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October 31, 2003
Happy Halloween!
o/'o/'o/' Ont he Road Again o/'o/'o/' It's packing up day and I'm having a little bit of trouble actually starting the packing process. I've made some piles and have at least showered so far. Doing well.
Sometimes those silly emails make me laugh....I got this one from Alice this morning: "At Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) today, an individual,later discovered to be a public school teacher, was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a compass, a protractor, and a graphical calculator. Authorities believe he is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He is being charged with carrying weapons of math instruction"
Yes I laughed....but then why did I NOT find very humorous the Halloween costume of the desk clerk this morning at the hotel...he was dressed in some Burka looking type outfit.....maybe it was supposed to be some sort of Ninja thing even though it was a black robe and head scarf with only his eyes peeking out. What would you think?
Hmmmm... a fire alarm is going off in another building here...people are running about. I hope it's just someone burning toast. Glad it's not me.
I've had a successful trip this week. I found a really great gift shop/flower shop which carried some "perfect" gifts. I love it when I find things I just know people will like. I also found some good stuff on eBay this week. I think my goodies will be distributed by both UPS and the Post Office...wouldn't want to strain anyone's back.
yikes....almost noon...time to get a move on.
Posted by frani at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2003
Visually impaired...apparently
So Morgan had this Visual IQ test link on his sidebar yesterday. I knew he would do better than I would (124)....but I would think that I would at least be "normal" with a score of 100 ....sigh...alas the best I could do was 96. I knew my creativity gene was weak and now we have proof it's due in part to my visual impairment.
Hhhmmmm...I know two people who have complained about not "ending" their cell phone calls lately. I seem to have the opposite problem..not only does my cell phone end calls permaturely, it also powers down whenever it feels like it. snort...apprently my brother's cell phone makes outgoing calls whenever it feels the need to also. I tell ya...the gadgets of the world are organizing...they'll be taking over!
Speaking of which...another reason I dislike the Taurus...it locks the doors for me when I accelerate. I hate that; what if I drove off the road into the Potomac?? What if the electrical shorted out and I couldn't unlock the doors? Ack! *I"LL* decide when and if I want my doors locked, thank you...not some stupid car, especially not some stupid TAURUS!
In Strange News....seems an alligator being shipped via American Airlines escaped from it's crate in the baggage hold. Quite frankly, *I* find it stranger still that being a cold blooded reptile, it was warm enough to even move about at all in the baggage hold. I've opened our luggage hours after landing to find it still very much on the cold side. Ahem....we have experience with reptiles being left out in cold environments...right Morgan? ( Morgan, put Aggie in the kitchen to warm up...poor baby is so cold he's barely moving!.....Aggie was then hot snapping at Morgan's heels chasing him into the living room...snort. Actually, this should hav ebeen our first clue at how much Morgan actually radiates heat!)
So have a fine day my friends....yucky November will be upon us soon enough..enjoy the sunshine while it's out there.
Posted by frani at 09:19 AM | Comments (8)
October 27, 2003
Yo Henry!
Soooooooooooooo, Hertz....what part of NO FORD TAURUS do you not understand? That's a 2 class car upgrade!! I felt like my grandmother looking through the steering wheel this morning...fortunately the steering wheel goes down and the seat goes up...whew. Hope the return guy doesn't get a hernia trying to get into it again.
However, the man with the gold card has reached the President's Circle and finding the car within a few paces of entering the Hertz area is a nice perk. Thank you.
Posted by frani at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2003
200th Entry...Wow!
I've enjoyed my last 3 weeks at home...off to Maryland tomorrow but only for the week. I can handle every other week just fine thank you.
I see the Marlins won the World Series...oooooooooohhhhhhh poor Yankees. Oh well, there is always next year...right? Shows you how much *I* was into the series once it got down to those two teams..ho hum.
Some friends from CT spent last week at their time share in Ascutney. We met in Middlebury on Thursday to see some sights but I had not convinced them to come up and spend a evening night with me. Once Cheryl started asking about Kennedy Brother's Antique martket in Vergennes and I told them it was only another 15 minutes north, I knew I "had" them. snort. So they had to suffer through leftovers and bathroom dust since I wasn't prepared for their visit but we had a good time anyway. Friday we went to the Essex Craft show which has gotten huge and received national attention I guess. This is not your Granny knitting socks and crocheting squares. Wish I had some of the talant displayed there. (more excuses for not posting)
I feel the need to mention a couple of the craft people at the show. I have admired this woman's for several years, now. I've seen her prints displayed at a restaurant I have gone to. Basicially she arranges dried flower then photographs them; she then sells the prints. It's really very hard to tell the prints are not the original dried flowers arrangements. Bob and Cheryl sneakily went back and bought one for me that I had admired. I don't see it on her site but it has jack-in-the-pulpits which remind me of my wanderings in the meadow when I was a child.
Once in a while I find someone who pottery appeals to me...Roxie is her name..from Conway, MA. I especially loved her green leaf pattern and her vases with the ties and or lace collers were just so cute. I asked if she had used real lace to make the impressions...yup.
