My muse for today....
I really enjoyed the opportunity to list 6 random things that make me happy. I decided to do an encore run.
Flowers - all kinds, never met one I didn't like.
Ice cream - my very favorite is malted moo crunch. It is a special ice cream made only at a local ice cream stand.
Family - None of my family lives close by, so it is nice to see one of them. It usually involves travelling but it is worth the time and effort.
Golf - Yes! A good day is going golfing. A bad round of golf is better than a good day working.
Playing Pogo games with my sister and other family members. It is fun to do something recreational with a family member even if it is only on-line.
Sudoku puzzles. - I find these puzzles enjoyable. It keeps my mind engaged trying to logically figure out what number goes where. A great way to spend time on an airplane.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Family Genealogy
My muse at the moment....
My daughter has a project in history class where she has to do a genealogy chart. I was quite taken aback by how much I don't know about my family. I couldn't even remember my grandmothers maiden name. Wow. For some reason this hit me kinda hard. What's up with the fact I don't know even this much about my grandparents? Granted, no one really talked about themselves, but still, it seems strange to me now. My parents are both gone as well so there is no asking them. Then I had the realization there is not even one cousin I still speak to or see on my father's side of the family. What is going on there? It is not that I wouldn't speak to them or don't want to speak to them, I have never made an effort. Hmmmm... I should do something about this situation.
My husband breezed through his genealogy chart in just a few minutes. He pulled the information out of his memory banks. No need to refer to very large family tree diagram that he has stored in his desk. He can trace his family tree back as far as 1617 in Germany. Wow, I can't even do the 20th century. He even started spouting out where a lot of them are buried. Oh boy, I am woefully behind. It is really kind of embarassing. I have sent out an email to my siblings in the hopes that they are not as ignorant on the subject as me.
I think its time to start learning about more of my family!
My daughter has a project in history class where she has to do a genealogy chart. I was quite taken aback by how much I don't know about my family. I couldn't even remember my grandmothers maiden name. Wow. For some reason this hit me kinda hard. What's up with the fact I don't know even this much about my grandparents? Granted, no one really talked about themselves, but still, it seems strange to me now. My parents are both gone as well so there is no asking them. Then I had the realization there is not even one cousin I still speak to or see on my father's side of the family. What is going on there? It is not that I wouldn't speak to them or don't want to speak to them, I have never made an effort. Hmmmm... I should do something about this situation.
My husband breezed through his genealogy chart in just a few minutes. He pulled the information out of his memory banks. No need to refer to very large family tree diagram that he has stored in his desk. He can trace his family tree back as far as 1617 in Germany. Wow, I can't even do the 20th century. He even started spouting out where a lot of them are buried. Oh boy, I am woefully behind. It is really kind of embarassing. I have sent out an email to my siblings in the hopes that they are not as ignorant on the subject as me.
I think its time to start learning about more of my family!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Six Random Things That Make Me Happy
Hi there,
My sister Pouty Baby has tagged me, I am now suppose to come up with 6 random things that make me happy and then go and tag others. Finding others might be the difficult part.
Here goes:
#1 - Golfing, I need to golf more. It puts a smile on my face and reminds me that I am not as athletically challenged as I think. I have a great country club to play and a very nice group of ladies who check up on me because I rarely show up anymore. Golfing makes me smile - so I guess I need to get back to the course.
#2 - I like talking about my daughter. She finds this embarrassing. Is it my fault she is talented? No. When she won a swimming medal at finals and I talked about this phenomenal achievement given her shoulder disability, she was annoyed. When I told someone else that she won the school science fair, she was mad. But hey - if I stop talking about her she might get the idea I am not interested. My mom told me once that I was her least favorite child. Oh gee thanks Mom, don't think I haven't thought about this for the last 40 years. No way this is going to happen with my kid, I make sure to tell her how much I love her and how great she is. We shall not have her saying I was hurtful for the next 40 years.
