It's A "Paine-FULL" Life!

Ta da!!! Someone's Crawling!

2012-01-24T06:11:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest video from Jessica ... Princess Dee is starting to crawl!

Delilah is ALMOST Crawling!

2012-01-09T08:37:00.000-05:00

Jessica sent this video clip yesterday of our sweet Dee getting up on her knees and rocking away. Before you know it, she'll figure out how to move one knee forward and then the other. She is soooo close to crawling. Can't wait to see it!

Old Sturbridge Village in January!

2012-01-08T18:57:00.002-05:00

We ventured out to Old Sturbridge Village this afternoon and walked around to get some exercise. We stopped in a few areas that we never seem to get to when we're there -- and were pleasantly surprised! I loved the firearms and textiles exhibit. I snapped a few pictures to share:

A view of the village as you enter ...

The village farmyards

A side view of the Fitch House

The church ...

One of the exhibits in the Firearms and Textiles building

Loved the hats that were on display and couldn't believe how small the uniforms were.
Men were definitely much smaller back then!

You're actually seeing two displays here ... the drummer's uniform and instruments are in front
and behind that is a military muskets display ...

An example of one of the looms used to make cloth and blankets.

This was a really nice display of the various weaving patterns used and

what the actual written instructions looked like.

It was really a fun afternoon -- although much colder than we expected so we didn't stay too long. We love having a membership at OSV though and are planning to drop in frequently to get some exercise in such beautiful surroundings.

Now we're home, have laundry going and are watching football. I'm heading up to the loft to work on the penguin hat I started yesterday (the hat part is finished - now I just have to put it together) and to maybe

work on Dave's afghan that I started last October. It got put aside as I made two afghans as Christmas presents and I think he'd like me to get back to working on it. It's been pretty cold here!

And So This Is Christmas ...

2011-12-25T18:41:00.001-05:00

This year we're experiencing Christmas through pictures and the phone. Thank goodness (once again) for technology that helps to bridge the miles and keep those we love closer than we'd otherwise be.

Yesterday (Christmas Eve) was a fun day for Dave and I. We made it fun. We knew it was going to be hard to be away from everyone so we set about creating a day we would look back on and smile. And I must say -- we succeeded!

We got up early and headed to Wegmans. Yes -- Wegmans of all places. The one place you avoid at all costs on December 24th! We had a list (but thankfully, it wasn't a long one!) but we started out having breakfast. We dropped by the breakfast counter and bought breakfast sandwiches and coffee (tea for me.) We snagged a table and settled in for a nice, RELAXED hour of conversation. It was so nice. I'm still smiling as I think back on it.

We then went about getting all the things on our list -- and a few extras! We found some very nice stockings (we don't have any and vowed that NEXT YEAR we would be sure to get some) for $1. Yes, only $1 each. We bought 4!

The lines were actually not bad and we were out of Wegs in a jiffy.

We then made one last trip to Toys R Us (Babies R Us) and found a few additional things for Delilah. No lines, and we found exactly what we were looking for. Can't ask for any better.

On to the car wash. Elphie was looking rather dirty and we decided to treat her to a good scrub. She now is dark and shiny, ready to make the trip to Rochester on Monday.

Once home we got busy. Dave did some wrapping and I did some baking -- Walnut Squares and Congo Bars. I also mixed up a Cheeseball and some Genoa Rolls for our evening of fun.

During the afternoon we heard from Bree and she sent us pictures of what was happening in Rochester. There was a visit to see the Grandmas and spread a little holiday cheer!

Will with the Pirate Gingerbread Man he made for Great Grandma Mo

Delilah is wide awake and ready to visit!

Hanging with Great Grandma Glennys

Aunt Renee holding Dee while visiting Great Grandma Mo

Doesn't Delilah make a beautiful present?

Exhausted after all the fun. Still have church and Christmas with
Grandma and Grandpa Horton before it's time for Santa to come!

Will is still raring to go! Such a sweetheart.

Dave and I enjoyed a fun evening watching "Cowboys And Aliens" -- a gift from Dave. We had snacks for dinner and, while we missed everyone, we were thankful to be together. It helps knowing that we'll be making the trip in to see everyone in a couple days!

Christmas Day!

We slept in and since I was up before Dave, I finished up some wrapping and a scarf I have been making. We started to receive some pictures over the phone letting us know that Will and Dee were excited that Santa had made a visit.

Santa came!

First a picture -- then it's time to find the stockings!

Dee found her stocking!

Will opening presents.

Dee and her Cabbage Patch Doll!

As the day went on we got to talk with Mom (Glennys), Bree, Daniel and Meghan, and Jessica. We're hoping that we might still have a chance to Skype but I'm thinking the kids are about worn out. Will maybe just have to wait and see them in person!

We're leaving for Rochester tomorrow after I get home from work. We have lots of stops to make while we're in town but more than anything, we are just hoping to enjoy happy moments with our moms, children and especially our grandchildren.

Merry Christmas 2011! It's been wonderful!

It's Coming On Christmas ...

2011-12-09T08:23:00.001-05:00

"they're cutting down trees. They're putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace. Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on ..."

One of my favorite Christmas songs. Kind of sad though, and I must admit, I'm feeling kind of blue this Christmas. We've yet to decorate the house, our shopping is only partially done, we're not even sure yet if we'll be able to make it to Rochester over the holidays ... so it's all a little depressing.

So I'm hoping that the weekend brings with it some holiday cheer -- with a tree up in the loft and holly on the mantel. Maybe we'll be able to finish up the shopping and find a holiday craft show or Christmas concert to attend. At least Green Bay is going to be televised on Sunday afternoon -- I could pick up some Christmas cards and work on getting them addressed and in the mail during the game. And perhaps putting together a Christmas playlist for the iPod will brighten my spirits.

Thanksgiving was tough. Christmas seems like it's going to be even more so ... I miss the family and being there to celebrate this season with Will and Delilah. Crossing my fingers we'll be able to make a trip in to see them.

Dee Does Peek-A-Boo!

2011-12-06T20:48:00.001-05:00

Jess sent us a video tonight that is melting our hearts. Where has the time gone? Our sweet little Dee is actually playing Peek-A-Boo! She is just too sweet, too precious, too adorable. We can't wait to see her in a couple weeks.

Here she is!

Lilah Cuteness

2011-11-21T13:25:00.001-05:00

I'm just missing the kids so much these days ... it's been a couple months since we've seen them and it will be at least another month until we get to Rochester. The videos that Josh and Jess send mean more to us than I'm sure they realize. We play them over and over again.

Here are a couple of the most recent videos. One is of Lilah playing with her feet (with Will vocals in the background) and the other is of Lilah in her jumper playing with the Rolling Chickens. Just too sweet for words.

Lunch With Norm and Bruce

2011-11-06T19:33:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: This is a LONG post ... you've been warned!

This is one of those posts where I almost don't know where to start. There are so many different facets to the whole "Lunch With Norm" story that it almost seems like there are several different stories in one. I guess I'll just start at the beginning.

It's probably no secret that I've been crazy about Norm Abram for years. I've always loved watching his PBS program The New Yankee Workshop as well as This Old House. I'm drawn to his humor, his genuineness, his passion for his craft, and his incredible talent and knowledge. He's adorable in his own quirky, unpretentious way. And those plaid shirts ... how can you not adore those plaid shirts?

Dave has been equally enamored by Norm's incredible talent and knowledge of tools, carpentry, and woodworking. There have been many mornings and afternoons spent watching one show after another when we would happen upon a This Old House marathon.

Norm, of course, is a lifelong New Englander (the PBS shows are based out of Boston) and many of his projects were influenced by furniture on display at Old Sturbridge Village. In fact, it might be the shows that highlighted OSV that sparked our desire to make a few weekend trips to Sturbridge years ago while we were still living in New York.

Well, to fast forward a bit, we are now living here in Massachusetts and are within about 30 minutes drive of Old Sturbridge Village. As a special treat, Dave bought me (us) a membership for my birthday and we've loved being able to pop in for a visit whenever we've wanted.

Since Dave purchased the membership, all the emails about upcoming events are sent to him. One morning in September, he received an email from OSV saying that they were going to host a "Lunch with Norm Abram and Bruce Irving". Bruce Irving, former Executive Producer for This Old House and renovation consultant, had just published a book called New England Icons and Norm had written the foreword. The event included lunch in the Oliver Wight Tavern, a discussion with Norm and Bruce about what makes New England so special, with an intimate book signing opportunity to follow.

Dave didn't hesitate -- he figured this was going to be a sell-out event and purchased tickets for us to attend that very day. Of course, he couldn't keep it a secret and spilled the beans as soon as he got home. Needless to say I was thrilled and we both happily anticipated the event.

The week leading up to the lunch was a bit stressful. OSV was without power for the entire week after a freak snowstorm hit our region on October 30th. The day before the lunch their power was restored and we found out the lunch was still on. Phew! However, we hadn't printed out the confirmation or anything in advance and as we were getting ready to leave, realized we needed to do that. A series of mishaps followed -- the printer was out of paper and once it was reloaded, it had several stalled print jobs that it insisted on completing before printing our confirmation. And then there was the Daisy incident that occurred when Dave ran into town to get cash from the ATM ... we won't go into that but she's not allowed in the car again -- EVER.

All this to say we got a late start. The lunch was planned to begin between 11:30 and 12:00. Norm and Bruce's talk was scheduled for about 1:00 - 2:30 and the book signing was to follow. While our hope was to be there when the doors opened, we actually didn't arrive until about 11:45.

