Hello Barbara!

wednesday september 14th

2011-09-14T17:00:00.002-04:00

i am really enjoying my job... i don't get to spend much time chatting with my coworkers because i am busy busy most of the day...

when i arrive i say hello to the kiddos and teachers and if anyone is upset (kids that is) and if can help calm them, i do that... then i make the cleaning solution for each room and put away the lunch boxes.. then it's off to the races

check in with each room to help out if needed, see if they need any supplies.. wipes paper towels, etc.. then up to the kitchen to get/prepare snack

back downstairs to

give the teachers a potty break and help with diaper changes/potty.. either to do the changing or help out with kids while teacher does it.

sorry, it is now the 18th.. i didn't get to finish this post earlier...

but i set out the snack, help get the kids outside for playing, go back in to clean up after snack, if it hasn't been done yet.. set up the cots for naptime, put out the lunch boxes the kids have brought from home... back out to play till its time to come in..

then we diaper/potty again... i start to cover lunch breaks at 12/12:30/1:00... meanwhile the kids are all going down for "rest" when they have finished eating.. i am have last lunch for the time being.. supposed to go at 1:30 for 1/2 hour, but it usually is a bit after 1:30.. it is working well for me for now.. i go to the post office during that time, run the mail home, pee and brush my teeth then go back to work till 3.. anyway the day flies by

and i work with really nice people !!

happy labor day

2011-09-05T09:27:00.002-04:00

friday was my last day of babysitting for d. he is a sweet, easy, good baby.. i told his mom that i will watch him on my fridays off if she needs me.

saturday, after pilates, i had a manicure/pedicure... i have been biting my fingernails again, but i really don't want to be putting my hands in my mouth when i am working with the kiddos.. groomed nails prevent a lot of that for me and my feet were just awful, so, even though i don't bite them, they needed prettying up.. m. did a great job as usual, although she did draw blood on 2 fingers and one toe!!! (just a little) she was so focused on those cuticles!!

sunday we were going to rent a motorcycle and spend the day riding around, but the weather wasn't great and the motorcycle doug wanted wasn't back yet and the sunday hours are shorter to begin with, so we drove around in the car for a while instead..

today is labor day... so i guess that means i have to work?? i am going to do some chores and some grocery shopping.. i will make a salad to go with the pot of lentil soup i made the other day. maybe i will make bread too.

tomorrow is the first day of work with kids.. i imagine there will be lots of crying (mostly the kids, but maybe me too!) i will feel inadequate at the end of the day.. i will do my best to spend equal time in each of the 3 rooms and to get all of my work done.. wish me luck!

yes.. i am tired

2011-09-01T20:56:00.003-04:00

day two of "back to work"... today was more cleaning and setting up of rooms, although i don't feel like i did too much setting up. i sorted a few things and washed the cots and put on the sheets... i made some playdoh with miss sherri.

as i walked into the school yard today, i noticed a joyce landscaping truck in the yard and a bobcat in the play yard.. i thought "i wonder if that is jesse" "nah" he wouldn't be working this job (although he does drive a bobcat),,, i went in, going about my business and miss sharon said, " i saw jesse" how cool is that that we were both working at the same place?? he was cleaning up the play yard and bringing in more sand for the yard and sandboxes.. looks good jesse!!

once back home i did some of my "other job" shipping, statements, banking and post office, then on to my OTHER job.. covering the desk at PP and doing some chores there. i was going to stay for zumba, but i admit it, i am tired. i will probably be dead on my feet at the end of next week, when there are children to tend!!!

when i got home from PP we went to barbyann's for a bite ( yummy lobster cesaer salad , lobster bisque) and a couple of black russians.

casey says he will come home for christmas this year. he hasn't been home for christmas since he moved to japan.. he also says he is not bringing sugar ray or his lovely wife with him!!!! i am thrilled that he will be here, but heartbroken that he is not bringing the fam... i will take what i can get...maybe he will change his mind, (no pressure, no guilt casey) or maybe he will surprise us (again, no guilt, no pressure) i am just sayin'

hurricane, cat, work

2011-08-31T19:45:00.003-04:00

the hurricane blew through here without too much inconvience... we lost power for a few hours on sunday and cable on monday afternoon till tuesday afternoon, but we survived...

little jerry has taken off again, as well as "buffy" the little stray(?) who has been coming around for about a year now.. i am sure they'll be back.. if they come around before nitzy goes up to bed, she sees them and frightens them away.

today i started back to work at w.p.f.s. i have the same job i had when i worked there before, i think it will be fun and the paycheck will be more fun!! my hours are 9 to 3, can't complain about that. i will also be working at least 1 day of late care. i signed up for fridays in sept.. i may see if i can just do that each week. today was a work day with no children.. setting up the rooms, putting up bulletin boards.. tomorrow will be more of the same and parent orientation.

it is dark already.. only 8 o'clock.. when did that happen

i have some "homework" already. i don't remember that from last time... "professional development goals" and how i plan to achieve them.. any suggestions. i don't really have any goals.. i just want to hold babies

i knew it!

2011-08-10T22:56:00.002-04:00

i knew as soon as i finally decided to take away the litter box.....

(yesterday)

that little jerry would come back...

i was turning out the lights tonight and there he was.. in the driveway.. meowing.. he is thinner, but clean.. no ticks or booboos.. someone has been taking care of him

nitzy will be delighted!

devin's blog

2011-05-16T09:25:00.002-04:00

did i forget that devin has a blog? well i found it today when i found he had a twitter account too. where have i been? i should know these things. anyway, here is a link.

http://gratefulbean.wordpress.com/ or you can look at my side bar thingy and get to it from there, if you want.

MVI_0030

2011-05-10T07:17:00.001-04:00

MVI_0030 a video by barbarabean422 on Flickr.

how cute is he?

2011-05-04T19:21:00.002-04:00

march 30

2011-03-30T07:44:00.003-04:00

i had to meet jesse at work this morning.. he overslept and i had his lunch and he had his dog, we traded. the good thing about that is that i got showered and dressed earlier than usual and may actually get my chores started in a timely fashion.

i am going to cardio pilates this morning and plan to work some in that messy office. i did a couple of things yesterday so i hope i can get things cleaned up a bit more today. it sure would be helpful to sell a house or two. i could tidy up everything!!!

i also have my ONE HOUR of work this afternoon/evening.

it is nice and sunny out, although still quite chilly..

monday karen and jack came over for dinner.. meatloaf and lentil loaf, baked potatoes, green beans and salad.. i made some little raspberry walnut pie crust roll up thingies to have with coffee.

yesterday sharon and amy came over for tea in the afternoon. i was making bread, i have some old sourdough starter and i am trying to revive it. the bread was fine, but not really "sour". i guess i'll keep feeding the starter and try again in a couple of days. i sent some starter home with sharon and someone at pilates wants some if it is still alive, (i think it is)

when we came back to the u.s.

