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August 31, 2004
Update.......
I had to leave this photo rather large so you could see the little critters....BUT...imagine my shock with I looked outside this evening and saw........LOCUSTS! Ok, so they were dragonflies swarming all over the yard and not locusts, but I still have never seen such congregation. ..or is it a herd? a swarm? a flock? a bevy?
Posted by frani at 06:18 PM | Comments (1)
sighs......
Ok, I get it..it's going to be one of "those" days, is it? The fog, the rain, the raging thunder and lightning...sun. All that in the last hour or so...can't wait for the sleet and hail.... and...and locusts!
Hmmm...I've deleted a lot of posts that I have started here this morning...
yup...going to be one of those days....
Guess I'll go start some laundry.
Posted by frani at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)
August 29, 2004
Weekend things.....
We spent one of those rare Friday nights at the apartment in New London this weekend. We roasted some coffee to take to my cousin, Sharon, and her partner Dorsie as a wedding present. After 22 years together, the state of MA says they can enter into a state of matrimony. cool. I even gave them some of my Nicaraguan Maragogype...it's at the top of my list of good coffee...still. (BTW, the ceremony was awesome and they really have some talented friends who sang and read passages and contributed to a very memorable and meaningful day)
Our landlord Tom, was in a high state of excitement at seeing both our cars here Friday night, that he called and invited us to join him for breakfast Sat morning. Fearing bad nasty coffee, plastic eggs and limp toast, we decided to join him hoping he knew of some secret great breakfast place...aaahhh he did. I know I never would have found it and I still don't know the name of it and I really regreted leaving one whole hugggggge "egg in a window" ( french toast with an egg) on my plate but I know how to find it again!
Hmmm....somehow or another the room I reserved online in Sturbridge MA didn't end up being reserved at all so we stayed at a Best Western there where some of the rest of my family members stayed. The BW ranked right down there with many of the nasty places we have stayed on our travels. Ok...where HE has stayed on his travels....once the housing of choice has been deemed dismal, I find reasons to stay home ie...the housing is too dismal. It took us 2 hours to travel to Monson/Palmer, MA from New London CT via Mapquest and Street Atlas directions.......and only one hour to get back via Greg and his trusty GPS and Street Atlas...good job.
Yes we stopped in Brimfield at an Antique store just to say we went to "Brimfield". wow...I was stunned by the tents and booths errected for the last of the 3 yearly Brimefield Antique shows due to start next week , I think. Maybe I really don't need to go there afterall. Overwhelming to say the least.
However, I did find a nifty contraption I really liked and wanted to purchase but it wasn't in working order sooooooooo I thought I would look on eBay for it's equivalent. Yup, found it and some of it's friends........sigh....why is it that when I find things I like they seem to be only plentiful in the UK? I won't mention just what it is just in case I decided they would make suitable presents for more than one family member.......even memememe! Yes I have a bid in...yes I'm watching a few others.
The Pie safe has arrived.........I'm looking forward to getting home next friday and finally seeing it, getting it into the kitchen, getting the "some assembly required" done and filling it with as many of the coffee beans as we can. Chris (craftsmen) tells me that for shipping he has had to remove drawer and cabinet knobs and the adjustable shelves are not in place but in protective wrapping. No, all the coffee beans and paraphenalia won't fit in it but I just might reclaim a few of my other shelves in the kitchen caninets.
Oh yes another near shocker...early friday afternoon I checked voice mail at home to find the visa application office of the Consulate General of BRazil, Boston called concerning our visas and could we please call them at our soonest? Yikes...that was left Tuesday and I had expected the safe return of our passports by Friday. Sigh...after several frantic calls and getting only their voicemail, ( mind you this is after 7 phone calls, leaving one voice mail message AND speaking with people who have an accent who think *I* have an accent) I finally got through and answered many of the same questions on the applications. Finally, I was told the real problem..I had sent a check with an overpayment of the fees and would I reissue a check for the correct amount...*I* had sent a check for $280 and they wanted a check for $170 plus $110 which would total....$2hundred and 8...ty dollars. I'm sorry, our mistake..we will process your application "soonest" thank you very much....breathe sigh of relief.
Oh? and yes...this WAS after the earlier phone traumas of earlier in the day on Friday...Hey I was on a roll...why NOT find out if the pie safe had arrived, and check the answering machine!? ..and you wonder why I have phonephobia????
