Defestooning

So, for almost 18 years, I would put up my outside Christmas lights without a thought of weather - it never rains in Southern California. One year doing this gave me my fear of extension ladders because I fell. Another year was even done when I was eight months pregnant. All years were done in mild weather. Last year was the first New England (de)festooning. This year, the lights went up before snow. Taking them down today made me realise that maybe I should plan for foul weather in the takedown. Thankfully, enough snow had thawed that I didn't need boots to take the lights down from the dock. Although, I could have left up the dock lights, and just taken down the icicles over the front porch. Whatevah. The house is finally getting back to some semblance of order.

I've been told that 2008 will be a "cracking year". We shall see Miche. We shall see.....

What a difference eight years makes

Eight years ago tonight, Mom smuggled a bottle of Moet et Chandon into the hospital. Andrew had entered the world a mere 36 hours before. I dipped his pacifier into the Moet in hopes of him sleeping more than 46 minutes that night. Sounded good in theory.

Eight years later, I purchase the bubblies myself. A bit better, and the kid is a bit older. Unknowingly, the bottle of bubblies I purchased is from 1999. Quite serendipitous. :)

When the day starts with a root canal redo part one, well, you know.........

Merry Christmas Eve.

Nanook

Dad is a dork. It was actually a warm day today. Upper 30's/lower 40's. Yet, he was cold.....

Resistance is Futile

Apparently, I have assimilated. Today was "warm". 37. I did not wear a coat. Andrew was not required to wear hat and mittens. Is it the 22 formative years in Kansas City, or the start of the 2nd New England winter? No idea. Love being here. :)

Overheard

One-sided conversation between Andrew and my mom. Oh, I'm hearing Andrew's side:
"Yeah. Brady? He's starting to get a hang of football."

I did my best to stay on the road... ;)

No Kitty Truce

There are truces between the felines. Few and far between, but they are there. More often are literal hissy fits. One such battle was this afternoon when I wasn't feeling well. They were going at it with all barrels. Normally, I just let them go. Not today. They were using the couch as a battle ground. I was attempting a nap. On the couch.

Truce

Three posts in one day?? This HAS to be a record. OMG! ;)

Twice

Twice now this has happened. Two blogs in one way. Must be the season..... ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xa_maqPRsU

Best carol EVER!

Winter Wonderland

Hope the photo comes out right. The icycles and snowflakes in the spotlight are really pretty.

Irony

Ok, so I'm waking up later because, well, it's just too damm cold to get out of bed. This causes me to get Andrew up later, which causes a later departure, which is delayed even further by the fact we now must bundle in thousands of layers.

Timing

Turned on my floodlights for my neighbor who insists on raking leaves in the dark.
Went outside to move leaves (no raking in the dark for me) from in front of the garage bay I use for my car.
Supposed to snow tonight, and want driveway clear for possible plowing.
Chat with said neighbor about why her sons aren't helping as they are older and stronger than my son.
She gives typical mom excuses.
She thanks me for turning on my floodlights for her.
My porch light burns out.....
Coming home for lunch tomorrow to change the light unless I'm already home because the snow will not allow me out.

Elves

All this talk of elves for Christmas. Where are the leaf elves? It would be so nice to wake up one morning, or come home from work one day, and see all the leaves from my yard gone. A girl can dream, right?

Happy Thanksgiving

So much for which to be thankful.
My son.
Being able to breathe - story for later......

Changing of the Guards

Ok, I'm making it officially cold. Going to wash and put away the light-weight robe and am wearing the heavier warmer robe. Sheet change this week will consist of the flannel ones.
Windy and cold. Oil is too expensive to keep the furnace going at a comfortable temp. Gotta stay warm some how. Even the kitties with their fur coats want to snuggle. Yes, this includes Natashaprissypants.

Traffic

This was sent as an email to my New Hampster friends, yet I feel it makes good blog material. It's my blog, and I can do what I want.

There is a point to this email, and I will get to it in a moment.