2011-03-28T20:01:00.002-04:00

we flew from osaka to tokyo, a one hour flight... we were pleasantly surprised to find our seats were in BUSINESS CLASS!! what luxury... reclining seats with massage... too bad for us the flight was only 1 hour.

our next LONG flight was in steerage, but i don't remember anything traumatic so i guess it was a smooth trip..

i have to say that the flight attendants on ANA are terrific.. they are friendly and smiling and attentive the entire time and while the passengers, after 14 hours, are rumpled and greasy, they are fresh and groomed as they were at start of the flight.

back to september

2011-03-27T18:19:00.004-04:00

remember last september when laurie and i went to japan to visit with casey, chieko and ray... i think i posted about thursday.. so here is friday...

we opted for a "walking tour" of kyoto

with our guide "johnnie hillwalker"

johnnie took us on a 4 hour, 1 mile (if i remember correctly) slow, back streets and shops of kyoto.... it was very, very slow.

unfortunately some of the local shops (home industry) that we were supposed to see, not on traditional tours, were not open.

we looked into a shop where they made prayer beads, and toured a fan shop

the fans are hand painted and printed,

this woman was gluing the paper, pressing it, to the bamboo.

this is also done by putting it under heavy stone.

one worker will make 500 fans per day according to johnnie

some of the work might be done at home:

one might make the paper

another prepare the bamboo

it is then brought to the shop to be assembled and glued

now i may have things a little mixed up.. i wrote things down, but i am old now and my notes were really messy

we passed a shop where they make tofu, also not open, but johnnie told us it was the "best tofu in japan!!"

we didn't go into a green tea shop, where they sold the "the best green tea" in japan.

we saw a store that sold alters to place in your home for worshipping your ancestors.

the best of everything is japan, come kyoto.. johnnie said so!

we said hello to a buddhist priest who told us to "have a nice trip" supposedly the only english he knew.

we also saw and old geisha school. but no old geishas.

we went someplace else, but i can't remember exactly what it was, a temple or shrine ? but we learned a little about buddhism and shintoism

my notes say...

buddhist - dead

shinto - alive

which i think means

buddhists live a life in preparation for whatever comes next... good karma now, means good karma later and the shintoist (?) live a good life for this life.

i know there is much more to it and i should know more, but at this point we were almost comatose and more focused on the spittle in the corner of johnnies mouth.

we took off when no one was looking and did some more exploring and shopping (casey's favorite thing) on our own

we saw a "geisha" posing with tourists

a dog dressed as a samurai

a bunch a women dressed alike

( i think they are flight attendants)

we said good bye to casey at the train station, he went back to kanazawa and we went to osaka

shopping more at the station in osaka, because there was still room in the suitcase, haha.

we stayed in a hotel near the airport, comfy.

hi

2011-03-26T15:34:00.002-04:00

we had a really, really nice visit with casey, chieko and ray, from february 22 till the 16th of march. they were supposed to leave on the 14th, but because of the goings on in japan, we got to have them for a couple of extra days..

well let's see... it has been almost four months since my last post.... what happened in that time? my mom went to oklahoma for a while... eddie got her a one way ticket with points so she can come home whenever she feels like it. she is thinking july (as of last week)

christmas was quiet... we went to california in january to visit devin and aimee. jesse came with us and we went to san francisco, yosemite and napa valley.. it was COLD...

devin was able to come home for a long weekend while casey was here, it was so nice to have the "kids" all home at the same time. he is coming back this week too, he has a wedding to attend, but i don't know how much time we will get to spend with him.. he gets in late wednesday... they will stay with aimee's parents. saturday is the wedding and he leaves again on sunday.. the days just go by too fast!!

tonight we are going to have a bite to eat with the lorentzens and fitzgeralds to celebrate the fitzgeralds' anniversary... goin' to the kreme n cone. yum yum

2 months + later... thursday in japan

2010-12-02T19:49:00.006-05:00

this is the train that took us away from chieko and ray

a sad day for me

saying good bye at the station

this is out of order, but it is just cute

maybe i already posted it even

from kanazawa, we went to nara

the first permanent capital of japan.

the place is crawling with "sacred deer"

pretty manhole cover

we did not ride in a rickshaw

the deer were THIS close

and they were friendly, although casey knows someone who was bitten by one of the deer

so they sell food

and this is what happens when the deer know you have some

todai-ji temple

the world's largest wooden building

inside the temple is a tree..

It is considered to be good luck for visitors to crawl through this hole.

there was a line of people waiting to try... everyone i saw, made it through

just wandering down a side street

wednesday in japan

2010-09-28T23:58:00.007-04:00

pretty sunset at casey and chieko's

wednesday was our last day at casey and chieko's.... the last day with sweet baby ray.. for now!! casey, laurie and i went to kanazawa station to get our train tickets for thursdays trip to nara/kyoto. there are lots of shops and a places to eat in and around the station. we had lunch at a german bakery/bread shop and laurie got some more souvenirs. casey is reaching his limit with the shopping... i don't know why boys hate shopping so much... we went to dinner at a yakitori.... food on sticks.. bowls of edamame... it was excellent.

the 3 hour tour

2010-09-27T07:39:00.005-04:00

our tour guide

tokyo tower

the window in the floor

laurie, beautifying herself before entering the shrine

the entrance to the shrine

sake casks, used in ceremonies

a wedding at the shrine

the former imperial residence

samarai

bridge outside of imperial palace grounds

some pictures

2010-09-27T07:30:00.004-04:00

here are some pictures from our first day... in tokyo

breakfast

the assortment of bread

laurie with her dog shaped pastry

my choices

tuesday in japn

2010-09-23T17:55:00.002-04:00

100 YEN SHOP!!!

okay, so it's like the dollar store at home, only it has japanesey stuff. and not everything is 100 yen. i got myself a supply of rice crackers. laurie struck gold, haha.

she found all kinds of neat things to bring to her gigantic list of friends and family. i would be tempted to bring everyone the same thing, a keychain, some chopsticks.... of course i am bringing nothing back for anyone this time around, haha. she is so nice, she is thinking about each person with each purchase.

we also went to a childrens shop where laurie was able to find the cutest little outfits for her little people. again, i am bringing nothing!! maybe i will share my rice cakes....

we spend a restful rest of the day, took ray for a nice long walk.

monday in japan

2010-09-22T16:06:00.003-04:00

i knew this was going to happen... i have mixed up my days, can't remember what we did or when... no one else is awake to refresh my memory!!

well monday was a national holiday.. it was a day to honor old people....

hmmm... i am going to say that this was the day we went back downtown to the fish market and then to lunch at an italian restaurant. after lunch we went to shopping for souvenirs and to the kenrokuen garden. we ate some shaved ice with stawberry syrup (not thick) and milk (similar to sweetened condensed milk, don't even pretend it doesn't sound delish). it was so refreshing, have i mentioned it has been hot here? even though it has been raining, it is kinda muggy.

today is friday, it has taken me 2 days to write this post.... i suppose we went back to casey and chieko's, had dinner and passed out!!

sunday in japan

2010-09-22T04:26:00.002-04:00

sunday we went downtown... we had lunch at an all you eat buffet. i had rice and a japanese corn dogs, which was just like an american corn dog only small. a little spaghetti and some vegetables, and bread and butter. finished of with a little steamed green tea cake. all just yummy. we walked and walked to the tea district, higashi chaya... lots of little shops.. there was a jazz festival going on. we encountered an old woman (she was probably not that old) who started yammering on to casey and chieko about the little rash around rays mouth. she said they need to get water from some onsen and keep it in the fridge to put on him... ray seemed to know she was talking about him and he started to cry, poor baby. anyway it wasn't even a bad rash and it is going away by it's self and i hate her. before heading back to the car, we walked down to the river and sat relaxing for a little while, again, it was freakin hot!! we took the loop bus back to where we started and came home. the neighbors were having another barbecue when we got home... i have been so tired at night i can't even read one chapter before my eyes roll back into my head.

sweet baby ray

2010-09-21T18:19:00.002-04:00

well what can i say...

