Never too old

Last summer my son and husband went to the Newport Folk Festival and saw a singing group called Young at Heart. All of the members were about 80 years old and they tour all over the country and Europe singing covers of rock and roll songs. Some of their picks are Purple Haze, by Jimmy Hendrix, I Feel Good by James Brown, Forever Young by Bob Dylan.

My son said that they were so good he got the goosebumps listening to them. This Christmas my husband got him the Young at Heart DVD. We all sat the other night watching it. I highly recommend it. It was so inspirational and moving and really hits home about the power of song.

They are based out of Northampton, MA and play in that area frequently. I checked their website and right now they are practicing new songs for their summer tour. I sure hope I get an opportunity to watch them perform in person this summer.

Day 2 of vacation

I had my infected tooth pulled today, and decided to go with the Novocaine. I have been putting it off for months so it is a relief to have it out. I brought my IPOD to listen to so I would relax some. I am very anxious at the dentist's office so I was hoping this would help. It was a challenge getting the tooth out as it needed to come out in pieces and the dentist worked hard at it. I turned up the IPOD and I even started to "sing" during the procedure. It was a good coping skill for me. Then I thought I might be bugging the doctor so I stopped for a while until the doctor told me to continue that "singing' was OK with them. So I started back up again, and I found it very comforting.

I felt pain despite what everyone said, but I just rode it out, and did OK. So I have 4-6 months to heal until the implant goes in.

A snow storm is heading our way for the morning commute. Luckily I will be home tomorrow relaxing and recovering and have two DVD's to watch. I received Momma Mia for Christmas and Net flicks sent Hairspray. I have seen both of these movies and enjoyed them, so it will be a perfect day to see them again, or at least fast forward to my favorite parts!

Time for ice on...

Tucker

On the top, is a photograph of my son and his fiance's dog. On the bottom is a painting the husband did of the picture to give to them as a Christmas gift. He only started painting a couple of years ago, so it was a stretch for him to attempt this. But as you can see, he did a great job on it.

A and H were so excited when they opened it. They felt it looked just like him and they were so amazed that he managed to capture their cute little Tucker so well.

Giving them the painting was great fun and one of the highlights of Christmas!

Holiday update

I am enjoying a bowl of turkey soup from the leftovers. A warm kind of day for soup, but a nice light supper is good after all the delicious meals over the holiday.

Christmas Day worked out fine, I was able to stay home and cook as the other relatives went to visit my father in law in the hospital in the early afternoon. He was moved to a rehab center later in the day on Christmas where he is doing better, but still struggling with an infection. Because he is confused, I don't believe he was even aware of that it was Christmas. Hopefully, he will be able to come home in a few weeks.

It has been a busy few days! Christmas Eve we went to my cousin's house to celebrate with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We have been doing this since I was a little girl. There are over 50 of us now as the family has grown over the years. It is a fun and crowded time! Over the years we have scaled down the menu from the all the fishes, to make it easier. Although the food is great, it is the company that can't be beat!

My sister had all of us over last night at her house for a nice dinner and gift giving. We had a really nice time and ended up staying later than expected!

Today we ran to Borders to use a gift card my husband got for a gift, then home to make turkey soup and continue putting the house back together.

I am getting a bit nervous for Tuesday because I am getting a tooth pulled. I have had an infection for a few months now and have been able to tolerate it with not much trouble. Dentist said that even if an infected tooth isn't causing problems that you can feel, it can still be doing damage in the body. So I decided to just get it done and over with and go for the implant. a

So I have tomorrow to get my nerve up!

My father in law is still in the hospital and will be through Christmas. The good thing is that he is doing much better. He has responded well to the antibiotics and improving daily. He will go to rehab after he is discharged, which will give my mother in law some much needed respite.

I have all the shopping done and now I can concentrate on just getting the house in order and the meal preparations. I am making turkey and using brand new recipes that I got off of the Oprah website. I never cook new recipes for holidays, but there is a first time for everything!

I hate when the phone rings late at night

I am sitting by the phone waiting for the husband to call. My son is driving him up to the hospital because my father in law is being taken there by ambulance. He has not been well for a while now and was in and out of the hospital in the summer. My poor husband was already sound asleep for the night so to wake him up with bad news was hard to do.