We parked the car, hurried into the building and were surprised that there weren't signs indicating which way to go for the lunch, and no one at the entrance to seat us. We knew where the luncheon was going to be held, but there didn't seem to be an easy way into the room. We were approached by a woman who was also looking around for the luncheon (her name was Pat and she had come all the way from California to be there!) and finally Dave just decided to open the side door leading into the banquet room and led the way.

Lunch was already underway (it was a buffet) and so Dave quickly looked around for empty seats ... there were 3 seats open at a table in the front of the room -- the rest of the seats at all the other tables were taken. Dave (my hero!!) went up to someone at the front table and asked if the seats were taken. We were assured they were not and quickly sat down. A waiter came right over and suggested we help ourselves to the buffet so we barely said hello to anyone before we stood back up.

The buffet was lovely and the room was beautifully decorated in a primitive and quaint New England harvest-time theme. We soon realized that we had come in the wrong entrance when we saw a reception table near the buffet (and realized when we left there was indeed a sign pointing the way to the correct entrance -- we had just parked closer to another walkway and totally missed it!) We filled our plates and headed back to sit down to a lovely lunch. As I was walking back to our table I looked up and was startled to see Norm Abram coming towards me. I don't know what I was expecting -- I mean, this was a lunch with Norm after all, but somehow I just wasn't prepared to see him standing right in front of me. I think I stopped dead in my tracks, gave him one of those deer-in-the headlight looks and muttered something that resembled a weak hello.

Dave and I sat back down and started to eat, made polite conversation with the people already seated and then, at what seemed to be at the same time, we both looked over at Norm. We were sitting at Norm's table. How on earth did that happen?

It eventually dawned on us that our table was "Reserved" -- for the OSV President, the Director of Operations, the Marketing and Communications Director, Norm and his wife Elise, and Bruce. There was one other guy sitting there that must have arrived just before us and grabbed one of the unoccupied seats. It just happened that these were the only remaining seats available. So -- Dave, Pat, and I just got incredibly lucky!

There was a slide show playing on a screen in the front of the room (actually, right in front of our table ... being in the front, we had perfect seats!) and we watched that as we ate and then the conversation started. We were all introduced, Pat told about coming from California, we told about our recent move to Massachusetts ... Dave mentioned seeing Norm when he appeared at Chase Pitkin several years before which led to a discussion about Wegmans, their new store in Massachusetts, and so forth. I had the chance to talk with Bruce about his book, how he was inspired to write it, and to share with him that it was everything I felt about New England.

We were able to listen in as Norm and Bruce talked about how they were going to present their talk ... I just couldn't believe we were actually sitting there and privy to their conversation!

Norm and Bruce were soon introduced and went on to give a wonderful talk about the special aspects of living in New England. Bruce started -- sharing about his inspiration for the book, his work with This Old House and with Norm. He did a few readings from the book ... it was wonderful. Next Norm came up and gave similar accounts -- what he loved about the book, what sparked his interest in the topic and why it was such a meaningful project that he was happy to be a part of. He spent a long time talking about his connection with Old Sturbridge Village which I particularly enjoyed.

They then went on to share some thoughts about some of the different chapters in the book -- talks about fireplaces, skating ponds, steeples, and stone fences. What struck me throughout the entire discussion was how personal it was to each of them. In talking about fireplaces, Norm shared about the fireplace in his boyhood home and how he included four fireplaces in his current home ... with only one of them ever being used and one that wasn't even finished. When talking about the stone fences found everywhere in New England, Norm shared that he's still getting rocks popping up through his lawn.

Their talk was eloquent and prepared, but didn't come across as rehearsed or scripted. There were jokes and laughs, but heartfelt thoughts shared as well. I know both Dave and I were mesmerized.

Finally, they opened up and took questions from the audience. This was not a huge crowd but we couldn't help but laugh as one person after another seemed to be seeking advice on how to manage something on their property -- from leaking roofs to woodpeckers. It was delightful.

All too soon we finished up the discussion and everyone headed for the museum's bookstore where Norm and Bruce set up to sign books. Interestingly, we were told that if we had questions for either Norm or Bruce, this would be the best time to ask. You can imagine how long the line was to have books signed -- and how long the wait was when each person took advantage of having a chance to have a personal conversation with them.

Even so, the line moved quickly and we had a chance to say hello again and have the books we'd purchased signed.

There was a photographer there taking pictures who said she'd email one to us (hopefully she will!) so we didn't ask to have a personal picture taken with either Norm or Bruce. I managed to take a few snapshots while in line for the book signings and after they finished their talk. That was enough. The memories of the day are something that can't be captured with a photograph.

There are just a few thoughts and observations I do want to be sure to include. First -- Norm is just as charming, personable, and genuine as he appears to be on his TV programs. There is nothing artificial about him. I sense he is, after all these years, still a bit uncomfortable with his fame. And he impresses me as a person who appreciates -- people, history, craftsmanship.

Norm is taller than I expected. Maybe the camera shortens people as well as adds pounds, I'm not sure, but he is probably about 6 feet tall and he is much thinner than he appeared to be on TV.

He wore his signature plaid shirt -- and I had the feeling that it wouldn't have mattered if he was giving a talk in front of an audience that expected him to wear plaid or not -- that's what he would have been wearing.

Bruce has a wicked sense of humor. Not knowing him before the lunch, listening to him and then talking with him personally, it was obvious he enjoyed a good laugh. What also impressed me was how much knowledge he had of building, construction, architecture, and how much research he had actually done to complete this book project. Impressive. Quick wit. Genuine.

And so now -- the pictures. I debated about interspersing them throughout this post but decided to just put them all at the end.

I do want to just say for the record that I am one lucky girl. My husband surely knows how to put together a special day ... and I love him for it. Thank you Dave for such a wonderful day!

The Oliver Wight Tavern where the Lunch with Norm and Bruce was held.

A view of the buffet with the beautiful fireplace as a backdrop -- loved the fall decor.

Norm Abram

Norm talking with the guy who sat next to Dave at our table. Bruce behind him, Ed Hood of OSV to the right.

Bruce Irving, author of "New England Icons" on right, talking with luncheon guests

Oops! Who knew?

Norm talking with guests after the talk.

Norm listening to guests.

Norm and Bruce at the book signing ... contemplating the qualities of a Sharpie pen?

Norm checking the Sharpie out ...

The back entrance to the OSV bookstore ...

Norm and Bruce busy signing books

Norm taking a breather ... I caught him in a bit of an Earl shot.

Bruce taking a break from signing.

The book -- what started it all!

Really nice thoughts from Bruce ... we were quite taken by his personal touch.

We bought this book for Dave ... it looks wonderful and we're both eager to read it.

NORM!!!

And this ends my post -- FINALLY! you may be saying. Yes, this was a long one but I really just wanted to record my thoughts and impressions from the day. Thank you for indulging me!

Swimming With The Whale Sharks!

2011-11-05T17:09:00.002-05:00

Some time ago, Meghan mentioned that the Georgia Aquarium had a program where you could get in the big tank and "swim with the whale sharks" and that she'd love to do it someday.

So imagine my surprise when I logged onto Facebook and saw that Meghan had posted a video clip -- of her actually in the tank with them! At first I thought she had just come across a video of the whale sharks but when I started watching and realized she was standing on the tank's diving platform in a wet suit and her name flashed across the screen I almost fainted!

Seems her work group had a team building day at the aquarium and a conversation with a volunteer led her to see if there was an opening that day to take a swim. As it turned out, there was, and so she and a co-worker took the "plunge" and had a bucket list experience!

One thing Meghan mentioned is that you're not allowed to actually touch the animals, but if one happens to bump you, well, hey, nothing you can do about that! You'll notice in the clip that Meghan does get bumped and gives the videographer a thumbs up afterward.

I should also note that Meghan also confessed after her dive into the tank that she actually can't swim!

Just thought I should get this video clip on the family blog so everyone can see it! Sorry about the strange characters surrounding the video. Not sure why they're there and don't know how to get rid of them so ... oh well.

â€¨â€¨â€¨â€¨â€¨

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T08:13:00.001-05:00

Aren't these cheeks just irresistible?

This was an interesting Halloween. We had over a foot of snow on the ground but our power was restored and we were ready for trick-or-treaters. We even (still) had candy to hand out (we really shouldn't buy bags of candy that we actually LIKE!). We thought since we had kids living on either side of us now (who have friends up the road) we'd at least have a couple doorbell rings this year.

Alas. We did not.

It might have had something to do with the fact that our porch light wasn't on -- perhaps this was my passive-aggressive way of hoarding all those Milky Way and Twix bars to myself? Or it just might be that on a subconscious level I didn't want to deal with having Rascal and Daisy go nuts when the kids knocked on the door. (sigh) Either way -- we are stuck with lots of leftover candy.

Which I can't. stop. eating. (another sigh)

We are, however, very thankful that Bree went to Trunk or Treat in Rochester and snapped these pictures of our favorite sweets!

What I'd give to smooch those sweet little cheeks!

Someone just won some beads! Love our little Dash from The Incredibles!

Is there really any need for candy with this sweetness around?

I think Dash has been hitting the chocolate! And working out a bit!
And clearly was a bit sick of having his picture taken :)

Jessica sent us these pictures of William as he got ready to hit the neighborhood for some fun and treats on Halloween night. I wonder how long it will be before William decides not to wear his costume everywhere they go.