he is a doll. he is such a good baby. he is adorable. he is happy. we have been dragging him around for 3 days, messing up his meal and nap schedules and he really has been taking it in stride. he cries some of course, when he is tired and hungry but for the most part just goes with the flow.

i was worried that he would be afraid when he saw me in person, because even though we video chat almost everyday, he only sees my head. and although that is scary enough, plop it on this body... frightening!! anyway, he was happy having us holding/playing with him as long as casey or chieko was around. if they both left the room, he would start to cry. that was just the first couple of days. now he is fine with us alone. he likes us better now, haha. i love the way he looks at laurie, i think he is in love.

we took him for a nice walk yesterday while casey was at the gym and chieko was talking to an insurance salesman. we were gone for quite a while and he never cried. he kept looking back and smiling, screeching sometimes, laughing. i must bring him home with me. i could look at him all day long.

he loves "peek a boo" , reading books, and his mom's cooking. he eats rice and vegetables and tofu and seaweed and chicken. and hai hain (rice crackers for babies) he has had fish. he doesn't like fruit so much. we brought him some trader joes o's and some gorilla munch (kix). he likes them, but likes throwing them on the floor more!!

casey and chieko are great parents, loving, attentive, patient. they enjoy their baby, it's going to be hard to convince them to let me have him.

saturday in japan

2010-09-20T17:12:00.004-04:00

saturday casey took us to the beach so laurie could put her feet in the sea of japan. there were not many shells at this beach. the sand is very fine and there were lots of crab holes. casey had fun poking a stick in them until one finally ran out. we needed to be sure there really were crabs in them. it was another hot day and it was a nice walk along the water. there were no sunbathers or swimmers, different from a hot sunny day on the cape for sure...

casey and chieko had planned a cook out for the neighbors and some of their coworkers, so from the beach we went grocery shopping. we got lots of meat. i told casey i would make potato salad so we got the makings for that too and of course i had to get some things to bring home with me. $$$.

we got back with little time to spare before people started coming over. chieko made yummy pizza and everyone brought something to add to the meal. i had brought a couple of boxes of brownie mix with me so we popped those in the oven in some cake pans i found in the kitchen. casey and chieko don't have a traditional oven like we do in the u.s they have a microwave/convection oven and it has 2 shelves, so we made 2 pans and popped them in, intending to switch them around 1/2 way through... well it turns out i grabbed PLASTIC pans (they looked like foil to me)... they don't bake so well. when chieko checked them, the pans were misshapen and on the verge of melting.we scooped most of the batter into one glass pan and put them back in the oven, thinking they wouldn't be pretty, but would still taste fine.... that's when laurie noticed that there were bits of one of the plastic pans missing.... hmmm was it melted into the batter, were there whole bits baking into the brownies?... we didnt serve them. we have been eating them, watching for pieces of red or silver, laurie won when she found the first piece of plastic in her brownie. it makes me feel better to know that we are not eating melted baked in plastic, but that the bits are removable. (we would still eat them, they are brownies after all!!)

the barbecue was great... the weather was perfect, the food delicious, every thing got eaten and the company couldn't have been better. we were stuffed.

laurie and i had come inside for a bit and we heard the neighbors calling at the front door, "casey mama, casey mama" so we went to the door and they had gifts for us. casey mama and friend. we all do a lot of nodding and gesturing when casey or chieko are not around, haha... anyway they gave us each a japanese fan, some hashi (chopsticks) that are well known for the way in which they are made. we each got a hello kitty phone charm from the a different region of japan. mine is making a clay pot, representing a region (i think it is from where one neighbor is from originally) famous for their pottery and lauries has a theater mask representing the prefecture known, obviously, for theater. the neighbors said it is "noh", which i believe is a dance. i could be confused and none of what i just said is true, but i think i got it almost right, haha. the gift that they were most delighted to give us was a specially made fan. one neighbor made it where he works, it's an original, hah. it is an inexpensive flat paddle fan with custom made stickers on each side. one side says, "welcome to hakusan city" in japanese, the other side says, "welcome to hentai city" in english. hentai means pervert. they got a big kick out of telling us that. the fans work great, i must say... it has been HOT... it is raining like mad right now though.

hello from japan,,

2010-09-19T18:02:00.004-04:00

i am afraid i won't be able to post any pictures until i get back home. i guess leaving my laptop at home was not as smart as i thought it would be. laurie brought her notebook and casey has a laptop, i figured i would just borrow theirs when they were available. i was not counting on casey's computer being out of commission and i don't want to use up space on laurie's notebook, so... no pictures. i am a lousy photographer anyway.

we had an uneventful, (but long) flight on wednesday. we left boston, shortly after 9:30, for washington dc, than onto narita. with the time change, it was thursday afternoon when we arrived. once through immigration and customs, we took a shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel chieko had booked for us. it was old, but clean and very comfortable. i took a nap and then we took walk and got some refreshments. we went to bed early, we were tired and had to get up and ready, fairly early, for our sight seeing tour on friday morning.

we both woke up before the alarm and the wake up call at 7 on friday, so we had a leisurely morning. we had breakfast at the hotel, it was really inexpensive compared to some of the menus we had seen... 1000 yen for 3 breads (danishes, bread and cheese bowl, pastries, pizza, plain and filled croissants, donuts and more) soup and a beverage. i chose the bread and cheese bowl, a small danish and a hum (ham) and cheese croissant. laurie also had a small cheese danish and a plain croissant and a cute little (well not so little) doggie shaped chocolate pastry. we split the hum and cheese croissant, the bread and cheese bowl and the doggie danish. the soup was some kind of egg drop and our beverage of choice was english tea. everything was very tasty and we were quite full, since we don't normally eat soup and 3 pastries.. other than the little danish, the portions were quite generous.

we checked out and went to wait for our tour guide. we signed up for a 3 hour tour (a three hour tour). we left promptly (promptness is important here, i would be shaming myself all over the place if i lived here) at 8:05 (i think, haha) to pick up people at other hotels and arrived at the start of the tour site (promptly at 9) and some people departed our bus for other tours (mt fuji, can't remember the others).

our tour guide was a funny man, i didn't catch his name, but he was quite amusing.

first stop... tokyo tower. we took the packed elevator up, got a 360 degree view of the city and a look down from the floor window, yikes!! it was really really hot so laurie and i got ice cream cones (a vanilla/green tea twist.. delicious) according to mr. tour guide, tokyo tower is disaster proof,(earthquakes, typhoons). he said the only thing that can destroy it is godzilla.

our next stop was at the meiji shrine. it is a shinto shrine, (one of the two religions in japan, the other is buddism) we beautified ourselves before entering, by washing our hands, first left, then right and rinsing out our mouths. mr. tour guide told us that some couples still get married at the shrine and we did see one newly married couple having their picture taken with their family. we also saw a new baby, he said people bring their babies to the shrine to be blessed.

then it was a drive through the city to the imperial palace, the garden was closed so we didn't get to see it. figures.. closed on fridays!! along the way we stopped for photos of the akaska guest house, where IMPORTANT visit ors to tokyo stay. it was formerly the imperial residence..

we ended our tour at the "world famous" ginza shopping district. we were overwhelmed. we got directions to the sanrio store and were in hello kitty heaven until it was time to find our way to haneda airport for the flight to komatsu.

mr. tour guide had given us directions to 2 train stations, depending on where we ended our shopping, with the name of the stop we needed to take the monorail to the airport. of course we got off one stop to early because i thought we got on at the "get off at the first stop" station... even though it wasn't the right stop name. anyway, we got back on, then off at the correct stop, onto the monorail and yay we made it to the airport. one thing we had done at the airport in narita, was to sent our suitcase directly to casey and chieko's so we didn't have to lug it through tokyo and we also didn't need to check a bag a haneda. we only had our 100 pound back packs to deal with and back surgery may be needed when we get home.

