Tuesday, July 29, 2008

This and That

Greetings. Wow it's actually been a dry day, today. Not a single shower in sight. Strange. It's really been a weird summer, sunny and warm in the mornings until around 2pm and then thunder showers and sometimes torrential downpours. Kinda feels like I've moved to Florida or something.

Anyway, it's Tuesday night, I am home alone and there is nothing worth watching on TV. I have the baseball game on in the background but I couldn't even tell you the score. Just haven't been all that keen to watch the games I guess. I am actually quite bored with TV these days and wonder if the Fall line up will capture my interest any. Survivor starts September 18, that's the only show I am looking forward to watching right now.

Nothing really new around here. I've been fairly busy at work, managing to get in quite a bit of overtime. Last week's paycheck was very very nice. I wish I could bring all that money home every week.

I got my car payment bill in the mail today and I only owe a little over $500 on my car. That's so friggen exciting! I bought this car all by myself almost 5 years ago and it is almost paid off! I'm hoping it will last another year so I can build up my savings account a bit and then I want to trade it in for a new one. I really have enjoyed my Elantra and it really is a nice reliable car, so I will probably buy another one. I'll decide after spending a winter driving to work from George's house. I'll be a little further northwest than I am now and the driving could be a whole lot worse than I am used to.

Saturday we are going to Meadowbrook to see Styx and Boston. I hope the weather is good, but as long as the show is on, we will be there. George has had the tickets for a couple of months now and we've been really looking forward to the show.

I spoke to Sara on the phone yesterday and she tells me she is now employed. It's about time. LOL She is now working as a receptionist at a dental office and she loves it. Of course it's only been a couple of days. How long that will last is anyone's guess. But hopefully it will last long enough so she can find another job before she quits. She's actually quite excited though so here's hoping. This could be the start of a whole new career.

In 2 weeks George and I are taking a weekend and going up to Snowfield Cabins in Pittsburg, NH. It's about a 3 hour drive north of the Lakes Region and pretty much touches the Canadian border. I have never been up there but it is an area that George knows well since he goes snowshoeing up there in the winter and hunting up there in the fall. He also spent many summers up there camping and exploring when he was a kid so I am looking forward to seeing just how beautiful God's Country is up there. I am told that it is nicknamed Moose Alley so I have a really good chance of seeing moose and bear. I've also heard stories about people packing picnic lunches and going up to the town dump in the early evening to watch the black bears romping through the fields. Apparently this is as much fun as going to a drive in movie! I can hardly wait. Sounds like a photo op to me!

Friday evening we met with my friend/former sister in law, Cathy. We had a blast hanging out and catching up and I have to admit, it seemed a whole lot like old times. We laughed all night long and I ended up getting pretty trashed on Mai Tai's. She's still the same ole girl and I wish we had gotten together a lot sooner. We plan on reconnecting though and this time we are going to make sure her brother Brian and his wife Louise can join us. George and I had originally talked about having a reunion with all of our old friends but we got word sometime in June that one of our friends, Debbie, is undergoing chemo treatments for colon cancer so we are going to wait until she is feeling better.

I guess I should think about getting ready for bed.
Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Scary Storms Today

For those interested and/or concerned, even though there has been really destructive weather in my area today, I am fine and my house and property have not been damaged. Others in nearby towns have not been so lucky. Still not sure if it was a tornado that touched down but there is at least 1 fatality and several people injured after a house collapsed. I still haven't heard from Eric and he lives in one of the areas affected but he could be at work. Hopefully he will call when he goes on his supper break. Power and phone lines are down and roads are covered with fallen trees and limbs. It is raining again and we are under a severe thunderstorm watch and flood warnings until later this evening. Didn't want anyone to worry.
Hugs

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

So...

...today I decided to call Cathy, another old friend of mine. She was my best friend back in the latter days of high school and I had a huge crush on her brother Brian when I was around 18. Obviously that didn't work out. LOL But Cathy eventually married my brother and they had a child (Jason) together 29 or so years ago. The marriage broke up when Jason was young and mainly because we were both raising families, no longer related, and logistics, Cathy and I drifted apart. It wasn't by choice, or argument, or even family loyalty, it was just life. We did see each other at big events that brought our families together but our friendship was never really the same.
At my parents 4th of July BBQ, I asked my nephew for his mothers phone number. He said she would love to hear from me, in fact she had recently asked about me. So tonight I sat down, got comfortable, (I knew it would be a long call) and called. We talked for about an hour, and she was very happy to hear from me. It was great to hear her voice and we spent the whole time catching up, knowing we had just scratched the surface. I didn't want to use up all of her cell phone minutes so we are going to get together on Friday evening for a few drinks and a lot more reminiscing. She knew about me and George because Jason told her he met George on Easter at dinner, and when he described him and said it was someone that she would know from the 'old days', she knew it had to be him. Cathy also dated George very briefly back in the day but then again, Cathy dated everybody back in the day. LOL
Anyway, I am excited, and George is too. Should be fun.