#3 - Going for an antique car ride. We have a couple of antique cars that actually run. There are no windows, one of them doesn't even have any doors, and no seat belts. It can be a bit scary at times, but the wind in your hair and face is exhilarating. Good thing there is a windshield so no bugs get squished on the face! We like to go to ice cream and bring the old car. It is a magnet for meeting new people. It's nice to share some of the cars' history with others. Ever here of a 1911 Knox car made in Springfield Mass? Well, its old and looks like the Beverly Hillbilly's car. Someone painted varnish on it in the 40's and it turned a nice shade of olive.
#4 - Going shopping with my daughter. This is the case when we don't spend more than 1 1/2 hrs shopping. Otherwise I tend to get tired and bored. It seems that I don't find much for myself. Every now and then I splurge on her and let her get something on the extravagant side. After all, what teenager doesn't need a real Marc Jacobs bag, or a nice pair of Tory Burch shoes? Her daddy likes to buy her stuff at Tiffany's. I suppose there is an inequality there since he has never purchased me anything from there. But no matter, it makes me smile when he does something nice for her.
#5 - My yearly holiday cookie swap. This a bit obscure seeings how it is not the holidays. But this is the one holiday thing I look forward to each year. Usually 10 of us ladies make 5 dozen cookies each and then swamp 6 cookies a piece so we have a great variety. There are always cookies I would never think of making. The great part is having dinner and a martini. We have done this at the Country Club or at my house. One year we got a foot of snow the morning of the party, but 6 of us intrepid bakers still made it. Later they said the holiday's would not be the same without the cookies. (Ok Pouty - are you coming to the cookie swap?) It is a not to be missed event.
#6 - Going to my weekly lunch date with my husband. Yes, it sounds a bit cheesy doesn't it? But I really like going to lunch with him. The week is very hectic and there is no time to go out for dinner and fully enjoy ourselves. Every school day brings about 4 hrs of homework and there is more on the weekend. Yucky. So, we usually go to one of your favorite Thai restaurants and occasionally a fish restaurant. My husband has ordered the same thing for the last 3 years at the Thai place. They just put the order in when they see him. So, this is a fun time to have a bit of a date and break up the week. I always look forward to our next time.
My sister Pouty Baby has tagged me, I am now suppose to come up with 6 random things that make me happy and then go and tag others. Finding others might be the difficult part.
Here goes:
#1 - Golfing, I need to golf more. It puts a smile on my face and reminds me that I am not as athletically challenged as I think. I have a great country club to play and a very nice group of ladies who check up on me because I rarely show up anymore. Golfing makes me smile - so I guess I need to get back to the course.
#2 - I like talking about my daughter. She finds this embarrassing. Is it my fault she is talented? No. When she won a swimming medal at finals and I talked about this phenomenal achievement given her shoulder disability, she was annoyed. When I told someone else that she won the school science fair, she was mad. But hey - if I stop talking about her she might get the idea I am not interested. My mom told me once that I was her least favorite child. Oh gee thanks Mom, don't think I haven't thought about this for the last 40 years. No way this is going to happen with my kid, I make sure to tell her how much I love her and how great she is. We shall not have her saying I was hurtful for the next 40 years.
#3 - Going for an antique car ride. We have a couple of antique cars that actually run. There are no windows, one of them doesn't even have any doors, and no seat belts. It can be a bit scary at times, but the wind in your hair and face is exhilarating. Good thing there is a windshield so no bugs get squished on the face! We like to go to ice cream and bring the old car. It is a magnet for meeting new people. It's nice to share some of the cars' history with others. Ever here of a 1911 Knox car made in Springfield Mass? Well, its old and looks like the Beverly Hillbilly's car. Someone painted varnish on it in the 40's and it turned a nice shade of olive.
#4 - Going shopping with my daughter. This is the case when we don't spend more than 1 1/2 hrs shopping. Otherwise I tend to get tired and bored. It seems that I don't find much for myself. Every now and then I splurge on her and let her get something on the extravagant side. After all, what teenager doesn't need a real Marc Jacobs bag, or a nice pair of Tory Burch shoes? Her daddy likes to buy her stuff at Tiffany's. I suppose there is an inequality there since he has never purchased me anything from there. But no matter, it makes me smile when he does something nice for her.