casey and ray picked us up at the komatsu airport. i don't know if ray recognized me from video chatting or not, but he smiled and didn't cry until we were driving. once we got here, i needed to shower my filthy sweatiness and we enjoyed a lovely glass of wine and some CABOT cheese and crackers...

okay this post is way long...

mugs

2010-07-26T20:23:00.002-04:00

we gave these mugs to dad and geny a bunch of years ago,

for christmas.

i used to drink my coffee from them when i visited them.

ramie sent them to me (via eddie) a couple of weeks ago.

they are pretty.

heron

2010-07-25T08:03:00.002-04:00

this is the second time we have seen this heron in the last week or so.

it just glides around the bog, checking things out.

it rested in one of the trees before taking off again.

it is huge.

july 8th

2010-07-08T06:05:00.004-04:00

i have been awake since 4:11. i hope i wake up early tomorrow morning because i am supposed to take a pilates class at 6. i was going to get some of my daily chores done, but of course i started playing games on the computer instead.

jesse brought over lobsters last night and we had them for dinner. they were delicious. we were going to go out for dinner for doug's birthday, but it was a yummy change of plan. we also had corn on the cob and salad (no one ate the salad, made with our garden lettuce). there was chocolate cake (stop and shop bakery, really quite tasty) and ice cream for dessert.

thanks for the lobsters jesse!!

july 4th

2010-07-04T16:24:00.003-04:00

happy 4th every body!!

i am going to try to update a little more frequently. sorry to have been such a slacker. i have been so busy with the fb games, haha.

happy birthday

2010-05-10T20:58:00.005-04:00

birthday roses from devin and aimee

lovely... love them

birthday roses from casey, chieko and ray

gorgeous... love them

this is my birthday flip flops from cindi... love 'em

trying to upload a picture of sweet baby, but no luck

okay, not the one i was trying for, but still darling

a few picture of sweet baby

2010-03-19T07:02:00.002-04:00

sleeping with grampy (grampy looks like devin)

having fun (really, he was) in the jolly jumper

watchin t.v. with bear

laughing with auntie debbie and grampy

visiting with cousin mackenzie and auntie debbie

i sure do miss them, even 3+ weeks is not enough for me

baby

2010-02-25T20:19:00.003-05:00

at sandy neck with sweet baby

spring rolls deleted

2010-01-26T07:30:00.002-05:00

i guess they looked less appetizing than they actually were!!

i have been trying to straighten out my office, AGAIN. i am making some progress, but i really need to keep at it.

i hadn't seen little jerry since i went to japan. nitzy spent a couple of nights here right after i left and he won't come in if she is here. anyway... doug said he hadn't seen him since christmas eve day (2 weeks after i left) and that was up the street. so have been calling for him every night and again in the morning. i left food out for him and 3 nights ago i noticed some was gone. 2 nights ago the bowl was almost empty. i mentioned to doug that SOMETHING was eating the food and about an hour later, guess who came to the door?? he looks fine. clean and well fed. i really do need to get him a collar with some identification. i worry that he will get caught on a branch though, with all the roaming he does.

hello 2010

2010-01-07T10:43:00.002-05:00

we made it back safe and sound.

no problems with the flights,

although our take offs were all delayed.

we did not miss any connecting flights.

i am really happy to see my family and friends here, but

i miss the family in japan.

good bye 2009

2009-12-31T04:12:00.006-05:00

the day before yesterday, chiekos parents and her sister's family came to visit.

they brought a feast with them. such good food here in japan.

all kinds of salads and meat and sweets and fruit.

i was so full, but i had to keep eating.

yesterday ray was 6 weeks old.

he was smiling up a storm for us.

and also yesterday,

casey and chieko had a party for friends and coworkers.

it was fun and of course, like parties everywhere,

there was a ton of yummy food.

again, i ate.

today casey, chieko and doug went out to do some errands while i stayed here with ray, (you know how much this bothers me, NOT!!)

they came back with coffee and doughnuts from mr. donut.

i have to say,

japan has better doughnuts.

this morning i read ray one of his books,

brown bear, brown bear,

what do you see?

as you can tell, he really enjoyed it

we are staying in tonight,

the weather outside is frightful.

i hope you all have a safe and fun new years eve and

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

december 28, 2009

2009-12-28T04:17:00.003-05:00

cute, cute, cute

this was a different christmas...

santa did stop by, but

casey was working, we were waiting for doug.

we decided to wait to open presents.

casey, chieko, ray and i went to a christmas party at one of their coworkers homes, when casey was got through with work.

it was nice and there was lots of food.

casey chieko and ray opened their stockings when we got home.

they were kinda empty this year, (santa is sorry)

doug arrived safe and sound on saturday and even though he was tired, we open our presents and had a glass of wine. then it was off to bed.

i am still spending most of my time watching ray and feeling guilty (not THAT guilty) about not doing more for chieko, but she always says "watch ray?" when i ask what i can do.

chieko's family is coming for a visit tomorrow. i think they are just staying for the day.

it will be nice to see them again.

december 23, 2009

2009-12-23T05:45:00.002-05:00

sad news, aunt bette and uncle tite both died. 3 days apart. they were 88 and 89. we cousins always loved going to visit them. i remember steam baths, watching lawrence welk beforehand and staying to watch carol burnett afterwards. an easter sunrise service and chocolate bunnies when we got home, going to the dolphin for dinner, just the 3 of us. sleep overs, waking up to the smell of bacon and coffee. i think uncle tite had bacon and eggs every morning for breakfast. aunt bette always made fried eggs for the dogs too. i remember the garden and bags of apples in the fall. peanut butter in the bird/squirrel feeders. the deer head in the living room. when we moved to west barnstable, i used to ride my bike to their house almost every day, with casey. he would play and i would have 10:00 coffee with them. coffee in the glass, stove top coffee pot. stop and shop on thursdays and lunch at woolworths. beagles and recycling before anyone else did it.. so many other things i will always remember..

snowy

2009-12-20T16:59:00.003-05:00

it snowed the last couple of days and looks very christmasy. i would post some pictures, but you know....

i am still spending most of my time enjoying the company of casey, chieko and ray. i made dinner once and have washed a few dishes... made some coffee. i am not much help, but chieko keeps telling me that she likes to be able to do other things while i sit with ray. i am not complaining a bit. i hope she really means it.

yesterday casey and i went to the beach to look at the waves, during the wind, snow, rain. they were gigantic and crashing in all directions. it wasn't too bad walking from the parking lot to the beach, but boy was it cold walking back to the car. after the beach we went to the electronics store to get a new usb(?) cord so i can keep myself online. casey's old one had a broken clip so if i wasn't careful moving my computer, it unplugged. i was looking a camera's and was really tempted to buy one, but casey told me i could use his if i wanted to, so i didn't get one (yet). next we stopped at the bread store. what a great shop. all home made breads and sandwiches. scones and donuts. it smelled so good walking in and i was hungry. i got a hotdog wrap thingy and casey got a sandwich, we ate them in the car on the way home. we also got some little cheese flatbread crisp things, delicious and a loaf of walnut something else yummy. a croissant, a hushpuppy type thing, a sausage type roll and the bake shop specialty bread, a crescent shaped crispy outside soft inside temptation. we shared them at dinner along with soup that chieko made. i had my first quail egg. i was afraid, but it was fine.