Maybe I need to round out this weekend with a good nap.......
Posted by frani at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
August 27, 2004
Phones ........
No I haven't called my Dr office yet to reschedule...yeah yeah..I will today; they aren't ready to answer those phonelines yet. I dislike making phone calls. I really don't know when this started or why BUT there it is...I hate making phone calls.
Oh sure, I was a typical teen...always on the phone, no problem then. Well, no problem using the phone, afterall, I needed to solve all the other problems in my life from acne to wearing green on Wednesdays. ( if you remember that you are old) As a young wife and Mom, I had no problem using the phone then either; afterall I was in a different state ( as in one of the United ones vs emotional/mental variety)and needed to maintain contact with the outside world. Ahem...this was back in the olden days ... before the internet, email and Instant messages ya know. Heck, this was back in the days when computers took up whole rooms and hand held calculators were the size of watermelons. Be that as it may, I had no problems using the phone.
It started out innocently enough, I'd put off making appointments because I needed to have some free time sans kid noises and interruptions. Even to this day, I would prefer to make my phone calls early before I got on with the day's agenda and distracted by leaving the house for my errands. See? I could stop typing right now and call but noooooooooooo they won't answer the phone right now will they? Nope. I'd get the answering machine. Is this really the culprit? I'd have to leave my name and number and a short message which for me is totally imppossible...I tend to start off ok, name phone number, sometimes but then the short message part comes in and I start to babble. I get into explanations and corrections and ummms and errrs and finally sigh and hang up. I'm sure I left a stunning performance of incompetance and why should any of these people ever call me back. ahhh ha! Maybe now we are getting to the root of the "problem" (BTW.....I recently had to leave a message for a friend and after listening to what I had said her husband who had never met me, turned to her and said "Is she a ditz or what?" Oh my God, I'm not a ditz! No One has ever called me a ditz before! Guess that would tend to reinforce my phone trauma)
The root of the problem...leaving messages? Nooooooo. Waiting for people to call me back.....just maybe! How many times have you felt the need to hang around and wait for the return phone only to find yourselve trapped waiting...impatiently...why aren't they calling back? Several hours goes by and you know if you get on with what you need to do, they will call. You know if you go in the bathroom they will call. If you go outside to the mailbox, they will call. If you get ont he phone with other necessary phone calls, they will call. So you wait and wait and finally when you can stand it no more, you go to the bathroom and leave the house at 4:59pm (annoyed they didn't call)to get the milk and bread you so desperately need, wait in the after work line of people who look at you and KNOW you had all of your SHAM day to run this little errand, only to get home to find they called. ...and then you know you will have to start the process allllllll over again the next morning when they won't be available to call when you think about it and then you will have to leave another message...and wait.
Well I did it...I called to reschedule...yup... got all done got a date and time...went to put it in the old Palm Pilot so I wouldn't forget AND found that I had screwed up the weeks I was going to be home and scheduled it for a not home week. Sigh....call back, "hello, My name is Fran and sometimes I AM a ditz."
Posted by frani at 08:12 AM | Comments (2)
August 25, 2004
Palm Speaketh......
So I was sitting here blissfully reading blogs and enjoying my second or third cup of superb Austrailian Mountain Top (coffee of the day), when that all too familiar reminder alarm started beeping on my PDA. Hhhmmm...I couldn't even think of anything that I should be reminded of! Ack! What am I forgetting? Heart racing! Well, pick up the Palm and look for Pete's sake! Ahhhh...blood work. I should be running off to have my blood drawn this morning; never mind the fact that it's too late anyway since I didn't fast. Must remember to put in that reminder the day before the blood work reminder. Of course this all leads up to the fact that I have a Dr appointment next week that I will need to cancel. Just as well, it's rather moot if I don't have blood work done. Now then...just when is the next time that I will have 2 consecutive weeks in VT? Looking on calendar....maybe I should put in a reminder to call the DR office later today when they will actually answer the phones.
Remember what???
Posted by frani at 07:55 AM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2004
My big mouth......
A funny thing happened on the way to investigating the funky noise coming from the new car today.....I was impressed. Today the big mouth will be used for good! Secor's Auto Center in New London Connecticut shocked me to the extent that I have been speechless most of the day!