#5 - My yearly holiday cookie swap. This a bit obscure seeings how it is not the holidays. But this is the one holiday thing I look forward to each year. Usually 10 of us ladies make 5 dozen cookies each and then swamp 6 cookies a piece so we have a great variety. There are always cookies I would never think of making. The great part is having dinner and a martini. We have done this at the Country Club or at my house. One year we got a foot of snow the morning of the party, but 6 of us intrepid bakers still made it. Later they said the holiday's would not be the same without the cookies. (Ok Pouty - are you coming to the cookie swap?) It is a not to be missed event.
#6 - Going to my weekly lunch date with my husband. Yes, it sounds a bit cheesy doesn't it? But I really like going to lunch with him. The week is very hectic and there is no time to go out for dinner and fully enjoy ourselves. Every school day brings about 4 hrs of homework and there is more on the weekend. Yucky. So, we usually go to one of your favorite Thai restaurants and occasionally a fish restaurant. My husband has ordered the same thing for the last 3 years at the Thai place. They just put the order in when they see him. So, this is a fun time to have a bit of a date and break up the week. I always look forward to our next time.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Who Me - Win??
Musing about raffles today.....
This past weekend our local hospital had a charity raffle as part of their fundraising gala. It was a huge raffle with 39 different prizes. I thought about not buying any tickets but decided that I could afford to lose a certain amount of money and not have any regrets. About 500 people were in attendance and everyone seemed to have their hands stuffed with tickets. This was the type of raffle where you had to choose which prize to drop your ticket.
I bought my 10 tickets and then my husband went and bought ten tickets. We laughed how we both had them not knowing that the other one was also doing the same thing. Before I approached the various items, I thought about how I never win and why was I bothering. But then another thought crept in and said - why not you? So right there and then, I changed my attitude and decided that I had at least one winner. As my perspective changed I zeroed in the red sox tickets, a clothing shopping spree, dining certificates and various items I thought would be fun to win. I happily dropped my tickets into the containers.
At the end of the night when the results were posted, guess what? I actually won the red sox tickets and the clothing shopping spree. Yahooo, people were congratulating me on winning, not once but twice. I was shocked, and said, who me - win? How exciting!
This past weekend our local hospital had a charity raffle as part of their fundraising gala. It was a huge raffle with 39 different prizes. I thought about not buying any tickets but decided that I could afford to lose a certain amount of money and not have any regrets. About 500 people were in attendance and everyone seemed to have their hands stuffed with tickets. This was the type of raffle where you had to choose which prize to drop your ticket.
I bought my 10 tickets and then my husband went and bought ten tickets. We laughed how we both had them not knowing that the other one was also doing the same thing. Before I approached the various items, I thought about how I never win and why was I bothering. But then another thought crept in and said - why not you? So right there and then, I changed my attitude and decided that I had at least one winner. As my perspective changed I zeroed in the red sox tickets, a clothing shopping spree, dining certificates and various items I thought would be fun to win. I happily dropped my tickets into the containers.
At the end of the night when the results were posted, guess what? I actually won the red sox tickets and the clothing shopping spree. Yahooo, people were congratulating me on winning, not once but twice. I was shocked, and said, who me - win? How exciting!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Swap Off Drop Off Day
Hi Everyone,
Today the town is having their twice a year - swap off drop off day. There is one in the Spring and Fall. Without a doubt it is one of the more social days in town. Our local Dept of Public Works hosts this event along with the town recycling group. The event has become a massive opportunity to do some spring cleaning and take things to the recycling center for proper disposal and disassembly. They take old computers, old electronics, tv's, mattresses, cardboard, foam, furniture, styrofoam, paint, etc. About 100 volunteers work the event.
I will try to paint you a mental picture of the scene downtown. There are people everywhere, traffic jams, pedestrians, drop off lines, people pushing old lawn mowers down the sidewalks, the place is swarming with people and cars. This is organized chaos at its' best. In the center of this giant drop off loop is a swap off drop off area where people take things they hate to throw away. You can find all kinds of items in this circle, all free for the taking. Furniture, bikes, lawn mowers, books, paint, lumber, tools, and more. There is a temporary fence surrounding the area and only town people can enter before noon. The police watch the entrance but they aren't rigid about checking identifications. You can sit in a car and observe people try to strategize how to get into the swap off arena with the town citizens and slip in undetected. It's kind a comical. After noon, all of the surrounding towns can come in and take what's left. Can you imagine how many out of towners are lined up outside the gate waiting for their chance to get good stuff for free?