Ready to hit the streets. Who is that masked boy anyway?

And away they go! Delilah and Mommy must have stayed home to pass out the candy :)

*** Update: I meant to add this sweet picture that Jessica sent me of Will and Dee "hanging out on Saturday morning." They are just too cute!

Snowtober ...

2011-10-31T17:21:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is indeed what the local newspaper has dubbed our freaky October snowstorm that has left millions in the northeastern states without power and with lots of property damage. While it was predicted that we would get 6 - 10 inches of snow Saturday afternoon and evening, it's clear that the weathermen missed the mark. Here at our place in Holden we measured about 16" on the deck and 13" on the railings, with all that snow falling within about 10 hours time.

It sure looks pretty on the trees -- at least early on!

What we woke up to in the morning (Sunday, October 30th)

About 13" on the railings and about 16" on the deck.

Our pile of snow just from shoveling the front walk!

Our lights started to flicker early in the evening and then totally went out about 10 p.m. Fortunately the house never really got so cold that we couldn't manage by bundling up a bit. I think it dropped down to about 56 degrees at one point but once Sunday morning arrived and the sun started pouring in, we warmed right up!

Power (luckily!) was restored here about 5:30 p.m. (on Sunday, October 30th) so we didn't have to endure another night of darkness and cold. Others in our area didn't fare as well. Many areas are still without power. Since Dow Chemical was closed today (Snow Day!) we took a drive around the area and soon discovered why. The heavy snow broke branches off trees, split many trees in half and uprooted others. We saw clean up crews moving trees off roofs today and trees and power lines down and blocking roads. While it was difficult to pull over to take pictures, we did get these while in North Brookfield ....

Everywhere we drove there were trees still lying in the roads.

Wires were pulled down when trees fell over ... many were still blocking the road like this.

Have I mentioned that no matter where you go in Massachusetts there are rocks? Big ones!

We really enjoyed our ride, even though it was heartbreaking to see so much storm damage. It was obvious people had been out with chainsaws as branches lined the roads waiting for pickup. Schools were closed all over the area (some places have even postponed Halloween) and many businesses are still closed as they wait for power.

We took a drive up to St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer (this is a cloistered Roman Catholic monastery of monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, popularly known as Trappists) to see what they were all about. What a beautiful place. It's here that the monks make the famous Trappist preserves.

Next time hopefully the gift shop will be open and we can pick up a few jars of these yummy preserves!

The grounds are incredible and the chapel and retreat house are beautiful as well. I had to stop and take a few pictures. I can imagine how peaceful it must be to stay here ...

The St. Joseph's Abbey Visitor's Chapel

A view of the roadway leading up to the chapel and retreat house.

Is this a view or is this a view?

I just loved this steeple. I wished we could have heard the bells chiming.

Another view of the chapel.

Beautiful stonework on the arches at the entrance.

Just loved this doorway!

Another view of the Chapel and Retreat House

And now we're home again ... waiting for the kids to start ringing the doorbell, driving Rascal and Daisy crazy. It's surely been an interesting Halloween (and end to October!)

Pumpkin Carving and Sweet Pics

2011-10-25T21:49:00.001-05:00

We were talking tonight about how fortunate we are to live in an age with such incredible technology. It's not always easy living 6 hours away from our grandchildren and not being there in person to see Delilah's first spoonful of real food being tasted or to hear about Will's first preschool field trip to the apple farm.

Thank goodness for iPhones that can take pictures and send them almost instantly. And how great are the videos they record (also able to be sent within seconds.) Then there is Skype -- the ability to see the kids via webcams in real-time.

Tonight was pumpkin carving time at Josh and Jessica's. Jess sent us a couple of cute videos of Will as they started to get the pumpkin ready. What a thrill to be a part of this experience. I'm posting those videos here and a picture of the final product ... and then I'm also going to post a few pics we've received over the past week or so ... we are so thankful for the opportunity to stay connected!

Will with his pumpkin. Good job Will!!

The owl hat finally fits!

Lilah's first taste of real food!

Lilah at Sticky Lips -- no ribs (yet) for you sweetie pie!

Good morning Grandma!

Will on his first pre-K field trip to the apple farm.

Will at Sticky Lips!

Visiting Vermont and New Hampshire ...

2011-10-23T22:48:00.001-05:00

Still working on our list, we headed up north this weekend to Vermont and New Hampshire. We wanted to see some fall colors and also wanted to see if we could find the house where Dave's Aunt Eleanor lived.

We found both.

We got kind of a late start and were glad we brought the pups with us. We've felt bad leaving them home so much lately.

Dave had to do a little detective work in order to find his aunt's house ... all he had to go on was a post office box number and the memory of it being off Rt. 9 in Chesterfield. He remembered it was very close to Lake Spofford (or is it Spofford Lake?) He zoomed in on some online maps and found what he thought was the road where the house was located. Sure enough -- he was right!

We followed the directions provided by Google Maps to get to New Hampshire ... and while it was a pretty ride, it wasn't a very direct route. We went through a lot of little towns and made a few wrong turns due to some not-so-great directions. We finally decided to use the GPS and had much better luck finding our way.

After we found the Johndro's house, we went over to Spofford Lake. It was much colder than we expected and I think even the pups were happy to get back in the car!

No one swimming today!

Perhaps this was a sailboating class ...

Another view of the lake ... the wind was kicking up!

This picture doesn't do the fall colors justice ... the leaves were so pretty.

Back in the car -- I think they were happy to be warm again!

Always have to see what's going on ... cute little pups!

We drove around Keene (New Hampshire) a bit and then headed over to Brattleboro (Vermont). I really liked the small town atmosphere of Brattleboro and wish we could have gotten out and walked around a bit. Lots of cute little shops. I think there was some sort of fall festival going on so there was definitely a lot of traffic.

We did stop and grab a couple pictures off the bridge that separates Vermont and New Hampshire.

The colors were so pretty ... it was like this everywhere we looked.

Not a great shot but this was the other side of the bridge ...

We had a great day and loved just driving around looking at the colors. We wish we could have taken more pictures because the scenery was just beautiful but we really would need a better camera with a wide-angle lens that could really capture the view. Even then I think it would be hard to due justice to the beauty of it all.

I'm guessing we'll make this an annual trek. We'd love to go further north and see more of the mountains. Maybe even do an overnight somewhere. New England sure had plenty to do and see!

Roger Williams Park Video

2011-10-18T11:54:00.000-05:00

I made up a video from our day in Providence last weekend ... we just had so much fun and loved our time in the park. There's still so much that we didn't even have a chance to see or take pictures of. Can't wait to go back again!

We Have A Wegmans!

2011-10-17T18:26:00.001-05:00

The day we've long waited for arrived ... on October 16, 2011 at 7 a.m., the Northborough Wegmans store opened!

Here she is! Although the parking lot was a little bit fuller when we arrived!

We spent about 2 hours just walking around and taking it all in. It's just as wonderful as we had hoped. There's a fantastic Market Cafe (with a Vegetarian Bar, Burrito Bar, AND a Food Bar!) There's a Wine, Beer, and Liquor store as well. The store is laid out a little bit different than the ones we went to in New York, but perhaps that's because it's bigger and better than the ones we left behind. Can you believe the Northborough store is actually 4,000 square feet BIGGER than the Pittsford store?

I took a few pictures as we entered the store but once inside it was just too crowded to take any more. After our first initial look around, we stopped to talk with the store manager - Kevin Russell - a wonderful guy that we immediately liked. Wegmans knew what they were doing when they picked him!

Wegmans knows how to make you feel special!

Beautiful entrance -- as usual!

It's just like being in Rochester !

It was so wonderful to see familiar packaging, displays, even just the reusable grocery bags were a sight for sore eyes. We felt like we were home again.

We left with a cart full of groceries -- including a sub, chicken wings, and a raspberry danish! We're hoping to stop by on Wednesday after I pick Dave up and try out their Food Bar.

Welcome Wegmans! How we've missed you :)

Roger Williams Park in Providence RI

2011-10-17T17:16:00.000-05:00

Dave and I have been working our way down the list of places we want to go and see before the snow flies and Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI was high up on the list. We poked around the park a little bit this past winter but it was so cold and lifeless, we just knew we had to make a return visit. We weren't disappointed!

Roger Williams came to America in pursuit of religious freedom. He ultimately ended up in what is now Providence RI where he established a colony and founded what what later became Rhode Island. You can read more about his life here.

According to Wikipedia:

The land for the park was a gift to the people of Providence in 1871, in accordance with the will of Betsy Williams, the great-great-great-granddaughter, and last surviving descendant of the founder to own the land. It had been the family farm and represented the last of the original land grant to Roger Williams in 1638 from Canonicus, chief of the Narragansett tribe. The family farmhouse (built in 1773), known as the Betsy* Williams Cottage, and the Williams family burial ground (including Betsy's grave) are still maintained within the park.^[2]
(While her headstone name spells as "Betsey Williams," through the centuries since she has been called "Betsy" as it appears on numerous articles, postcards, and books.)
The park also contains seven lakes which comprise approximately 98 acres (40 ha). It is located in the southernmost part of the city of Providence bordering the city of Cranston. The park was designed by Horace Cleveland in 1878, and was constructed in the 1880s. Many of the roads, bridges and sidewalks were built by the Works Progress Administration from 1935 to 1940. Currently it contains the Roger Williams Park Zoo, the Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center, the Japanese Gardens, the Victorian Rose Gardens, the Providence Police Department's Mounted Command center, the Dalrymple Boathouse and boat rentals, historical tours, a Carousel Village for children that includes the "HasbroBoundless Playground" which is accessible for handicapped children, the Temple to Music, the Roger Williams Park Casino, large greenspaces, and many miles of walking paths.The National Trust for Historic Preservation has declared Roger Williams Park to be one of the finest urban parks in the U.S.