I walked in to their service center this morning at 8:45am without an appointment and without specified complaints about the car. I told him we both thought there was something going on but I couldn't explain it. By 9:15am I was in their customer lounge after the car info had been "entered into their system" and assured they would be checking it out for me; I looked out the window to find that my car had actually moved from where I had parked it! Oh my goodness! Now mind you this is a dealership...I didn't buy the car from them..I walked in off the street unannounced! It wasn't too long before the service guy came to inform me of the results...left front wheel bearing was the culprit...he actually had to come up a flight of stairs to the lounge to tell me this, ya know. AND it was a warranty issue AND they were about 60% done with the replacement. I was out of there around 11am with no one asking me for $500...without forking out a dime or a credit card. I had never in my life had warrantly work done before...I had no idea how it worked. There were all these zeros in the amount columns! Wow!
Ok Ok...so maybe I did know how warranties work but I have never been treated this well by an auto dealership before......Thank you. Oh yeah..another amazing thing...the funky noise was gone. They were right!
Posted by frani at 06:18 PM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2004
Weekend's End.....
Another good weekend spent at the Stamford Johnstons; as Nora likes to call them. Maura and Kieran are still growing like weeds and I do believe I distinctly heard Kieran say Grandma even though very little of whatever he says is sort of disguised in Kieran-speak. Hmmm...Maybe he will take after Uncle Morgan. pppsssttt...maybe they will write something soon and update the photos. Maybe I have to get my camera out of the bag more often rather than just cart it around.
Coffee of the weekend had been Austrailian Mountain Top, Maui Mocha and Hawaiian Kaui Estate....The ATM was the superior one. We roasted some when we got back to the apartment this afternoon so we could have some for breakfast. Yeah, I know...yes we brought the roaster with us becasue we expected to be here for 2 weeks....now it's closer to 3 Weeks!! Two more to go! Ahem...I also ordered MY first green coffee beans and had them shipped to New London. Well geesh, I NEEDED a new coffee cups since the ones provided here at Chez Johnston Beachside are somewhat lacking. My new cup is double walled stainless (9oz) and even has a saucer for when I'm being lady-like as opposed to having that first cup of the day.....aaahhh. (Sweet Maria's again)
I'm going to say this one more time........IF YOU ARE DRIVING IN THE LEFT LANE AND FIND THAT MORE THAN MORE CAR PASSES YOU ON THE RIGHT (or THAT YOU HAVE A VT PLATED SAAB IN YOUR TRUNK, THEN MOVE OVER, YOU ARE HOLDING UP THE PASSING LANE!!!!!!!!....sigh...maybe I have to stop driving on I-95.
Yum....someone is BBQing......I think it's time to start thinking about what to have for dinner.
pppssssttt.......thank you Morgan for setting up my blogrolling thing for me. I still need to get some spaces in there; so far nothing I have tried has worked...I know it's in the code somewhere. Maybe tomorrow I can "see" it better.
Posted by frani at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2004
Pets and Peeves.....
Coffee of the day: back to Nicaragua Matagalpa Maragogype. I'm sorry but after a few pots of the Panama Jaramillo Especial, we needed to stay somewhat upscale. goooooooood coffee. We have enough to last through the weekend but the roaster came to New London with us along with a few varieties of green coffee beans to roast.
DA came to visit yesterday from "the city". Of course the stupid train was delayed...didn't they realize we had catching up to do and fun to be had? The oddity, however, was how a train that leaves the station (no, don't scream yet)an hour behind schedule ends up 2 hours behind schedule at the this destination.
We decided to spend some time at the Mystic Aquarium which I had not been too as yet during our stay down here. Beluga whales...seals...sea lions...sting rays...penguins...I wanted to take them all home with me. It was funny...I remember a song from the kids' childhood about "Baby Belugas" (Sesame Street?) and one little girl next to me exclaimed "Baby Beluga!" when she saw them. cute. There was also some nasty thing that stung me just below my neck...feels like it penetrated my bone! Stupid flying thing...I don't thing I was able to prevent him from venturing off to torture someone else either. did you get pictures of the penguins lining up for their photo op after being fed Dru ann? It was soooo cute...they got their fish and then sort of just lined up along the rock looking at us looking at them. *I* of course left my camera back at the apartment.