Not much else going on around here. Just work and more work. Plenty of OT, which I like.

Just got off the phone with Sara. She had an interview this afternoon for a receptionist job at a dental office. She feels it went pretty well but she is trying not to get her hopes up. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm off to TV land before bed.
Hugs

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Weekend Update

It's been a fairly quiet weekend. George and I didn't really do a whole lot, just hung around like a couple of old farts and enjoyed each others company. Friday night we went out for supper and then came back to my place and watched Ghost Rider starring Nicholas Cage. It was ok, not really my kind of movie, but George is a Nick Cage fan and hadn't seen it before. George went home after the movie because he had errands to run Saturday morning at home. I also took the time Saturday morning to do laundry and food shopping. It was getting really hot by 11am so I turned on the A/C and did what I could to stay cool. Saturday afternoon George came back over and we just watched the ball game and BBQ'd some steaks for supper. Early evening we had a big thunder storm and lost power for awhile. Good thing we found something to keep us occupied.

This morning we went out for breakfast at the Longbranch restaurant. The prices are really cheap and the food is really good. It's a local breakfast and lunch hangout, only open from 5am-2pm, and I always run into someone I know. We then went to WalMart and George bought some jeans and collared summer shirts for work. While I was there, I was looking at a laptop that was on sale for $389. It's a Toshiba and I remember seeing it advertised that cheap back on Black Friday. It was offered as an early bird special to get you into the store and was only available at that price from 5am-9am. Naturally, they sold out in a matter of minutes, so I didn't even come close to getting one. Well today, there they were, at that price and there were 3 left in the store. Since I have Christmas money still and I never buy myself anything, I decided that today I was going to treat myself. Yay Me!

After WalMart, we went to visit my parents. The joke was on us though because no one was home. LOL We hung around for awhile then decided to just leave a note and move on. George wanted to see where I worked so we stopped there and I asked the guard if I could take him inside and give him the grand tour. The place was empty except for the two guards, so he gave George a visitor's badge and took his cell phone (it's a government contractor so no photo taking is allowed) and I showed him all around. Being in manufacturing (he's a manufacturing engineer) he could really appreciate the way the work stations and labs are laid out and the overall cleanliness of the building. It's really a nice place to work, and I think if he ever was in need of a job in the future, he might be able to find a nice home there.

From there, we came back here to my house and hung out until it was time for George to go on home. Since he left, I have cleaned off my desk and set up the laptop, painted my toenails (the color is called strawberry and my toes look delicious) and blogged. LOL What will I do for the rest of the day?? I know one thing, I am not used to getting up so early on a Sunday morning and I am feeling it a bit now. But look at all I've accomplished and it isn't even 5pm? I suppose I could make something for dinner.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Til next time.
Hugs

Friday, July 18, 2008

Venting

It's really a shame when there is so little for the teenagers in town to do that they have to find alternative activities to keep them amused. Since I've been living in this quiet town, I have had several acts of vandalism done to my car, my front yard and my mailbox. I have had a couple of tires slashed on my car, I've had Christmas lights and decorations removed from my yard and smashed in the street. Someone broke my outside lamppost and smashed the bulb, I've had my car egged numerous times, and I don't dare carve pumpkins and place them outside on my porch anymore. My poor mailbox has been beaten beyond recognition on more than one occasion.
Last night I was just drifting off to sleep when I was startled by a loud BANG from right outside my window. I just barely saw tail lights as a car that had just driven by my house, continued over the hill just beyond my neighbors house. Not sure what I had heard, I went out onto the porch to see if I could see anything wrong. It was late and dark, but even without the outside lights on I could see my mailbox door was opened. I know I closed it when I retrieved the mail earlier, but sometimes it flips open if you don't shut it tightly. Nothing else looked amiss so I locked up and went back to bed.
This morning, when I left for work, I looked around again to see what may have been hit last night and that's when I noticed that the whole side of my mailbox was dented. I tried to close the door but it will only shut part way, the shape of the door doesn't fit the new shape of the mailbox, which looks like it was beaten with a very large baseball bat. This is a brand new mailbox, replaced just this spring when the ground thawed out, because my last mailbox took a major beating last Halloween.
I think I can bang it back into shape enough to be able to close the door, so at least my mail won't get wet in the rain or blow out of the box on a windy day. It just makes me so mad that these little thugs continue to be destructive and nothing can be done about it. Each year a new crop of hoodlums with brand new licenses and nothing to do, drive around town smashing mailboxes, egging houses and cars and tormenting animals.
Here's what my lovely mailbox looks like now. Maybe I will have to out a new mailbox on my Christmas list again this year. :-(





Now that I've vented, I guess I should get my butt in gear and finish some housework. I can see dust all over the coffee table and television.

Enjoy your Friday!

