apps on my iPhone is called Shazam. It is so cool. Just point your phone towards the music source, press the icon on the screen, give it a few seconds and Shazam! It will identify the artist and the title.

For some it will give you a photo of the album, lyrics, bio of the artist, tour info, YouTube videos, and, of course, the option to buy the song from iTunes.

It will only identify recorded music so you can't hum or sing the tune. No problem for me, not even a computer could ever identify anything I sang.

Shazam keeps track of your "tags" (the songs that you've asked about). If you've had the app on your current iPod or iPhone since before November 2009, you have unlimited tags. After that you're limited to 5 tags a month unless you upgrade.

Online info says you can search over 8 million artists, albums and tracks. I have tested it on songs as far back as the 30's

I know there are lots of other features on the free app that I haven't explored as well as the option to upgrade (which I understand will remove the tags you already have so be aware of that), but I'm having fun with it and amazing people by how much I know about music. Not!

This project is my own idea and I am receiving no compensation from anyone. I am in no way an expert on the use of this equipment or apps. Any additional info or corrections received from people will be considered and should anything be suggested that I feel is pertinent, I will gladly repost with corrections.

I Am Smiling, Sir

2011-02-11T07:14:00.001-05:00
I saw a report on the local news this week about a group of Rhode Island State Troopers having a pizza party at a Providence housing project.

The pictures on television were of smiling kids, probably all under ten, surrounded by smiling troopers in full uniform.

The Rhode Island State Troopers is an impressive group of men and women. Recognized nationwide for their award-winning uniforms, the demeanor you encounter when facing a Statie, as they're known locally, can be very intimidating. There's not usually a lot of smiling going on.

The Chad Brown housing project is often in the news, not for pizza parties, for shootings and drug busts. There have been many teens and young men and occasionally women, killed there over the last few years. It's a scary neighborhood that you stay out of.

When the cops show up they aren't smiling so this was a really nice story. Part of the department's 2011 Community Outreach Program, it's an opportunity for the kids of Chad Brown to see State and Providence police as mentors, not just investigators. Mostly it just looked like they were all having fun.

It was nice to see something positive in the news for a change.

No Facebook Spoken Here

2011-02-10T00:01:00.001-05:00
I deactivated my Facebook page last week. I did it because I stupidly clicked on something a friend sent that was bogus, which hijacked my friends list and sent the same stupid message out.

I was embarrassed by my stupidity (get my drift? I felt stupid because I know better) and in an attempt to stop it from going further, I deactivation my account. I don't even know if it stopped it but I felt I had to remove myself anyway.

I know with a few clicks I can reactivate the account. When I took that step I figured I would go back eventually but the longer I go 'deactivated' the better I like it.

I know Facebook is a time sucker, (Pam's phrase and so appropriate) but I didn't realize how much of a time sucker it was for me. Let me not be too dramatic but I feel a bit of freedom.

For the record I did create a Twitter account but have never used it. I don't think anyone cares if I'm having coffee, a sandwich or in the bathroom. And I can't compete with Ashton Kutcher's followers so what's the point?

Honestly there are some good ways to use Facebook. It has gotten me back in touch with several friends from high school and even a couple from childhood. That's pretty neat but after "Hi, how are you?" there's not much else to say, at least on Facebook. If we were face to face there might be more but I have lived without these people for nearly 40 years (oh gawd, did I write that??) so what's the big draw now? I don't even go to high school reunions.

Let me think about some of the positives about Facebook:
It reminds me of birthdays. That's nice but I can remember the most important ones on my own.
I did learn that Paul's cousin was in the hospital. That was a big one, although I assume they would have called before long.
It's let me offer words of comfort and concern to people. I can do that with a card or a phone call.
It has given me an opportunity to see some photos that I wouldn't otherwise. That's a loss, but I'll survive.
It gave me a chance to share some of my blog posts. I didn't do it regularly so no great loss.
Some people in my business stress the importance of social networking and recommend having a Facebook page. So I guess I'm losing that connection with some of my younger clients but I'll risk that. So there are some positives but nothing life altering.

But the one really important positive of NOT having a Facebook page is that it frees up some time and creativity (that may be a stretch) to spend writing and keeping up with some of the blogs I have neglected. Far more valuable ways to spend my time.

Just now when I ran spell check on this post, the word Facebook came up as a misspelled word. That tells me something right there.

Project 365

2011-02-09T07:15:00.013-05:00
If you're like me, the older I get, the faster time seems to go. Something that happened three months ago seems like last week.

Apple has an app that keeps a photo record of events each day. It's called "Project 365" and can be loaded on your iPhone, iTouch or iPad.

A calendar that lets you keep photos of something that happened on a particular day for each month, it takes just a few seconds. I often cannot recall what I did yesterday, so this free application (there is also a Pro version for 99 cents) is a fun and useful way to help me remember, and it's a breeze to use.

Press on the current day on the onscreen calendar, take a photo of something that happens that day, or use a library shot, opt to use it for that day and that's it. It takes just seconds.

I prefer to use a picture from my camera roll and add it to Project 365 because if you take a picture and post it directly to the calendar and then inadvertently delete it, you can't get it back. Or at least I don't know how to get it back.

Using a photo from your own library also gives you the chance to take several shots over the course of a day and go back to choose the one you like best. Or shoot several different events during the day and decide which one you want to use later.

You can scroll through the calendar later to see what happened over the course of a week, month or year. Only 40 days into the year and so far I haven't missed one. The app also reminds you if you haven't loaded a photo for the day. You can send your photos to Facebook, too, but I haven't done that yet.

You can add captions. Below is the photo I used on January 12 with the caption "Can't find the pee place, Mom!"
I've had my iPhone for about 18 months, and I love it. It's my first smart phone and I've been really pleased with how easy it is to use. I've also been having fun with several apps.

As a new blog project, I'm planning to post info on some of the apps I've used and like. I'm no computer geek. I thought that might be an advantage for regular people to understand how and why I use certain apps. I know that other providers are now going to offer service for iPhones, too, so I thought it might be a good time to begin.
This project is my own idea and I am receiving no compensation from anyone. I am in no way an expert on the use of this equipment or apps. Any additional info or corrections received from people will be considered and should anything be suggested that I feel is pertinent, I will gladly repost with corrections.

And the Winter Goes On and On and On

2011-02-06T09:05:00.002-05:00
If you are living in the United States you are either tired of the winter or tired of hearing about the winter. Being a New Englander I am in the former group.

Everywhere you go in BlogSpace you see photos of incredible amounts of snow and ice. I haven't been taking many photos this year because after a while all winter photos begin to look alike. Nevertheless here are a few of my favorites from the Winter of 2011.

This drop made me think of some earrings I used to have.

I think this is some form of beech not only because of its shape but because it held on.

Hard to remember all the grapes that were on this vine last year.

Usually after an ice storm the ice is gone the next day. Not this year.

Here's Lucy just before she figured out that she could run on top of the snow. You can see how deep it is. This is actually snow fall amounts not drifts, well over her head. She's pretty funny to watch run in the snow. All you can see is that little black head bounding along.

Here's proof I live with a crazy man. He insisted on shoveling off the roof of the garage which obviously has a pitched not flat roof and unlikely to collapse. I kept looking out the window expecting to see a body fly by but I have to admit he has good balance.

Is it spring yet?

Sometimes One Isn't Enough

2011-01-30T00:01:00.001-05:00
Most everyone would probably agree that one of me is enough. Lately I'm wishing there was more than one. My father died almost ten years ago and I'm an only child so it's just me and my mother.

When I picked Mom up to take her to lunch today she was really dragging her butt. Unsteady on her feet, she was just about shuffling along. Her voice was weak and she seemed fuzzy headed, all classic signs, for her anyway, of depression. On the way into the restaurant she came close to taking a spill. If I hadn't been right there, she would have gone down.

We had lunch, walked around HomeGoods for a while where she pushed the shopping cart to keep her steady and then stopped at the supermarket where she waited in the car. She was mostly along for the ride and as the afternoon went on she seemed to become more like herself.

I made another quick stop and when I got back into the car she said, "I've enjoyed today as much as if we'd spent a week together." I thought she had brightened up a little while we were out and here was the proof.

All she needed was a little of my company. Days like today make me wish there was more of me.

Outside My Window

2011-01-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

I can dream, can't I?

Y'all Have a Nice Night

2011-01-28T08:25:00.007-05:00
The telephone rang last night just before 11:00 p.m. At that time of night it's never good news. We were already in bed and the phone is on Paul's side so he answered it.

After listening for a few seconds, he asked who was calling. The caller didn't answer, just said he was the man Paul told to call a couple weeks ago. After another few seconds, with some very carefully chosen words, Paul gave him some ideas for what he could with the rest of his evening and hung up.

It rang again. Being the curious one that I am, I reached over Paul and grabbed the phone. As politely as I'm sure he could, the man asked to speak to my husband. After hello, I never said another word. I just listened carefully because I was sure the information was important.

He went on for a minute or two offering to come by and do some renovations to the house in what sounded like a rather messy and violent way. For whatever reason, he sounded upset. Poor guy, he seemed to have a rather limited vocabulary. He used several of the same words repeatedly. I listened for a few more seconds, and hung up.

We don't have caller ID so we didn't know what the number was. After the second call, I used the *69 feature on the phone and got the number. It was from the area code 876.

This morning I Googled area code 876 and found lots of information about the scams that come from that area code which originates in Jamaica.

If you get a call from that area code asking for a return call, don't do it even if you are as curious as I am. Apparently, depending on what long distance carrier you have, the charge for the call can be anywhere from $2 to $25. I don't know if that part is true but it seems like no legitimate calls come from area code 876.

There can't be any charge for an incoming call but unless you have a few minutes and would like some entertainment, if you see one of these numbers come up on your Caller ID, you might want to let it go to the answering machine.

Y'all have a nice night now, too.

You've Got a Friend

2011-01-26T13:10:00.003-05:00
Today is my birthday. I got an email from an old, an older friend, although not much older, that said, "Welcome to the "Double Nickel Tour." So that tells you the number.

Trust me, I am not complaining. Recently there have been several people I know who will be celebrating no more birthdays. So for now, I'll take as many as I can get.

On my Facebook page it says today is my birthday. Very early this morning I started getting emails from Facebook telling me friends and family from near and far were wishing me a Happy Birthday. There were quite a few. As the day goes on, there are more and more.

Facebook makes sending birthday wishes very simple, even reminds you whose birthday it is if they have it in their profile. I am in no way minimizing these birthday wishes. It's really nice that so many people took a couple minutes out their days to say Happy Birthday. As each one arrives I take a minute and think about who sent it.

The message that really got to me, choked me up a little, was this from Janice, "Happy Birthday Sandy! Beautiful person and great friend! Have a wonderful day!" In those few words, she just made my day in a way she probably didn't expect.

Thanks, Janice. Thank you everyone else who thought of me today.

Get Out of My Chair

2011-01-25T00:01:00.001-05:00
I have a chair. My very own chair. I've never had a chair before. I like it.

I mentioned the new/old black leather chair in my living room post. I bought it from a couple who were selling their condo including much of their furniture (the cars in the garage, too) because they were moving to San Miguel Allende, Mexico. Forever. How cool is that? They began vacationing there a few years ago, fell in love with the people and city and decided it was where they wanted to retire. I have no desire to live anywhere as an expat but this sounds very romantic.

They had very interesting pieces so when I heard they were selling and had made a list of things they wanted to get rid of, I grabbed a copy and put my initials on several. I thought my favorite was going to be a print of two leopards which is hanging in the living room but I believe it's going to be my chair.

A black leather recliner that swivels. It's very soft and comfy, and they only wanted $75. A real bargain. I said I'd buy it before I knew where we would put it. It fits fine in the living room.

Paul has always had a chair. I have always had to sit on a couch which meant I usually laid down and fell asleep watching television or reading. He has a recliner in the den and had another chair and ottoman in the living room. The chair and ottoman were unceremoniously thrown out on the lawn a few months ago because they belonged in the trash. While looking for new furniture we found a beautiful brown leather recliner which he has claimed.