I have a witness to the Connecticut driver hogging the left lane in the extreme....Tell 'em Dru Ann! The scene...I-95 (please!) Me in right lane coming up on 18-wheeler. Her...left lane and probably blind spot of said 18-wheeler. ...and she sat there........she wouldn't pass the truck, she wouldn't pull behind the truck she just sat there on his tail. Finally she inched up on the truck as other vehicles pulled up behind her...I decided to sit back and watch for a bit since I thought she was somewhat dangerous. I'm sure the trucker was thrilled with her too. geesh...Interstate 95 woman!!!!!!! You can't do that!
Today's agenda includes sending off yet another round of documents to obtain our visas for Brazil visit in October. This time we will send the complete set to the correct consulate...we are in the Boston Region. Of course that makes sense...duh.
Have a fine day all.........
Posted by frani at 07:58 AM | Comments (2)
August 17, 2004
Sweet Marias......
Our coffee is brought to us (you) mainly by Sweet Maria's. they really do have the best selection and the nicest people! Why they even call sometimes! If you aren't into roasting your own coffee as we are, you can get in on their Monday roasting here and they will send you some weekly of whatever they roast that Monday.
Posted by frani at 05:17 PM | Comments (1)
Typekey Comments
I am missing having comments on my blog because of spammers. Using Typekey keeps the spammers away but it is also a pain in the neck for real people. Anyway..the trick to using typekey is after going through the name and password thing, right click on the sign-in link and "open in new window"..the comment window should then come up.
Posted by frani at 04:51 PM | Comments (1)
Coffee, traffic and whine.......
Coffee of the day is Panama Jaramillo Especiale.....talk about pricey. This is the stuff that set a world record for wholesale green bean pricing. ..and yes...it's very tastey. There will be no returning to Folgers, Maxwellhouse, Chock full o' nuts for this family. Ok Ok...so maybe we haven't used those in several years anyway... Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is still pretty darn good coffee.
The trip down the interstates was not bad at all...Thank goodness all the state troopers were up in the Northeast Kingdom dealing with getting the Phishheads out. There were a few tip offs that the cars I saw had been in Coventry..or near there anyway. The mud dripping/drying off the vehicle...the Phish stickers...sleeping passengers...near sleeping drivers (that was scary). The surprising part was some of the vehicle types......guess come of those Phish fans grew up and got real jobs. The Mercedes SUV and Landrover who were tandeming back, albeit driving too fast, were pretty darn upscale. The very disappointing factor however was the amount of trash left behind by these people. Vermont is a reasonably trashfree state (well we don't count some of the rusted out cars/trucks in the fields), so to see trash on the side of the roads is disturbing. Pick up your trash on the way out, Please!
Look in your rear view mirror while driving on the interstate. Do you see anyone close behind you? Have you noticed cars passing you on the right? More than once? Have you noticed people glaring at you when passing you on the right? Shaking their fists? Other motions? Take this as a clue that you are DRIVING IN THE LEFT LANE AND HOLDING UP PASSING TRAFFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please keep right except to pass and once you have passed, move back right!!! (pppsssttt...see that little woman in the Saab with VT plates behind you?? Move the Heck over!!!!) gggesh.........
Soooo, I stopped in Windsor, CT to see my brother and sister-in-law on the way down. Ok...it was 5:00pm and I didn't want to deal with Hartford traffic and I had to "use their facilities" and my knee hurt, I stopped for whatever reason. Anyway.........wow! My SIL Karen is a tiger on the phone with the Dell customer representatives!!!!!!!!!! Let's just say she and my brother have been less than thrilled with Dell's handling of their order for a new hard drive. After a week of Angela and Kevin and Eric and many other people looking into their order and being told they will have an answer in 24 hours, my SIL was telling them their 24 hours was up and she was going to get an answer NOW. It was beauty, I can't wait to find out what they will tell her this morning...at 9am Mr Morallis is going to call her and tell her that her hard drive will be arriving in Windsor on Wednesday ..........RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT! So about that bridge in NY...land in South Florida? Next time I have and issue with someone, I'm sic-ing my SIL on them. Go Karen...I heard you roar! I think Dell products are fine unless you have to order new parts or deal in anyway with their Customer Service dept. or use their product...buyers beware. Hhmmm..wait a minute...WE have a Dell we use as a server. hhhmmm.......I hope *I* never have to call Angela or Eric or Kevin or Mr Morallis........I'll have Karen do it.