It is hard with the elders. We are only 20 minutes away, but with the snow and ice tonight, I know it will take them awhile to get there. My mother in law was going to follow the ambulance, but she is not supposed to drive at night at all. I know it will be hard for her to wait for them, but I sure hope she does because we don't need to worry about her being on the road on a night like this.

It will be a long night.

Brooke is here

Winter storm Brooke is hitting our area today, making it yet another stay at home and off the roads kind of a day. This storm is supposed to turn into sleet and freezing rain later in the evening, so I don't expect to get out of here today at all. I have home made tomato sauce simmering on the stove and my husband, son and I will have our usual Sunday dinner here without the rest of the clan.

We were planning to get over the Stew Leonard's today to buy a turkey for Christmas dinner. Hopefully we will be able to get there tomorrow. I still have a few things to wrap and could consider myself done with shopping, but I never feel done until 12/24.

I more concentrating now on getting things ready for Christmas dinner. I am having the in-laws here this time. I think it may work better than it did on Thanksgiving. So I am getting out all my Christmas plates and serving dishes and getting the house in shape and organized. I like to do as much as I can a few days before.

So I should cut this break short and get back to work!

Sons

Today was a great day. My older son came over to visit for a while and was hanging out with his younger brother who just came home from college. They both helped shovel snow and did a few little jobs for us and then we watched a movie. Later the husband made pizza for supper and the older one decided to stay and join us.

It has been a very long time that the four of us were together hanging out on a Saturday with one away at school and the other living on his own and engaged. I just looked over at the two of them sitting on the couch with the Christmas tree lights all lit up watching a Christmas movie and it was like a flashback from the days long gone. It was a tender moment.

I am very pleased that the boys are very good friends. They get along well and respect each other. It makes me happy to see that they have such a strong bond and will be able to depend upon one another. Sometimes things do turn out just how you imagined.

Let it snow

There is nothing like getting a snow day off from work a few days before Christmas! Even though it wasn't snowing in the morning, all the schools in the state closed in anticipation of storm Austin. It started after noontime and it came down fast and furiously. Even the state departments dismissed all non essential employees before the snow started. It think that was a first!

Any way, what a great day. Home to wrap and bake and get some things done without pressure of needing to be anywhere else! The youngest son came home from college yesterday so it was nice being here today to hang out with him as well.

We are supposed to get 12 inches or more of the white stuff. Lots to shovel and dig out from.

Pizzelle cookies that I made with my grandmother's pizzelle machine. Mmmmm good.

Finally put up our tree up today and it feels good to have it all done. Pretty much puttered around the house listening to Christmas music afterwards. I made a good dent in my shopping by doing it on-line. So I am feeling good that I am getting caught up some.

My favorite ornament is this tatted star made by one of the students who used to go to my school. I think I posted the picture last year. It was pretty cool to see a young man with this talent. We always encouraged him and hoped he would turn it into a little side business for himself. I hope sometime he stops in and lets us know what he is up to now.

Short post. Maybe more time tomorrow.

Day of Thanks

Turkey is in the oven and the house is filled with it's aroma and boy it smells good. I will be basting faithfully every 30 minutes until it becomes golden brown.

No matter what is going on in our lives, we all have so much to be thankful for. I try to not take the blessings that I have for granted and I take time on occasion to write them in my gratitude journal. I want to make an effort to be more consistent with that because it is a powerful lesson to reflect on the positive.

I am especially grateful today that I am feeling well enough to cook and participate in Thanksgiving. I have been struggling the past week with a flare up of a chronic medical condition and I didn't expect to be back on track so soon. I couldn't even think of Thanksgiving preparations as I was focusing on just taking care of myself. Thankfully the husband went out and did the shopping.

So I am very grateful to feel well enough to be cooking up a storm today, and that I will be able to spend the day with my family.

We are cooking the turkey and some of the side dishes at my house and transporting them up to the in-law's house. They are both elderly with health issues and they do better staying in their own environment so they can go off and nap if they want to and have everything they need on hand. My mother in law was disappointed that we all talked her out of cooking the turkey, but last time she tried to do so, it was a disaster. It becomes hard as they age and can't function as well as they did, but can't admit it. We tried to frame it nicely that we just wanted to help her as she has her hands full care taking her husband. She finally relented. But she is still cooking a couple of side dishes, because we know it is important for her to still feel needed.