I'm driving along wonderfully this evening when all of a sudden the traffic become nuts to butts on the 16 right before exit 2. It's like this all the way to just before the toll. I call a friend who is way too busy to pick up her phone (ok, so she may have not even been home - whatevah!), so I call my Mom who is now 3000 miles away. She is nice enough to answer her phone when she sees my mobile number. I ask her to log onto WMUR and see if there is anything regarding traffic. There is nothing, but then she starts muttering about calling 511. I ask if she's talking about New Hampshire, because just a moment ago, she was muttering about California. Curiosity gets to me. I thank her and hang up. Well, guess what folks?? 511 is a New Hampshire Department of Transportation traffic alert. There are some kinks to work out as the IVR (Integrated Voice Response - you speak into the phone instead of pushing buttons.....) seems to think "Dover" is the same as "Pellam". Now, I can understand "Dover" and "Durham", or perhaps "Pellam" and "Plymouth", but DDDDover and PPPellam???? Nope. So, when the manvoice realises that isn't going to work, he asks me to enter the first three letters of the town about which I'd like to inquire. Annoyed, irritated fingers don't press the correct buttons, so manvoice gives me a third option. A girl likes it when a man gives her options..... ;) Anywhoo - the 3rd option is to press the route number into the keypad and press #. This sort of works and sort of doesn't. I don't get the 4 or the 16 I'd like. So, back to the main menu, and guess what??? Manvoice gives me yet another option! Press another key for urgent road conditions. After hearing all about the booming metropolis of Manchvegas and environs, I give up and hang up the phone. I was at the toll booth anyway, and traffic was starting to move. Now, if manvoice had just reminded me to take exit 7 instead of exit 9.......

And there you have it.

Explosion

No additional words needed.

Updating

Hey folks - or folk as I'm not really sure anyone even reads this.....

The other day I was running errands and saw a surfboard on top of a car. Now, normally, this would be a regular site for me. When I lived in Encinitas. Living in New Hampshire, seeing a surfboard on top of a car in November makes a person go, "huh". I've gotten used to seeing canoes and kayaks on top of cars. When I first moved to San Diego many moons ago, it did take me awhile to get used to seeing Christmas trees sticking out of convertibles. That, and lights strung around palm trees. Each region has its own specialty. I love New England.

A friend of mine from work has found love and is moving to Arizona because of it. She has a cat who needed a home lest he become a kitty snack for one of the dogs. Shadow has joined our family. Natasha isn't so sure about this addition. She no longer rules the roost. Poor prissypants.....

Mom is coming to visit this weekend. She needs her Andrew and autumn fix. I need help with fall clean-up. Win win all around if you ask me.

Mornings are getting brisk. Trees/leaves are becoming quite colorful. Yes, I have to say I have missed the changing of the seasons.

Kansas Jayhawks are undefeated in............... wait for it.............. FOOTBALL. They are also undefeated in Basketball, but that is to be expected, and, they have played a whopping three games so far. But, football? Jayhawks? There must be something about the Rock Chalk Jayhawk chant, or the fight song, or the REALLY large coach..... ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgb6PqeW_uM

Tomorrow is Friday. Thank gawd!!!

Guest

Ladies and Gentlemen!!! We have a guest blogger today! :)
Mom was asked by a good friend to write this:

Bob Dacey asked me to put my thoughts and feelings about last week in writing, so here it is. I'm sending it to you just in case you are interested.
Last Monday was the worst day of my life.I am just now unpacking the suitcase and the car. Also, sweeping and scrubbing down floors (even garage) and furniture. Not sure how the dust and ash got into the house since we kept it closed tightly unless someone needed to go in or out, which we didn't do often because it was so awful out. I'm headed to Home Depot this week to get a supply of furnace filters. We are encouraged to change them once a month for the next few months.
I'll guess I will begin with last Monday. I was awakened at 6 am by a reverse 911 call (never heard of that till last week), telling us that there was a fire in San Marcos (about 5 miles to the East) and to be ready to evacuate. Evacuate??? How does one do that?? This is all new to me. By 6:45, three neighbors had contacted us to make sure we got the call (our neighbors are wonderful).
I am the type who, if I can't control it, I don't worry about it. So I went merrily on about my business, doing Monday laundry, cleaning, etc., till Lynn from next door came over to tell us that San Elijo Hills was being forcibly evacuated due to the San Marcos fire. That got my attention. SEH is a housing development just on the other side of the big hill/mountain we can see at the East end of our street.
I got out the suitcase, the cat carrier and started thinking of what I had heard people say they wished they had taken with them during the 2003 fires. You remember those! I grabbed wills, income tax stuff, check books, airline tickets, address book, insurance info, tickets to The Jersey Boys which we are going to see next week (I do have my priorities, you know), the animals' food and a case of bottled water. Oh, yes, my notebook of receipts from things we've done to the house and some family pictures. Although, we still have the family, so they were strictly for sentiment. I had car and suitcase packed so that we could get out of here within ten minutes if necessary - providing I could coax the cats out from under the bed. Louis is always up for a ride in the car, so he was no problem.
By now, I had a killer headache and horrible stomachache.
Our neighbors to the west were terrific. Jim suggested we cover the attic vents to the outside with foil. Windblown embers can travel for several miles and use vents to gain access to attics. I supplied the ladder, stapler and flashlight and he supplied the labor. I don't do well with attics. We agreed that we would all stay put unless and until we saw flames over one of our hills. We kept in close touch all day and, I guess, they slept in shifts. We woke up Tuesday morning and were happy to see that we were all alive.
Late Monday afternoon, Dave's cousin called to say they were being evacuated from their retirement park in Valley Center. I invited them to stay with us and they readily agreed. "They" included two adults, two cats and a dog. Louie was the perfect host and now has a new girlfriend. He was sad to see her go home.
As soon as I got off the phone with Billee and began fluffing pillows on the guest beds and making sure everything was ready for them, my aches magically disappeared. It was amazing. I guess I felt there was safety in numbers. Billee and Joanie are delightful ladies and we kept each other laughing. It helped. They were allowed back in their park Thursday morning, so headed home.
Dave could not work out and we could not let the dogs out for any length of time, so they all felt like they were trapped. Dave gets grumpy(er) when he can't exercise. He gets over it, though. He's back at it this week.
San Diego has definitely earned its title of "America's Finest City" during this time. We have heard of very little looting and speedy arrests of the few there were. Volunteers were on the spot with supplies for Qualcomm Stadium and the Del Mar Fairgrounds where the refugees went. There were amazingly few traffic jams and I have heard of no anger issues. Just people helping people. A bit different from New Orleans in their time of terror.
I guess you can call this my first (and possibly only) blog. Hope I didn't bore you too much.
Love, Mom

Thanks Mom!!

My Mensa Child

Andrew, a friend of mine, her son, and I attended a Harlem Wizard basketball game this afternoon at the High School. It was a fund raiser for the elementary PTO.
First, a group of kids said the Pledge of Allegiance.
Second, said group of kids headed off a rousing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner".
During the song, I hear what sounds like my son's voice very loudly ask, "Um, what song is this??" Oy.
It's a good thing our kids are cute, right?

Hunh

Got on a kick this morning to bring the boxes up from the basement that have been sitting in boxes for over a year now down there. The same boxes that were stored in my garage in Encinitas because I didn't have proper bookshelves or picture display space there. Alas, I'm in the mood to dig out the old. Throw away the unnecessary and display the worthy.
Found an interesting newspaper clipping that must have had meaning to me at one point. I'm not so into marriage anymore, but this definitely can pertain to any committed relationship. No idea who wrote it. Probably an Ann Landers type thing.

"The Art of Marriage"
A good marriage must be created. In marriage, the little things are the big things....
Never being too old to hold hands.
Remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
Never going to sleep angry.
Having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
Standing together facing the world.
Forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
Speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
Having the capacity to forgive and forget, and then forgetting what you forgave.
Giving each other an atmosphere in which to grow.
Not only MARRYING the right person, but BEING the right partner.

In my ripe old age, and after years of experience, I would change the word 'marriage' to 'relationship', and add mutual respect and passion.

Enjoy your Saturday.

Aim

Ok, so, granted, the Exeter Town Newsletter is delivered only thrice a week, so there's not much practice, but the bushes? Really? Actually, on top of the hedge is much more convenient that walking half-way down the street. Does this mean I should start tipping the delivery person?