Posted by frani at 08:07 AM | Comments (1)
August 16, 2004
Monday morning musings..
another weekend at home has come and gone. It's amazing what I can get done when I only have a short time in which to do it...it's also amazing how much I can rationalize doesn't NEED doing anyway because I simply don't have time. The lawn is mowed, the laundry is done, the food is bought and consumed, I visited with friends, went to calling hours (never pleasant)and am generally ready for another week.
I still have to finsish packing and load the car...remembering to anticipate what we will need in New London over the next two weeks. As if I even have a clue what is going to be happening in the next 2 weeks to begin with. I do know we will go to a wedding on the 28th...my cousin...but that is supposed to be very casual. Short on Ceremony and long on Reception is what I heard.
I still have to go to my previously twice canceled dentist appointment this afternoon before heading off to CT. I also suspect by the time I travel on down I-89 toward White River Junction and the intersection of I-91, I should probably just in time to meet up with the gazillion Phishheads who have finally eeked themselves out of the mud in Coventry (kuv-entry in VT vs Kah-ventry in CT) Ok so it isn't a gazillion..only 65 THOUSAND and 10 thousand of them are probably ticked off because they didn't get anywhere near the concert site. Let's add to the mix that about 1 mile south of the interstate intersections we have the ever present checkpoint of the friendly homeland scrutiny people....let's just adopt the mindset now that it's going to be a diasterous trip and anything better than that will be a plus.
::::::packing sustenance...peanut butter crackers...coffee...chocolate...lots of chocolate.:::::::::::
I think this might be one of those times when flying might be better than driving...ooopppsss, nope...I think getting out of VT anytime today is going to be rough anyhow you try. My tenant was on a standby flight to CA yesterday...she didn't get out. I have a feeling she'll be purchasing a ticket to get out today..if there any to be had.
I'm just hoping that with all the anticipation of impending traffic doom, that it just won't materialize...right? riiiiight. pppsssttt maybe they won't know how to get off the interstates and travel the backroads. Come to think of it, neither do I.
Have a fine day all......hey maybe it won't be so bad....aaa..depends on where you are standing, I guess. (hhhmm...a death...cause of which is "unknown"..riiiiight)
Posted by frani at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2004
Birth Month meme
Have seen this on many blogs I read...go check your out! (via Ellen and Psycho Babble)
pppssstt...someday I'll learn about trackback..and in case I am not all that intuned with myself, feel free to comment on my strikeouts or lack of...
FEBRUARY:
Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but those not show it. Dislike unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.
Posted by frani at 08:41 AM | Comments (2)
August 13, 2004
Friday the 13th...
Coffee of the day is Maui Mocha...the beans are really small and we know the coffee plantation had been out of business for a few years. I think they are about to have their first harvest soon. This has made a good brew as far as I'm concerned, though.
Even though Greg has to work here next week, we have decided to go home this evening. We had not planned to be here next week so the coffee supply is limited as well as my drugs. I also have a dentist appointment I've cancelled twice sooooooooooo I'll come down in my own car Monday. It will be good having two cars here ... I don't mind sharing the car for the most part but for 3 whole weeks? I think having my own will be just fine, thank you.
Yeah yeah..it's all about the coffee...go home and roast those beans!
Looks like I'll also be able to attend the funeral of a friend's husband Monday morning...he had Parkinson's Disease so I suppose it is a good thing for him but sad for his family at the same time. Rest Dale Higgs.
Yesterday, however, was a fun time had by all. I got together with BOTH my old college roommates, Susan and Nancy..what a hoot. Did you hear us talking and laughing and howling???? None of us are exactly the quiet type but I do believe *I* got to talk the least. I think the last time we were together was at Susan's wedding, 26 years ago but really being able to chat was closer to 33 years ago. wow!!
pppsssttt I also have the least gray hair.......thanks Mom, but that doesn't excuse you for those hips and tighs though.