MY chair fits right by the fireplace and an electrical outlet for my laptop. A side table with a lamp and place for my wine glass or tea mug sits close by.

So now I have my very own chair. And nobody better sit in it.

The Living Room is Done!

2011-01-21T17:18:00.017-05:00
I wrote about the snail's pace we work at when getting home renovation projects done and the difficulty I've had finding furniture I can live with for the next 15 years. Finally, finally the living room is done!

Most of our projects begin with demolition which I love to do. Give me a hammer, a screwdriver and a pry bar and I'm having fun.

Here I am taking the shelves on the side of the fireplace out. They were made out of the cheapest pine and plywood money could by. I think they may have actually been scraps. I've hated them since the day we moved in 25 years ago. I don't know how I lived with them. Finally the project begins.

In August we had the windows in the house replaced which meant the woodwork had to be painted. One thing led to another. The woodwork was done, then the walls, crown molding was installed. I also decided to have some cabinets installed where the old shelves had been. See how dark the trim is stained? Lots of work to paint that white.

But I did it! And it came out beautifully. Now the wall paint, easy compared to the trim.

See the maple cabinets by the side of the fireplace? Much better and more useful than those old, nasty shelves.
Here's the finished product. I am thrilled with how it came out. It's not a big room anyway, and now it's very cozy and comfortable.

The table in the back left came from a friend's grandparents' house. It was heading to the trash, and I took it intending to paint it. The top was in bad shape but when I took a good look, I realized it was curly maple and the veneer appeared to have come from one board and was pieced together beautifully. The top couldn't be saved but the drawer fronts were in nice condition and both brass escutcheons and pulls were intact. So I painted all but the drawers.

I found the black leather chair in the lower left corner in a client's house. They were moving to Mexico and selling most of their things. I bought some artwork and the black chair. The chair is all leather in perfect condition, and I got it for $75. Don't you just love a bargain?

With the exception of a new cocktail table yet to be located, it's done. It only took five months, a snail's pace.

Just When You Think You've Seen It All

2011-01-15T08:53:00.007-05:00
Ask any realtor, and they'll tell you how difficult our business is right now. Lately the time it takes to get a transaction to the closing table probably pays me less than I could have earned bagging groceries.

But it's what I do. I enjoy it, and it's never boring. I meet new people all the time and some are more interesting than others. We all talk about our "war stories." You'll hear a Realtor say, "That's another chapter for the book."

Last year I worked as a buyer's agent for Dave and Lisa, both in their 30's. Dave was sort of a rough-and-tumble kind of guy and Lisa, well, Lisa was interesting. Very pretty, usually blond, I'd guess she was a size 0 or maybe a size 2.

Despite being so tiny it was obvious she'd had some "enhancements." You just don't naturally get those things with such a tiny body. And because it was during the hottest part of the summer, she didn't always have many clothes on. She wasn't working at the time and over the course of time mentioned several places she had lived.

We looked at many, many houses over a couple months. At the end of our appointments we usually stood outside somewhere sweating in the heat talking about everything. They thought I was cool and we got along well. Dave and Lisa are big animal lovers, especially dogs. In addition to raising dogs, Lisa loves snakes. (I saw that shudder)

When she first mentioned her snake, I know she was watching for my reaction. She didn't get what she was expecting because I'm not afraid of snakes. Of all the reptiles people tend to keep as 'pets' I prefer snakes to iguanas, lizards, etc. So after that I heard lots of stories and saw pictures of Bee, their 3' ball python.

One day when they came to look at some houses with me, Lisa was an absolute wreck. Bee had gotten out of her cage and was lost. She eventually showed up a few days later when she crawled into Lisa's lap as she sat on the floor.

Another day Lisa came to look at a house carrying a little leather clutch. She also arrived that day with pink hair. Inside the purse was, you guessed it, Bee. It was surprising how small she was all curled up in there. While we were in the house, Lisa started to take Bee out to show me. I suggested she leave her there until we got outside. I could just envision the snake getting lost in that house.

Once in the yard she brought Bee out. I thought the other agent was going to have a heart attack. He raised his hands like he was being held up at gunpoint and stumbled backwards to the fence on the other side of the yard shouting "I don't like snakes!" It was funny at the time. The next day I got a text from the agent asking "is your client interested in the house or did she slither off to another one?"

Finally we found THE house for them, a very nice little cape in a real "Leave It To Beaver" neighborhood. I wonder if anyone had a pet snake in Mayfield. Wasn't that the name of Beaver's hometown?

Lisa brought Bee to my office to sign the sales agreements. Fortunately it was after business hours. The three of us sat there at the conference table with this snake slithering all over it. There was a pen holder in the center of the table that she kept going into. It was pretty interesting to watch her. It was only the second time I'd had a chance to handle a snake. I drew the line when she tried to go up my sleeve.

When I called to tell them when and where the closing was going to be, I told Lisa, "Don't bring Bee." She did bring a photo of Baby B, the newest member of the family, a Ball Python Morph. You can't make this stuff up.

The day that Lisa brought Bee to our appointment to see that house, as usual we stood on the sidewalk outside chatting while Lisa brought Bee out of her purse and wrapped her around her neck. So there I am, standing on a city sidewalk talking to a woman with pink hair and a snake wrapped around her.

Did I mention that Lisa told me she 'danced' for 15 years in LA and Vegas? Surprise, surprise. I had her pegged for a stripper the first time I met her. I guess snakes and dancing often go together. That's what Paul told me anyway. I'm not sure how he knows.

I haven't talked to Dave and Lisa since they closed on their house last fall. I need to give them a call and find how everyone is adjusting to the new place. Told you we have great stories. And, no, you can't make this stuff up.

Feeling Useless

2011-01-14T07:43:00.009-05:00
My first thoughts this morning were of my friend and colleague, Katie. I have known Katie for several years and just over two years ago I joined the real estate office she was already with.

Everyone likes Katie. You never know what she's going to say, often a little off-color but always funny. Her humor is at no one's expense except maybe her own.

Those of us who work with Katie know that her family has been going through some rough times. Her husband lost a big job a few years ago after 30+ years with the same company. Despite efforts to find another job, in this economy it's been a struggle. He's gotten close a few times but each time the opportunity vanished.

In the meantime, Katie's real estate business saw a big dip like the rest of us. She's a great realtor and plugs along regardless. I'm happy to say that 2010 was probably her best year in a few and Gary has been doing some consulting work so it seemed things were looking up for them.

Two nights ago Katie got a call from California telling her that Gary collapsed and died. He was there on business, couldn't get a flight home due to weather and had been on the golf course when it happened.

I got a call early yesterday morning from another friend on vacation in Florida. The minute I heard Janice's voice I knew something was seriously wrong. When she told me that Katie's husband had died suddenly, I was stunned. We talked a few more minutes but soon had nothing more to say. What could I do? How could I help? I felt totally useless.

All through the day Katie and her two sons were on my mind. I went to her Facebook page and saw that she had posted a message saying she had lost her best friend in the whole world. Friends and family all over posted condolences and offers of support and help, and I added my message. Useless as it seemed.

Although I wasn't surprised to see all the postings, it still amazes me that we are all using Facebook to reach out to each other in good times and bad. I'm not one who believes this means we have lost personal touch, at least not within my generation. In the coming days and weeks I'm sure many of those people will be reaching out to her physically and personally. But I still felt powerless and useless.

This morning as soon as I woke I thought of Katie. As I lay there listening to my own husband still breathing the soft sound of sleep, my eyes filled with tears. I slid my foot back to touch him. I thought about what it would be like if he wasn't there for that touch.

Then I got up, came downstairs, started the coffee and began pulling things out of my kitchen cabinets. Before Paul got up I had a batch of brownies and a cake in the oven. After an appointment this morning I'm going to stop by the supermarket and get the makings for a big pan of chili and bring it all to Katie's family.

Suddenly I don't feel quite so useless.

Postscript: Katie was really pleased when I showed up with my care package. And it made me feel good, too. Such a simple thing to do, to feed someone. My mother called and asked what I was doing. I told her and she said “That’s what we used to do before we got so uppity.” I thought that was very poignant somehow.

Hellooooo, Is Anybody Out There?

2011-01-11T10:50:00.003-05:00
Where to begin? The last time I was here was Thanksgiving. The first couple weeks after that I kept thinking I'll get back to my blog soon.

Then my work with a Adopt-a-Family got really busy, then my own family's Christmas happened. Before I knew it, New Year's was here. The longer it was since my Thanksgiving post the less I thought I had to say. Imagine that? Me! Nothing to say.

I always knew I would get back here but I couldn't seem to find the time or the motivation or more importantly, an idea. I had nothing to write about and nothing I thought worth saying.

Then a few days ago I started rereading some of my posts from last year, and realized how much I had put into them and how much I enjoyed writing them. Not one to make New Year's resolutions, I decided to start the year off by getting back here. Well, it's January 11 so that didn't go very well, did it?

But better late than never, I'm baaaack! The silence is deafening.

I'm going slowly here.

Adopt-a-Family had a stellar year in 2010. For the 8th year in a row we were able to help every family who applied and met the criteria. We found donors to give Christmas to 2,111 children in 1,105 needy families. We are a volunteer group of 18 people who make up the Board of Directors of our charity. That's a huge accomplishment for a small number of just regular folks. From September through December AAF takes up a lot of my time.

We were also able to raise a significant amount of money this year for our operating expenses. While our mission is to find people to provide gifts for these kids, we do have some expenses, like postage, printing, office supplies, rent and food for our volunteers during Distribution Week. We are a privately-funded charitable organization, and we rely on our donors to keep us going. So we look forward to another year of planning for Christmas of 2011. Yikes, did I say that? Christmas? Really? Now I've really scared everybody away.

Stick around and I'll do my best to give you some other stories about what's been happening in The Jungle.

A Soldier's Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:38:00.006-05:00
As I worked on the sweet potato casserole to bring to Pam's this afternoon, I listened to the television in the background. A broadcast from an American Army base in Afghanistan caught my attention.

Lester Holt was interviewing soldiers and stopped to talk to two men who turned out to be brothers from Maine. Lester asked what was going on in their house back in Maine. They hesitated a little then answered Dad's probably asleep being tired after his early morning hunt, Mom's working in the kitchen and Gram's on her way down.

Those words just hit me right in the heart and tears started. You see, my husband Paul hasn't come home yet from his morning hunt, we called my beloved grandmother Gram, and my whole family is from Maine.

Unless we have a loved one serving overseas most of us are not even touched by the wars going. Please stop and give thanks today and say a prayer for these brave men and women who are so far from home and their families.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Author, Author!

2010-11-23T09:08:00.005-05:00
I have been part of a book club for almost 10 years. I read early and have always loved it. I read every Nancy Drew book on my 3rd grade teacher’s book shelf and read a whole series of historical biographies when I was about ten. Whether I’m eating my breakfast or watching a movie at home, I have something to read in front of me, even if it’s just the cereal box.

However, Pam, my stepdaughter, puts my reading to shame. Remember calling someone a book worm? If you look up book worm in the dictionary, Pam's picture is there. She reads an incredible 100 books a year. She also works in a library which should surprise no one.

Pam has been involved with book clubs for years. When she and Geoff and the girls moved back in 2001 after 14 years in Arizona, she started a group here. I am part of the original group. Over the years we have had some people come and go but a core group of us have been together for several years now. Right now there are ten of us. We meet monthly at various local restaurants and make an evening of our meetings. We take turns bringing books for the group, and we vote on what we want to read to discuss the next month.

The thing I like most about being part of a book club is it makes me read books I would never have found or thought I'd enjoy. None of us enjoys every book, but we all make an effort to read the monthly selection. We’ve had some really good discussions, and I think each of us remembers the book we disliked most rather than one we loved. I think our best discussions have been about books we didn't like although seldom do we all dislike the same book. Our tastes in reading vary quite a bit which keeps the selections interesting.

The November selection was The Red Thread written by Ann Hood. Pam often goes to book readings by authors visiting the area. Recently she and Colleen, another long-time member of the group, attended an event featuring Ann. I’ll let Pam tell you what happened next…..go visit her at Pam’s Perspectives to read all about it.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Thank a Veteran

2010-11-11T07:28:00.011-05:00

Today's is Veterans Day.