Socks and Sox

Rainy hellos.

Weather is definitely getting cooler. My poor feet aren't used to the constant need for socks. Still, I love the changing of the seasons. :)

Speaking of socks, or sox, this past week, Andrew & I were fortunate enough to attend a Red Sox game at Fenway. Wonderful friend Lisa was able to procure wicked good seats, and we took the boys. Early birthday present for Brayden, and fun for all.

We even won!

Perception of Boredom

Andrew, "Mom what are you doing?"
Me, "I'm straightening up the living room."
Andrew, "When are we going bowling?"
Me, "When I'm done in the living room."
Andrew, "What can I do? I'm bored!!"
Me, "You can take your dishes to the kitchen and throw away your tra...."
Andrew, "AAAAAAAAGH! I LIKE BEING BORED!!"

Seasons Change

We've had a very mild summer as far as New England summers go. San Diego, on the other hand, has had a wicked hot summer. We seem to have switched weather patterns. Recently, even if the thermometer didn't tell me, I'd know it was getting chilly because Natashaprissypants has been cuddly. She only gets this way when it's cold. Cool front is over however. Starting tomorrow, back in the 90's.

Lighter Note

Ok, folks, on a lighter note. Andrew & I had a great weekend up in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. YES, that is actually OOB!!! :)

Unplugged and fresh ice cream! Life is gooooood!!!! :)

Gotta love long weekends!

A'Parent'ly

Going to rant here. Hey, it's my blog.

Where do people get off thinking that their kids are not their priority?? Even before the moment of conception, there has to be a realisation that for the next 18+ years, you are no longer your first priority. Your kid(s) is/are!! In order to attempt anonymity, I'm going to use fake names. "Betty" is unable to find it necessary to pay her rent, thus she is getting evicted. No biggie for her except that her son "Bobbie" lives with her. He's not comfortable living with his Dad and other sibs, so he has chosen his mother. So now, at this young age, not only must he be the grown-up, he also has to decide where he's going to live. His Dad is probably option number one for sheer sake of geography (the other two choices are out of state) except for the getting along thing. All three choices require a change of school, and school has already started.

When is keeping up your hedonistic lifestyle more important than providing for your child??? Hedonistic lifestyles are fine when it's just you, and you have no other responsibilities. She chose to have these kids. It's all she wanted. Then reality came up and smacked her in the face. I'm about ready to smack her in the face. Show some responsibility moron!!!

And don't even get me started on parents who refuse to pay child support because "it isn't convenient, and I don't have any money left over after paying all my other bills." Um, lugnut, your kid's welfare should be the FIRST check you write. Sheesh.....

Thank you for letting me vent.

Grandma's Man

My mom has always loved the NY Yankees. Apparently, she tells some sweet, touching story about how her Daddy took her to the minor league games in Kansas City when she was a little girl, and all these guys moved up to the Major Leagues and became Yankees. Lovely story mom! :)

Anyway, so here we are in the middle of Red Sox Nation and Mom is hooting and hollering for the Yankees. Thankfully, I have either deaf or very understanding neighbors..... Andrew even gets into it for about five minutes. Mom brought Andrew home after his SoCal summer and stayed until the first day of school. That evening, I believe the Red Sox and Yankees were battling it out. I was doing something - who knows what - when all of sudden I hear Andrew yell "Mom!! I found Grandma's man!" Totally confused, I inquire, "Grandma's man????" Excitedly as well as full of annoyance for my stupidity, Andrew says, "Yeah! Jeter!" My little genius had found the game, and was watching it. Mom's current favourite Yankee is Derek Jeter. I think it's the green eyes. teehee

** Note to Dad should someone read this and raise eyebrows: Mom assures me that YOU are really her man. :) **

Proof

Here is the proof that I actually did get a tattoo.

Moose are our friends. :)

A First

Got my first tattoo this afternoon. Hope to have pics soon. :)

Cliche

Love really doesn't stink. It can be beautiful.
Unrequited love, however, does suck.....