The Nuisance Wildlife Extraction truck was parked in front of that house down by the water again this week. Whew...they must have SOME pesky critters trying to live there. I'm still entrigued by the flowers and gardens here. The deep blue of the hydrangeas is startling...today I saw huge pink hollyhocks blossoms on the way to work; I hadn't noticed the plant before now. This seems to be the peak summer residence population as well. Lots of people out in the morning walking running jogging dogging. I see many "older" men out walking "their dogs"...somehow or another I really don't think these are "their" dogs. Call me intuitive...just the way they are holding the leash on these yip yip type dogs tells me they want to scream out...it's the wife's dog!
I see the Governor of NJ has resigned...guess he decided to confess to his extramarital gay affair rather than be blackmailed. Fine, I like that approach...maybe he should also have let the voters decide if he should resign though too. I would like to think he could have been forgiven his indiscretions..he at least didn't try to cover up or allow himself to be blackmailed. snort..of course maybe his "indiscretion" wouldn't fly in the Bible belt but we're talking New Jersey here...nothing fazes those people!
Hurricane Charley is also about to pound the Tampa Bay area today. So glad my MIL no longer lives down there. I think I'd rather endure the below zero temps of VT than the occasional hurricane with water where it doesn't belong, thank you very much. "They" are saying downtown Tampa is likely to be under water????? !!!!!!!! Yikes.
Stay dry...have a good weekend all.......
Posted by frani at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2004
Sun sand and surf..lost fork
Nora, Lori, Maura, Kieran (try adding Morgan and Morna to that list of names and remain untongue-tied) came to visit us in New London yesterday. I would have loved to have remembered to bring my camera with me to the beach to document the occasion but I'm not sure I really would have had enough time or even remembered to take the photos! It was obviously too much to remember to pack the camera along with the towels and sippy cups and uneaten sandwiches and other snacks and sand toys and sunscreen. I'm just amazed that Lori was able to gather up all the stuff needed for the visit much less actually do it and remain pleasant and sane! This Grandma thanks you profusely. Considering this was the first time I actually put more than my right toe pinky in the water the whole time we have been down here, I found it quite pleasant playing with Maura in the surf. I must admit there are parts of me that haven't had sand embedded since I was around Maura's age but we still had fun sitting in the surf and giggling over the waves "getting us" and taking our foot prints away.
I did try to get some photos once we got back to the apartment but the few of Maura didn't get past the half click stage and as you can see Kieran had more important things to investigate than pose for pictures. hehehe....he's too cute. Now then..all I need is a ladder and a rake or loooooong skinny arms to retrieve the fork that is under the deck and on the roof of the part of the building below. Noooo problem...Tom retrieved a key from there once already so we know how to do this.
Coffee of the day is Nicaragua Maragogype...again....I like this one.
Posted by frani at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2004
Monday Already?
Coffee of the day...ISH...Island of St Helena Napoleon Estate. Yup it's pretty darn good but maybe I ought not get used to it since it's on the pricey end of the bean scale.
Quite a bit of south bound traffic yesterday; made the Homeland Scrutiny checkpoint just south of White River Junction a little more time consuming than usual. Sure hope they couldn't hear inside the car...we had a book on tape going and it was mentioning bio-terrorism etc. Well I wasn't exactly listening since I have a tendency to nod off from time to time while using audio books. Right...I wasn't driving either.
It's a beautiful day down here...perfect beach day...blue blue slies...not too hot with just a little breeze. perfect. I'm going out to walk and enjoy.
Posted by frani at 03:31 PM | Comments (1)
August 07, 2004
Stuff everywhere....
Damn I hate when I lose the post to my blog I was working on....
Needless to say we had quite the Thunderstorm this afternoon...the kind where there is so much water the street drains can't handle it and we get our little private lake for a while. There were many occasions over the years when the neighborhood would congregate after a storm like that for a little fun tubing and boating on "the lake" until it finally drained.
We spent yesterday in Montpelier going through Granny's condo trying yet again to not accumulate more than we wanted of her belongings. Ok Ok...I'll take that great roaster pan, and cooling racks...and cookie cutters and it would be a darn shame if that big old batter bowl ended up in the dump heap. My goodness, no wonder those woman of old were sturdy...that big old pottery mixing bowl is great but it's heavy...I can't imagine having to hold that thing while mixing up my cake batter! I will make a great bread bowl too...hhhmmm...so when was the last time I made bread, you say? It's been awhile.