Well, I think its time for me to go and get my front row seat and watch the fun. This is free entertainment at its best - people watching! I'm going to stop at the local coffee shop and bring a portable coffee carafe to provide coffee to my friends!
Today the town is having their twice a year - swap off drop off day. There is one in the Spring and Fall. Without a doubt it is one of the more social days in town. Our local Dept of Public Works hosts this event along with the town recycling group. The event has become a massive opportunity to do some spring cleaning and take things to the recycling center for proper disposal and disassembly. They take old computers, old electronics, tv's, mattresses, cardboard, foam, furniture, styrofoam, paint, etc. About 100 volunteers work the event.
I will try to paint you a mental picture of the scene downtown. There are people everywhere, traffic jams, pedestrians, drop off lines, people pushing old lawn mowers down the sidewalks, the place is swarming with people and cars. This is organized chaos at its' best. In the center of this giant drop off loop is a swap off drop off area where people take things they hate to throw away. You can find all kinds of items in this circle, all free for the taking. Furniture, bikes, lawn mowers, books, paint, lumber, tools, and more. There is a temporary fence surrounding the area and only town people can enter before noon. The police watch the entrance but they aren't rigid about checking identifications. You can sit in a car and observe people try to strategize how to get into the swap off arena with the town citizens and slip in undetected. It's kind a comical. After noon, all of the surrounding towns can come in and take what's left. Can you imagine how many out of towners are lined up outside the gate waiting for their chance to get good stuff for free?
Well, I think its time for me to go and get my front row seat and watch the fun. This is free entertainment at its best - people watching! I'm going to stop at the local coffee shop and bring a portable coffee carafe to provide coffee to my friends!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Taking time to enjoy Spring
My muse for today.....
Wow, the jingle April showers bring May flowers is certainly true here in New England. We had a wet spring, this week in particular, and it sure is having a great effect on the vegetation and flowers.
My garden looks great, with daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, forsythia, wild cherry blossoms, azaleas, phlox, candy tufts, violets, mountain laurel, and a few purple creeping flowers underneath the rhododendrons that have made themselves know this year. My other flowers are well on their way to blooming - stargazer lilies, mountain lilies, lady slippers, tiger lilies, peonies, bearded iris, hydrangeas, carnations, snapdragons, fox glove, and lavender.
What a lovely time to take a stroll around the yard and enjoy what beautiful flowers Spring has brought this year. Hmm, I think I should go get myself a rosebush, after writing this down it seems that they are the only one's missing!
Wow, the jingle April showers bring May flowers is certainly true here in New England. We had a wet spring, this week in particular, and it sure is having a great effect on the vegetation and flowers.
My garden looks great, with daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, forsythia, wild cherry blossoms, azaleas, phlox, candy tufts, violets, mountain laurel, and a few purple creeping flowers underneath the rhododendrons that have made themselves know this year. My other flowers are well on their way to blooming - stargazer lilies, mountain lilies, lady slippers, tiger lilies, peonies, bearded iris, hydrangeas, carnations, snapdragons, fox glove, and lavender.
What a lovely time to take a stroll around the yard and enjoy what beautiful flowers Spring has brought this year. Hmm, I think I should go get myself a rosebush, after writing this down it seems that they are the only one's missing!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Assume the Worst or Best - Your Choice
My muse for the day...
Why is it that some people like to assume the worst in other people? They jump on what ever comment or misinformation given to them and act as if it's the new truth gospel. What motivates people to want to think the worst in others? It's a bit of a mystery to me.
I tend to want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I am not quick to judge and if something seems "fishy" I try to get more facts BEFORE making assumptions and forming opinions. Maybe my reluctance to cut people down is why I can smell something fishy in the first place.
My recent experience with someone has shaken me a bit. They got their facts messed up, made assumptions, then fired off accusations and or/insults. In one instance, they even insulted my friends. I suppose if I had a dog they would have called her ugly.