Please take a moment and remember the American veterans serving today and in the past.

If you would like to do something for someone serving now, please visit Soldiers' Angels to find out about the many ways you can get involved.

It's a Dog's Life

2010-11-10T09:56:00.004-05:00
Whoever came up with the saying "A Dog's Life" obviously never met Lucy. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as a dog in this family.

Adventures in Smuggler's Notch

2010-11-01T08:35:00.009-04:00
Last week we took some time off and got some much-needed rest and relaxation at Smuggler's Notch Resort in Vermont.

Even though the leaves were past peak it was still beautiful. It was pretty quiet in the area since the summer season is over and ski season has yet to begin.

Paul and I think Vermont is the most beautiful New England state and have visited many times over the years. This was our first time in Smuggler's Notch and were not disappointed.

Here are some photos taken from the deck of our condo.

Cresting at 2,162 feet is spectacular Smugglers' Notch Pass, a notch notorious during Prohibition as a smuggling route from Canada when our friendly neighbors to the north sent down some of the stuff they thought we Americans were being deprived of. There are little rock caves all over the notch where the illicit booze was hidden. Hikers today are still looking for long-forgotten stashes.

The drive through the notch on the way to the resort was narrow and filled with windy turns with outcroppings of rock everywhere. We woke to a dusting of snow the second morning we were there. It was sunny but cold and breezy. Paul and I decided to take a walk up the road to the notch. We parked the car at the bottom and found this:
Even though it was just a dusting below the Notch, it was reportedly icy up there and we were told the notch road was probably closed for good this year and wouldn't reopen to spring. Bummer! The drive around the notch road to get everywhere was about a 30-minute drive.

We decided to walk up the road to see how close we could get to the Notch before I collapsed in exhaustion. Here are some of the photos taken along the walk.

A vacation wouldn't be complete unless Paul played mountain goat somewhere. There was that time at Grand Canyon when he climbed down along an overlook and swung his arms out like he was falling. Another time he climbed to the top of some hill in Nova Scotia which was straight up. Here's this trip's adventure:

We didn't get very far up the Notch Road before deciding it was just too cold.
Back into the car for a drive. As we drove down the main street of Morrisville this little piece of heaven caught my eye:
I considered dropping in and leaving my card but since I don't hold a license to sell real estate in Vermont I had to pass up the option. Otherwise I would have been all over it.

Here are a few of the random shots I took as we drove along.

The Real June Cleaver

2010-10-26T07:27:00.005-04:00
My friend Susan's mother passed away a couple weeks ago. I find it ironic that Mrs. L died just one week after the passing of Barbara Billingsly the iconic June Cleaver. Mrs. L was the real-life June Cleaver.

I have very fond memories of time spent in Mrs. L's house as a teenager. Susan and I were best friends from our early teens through our 20's. I loved being at Susan's house as much to be around her mother as to hang out with Susan.

I don't mean this as a slight to my own mother, but ours was a different family. I had responsibility and chores to do from an early age. They were good to me, gave me all the love and attention I needed but I did not get the type of attention that Susan and her brother got. The same attention I received when I stayed there. Mrs. L was always a stay at home mom. My mother worked part time in my earliest years and then full time from my fifth grade on.

Lots of the things Mrs. L did for her kids, and me when I was there, weren't the types of things that necessarily help children learn responsibilities, but her philosophy was that there was time for that. She was the kind of mother who cut the crusts off your peanut butter sandwich, picked up your wet towels from the bathroom floor without complaint, and brushed Susan's hair long after it was necessary. She just made life in general easy. Staying with Susan was a little escape for me.

I don't look back on the responsibilities put on me at an early age negatively. It was good because it made me self sufficient early and able to take care of myself, to know the real world long before many of my friends. I was married and on my own at 19, and I was more than capable.

I have so many memories of Mrs. L. I remember the glass jar of milk that was part of the lunch brought to Susan and me when we were painting the classroom for the Kindergarten class we taught in Sunday School. She put a piece of plastic wrap (we called it all Saran Wrap then) between the glass and the metal cover to avoid leaking. I still do that to this day, and it still works.

I remember in Mrs. L's closet that her shoes were still in their original boxes with a description written on the end. That was the first time I ever saw that, and I do it in my own closet today.

She was older than most mothers of the 50's when her kids were born. Mr. L was in the service during the early years of their marriage and they put off having children his discharge. She was a very pretty lady who always wore her hair in an upsweep. She went to the hairdressers weekly and slept on a silk pillow case to keep it in place between appointments. Her hair must have been long although I never saw it down.

She always wore dresses and had a beautiful smile which she wore most of the time. Although I do remember occsional exasperated moments of "Oh, Susan!" I never remember my parents taking me to Susan's. Her mother would usually drive over to my house to pick me up. She would take us to basketball games and wait for us in the car.

We were always called to meals already on the table. We never helped in prep or clean up. All this probably sounds like her children were spoiled, which I suppose they were, but it was her way of life, that's what many mothers of the 50's did. It was like a vacation for me because my mean parents made me pick up the table and wash the dishes. Certainly not slave labor but at 12 it felt like it.

The L's had a beach house which was an even better place to visit. All that pampering AND a nearby beach. It doesn't get much better than that.

It was at that beach house that Mrs. L passed away after 70 years of pampering her family. At the end Susan and her brother got to repay some of that care. But given a choice, I'm sure Mrs. L would have been happy bustling around her kitchen in her apron putting her meatloaf, green beans and baked potatoes on the table for her family.

Rest in peace Mrs. L, you were a special lady.

Wah, Wah, Wah

2010-10-15T11:17:00.005-04:00
Seems like all I do here lately is rant. Here's another. You've been warned. You still have time to leave.

I am very slow to make changes around the house. First of all I don't really like to spend large sums of money unless it's on travel or jewelry. When it comes to that, I can rationalize anything. Paul, not so much. He doesn't like to spend money on anything.

As for the house, I am never quite sure what I want and I also hate living under construction, no matter how minor. Not that we haven't done some major renovations over the nearly 25 years here. We finished the lower level years ago and it still looks great. We replaced the kitchen and one bath. The roof is new, as is the deck and we painted the outside a few years ago. Sounds like I'm writing an ad for one of my listings.

As a real estate agent I see lots of nice houses. You would think that would encourage me to keep my own house updated. Not really. First there's the money, secondly I don't trust my own decisions. When it comes to choosing paint, furniture, etc., I'm always second guessing myself. I like it now but will I still like it next week, next month, next year? Trust me, if it goes up, it'll be there for a while.

Recently we had all of our windows replaced which meant most of the woodwork throughout the house needed to be painted. We have/had a great guy who has done all the painting and papering in our house; all of it. Unfortunately for us, Gerry has left the business and gone into another. I figured this might be the time for me to learn to paint.

Gerry does a fabulous job, no one is better. So I decided to ask him for information about how to prep and paint the dark wood that is everywhere in this house built in the 1980's. Gerry gave me step-by-step detailed instructions right down to the number of sheets of the different grit sandpaper to buy. I told him he should be teaching this.

As I was going along, whenever I ran into a point where I wasn't sure how to do something, I kept asking myself WWGD? As in What Would Gerry Do? Paul got pretty tired of me replying...."Gerry said...." whenver he offered an opinion. I have been going along very slowly and it looks great.

Our living room furniture should have been replaced five years ago. I won't go into the details of its condition because it's too embarassing but it was bad enough that one day recently Paul came home to find it on the front lawn on it's way to the street. That was the only way I could be sure I would get out and buy new.

That's generally how I get started on projects. One afternoon Paul took a nap in the den and woke up to find the shower doors on the deck. Another time he heard me yelling for help and came in to find me struggling to keep a row of kitchen cabinets up. I thought I had all the screws out of the wall and ceiling. Nope, there was one I missed and I couldn't get to it and hold the cabinets up. So anyway he knew what it had in mind when he saw the furniture on the lawn. Now I have mentioned that I really don't care to shop, furniture shopping being my least favorite. But since they won't bring the samples here I have to go there.

After a bit of looking around we found a sofa, love seat and chair that we really like. I know, very imaginative seating. Anyway, we liked the fabric on the samples in the showroom which they had in the warehouse and could deliver in two days but nooooo I had to have a coordinating fabric on the chair.

After a little time looking at fabric samples, we settled on one. The chair would take 4-6 weeks which was okay because we have other things to do. All set! Just some more paint, area rug, lamps and tables to find later. I had such a feeling of accomplishment when we left that store. In the meantime, we did find a rug and painted the walls. About three weeks ago I got a call from the store. So sorry but that fabric is no longer available. Please come in and choose another.

I wasn't happy but there was another I liked so I went back and got that arranged. Another 4-6 weeks to wait. Okay, we still have some things we can do. I'll be patient.

You guessed it. The sales person called last night to tell me that she had made an error and that fabric was for pillows only and couldn't be made into a chair. I really don't understand that but I don't care about the why, I'm just pissed that I have to make another trip there, for the third time, and choose a fabric I didn't really want in the first place and wait another 4-6 weeks.

I told her I would probably cancel the whole order, and she said she understood. I won't but at the moment I was considering it. I did tell her that if we find a third fabric which will now be okay rather than what I really wanted, I would be looking for some 'consideration' on the pricing. Oh yes, I understand. Maybe we can give you a gift certification towards a future purchase. Are you kidding?! Like I'm ever going to buy anything there again? No, I said, you can take some money off this purchase. That remains to be seen, of course.

So now this afternoon we are planning another trip back and I have a feeling I'm not going to be as pleasant as I was the other TWO times I had to do this.

If you are still with me, I'm sorry about the wah, wah, wah. But I bet you've been there, done that. Ain't service and quality control just a real treat now?

Um, Like, I mean, Like Um, Ya Know Like, I mean

2010-10-07T16:41:00.013-04:00
Recently I've had several conversations with a woman who says I mean at least three times in any sentence. In between I mean she sprinkles Um, Like and then, of course, Um Like. I know that some teenagers tend to use like and you know a little too often but this woman is 50-some years old.

Conversing with her is downright painful. I want to scream Get to the point! She's a business associate so she's not someone I can take aside and gently suggest she not speak until she has her thoughts more composed.

I don't sound like William F. Buckley but I have worked on my speech for many years. I am a born and bred New Englander, specifically Rhode Island. There are several different accents to be found in this one little state of only one million people. Most are not very pleasant to listen to and often ridiculed, usually by the rest of us.

I have tried to 'neutralize' my accent. I focus on pronouncing the G's in words ending in i-n-g. I try to put my R's where they belong and keep them out where they don't belong. My favorite example of both is Columbee-er Rivuh. Seriously, that's how many RhoDyLanduhs say Columbia River. I could go on and on with examples of some of the funny ways we talk but you would think I'm being unkind; probably funny but unkind.

While traveling in the U.S., we used to say that we're from Rhode Island, now we just say New England. I got tired of being asked "Isn't that an island off New York?" No, you geographically-challenged dumbbell, that's Long Island.

In my real estate business I often meet relocation clients; people who come from all over the United States and abroad. Eventually the conversation comes around to where I'm from. Usually when I say I'm a native Rhode Islander I hear "You don't sound like you come from Rhode Island." I usually say, thank you, thank you, I have worked to NOT sound like a Rhode Islander.

I used to have a friend who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, whose accent I found kind of cool. He knew I had worked on my 'accent' but every once in a while, usually when I was in a rant and got 'tawking' fast he would start to laugh. "What are you laughing at?" "You sound like you're from Rhode Island!"

Well, um, ya' know, like sometimes I just can't like help it.

You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up

2010-09-19T22:56:00.001-04:00
Report: Woman eating pig's feet in bed cuts friend

The (Rock Hill) Herald
Posted: Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2010

Rock Hill, S.C. -- A woman who was eating pig’s feet in bed accidentally cut her friend in the arm, police say.

The 52-year-old Rock Hill woman told police she accidentally cut a friend in the forearm with a knife around 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Both she and the victim, 50, were intoxicated, according to a Rock Hill police report.