We spent most of our day just driving around the park, stopping along the way to take pictures of the landscaping and beauty. Another time we hope to actually visit the Zoo, Park Natural History Museum, and Botanical Center. They all look worthy of an entire afternoon!

Some of the pictures from the day ...

The Casino -- just inside the park entrance. They host gatherings here.

Is this Lady Liberty? She adorns the bottom part of the statue of Roger Williams.

And this would be Roger Williams!

Betsy Williams Cottage ... I peeked in the windows and it appears
they are working to restore the inside for viewing.

The beautiful bandstand. It sits just behind (and below) The Casino.

Roger Williams tombstone in the Williams Family Cemetery.

Betsy Williams is buried here too. Notice the different spelling of her name.

Another view of the cemetery.

I loved the fence around the family cemetery.
And notice the "ark" on top of Roger Williams tombstone.

This is a view of the duck house in the pond near the bandstand.

This is a statue of Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski. He is known as the
Father of the American Cavalry and was a hero of the American Revolution.

There unfortunately was no marker indicating who this statue honors.

The Carousel -- very nice inside!

One of the horses of the Carousel.

A picture of the bridge across the water next to the Dalrymple Boathouse.

Swan paddle boats! They looked like so much fun!

Pretty ironwork on the bridge across the pond.

An example of the beautiful stonework on the roadway bridges around the park.

Doorway into the Dalrymple Boathouse.

There are benches and walkways all over the park.

A view of the bridge from the boathouse. I just love the many swans in the park.

After we left the park we decided to check our Wrights Farm for dinner. We'd heard about this place that is just over the border in Rhode Island from one of Dave's co-workers. It's an absolutely huge restaurant and banquet facility that basically just serves chicken. It's family style dining and you just pay one price ($11.75 per adult) for an all-you-can-eat dinner. The chicken is oven roasted and the meal includes salad with their house dressing, rolls, pasta with their house sauce, french fries, and chicken. It was delicious and kind of a fun experience. We waited about 40 minutes to be seated -- which wasn't bad if you could have seen the number of people waiting.

It was starting to get dark so I really couldn't get a picture of the place but this huge chicken is above the entrance to one of the buildings in the back.

Now for some interesting Wrights Farm facts (as per our server Lori):

* They are only open Thursday through Sunday
* In those four days they typically serve between 10,000 and 12, 000 people.
* They start cooking the chickens at 7:30 a.m. to be ready for the first guests at 11:00.
* They have 88 ovens and each holds about 30 chickens.
* Unique Eats from The Cooking Channel filmed a spot about Wrights Farm that aired June 26, 2011.

So that about wraps up our Saturday ... another great weekend of exploring!

Sweet Indulgence!

2011-10-16T19:34:00.001-05:00

I've been following Sweet Indulgence on Facebook for a while now. I think I first caught a glimpse of their heavenly cupcakes when I happened to land on Heidi Hope Photography's website and (wisely) decided to "like" their page.

Since then I've been treated to almost daily doses of confectionery sweetness -- at least as far as my eyes were concerned. Kerri Cupcake, the owner of Sweet Indulgence, either takes incredible pictures or has her good friend Heidi helping her out. Either way, it's been in the back of my mind that one of these days I would finagle a way to taste one (ok -- several) of those cupcakes for real.

And -- Saturday was cupcake day!

Dave and I decided to keep working on our list of places we want to visit before the cold weather sets in and this weekend we decided to head to Providence, Rhode Island. We had been there during the winter months to visit Roger Williams Park. We loved the park but it was so cold that we knew we should head back in better weather to really take in the park's beauty. Since Warwick (where Sweet Indulgence is located) is basically a suburb of Providence, I didn't have too much trouble convincing Dave that it was a worthy stop to include in our travels.

What we found was so wonderful. It was more than I expected; actually better than I expected, and I'm just so very happy we stopped.

The entrance to Sweet Indulgence. Notice the little spots to sit and enjoy a cupcake
or ice cream right out front? The painted tabletops are just adorable!

The shop is so sweet -- all decked out in pink, white and chocolate-brown decor. It had a sweets shop appearance and appeal to it that's hard to describe. Since most of the pictures I'd seen online were actually of cupcakes, I had no idea the storefront would be so nice and so inviting. Check it out!

Aren't those polka dots, checkered floor, and soda parlor stools adorable?
I just loved the color scheme!

How did they know Tootsie Rolls are my favorite candy?

Such pretty displays. Everything there looked so yummy!

The candy apples were so pretty and a perfect fall treat.

This is Kerri's sweet mom. She took extra special care to make our visit perfect!

I didn't realize that Sweet Indulgence is not just cupcakes! Kerri typically sells ice cream, homemade candies, homemade candy apples and all sorts of other sugary delights. Did I mention she makes cakes too?

Our visit seemed perfectly timed because we were the only people there for a few minutes and we had a chance to talk with Kerri's mom (whose name I never did get, but "Sweetheart" would fit her perfectly!) We told her about how I followed the shop on Facebook and we had driven down from Massachusetts just so I could try a cupcake (well, and visit Providence. Secondary, I assure you.) She gave us cake ball samples (delicious!!) and let us taste the chocolate coconut candies that Dave was eyeing (they were even better than either of us expected!)

We left with enough sugar to fuel us for a couple of days -- I picked up six cupcakes (raspberry, mint chocolate, and toffee nutella -- all of them scrumptious!) and Dave bought some candy and a chocolate-dipped Twinkie. Seriously.

You thought I was kidding about the chocolate dipped Twinkies didn't you?

Don't they look scrumptious? Believe me -- they were!

See those pretty pink boxes behind Kerri's mom in the picture above? My cupcakes looked beautiful all wrapped up in one. I kind of hated to open up the box (LOL -- for all of about a minute! Isn't that what cameras are for? Preserving memories?)

Total pampering. I love it!

Suffice it to say, I loved my trip to Sweet Indulgence. And so did Dave. In fact, he thinks we should make it a regular Saturday treat! If only ... !

Cape Ann Video

2011-10-09T13:18:00.000-05:00

Dave and I did a day trip to Gloucester and Rockport yesterday. It was a perfect fall day -- sunny but warm enough to be out without a jacket!

I've already blogged about our day but thought I'd also post the video I made up of our day.

Exploring New England -- Rockport

2011-10-09T09:14:00.002-05:00

To continue on with our fabulous day on the North Shore, after stalking Norm Abram and visiting Gloucester, we headed to Rockport. To be honest, we didn't really know what to expect here. Dave's co-worker had mentioned that if we were going up that way we should really check out Rockport and at least see Motif #1 (a famous little fishing shack turned artist studio on the pier in Bearskin Neck Wharf .) So -- off we went.

What we found was more than we expected. This little town is filled with historic homes and a picturesque wharf filled with touristy, artsy little shops and fooderies (I'm not sure if that's a word, but what else do you call places that sell cupcakes, ice cream, pizza, and lobster rolls?)

Of course, the place was hopping with people -- it seems everyone in the northeast part of Massachusetts decided this was the perfect day to get one last breath of summer in by the water. Despite the crowds and lack of parking, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Here are a few pictures taken during the few hours we were there ... as you can see -- it was a beautiful day!

The Smith House -- we parked behind this beautiful home. Built in 1870, it was the home of
John and Ester Gott. John fought at the battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775.

Side entrance to a home along the main drag. I just loved it.

This little dingy looks so peaceful -- hard to imagine 100 other boats surrounding it!

On the pier -- Motif #1 in the background.

Is that a pirate ship heading out to sea? Actually it is! Pirate Ship Charters

Just a sailboat anchored in the harbor.

Another pretty house along the main drag. I love the porch lights.

A steeple that loomed out above the trees and buildings .

A side view of Motif #1.

Doorway of a little fishing shack on the wharf.

Motif #1.

Motif #1

Just loved the flower boxes outside Rockport Fudgery on the wharf.

The beautiful lights that lined the wharf.

Sun was starting to go down ... notice the lighthouse in the distance.

These little houses lined the side streets along the wharf.

Loved the sign on the gate of The Inn On Cove Hill ...

The Inn on Cove Hill -- might just have to stay here next trip!

Those fooderies I mentioned? Here's a cupcake shop I wandered into ...

After leaving Rockport, we headed home ... we met up with a traffic delay (actually, it was slow-going on the way to the North Shore too!) that made for a long drive. Rascal and Daisy were sure happy to see us and it was good to be out of the car. But what a wonderful day. We can't wait to go back again!

Exploring New England -- Gloucester

2011-10-09T07:56:00.000-05:00

We finally made it to the North Shore! We've had it on our list of places to go for a while now and picked an absolutely beautiful fall day to explore.

