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January 30, 2004
I'll join in.......
create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide
Courtesy Lee...AND I didn't include States I merely dropped in at one of their airports or something similar...I could add a lot more for that! BTW...Red states are ones I've actually visited.
create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide
this is kind of sad and they didn't even have The Cayman islands to choose from!!
Posted by frani at 09:21 PM | Comments (6)
How Rewarding is THAT???
I've added yet another "Reward card" to my stash of PITA cards I have to carry. I like using the reward coupons when I get them, never mind the fact that I probably had to spend a small fortune first in order to earn one of those $$ certificates. However, I don't like being held hostage by these things...knowing full well I'm paying more if I don't use one when I can.
Many of my new cards have little keychain size cards, so yesterday I gathered them all up and made a separate keyring for just these things. Here's a woman with too much time on her hands but then again, I was able to get a lot of those full sized cards out of purse. Now I'm fully armed for if/when I go to Shaw's, Grand Union, Price Chopper, Stop and Shop, Fry's (AZ), Hallmark Gold Crown, Discovery Store, PETCO ( where the pets go), Ben Franklin Craft Club.. and now Ace Hardware ( it the place with the helpful hardware man you know) Then I have full sized cards for Talbots, Barnes and Noble, WaldenBooks, USAir, Delta, American Airlines, Continental, United. Fortunately I don't have to carry all those airline cards but nearly everywhere I go I can use my Costco or Blockbuster card. ( and if you think I'm going to link their URLs, you are nuts) Least we forget our license and insurance cards. I shudder to think how I'm missing out on soooooooo many other bargains. Please save me and just reduce the prices by the amounts companies have to spend with these stupid cards. I'm getting a backache carting them around!
...and then there is this: How can anyone really be concerned about privacy issues these days. Screaming about invasion of privacy???? Anyone can pretty much get a clue about me just by the cards I carry. Geesh...What's in your wallet?
Posted by frani at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2004
Have I got a bridge for you..
No, Really...the State of Vermont is offering up the Mississquoi Bay Bridge and all you have to do is move it intact, preserve it and take full responsibility for it. Sounds reasonable but so far there have been no takers. Most interviewees declined the offer as they could think of no use for the bridge....hhhmmm...ya never know when you just might need a bridge. If I flatten a few more boxes and get rid of the recycling.....nah...a 7span drawbridge won't fit in the basement. hrumph...
My yarning addiction is apparently out of control. I spend a good portion of the baby shower last night trying to unravel and fix a scarf only to be humbled by the fact it was knitted and I couldn't fix it..I probably made it harder to fix but in the long run Ginny will end up with a longer scarf when she brings it to a professional for rescue. Sorry, Ginny!
We're having another sunny cold day (-11)...We watched " Pirates of the Carribean" last night...I haven't started a new book as yet. BUT I have 1 wine and 1 black thick chenille scarves...a gray w/copper to black strands interwoven scarf, a multi blue thick chenille scarf, a beige knubby scarf, 1 teal skinny chenille scarf, 1 partially crocheted dark green skinny chenille scarf and 12 dishcloths of varying sizes and colors...and a little purse. ( of course, also I made a scarf for Nora, one for Lori, one for Risa, one for Cathy at Curves, a baby blanket and probably 12 other dishcloths...oh yeah another scarf for Annie and one I gave to Diane....) For some reason or another "the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree" has a slight ring of truth to it...
Posted by frani at 10:39 AM | Comments (3)
January 24, 2004
Open Sesawho?
I'm afraid I'm going to starve to death when I get old and frail. Noooooooo, it has nothing to do with fighting with the cats over their canned food, although I think it's actually pricier than tuna.
It has to do with not being able to open packages, containers and pull tabs. I was reminded of this again this morning as I got out my stash of drugs to fill my weekly reminder drug container. Yeah, it's scary I have one of those too, but even with it, I find I forget to take my drugs. Anyway, this morning's issue was having difficulty opening the baby aspirin container..I mean really, it hurt my fingers even after I worked it so the arrows lined up exactly. I had to get out one of those gripper things to flip the cap off. Maybe 85 year old frail great granny types don't need to take baby aspirin. Yesterday I was opeing a new container of orange juice...you know the type with the plastic pull tab/ring under the cap? geesh those things are hard to pull out and have you ever broken one? Ack! If you don't end up spilling the contents all over yourself first, you might as well throw the damn container away juice and all for all the bits of plastic that get in there when you have to hack at it with an ice pick. Ok Ok...so it's better and plastic free to make juice from fresh oranges. I've noticed some of the soup cans and certainly my cats's food cans have those pull tabs...I worry I won't have the strenth to pull them. They only work about 80% of the time anyway so fortunately the can opener is still handy. I'll have to invest in an electric one though...but what if the power goes off..or something worse? What if they have new packaging when I'm old and I won't know how to open things at all??? Packaging will go the way of self serve gas pumps and ATMs...what ever will I do?