I was reading a post over at The Therapist Mumbles yesterday and I think he has the best advice for families for the holiday. He said to "appreciate those you are with today, as everyone is doing the best they can." I know I will be thinking about that often today. Thanks, doc... and thank you to all you bloggers out there who share so much of your lives, advice, support and perspective. I have grown very, very fond of you all and I wish all of you who happen to stop by here a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Sam's new shoes

No, I did not pose her.

Change

I hosted a presentation at our school on Thursday night for parents and educators. I invited a panel of young people (ages 13-28) who are on the Autism spectrum to come and talk to the group about how their disability has affected their education and their lives. They were quite a candid group and collectively had been through a great deal of suffering at different points in their lives.

The presentation was very well attended and we ended up with standing room only. Some of the students who go to our school came with their parents to listen to the panel and found that they could relate so completely to their stories of being bullied (at their old school), misunderstood, and feeling isolated from peers. While the panel talked about the things that were difficult in their lives, they also expressed the up side of living with Autism.

1 out of 150 births are diagnosed with Autism. It is now considered an epidemic. We serve students from non-verbal and low functioning to high functioning Asperger's syndrome, so I spend a great deal of my time with kids on the spectrum. I enjoy them so much. The Asperger kids have a unique way of seeing the world and have a great deal to teach us.

Recently there was an episode of Grey's Anatomy that featured a heart surgeon with Asperger's syndrome. Autism awareness is everywhere now and I think it is such a good thing.

One of our local movie theaters was hosting a family movie day for families with children who have autism. They were going to keep the lights up some and turn down the sound to accommodate their sensory needs . The children were not going to be expected to sit still, they could get up and move around when ever they needed to. Parents of children with autism have been strong advocates and we are going to see society accommodate their needs like never before. In turn, I think all children and people with disabilities will benefit.

Autism is redefining our society and it has been a long time coming.

The history of aprons

Some people don't enjoy e-mail forwards, but most of the time I do. (Unless it is one that says it will bring bad luck if you don't forward). Today, my future daughter -in -law sent me a forward that brought a few tears to my eyes because it brought back some warm memories of my grandmothers and all the women in my family.

I was thinking today of the effort and thought that people put into writing these forwards and how they are passed around from person to person, maybe going all around the world.

Usually they are not signed and we have no idea who wrote them so no one can go back to the writer and thank them for putting a bit of sunshine or insight into our days.

So who ever started this forward, I thank you!

I don't think kids today know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath. Because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used?less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden,it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ' old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Day off

Day off today so we headed down to IKEA for some shopping and breakfast. We didn't realize it but they were giving away FREE breakfasts today for everyone until 10:30 A.M. The lines were sure long, but they moved very quickly and there was plenty of room to sit and relax and have a nice breakfast.

Mostly did errands after that and now I am home and pretty much in for the rest of the day to cook up a storm in the kitchen. I plan to get a big pot of chicken soup going so I can freeze it to take to work and then make a nice home made meal for dinner.

A day sure flies when you are enjoying it!

Day tripping

Some photos of our day trip down to the CT shoreline today.

Movie day

Rainy day today, just a perfect day to go to the movies. All the movies that I have been wanting to see were not playing any longer so we decided to go see The Changeling. I didn't know much about it other than Clint Eastwood directed and Angelina Jolie was the star, and it was about a missing son.

My God, if I had known how heart wrenching it would be, I think I would not have gone. There were times I had to cover my face because I could not watch some of the scenes that were just too much to bear. My husband said that the movie was a work-out, and that describes it well. My heart was pounding through most of it from the suspense, heartbreak, anger, violations, and grief. Tough movie to watch, and even harder to bear when it is based on a true story.

But it was well acted, directed, and filmed. It was a very powerful movie, but absolutely draining.

Yes they did

On election night, my son called from college at 11:15 P.M. He was so excited about Obama's win and he said that the whole campus was going crazy. Good crazy, electrifying crazy. Everyone felt so connected and they were all singing. They were proud that their votes had made a difference.

I loved hearing the excitement in his voice. I hadn't thought about what it would be like on campus. I wished I had been there or in some type of crowd that night. I know that this is a memory he will look back upon for years to come. It is a story that he will tell his children and grandchildren.

It was a night, wasn't it?

I voted today

We got to the poll around 5:50 A.M. and there was just a short line waiting. When we left 20 minutes later, the line was huge and zig zagging around the small gym. It was interesting to watch people's faces when they walked in and saw how big the line was and to hear them exclaim that in all their years they have never seen so many people out voting.