Before we really got too far into our drive, we remembered that This Old House was working on a project in Bedford that was kind of on the way to Gloucester. We decided to drive by and see if it was complete -- it wasn't. There were Ask This Old House trailers in the yard and dumpsters etc. It appears they are in the process of painting the house gray. We wanted to stop and take pictures but it looked like the owner was in the yard and there really wasn't any place to park. We decided it might be a bit rude and intrusive to sit and take photos from the car so ... we kept going.

Then I remembered that Norm Abram lived in the area and pulled up his address. We went in search of his house in Carlisle (a beautiful little town with lots of historical landmark houses), hoping to get a glimpse of where he lives. We found it, but the house was down a private lane off the main road (according to the mailboxes, it appears there are 4 houses on the lane.) We again decided that it would be a tad bit over the top to drive down the lane just to see his house. So ... we made our way back to the highway and on to Gloucester. I will say I regret not at least getting a picture of his mailbox with the newspaper in it.

While our first intention was to have lunch at The Crow's Nest, the bar/restaurant depicted in the movie The Perfect Storm we decided it probably wasn't our cup of tea and opted for another place on the waterfront called Topside Grill and Pub. While the chowder was pretty good, the rest of the meal was just so-so. We had a rather crabby waitress and slow service (and not much of it) so chances are we won't go there again but we had a nice walk to the restaurant from where we parked and enjoyed checking out the shops, restaurants, and little points of interest along the way.

Here's a view of the street ... and I loved this doorway, steeple, and graffiti that we saw along the way ...

We parked along this street -- it was lined with trees and little shops.

I loved this doorway with the side windows and chipped paint.

This is the library? It was about 12' wide ... but has quite a unique history.

This steeple had seen better days but I loved the weather vane at the very top.

Walking back to Main Street I spotted this bit of graffiti adorning the
painted image on the back of this shop.

After lunch we headed down the road to the Fishermen's Memorial along the waterfront. It's a beautiful statue and memorial to the fishermen who have been lost at sea. We met up with an older gentleman who grew up in Gloucester and still enjoys coming to the waterfront for walks (he lives in Rockport now.) He offered to take our picture and then shared a little bit about his life and what it was like to live in Gloucester. His grandfather (we think he probably meant his great-great-grandfather) was Angus McKay -- one of the men listed on the memorial wall as having been lost at sea in 1876.

The marker in front of the Fishermen's Memorial.

View of the harbor to the right when looking out to sea.

View of the lighthouse to the left of the memorial when looking out to sea.

The picture Mr. McKay took of us in front of the Fishermen's Memorial.

Mr. McKay's great-great-(great?) grandfather -- Angus McKay

The beginning of the memorial ... the rest of these plaques were all names of fishermen lost at sea.

The crew of the Andrea Gail -- as depicted in "The Perfect Storm"

To the right of the memorial, as you'd see from the water.

The Fishermen's Memorial at Gloucester MA

Looking out to the sea from the Fishermen's Memorial in Gloucester MA

Gloucester is definitely a working harbor and the town thrives on it's fishing industry. We were already feeling the day was getting away from us and wanted to get to Rockport so we didn't take too much time driving around. Off to Rockport!

Remembering: The Strong Museum of Play

2011-10-04T12:08:00.001-05:00

I guess I should just forget about going back and trying to post about all the different things we've done since moving to Massachusetts. I've got a list (somewhere) of posts I'd like to write up but ... well, it probably won't happen.

But I'm hoping I can make up little videos as I come across pictures from fun days. And who knows -- maybe I'll get to those blog posts this winter.

In the meantime, here's a little video of William at The Strong National Museum of Play. That was such a fun day. I didn't end up taking a lot of pictures that day. I sort of remember that my battery died and I didn't think the pictures would come out because of the indoor lighting. Oh well. William was still cuter than cute that day and watching the video reminds me how excited he was with all the cars and the train table ... especially the train table!!

Chatham Memories Video

2011-09-25T21:04:00.000-05:00

Here's just one more video I made using some pictures from our first visit to Chatham on Cape Cod.

I'd always wanted to experience Cape Cod -- and our day there was simply "magic" ... I felt as though I could stay there forever and never wish to be anywhere else.

Here's the video I made for Dave as a reminder of the wonderful day we spent there.

Meghan's Ducati Video ...

2011-09-25T19:46:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned that I've been playing around with making videos from my photos and video clips. It's been a lot of fun and I've been experimenting with different templates and music selections.

I made this video to showcase the great pictures Meghan had of her on her Ducati (motorcycle). I tried to incorporate Meghan's personality into the video (one version had a copy of a Folio Society Wind in the Willows book sitting on an end table, another had a picture of Monster of Florence cover.) Ultimately I decided to try to stick with the Italian theme since Meghan wants to visit there and has a little bit of a thing for Italian products, be it cars, shoes, food, or drink.

Anyway, here's the final version of the video ...

William's Birthday Video!

2011-09-25T08:53:00.000-05:00

I've been having fun making videos lately and this is the video I made for William's third birthday ...

William's Third Birthday!

2011-09-25T08:43:00.001-05:00

We had a fast but fun weekend in Rochester over Labor Day to celebrate William's third birthday. I can't believe three years have already flown by since the day he first entered our lives.

We arrived in town late Friday night -- traffic was terrible and very slow. Guess everyone had the same idea that we had, trying to skip the Saturday traffic. We stayed with Bree that night (she's willing to stay up for late night arrivals!) and were up early for a full day of activity on Saturday.

We took Bree to Perkins for breakfast -- but then we were off. Bree had massage clients and was anxious to get back home to work on William's cake afterwards. We wanted to get out to visit our moms.

I dropped Dave off at his mother's place and then headed out to see Mo. Josh met me there with the kids! That was a nice treat although I didn't get many pictures. Will brought his lunch ...

and Mo got her picture taken with Delilah (and me ... )

Next Dave and I headed for Josh and Jessica's house for a little grandparents celebration. Josh cooked out on the grill -- omgoodness! Chicken, ribs, pulled pork. He really went to town and it was incredible. Jessica made Dinosaur's version of Mac and Cheese to go with it. Sooo good ...

Will loved his gifts:

Sunday was party day -- we were up bright and early. Bree said she could use a hand with the cake (just coloring the frosting for her to use on the detail work) so I headed over there.

Here's the finished cake:

And a couple pictures of Dan and Renee -- just to prove they were there!

I'm making up a little video of the party that I'll post shortly.

Sweet Delilah ...

2011-09-18T23:17:00.002-05:00

I made up a video with some of the pictures we took when Delilah was born ...

A Wonderful Day At OSV -- The Old Cars Show

2011-09-18T13:19:00.001-05:00

Dave and I love to spend Saturdays out and about. One of our favorite things to do is visit Old Sturbridge Village. We especially wanted to visit this weekend because they had a showing of automobiles from the Edwardian era -- cars from 1918 and earlier.

It was just a gorgeous day and OSV was bustling with activity. The car owners were on-hand to share details and stories about their cars. We learned a lot just talking with people who were also checking them out.

Dave loved a blue Pierce Arrow from 1917. I snapped a few pictures of it and a video of it during the procession of the vehicles at the end of the showing.

We also took a few minutes to visit some of the houses and buildings around the Village Common. I really enjoyed watching the tinsmith as he worked and we had a great chat with an interpreter at the Towne House who told us all about the Freemason meetings and dances that were frequently held there.

Here's a video I made of our day together ...

Delilah at One Month!

2011-07-24T19:40:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try to catch up a little bit on what we've been up to over the past couple weeks. It's been SO busy around here!

Of course Meghan is here so, for starters, Daniel had planned a trip up to visit. Bree decided it was time for her to come visit too since she hadn't see either Daniel or Meghan in quite some time. It was great having them all here! We had a lot of fun just hanging around but probably the highlight of our time together was seeing Harry Potter 7 (Part 2) and then going on a whale watch with Bree (which will be a separate post.)

Dave had the week off so on Monday, after our time together, we drove Bree back to Rochester and stayed a couple days. We went straight to Josh and Jessica's house so we could see the kids. I got lots of snuggle time with Delilah and even managed a few kisses from William. We then headed to Gma's and had some dinner before taking Bree home.

Tuesday was a full day -- we ran out to Brockport with hopes to see Mo but ended up just getting some breakfast at Wegs. We headed back to Gma's, hung out before having some lunch and then went to spend the afternoon with Jessica and the kids.

It was so wonderful to have snuggle time with them! Dave had some serious playtime with Will in the playroom while Gma and I snuggled and played with Lilah.

William seemed to really enjoy his time with Grandpa. At one point he had us laughing because he ran up the stairs, grabbed Jessica saying he had to go potty "RIGHT NOW!" and while in the bathroom yelled out, "I'll be right back Grandpa!" ... too sweet.

(This last picture is just a reminder of the fun game Will and Grandpa played -- stack 'em and smash 'em!)

After we took Gma home we went and got Bree so we could head to the Henrietta Schaller's for a garbage plate. YUM! We picked up some ice cream sandwiches at Abbott's afterwards and headed back to Josh's so we could say goodbye to the kids and share the treat.

Wednesday morning we slept in then went out to see Mo before heading for home.

It was great to see the kids -- especially to see how much Lilah has grown in the short time since we'd seen her. They're coming up to visit us mid-August and I'm sure we'll see some big differences again!

Old Sturbridge Village -- July 9, 2011

2011-07-10T09:49:00.002-05:00

I simply love that Dave gave me a membership to Sturbridge Village for my birthday. It's one of my favorite places to go. We made a few get-away trips here while back when we were living in New York; never in a million years would I have believed I'd actually be living only a few miles away just a few years later.