However, I did buy something...yup...a 3 foot long wrought iron hook from which to hang my candle chandelier I made last week. A whole $6 well spent. Oh yeah and we shared a giant eclaire....hey it's all about the food at these events!
Time to get a move on and get packing...oopppsss ...change all those clocks; we're back on Eastern Standard Time!
Posted by frani at 08:38 AM | Comments (2)
October 23, 2003
Excuses for not posting...
*I've fussed and putzed around all week. I've had fun. I went to several of my antique and flea market haunts looking for treasures. It's amazing how easily I'm entertained.
*I like Rust-Oleum; a thing, some paint and some candles...voila! Entertainment. However, I really have to find a use for chalk board or magnetic paints
*I have done productive stuff this week too....I have actually changed the cars tires to snow tires before the first major snow storm. Yes, they have predicted snow showers but I haven't seen any yet and the cars are ready. Ok...one is done the other is first in line this morning but it hasn't SNOWED yet! * I also "fixed" the outside light for the apartment. Well, not exactly fixed...I wasn't about to mess with why the motion sensor on it worked or didn't work so I just took it off. Heaven forbid anyone has to actually use a switch to get the lights on BUT such is life. * The neighbors are going to think I'm having affairs with all the delivery guys...Airborne Express, Fed EX..UPS....no wonder I can't keep up with the cardboard around here.
Posted by frani at 07:52 AM
| Comments (4)
October 19, 2003
Family pride and such....
Some very exciting family news...Greg's nephew Christopher has received a Milken Family Foundation award for excellence in teaching. We are so very proud and thrilled for him ( More news reports..) Ahhhh I remember when he was just a little tike...eyepatch and all...Demian resembled him so much that Morgan got confused as to which was his big brother and which was his cousin. hhhmmm...I seem to recall this resemblance came in handy when the boys were older...much older...Quick Demian, when is Chris' birthday...err...ah...I mean when were YOU ( wink wink) born? Congratulation Christopher..you've made us all proud...from hotdog eating & weekly clothes wearing, to shrimp consuming GQ master to fine adult and master teacher...who woulda thunk? Oh and BTW...he also ought to be the poster boy dyslexia and how vital early education is...;-D
Posted by frani at 09:01 AM | Comments (3)
October 18, 2003
The Door.....
So the conversation went something like this:
Me: So how would you feel about my painting the front door dark purple?
Him: Fine, as long as it has yellow dots.
Me: Ok, as long as they are removable.
Him: Ok.
Me: OK.
As with any major creative project in the Johnston household, nothing is totally straight forward or simple. The magnetic material for the dots had to be acquired...the sizes and placement had to be precise AND just for good measure there are some special dots for special occasions/ Holiday. Today's door features a Birthday cake to commemorate Morgan's 26th Birthday and a lobster for the feed we are going to have later today.
pppsssttt update: I liked Morgan's photo editing so lifted his picture of the door.
Posted by frani at 10:07 AM | Comments (8)
October 14, 2003
We've been reasonably spoiled the
We've been reasonably spoiled the last few days by some exceptional warm and beautiful weather. The sun shining on all the trees wearing their best fall colors has been breathtaking. I know I'm going to regret not having taken advantage of it all by being outside as much as possible. It's coming. Clouds later today...rain...cold...yuck. The sun will be out over the weekend but they are forecasting highs in the 40s. :::::::jaws music:::::::: It's coming.
Besides being the harbinger of winter, another thing I don't like about fall is the fact that by the time all the leaves are off the trees and it's finally worth spending time raking them all up, it's too darn cold to want to be out there. There are a lot of leaves out there now and they should be dealt with. Hhhmm ... "o/'o/'o/'oh little boys next doooorrrr?o/'o/'o/'" I think they changed their rate structure after doing our leaves last year, though.
However, I went to the nursery yesterday scoping out new plants and shrubs for around the front porch....everything is 50% off right now. I think this can work as long as I get in gear before it's too cold to want to be out there. I think that gives me a 4 hour window this morning. They do have holly though...I think that would look quite nice.
I also cleaned out the sun room yesterday...took out all the dead plants...took down the reflective curtain that has disintegrated after 20 years. (the noive) We had made them out of some emergency camping type blankets that are (were) reflective on one side. They worked well to keep the heat out of the living room but the flakey reflective scat was all over the place....mostly on me as I was a little dewy from the heat. Charming....
I see the Red Sox evened the series with the Yankees last night......whew...I wouldn't want to see a run away series, ya know. I think I might have thought too positively toward one team over the weekend...I didn't really even think about it last night ...maybe I should leave it like that.
I thought this little item on the news last night was interesting....