chieko made some yummy dishes with daikon radish yesterday. she and i had them for breakfast and some leftovers with dinner, too. i was so full.

i went to bed early and woke up at 4. chieko was feeding ray so when they were done, she went back to bed and i sat watching him sleep. casey is up now watching a football game on slingbox. he is holding ray and i am going to make some more coffee.

snow

2009-12-16T15:31:00.003-05:00

i still have no pictures... i have been waking up really early, sometimes i find chieko with ray and if he has been fed, i tell her to go on to bed, i can watch him. this morning the room was empty, everyone in bed sound asleep. it is quite cold here and when i looked out the window i found snow. the last couple of days there has been snow on the mountain top, but only rain and hail here. there have also been rumblings of thunder. one last night that actually shook the house. i love thunder.

most of my time has been spent hanging around the house, reading, staring at ray, playing games on the computer, holding ray, watching some tv on the slingbox.... staring at ray some more. i still feel like i should be more helpful to chieko, but she says she likes being able to do laundry and cook while i keep watch on the baby. i works for me, but i feel guilty. i think i am making dinner tonight.

stealing from casey (again)

2009-12-15T08:23:00.002-05:00

so you know i forgot the camera, casey took this picture of me with baby ray today.

this is what i have been doing... chieko feeds him, i burp him and take a nap with him.

it is very tiring!! for both of us.

sometimes we walk around the house, looking at pictures

i am not homesick, i can't even think about leaving.

hello japan

2009-12-13T15:50:00.003-05:00

the trip to japan was really quite uneventful. that is a good thing. my flights were on time and mostly smooth. it was windy in boston so the takeoff was a little bumpy, but that was all.

the flight to tokyo was long of course. i had a window seat. two men shared the row. the older man on the aisle slept for most of the flight and i thought i would never get to go to the bathroom. finally middle seat man got up and so did i. middle seat man was nice, (but he had bad breath) he showed me how to work the remote for the tv and got my attention whenever the nice flight attendants wanted to give me food or beverage. casey had said all nippon was superior to other airlines. i have to say, the flight attendants were very attentive, they were constantly coming around with hot drinks, cold drinks, snacks. i don't think they sat down during the entire flight and they were always smiling and pleasant. i had ordered vegetarian meals and they were delicous, really delicous. i had veggie lasagna with salad, bread, some green beans and tofu. maybe there was something else, but i forget. the second smaller meal was noodles with veggies and a roll along with some sliced fruit, applesauce. again, very tasty. this in addition to snacks. i got to choose which movies i wanted to watch, or play video games ( i didn't). i watched edward scissorhands, when harry met sally, the lake house and the coco chanel story. i read some, did some sudoku and tried to sleep some. i did doze for short stretches.

i had no problems with customs or immigration, i didn't think i would... but man, my suticases were heavy. i was sweating like a madman trying to hoist them onto a cart, the big suitcase weighed 68 pounds. i have no idea how much the smaller bag weighed, plus the 2 carry ons. whew...

i had checked on the website to see how much overweight bags were, to decide if i should bring another bag or mail some stuff. it said it would be $25.00 for overweight bags and i figured that was my cheapest option. at the ticket counter in boston, one of the checkers told me that it was going to be $150 for the bag. i said oh, i thought it was only $25. she said "to japan?" like i was out of my mind. the guy who was originally helping me punched it into the computer and said "narita?, she's right.. $25.00." yay... of course i had no choice, i would have had to pay the $150, but i liked the $25 much better.

i spent my 4 hours in tokyo drinking milk tea, people watching, listening to podcasts on my laptop and dozing. more reading and sudoku and it was off to komatsu where casey was waiting on the other side of the glass watching me, once again stuggling to get those heavy bags onto the cart. unless i do some crazy shopping here, i will be able to fit my second bag and one carry on into the big suitcase and not be nearly at the weight limit, ( even with a baby in it). no i am just kidding, i will put him in the carry on.

i am spending lots of time staring at and holding ray. he is a dolly. i forgot my camera.

2 days

2009-12-09T06:30:00.002-05:00

well, i have today and tomorrow to finish getting myself ready for my trip to japan. i am going to try to get everything done today, so that tomorrow i can do the things i am forgetting i need to do today.

i got up at 5 this morning, just woke up and decided to go ahead and get out of bed. i folded some laundry, made jesse's lunch and after doug got up at 5:45, i made the bed and started cleaning the bathroom. i like to have the house clean whenever i go away, so that when i come home everything is neat and tidy. of course doug and probably nitzy, will still be here NOT cleaning while i am gone. i know my mom will pick up and i have asked debbie for a cleaning session after doug comes to japan.

so for the rest of this day i will dust, vacuum, wash the floor and finish cleaning the bathroom. then i will wrap christmas presents and really try to sort out my office!!

jesse thinks..

2009-12-04T07:46:00.001-05:00

that sweet baby ray looks like

blue steel

from zoolander.

i did not see the movie,

but i can see what he means,

hahaha

ouchie

2009-11-27T18:23:00.004-05:00

the crazy drivers were out today.

i went to do some errands and shopping today and i can't tell you how many people were just pulling into traffic, racing through parking lots, all without even looking.

i was pulling out of a parking lot, onto north st. turning left

another car was pulling out of a parking lot across the street, he was turning to his left.

we should have bypassed each other, but for some reason (he didn't see me) he just came straight across.

cheryl was with me. we saw him coming. i just stopped, thinking he would too.

he did not.

2 weeks, 4 days (till i go to japan)

2009-11-23T07:17:00.003-05:00

the count down continues

i just saw (and heard) sweet baby ray, live on video chat... casey woke him up because it was time to eat, so i got to watch him stretch and yawn and finally open his eyes. they let him imp just a little before chieko fed him, so i could hear.

2 weeks, 5 days

2009-11-22T21:30:00.001-05:00

but again, who's counting

i can't wait to meet this baby!!

anyway... yesterday, i went to the harry potter exhibition in boston with cheryl, brandon, leah and sam.

it was a nice exhibition, but too crowded and hot.

now i need to watch all the movies again, maybe reread the books.

today, we went to lahey to visit cindi. she is doing all right.

she wanted me to wash her hair using one of those shampoo caps, that i had never seen until she was there last time. it looks like a shower cap, but it has a liner with leave in shampoo and conditioner. they heat it in the microwave and we tuck cindi's hair into it and massage it around. once it cools off, off it comes. you just towel dry or blow it dry.

joyce took us to dinner on the way home, joe's american bar and grill.

cobb salad.

nannie bean

2009-11-19T22:24:00.003-05:00

well you all know that casey and chieko had their sweet little baby boy on november 18th. my advice is to go to thesoybean.wordpress.com

i am counting the days till i go to meet the little fellow. 3 weeks and 1 day.

today i went and worked with cousin susan. i filed and photo copied. tomorrow i will try to be as productive in my own office.

i'm better

2009-11-06T18:12:00.002-05:00

dear diary,

oh my gosh!!! i was sick for 48 hours. it started with a cough/scratchy throat. i thought i was getting a cold. wednesday afternoon the headache started and the fever. that was life for the last couple of days. cough, headache, fever... repeat. so the fever and headache are gone and all that's left is the cough. annoying... and my abs hurt!!

november 2nd

2009-11-02T06:05:00.003-05:00

dear diary,

i can't believe it has been SO long since i posted something.

it has been a busy busy few weeks.