Sigh....
Posted by frani at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)
Good Morning Sunshine...
*The sun is out again..it's still January...you KNOW what that means....yup 12 below zero is what "they" say at the moment. bbbrrrr
*sniff sniff.....Captain Kangaroo died. This makes me very sad on many levels. The man touched the lives of multiple generations, Bunny Rabbit, Mr Green Jeans, Mr Moose...the characters had a bonding effect between parent and child. Our sons watched Captain...Demian was potty trained watching Captain every morning... hhhmmm... probably has something to do with his potty fetish. Morgan and I said " Good morning" to Captain along with the rest of the daily intro as part of our morning routine as well..He especially loved the anticipation of the ping ball drop and his laughter when it finally happened often made my day. Snort, too bad he doesn't remember it as fondly as I do. I saw the man, Bob Keeshan, twice in the last 10 years. Once at a book signing at Border's with my friend Liz...we enlisted those around us to say "Good Morning, Captain" when Bob came into the room...what a gracious man he was. I also saw him in Quechee, I had stopped on my way home from buying an outfit (or 3) for Demian and Lori's wedding. I was at the Simon Pearce Gallery . He'd been in for lunch at The Mill there and was just wandering through. As all good Vermonters do, we all left him to his privacy but I know *I* so wanted to say " Good Morning"...I just smiled at him instead. He was that kind of man...he made me smile. I feel sorry for all the children (he never allowed anyone to referred to them as kids) who grew up without him.
Good Night, Captain...rest well.
Posted by frani at 09:58 AM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2004
Mark's Cake
Posted by frani at 07:01 PM | Comments (2)
January 21, 2004
More mischief...
there is nothing I like better than plotting and planning and making something special for a special occasion. Liz, her daughter Ann and I constructed this little morsel for a baby shower this weekend...Daughter-in-law Jaime is due in March. I think it took us all of 37 minutes to buy out all the duck themed items at the store and maybe an hour to construct the layers.
The bottom layer is a crib sheet filled with disposable diapers and a few washcloths. Bibs, toys, socks and hats are hung or pinned to the outside of the sheet. The second layer is a hooded towel and it is filled with rolled up onsies and sleepers ...all yellow blue and white duckie theme. The top layer has a bottle with a duck washcloth over it and wrapped inside a crib pad and then a security blanket outside. We also used the clips for hanging their toys from strollers and chairs to hold some of the things in place.
All in all we had a a good time even if we spend a little more than the $25-50 Chuck though we had into it...snort. Silly man.
Posted by frani at 05:24 PM | Comments (3)
January 20, 2004
Politically speaking...
Now I feel badly for Howard Dean that he only made a third place showing in the Iowa Caucuses. Just becasue I had my reservations about his preseidential acumen didn't mean I wouldn't have taken a certain pride in his accomplishments. Actually, to have done this well is quite an accomplishment; go Howard. Oooo maybe he'll get the Vice Presidential nod... hhhhmmm...maybe that wouldn't be a good thing for the President considering Howard became Governor of VT via that route (when sitting Governor Snelling up and died)
We'll see what happens in New Hampshire next week.......
Posted by frani at 08:31 AM | Comments (4)
January 18, 2004
Sunday Supplements......
I think I would rather have a few days of snow showers with temperatures in the 20s than any more of that sub-zero stuff of the last 2 weeks. For a short while yesterday, it felt and looked like spring..sun shining brightly, snow melting dripping off the roof, people going about their business hatless, gloveless, smiling; it was only 14 degrees though. hehehe...It was still fine.
Sooooo, have you noticed the budding young artist here? Maura says this is a protrait of Kieran...oh ok she didn't say "protrait" but she did say it was a drawing of Kieran. Now I may be her doting Grandma, but *I* think having something recognizable as a face at her tender young age ( 2 3/4) is pretty darn good.
