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November 30, 2002
Stuff..Stuffed... Stuffing...
**** I think I am back to normal ..well, at least my sleep pattern and time zone match now.
**** I procrastinated too long getting a dress hemmed that I needed to wear to a wedding today....I could kiss the person who invented Stitch Witchery.
**** We had way too much food for Thanksgiving...more than 5 people could possibly eat in a week...but then again we have an abundance of things to be truely thankful for as well.....
**** Nora needs to be here to save me from eating the rest of the green stuff.
**** Laundry beckons but since it's clothes from the wrong season ( Africa clothes), the urgency just isn't there to get them folded.
Make yourselves a fine day all.......
Posted by frani at 07:50 AM | Comments (1)
November 27, 2002
On South Africa, on Zambia ....
...on Zimbabwe..! I'm nearly speechless! I know, there's a concept you never thought you'd see/hear! This trip was an "experience"...one that defies description BUT of course, I will try. 
The flights to Johannesburg, South Africa were uneventful.. loooong.. made longer by waiting in custom lines and again waiting for the austrailian contingent to get through customs before we were transported to Sun City I was mostly struck by the numbers of people walking the countryside...the main modes of transportation seemed to be BMWs or feet. As with any big city, there was also the poverty...corrogated metal homes seemed to spring up (and down)like weeds in the fields. Platinum mines...bridge to nowhere ( since it was built before the roads and positioned incorrectly. But it was also early "summer" and we had heat and daylight...what's not to like there when November in Vermont is the darkest dreariest month of the year.
Sun City, however, is a typical resort...4 class hotels...conference center.....entertainment and activity centers...golf course...kiddie camps. It could be any place, it even reminded me of Arizona especially when we started meeting up with all the other 100+ attendees to the conference. There was ONE little difference...the monkeys! 6am, the morning after we arrived, I was sitting down by the pool with other non sleepers when all of a sudden I spotted this rather large monkey walking by. *I* nearly fell off the steps, where as Jim and Tim were rather blase about it all...they had been non sleeping longer than I and seen them earlier. I guess they are as pesky for some as squirrels are for us but I was fascinated by them every single time I saw them. We were treated to several activities outside of Greg's meetings...some typical resort water sports like tubing ( Greg and I landed on Burt and got dumped pretty good) and para-sailing ( A thunderstorm popped up and curbed Greg's chance of going but I got my turn later in the week) We also enjoyed 2 "safari's" in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve adjacent to the resort. I didn't mind that one of the elephants was wearing a radio collar; at least we were assured seeing one of the BIG FIVE ( lion, elephant, cape buffalo, giraffe and leopard)...we only saw the big Four..our truck didn't see a leopard. After our sunset safari, we attended a Braii ( BBQ) where we learned to drum ( yeah right..some of us were having trouble keeping the beat..hehehe) for some reason, I kept thinking about Demian!
Leaving SunCity behind was easy enough. Livingstone, Zambia was real Africa; Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe was real Africa....I would encourage this trip above anywhere else I've ever been...we could have stayed there a lot longer than our 2 days. 
We cruised down the Zambezi River at sunset; rode elephants through the bush in Zimbabwe, watched hippos cavort right in front of our hotel, experienced the thrill of Victoria Falls even if it was low water flow....it was majestic! Greg even managed to walk out onto one bridge..we have proof...but it was soooo hot even the breeze from the falls didn't help.
The Royal Livinstone was something right out of the movie "Out of Africa" I could just see colonial Brits setting up "civilization". It wasn't as over the top as sun City although it's owned by the same company. ( which incedentally has Michael Jackson as it's primary stockholder, I'm told) Their resident monkeys were also quite entertaining as well as reasonably aggressive. The first morning, Greg left the sliding door open for all of 10 seconds, when I came into the room, there was already a monkey on the coffee table, helping himself to sugar. He left abruptly: I shut the door; he immediate told his friends about the stupid people in room 5070 so when I was done telling Greg about it, there were at least 10 monkeys lined up on our balcony just waiting for us to be foolish again. 
Travelling into Zimbabwe for our Elephant safari was a bit unnerving...leaving us in the van while our driver wandered off with our passports was unsettling to say the least. Troops jogging in formation down the street...many baboons...poverty...very happy to see "us" since tourism is the main source of income. The only technology in use were cell phones...that in self was strange to see. I would consider an extended stay at the Elephant Camp, the people running it were great..talented..and caring of the elephants and of course, I could have taken baby Rastus home in a heartbeat. We haggled with local "craftsmen"..Chief Makuni won't let the hotels sell local goods so market places are set up near the falls for tourists to buy "stuff"...I learned to haggle, but not as well as my buddy Sue...she traded her shoes off her feet which she was going to throw out anyway. I'm not sure who thought they got the better deal in that transaction!