cindi ended up back in the hospital twice. she went back in to have more fluid drained, she had to have a chest tube for 5 days or so. then 2 days after coming home, she had to go back in because her electrolytes were out of whack. the drs were not able to keep her sodium high enough, so they transferred her to lahey clinic. it is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours away, depending on traffic and who is doing the driving. she has been there for a week now. the family is taking turns going up to keep her company. richard lives closer, so he has been going more often. they are giving her a new medication that, as of yesterday, seems to be working. she was moved to the i.c.u. a few days ago, because she is having some difficulty breathing. so far the oxygen is helping with that, but she is very tired and she is very anxious to come home.

throw in the trip to oklahoma, with the wake and funeral and the sadness of it all..... (i don't want either of those by the way).... i am feeling a bit distracted. the house is a mess. i am not complaining, i have so much to be thankful for.

we put 104 on the market again a week or so ago. (losing track of time here). cheryl and i went to sullivan's and bought a statue of saint joseph. i buried him on saturday and have to pray to him for nine days that he will help us sell the house... the woman at the store said her sister did it and her house sold in two weeks. i am praying.

yesterday i went to macy*s and got a two pair of jeans for my big japan trip. mine are so old now that the belt loops are started to tear when i use them to pull the jeans on. i also got a shirt and some leggings and a couple of "unmentionables." anyway, i shouldn't need anything else clotheswise. i also got some christmas gifts: restaurant gift certificates and something for chieko. i can't say what, in case she reads this.

more christmas and random

2009-10-13T20:31:00.002-04:00

this is a christmas blanket for alexia

it also all flannelly and cozy

and i bought the front all in a one piece panel

yesterday i came out onto the porch and found nitzy enjoying the new (to us) chair

one day last week, as i was driving home,

the sun was shining brightly on the house,

but the trees all around were shaded

i don't know if it shows here, i am no photographer,

but it was cool

october 12th

2009-10-12T18:21:00.002-04:00

dear diary,

happy columbus day.

we had company off and on all day. we love company. cheryl came over for coffee this morning. jesse cleared an area, this weekend, between the old house and the new house. i put a couple of chairs in the cleared area and we sat there with our coffee. it slopes upward from the road and provides a nice view of the bog and little pond.

debbie and kevin came over with shawn and mackenzie later in the morning. their printer isn't working and she wanted to print out the itinerary for the trip to oklahoma. debbie, kevin and i are going out for geny's funeral. she died saturday. she had been in and out of the hospital a lot this year, but i think it was still unexpected at this time. i have been really sad all weekend.

laurie came over around noon and had tea. she wrapped christmas presents for me. it was on my list of things to do over the holiday weekend. i am trying to get ahead of the game, since i will be leaving for japan on december 11th. i have put a small dent in my list and if i wrap as i buy, i should be in good shape before i go.

cindi came home saturday from the hospital. she has to go back as an outpatient to have more fluid drained this week. the cat scan they did before she left, showed that there was still some in her lung. they wanted to keep her until tomorrow, but she opted to go back this week instead.

i didn't get much done today, so i will scramble tomorrow to get caught up a bit before leaving early wednesday morning. the wake is thursday and the funeral friday. we come home saturday.

i have some pictures to post, but i need to get them onto the computer. i will do that a little later, so you have something to REALLY look forward to tomorrow.

october 9th

2009-10-09T15:14:00.003-04:00

dear diary,

i am having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

i think i have stepped on some toes.

anyway....

cindi is doing well and feeling better after having fluid drained from her lung. i feel really bad that she spent all morning alone, before her procedure. when i spoke with her at 9 this morning i thought they taking her to do it soon after we hung up. it turned out she spent at least 2 hours waiting. i would have gone to keep her company. her family is taking turns visiting with her this afternoon and evening. maybe i can go tomorrow. hopefully she can come home then. i hope she knows i am thinking of her.

i caught up on a lot of chores today while waiting for news from the hospital. i rolled coins. our change jar (not a big one) was full. i rolled over $50. i was pleasantly surprised.

we are going to martha and herb's for dinner tonight. i made inside out ravioli. herb's daughter is here from california. she was a little girl the last time i saw her. we will also be celebrating april's birthday. it was yesterday.

the weather is warmish and raining. the leaves are changing and falling. i really love this time of year. it is my favorite.

october 8th

2009-10-08T06:42:00.003-04:00

dear diary,

it is staying dark later in the morning and i have a harder time getting up while it is still dark outside. i woke up at 5:07 and was really happy to not have to get up yet. i woke up again and it was 6:15. i got up. exciting reading so far, eh.

i called jesse (after making his lunch, ham and cheese w/spicy mustard on 10 grain bread, and all the usual sides) and he said that he wasn't coming over. he still had yesterday's lunch, since he got out so early.

i spoke with devin yesterday. he was napping so we didn't talk long. he had asked how i make meatloaf (beatloaf) the last time we talked, he was going to make one. i don't really use a recipe, so i told him "about this much and that much". he said it came out fine, except he used too much ketchup for the glaze for the top. (ketchup brown sugar and worcester sauce)

last week i spent most of my days cleaning and washing windows, my incentive being that the relatives were coming on saturday. this week i have done nothing. i do make the bed and load and unload the dishwasher. anyway, today i am planning to catch up on laundry and at least run the vacuum. everything else is still looking pretty good.

i will post this later in case something really exciting happens during the day!!

well i cleaned the master bathroom and that was it for chores today. i spent the day at the e.r. with cindi.. she has fluid in one of her lungs and was admitted, finally, after about 6 hours. they will probably drain the fluid tomorrow and she will feel much better. she has been sick for about a week (?) and after being on antibiotics for a few days, was not feeling any better. i'll keep you posted on her condition.

october 7 th

2009-10-07T17:52:00.003-04:00

casey thinks i should start posting the days events, like patty, so my blog isn't so boring. he didn't say that last bit, those are my words. little does he know, it STILL won't be too interesting. hah

ok so this is my day....

dear diary,

today it was raining like mad when i got up. it was dark and gloomy. it was one crazy day of weather though. it was in the low 70's by mid afternoon and the sun was shining. then it rained again. and got sunny again.

morning was uneventful... chores, games on facebook while i waited to see if casey would be available for video chatting, he was. yay!!

jesse dropped nitzy off when he picked up his lunch and coffee. todays lunch was: roast beef on a whole wheat bulky roll, with chips, fig newtons, a cheese stick, banana, boiled egg and fruit snacks.

i was going to take nitzy to the vet for him, but he got out of work early because of the weather and took her himself.

i need to call devin to see (again) how is emt class is going.

i took gramma to get her hair done, while she was there i went and got a flu shot. then picked up a case at dr. l's and ran into the grocery store to get some bread, milk, cream and a few other things. after picking up gramma, we went to pick bryana up at school. brother dougie had a meeting and wouldn't be out in time to get her. we stopped at mcdonald's and got her a yogurt parfait (they are so yummy) and some apple dippers. ( you don't have to get unhealthy food EVERY time you go there). we dropped her off to dougie and came home.

i had some shipping to do when i got back so i packed it up and went to the post office, getting there only 5 minutes before they closed.

husband doug has gone to running class. i went a few times and walked the track at the high school while he ran, but it is wicked windy now and will be too cold. it will also be dark before he finishes up and, also, i am a lazy slug.

we will probably have leftover chili for dinner or red beans and rice, with smoked sausage. i am going to make a salad to go with whichever....