We watched two movies last night..."The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"; I'm afraid it was not one of Sean Connery's best (I suspect he might actually have nightmares about making this movie) and "Out of Time" with Denzel Washington which was ok....great even after watching League.
I'm still knotting up yarn....even playing with different stitches...my mother and Aunt Marion would be pleased....surprised, but pleased. Aunt Marion was one of my father's older sisters; the only one I remember who ever crocheted or anything like that. I have a lot of those snowflake tree ornaments she made as well as a king sized crocheted bedspread. Now that thing is rather impressive. Noooooooooooo, I won't be making anything like that but I can appreciate the amount of work that went into it.
I'm sorry, I just have to pass on a link to This Blog and Entry...this (Cowgirl up) is the cutest darn thing I have read in a long time...how fun
Posted by frani at 10:13 AM | Comments (3)
January 15, 2004
Witches and Brass....
The thermometer is registering -18...that would be 18 degrees below zero with temps tonight getting colder. It's cold, but at this point I don't think I can tell the difference between that and -30 because I'm not going out there!! (ctually, I have a hair appointment this afternoon...maybe Angela will cancel.)
"Colleen" wants the apartment...she has a dog, Mollie...a black lab. For some reason I'm inclined to relax my no pet clause and let her have the place.
Al Sharpton attacked Howard Dean for his record of hiring no African Americans or Latinos in Cabinet Positions during his 12 years as Governor of VT. Hmmm......Obviously Al Sharpton is not familiar with the ethnic make-up of VT. Even Jesse Jackson came to Howard's defense on that one. At any rate, Howard has gone farther in his presidential bid than I would have ever thought but I don't know if he really has what it takes. Heck *I* don't know what it takes to be president other than having a few loose brain cells. Who'd want that job! Howard got a lot of attention with his angry man campaign but I think it's time to show the softer side of Howard...there is one I'm sure. Funny thing I noticed while watching the news the other night...I noticed Howard's smile. Maybe it's because I haven't seen much of one in the last 13 years. Diplomacy, Howard....I think we already have a bull in a china shop in the White House; why on earth would we replace him with another one.
I'm still tying knots in yarn...I found a thinner chenille yarn the other day which is making a very nice pliable soft scarf. I may need more.
Have a good day all and stay warm...I'm not delusional, I know the northeast isn't the only place where it's a tad chilly.
Posted by frani at 08:33 AM | Comments (2)
January 13, 2004
Some Stuff...
*I don't like sleezeball types leaving "comments" on my old entries...eeeww spam on my blog, how rude.
*We had a two day warm trend (20 degree range at times!) so I got a few errands done and supplies hauled back in for the next siege.
* Next siege starts tonight and is supposed to be colder than last week's "Artic blast"...I think I have enough comfort stuff to keep me inside and entertained.
*I'm showing the apartment this afternoon...wouldn't it be nice if this person wanted to rent it and I wouldn't have to run ads for a change.
*I'm still knotting up yarn and enjoying myself...when I'm taking a break from year end "real work" that is.
Posted by frani at 04:00 PM | Comments (5)
January 09, 2004
Baby, It's cold outside...
7:47am: MY thermometer indicates it is -12.5 degrees out there. That is also on the partially protected back porch. I don't even want to know what the windchill factor is; that just makes it worse to contemplate. update: I saw on our local news site that the windchill ( feels like; who decides what it feels like?) temp is -32 degrees. Sounds worse saying 32 degrees BELOW zero!!)
Can't I just call in my cholesterol levels and have them call in a renewal of my prescription?? Why do I have to go there???? I don't want to go outside!!
Where's the January thaw????
oh right...I have to go to the airport. Someone is flying in from CA this morning where he complained about how hot it was and how he had to roll of his shirtsleeves and how he probably should have put the top down on his Mustang convertible...thanks Hertz. I'll bring along his top coat, hat, gloves for his rude awakening.
Posted by frani at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)
January 08, 2004
January, the cruel month!
The sun was finally out today for the first time in a very long time and we all know what that means...it's January in Vermont and the sun's being out can only mean it's freaking COLD! This is the cold where our nose hairs freeze and our lungs hurt when we breathe; a trip out to the mailbox without a hat will make my earlobes hurt from the gold of my earrings. "They" say the windchill makes it feel like it's -20 below out there...that's cold. The only thing I can think of that's worse is when it IS -20 degrees which I understand is due overnight. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. Thank goodnes I have access to a two cat night.