Oh and I went to the dentist today, and I had NO cavities! Yay ME!!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Another Weekend Gone

Was pretty busy all weekend so I haven't been around much. Not a whole lot of interesting stuff to blog but I did go to an awesome party yesterday. It sure does seem like I've been to a party every weekend for months...wait I HAVE! It just doesn't end.
Yesterday's party was for George's best friend Al, who turned 50 on July 1st. The party was given by his wife Marie and two daughters and it was a complete surprise to Al. He never saw it coming, probably because his birthday had come and gone. Al and George have been best friends (and each other's Best Man at their respective weddings) since they were in grade school. Although the Army separated them for a few years, they have always maintained a very close friendship. So when we got the invitation, we naturally had to go.
It was a beautiful afternoon and the party was held at one of Al's daughter's homes a short distance away from George's house. I would estimate about 50 people were there, and I actually knew 5 of them. There was food galore and an ice cold keg of Labatt's beer. I um, tapped (pun intended) into that and got a mighty good buzz going. Mmmmm Canadian beer is pretty good. Of course, it was pretty hot outside so you know, I had to keep hydrated. I wasn't driving so why not? LOL And before anyone asks, there were no baby gates for me to trip over and I managed to stay upright, although I know I was slurring my words just a tad by the time we headed home. There was a pool for those who wanted to go swimming (and for those who went swimming without really wanting to), their neighbor offered his horse shoe pit for those who wanted to do that and once it got dark, they started a fire in the fire pit and we all sat around and shot the breeze.
It was so good to see Al again. I think the last time I saw him was in 1980 and except for being bald now, he hasn't changed a bit. Marie is still a sweetheart and we have tentative plans for the 4 of us to get together real soon. George and I really enjoyed the whole day and hopefully someone will email one of us the group photo that was taken because I would really love to have a copy.
We got up this morning and decided to go out for breakfast at the resort when George's son is a chef. They have an awesome brunch there and Patrick will also make an omelet anyway you like. I had onions, green peppers, mushrooms and cheese in mine and George had ham and cheese. We also filled our plates with selections from the buffet, fruit and home fries, bacon, pancakes, french toast, waffles, there was so much to choose from. I skipped the dessert bar but OMG the Whoopie Pies looked so darn good. Maybe next time.
Just as we were finishing up, George's other son Jon and his fiancee Nikki showed up. We visited with them for awhile before going to WalMart, and then went back to his house. Before I left there to come home, I gave George a much needed haircut. I'm getting pretty good with the clippers. :-)
I also had to work on Saturday morning for a few hours. We are behind again so I will probably be working late every night this week. I don't mind, I can use the extra money.
Time to get myself ready for the upcoming week. Hope everyone had a nice weekend and has a good week.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Vacation is almost over. :-( Even though we took it easy, it was a good week. We managed to hit the beach Wednesday and went up to the mountains yesterday. Thursday we had a BBQ at my parents house. It was a bit more subdued than usual this year, but still good being with family. My niece, Crystal, is in the second trimester of her pregnancy and she is looking and feeling good. She had an ultrasound last week but the baby was not in a co-operating mood so they weren't able to tell her if it is a boy or a girl. Crystal was bummed but she 'feels' she is having a girl. Time will tell. LOL
Sara and Brad did not join us Thursday night because they are camping up in North Conway. She called me last night and said they are having a great time.

Yesterday, we took a ride up into the White Mountains and decided on a whim to take the Auto Road up to the Summit of Mt Washington. What a beautiful day for that and what a glorious ride! I am a bit ashamed to admit that I had never done that before and OH MY what I have been missing! I was like a kid in a candy store. So so freeking BEAUTIFUL! I still can't get over it. I took tons of pics and will include a few here, but the photos do not do that majestic mountain justice! It was definitely worth the $27 to drive up 6000+ feet, 8 miles up into the sky! You feel like you are on top of the world. If you have a fear of heights, don't go! LOL The road is winding and very narrow, pretty much only wide enough for 2 vehicles, with no guard rails on either side. It's a LONG way down, for sure, if you aren't paying attention. There are plenty of spots where you can pull over to absorb the gorgeous scenery and take pics, but I took most of them while we were moving so some of them aren't as sharp as they could be. Still, I think you can get a pretty good idea of how beautiful it is up there.
We definitely are going to go up again and the next time I will drive so George can enjoy everything as I did. He's been up there a few times but always was the driver and had to really watch the road.

Going Up







Presidential Range


Mt. Washington Observatory


Going Down




We Could See for 100 miles



I have a lot more but that's a glimpse of the beauty I witnessed yesterday.

Today we are kicking back and just relaxing. I think we did a bit too much yesterday and the poor guy is looking a bit tired today. He's actually taking a nap right now on the sofa. I just went down to the farm around the corner from George's house and picked up some fresh strawberries to make strawberry shortcake tonight for dessert. They look delicious! We'll probably just cook something on the grill for dinner and watch the Red Sox/Yankees game a bit later on TV. I think there is a race on too, sometime today.

Happy Independence Day (a day late) to you all!