We like to come and take in a few different parts of the Village each time we visit. This was probably our third visit this year. I have to admit, it's always a thrill to just get that member sticker at the gate and not have to pay the $20-per-adult admission fee! (And I like the discounts whenever we buy anything!)

It was so pretty to see the field of flags as we arrived at the entrance to the museum ... these represent donations made by members so that underprivileged kids can come visit. Nice huh?

Yesterday we took in a few of the demonstrations. The interpreters were dying wool that had been spun from the sheep's wool they sheared in the spring.

They explained the process of creating the different dyes (some are made from vegetables such as beets, others are crushed up herbs and ... bugs -- yuck!) They soak the yarn in pots suspended over a low fire (don't want that water to boil as it agitates the fibers and causes the wool to "felt".)

We really enjoyed talking with the interpreter at the Fenno Textile Exhibit about how they used the fibers they spun and dyed to weave cloth for clothing, household cloths (diapers, dish cloths, etc.) as well as rugs and blankets. She showed us how they set up the loom, let us take a look at examples of patterns weavers used in the 1830s, and talked a bit about how someone would learn the craft of weaving and how they might make money from the craft.

We stopped at the Grant Store and Bake Shop for a few souvenirs and a very yummy Cranberry Oatmeal Walnut cookie.

Then off to the Bullard Tavern for a quick lunch. Loved some of the sights along the way ...

We loved the demonstration at the Saw Mill -- but it was a bit crowded when we were there. The interpreters explained how they used water power to get the saw to work, how they set up a log to be sliced, and then how the saw actually worked. They have to sharpen the blades after cutting about 600 linear feet of wood, so while one is in use, the other is being sharpened.

It was just a beautiful day to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. Here are a few more pictures from the day -- including one of the kiln that has recently been repaired after a very hard Massachusetts winter!

All in all -- it was a great visit! There's so much more that we want to see. There's going to be a Revolutionary War Reenactment in a few weeks that we're hoping to attend and I'd sure like to take another ride on the river.

Eeks! I Need To Update This Blog!!

2011-05-17T10:01:00.002-05:00

LOL -- here it is May and I have probably 35 blog posts I should have written since the last one.

I'm hoping to find a little time today to update the blog, get rid of the yucky font, and do a little catching up -- maybe starting with our weekend trip to Martha's Vineyard.

But first -- lunch!

The Tree Is Up!

2010-12-09T09:33:00.005-05:00

We are still in need of a star to top our tree but here's a glimpse of our tree this year -- our first in Holden!

Winter Day Smoothie

2010-12-09T09:31:00.000-05:00

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but my smoothie's so delightful ...

Yes, even on cold blustery days there is nothing quite as wonderful as a nice cold smoothie to jumpstart my day. Today I mixed it up a bit and mixed tropical with earthy for a truly yummy combination.

Now it might not look like much ... brown is not the color you'd expect for a "green" smoothie but the blueberries and blackberries mix with the green to make a rich brown color -- but let me assure you, it's delicious.

Winter Day Smoothie

1 medium banana
1/2 cup chunks of pineapple
1 cup frozen blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries
2 handfuls baby spinach
splash orange juice
1 cup of crushed ice

Start out putting the banana, pineapple and berries into blender and blend to to a smooth consistency. Add the spinach and continue to blend until all ingredients are creamy. Add a splash of orange juice and the ice and blend to a smoothie/milkshake consistency. Pour into a glass and pop in a straw to enjoy!

There Are No Knit Sweaters In My Future ...

2010-12-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to learn to knit. Now a pair of wrist warmers may not seem like much of a challenge to most but it represents (to me anyway) hours and hours of focused frustration. LOL.

Seriously.

I got together with a woman I met through the internet (via Meetup Groups) who gave me a few pointers and helped to get me started with this knitting project. I've only done crochet prior to this and to be honest, these wrist warmers represent my second attempt at knitting. I have made a dish cloth prior to this ... which I refuse to use since it's such a prized trophy of my accomplishment! (It's stuffed in a bag under my bed.)

I made so many mistakes the first time around with this that I ended up ripping it out and starting over. In fact, I probably started over at least 10 times. I realized that with crochet, I'm comfortable with what the end result should be -- I have a pretty good sense of how to tweak my stitches if need be, how to detect mistakes early on, and how to rip out only that which needs to be ripped out if it should come to that. With knitting, I don't realize I've made a mistake until it becomes blaringly obvious. I don't know how to fudge to get back on track virtually unnoticed, and I don't know how to rip out and then get the stitches back on the needle without going back to the very beginning.

I wonder how long I'll stick with knitting.

For the moment, I am at least going to try to finish up these simple wrist warmers. I'd like to give them to my mom (maybe for Christmas.) They really are just rectangles of ribbing. The long sides get stitched together next to the wrist and then again above the thumb to make for "fingerless gloves."

Here's what I've got so far. I really do love the colors although the picture doesn't really show it off well. This one is close to being done (maybe another inch or so left to knit before starting on the second one.) I would like to get this project finished up in the next day or so as I've got crochet projects going that I'd also like to finish (and start!)

Note: I used Red Heart Yarn "Aspen Print" medium weight worsted yarn. Size 7 Needles. The pattern was a simple ribbing stitch ... CO 32 (or 38 for a larger hand/wrist) and then K2, P2 across for each row until the desired length is reached.

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

2010-11-30T19:19:00.004-05:00

I've been into soup lately and have made this recipe a few times now. Dave and I have decided it's a keeper so I've decided to add it to the "Recipes" collection. I'm going to be posting family favorites on the blog so it's easy to access no matter where we are.

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 – 3 boneless and skinless Chicken breasts (cut into bite-size pieces)
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
4 stalks Celery, sliced on diagonal
1 medium Onion, roughly chopped
4 Carrots, cut in thin slices
1 package sliced Mushrooms, chopped
1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
½ teaspoon freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 cup Orzo (wheat preferred)
64 ounces Chicken Broth (low-sodium, fat free)

Heat olive oil (or use spray oil) in sauté pan and add chicken, cooking until no longer pink. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place celery, onions, carrots, and mushrooms into a large pot. Add just enough broth to cover. Cover and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the remaining broth, spices, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and add orzo. Cook until pasta is tender and then stir in chicken. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is heated through.

Serves 6

Notes: I often add a handful of chopped spinach at the end when adding the chicken. Will probably need to add more broth to leftover soup as pasta soaks up the moisture.

Chatham ... Remembering Summer

2010-11-28T10:44:00.021-05:00

I'm sitting here listening to Christmas music but thinking about some of the "firsts" Dave and I have experienced in the past year.

One of those "firsts" was Cape Cod. I've always wanted to go there. There's just something about even hearing the name -- Cape Cod -- that kind of draws you there. Without ever having experienced it I could envision small little villages with boats in the harbor and beautiful little houses with flowers.

One of our first adventures was to drive to Chatham (pronounced Chat (like hat) um ... not Chath-um like we originally thought). We left the pups with Kim Kraft and went for a day.

I was doing internet searches on my phone (no easy task) to see what there actually was to do there once we arrived. I found a link to a Harbor Seal Tour and we called and made a reservation.

First we stopped in Chatham and found a place to park (not easy on such a beautiful summer day!) and wandered over to The Captain's Table for lunch. Yummy -- and a very sweet, quaint, New Englandy-kind-of-place. Just what we were looking for.

After we wandered around a little bit (little did we know that we had only scratched the surface of Chatham, something I found out when I went back a few weeks later with my brother Dan and Renee!) we went in search of the fishing pier where we were to go for our Harbor Seal Tour with Captain Dave Murdoch.

First time luck? What a wonderful experience.

The water was beautiful, there were only two other people on the boat with us (Robin and Tom from California who were just so much fun!) and the good Captain had stories to tell, information to share, and a great sense of what we'd like to see. There were seals everywhere. We saw them swimming, diving, and bottling (sleeping in the water with their snouts sticking up.) We learned about the cottages on the sand bar that had no electric or running water and were on a 99 year lease. If anything happened to them (like during a storm) they could not be rebuilt.

We saw the Chatham light house, learned about how the shore had eroded, and a little bit about the fishing industry on the Cape. We talked real estate, great whites, and about life on the Cape in both winter and summer. What a day of pure bliss.

After our tour we drove around the town a bit more and then headed back to the mainland. We took the scenic route this time (Rt 6A) and ended up in Scituate for dinner at Phins. This is the same area that my parents came years before and stayed while my dad took a carving class.

Our first experience on the Cape was delightful. We returned a few more times over the summer (I went to Chatham with Dan and Renee and then later we all went to Provincetown for a whale watch ... another incredible experience!)

Just a few pictures from the day to remember ...

A Different Thanksgiving ...

2010-11-27T10:22:00.004-05:00

With a year full of changes, why should having a non-traditional kind of Thanksgiving be any different?

Dave and I longed for the peace and relaxation of a quiet Thanksgiving here in Holden. Josh and Jess had been up to visit a week or so ago and we had a nice turkey dinner with them while they were here. It was kind of our "Thanksgiving With Family" ...

We knew that on the actual day Daniel and Meghan would be busy with their own celebration in Georgia, Josh and Jessica would be with her family, and we figured Bree would maybe get together with her Grandma or something.