He had a deep cut to his arm. The report did not state if he was hospitalized.

No charges were filed, but the incident remains under investigation.

As Good An Excuse As Any

2010-09-17T08:40:00.008-04:00

We have to take a vacation. We don't want to but we have have to. Yeah, right.

A couple years ago I did kind of a dumb thing. I bought a time share in Duck, NC, on the Outer Banks. A second one. I bought the first time share in Kitty Hawk, NC, on eBay sight unseen. It's what they call a 'lock out' unit. There are actually two individual units separated by a locked door and in total it sleeps ten.

You can use either one side or both at the same time. If you only use one side, you can 'bank' a week in lieu of using it but they have to be used within two years or they expire. You can save it to trade for another week somewhere. Theoretically you can trade for stays all over the world, but it's easier said than done to find a place where you want when you want but it can be done.

Anyway, I bought the first one on eBay for a pretty good price considering the people we bought it from probably paid eight times the amount we did. It's the week of Memorial Day in May, and we've been three years in a row. We love it. We begin to look forward to it about the middle of winter.

After our first stay I immediately when to eBay when we got home to see what else was for sale in the area. There was another time share for sale in Duck at a resort right on the water, not quite as nice but a great location.

This is the second week of October. I paid $157.50 for another lock out unit, another possible two weeks annually. Seriously $157.50 for a deeded time share which means it doesn't expire like some do after 20 years. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now we have four weeks and we can't seem to use them.

There is some flexibility. You can use them, or rent or give them away if you can't use them yourself. We have offered weeks to several people over the years but no one has taken us up on it.

A few weeks ago realizing we need to use it or lose it before the end of October, we started looking for a place to go. We don't really want to fly which limits us. I went to the RCI site, which is the company we use to bank and trade, and began to look for a place in New Hampshire, Vermont or Maine.

I found a week at Smuggler's Notch Resort in Vermont. It's costing us $179 for a week at a very well-rated resort with two beds, two baths and a fully-equipped kitchen. It's a big time share spot but you can rent there and a week could be as high as $1,000.

I think the fall colors will be gone but it's a nice location with nearby places to visit. It's near Burlington which is a college town. Stowe is close which is a pretty New England town. That's the home of the Trapp Family Lodge. Remember the vonTrapp family from the Sound of Music? It's an area we've visited many, many times but not recently.

So darn! We have to go away. It's rough but someone's got to do it.

I Blog Therefore I Am?

2010-09-15T00:01:00.002-04:00
That's a question not a statement. Over the last few months I haven't been blogging much. This is due to several things; I've been busy, it's too hot, nobody cares. Pick one.

The main reason is that I started questioning why I blog. When I started 18 months ago I really had no idea why I wanted to write a blog. I don't have any definitive answer even now. But I know I enjoyed it and still do but I really began to ask Does anyone care? Does anyone really want to know what I think?

Then I began to miss it. And I realized I wasn't writing for anyone but myself. I did/do enjoy the comments people leave but because I don't spend nearly as much time visiting other blogs, my traffic has slowed down and so have the comments. That's okay. I like to hear myself talk.

I do know that some people are paying attention to my blog(s), there are four now. Seriously, I'm not kidding, four blogs. Recently the IT director for our agency, Tom, planned a tech panel for the quarterly company meeting. I was really flattered when Tom asked me to sit on the panel and talk about blogging.

There would be seven agents with certain knowledge of technology speaking about their areas of expertise. Tom actually called me a blogging expert. Whoa! I'm not an expert on anything but I have gathered quite a bit of experience with blogging recently. Despite being a little uncomfortable speaking before large groups, I said yes.

There were seven of us on the panel and the other six all had some really interesting things to offer. I'm sure we all learned some new things. I happened to be the seventh to speak. By then I saw that eyes had begun to glaze over so I cut my comments short.

I told them that Blogger is my format of choice because of its user-friendliness especially because I have no technology background. I talked about commenting and followers and about the difference (for me) between business related blogs (like my real estate blog) and personal blogs. I also spoke about the blogging community and about the blog Words of Wisdom that I was part of developing.

After I was finished Tom told the audience I was being modest about my blogging and that he thinks my designs are terrific. He also said that I have achieved some of the best search engine optimization he has ever seen. A year ago I didn't even know what search engine optimization meant. I'm not even sure I know now. Whatever it is, it was an accident.

Adventures on the Danube River

2010-09-13T00:01:00.004-04:00

In July Paul and I cruised the Danube River in Central Europe. The cruise began in Budapest, Hungary and traveled west through Austria and into Germany ending in Nuremburg. It was our first time in this part of Europe, and the architecture and history are both beautiful and fascinating. Traveling through the countryside with castles, ruins and pretty litle towns along the river, it was most definitely a nice way to see a different side of cities and towns along the river.

We cruised with Viking River Cruises. They cruise all over Europe and Asia, and I would recommend this company to anyone thinking of a river cruise. This is not ocean cruising. The boat we were on, Viking Danube, only holds 150 passengers with a crew of about 20. It's a very relaxed and intimate atmosphere. That's our ship above docked along side the Chain Bridge in Budapest, Hungary where our cruise began.

Here are some of the photos I shot on the river between towns. We didn't have the best weather and consequently the photos aren't that great but they still show how beautiful it was. Don't ask where they are.....I knew when I shot them but I don't now.

We traveled upriver from Hungary to Germany. This is one of 26 locks we went through over the course of the cruise. Some were wide enough to accommodate 4 boats at the same time and some were so small and so narrow our boat had to go through alone and only cleared the sides by inches.

Roman ruins!

Because of all the rain, the river was high at the end of the trip and the captain was not sure we would make it under the last two bridges and to our final stop of the cruise. If the boat was not able to clear the bridges, we would have been forced to dock further down river and be bused to Nuremberg, Germany to spend the last night in a hotel.

No one wanted to do that. In enough time not to disrupt the rest of the cruise, the river dropped enough and we made it under the last bridge by just inches. Then it rained (again!) and this double rainbow came out just before we docked in Nuremberg. A fitting end to a really great trip.

Stayed tuned for more photos from Passau, Melk, Vienna (my favorite!), Regensberg and Nuremberg.

The Unofficial End of Summer

2010-09-11T09:36:00.007-04:00

I am really sorry to see summer end this year. We have had such wonderful weather. Yes, it's been hot and there's been a lot of sweating going on but that is so much better than all the rain we got last summer.

Although I admit I'm going to miss this gorgeous weather the one thing I do look forward to at the end of the season is our annual family trip to New Hampshire. Four years in a row we have taken the family for Labor Day weekend. This year we had six adults, five kids and four dogs. It's a big house and you can imagine it gets pretty crazy, but we all love it and look forward to it all year.

Today I am going to feature Pam of Pam's Perspectives who just happens to be my stepdaughter and who wrote a fabulous post about the weekend. So I'm going to be lazy and just send you over there for a visit. Please take the time to stop by her post Labor Day Tradition. She's got some great photos of the weekend.

Happy Fall everyone!

Marketing 101

2010-09-02T08:38:00.004-04:00

We went furniture shopping last weekend. I hate furniture shopping. I pretty much hate any shopping but furniture is the worst. The sales people hang around the entrance to the store clutching their clipboards and looking hungrily at anyone who enters. I hear them whisper "This one's yours, Joe." One store I went into literally had a dry erase board where all could see where they kept track of which sales person the next shopper belonged to. Tacky, tacky.

I make my living on sales commissions, too, but I don't pounce on people like a cheetah on an impala as they walk through the door of an open house. I might walk along with them but I don't keep a running babble pointing out the obvious. "This is a closet." "Really? I just thought they forgot to put the sink and toilet in there." Seriously, I've seen realtors who do that.

When we walked in Sunday there was a 'concierge' at a desk at the door. "Can I help you? What are you looking for today?" Reluctantly, because I know this means they will assign a haunt to us, I said living room furniture. "Leather or fabric?" To which I replied "Yes." He looked a bit confused. Honestly we don't know whether we want leather or fabric or a combination of the two. So my answer was truthful. I kept walking as he pointed in the directions where we could find living room furniture.

As we walked through, there were sales people strategically placed in different sections and each one piped up with some question as we walked along. I hate when sales people butt into our conversation as Paul and I are talking and walking along pointing out different things to each other. Quit asking me what I'm looking for. I don't know what I'm looking for! That's what browsing means.

Unless you want to be downright rude, it's pretty hard to avoid these people. I want to say "If I have a question, I'll find you." I know they work on commission and if someone that I don't find totally obnoxious begins helping us, I will be sure to find that person if I have questions and I'll tell them that.

Have you noticed the phrase they now have in sales (especially with furniture) called an "up charge?" One woman kept referring to an "up charge" as I asked about different fabrics and grades of leather. Paul had no idea what she was referring to. I had already turned the price tag over, which was huge, not so much to be visible across the store but to include all the"up charges."

As she kept saying things like "there's a $150 up charge for this" "a $250 up charge for that," and I could see he wasn't following her, I said "depending on what you choose, there's an up charge from $50 to $450 per piece." "You mean an extra charge? So why don't they call it that?"

I bet the marketing genius who came up with the "up charge" one day as they all sat around the table brainstorming got a big bonus. Or maybe an "up charge" in his pay.

Note: My apologies to sales people who may be offended. I make my living in sales, too, but you don't need to act this way to be good at your job and successful. These sales tactics only aggravate our customers.

Where Does the Time Go

2010-08-27T14:44:00.009-04:00
Can you stand another "kid goes to college" story?

Our oldest granddaughter, Katie, left for college yesterday. That sweet, little dark-haired girl her grandfather thought looked like a papoose (I suppose that's not PC) when she was born. No longer that little baby that Paul and I flew to Phoenix to see when she was just a week old. It just doesn't seem that long ago. Of course, everyone says that.

Over the last few years Katie has been spending time at our house. At first she would call and ask, "Can I come this weekend? Will you pick me up Friday, Grandpa?" She would stay one or two nights every few weeks. The grandkids can never get enough of Paul, and I knew he was the big draw back then. I didn't mind, I was just happy to know that she wanted to stay with us. It felt very special.

When she got her driver's license she started driving herself here. Same question "Can I come this weekend?" Our spare bedroom was always set up and it became her room; as in "Grandma, there are some clothes on my bed." That made me smile. We gave her a key to the house.

Paul and I have five grandchildren and there's nothing that makes me happier then seeing them in my house enjoying themselves and acting like they belong here. Because they do.

These are not grandchildren born of my children. They are the children of Paul's son and daughter, my stepdaughter and stepson. As much as I love Pam and Paul, they aren't my children. But the grandchildren.....they are mine. Well, mine and those of five other grandparents. As Pam said one time, you can never have too many grandparents.

When Katie graduated from high school a couple months ago I nearly missed it. When I stressed about it, a friend said " You see her every weekend," as in "What's the big deal?" And I replied "You don't understand. These are as close to my own children as it will get. I couldn't miss her graduation."

When Katie began driving up here on her own, she was 17. About that time she seemed to be spending as much time with me as she did with her grandfather. She'd keep me company in the kitchen or we'd do a little shopping together, and I began to see a change in Katie. She was becoming an adult.

I am often amazed by how insightful and thoughtful both Katie and her sister Madeleine, who is 15, are. During one stay Katie set up my iTunes on my computer. I was struggling with it. Suddenly I've become the grandparent who needs one of the kids to handle something technical. Never thought that would happen but I kind of like it.

Katie stayed one night this week; two nights before she was leaving for school. I didn't expect her to have time this week since she was so busy getting ready to leave, saying goodbye to friends and doing everything else she needed to do. I was really pleased when she said she was coming Tuesday.

The three of us had dinner and just watched television. It was a very normal visit. But I kept thinking that the next time Katie comes to stay (who knows how soon that will be) she will be home from college.

So tell me, where did the time go?

Curious? Open This Pandora

2010-08-26T00:06:00.001-04:00
Sometimes I forget just how much I love music. There are so many songs that bring me back to a particular time or place in my life. But I go through periods of time when I don't listen to music at all, and all I can do is listen. I can't sing. I don't play an instrument. I can dance but not very well and you're not likely to see me on television unless it's on America's Funniest Videos.