Everywhere we went, I met wonderful people, natives as well as other tourists. One woman was travelling to the US for the first time and was quite nervous she said...I think she was afraid of terroists...*I* on the other hand was nearly unglued by the scorpion that fell out of the overhead bin after flight attendents did their spraying of the cabin before take off. ( Zambia"International") Greg has mounted some of our photos on the Gallery, feel free to browse..ask questions...I know I left plenty out of this narrative. Go to Africa.....
Posted by frani at 08:10 AM | Comments (2)
November 26, 2002
weeeeee're home.......
We're alive and well.....back in Vermont a mere 31 hours or so after leaving our hotel in Livingstone, Zambia. It's cold here...There will be more but first I must put on some warm clothes..brave the elements to forrage for food for immediate consumption.
Posted by frani at 02:23 PM | Comments (5)
November 14, 2002
One of Seven....
My excitement level is rising...Going to South Africa is right up there with getting married and birthing children! Ok, not really, but it is going to be one of those memorable things on my list of highs. We aren't going to Victoria Falls until the end of the trip and I don't think I'm likely to see all the Seven Wonders of the Natural World but I can at list add this one! Hmmm...nothing says I have to climb Mount Everest...and we have seen The Northern Lights several times ( we weren't in Alaska at the time and one of the more memorable viewings was on a flight I was on one night.)...We both have a desire to Go to the Great Barrier Reef so that's not out of any realm of possibility..I've flown over the Grand Canyon and I could actually see it...( does that count for checking it off the list) So that leaves a couple of trips to Mexico and Brazil. Maybe these belong on my Life To Do list. Anything is possible...I parachuted out of perfectly good aircraft for sport...I got an extremely large dog...I'm traveling all over the world. When someone says "you can't do that"...say "why not?" you just never know. Thank you, Honey..xxxooo
Posted by frani at 09:18 AM | Comments (8)
November 13, 2002
Mind Wanderings...
My mind wanders and wonders about "things" as I go about my business... Writing my thoughts here helps me unclutter...making room for more stuff, I guess.
I was going to write a piece on sequential thinking...it's an issue which comes up often around here living with an analytical thinker. I've decided there is no right or wrong to my sequential thinking; it's just that sometimes it can get too complicated and out of control when I have to adapt to the brick walls I encounter in my sequences. I'm still learning ..it's okay to skip a step in the sequence instead of coming to a complete halt. But I've also realized that there is no acknowledgement when things are running smoothly as a result of my sequential thinking... is being Sequential Sally a bad thing? I suppose only when things go awry.
Which brings me to what I really was thinking about...Why is it so much easier to point out the negative over the positive?
~~~~ Why is the news centered around crime and doom and gloom instead of the good things going on around us?
~~~~Why isn't there a Praise Department?
~~~~Why are community meetings heavily attended only during controversy?
~~~~Why do we get so frustrated when things run amok?
Because it's out of the norm....that's why. It's the bump in the road that gets our attention. Maybe we should try a little harder to pay attention to all the things that are right in the world first..it just might make taking those bumps a little easier. I just might go out of my way to compliment someone today..I know I plan on thanking my washer for doing an excellent job especially in the rinse and spin cycles. .....and Sequential thinking works well for me most of the time.
Make yourself a fine day all........
Posted by frani at 08:20 AM | Comments (5)
November 10, 2002
What did you say?
Sure you can have a computer ..but don't expect ME to learn anything about it or use it...
I'm still not interested in "creating"......but changing the defaults was fun. At least I hunted down and played with them all by myself...that's learning something new ..right?
One should learn something new everyday..or try something new...or eat something new...ok..maybe not eat something new.
Later.... Thanks for the color wheel, Nora/Morgan....and I figured out where to make the changes!! Yea! I like this better than the default I had up before. I think someone frowned on it because it wasn't Green...he can make a green one of his own.
Too Late......I'm sooooo confused...at least it all sits on the page..
Posted by frani at 09:32 AM | Comments (7)
The Here After...
Lately I've been thinking a lot about the here after especially when I go to the Grand Union. I go in and just stand there and wonder what the heck I'm here after. ( drum roll, cymbal crash) This morning I had a marvelous idea what to write about here...guess it's going to be on memory loss. Yes I know I can write my grocery list in my Palm Pilot but it doesn't seem necessary for "milk". On the other hand, it I can't remember that in the mile and a half to the store, then maybe it is necessary. But what about around the house...do I really need to carry my Palm with me from room to room? Going from the kitchen to the laundry room is about 10 steps..do need to enter in my Palm..."get trash bag" or "paper towels"? Of course One can never have too many rolls of paper towels in the kitchen..I could always use them to line the trash compactor when I really should have brought back a trash bag. I've had to rely on the old trick of returning to the room where I first had the thought to begin with, to remind myself what I was about to do. Just how many trips up and down the stairs from the bedroom to the guest room do you think it should take to remember to get a suitcase? Am I worried about this..not really. I can always view this as exercise as I go back and forth from room to room refreshing my memory. After all...there is 53 years of stuff in my brain..for someone who has trouble throwing things away, it can get a little crowded. It must be like tripping over all the empty cardboard boxes (that you are sure to need someday) in order to get at the Christmas decorations you know you stored in a corner. I think I will start to worry when I go off to the Grand Union and find myself standing in the parking lot having forgotten to drive my car there.