As it drew closer we decided that we really were having trouble knowing that Bree, Grandma, and Mo would be alone for Thanksgiving. Soooo -- we decided to let Wegmans do our cooking and ordered a complete Thanksgiving dinner from them. This was a first for us!

Dave and I packed up and were in the car by about 7 a.m. -- the dinner was ordered with plans for Bree to pick it up about noon. She was going to bring it to Grandma's and get things started while we made the drive in. We were blessed with light traffic and fantastic weather. We arrived with plenty of time for me to go and visit with Mo while Dave and Bree got dinner prep underway.

As for the dinner? It was ok. The turkey was great, the mashed potatoes were pretty good, stuffing was fair and the rest was nothing to write home about. But it was nice to be able to spend the day with family ... that was the real blessing.

Friday we were up early and out the door to spend a little extra time with Bree and then headed to The Arlington to have lunch with Patty and Steve (so nice ...) We headed back to Grandma's house where Josh and William were waiting to see us. William was adorable and told us Grandma's house "was not a good place to run around." I was able to give the hat I've been making him a try to see if the size is right (it is!) when we took a quick trip to the bedroom to sneak in a little "jumping on the bed" time.

We packed up and headed out around 5:00 ... we had originally planned to stay til Saturday but the thought of sleeping in our own bed and having a full weekend to enjoy was too hard to pass up (not to mention we were worried sick about the pipes in the house since we'd turned the heat off when we left -- what were we thinking?) We were blessed with very light traffic and made great time. We arrived to a house that was 47 degrees inside and had apparently lost power while we were gone (but it was back on ...)

It was great to sleep in a nice toasty bed with flannel sheets (and a pillow top!) and to wake up at "home" ...

Mom's Stuffing

2010-11-24T21:45:00.003-05:00

One of the things I've been wanting to do is start getting all the family recipes recorded in one place and this seems like a good time to start.

One of my very favorite recipes is MoMo's Stuffing recipe. It's the only stuffing I've really ever had ... and I can't imagine that another could ever really compare.

The story behind the stuffing is that mom got the recipe from her good friend Ruthie Kern back when they all lived on Britton Road. I'm guessing that would be the early 1950's. The recipe was originally attributed to Ruthie's Grandma Colgrove (her mother Elsie's mom.) Since Ruthie would be in her 80's now, I'm guessing that puts this recipe about 120 + years old. I remember my mom telling me that back when Great-Grandma Colgrove (as I called her) made this recipe, they had to not only make the bread but also the crackers from scratch in order to make it. Making stuffing was a lot of work!

Anyway, here is the recipe.

Mom's Turkey Stuffing

Single batch (enough for small turkey):

1 loaf fresh Bread
1 stack Saltine Crackers
1 medium Onion
2 cups Milk
2 sticks Margarine (or Butter)
Sage
2 Eggs

To Double (enough for large turkey):

1 ¾ loaves fresh Bread
2 stacks Saltine Crackers
1 large Onion
3 cups Milk
2 ½ sticks Margarine (or Butter)
Sage
3 Eggs

Cube bread (using an electric knife really speeds this up!) and crumble crackers. Chop onion. Mix together in large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, heat milk and margarine over low heat in saucepan until margarine is melted and milk is hot. Pour over bread mixture and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sage to taste.

Beat the eggs until fluffy and fold in. If too soupy, add more crackers. If too dry, add another egg. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff turkey. If baking stuffing separately, place in greased casserole and cover. Bake at 325 for about one hour.

No Spaces At The Mall ...

2010-11-21T11:27:00.002-05:00

You know how the verse goes "but there was no room for them at the Inn ..."? Yesterday we drove up to Burlington Mall just for the fun of it. We wanted to take in the mall decorations BEFORE Christmas shopping mania hit.

Silly us. It's already begun. Hard to believe that there's a tough economy out there when we honestly could NOT find a place to park. Nothing. Nada. We waited for several minutes in the aisle (in a face off with someone else doing the same thing) after a guy came out and got in his car. However, he never left. (We suspect he was a mall worker on a lunch break who was escaping from the madness.)

We finally gave up figuring that even if we did manage to make it into the mall, all the restaurants would be mobbed and lunch would be a very long wait. We headed over to the Barnes & Noble across the street.

Let me just say that the Burlington Barnes & Noble does NOT have enough parking spots. I was told by a bookseller inside that it's the largest bookstore in New England (and they do NOT have a train table in their children's department -- what's up with that????) and we just got lucky with a spot.

Of course there were no seats in the Cafe either so getting a coffee/tea and cookie was not an option. After browsing for a bit we decided we were both very hungry and decided to try to find a place on the way home for what was now going to be dinner.

Hard to find places to eat when you're on the highway. We started talking about what was available on Route 9 because we wanted to stop in the new Price Chopper and pick up some groceries.

When we arrived at the Price Chopper there was (again) not a space to be had. Police men were directing traffic in and out of the parking lot and we decided this just wasn't our day.

As we headed back out onto Route 9 (we seriously HATE Route 9) we decided that Holden's Wong Dynasty and the Big Y were looking better and better.

With growling tummies we arrived at Wong Dynasty and got a GREAT parking spot and had one of the best meals we've ever had there. The LoMein was perfect, my Orange Chicken was beyond yummy, and Dave's Kung Pao Delight was, well, delightful.

A quick trip to Big Y got us the milk, bread, and snacks necessary for a relaxing evening. It was so sweet to get home to the pups.

We watched Sideways (a recent Netflix pick that we both liked) and put our feet up. The day didn't go as planned but it was sure fun spending it together!

Way Too Long ...

2010-11-01T12:03:00.003-05:00

Just looking at the dates between the last entry and the most current one makes me cringe ... could it really be four months have passed since my last post?

It upsets me that I haven't blogged more since we've had so much fun since July (seriously -- nothing posted about our cruise to Alaska?!!!) and we've done so much exploring (with pictures to prove it!)

Truth is, I've had a little trouble with Blogger (well, actually a LOT of trouble) trying to work with the old and new editor software they provide. It's created a lot of frustration and I've spent more time than I'd care to admit trying to work through it. I finally resorted to using the old editor once again which is not without a whole bunch of glitches. And not much fun.

However, I really want to get these posts up and record what we've been doing before we get so backlogged that I forget details and too much gets left out.

So -- I'm going to try once again to work through the problems. If worse comes to worse, I may just have to switch to another blogging format.

Here's to keeping my fingers crossed for success (and lots of help in the support forums!)

William ... The Garden Gnome

2010-11-01T11:21:00.010-05:00

It's so hard to be living so far away when you know that there is fun being had in your former stomping grounds.

Case in point -- Trunk or Treat.

There isn't much we would have enjoyed more than to have been there to see William enjoying the bounce house (which I understand was his absolute favorite thing to do!) the games, and the trunk or treating that took place yesterday at Orchard Community Church (a.k.a. Latta Road Baptist Church where we used to attend when living in Rochester.) But ... that just wasn't to be.

Luckily, Bree was there with camera in hand to snap a few pictures for us to enjoy. Apparently the majority of the bounce house pictures were mostly a blur that resembled a little gnome jumping through the air ... the better pictures (meaning in-focus!) came when William was convinced the playground was lots of fun too.

Here's a few pictures of our little Garden Gnome. Gosh, it brings back memories of when the kids were little and they watched David The Gnome on TV ...

Discovering New England: Boston on the 4th of July

2010-07-04T10:58:00.000-05:00

Holidays mean long weekends and for us, that brings with it the possibility that family (or friends!) will come visit. Bree and Jay decided to come spend the 4th with us and we wanted to do something really fun to celebrate.

We decided to hit Boston for the day ... what a great place to visit in the summertime! We took separate cars as Dave and I wanted to drop Rascal and Daisy off with Kim our wonderful pet sitter first. Bree and Jay ended up in Beacon Hill and Dave and I ended up exploring Quincy Market for a while ... great fun and not nearly as crowded as we had expected. Weather was perfect too -- sunny but not too hot. Great for walking the city streets!

The highlight of our day however was a dinner cruise on The Spirit of Boston -- and seeing the city from the water. Love, love, LOVED it! Here are a few pics to enjoy from our walk through the city and of the cruise from the upper deck ...

"Arthur" sitting on top of The Children's Museum

Rowe's Wharf

I fell in love with these lights outside One International Place

Outside the famous Quincy Market

And a quick snippet of inside Quincy Market

Bree and Jay

Boat on the water right in front of the landing strips at Logan

Sun beginning to set ...

It all seems so peaceful from the water ...

The Boston Skyline at sunset ...

Wishing everyone a most patriotic and fun-filled 4th of July!

Catching Up -- Facebook Friends Party

2010-07-01T07:48:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, February 20th, Jill and Tim Wirth hosted a Facebook Friends party in Hilton at the Firemen's Exempt Club. It was so much fun to have a chance to catch up with people I've known for years but, for the most part, only been connecting with on Facebook. Real life is great too - and so much fun!

Some pictures from the evening:

Jill Wirth and Patty Ayers

Scott Gailey and Jim Pink

Jill Wirth and Marilyn Bohrer

Me with Jill Wirth (and that's Patty and Steve Ayers in the background)

Tim Wirth, Dave, and Bill Bohrer

Kathy Neerbasch, Steve Curran, and Danelle Norris

Shelley Stewart, Marilyn Bohrer, and Danelle Norris doing the Macarena!