I was dreaming about voting most of the night. In my dream I had to go through a carnival fairway and play some games on the way to the voting booth. There were no lines and people kept coming in getting ahead of me. I woke up before I had the chance to vote. Just a little anxiety coming out in my dream, don't ya think?

Anyway, we were glad we got there so early and were able to get in and out. We came home and the husband cooked up a nice breakfast for the two of us. A leisurely breakfast together on a work day was a nice perk.

I can go to work with my "I voted today" sticker and be grateful to the suffragette movement who made it possible (and not too many years ago and with great personal sacrifice) for me and all women to have the right to vote.

Election eve

I am so anxious about voting tomorrow. I have all my clothes laid out, my lunch made and I plan to get up very early and be at the polls by 6:00 A.M. That will give me 2 hours before I have to get to work. I am hoping that it will be enough time. I can't be late because I have a VIP appointment first thing.

What pressure!

And that's the truth...bltttttttttt

I was stalking my cat this morning, following her around with my camera trying to get some new shots of her. This is what she thought of it!

All Hallow's Eve

Hope everyone had a nice Halloween. Some pictures of the night. We didn't get as many trick or treaters as we used to when our boys were little, but we were busy enough.

Centerpiece

I won the above flowers at a wedding I attended over the weekend. It was on top of a very tall vase for the centerpiece at the reception. When I got it home, I thought it would look very nice on my vase that holds my favorite seashells. I am pleased with how it looks. My friend is an artist and she plans on doing an oil painting of the arrangement.

Wedding Bells

My older son announced his engagement this weekend. He has been with his girlfriend for 3 years so we all have been anxiously awaiting for this good news. They came over for Sunday dinner at my parent's house to tell the usual Sunday crowd of their plans. Everyone was overjoyed. The wedding will take place next October.

My dad hasn't been feeling well and even took another fall last weekend. He is still waiting for some test results. When my son told him about the wedding and after he congratulated him, my dad said that he didn't think he would be around next year to make the wedding. He is 89 years old and has so many health problems so he thinks about dying and will make comments to us from time to time around different situations. It was sad to hear him say that, and my son quickly reassured my dad that we planned for him to be around and witness the vows with the entire family. A year goes by so fast for most of us, but for the elders the days drag by, especially for someone like my dad who can no longer drive, has difficulty getting around due to his limited flexibility and is in chronic pain. We can only take it one day at a time.

In the meantime.... we have a wedding to plan!! I am very excited. I really admire and respect and have come to love the young woman who will be my daughter in law. I know that I am very lucky that at the start, we all have a comfortable and good relationship.

I look forward to posting all the planning and festivities for the big day. It is a wonderful thing to have something so special to look forward to ... for the whole family.

The Front Porch

One of our favorite places for breakfast or lunch when we go up to Putney, VT is The Front Porch. I love how it is decorated, the tables on the porch, and the delightful delicious food. I highly recommend the pumpkin soup!

Vermont weekend

Spent the weekend up in Vermont to visit our son. The colors were just beautiful up there, even though it was the tail end of the season.

Good visit up there and now getting ready for the work day tomorrow.

Snake or Swan?

Interesting gourd, huh? What does it look like to you?

Take a little time to enjoy your view

I am just checking in to say hello. I haven't been inspired to write much lately. My head is full of things that are going on and all I can do is blurt out, "I don't know." It is like I can't come to any clear decisions about the thoughts running through my head. Does that make sense? I am annoying myself, but I think I am on overload because of so much happening at work, in the news, and to my friends.

I also feel anxious about the election. The negative stuff will come out in full force now from both sides, and I wish they did not have to count on destroying one another to win an election.

I finished reading Barbara Walters book Audition last week. I found it a very interesting read, all 576 pages of it. She has had a very remarkable life and so connected to so many historical events. The book jogged my memory quite a bit since I lived through so many of the events she wrote about, and it was juicy to read all the background details.

She was a co host on the Today Show for 10 years, before they actually "officially" introduced her as a co-host! She paved the way for all the women journalists who followed. I enjoy watching her on The View and I am a sucker for all of her celebrity specials.

Does anyone watch The View? I started taping it everyday a couple of years ago. It is one show that catches you up on what is going on from the silly and mundane to the big stuff. It has been getting very heated lately with all the election news. The husband even watches it with me (just hot topics)... but don't tell him I told you guys!