I might have mentioned we are going to Brazil in October...Thanks to Tom Ridge and his band of homeland scrutiny folk, we have to obtain visas for entering Brazil...a little tit for tat now that the US is requiring foreign folks to be photographed and fingerprinted upon their entry into the US. Thanks Tom. Anyway...we made the requisite trip to Kinkos for new passport photos (they want recent photos to go along with your passport. so being a typical Vermont Saturday morning, you just never know who you'll see out and about conducting their business. This morning, our former governor and president wannabe, Howard Dean happened to be in Kinkos with us. Now I sometimes go out not looking quite my best, maybe my ball gown and tiara were at the cleaners, doncha know...but please, I thought Howard's old T-shirt and jeans was just a little off putting. Oh well, he's private citizen Dean now and I suppose he just doesn't have to get all gussied up to hit the Kinkos...you'd think he'd have his own copier, though, ya know? snort...no I don't know what he was doing there, I thought I'd give him his space and not gawk....much.
Whew...it's been a short and busy week at home. Back to new London tomorrow sometime.....have a good evening all.
Posted by frani at 08:37 PM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2004
Stuff and more stuff....
Coffee of the day is...ummm...er...Guatamala Huehuetenango. Yup..had to think about it a minute. Things have been a bit of a blur since we got home Tuesday night. I even have an annoying scrape on my elbow I have absolutely no recollection of receiving but it doesn't make it any less annoying whenever I irritate it bending it.
We've enjoyed a visit from Morgan and Nora and Nora got to met the elusive Auntie Anna. Sometimes it's Hard to get the whole family in one place at one time so we just have to take advantage of those times when we can get some of them together some of the time.
Granny has been moved to her new digs...some of her "things left behind" have been allocated to new homes...some, I'm afraid are going to have to find homes outside the "family". Hehehe...no fighting over the family heirlooms among these siblings..."No, I don't need it, you take it...no please I insist..you have the best place for it." I don't think any of us really "need" more stuff. Maybe the best part is just going through the stuff, recalling fond and maybe not so fond memories these things really represent. I know I enjoyed watching the reactions the 3 of them had whenever some thing in particular was uncovered, discovered and in some cases..re-covered. snort. It was just plain enjoyable to be in the company of those who were able to be present.
Since we lost a couple days of our week at home, I had to rearrange a few appointments, but I did manage to get the cats in for their checkup and vaccinations. I'm proud to report ~Elmo received high praise for his half pound loss in weight. hhhmmm...Dr Alden did mused that another 2-3 pounds less wouldn't hurt him any. Geesh..isn't that what they all say! When was the last time you heard the Dr (any doctor) encourage weight gain?
So, this morning was filled with getting Morgan and Nora back to the airport and home again...roasting coffee...fitting in the trip to the grocery store for milk and other essentials (albeit 2 days after getting home)...getting our drugs before we run out while we are away again and even squeezing in that haircut today that I had scheduled for tomorrow. Whew...now I only have to make dinner and go to a class at a Bead store I signed up for last month. What WAS I thinking...it sounded like a fun thing to do at the time.
Hope you are all having a fine day.......
Posted by frani at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2004
If it's Tuesday...
...we are going home this evening! I keep thinking this is Friday! quick week, huh?
Coffee of the day is Austrailian Mountain Top. We sampled the Costa Rica La Minita over the weekend in Stamford. Too bad I screwed up the first pot..it was too weak to drink. Blech blech. Changing coffee makers all the time just really isn't condusive to making preference choices without LOTS of trials.
We drove to Stamford Friday late afternoon...on I-95 .... not a thrill. Worse thrill when you finally see the traffic clearing out from the crawl it was doing at 10mph only to find some fender bender on the OTHER side of the highway......30 minutes of nasty snarled traffic for that...how stupid are people? Move along, nothing to see here.......sigh. Makes me so proud.......not. I don't understand why we do this....rubbernecking is soooooooo not useful.
I have the cutest Grandchildren...snort...they crack me up. Maura calls me "Gramma" most of the time now. Kieran is still a charmer and ohhhhhhh so much fun to watch....wish I knew what was really going on in that mind of his.
So I'm having trouble getting to the packing this morning...or much of anything else...a little of this..moving on to a little of that. Took out the trash..made the bed...got out the suitcases. Yup Yup Yup..busy busy. Have a nice day all....see you from VT.
Posted by frani at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)