stealing from casey

2009-10-01T08:37:00.004-04:00

beautiful, beautiful mama

sweet baby, almost ready

my sweet baby, i think i see a resemblance

merry christmas

2009-09-26T18:51:00.002-04:00

this is the blanket i made for sweet baby ray

for christmas.

it was really easy because i bought the

front piece all put together in a panel.

same thing with the back,

all the little squares were already sewn together.

i just tied the front, batting and back together and sewed

on the binding.

it is all flannelly and chenilley.

very cozy.

i hope he loves it.

blanket # 2

2009-09-12T21:26:00.003-04:00

when i finished with casey's blanket

i decided to try making another one.

i made this one for bellah,

chelsie's new baby.

i think it came out pretty cute.

sadly.... 2 of the turkeys were hit on 6a.

turkeys

2009-09-03T07:30:00.003-04:00

these wild turkeys have been spotted in the neighborhood all summer.

a mama and 8 babies.

nitzy has had fun chasing them a couple of times,

when i let her out, not realizing they were in our yard.

cheryl said she saw them eating at her bird feeder.

the babies are almost the same size as their mom, now.

we see them on 6a, too, and worry that they will get hit.

blanky done

2009-09-03T06:41:00.003-04:00

the edging is cut and stitched to the front (by machine)

and back (painstakingly by hand)

TA DAH!!!

and it is in japan waiting for sweet baby ray

(although casey may be snuggling with it for now)

(i had to edit this post, when i realize i had already posted practically the same stuff!!)

i can't keep a secret

2009-08-04T22:50:00.002-04:00

remember casey's blanket?

i had the bright idea to "fix" it and

send it to casey and chieko

for sweet baby ray

i went to tumbelweeds and picked out some fabric

i had to remove all of the old, shredded backing

and worn out filling.

i managed to get it taken apart without

harming the printed top piece.

then i had to go back to tumbleweeds and sign up for some

one on one instruction on how to "quilt"

the first night i went, i cut and sewed a border onto the original

blanket, along with some additional fabric to bolster (?)

the very thin (loved) original piece

i went back the following week and layered

the top part

the new batting

and the new back.

after pinning the 3 layers together,

i hand tied the blanket in about

a million places

(i exaggerate!)

i don't know if you can

click on the pictures to see more detail

there is no class tonight,

so i will go back next week to sew on the binding.

this was going to be a surprise, but

i told casey this morning.

i am such a loser.

randomness

2009-08-02T10:03:00.004-04:00

the lettuce is growing faster than we can eat it.

we share

the lilies

the daisies

nasturtiums

we had some of these in our salad the other night

beans!!!

little jerry

2009-07-18T11:43:00.002-04:00

well here he is.... for now anyway.

he got a check up and his shots have been updated.

he jumped out of the car window today on the way home from the vet.

we were just one house away from home, he was on my lap, i was going slow.

he is roaming in the bog/woods at the moment.

he was not thrilled to be kept inside since tuesday..

i sure hope he comes back later.

i just spent $200+ on vet bills, haha.

here he is enjoying his first night back.

pppuuuurrrrr

blanky

2009-07-16T20:43:00.003-04:00

this is casey's old blanket.

we brought it everywhere.

if we went for a bike ride, it was folded up and put on the seat, a cushion of sorts.

it was so loved and worn we had to sew a new back onto it.

just a sheet, but it held together until casey didn't need it any more.

he didn't take it to japan.

he left it for me.

you won't believe this!!!

2009-07-14T12:05:00.002-04:00

cheryl and i were coming home from the post office this morning.

when we got to the next door neighbors house, there was a black and white kitty walking up their driveway.

we stopped and called "little jerry"

he turned and looked at us (it was him!!) and continued to walk up the driveway.

i got out and kept calling to him.

he didn't run away.

he let me pick him up, but jumped down when i started walking toward our house (he scratched me)

so i sat at patted him while cheryl drove to her house for cat food (i had given the rest of mine away). then i picked him up again and brought him home, into the lab, away from nitzy, where he wolfed down some food. then he heard nitzy outside the door and quickly hid out behind one of the cabinets.

he has a vet appointment in a couple of hours.

i hope i can get him out.

i am embarrassed that we buried someone else's cat in our back yard, but i feel a little better about being so unsure that the other cat was really him.

hair cut

2009-07-11T16:54:00.001-04:00

i had my hair cut "etc. " today

sweet baby ray

2009-07-05T17:38:00.002-04:00

not to be copying casey's blog,

but i am.

this sweet baby is a boy.

ray is the only name i have heard mentioned.

both great-grandpa's on casey's side are ray,

so is casey's middle name.

well, raymond, really.

i just can't wait to meet him when he gets hisself borned!!

aahh... summer

2009-06-26T18:01:00.002-04:00

how pretty is she??

bryana resting on nitzy on the porch

nitzy resting on bryana on the floor

umbrellas

2009-06-24T07:30:00.002-04:00

this is what we want

this is what we have

i guess we can comfort ourselves with this

.... maybe this ....

pretty funny

2009-06-23T22:03:00.002-04:00

ha ha ha

i bought this hat to wear so my "natural" hair color doesn't fade in the sun.

no chance of that lately.

i hope i didn't waste $2.50.

did i mention it is raining?

meat loaf beet loaf

2009-06-23T07:38:00.002-04:00

last night we had another lovely salad

this one with store bought lettuces, spinach,

carrot, tomato, red onion and

blueberries

meatloaf, mashed potatoes (delicious, made by jesse)

and steamed vegetables

it was quite tasty

happy father's day

2009-06-22T16:00:00.002-04:00

we had a lovely caesar salad with lettuce from our "garden"

along with grilled steak, baked potatoes

and some delicious zinfandel (cline) wine

don't you love the smell of wet dog

2009-06-17T12:36:00.003-04:00

nitzy loves to play in the sprinklers

she loves to bite them

just to clarify

2009-06-16T17:21:00.002-04:00

the picture of little jerry is from last summer. i did not put my dead cat on the couch and take his picture.

little jerry

2009-06-16T12:09:00.002-04:00

poor little jerry

cheryl found him about a half mile from here

near willow st.

she brought him home

he is buried out back.

i am so sad right now

so true!!!

2009-06-15T14:34:00.000-04:00

june 15th..... summer?

it should be warm.... you think?

little jerry?

2009-06-14T21:41:00.002-04:00

i have been putting food out on the back porch for little jerry just in case he comes home after we go to bed. (propping the pet door open since it is rain swollen and won't swing)

it has still been there when i get up most mornings.

well this morning it was gone, but i am out of wet food (his favorite), so i put out some crunchies a little while ago and a little bit of milk.

so we are sitting here watching tv and i think i hear something outside.

i peek out the slider........

not little jerry

he ran behind the chair when we opened the slider to get a better picture

so now i am thinking that since it has been 2 weeks since we have seen little jerry, the longest he has ever been gone, maybe he is really gone this time.

i am thinking he has not been the one sneaking in late, eating, then heading out the door again.

i will have to take the movie case out of the pet door too....

and stop putting out food....

rain

2009-06-12T07:31:00.003-04:00

it's raining AGAIN.... i don't really mind, but i just hope the weekend is sunny.

little jerry has gone missing again. we haven't seen him since the end of may. (now he will come home, he just wants to be mentioned on the blog) we have put food out on the back porch and it was gone a couple of times.... we also DIDN'T leave food out, with the slider open a little, so we would hear him crying (like he always does) when he came in. he didn't. his food is untouched the last three or four mornings.

snapper

2009-06-06T09:42:00.005-04:00

this mommy was laying eggs across the street 2 days ago.