My mother always told me when insulted or attacked to consider the source, but that doesn't take the sting away. Especially when everything said is false. How are you suppose to ignore lies? Not an easy task.
So here I sit trying to think of a positive from all of this. It is not always easy maintaining a cup is half full attitude. Perhaps, this is a good example of what NOT to do to people. I got a glimpse of what it was like to be be accused when innocent. I do not want to be the person who does this to someone else. I will be very careful to get my facts straight first before making assumptions and accusations.
Why is it that some people like to assume the worst in other people? They jump on what ever comment or misinformation given to them and act as if it's the new truth gospel. What motivates people to want to think the worst in others? It's a bit of a mystery to me.
I tend to want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I am not quick to judge and if something seems "fishy" I try to get more facts BEFORE making assumptions and forming opinions. Maybe my reluctance to cut people down is why I can smell something fishy in the first place.
My recent experience with someone has shaken me a bit. They got their facts messed up, made assumptions, then fired off accusations and or/insults. In one instance, they even insulted my friends. I suppose if I had a dog they would have called her ugly.
My mother always told me when insulted or attacked to consider the source, but that doesn't take the sting away. Especially when everything said is false. How are you suppose to ignore lies? Not an easy task.
So here I sit trying to think of a positive from all of this. It is not always easy maintaining a cup is half full attitude. Perhaps, this is a good example of what NOT to do to people. I got a glimpse of what it was like to be be accused when innocent. I do not want to be the person who does this to someone else. I will be very careful to get my facts straight first before making assumptions and accusations.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Birthday Thoughts
Here is the muse... birthdays!
Today is my birthday, a lot of my family and friends have remembered and communicated their well wishes. It amazes me how far saying happy birthday has progressed. It used to be someone had to send a card many days in advance in order for greetings to reach the intended recipients. There was always the hard wired phone call, but that meant the person had to be home. Email arrived on the scene and made saying happy birthday to someone almost instantaneous. The cell phone can now reach someone where ever they are, assuming of course the phone is on. Then texting came on the scene, if someone doesn't answer - just text them. Don't forget to turn on the skype feature on the computer and have a face to face video phone call. And if perhaps all of that fails you can twitter and let them know you are thinking of them.
So what is the result of this technology? I get to hear from a lot more of my family and friends. No more being tethered to the mail and phone systems. It is so much fun to hear from people in whatever manner they wish to communicate. The exciting part is hearing from them at all. It really is a blessing to hear from my family and friends.
I now see that if I forget to tell someone happy birthday most of the old excuses are gone. Can't blame it on the mail, can't blame it on the answering machine, can't blame it on the computer not working, and I certainly can't blame it on the phone. So, I suppose it leaves it back to me. For my birthday resolution, I am going to make an effort to be better at remembering other people on their birthday. After all, what excuse do I have for not staying in touch??
Today is my birthday, a lot of my family and friends have remembered and communicated their well wishes. It amazes me how far saying happy birthday has progressed. It used to be someone had to send a card many days in advance in order for greetings to reach the intended recipients. There was always the hard wired phone call, but that meant the person had to be home. Email arrived on the scene and made saying happy birthday to someone almost instantaneous. The cell phone can now reach someone where ever they are, assuming of course the phone is on. Then texting came on the scene, if someone doesn't answer - just text them. Don't forget to turn on the skype feature on the computer and have a face to face video phone call. And if perhaps all of that fails you can twitter and let them know you are thinking of them.
So what is the result of this technology? I get to hear from a lot more of my family and friends. No more being tethered to the mail and phone systems. It is so much fun to hear from people in whatever manner they wish to communicate. The exciting part is hearing from them at all. It really is a blessing to hear from my family and friends.
I now see that if I forget to tell someone happy birthday most of the old excuses are gone. Can't blame it on the mail, can't blame it on the answering machine, can't blame it on the computer not working, and I certainly can't blame it on the phone. So, I suppose it leaves it back to me. For my birthday resolution, I am going to make an effort to be better at remembering other people on their birthday. After all, what excuse do I have for not staying in touch??
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