Thank you Howard Jones:

I love you whether or not you love me.
I love you even if you think that I don’t.
Sometimes I find you doubt my love for you but I don’t mind.
Why should I mind? Why should I mind?

What is love anyway?
Does anybody love anybody anyway?
What is love anyway?
Does anybody love anybody anyway?

Can anybody love anyone so much that they will never fear.
Never worry, never be sad?
The answer is they cannot love this much nobody can. (my note: yes they can)
This is why I don’t mind you doubting.

What is love anyway?
And maybe love is letting people be just what they want to be.
The door always must be left unlocked.
To love when circumstance may lead someone away from you
And not to spend the time just doubting.

What is love anyway?

Prime

Saw a movie several weeks ago called "Prime". On the outside, it appears to be your typical chick flick. However, the more I watched, the more subtleties I found. Then, I wondered why it was titled such. My friend who watched it with me and I discussed the many reasons. I now think it is because that is my life. I do not have a prime life so to speak. Everything in my life apparently needs to be primed. It's been raining here. Raining like a buggar. Raining Buddhist monks at times. This makes the grass grow. Can't mow wet grass. Can't see the neighbors or small children with tall grass. Today, was a reasonable day to do more than just think about mowing the lawn. After baseball practice, I actually got into my yard duds and got out the lawn mower. Wouldn't start. Added gas. Wouldn't start. Cursed. Still wouldn't start. Added oil. Wouldn't start. Called Mom, and she suggested there might be an on/off switch. A switch that did not get turned off last fall???? Still, always doing what my mom tells me, I walked around the damn thing and found a bright red button. Not an on/off switch, but, you guessed it, a Prime button. Pushed it three times. It started. Then died. Pushed the button three more times, and it started each and every time after that. Lawn is mowed, and I found an errant small child.

Which Season is it?

March produced 70 degrees one day and a 3 plow storm the next. April lived up to it's showers reputation causing the worst flooding in a year. Last year was the worst flooding in like 30 years. Basement has kept dry so far. This weekend is the anniversary of last year's horrific Mother's Day floods. We are expecting wonderful weather. The pictures are of proof spring is here. The weather this week has given us a glimpse of summer. Hot. Muggy. The lawn needs to be mowed already, but that will wait until I won't faint doing it. The a/c units also need to be put in the windows and screens to replace the storm doors. Maybe over the long weekend.

Spring has sprung............... somewhere

Today is April 15th. Tax day normally, but not this year since today is a Sunday. I've already filed and am eagerly awaiting my refund. Just in time to pay property taxes. Oh well. Easy come, easy go.

Andrew & I have been here for a year now. I was all poised to take photos on the one year mark to show the progress. Yeah. I got as far as thinking about it. Getting out my camera, and leaving myself a note. That was two weeks ago. Today, we are enjoying a spring downpour. Of snow. In April. It truly is beautiful. One of those lovely movie, popcorn, hot cocoa January days. Oh wait. It's April. What is occurring this year that could not have happened at this time last year is my car is snuggled in the garage. Safe from the elements. I kept it out this morning during the rain so it could get a free bath. Once it started sleeting/snowing, she went in her house. This year, I also have my FIOS set up, new hard drive in the desktop, sort of a path to that desk. Know where all my coffee/tea/cocoa cups are. Full pantry. A pantry. New sewer line. Lots of blessings and expensive lessons. Over the past 380 days, this house has become our home. We love it here. Just be careful what day you ask Andrew because you might get a different answer. At first, he loved this house because of the stairs. The other day, he told me he liked the Encinitas house better because there weren't any stairs. Wonder where he gets his fickle tendencies. Hunh.

The attached pictures were taken yesterday during a bizarre spring like day. A friend went with us to the park, and documented the fun. Yes, there is one of me because all ya'll keep asking. Hard to have pics of the photographer. Or so I've been told.....

The bulbs are starting to peek through the ground. Hope this weather doesn't scare them away.