Happy 50th Birthday, Auntie Lisa...I'll pave the way for you!
Posted by frani at 08:43 AM | Comments (1)
November 09, 2002
Sad but True....
Woke up this morning and found our cable modem wasn't working. Ok...I can be patient...had coffee...hung out...chatted..all the while checking the lights on the modem. Took my pills...checked the lights...wandered around...checked the cables...called Demian...talked to Maura and Lori too...checked the lights. Left Greg talking to Demian...checked the lights...called Liz to see if they had access..checked the lights...powered down ..powered up...checked the lights...hey they flickered...nope gone. Ok..I can do other things...brought in cat food and litter bags from car...picked pine needles and leaves out of car cracks...checked the lights. Powered off ..powered off computer...powered up. Starting to hyperventalate. Decided to do some laundry...need to make hotel reservations...ooppss can't do that, I need internet access...decided to check out clothes for South Africa...ooppsss can't to that ; need internet access. Checked the lights. Now Greg is off the phone...make calls to Adelphia. Hmmm ..ok...so what if we told Adelphia we were getting our own modem...we never told them it was working ...yes we still want to use theirs...turn it back on THANK YOU! What do you mean it can take 24-48 hours...you turned it off within seconds! Ok...where's the phone cord...hhhmmm...this computer isn't set up with a local worldnet dial-up...I can call Phoenix and Tucson and even from the PHL airport but I can't call Burlington?? What the hell kind of operation is this? Hard to type when the hands are beginning to perspire..making new connection. ahhhh Steve from Adelphia on the phone...yes yes yes...ahhh the lights are all on...all is right with the world.
How sad am I......it's only been 8 hours.
Posted by frani at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2002
A Tale of Two Seasons
I seem to have trouble getting this Dickens title out of my mind...I didn't even like reading the book. ( Torture in the Eight Grade with Mrs Potter) At any rate, this is what we woke up to this morning. I know it doesn't look like much ( some has melted already) but it just illustrates "November" in my mind. Cloudy, wet, nasty..one season pushing the other with some leaves still on the trees. Too cold out there for light weight jackets but silly looking if one were to drag out the boots, hats mittens and down coats. ( Do I hear what price fashion?)
Posted by frani at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2002
Ratherisms..
Who is this man and what have they done with Dan Rather...
Heard within the first 3 minutes:
" ...close as fuzz on a peach.." (Georgia Senate race making it worse!)
" ....tight as a Botox smile...."
Later...
" cracklin' like a hickory fire" (?!)
"as tight as pages in a book.." ( this was after traveling us up "Mark Twain Country" of the Mississippi states)
By crackie, I think I'll mosey off to bed...
Posted by frani at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
Voting...
~~we did our civic duty and privilege.....
~~we have black felt tip markers...
~~Jeb Bush was not on our ballot....
~~Sonny Audette got our votes for city representative...he had our driveway ruts filled in after our casual conversation when he was out campaigning. Guess he still carries weight in town in spite of his retirement from the Street Dept...snort....
~~It's still small town Vermont when you know a lot of the names on the ballot through personal experience.
Posted by frani at 05:40 PM | Comments (2)
Friends, Granddaughters,Grandsons
So my partner in crime ( Liz) is going to be a grandmother too. Passing our friendship down to another generation seemed especially appealing when we found her daughter would be having a little girl. We thought about tea parties and dressup; passing our love of neighborhood crime down to another generation. Maura's visits to Vermont would hold memories of playing with Grammy's friend's granddaughter too. With the announcement of a sibling for Maura, who would be only two months younger than Liz's granddaughter, well let's just say we had more visions of the fun we'd all have.
Last week we learned Baby Too would be a boy. Hmm... maybe a trip to the Tea Room wouldn't be his cup ( so to speak). We'd need to rethink some of these plans..... On our walk the other day, we decided it would be very cool if her granddaughter and our grandson got married someday. (As if we were the only couple of Grannies who ever thought THAT sort of thing)
Liz called yesterday and announced the wedding is off! Her Granddaughter seems to have been hiding parts all this time...HE won't be liking going to tea parties either! No problem...We'll take them to excavation sites instead! Who says sexism isn't alive and well and dwelling in all our hearts and minds!
(..and who says they won't be getting married either...we DO live in Vermont you know! That was just a joke, Demian, calm down)
Posted by frani at 08:57 AM | Comments (5)
November 04, 2002
November
~~~~November is not the greatest month...cloudy, wet, cold and naked with the leaves falling off the trees.
~~~~Time to put away all the Halloween socks; it's not like there are a lot of Veteran's Day socks to be found either. Thanksgiving, Maybe.
~~~~We are home this week...Morgan, we have a great shower.
Posted by frani at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)