OK, I'm done whining about that. I did manage to go out to the mailbox today and since I was all bundled up to make the trip (couple hundred feet one way), I decided I'd do us all the favor of starting the cars and letting them run for a while. Ahem...I also thought it was about time to get the least used car out of the garage and mine back in it! Mission accomplished ... no frostbite.
As predicted, the mail brought the results of some blood work I had done about a month ago. I knew that would happen because I had counted on them to get here in time so I wouldn't have to have had blood drawn again for my doctor appt tomorrow. Of course it didn't get here in time and I had to have blood drawn again yesterday. At least the tech was good despite her young age; read, lack of 35 years of experience.
Iguess I ought to confess what's been keeping my attention lately. I bet you all thought it was Christmas shopping or reading or heaven forbid real work. I admit to all of that; Christmas is now over, I have a book in progress "Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind" by Ann B. Ross AND I have finished Quarterly reports and well into year end stuff. However, the true ocuppier of my time has been crocheting. Nope not knitting...I really don't know how to knit ( with yarn) despite attempts to teach me. I can however, crochet some and I've made a few ( 4 7/8) scarves, some dish clothes and a baby blanket. i've ripped out the baby blanket too many times to count but I think I am finally happy with it. Manhandling the yarn though has resulted in it's needing a washing before the any baby gets to use it. No, I'm not announcing anything...it's for my friend's soon to be born grandchild. I've become obssessed though...I keep finding different kinds of yarns to play with; there is no uniformity when it comes to sizes of hooks I use or width of the scarves, fringe, no fringe...many different size dishclothes...guess that's why i tore out that blanket so many times before finding the right hook size and numbers of stitches.
Hey, it's keeping me entertained and off the streets...except for when I need to go buy more yarn. Soooo, you want a scarf? Send me two skeins of yarn of your choosing and I'll whip one up for you......feeding my addiction is key.
Posted by frani at 06:15 PM | Comments (5)
January 04, 2004
Red Hat with Purple Flowers
My friend Irene gave me a pin for Christmas..a red hat with purple flowers on a card with these words: When I am an old lady, I will wear a red hat with purple flowers and say and do anything that suits me.
At first glance I thought...Yeah! Right! That's me....That's who I want to be and I don't want to be OLD first. Afterall, I do have my flamingo collection, my purple door with yellow spots and really none of these things are new with me.
I felt bad when a woman admired my LLBean all weather Mocs the other day and said she wished she had the nerve to wear red boots...hhhmmm. I guess I remember a time when I thought red was a little loud too but this woman is nearly my age! I told her where to get some and she wouldn't regret it.
THEN, I started thinking about some of the old women I've come in contact with recently..especially those we encounter while traveling and they seem to have some attitude, demeaner of entitlement which drives me over the edge. No way do I want to become that kind of entitled. That cute little saying couldn't mean women have to take it to the extreme, does it? So I decided I had to double check and find the source/author. FortunatelyI was able to find the original poem.....ahhh...take heed....no entitlement..just have a little fun now, before you get too old.
Jenny Joseph (1932-)
Warning
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Posted by frani at 12:27 PM | Comments (4)
January 02, 2004
Reflections and such
Happy 2004! I thought it would be fitting to reflect on 2003 in some fashion but since I sometimes have a little trouble remembering what I did yesterday, I decided against the attempt. I wouldn't want to get any closer to the admissions desk at "the home" least I forget to mention something really important...such as the birth of Kieran or Morgan and Nora's engagement.
We may seem a little bleary eyed to the casual obsever these days...we have been watching the first two seasons of 24 on DVD finishing season one New Years Eve. If you aren't familiar with the show on Fox, it's a story based on the events of one full day (24 hours or 17.2 hours without commercial interruption) involving some folks in an anti-terror unit, families and the president of the US. Long about yesterday's viewing of hour 8 of the second season, I really started giggling...I'm sorry, but after this marathon viewing, it has taken on the character of The Perils of Pauline....with about as much realism as the 1940s movie as well. NO ONE goes through what these people do and remains sane. Oh right, this isn't real...only a TV show.
I guess I'd better stick to the present and only the facts, mam...it's snowing, I need to shower and dress ...and fill our empty tummies. Have a good day all.
Posted by frani at 08:48 AM | Comments (2)