Happy Spring to those who have it. :)

Luck of the Irish

So, it's March. Which in most of the Northern Hemisphere means the beginning of Spring. Not necessarily in Northern New England. The storm started Friday afternoon, and finished Saturday morning. It started as snow, then ended up icy, so all the lawns and snow piles have a lovely crusty sparkling frosting. The six foot icicle dangling from the roof outside my bedroom window went to it's shattering demise this morning. It was pretty cool while it grew. The pictures are of the snow the plow guy cleared from my driveway. "It's gonna be a three plow storm, ma'am." Guess that's how storms are gauged around here. Almost all of the snow from the previous storms had melted during our taunt of spring earlier in the week. This tease of green turned off the safe driving mechanism in people's brains because of all the accidents on Friday afternoon. An ice storm is forecasted for tomorrow night. Lovely.

Happy first day of Spring everyone.

Midnight at the Oasis

The song popped into my head as soon as my alarm clock went off yesterday. Why? I'm usually sleepting at midnight. I guess you could call this wonderful snow we are getting an oasis. That song is like how old? 1974. 8 years younger than I. For those who are curious - like anyone ever reads this anyway....

Midnight At The Oasis
Lyrics: David Nichtern
Music: David Nichtern
Played by the Jerry with the Great American String Band in 1974.

Midnight at the oasis
Send your camel to bed
Shadows painting our faces
Traces of romance in our head
Heaven's holding a half moon
Shining just for us
Let's slip off to a sand dune Real soon
To kick up a little dust
Oh, Cactus is our friend
He'll point out the way
Come on 'til the evening ends
'Til the evening ends
You don't have to answer
There's no need to speak
I'll be your belly dancer Romancer
And you can be my sheik
I know your daddy's a sultan
A nomad known to all
With fifty girls to attend him
They all send himJump at his beck and call
But you won't need no harem, honey
When I am by your side
And you won't need no camel
Oh no When I take you for a ride
Oh, Cactus is our friend
He'll point out the way
Come on 'til the evening ends
'Til the evening ends
Midnight at the oasis
Send your camel to bed
Shadows painting our faces
Traces of romance in our heads

First Crush

We all remember our first crush. Whether we were the crushee or the crusher. My dearest son has a crush. On Friday, he was disciplined because he was screaming at a girl, and when she wouldn't pay attention to him, he bopped her over the head with an empty plastic bottle. His story is he wanted to sing her a song. Today, he was spoken to because he kept making monkey noises towards Friday girl. Tonight, I asked him if he thought Ashley was pretty neat. He grinned and said, "yeah." Lee B. in the remotest off chance you happen to be reading this, I do remember the playground in 1st & 2nd grade. You could have serenaded me instead of chasing me around the school yard..... ;)
This evening, Andrew officially lost his first tooth.

Skates Required

My car is under an inch of ice. Getting to work tomorrow will be interesting. Thankfully, school was out today due to the "holiday", otherwise it would have been cancelled anyway. School, not the holiday. Icicles abound. It's really quite lovely if you don't have to go out and do anything. Bit chilly. Salt/muck/shovel trucks were in full force today. Just hope the power lines are full strength.

Frills

Happy New Year. Traveling during the holidays, on THE worst days of the week, I had an epiphany. Most likely not surprising to those who know me well, but an epiphany none the less. I am a frills girl. Thus, the "no frills" airline just doesn't do it for me anymore. I want assigned seats. I want to be able to walk around the terminal, or drink my banned coffee before heading through security instead of throwing away half of a perfectly good eggnog latte. Security gestapo, "you can't take that on the plane so you need to drink it before going through security." Me, "is the terminal considered the plane?" Gestapo snarkily replies, "Ma'am, you have to finish your coffee before you come through security." We had more words, but that is the gist. Also, people think that being in "A" group enables them to cut, push, shove, etc their way to the front of the line. Hey people - there are 45 in group A, so you WILL get your aisle or window seat. Just chill!!! Andrew was the line police telling everyone who attempted to get in front of us that they were cutting. He took his job way too seriously. Still, maybe someone actually got a clue. Doubt it. Also, with the frills airlines, there is always the opportunity for an upgrade. It rarely happens, but at least there is the possibility.

Still, it was awesome to see my niece and her husband. That's Jenn with me in the photo. :)

I'm staying home for awhile. Ya'll can just come see us!