As I write this I'm sitting with my Bose headphones (love 'em, too) listening to Pandora. You know Pandora Radio, don't you? They call it Internet radio and so far it's free. I like free.

You get to play disc jockey for yourself and make what they call stations. Put in an artist or band and they create a play list of songs from not only that artist but others they think have a similar sound and style. Each station is given the name of the artist or band that you choose and it's saved for you to go back to. You can even choose QuickMix and they'll play songs randomly.

One very cool feature is an option to give a song a thumbs up or thumbs down. If you don't care for a song, pick the thumbs down icon and you'll get a little apologetic message saying Sorry, we'll NEVER play this song again. You can also ask why the song was chosen for you, get the full lyrics of the song, the bio of the artist or a list of similar artists that you can, of course, create another station for.

The do have ads every so often but they aren't nearly as annoying as regular over-the-air radio. I suppose they do need some advertising so that they can continue to be free. I imagine they may begin charging eventually but as long as it's free it's for me.

So what, I hear you asking, are some of MY stations? If you could log on as me these are some you'd see:

Buddy Holly
Frankie Valli
The Beatles
Billy Joel
Rascal Flatts
The Righteous Brothers
The Doors
Dave Matthews Band
The Fray
Coldplay
Eric Clapton
Nickelback

I'm listening to Jethro Tull now. I just asked for a list of artists similar to JT. Seals and Crofts was suggested. Huh? Really? Yeah, I know Ian Anderson plays flute on some cuts but Seals and Crofts?? I don't think so......

Just in case anyone is wondering, I didn't write this because Pandora asked me to.

Never Say Never

2010-08-23T08:08:00.000-04:00
I wrote a few weeks ago that life had sort of run away with me. I had so much I could have posted about but I wasn't sure it was really anything anyone would care about. That continues.

You know that phrase: "If you want something done, give it to a busy person." That's me. The more I have to do, the more I get done. I can work at home but sometimes I shouldn't.

In real estate as long as you have a computer and telephone, you can work just about anywhere including your dining room table. When I do, it's not always pretty. There are days when I sit here in my sweats until 1 p.m. without having washed my face or brushed my hair. But I may have negotiated a deal to completion and prepared a sales agreement in that time.

There are days when Paul comes home early and I'm still sitting here. I think he's often wondering if I've actually been working or playing Jungle Jewels. It could be a little of both.

But I digress. I said I never would, but I bought a Kindle. I have been borrowing Pam's for the last year to see if I liked it. Despite being one who likes new gadgets, I put off buying one because I wasn't sure it was worth the investment. The only real issue I had with it is that you have to buy the books. I seldom buy novels. I usually get them from the library.

The average cost for the books on Amazon is $9.99 and it's a breeze to download them, usually in less than a minute. But it's still an expense I wasn't sure I wanted to have.

One problem with library books is that you may wait a long time for a hot book. Depending just how popular the book is, you might be 200 on the waiting list. No such problem with the Kindle. You can also download 50 pages of a book for free to see if you want to buy it.

When the cost of the Kindle dropped dramatically, I figured it was time. I like it, a lot. It's very easy to use and easy to carry. What I like most about it is that it's so comfortable to read with in bed. I read before going to sleep, and I could never get comfortable. I had to keep shifting as I turned a page. With the Kindle I fold back the cover (you buy a cover separately) which makes a little tent, and I can read on my side. Turning the 'page' is just a quick push of a button.

But it's not quite like reading a book. I miss being able to thumb back through the pages. You can go back with the Kindle but the pages are not numbered like a book and finding a particular passage isn't that easy for me.

It has a cool feature that allows you to change the size of the font. There is a progress bar on the bottom of the display which tells you how far you you have read in the book. I find I read quicker on the Kindle. Part of that I attribute to not turning a page. It's a very seamless read. It's not backlit like a computer, and that's supposed to be easier on the eyes. They sell book lights that fit it.

The Kindle is very sleek and compact; easy to take on a plane or slip into your bag to read in the doctor's office. There are lots of other features on it like a dictionary and a way to highlight passages and save them. You can also archive books on Amazon. I can see that might be worthwhile because they are in alphabetical order on the Kindle and scrolling through them after several have been downloaded would be time consuming.

Everything considered, I like it and am glad I finally bought one. As the title says "Never Say Never."

I Think Sam Would Be Disappointed

2010-08-21T08:26:00.005-04:00

As I sit by the window on this crisp, clear, almost fall-like Saturday morning, I can hear the pile drivers, two miles away as the crow flies, at the site of the new mega-shopping center inappropriately named Dowling “Village.”

I am so sad and so sorry for the people who live even closer. And we are supposed to welcome yet another Super WalMart and to our lovely little town of 11,000 people. I can hear the sucking sound as it begins to take the life out of our town.

I'm sorry for my friend Ruth who owns Hi-on-a-Hill Herb Farm which abuts this disgrace. Ruth is the fifth generation to live on their 75-acres. Do we really need more roll-backs? Foolish, foolish people.

The Most Important Exercise

2010-08-18T07:21:00.011-04:00
When I went to Google this morning there was an extra line that said:

Celebrating 90 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote.

What a great day to celebrate! The ratification of the 19th Amendment seems like something far more worthy of a celebration that lots of other holidays.

Ladies, can you imagine a world where you couldn't vote? You can't, gentlemen, because there never was. Although I need to qualify that because there was a time when only white, land-owning men had that right but you get my drift.

How many of us take the right for granted? Although if you are a naturalized adult American you may not. What a great feeling that must be to cast your first vote after becoming an American citizen.

The 1976 election was the first I voted in. I've never missed one since. Our oldest granddaughter Katie turned 18 last weekend. I called her that day and asked "What can you do today that you couldn't yesterday?" "I can vote!" was one of the first things on the list.

Again, no political commentary here, it's just something that made me smile and sit up a little straighter this morning when I saw that line. What a great day that must have been, August 18, 1920.

Great job, Ladies. Thanks.

Summertime and the Eatin' is Easy

2010-08-12T07:33:00.005-04:00
Summertime…..The season for reruns and 4th of July parades, fireworks, picnics, and New England Clambakes.

This post was actually written last August after Paul and I went to a good old-fashioned clambake in his hometown. This is an annual event put on by a local fire department, and we were there again last weekend. Clambakes this good are a big deal in this part of the woods and tickets sell out quickly. In fact, you sort of have to know someone who has tickets to even get them.

We sat at a table of 26 near and distant relatives; some who traveled from several states away. This year Pam, Geoff, Katie and Madeleine came with us and Katie and Madeleine got to meet some distant (literally and figuratively) cousins they have never seen.

Here ya' go.....

There were over 750 people (not all relatives!) together for a traditional outing held every August. I took pictures of the ‘bake’ as it’s called for those of you who don’t have a clue as to what I’m talking about.

Here’s a picture of the bake when it's just about ready to be uncovered and served. Usually there’s a Bakemaster in charge. He's helped throughout the day by a couple dozen people. A multi-stage process, everything has to be done right or you've got a very expensive disaster and lots of unhappy people.

What you’re looking at is a concrete pad where early in the day they layed down a layer of round stones. You can dig a pit in the sand if you have the room but this is an established location for clambakes. Over the stones they spread a layer of logs which they burn down until they get the stones red hot so they can be used to radiate heat during the cooking process. At the right time, they pull the logs off and cover the stones with a thick layer of seaweed which was probably brought in that morning and soaked with seawater.

Over the seaweed are layers of wooden baskets filled with the ingredients of the bake: sweet potatoes, white potatoes, peeled onions, bags of seasoned white fish, hot dogs, bock wurst, chourico & linquica (Portuguese-style sausage), stuffing, fresh corn on the cob still in the husks and soft-shell clams or what we call steamers.

Then the entire mound is covered with canvas that has been drenched in sea water to seal in the heat and prevent the canvas from burning. The food is allowed to steam for several hours. It takes an experienced Bakemaster to get all the combinations of food, heat, seaweed & timing just right. For a bake this size you’re talking thousands of dollars worth of food and it’s not something you can stick back in the oven or back on the grill if it’s not quite done.

Here's last weekend's bake being uncovered.

The food is served right from the baskets and we dig in!

As you can see this is 'finger food' and the clean up can get messy........

....so I never travel to a clambake without my trusty Wet Ones.

We Eat Tonight

2010-08-04T10:12:00.006-04:00
Just picked, these are the first beans I have grown in nearly 30 years, and they look pretty good. I usually just put in tomatoes, peppers and basil, but I saw a packet of seeds this year and thought Why not? I only put in two rows but I enjoyed watching them come up and now we'll enjoy them for dinner tonight.

What I didn't enjoy while I was picking them was listening to our neighbor's puppy yip and cry.

They brought home the cutest little terrier mix a few weeks ago. They call him Cooper and he's about 4 months old now.

They already have two dogs so they really didn't need Cooper but the breeder was going to do something bad with him. They said they couldn't let that happen. Very noble of them but why do they leave him outside alone to cry and cry? Why don't people realize dogs are pack animals? When puppies are left alone and know you are nearby, all they want is to be with you.

A couple weeks ago I had to go into the house because I was afraid I'd go over there and take him away. He had been crying for nearly an hour. Some people just shouldn't have pets.

What's Wrong With This Comment?

2010-08-03T08:07:00.004-04:00
After being AWOL for almost a month I apologize for coming back on a rant. Well, not a rant exactly but I got a little excited about this. First of all, this is not about politics. I don't write about politics here ever and I don't discuss the subject often anyway.

There are apparently some ethics charges filed against Rep. Maxine Waters of California and Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. I do not live in either state so these people do not represent me. I wouldn't know either one of them if they walked into the room.

Yesterday I had the national news on while I was doing something besides watching but I was listening. They had sound bites from several people in Congress regarding the ethics charges. One of the men being interviewed made a comment that ended this way: "I really don't think Mr. Rangel intended to do anything wrong and I don't think Maxine did either."

Putting the politics aside, can anyone tell me what is WRONG with this comment? Please tell me it's not just me.

HINT: Does this sound a bit sexist to you?

Tenacious Terrier

2010-07-10T07:03:00.006-04:00
Te·na·cious: \tə-ˈnā-shəs\adjective

1. not easily pulled apart, cohesive, tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance
2. persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired
3. Lucy the Jack Russell Terror in pursuit of the elusive chipmunk. (which she did not get)

NOTE: This was taken with my iPhone which accounts for the poor quality. It was also the first time I ever uploaded anything to YouTube. I'll get better at it, I hope.

A Little of This, A Little of That

2010-07-02T07:29:00.008-04:00
Once again I am tempted to yell "Stop! Let me off this merry-go-round!"

Lately the time has just run away with me. You may notice the gap between my last post and today. Or maybe you didn't. Summer is a busy time for most of us, and I notice many seem to spend less time here.

My real estate business has been keeping me very busy. That's a good thing. In my line of work we often work really hard NOW for commissions LATER.

Last week I spent a lot of time preparing for a presentation to a prospective seller. I was one of three Realtors they asked to speak to about listing their house. A really unique and beautiful "estate," I worked very hard on this and held my breath to hear their decision.

Yay! They chose me. I immediately got busy working on the marketing plan for the property. I am pleased to say that I had it in two multiple listing services, a virtual tour filmed and a dedicated website up in only THREE days! I didn't do this alone. I have a fantastic IT group I work with and an equally fantastic virtual tour company. Everyone worked quickly, and it all came together.

I'll tell you more about the property next week. It's a 12-room Colonial built in 1780. Think about that....it was built just four years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. I am very excited about selling this house, a true piece of history. Stayed tuned, I'll have more later.

Sunday, like lots of people, we are having a cookout with family and friends. We haven't had a Fourth of July party in a long time and I'm looking forward to it. The next couple days will be hectic getting everything ready.

Today I am taking a little time for ME and going to have a pedicure. Although I am addicted to my nail tech and my fingernails, I usually do my own toes. But today I'm going to sit for an hour and be a little pampered.