"Snapping turtles do not provide any care for their babies. Adult female turtles return to the water after they have deposited their eggs on land and are not present when the turtles hatch."

...nice mom...

hello toilet paper

2009-06-04T08:52:00.002-04:00

this morning

casey asked me about the hello kitty toilet paper.

he and chieko sent it to me.

laurie loves hello kitty and i was going to give her a roll or two,

but she said i should keep the package intact.

the rolls themselves are printed with hello kitty and her friends,

not just the wrapping.

book shelf

2009-06-03T12:38:00.002-04:00

i have so many books to read.

i keep piling them up...

on the night table,

the coffee table,

some on another book shelf.

anyway, i went to the christmast tree shop the other day.

i found this cute little bookshelf,

it was white.

i went to kmart and bought some spray paint.

tuscan sunset

i probably should have let it dry some more before putting the books on it,

but i was so excited!!

maybe the books will be stuck to the paint

or at least have a little paint on the edges.

i don't care.

it's raining again

2009-05-15T07:48:00.003-04:00

i was trying to take a picture of the squirrels eating the bird seed. every time i tried to sneak in close enough, they ran away. the feeder that is wide open and fairly low to the ground must be too easy. they were hanging upside down on the tube feeder instead. i did see a few gold finches yesterday, but so far it is mostly squirrels.

this is NOT one of our squirrels, but since i had none to post.....

more springiness

2009-05-13T12:59:00.004-04:00

i figured it was time to fill the bird feeders

the birds are constantly chirping and flying around.

you can't see it here,

but is a wasp flying around the feeder.

he was starting a home inside while it was empty.

now there is no entrance,

seeds in the way.

you just know that the squirrels and chipmunks are going to eat most of this

this feast of oranges and grape jelly is supposed to attract orioles

on their way through town this month

yesterday i went to kmart and got these cute flip flops and moccasins.

i have been looking for a pair of moccasins for a long, long time.

if you can enlarge the picture, you can see my pedicure decoration,

also, the imprint of the socks i was wearing just before i decided to model my shoes.

this is the smoothie i made for my self this morning.

banana

strawberries

mango

yogurt

milk

signs of spring

2009-05-09T22:13:00.004-04:00

bryana making chalk drawings in the driveway

duh.... who planted this one??

nice enough to have coffee and read the paper on the porch

dandelions!!!

new phone

2009-03-27T20:28:00.002-04:00

i dropped my cell phone the other day,

not the first time that has happened

but it stopped working this time.

i could use the text feature and it worked okay on speaker,

but who wants to be on speakerphone all the time?

so i got a new one.

it is pretty and red.

it flips open to reveal a keyboard.

i like it.

teeth

2009-03-20T09:26:00.002-04:00

i went to the dentist this morning for a cleaning

see how nice my teeth look

i had a good report

"look ma, no cavities"

missing my little boys

2009-03-17T16:38:00.004-04:00

i am missing my little boys

casey

how is that the boy who cried when i put him on the school bus,

now lives in japan and travels the world whenever he can?

jesse

such a good friend to so many people

"i will help, if i can, that's what we do, us bean's"

devin

such an easy, happy child

every time i dream of him, he is a little boy again

they were really cute kids too,

these handsome young men

time change

2009-03-11T20:35:00.002-04:00

this time change is for the birds.... i started back at the y last week, shooting for the 6 am class monday through friday. 3 different workouts. i made if 4 days last week, this week.... nothin'..... i am so tired. i have been going to bed wicked early, waking up to let the cat out in the wee hours and not falling back to sleep until 4 or 5. it makes getting up in time for class, really difficult. i am going to try again tomorrow.

is it spring yet?

2009-03-07T07:22:00.001-05:00

it sure feels and sounds like it this morning.

i decided at the last minute to skip exercise class. i have only just started back this week, but it is early early. i practiced getting up last week and i am tired tired .

instead, i sat on the front porch with a cup of coffee, enjoying the first warmish morning in a long time.

i felt like stretching out in the sun, i took off my slipper to feel the wood but the sun isn't strong enough, hasn't even been up long enough to warm it up yet, so i didn't.

what would the neighbors think if they saw me anyway!?!

it was nice to sit there, warmed by the sun, listening to the birds, drinking my coffee.

finished

2009-02-07T21:23:00.004-05:00

this is the coat rack/ shelf

with the newly painted walls

and the new bench

view from the door

we still need something for the left side wall

and the view from the kitchen

and we need a curtain or blind or something for the door

what do you think?

update on the hallway

2009-02-06T18:13:00.003-05:00

the front door wasn't shut tight the other night.

this is what the storm door looked like the next morning.

doug putting the finishing touches on the coat rack

one jacket hanging on a doorknob

now we just have to remove the tape and hang some pictures

i will take pictures of the (hopefully) finished product tomorrow

new paint

2009-01-26T17:59:00.003-05:00

i forgot to take a "before" picture

we want to do something with this long hallway

we had a chair rail put up last week

and jesse is painting for us.

he got one coat on the lower wall today

view from the other end

silly little jerry, (enjoying aimee's blanket yarn)

he is still not back.

happy birthday aimee

2009-01-13T18:44:00.002-05:00

well i finally finished the throw i was making for aimee.

it was originally going to be for christmas, but i quickly realized it would not be ready,

so since aimee's birthday is 12/31, i thought it would make a nice birthday gift instead.

as you can see.... today is 1/13...

sorry i am so late aimee, it will be in the mail tomorrow

p.s. thank you to doug for cutting the fringe for me

skating rink?

2009-01-13T08:54:00.004-05:00

the neighbors have started flooding the bog for ice hockey.

this is what they did last night after dark.

cool.

more random

2009-01-11T09:10:00.002-05:00

snow on the porch from the last storm

i made a pot of tea this morning

more snow pictures

2008-12-28T11:48:00.003-05:00

birdbath full of snow

bend birch boughs

why is the lobster pot still outside?

home in the snow

little chair

some trees up the street

some of my christmas gifts

2008-12-27T21:54:00.002-05:00

a new clock

let's see now, boots, slippers, gloves, hat, books, gilmore girls, harry potter calendar, framed photo, earrings, gift card, tissue dispenser, tea ball, tea, coffee, way too many sweets to mention

i hope everyone had a very merry christmas

snow pictures

2008-12-27T21:48:00.003-05:00

nitzy enjoying the snow

looking for her ball

gramma's car

driveway snow

snow on the porch screens

haha

2008-12-20T15:37:00.000-05:00

i really do have a warped sense of humor....

magic christmas tree

2008-12-20T03:35:00.004-05:00

this is about 5 hours after adding the "magic water", which smelled a lot like vinegar.

and this is what happened over night!!!

christmas is coming!!!

2008-12-18T15:59:00.002-05:00

casey and chieko sent this lovely and delicious supply of rice cakes. it SHOULD last a while, but ... maybe not.

they also sent us a magic christmas tree.

you unfold the branches and pour in the magic water. some magic has already started, but you will have to wait till tomorrow to see....

i want this

2008-12-16T12:36:00.002-05:00

i went to the dennis stroll on sunday with laurie. we found this darling little cottage beside the driveway next to one of the shops. i want to live here. click on the picture to enlarge it and see how cute it is.

pretty girls

2008-12-13T05:43:00.008-05:00

bryana and gramma elsie

random photos

2008-12-09T08:08:00.002-05:00

christmas tree 2008
giant snow flakes
little jerry in a tree
someone snapped a picture by mistake of the floor, but casey says the floors are nice, so here you go..... floor