"A South Burlington man with a history of bomb threats, death threats and police stand-offs has been arrested again after yet another violent encounter with police. 33-year-old Andre Levesque was captured last night in Swanton after police say he attacked a government vehicle with an axe in Rouses Point, New York, led them on a high-speed chase, and put up a fight after he was finally stopped with road spikes. Levesque is now jailed facing several charges but he may not be held long. According to court records, Levesque has a hisotry of arrests for death threats, bomb threats, an armed stand-off, and another high-speed police chase. But the charges have been dropped because Levesque is diagnosed as a mental incompetent and released under supervision of state mental health authorities. " (as reported on the WCAX news last night)
Sigh.....I can remember standing in our driveway after just having purchased this house from his father and having him expalin to us how Andre marches to the beat of a different drummer and how the school system has failed his son. Maybe...maybe not.
Posted by frani at 08:27 AM | Comments (4)
October 10, 2003
Jiggity Jig Again...
...........typical Friday, except I got home a lot earlier and I drove.
I went to CT to see the little critters and their parents...actually I ..um...er...went to deliver a leaf blower I had offered up since we don't use it. Obviously we haven't used it for a very long time. Demian pulled the starter cord and it just hung out there......hhhmmm
I'm so glad I brought my camera...as usual. The only pictures I took were of some foliage while driving the car on the way down there Wed. They weren't that good.
I was too busy playing to take photos of the little kids....I did however leave my charger and spare battery there. We should invest in a bunch of those small Priority mail boxes and buy the stamps in books....sigh
I set my cruise control...in CT . Of course it didn't help since there was a traffic tie-up on the Merritt Parkway. Then there were a lot of cars going North already for Columbus Day weekend. I was pretty much going the speed limit until I had a chance to pass this particularly annoying SUV from NJ who insisted on tying up the left lane. I might have been the blue Saab who was clocked doing 86mph as it passed the VT state trooper sitting round the bend in the road. There were soooooooooooo many cars around and he couldn't pull out quick enough to keep that car in his sights. He found me just tooling along doing 63-65mph in the right lane a while after and couldn't be sure I was the one he saw but he gave me a written warning anyway...just in case it was me. He said he was 80% sure it was me. When he asked me where I was going in such a hurry I didn't protest but merely said I had a chance to pass an especially annoying SUV and I went for it. Maybe that's why he thought it might have been me. Mayyyy bee....I wasn't going to argue with the man. sigh...
Now to find something for dinner tonight....
Posted by frani at 05:40 PM | Comments (1)
October 07, 2003
This and That...
* Whew...it certainly feels better to get some naggy things accomplished and out of the way.
*Speaking of those pesky baseball players...I did have to watch some of the Boston - Oakland game last night...I won't say that I rooted for one team over another..( curse ya know) but I was certainly pleased with the outcome. However, just in case, I just might have to mumble a few "Go Yankees".
*I can't believe how GREEN it is out there still...some leaves have changed but it's still very green for this time of year.
*I have to add something here before I forget to acknowledge them somewhere else...Risa...it was the Montgomery Mall (Shops...something like that....I think ) Democracy Bvld. and I-270.
*I need to have tea....
Posted by frani at 05:22 PM | Comments (2)
October 05, 2003
This and That..
We got home fairly on time Friday night. Got a talkative cab driver who told us about nearly getting hit by a drunk driver in Winooski ( red pick-up with no lights) and saving his passenger's life. Then launched into deer camp stories ( bow season started yesterday) and some woman who advertises deer camp visits on aol. *I* declined to ask him how he came upon so much information. However, that segued into Milton jokes for the remainder of the ride home. Since this is less than a 2 mile trip, I shudder to think how much more entertainment we could have had as hostages in the back of the cab.
Indeed, we were heating all of South Burlington with the windows we left open. Fortunately the thermostat was only set at 60. Of course every heat vent is located right under one of those formally open windows so there was no prayer of any of the heat staying in the house....up the vent ..out the window. The windows are no closed which in itself is no easy feat...hammers, ropes, boards, muscle and ingenuity. It just better not get too warm again...those babies are closed 'til spring.
I'm only a marginal sports fan. I generally know who are in play-offs and I generally have a favorite. I'm also a curse so I don't get too excited. No team that I have ever ferverently rooted for wins so I sort of hang back and observe. Maybe I ought to say stuff like " Go Oakland!"
My Martha Stewart living magazine came while we were gone...now I know why Nora wanted a tart pan (Big chocolate chip cookie!)...;-D Sometimes I think Martha can be a little over the top...case in point her eleaborately careved pumpkin designs with a $75 carving kit required to accomplish the taks. My father always said having/using the right tool for the job was half the battle.
hhhhmmm...
Time to get some more stuff done around here.....have a good Sunday all.
Posted by frani at 10:04 AM | Comments (1)
October 03, 2003
TGIF...
After 2 weeks here, I'm ready to go home.
Frost in MD this morning...VT too I suspect. I probably should have called someone and asked them to shut the windows at home. They weren't full open but open enough that the heat probably came on. yup...we were probably guilty of trying to heat all of South Burlington.
I need to pack up all our goods...I think we have spread ourselves out quite nicely this trip. Everything is everywhere....sprawl comes to mind...nice word.
It's October....I can start wearing my Halloween socks...and my sweater!
See you from Home...
Posted by frani at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)