Oh, and I recently bought a Kindle. I haven't rushed out to buy one before this because I wasn't sure I'd use it, and I was hoping the price would come down. I've been borrowing Pam's occasionally (this time it's been a month....sorry, Pam, I'll return it this weekend) and have decided I like it. Plus the price has come down significantly.

Before I forget, let me suggest that you stop by the blog Pam and I put together a couple months ago...Words of Wisdom. In my humble opinion, today's Blogger of Note is one of the most amazing writers we have featured so far. I don't mean to slight any of our other Bloggers of Note, we were happy to share all of them, but something about Matthew's writing at AbodeOneThree really speaks to me.

I hope all of my American friends here and living as expats have a wonderful Fourth of July and the rest of you have a great weekend! Hope to see you next week.

I Think I Might Have a Problem

2010-06-20T08:28:00.005-04:00
Can you have specific OCD or does it have to infiltrate your whole life? I wrote a while back about my OCD when it comes to my shoes and their care and storage. Generally I'm a little messy, I'm a piler (a piler, not a plier) of books, magazines, etc. It's fortunate for me, on so many levels, that I have a weekly housekeeper because it forces me to clear horizontal surfaces and put things away in preparation for Ana's Tuesday visits.

I'm pretty certain I'm not a germaphobe but I might be heading that way. I have never liked having my hands dirty for any length of time. I get to soap and water ASAP and always have wipes in my purse and car.

These are some of the habits that seem to be growing and which make me wonder.....

After ordering and closing the menu in a restaurant, I either use hand sanitizer, wipes, or head for the nearest restroom. Who KNOWS what was on the hands of the last diner? And I need AT LEAST two napkins; one for my lap and one for my hands and mouth. An extra one just in case is good, too.

I really don't care for finger food. I'm lucky I can eat a sandwich. When eating chips or nachos, I wipe my fingers off on a napkin or paper towel every two to three. Grease! Although I CAN pick up a slice of pizza, it's not uncommon to see me use a knife and fork. But I LOVE pizza so I struggle through. Chicken wings, another favorite, are a serious problem.

Shake my hand? (Remember, I'm in business and meets lots of people) There are wipes in the car. I even tend to wipe off the steering wheel of my own car before tossing it into the trash.

Remotes in hotel rooms? Wipes. Keyboards & mice in libraries, etc.? Wipes. There are more, I'm sure, that don't come to mind immediately.

But what brought this on this morning? The newspaper. I was putting yesterday's paper in the recycling bin and had to move a copy of our little weekly paper. I love it but the little paper is not clean; the ink comes off the newsprint and makes my hands black. Not to mention the ink sometimes comes off the paper and gets on your clothes. Good thing it only comes out once a week.

Our daily and Sunday paper is clean! I was so thrilled when they announced that change a few years ago. I'm one of those who still prefers to read the paper in its orignal form. Good thing it's clean, I don't think newsprint would stand up well to hand sanitizer and wipes!

A Broken Circle Reconnected

2010-06-18T07:56:00.010-04:00
I have a new first cousin. Her name is Carol, and she was born June 16. That would be June 16, 1946.

When Carol was sixteen days old, her mother, my aunt, my mother's only sister, arranged for her to be adopted. My aunt already had one baby daughter, Betty, born one year earlier almost to the day. In between the births of her daughters, her husband left. Twenty years old, single and faced with raising two babies alone, she felt the best thing to do would be to give Carol up to be raised by someone who would be able to give her what she needed. That's our assumption, my aunt would never talk about it.

She eventually married again and had another two children, two sons. In the 60 years after Carol was born and until her death five years ago, my aunt steadfastly refused to discuss her. My mother was 13 when Carol was born. She saw her only once and knew she had been adopted by a woman she knew only as "Mrs. C." Shortly after Carol was born, Mrs. C moved. My mother never saw them again. Until a week ago.

Although I was close and spent lots of time in my aunt's house growing up, it wasn't until I was an adult that my mother told me about Carol. Or she told me as much as she knew about her, which wasn't much. Betty found out about her eventually, too, and talked about finding her sister. But all we had was that last name. No first name for Mrs. C, nothing. A few years ago, Betty's daughter did find some of their biological father's family but he had died and the family knew nothing about Carol either.

I've done a lot of genealogical research on the family over the years and have tried but never had any luck finding Carol. A long time ago I put a query out on a genealogy online bulletin board asking if anyone knew Carol "C" born 6/16/46. I never received a response.

Recently Betty called me again saying she really wanted to find Carol. This time I started going through records on Ancestry.com. Sure enough, within 5 minutes I had found an obituary of a man who died two years ago whose wife's name was Carol with the maiden name "C." He was about the age she would be and they lived in the same town that my aunt was living in all those years ago. Could it be? Could it be that Mrs. C and Carol were living right there in town all along?

A little more research and I had an address for Carol. I gave Betty the information and she sat down to write a letter. What should she say? Suppose Carol didn't know she was adopted? Suppose she did and didn't want a connection to her biological family? Betty sent the letter and it came back.....Addressee Unknown. A dead end.

I went back to the computer and found several people with her married name in the same little town. Before I had a chance to start making some random calls, Betty's husband called me and said, "I think we've found her." He had beat me to the random calling and found a relative of Carol's late husband who said she'd remarried and moved to another state. They had her cell number.

It was Carol, our Carol. She knew she had been adopted. Her birth date was right, and she had discovered her father's last name years ago. Her adoptive mother, who died 30 years ago, would never discuss her birth either. Carol wanted to know more but with nothing except a last name to go on, she could never find more.

Now here we were. Her family. She was excited to learn that she had a sister, two half brothers, nieces, nephews, cousins and an aunt. Several times she told us that she grew up happy and well loved but had always wanted to know more.

We sent her family photos and she sent some of her. Her resemblance to my aunt, her mother, is astonishing. If there ever was any doubt about who she is, once we saw her, it was gone. One of the grand kids looked at a photo of Carol and her husband and asked, "who's the man with Nana?"

Last week Betty, her husband, Bob, Mom and I traveled to meet Carol. After 64 years (almost to the day), several phone calls and a few emails, Carol had her family and Betty had her sister.

It's (Never) Too Late

2010-06-15T15:50:00.011-04:00
Sunday night, Gisele and I, along with 9,000 of our closest friends, had the pleasure of seeing James Taylor and Carole King in concert at Mohegan Sun on their Troubadour Reunion Tour.

We've had these tickets since January. The morning they went on sale I was at the computer. The first show for Saturday night sold out FAST. I finally got to the point where I could choose and buy the seats. On Ticketmaster you end up in a queue online and only have so many minutes to pick and purchase seats or you get thrown out.

The seats I chose weren't exactly what I wanted but I was happy to get them. We ended up in the nosebleed section but what could you expect for $100 a ticket? (I know this is cheap for big shows now, but I'm a child of the 60's and 70's when I paid $4.75 to see the best concerts) It didn't matter. We've both seen JT several times but never Carole and to see them together was too good to miss. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, to me it was the chance of a lifetime.

We were far above the stage and couldn't see much clearly but it was a revolving deal so at least no one was behind it. We had to be satisfied with watching on the screens around the arena but the camera guys (and girl) did a great job. Although there were several times I wished I could see Danny Kortchmar's and Leland Sklar's guitar work other than when the cameras were on them. But the acoustics were terrific, and we didn't miss a word or a note.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a concert that started with a standing ovation. The emotion of the crowd continued right through their second encore when they finished the show with You Can Close Your Eyes which is a particular favorite of mine and takes me back to long ago and bittersweet memories. Throughout the show I was leaning forward with elbows on knees and chin in hand.

In some ways it was like seeing two different shows because they played many songs together but usually with one out front and the other singing and playing back up. They played most all the songs we wanted to hear....So Far Away, Machine Gun Kelly, Smackwater Jack, Country Road, Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain and many more. When they played Up on the Roof, a song Carole wrote but which they both recorded, they each played it the way they recorded it, two definitely different interpretations. It was fun to see their two different styles on the same song.

The affection and camaraderie between the two was so clear. What amazed me was how spontaneous they made the show feel. The banter between the two as well as James' witty comments and stories (he's funny!) seemed so fresh and original. And when they played all the songs they have probably played hundreds, maybe thousands, of times, they seemed to be playing them the first time for an audience. I guess that's the mark of people who love what they do. The adulation of 9,000 fans probably didn't hurt either.

A few times Carole got up from the piano and danced around in her 4" heels and got the crowd clapping along. You'd never know she's 68 years old. JT is 62 and although he is beginning to look his age, that smile and sweet voice are still there. They both seem to have just gotten better with age. Or maybe I just want to believe we all do. They sure made me feel like the 16-year-old who wore out her first copy of Tapestry back in the early 70's. Is it really that long ago?

On The Road Again

2010-06-05T09:03:00.016-04:00
Paul and I recently made our annual trek to OBX, the outer banks of North Carolina. The photo on the right was a stallion following along behind his mares and a foal on the beach one day we were there. We didn't see too many wild horses this year.

This is our third year at OBX since buying a timeshare in Kitty Hawk on eBay, sight unseen. Not only had we never seen the condo, neither Paul nor I had ever been to OBX.

During the week of the auction I did some serious Internet research but it was still a leap of faith when I kept increasing my bid in those last minutes of the auction and then won. It turned out to be a great buy. The condo is beautiful and in a great spot. We start looking forward to it every March when we've had just about enough winter.

This year we left a couple days early and extended our vacation. On the way to OBX we stopped in Ocean City, Maryland, for what we expected would be a quiet couple days in an oceanfront hotel. Here's the view from our balcony. This is peaceful but it tells you nothing about what was going on in front of the hotel.

We had no idea that the week we picked to stop in Ocean City was the same week that the 20th Annual Cruisin' Ocean City was happening. On the way down we kept noticing classic cars on the road. We figured there was probably a car show somewhere south but didn't know we were heading right into it.
Right into it is right. The town was full of hot rods, custom cars and street machines of every vintage, make, model, color and style. They drove up and down the main drag called Coastal Highway. And anywhere there was a parking lot along the street you would see cars parked with some people sitting in canvas chairs and others wandering from car to car looking under the hoods.

Plus there were people lined up on the sidewalks along the street watching the impromptu parade.

The show is open to cars built in 1979 or earlier. The formal registration is limited to 3,000 but a total of about 7,000 cars show up and the weekend draws 100,000 people. It's based at the local Convention Center but spills everywhere in town.
Paul was in his glory. A 'gearhead' in his teens and twenties when he built, rebuilt, raced and wrecked a few cars, it was a trip down memory lane for him. There's a '90 convertible Corvette in the garage now. And as much as I appreciate wandering around looking, we have been to many car shows over the years, this was definitely sensory overload.
Coastal Highway runs past all the hotels, motels, restaurants, t-shirt shops and other places that want your money. There are traffic lights every block which gave the hot rods and street machines just enough time to go through a couple gears and leave some rubber before they had to shut it down for the next light.

The noise was incredible but it was fun to watch. I much prefer to watch the cars moving rather than sitting in a parking lot with the hoods up. Yeah, that's a lot of chrome but how fast does it go? The smell of testosterone was everywhere or maybe it was just exhaust. I felt like I was in a scene from American Graffiti.

Here are a few of the many photos I took. Whether you care about cars or not, you have to admit that the work and money that goes into these machines is pretty awesome.

So it wasn't the quiet few days at the beach we were expecting but it was fun. We heard there is a Bike Week in Ocean City in September when about 10,000 bikes and 200,000 people show up. We'll skip that. I've been to Laconia, and Paul goes every year.

Maybe we'll make Ocean City Cruisin' an annual event.

Today Stop and Remember

2010-05-31T07:00:00.000-04:00
Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember the men and women, past and present, who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice so much for all of us. I am guest posting over at Words of Wisdom. Please stop by and help me honor them.

The World Turned Upside Down

2010-05-17T19:59:00.006-04:00
It's been nearly two weeks since I last wrote a post so you might think I have a lot to say. Yet here I sit struggling to think of something with great content to write about.