An oversight

When we went to the fair grounds tonight to pick up our photos, I found out that I had won an honorable mention for the picture of my cat, Samwise. My husband also won another 3rd place ribbon. For some reason, the ribbons didn't get on our photos when they displayed them.

So I was able to take home a ribbon after all!

Rainy weekend

It has been rainy here all weekend. Some big Nor'easter hit our area and flood warnings are in effect all over. Despite the rain, we got up early this morning to go to the fair for a little while. Most of the parking lots were closed due to the mud, but we found one paved lot that they opened the last minute. There were not many people there his morning, which was kind of nice as we didn't have to fight the crowds or wait in line for anything.

So as far as my photos go, I didn't win any ribbons. But that is OK, so many of the photos were taken by professional photographers so it was hard to compete with them. But I thought mine stood up well with them. My husband won one blue ribbon for a photo and one blue ribbon for his acrylic painting, so he was happy.

We had time to look at our favorite exhibits, have a Gyro for lunch, and then make it back to the shuttle bus before it poured. Although it was very soggy, it was warm out so it wasn't so bad walking around.

It has been a lazy afternoon. I watched Michael Moore's free down load movie, Slacker Uprising. I thought it was very inspirational.

I finally finished reading Barbara Walter's book, Audition. It is very long, almost 600 pages, but enjoyable. So much history between all the historical events and presidents that she has covered in her career as well as just her history in the news business. It was a good read.

I was so sorry to read that Paul Newman passed away, it brought tears to my eyes. He lives in our state, and he just seemed to be a really good guy. My cousin who used to teach race car driving knew him from the car races. It is good his daughter is involved in his food company which produces so many organic products and donates the money to The Hole in the Wall Gang camp. Paul founded the camp for children who are fighting cancer.

Traditions

This VT scene I took driving by in the car

Hildene

Elaine's Window

Our Cat, Samwise

I spoke with my youngest son today. He is all settled in at college. There is no cell phone service up there and he is hardly ever in his dorm so we have only been communicating through e-mail. He had to take a run into the city and he was able to get service and call me at work. It was so great to hear his voice, and also the excitement in his voice about all that was going on up at school.

One thing touched me in particular. He said that he missed our family gatherings on Sundays when we all go to my parent's house for Sunday dinner and my mother's homemade tomato sauce and pasta . So he got a group of his friends together and told them about our family tradition and now every Sunday they meet at different friends houses off of campus and cook sauce and pasta. All of his friends thought it was a very cool tradition and they are all enjoying cooking and having Sunday dinner together. I loved hearing that!

This weekend is the big agricultural fair in CT. It has become a tradition over the years that we go on Friday night. My husband usually enters a painting and photography and usually wins some ribbons. This year I decided to enter some photos. I know that I probably won't win ribbons, but it will be fun to have my photos displayed.

My favorite photo is the one of my mother's pasta in her 60 year old pasta bowl. When we brought our photos in the pasta photo was the one that caught a couple of people's eyes right off of the bat. One of the guys came over to me and told me that the lighting was really good in the picture. I was so excited. So I thought it would be fun to post the photos I entered into the contest. Wish me luck!

Reunion

My dad has been doing well with his recovery and they are just starting to phase out all of the at home services. I heard that he has been sneaking into his garden lately and picking vegetables. He isn't supposed to be doing that as he is very unsteady on his feet and he could fall ( which happened before) and break bones. But he is tired of sitting in the chair all day long and wants to feel useful. Who can blame him?

Today it was my aunt's 90th birthday and she and my dad are the only two left out of the 5 siblings. My aunt is recovering from a serious stroke, and dad saw her last summer, but it has been a while. So it was a great day to see them reunited for the afternoon. Everyone was hoping he would feel up to going and that my aunt would be well enough to attend her own birthday party, but they both made it.

Although my aunt has lost her speech for the most part, it was obvious that she recognized all of us and by the radiant smile on her face. She looked better than she has in ages and it seemed that having this party to look forward to and having the love of all of the family there energized her and lifted her spirits up.

There was lots of picture taking today, but my favorite is the one above. Just a baby brother brother with his older sister.

Seven years ago on 9/11 I was at work in my boss's office and we were looking for some files when another staff person came in and told us that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. As most people we thought that it was a plane that went off course. Then we heard about the second plane...