Great content? In case you don't know, that's my shameless plug for the new blog that Pam and I began recently. Please take a few minutes and visit Words of Wisdom to see what it's all about. Let me say right away that this post is not going to fall into the great content category but maybe it will help me figure out why it's been so long since my last post.

Let's see. I'm happy to report that real estate has been very busy these last few weeks. Several new clients and a couple closings have taken up a lot of time. Recently I was invited to a very special lunch with the President and CFO of our agency to honor the Top Producers of 2009. I was really pleased to be one of the 18 agents to receive that distinction.

I also attended a Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast at Fidelity Investments locally to thank the many, many people who donate their time, energy and money to Adopt-a-Family each year. The people at Fidelity are responsible for providing for 10% of the children we help annually. Our program is just one of many they are involved with, and it was terrific to hear about all the great work they do.

I saw a great production of The Odd Couple at Trinity Rep a couple weeks ago. Based, of course, on the television sitcom of the 70's, the play was set in a 1960's television studio complete with bright lights and live commercials between acts. With two of the favorites of the company cast as Felix and Oscar, the show was full of great laughs.

And last but not least, another reason I have been absent is my new laptop! I have been spending lots of time transferring files and learning the new programs and operating system. This is my first laptop and it is taking some getting used to but I know I'm going to love the portability of it. We are hoping to get away for a few days soon, and it's going to be great to have a computer with us. The desktop will now be Paul's. Yahoo! No more sharing.

So that's about it. In addition to neglecting my own blog I'm afraid I've been neglecting lots of others and have not visited much lately. I'm almost afraid to open my Reader. I'm expecting to see over 1,000 unread posts. As much as I hate to, I just might have to hit that dreaded delete all button. And I was doing so well keeping up with all of you! Oh well, tomorrow is another day. It's great to be back.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2010-05-07T07:21:00.003-04:00

I was out taking some pictures this week. This one of Rosey in a patch of bugleweed is my favorite of the day.

Have a great weekend all.

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

2010-05-04T05:44:00.006-04:00
It's well before 6 a.m. and here I am. Up. The dogs aren't even awake. The only sounds I hear are the birds, which is nice, and the noise of my keyboard. I'd like to say the milkman woke me but he didn't. I was awake before he came this morning. (Yes, we have a milkman. He even delivers our milk in glass bottles. I know. How very 1950's.)

What I wouldn't give to be able to waste a few hours away in the morning sleeping late. I saw a newspaper article about organizing your life starting with the morning. It went something like this: When your alarm clock goes off, do you hit the snooze button and sleep another 10 minutes? When it goes off again, do you hit it again for another 10 minutes? Do you hit it again 10 minutes later? When it goes off again do you jump up in a panic realizing you only have 20 minutes to get out the door?

Oh I wish. I would love to sleep late, to laze in bed until 10 or 11. But I can't. I haven't set an alarm clock in at least 15 years. That is unless I have an early morning plane to catch and then I set two and wake hourly because I'm sure I have set them wrong, overslept and missed the plane. On those nights I probably shouldn't even go to bed.

Otherwise, I never set an alarm clock. No matter what time I go to bed or in what condition, I wake up at 5 o'clock. It's a curse. As soon as I become conscious, my mind starts to go. As hard as I try to distract myself, to clear my mind, I can't go back to sleep. Most mornings I give up after 30 minutes and get up.

The only good thing is that during that first half hour when I'm still in bed, I think I write my best stuff and come up with most of the topics for blog posts. Or at least that's when my creative juices seem to flow more easily. But oh how I would love to go back to sleep and wake to find it's 9 o'clock. Never happens. I suppose now it's because I'm old or going through menopause but that wasn't so 15 years ago.

Paul laughs at me because if I lay down on the couch in the evening to watch television, I fall asleep. It doesn't matter if it's the most fascinating program I have ever seen; turn on the TV and Sandy is asleep. But I've been up since 5 a.m., I'm tired! Fortunately I seldom have trouble falling asleep, just staying that way.

Last night was particularly short because I was up until nearly midnight. Four-thirty this morning I was looking at the clock, thinking Oh gawd, not already!

This afternoon I have a company lunch to go to. I received an invitation to a Top Producer Luncheon with the president and CFO. I think I better find some cucumber slices to put on these eyes so I don't look like something the cat dragged in. Falling asleep in my salad wouldn't look right either. Or maybe I could just go back to bed and try to sleep. Nah, where's that cucumber?

Highbush Cranberry--May

2010-05-01T12:23:00.014-04:00
It appears that I have come full circle with this project of posting photos of our Highbush Cranberry. I have been faithful to my commitment made last June to post monthly photos of this beautiful shrub in our yard and many of you have been faithful in checking in and commenting.

The change from April until today is really amazing. We have had a wet spring so maybe that has had an effect but as I've said all along, even though I love this bush, I have never paid quite this much attention to its changes.

Some of the berries from last year are still hanging on although they are looking pretty sad and getting ready to make their exit, I'm sure.

There are berries hanging in there right along side the new growth of what will become this year's fruit.

Last but not least are these blossoms getting ready to pop and become the beautiful white flowers this shrub produces in June.

If you've been following along monthly, Thanks! If you haven't, take a look at each of these posts to watch the progress.

June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and April.

We All Deserve Privacy

2010-04-28T06:45:00.008-04:00
Have you ever watched the news on TV and seen one of those situations where a reporter puts a microphone in the face of a victim? It usually happens after some horrible crime either at the scene when emotions are most raw or outside of a courthouse when the reporter asks some ridiculous question like How do you feel about your mother, brother, sister, father being beaten, stabbed, killed, run over?

When I see that I usually think What a ghoul that reporter must be or Why does the family even respond. Then I think, The reporter is just doing her job, she's there to get people to watch her station/read her newspaper or The poor family, they are trapped and feel they have to answer.

I found out yesterday that neither has to happen. Two years ago a very high-profile murder happened locally. A young man killed both of his parents and disposed of their bludgeoned bodies on their property. They were not discovered for two weeks. Very gruesome.

Although the story was covered by the local media when it happened, it was interesting that there were no interviews with the immediate family. There was an extensive newspaper article but it was written from only the details of the police reports. There were interviews with former neighbors but nothing from the family, a large and local one.

Two days ago, almost two years after the murders of his parents, the son was finally brought to trial. On the first day there were no media present in the courtroom.

On the second day, which was supposed to involve jury selection, there was a large contingent of reporters from newspapers and television, videographers and photographers. In the spectators' section of the courtroom sat twenty members of the couple's family, filling up more than half of the benches. It appeared that the media had been placed in a position which made photographing or videoing the family difficult. The click and whir of the cameras was audible but they were all pointed at the lawyers and defendant, not the family.

Soon after the proceedings of the second day began, they came to an end when the defendant changed his plea of not guilty to guilty of all charges. Later it was learned that after the first day of the trial which included the viewing of one of the first taped interviews of the son after his parents were reported missing but before they were found, he decided to change his pleas to guilty and save putting himself through the ordeal of the trial.

With that change, the family was spared the ordeal as well. The trial came to an end, the murderer was escorted out and the family silently and solemnly filed out of the courtroom to an unknown location in the courthouse.

The reporters began falling all over themselves to get out of the courtroom no doubt to be the first to post their reports and be the first to get into the family's faces. Although the reporters milled around in the halls of the courthouse and stayed posted at both exits of the massive building, the family never appeared and the reporters finally gave up and left without their pictures or statements. The family's privacy would be preserved.

The story hit the airwaves immediately but with no photos or statements from the family. The public would have to be satisfied with statements on the courthouse steps from the Attorney General and head of the State Police.

On the evening news at the end of the report of the day's events, the reporter said "The family declined to be interviwed or photographed."

Bravo for them. I wish them peace.

What Business of Yours Is it Anyway?

2010-04-18T07:31:00.012-04:00
Recently I was helping a friend who is nearing retirement put together information to file for Social Security benefits. Although I don't know any more about it than he does I have a few more computer skills, and it seemed that doing it online was going to streamline the process.

That turned out to be wrong. He eventually called the local office of the Social Security Administration and after a long time on hold he spoke to a woman who interviewed him and sent forms through snail mail. I guess they figure if you're 65 years old you can't use a computer. While that may be true of many, it's not true of all, and they should make it a little easier to do this online if that's your choice. But that's just the beginning of what I learned that ticked me off about the government.

She asked about marriages, divorces, children, etc. Had he ever been divorced. Yes. Was he married to his former spouse for more than ten years. No.

Apparently if you were married for ten years of longer, your former spouse may be eligible to collect Social Security benefits based on your earnings record when he/she reaches retirement age. This is if you earned more and he/she is not married to someone else at the time. That does not diminish the amount of benefits you collect, however.

While going over the documents he got by snail mail, he began to question whether they had been married more than ten years. The marriage ended over 30 years ago. Who remembers these things, he said. If he was a woman, you know he would remember the time, day and date of the divorce but men aren't wired that way.

After much searching and aggravation he came up with the Petition for Divorce. They had divorced after 11 years of marriage. Obviously the people at SSA would have to be notified.

As I looked over his shoulder at this one legal sheet of yellowed paper that had been folded into quarters, the information obviously typewritten, I noticed that she was granted the divorce on grounds of "extreme cruelty." Having known this friend for a few years and knowing that he could never have been guilty of "extreme cruelty" in any situation, never mind against a woman he shared children with, I was shocked by this.

What is that about? I asked. He said that was the only grounds under which you could get a divorce back then. There was no dissolution of marriage as a result of irreconcilable differences even if the divorce was amicable and consensual. When I was divorced several years after they were, it was on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Very neat and clean. No one accusing anyone of "cruelty."

To make it worse, the last line of the details of the Petition of Divorce dealing with child custody, child support, house, etc., said that he...."be permanently enjoined from molesting, annoying or interfering with her." That seemed especially nasty language considering the decision to divorce was mutual.

Talk about extreme cruelty. The courts should have no business in determining who does and who doesn't divorce anyway, especially when it's something both parties agree to.

Are You a Good Storyteller or Like to Take Pictures?

2010-04-11T00:01:00.006-04:00

It's been three weeks since Words of Wisdom (WOW) hit the blogosphere, something Pam and I find hard to believe. The first couple weeks were challenging but things seem to be working out. For more information, visit our Welcome Message.

After only three weeks, we have over 100 followers. It's been fun and encouraging to read the feedback and comments. We have been featuring a new "Blogger of Note" daily on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We look forward to finding more “bloggers of substance" to share with our followers and visitors. If you want to know how to be a BON, you can find out how here.

We know that in addition to writing great blogs lots of you out there enjoy photography and creative writing (fiction, poetry, essays, etc.). As a way to include those types of blogs and posts, we are now including two new features. Beginning today, every Sunday you can link your favorite posts of photos or creative writing.

If you want to share some of your writing, visit the Writer's Forum and put up a link. If you would like to share some of your photographs, visit the Photo Gallery and link it up. If you are looking for some new and interesting photography or creative writing, drop by and check it out. We really looking forward to what you have to share.

A Hunter and a Conservationist

2010-04-09T07:34:00.011-04:00
I've mentioned Paul's life-long love of the outdoors. A hunter since he was 9, Paul has literally hunted from the Arctic Circle to Africa. Lots of people are surprised to learn that he is both a hunter and a conservationist. That's when he tells them that hunters were the first conservationists.

Back in the 1800s, there were no game laws, and people killed indiscriminately year round. Because people still lived off the land and killed animals for food, some species of ducks, pheasants, deer and turkeys became endangered. So President Theodore Roosevelt, a man Paul greatly admires, created a law restricting what game hunters could kill. These laws were committed to wildlife restoration and allowing species facing extinction to survive.

As chairman of our town's Conservation Commission, Paul is involved with the state's Department of Environmental Management's wood duck nesting program. A program started in 1951 it involves the placement and management of wood duck boxes all over the state.

Beginning in January 2009, Paul began placing and maintaining wood duck boxes all over town. When the marshes are frozen, the boxes are set in or around marshes and adjacent to ponds. Wood ducks normally nest in trees because once their chicks are born, they want to be able to get to the water quickly to avoid predators.