One of the high school teachers had put a TV on in her classroom and they all were watching it. The teachers of the younger kids did not put on a TV nor even tell them what was going on. We sheltered those children from the information so that they would not be filled with anxiety.

As the morning unfolded, I didn't quite know what to do. I tried to sit at my desk and work, but I could not concentrate. I would get up from time to time to and go into the high school class to watch TV, but one of the boys in the class was uncomfortable watching the coverage. I had him come and sit with me in my office and I tried to reassure him that we would all be fine, and that no matter what happened, we were all in this together. I found that a comforting thought for myself . We are not too far away from a submarine base in our state as well as some other choice targets. Everyone was scared.

Then the telephones started to ring and ring and ring. Frantic parents were leaving work to come and pick up their children and wanted them ready as soon as they arrived. Some parents just called to talk and speculate. Everyone was calling. Relatives of staff members calling to see if we all were aware of what was going on or wanting to just talk about what was happening. I don't think I ever took more calls in one day. The phone was ringing non-stop, all lines.

At some point the coverage became too much to bear, so the teacher turned off the TV. In hind sight it probably wasn't a good idea to put on the TV, but who knew what was going to happen?

One of our students had been ill first thing in the morning before anything happened. He had been waiting for his dad to come get him. What we didn't realize is that his dad owned a company that was based in the Twin Towers. When he finally made it to the school to pick him up, we found out that he lost every single one of his employees. I will never forget the look on that man's face.

I had another student whose dad worked in another building right next to the twin towers, the mom wanted to tell her son that his dad was OK, so I had to pull him out of class and fill him in on what had happened before he talked to his mom. She was afraid he would hear about the attack on the bus and wanted him to know straight from her that his dad was fine.

Although many parents came to pick up their children before the end of the day, we did not call for an early dismissal. We tried to keep the rest of the day normal for the kids. When the buses came, we went and talked to all the bus drivers and asked them if they would consider keeping their radios turned off so that the little kids did not have to hear any of the news on their way home. They all seemed fine with that, but who knows if they followed through.

We had to deal with a lot of children who suffered a great deal of trauma for months after that day. Many of our kids had family members who were traveling back and forth to ground zero to help with the rescue efforts and they were terrified that another attack would happen and their family members would be in harm's way.

We had our moments of silence this morning at school at the time the first plane hit, but other than that, no one talked about it.

Baby talk

So did it bother any other folks out there that Sarah Palin had her 4 month old baby up so late at the RNC? I felt sorry for the little guy; the noise, the lights, the crowd. He needed to be home tucked into his crib instead of having to tolerate all that sensory stimulation, and being passed off from one to the other.

I know that the above has nothing to do with her qualifications to be the VP, that is another post. I am just saying that it was hard to watch the baby being paraded about. A real advocate for special needs children puts the child first.

Heart and soul

It is so muggy here today, that it makes me long for fall!

I have been listening to music most of the day. I have played the American Prayer video a million times. I became inspired by the democratic convention and I think I may even volunteer some time to it. No matter what happens, it is an important and historical election, and I want to contribute in any small way that I can.

In general I love music. I am uplifted and moved by it, sometimes I play songs over and over again because I feel like I can't quite get enough and because I don't want the feelings to end when the song does. Over and over, sometimes if it is a new song, I want to learn every word and lick, even though I can't sing, or play an instrument. So I can't say I wasted the day, because music not a waste. It was feeding the heart and soul day.

Tomorrow we are taking my son back to college. It will be a quick visit up north and it is supposed to be a nice day, so the drive will be pleasant. He has been home most of the day packing and we have been all spending time talking politics, family, and everything in between. As usual, it is always a little bit sad when he leaves and we return to our empty nest, but we adjust pretty quickly.

So everyone have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

Become inspired

American Prayer

Over the hump day

I am sitting out on the deck after supper and it is actually chilly enough for a jacket. Just a reminder that summer is fading away.

I went back to work this week after 2 weeks away and it felt good to be back. I enjoyed diving right in and getting things accomplished. The students come back next Tuesday, so we were all busy with orientation and getting the place all spruced up. So many new staff to get to know.

In my job, I go back and forth between 4 buildings so I don't work side by side with enough of the folks long enough to really get to know them so their names don't stick with me. Every year we grow bigger, and I didn't even master the all the names from last year yet. I have to figure out a way to remember every one's name! It is embarrassing to be walking down the hall and need to call out to someone and go blank when it comes to their name.