Depending on where you live you might see duck boxes out in marshy areas. They look like ordinary wooden bird houses but on poles. The boxes are usually leaning forward. Many people think that means the boxes are falling down but it's actually intentional because that's the way the ducklings get out of the boxes when ready to leave the nest. Using claws on their feet, they are able to climb up the rough wood on the interior of the box and get out.

The survival rate for wood ducks is still relatively low. Paul had one box that was full of 15 unhatched eggs this year. It's impossible to know what happened to them. Others that hatch are killed by predators.

Paul checks the boxes to look for evidence of use in late spring during hatching season. Increases in wood duck boxes in prime locations result in an increase in the wood duck population. The population faced extinction in the early 1900s and many state conservation departments started to set up nest box programs using native pine wood boxes and wood shavings to simulate an actual nest cavity.

Part of being involved in the state program requires keeping records of where the wood duck boxes are and counting the numbers of hatched eggs as well as unhatched eggs and boxes where no activity is seen. When it doesn't look like a box is being used, Paul moves it to another location.

I've gone out with him to take pictures a couple times but since this all happens in the dead of winter when everything is frozen and I'm more of a walk-in-the-park-on-a-spring-day kind of girl, I really haven't gotten involved. But I enjoy seeing his enthusiasm and how much he enjoys being outside all year, and I'll be happy to have the fire going and a nice hot cup of cocoa ready when he and the dogs come home.

The Best Things in Life Are Free

2010-04-05T06:00:00.003-04:00
Paul and I are facing a monumental decision for us; whether to spend money. We have been married 23 years, as of today actually. Today is our anniversary. In the 24 years since we bought our house, we have always watched our spending.

There have been years when our income was up and years when it was down. Because he is a commissioned salesman we can't always count on Paul's income being the same from one quarter to the next. And because I am a realtor, also a commissioned income, we can have major fluctuations in our annual income and we have. If you have a good year you can't change your lifestyle to match because next year could be very different.

We drive nice cars but not luxury cars, and we usually keep them for several years. We have traveled. I love to travel, I would give up a lot of things to travel, and I have a rule: Every year I have to see somewhere new. It doesn't have to be exotic, just somewhere I have never been before. There have been some very nice vacations over the last few years, most out of the U.S. Although that may be coming to an end soon. It's gotten just too complicated and uncomfortable to fly internationally, and we talk about this next trip to Europe being our last out of the country. We'll see about that.

We still live in the same house that we bought 24 years ago. We don't buy expensive clothes or furniture. We eat out but seldom anywhere pricey. We have always been savers. We are not rich by anyone's definition but we don't worry about paying bills either. I think we are satisfied with the decisions we have made over the years.

Recently we have noticed that many of our friends and acquaintances are buying second, and in some cases third, homes. I often wonder "do that make that much more money than we do?" Although this sounds nice, Paul and I have always said..."that's not for us." The responsibility of maintaining a second home as well as the expense has just never tempted us. Until now.

Last fall while hunting Paul stayed at a relative's house in New Hampshire. It's about a three hour drive from us. Paul came home raving about the property saying how nice the house is and how gorgeous the view from the property is. He said it was a modest house, almost new, on a few acres of land, set back from the road surrounded by woods with frontage on a trout stream. Sounds nice I thought, how nice for them.

Two weeks ago I came home and Paul had a funny look on his face; funny happy, not stressed like he usually does. "You look like the cat that ate the canary," I said. He told me to sit, and said, "Diane is selling the house in New Hampshire!" Oh boy, I thought, here we go.

My husband, the man who hates to spend money more than just about anyone I know, thinks we should buy this property. And I'm not saying we shouldn't, but really, should we? It would require a small mortgage, taxes, insurance, you know the list. We all know the list. My question is not whether we can afford it, we can with a few adjustments, but will it be another burden? Will we say..."we haven't been to New Hampshire in three weeks, we need to go." Will it become an obligation rather than enjoyment.

It could be a place that the kids and grandkids would use. That would be nice. Maybe we could rent it to skier friends. That would help with the expenses. But are these good reasons to make this commitment? I just don't know. And it's keeping both of us awake at night thinking about it.

Then I think, we're not getting any younger. We all hear the stories, you shouldn't put things off that you want to do. You may never have the opportunity again....blah, blah, blah. But is it really blah, blah, blah? My father died suddenly at 68. Paul's mother did, too, at 72. You never know what's around the bend. See what I mean? I can't decide.

The plan is to go stay there for a weekend soon so I can see it. I've seen pictures, the location and view are really beautiful. Then we will have to make that decision: To spend or not to spend.

Do you own vacation property? Has it been a good experience or not? I could use some advice.

Highbush Cranberry--April

2010-04-01T19:57:00.009-04:00
It's been eleven months since I began this project of monthly photos of the Highbush Cranberry. Some of the berries are still hanging on. We've had nine inches of rain here in New England over the last three days and still they hang on. Our yard is a total quagmire that I slogged through in Paul's boots to get these photos this afternoon. You can see a puddle at the base of the bush.

The berries are still a vibrant color but definitely have seen better days. There are still many bunches that just don't seem to want to give up.

The rain stopped last night and the sun came out this morning in this beautiful blue sky. Here you can see the new growth along side of the old berries.

By next month these buds should pop. What's going to happen to the berries? I don't know. Check back in May to find out.

To see the changes, go to June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, and March.

March 31, 1986

2010-03-31T03:04:00.004-04:00
Today is our anniversary, not the day Paul and I were married but the anniversary of our first date.

I suppose everyone remembers their first date. I remember it better than the day we were married. It happened 14 years after the first time Paul asked me out, an invitation then that was really made in fun, to tease the 16-year-old girl that I was at the time.

The invitation this time was for real. He called early in the week for a Friday date. I was so excited and so nervous. He was 10 years older. I had never dated an older man, and I was sure he would find me silly and unsophisticated. I was 30 years old, hardly the high school girl I was back then, but I still felt like her that week. I agonized all week about what to wear.

He picked me up and took me to dinner at a restaurant he knew well. A nice steakhouse I had never been to. He saw people he knew and introduced me. I smiled and said hello.....did I look as nervous as I felt?

I remember what I wore. I remember what he wore. I remember what I ate. I remember what we talked about during dinner and the ride back to my house. I remember sitting in my living room and talking for hours as Paul told me stories that made me laugh.

Most striking in my memory is that I remember how he smelled. So wonderful, I wondered, Is that cologne or just how Paul smells? The next day while I was out shopping I smelled that same scent. My head spun around expecting to see him. It was just another man who had walked by. I guess it was cologne. Paul hasn't worn it in years but even today if I get a whiff of it somewhere, it makes me smile and remember that first date.

Six months from the day of that first date, Paul and I bought the house we still live in. Six months after that, we got married. And the story continues.

Quality of Character

2010-03-29T06:52:00.009-04:00
There's been a lot said over the last week about quality and content of blogs. Hopefully we have all agreed that quality and content mean different things to different people. I don't need to go over what those of us at WOW hope to see our tribe and WOW become.

What I want to share are my thoughts about another kind of quality.....quality of character. And remember, I never promised not to write about family occasionally, so here we go.

Pam wrote a very interesting post about her daughter Katie the other day. For anyone who hasn't caught on, Pam and I are related. Katie is Paul's and my granddaughter.

Throughout high school, Katie has been involved in several organizations geared towards business and preparing students for a career in business, and she has done well. I'm not going to rewrite Pam's post but I want to tell you about a fundraiser Paul and I attended last week to raise money for water filters in Cambodia. The fundraiser was held at Katie's high school, and she was responsible for its planning and presentation. Although admittedly a little biased, I cannot say enough about how well done this event was.

The event which was attended by about 150 people involved a catered meal, entertainment, raffles and a presentation about the program and organization that provides the water filters. Katie also emceed the event. Did I mention that Katie is 17 years old?

She often spends the weekend with Paul and me. There's not much that makes us happier than to have her call and ask, "Can I come stay this weekend?" Last December we were invited to a friend's house for a holiday party on one of those weekends. Katie came with us. As we introduced her to several people, all adults, she said hello, reached out and shook their hands. When was the last time you saw that?

Let me tell you, Katie is not a nerd (whatever that is, but you get my drift). She's a normal teenager with friends, goes to proms, dances and parties and who has gone through her own teen angst. But she is becoming a very interesting young woman.

At the party she sat with us in a group of adults and contributed to the conversation. She's usually quiet, not one of those kids who needs to be the center of attention, but she spoke when she had something to add to the conversation. She was involved, not one of those sullen teens who sits in the corner plugged into their iPod and texting.

So what was my point here? Even though I'd like to say Katie is one in a million (to us she is) I'm really saying hopefully she's not. I have met several of her friends, and they all seem to have similar talents and quality of character.

So despite being known to think or say "Kids these days!" I am feeling a little more encouraged that if these are the young people who are going to be in charge in the future, maybe we'll be okay after all.

One Last Fire and a Cup of Coffee

2010-03-28T07:44:00.006-04:00
The weather was so beautiful last weekend. Sunday the thermometer said 70. Not in the sun, actual air temp. Short sleeves, yard work, window washing weather.

Yesterday morning the thermometer said 22 degrees! That's just wrong. But it goes to prove who's in charge here, and it's not us. Mother Nature says we're not done with winter just yet. Or maybe it's just that she's not done with winter. This morning it was in the high 20's with a forecast for mid 40's this afternoon, so there's hope.

The Sunday morning ritual around here is coffee and the paper in front of a fire. Last weekend it looked like that was over for this winter. I almost cleaned out the fireplace this week but didn't. I must have had a premonition that there was one more fire left in the winter.

No one enjoys the fire more than Lucy. She likes her coffee, too. If we could only teach her to read.

A shameless plug here: If you haven't already visited Words of Wisdom, please go take a look.

WOW! Are We Excited

2010-03-23T08:08:00.005-04:00
Did we hit a few nerves out there or what? In case you don’t know what I’m referring to, last weekend Pam of Pam’s Perspectives and I launched a new blog called Words of Wisdom……Join the Conversation. Our hope in starting this adventure is to create a place for bloggers who enjoy reading and writing posts with great content to find each other and to share.

As of this writing we have 40 followers which seems pretty good for only a couple days. I’ve been cruising around the blogosphere this week checking out the posts written about WOW and especially focusing on the comments left on those blogs. There have been two recurring themes among those comments.

One is that many of you are questioning whether you are what we are “looking for;” if you “qualify.” Again, I want to stress that we are NOT looking for “great” authors. Who or what is that anyway? A great author/writer means different things to different people.

This is similar to people I call “wine snobs.” People who like to say “this Chapeau due Smurf Pop was exquisite, and it was only $92 a bottle.” Okay, if you like it, great. But I ask, do you like it because it cost $92 a bottle or because you thought it tasted good? Hey, if I like a box of wine that costs 5 bucks, I’m good with that, and I have money left over for a pizza. But I digress.

To those of you who are asking if you are who we are looking for I say, follow our format, submit your posts and let’s see what happens. I can tell you that at WOW we definitely want people who have something to say. While we don’t mean to criticize or eliminate the occasional product review or meme, we are just hoping to appeal to those who write more with “great content” and definitely with less commercialism.

It’s difficult to sum that up in a few words. Pam did it well in her post last Saturday, when she said we are looking for people who write….“blog posts that make me think or sit up and take notice.” They can be funny or serious.

And secondly, we want to stress that in no way are we bashing "Mommy Bloggers." Pam was a SAHM for nearly 17 years. I don’t think anyone would categorize her as a "Mommy Blogger" but she certainly writes about her kids and family. Although I am not a mother, I write often about family. And I plan to continue writing about my family occasionally; sometimes in a serious way, sometimes not so serious.

Both Pam and I followed the particular blog people have mentioned and who, quite frankly, have taken some shots at. We both followed that blog for months and personally I can say I enjoyed the experience. I also found several blogs and bloggers there that I enjoy and continue to follow. WOW is just our way of branching off into something of our own that we thought (and now know) certain bloggers might be looking for.

So if you haven’t stopped by WOW, please do and let us know what you think.