Other news:

My son's girlfriend was bitten by a dog the other day. It is so ironic because we were all at the dog park in the morning with about 70 dogs running loose, all behaving and not one incident with any of the dogs.

Later in the day, after playing tennis she was walking to her car and a dog on a leash came over to her. When she gently put her hand out to let the dog smell her hand, (as the dog whisperer says to do) the dog bit her. The owner started yelling at her and when she lifted her arm and saw blood dripping down, the owner ran away with his dog. He fled off to the condo buildings across the street.

Unfortunately, now she has to get all the shots for rabies. She had 6 the first time at the hospital and is on a schedule to go back for more. The police are on the look out for the guy and the dog, but I doubt they will find them.

It is hard to believe that someone would run off like that and he was an an older person, not a kid.

I admire how well she is handling the situation, and although the shots are not pleasant, thank goodness there are shots available to cover all the risks involved.

Well, it is cold enough now to go inside and make a hot cup of tea and maybe I will finally make some zucchini bread.

An Award

Jamie of Grace, too chose me as one recipient of this award, my very first blogging award ever! Thank you, Jamie!

Here are the rules,

1. Only five people are to receive this award.
2. Four of them are followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to the person who gave you this award.

Now I have to choose five blog friends to pass this along to. I have chosen the following:

Forsythia, Life in Merlin USA

Patty, Patty's Perspective USA

Ruth, Visions and Revisions USA

Kelly Jene, The Moohaa USA

At this point I don't have anyone new to my blog from another part of the world, but if I ever do, I will pass this on to them. Hope that is O.K. I am not usually a rule breaker, lol!!

Doggie park

I have been home a couple of days now and have tried to catch up on house stuff and I also lounged quite a bit reading a novel called, Flowers in the Attic, by V.C. Andrews. It is a creepy sort of story about some children locked away in the attic, but it was also quite a page turner. I believe it was made into a movie, but I never saw it. I discovered that there are a couple of sequels to it and I have one of them on hold at the library already. I don't usually like creepy stories and if I have bad dreams tonight, I will cancel the hold! LoL.

This morning we went to the dog park to visit with my son and his friends and our grand-dog, as we like to call him. There is Tucker on the left. Dog parks are becoming all the rage on the East coast now. Since the swimming season is over for the summer, the Humane Society was charging $5.00 to let the dogs run free on the beach and swim in the pond, and their owners have to pay $1.00. All the money benefits the Humane Society, and they bring in dogs that they want to find homes for, so some good matches are made.

I was sitting reading my book and a beautiful Golden Retriever came and dropped his ball in front of me and barked at me until I picked it up and threw it for him to fetch. So he kept coming over to me dropping his ball for me to throw. One time, the ball rolled underneath the bench. My friend was behind the bench at the time and she picked it up and gave it to me to throw for the dog. Well, the dog didn't chase the ball this time. Instead, he looked at it and then he walked behind the bench to see if the ball was still there. When he realized that his ball wasn't there, he ran to fetch it realizing it was the one I threw.

I am guessing because he didn't see me pick up the ball, he didn't think it was the ball he dropped. I was impressed that he only wanted to fetch his ball. A very smart dog.

It was fun to watch the dogs all running free and playing together, even though at times we got a soaking when they were shaking themselves dry.

More museums

In the garden at Hildene

Hildene - home of Robert Todd Lincoln

The marble quarry

Today we spent the morning at the Bennington Museum home of the Grandma Moses collection as well as antique furniture, glassware, pottery, etc. I enjoyed this museum quite a bit and especially loved the Grandma Moses wing.

Later we drove over to Dorset and hung out at the nation's oldest quarry, which happens to be all marble. It is beautiful spot and if it had been warmer out today, we would have taken a swim. But it was good to just lounge in a chair and read.

On the way home we took a wrong turn (and we were glad we did) and ended up on the road to Hildene, the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln (Abe's son). So we decided to go and take the tour. It is a beautiful home and the scenery breath-taking, as noted in the pictures above.

Something about the hills of Vermont that make me swell with emotion. I love them and I always feel sad when we head back to the flatlands. We will be back soon when we take our son to school in a couple of weeks, so it won't be long until we meet again.