Jay Howcraft

We had a great evening and there were so many more friends there that I didn't snap pictures of ... Sharon Linehan, Laura Bowen, Jann Davis, Shari and Marty Klotzbach, Kevin Pfund, Tina Dodson ... we really had a nice time and I'm actually looking forward to my 35th High School Class Reunion! Never thought I'd say that :)

Catching Up -- All Framed In

2010-07-01T06:55:00.000-05:00

We put a reservation in to hold the townhouse in Massachusetts about February 1st ... and then made a trip up to Massachusetts over Valentine's Day weekend to put in the formal offer and make selections. One nice thing about choosing this unit is that it was already framed in, but didn't have the cabinetry, tiles, countertops, etc. already in place.

We drove up and met everyone at the townhouse on Friday and then went over to the model in West Boylston to make selections and draw up an offer. Again, Claire was a God-send and SO much help. We were really blessed to have her on our team!

With the paperwork done, we were able to enjoy Saturday to ourselves. Mostly we just drove around trying to find where things were. We decided since it was Valentine's Day we would drive to Natick Mall where there is a PF Changs to see if we could get in for dinner. Wow ... what we learned is to NEVER take Rt. 9 to go any long distance (we later learned that Natick Mall is right off Exit 13 from the Turnpike ... MUCH easier and faster!)

Of course, about all that trip did was convince me that I would never be able to drive in Massachusetts. And we ended up having dinner at a TGIFridays that was busier than busy and not very good. Let's just say it was where all the couples with kids that didn't have babysitters but wanted to get out for Valentine's Day went. Not much fun ...

Anyway, we were able to get some pictures of the place while it was just framed in and before any real work got started in completing it for us.

Let the slide show begin:

Dave's office building at Dow Chemical

The garage ... hoping we can fit two cars in here!

View of front entry from the kitchen.

View of living room and dining area from front foyer.

View of dining area and kitchen from living room

View of windows in master bedroom

View of master bathroom

View of landing coming up the stairs to the loft

View of upstairs foyer/loft from back bedroom

View of loft ... there will be a railing across the opening!

View of the front upstairs bedroom/office

View of the back upstairs bedroom

View of living room from loft

Dave in upstairs back bedroom

View from the loft

Stairs leading into the basement

The 10' ceilings that Dave is so in love with!

Dave checking out the bulkhead

Well, that's it for now. More pictures on the way showing the progress we saw when we came for future visits! I just remember we kept saying to each other that we can't believe we're really doing this. LOL.

Catching Up -- Househunting in Massachusetts

2010-06-25T13:23:00.001-05:00

As I continue on my blog catch-up project, I'm moving to the week after Daniel and Meghan came to visit ... we scheduled a 4 day weekend (woo hoo! Homer would be happy for us!) to head up to Massachusetts and start househunting. I already had Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and the bank graciously allowed me to take the Friday and Saturday before off as well. Very sweet.

We left on Friday morning and arrived at the Embassy Suites sometime in the afternoon (same place we stayed in August ... it's so nice there! Little did we know it would soon become our home-away-from-home.) We had just purchased a Garmin GPS to help with the househunting and I had a great time playing with it for six hours while we drove. I should have realized that twisting in my seat to search for all the places we were planning to visit was going to pull muscles in my back, but that would have been too easy. Sigh.

We met Claire (the realtor assigned to us by the relocation company) at her office and off we went! Claire had taken the list of potential properties we had sent her and mapped out two full days of househunting for us. Each day's househunting was nicely bound into a packet with property descriptions and pictures for each house we were visiting. Very efficient. That's our Claire! Since she had a lot better idea where we were going than we did, we put her in the front seat next to the GPS and off we went.

Well, let's just say after 2 full days of looking at just about every townhouse that wasn't designated for "active adults over 55" within a 45 minute commute of Dave's work campus, we had it pretty well narrowed down. We decided we really liked one of the townhouses we saw over in Afra Terrace in West Boylston but knew we weren't crazy about the idea of having to wait 4 months for the builder to start and finish it.

He had another development over in Holden that was really in the beginning stages ... in fact, none of the 5 units that were up were completed. A couple were models, but they still lacked carpeting etc. While we were hesitant to build (or in our case, go with a place that was just framed in ...) in a very undeveloped location (I mean, there are mounds of dirt everywhere and a huge dumpster out front because of the building) we did like what we saw of the area and felt that the layout of the townhouse was just what we were looking for.

So -- we took a deep breath and decided this was it. Within a couple weeks we had put a reservation on it and planned our next trip up to make selections and seal the deal ... here's what would soon become our home sweet home!

And there was a really nice treat waiting for us when we got home ... Thank you Bree!

Catching Up -- Daniel and Meghan Visit

2010-06-25T11:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas passed by us in a blur with everyone sick and so much happening in our lives. In hindsight, thank goodness Dan and Meg didn't come up for the holiday because it would have been a wasted trip!

Thankfully, Meghan had decided that the best gift she could give Daniel was a trip home so they made plans to come for the weekend of January 9th -- perfect since it was also Bree's birthday weekend.

The original plan was to surprise Daniel with the tickets for Christmas. Since Meghan lasted all of 3 (or was it 2?) days keeping the secret, we decided the best we could hope for in the surprise department was to surprise Bree with their visit.

Well -- we told Josh and Jessica, as well as Danny and Renee, so we could plan on having a family get together that night. Eventually we told Bree when she informed us she was making plans with friends to go out for her birthday. So much for surprises!

They flew in late Friday night and we were so excited to be picking them up at the airport. They had Desmo with them (they charged them $70 to let Desmo fly too!) since he had just had surgery on his legs.

I'm trying to remember what all we did on Saturday, but I know we ended up out at Barnes and Noble where Daniel bought a nook (they had just come out and were really hard to get) and put it up on eBay and sold it by the next day at a great price!

Since it was Bree's birthday, we had the family over for pizza and wings to celebrate and just hang out. Very fun.

Sunday was great ... Meghan and I went to brunch at Simply Crepes at their downtown location in the Bausch & Lomb Public Library. We had a very yummy breakfast surrounded by books and listening to an Eastman student playing the cello.

(images courtesy of http://simplycrepes.com/)

It was such fun -- even though it was freezing out and we arrived early and had to go back and sit in the car to try to keep warm (poor Meghan!!!)

We visited with Grandma in the afternoon ... which was especially nice.

AND then -- we got the family together again for dinner. Well -- actually Dad took his daughters-in-love to California Rollin for sushi and I took Josh, Daniel, Bree, and William to Schallers for some good Rochester eats!

Yes -- it was a whole lot of fun and ended way too soon. It was sad to think that this would be Daniel's last visit to our house in Rochester but we know it doesn't mean we can't make memories someplace else!

Daniel and Meghan flew back to Georgia on Monday. Sadly, I had to work but I did get a surprise visit at the bank so I could have another hug goodbye. So sweet!

Let's Get Into the Spirit of Summer!

2010-06-24T07:31:00.000-05:00

Guess since I'm not getting around to doing the catch up posting that I wanted to do, I should at least change the background and get our red, white, and blue showing.

I've compiled a catch up list of blog posts I'd like to get to (with pics!) and it's on my calendar to start today. I need to get a move on since I expect to have lots to be blogging about in just the next couple of days (trip to the Cape, R & D going to doggie daycare with Kim ... excitement abounds in the New England Paines household!)

So -- here's our rendition of Old Glory.

Doing The Catch Up Blog Post ...

2010-06-08T06:27:00.002-05:00

The past several months have been ... well ... what's the best word? Interesting? Crazy? Exasperating? Probably all of the above. The bottom line is that while I thought about blogging about the various events that happened along the way, I found myself thinking that the posts would be pure negativity and decided against it.

So at this point, I think I'll just try to sum up what our moving experience has been like and then just move on from there.

Need to get my thoughts organized and will start posting the "catch up" stuff today!

Rascal Takes One For The Team ...

2009-12-30T20:30:00.004-05:00

Dave has been doing some fix-up-the-house jobs trying to get ready for the next phase of our move -- having inspectors, appraisers, and Realtors in to give us the bottom line.

He's been staining the railings on the staircase and today we had a little mishap that could have been a catastrophe had Rascal not been in just the right place at just the right time.

As Dave moved the tea table that had the staining brush on it, the brush went flying and landed handle first (thankfully) on the carpet. It then fell over -- right onto Rascal's head! It fell from there onto the carpet but most of the stain had landed on poor Rascal. We were able to get the stain out of the carpet but weren't quite so lucky with Rascal's head.

Thank goodness he's going to see Jessie next week!

Minwax Gunstock -- a great look!

Sweet Look Rascal!

The Christmas Bug Strikes Again ...

2009-12-30T20:13:00.002-05:00

Late Christmas night, poor Dave was hit by what we had now dubbed "The Christmas Bug". It lasted for a couple days and it was wicked.

Poor Bree was hit as well ... but not nearly as bad. She mostly had body aches and chills. Lucky -- if you can call it that.

Needless to say the plans to get together as a family with Mom on Saturday flew out the window. I felt like I'd been spared since I was still feeling half-way decent. Meanwhile the Country Place Paines were definitely under the weather.

I went to work on Monday but wasn't feeling great. Just a queasy stomach here and there. Still I thought I'd just gotten off with a touch of the bug. Ha!

Later that night I got to experience the gift that everyone else in the family has already enjoyed ... and yuck. It was NOT fun.

Monday night and Tuesday are kind of a blur but I'm feeling better today (Wednesday.) Still -- I didn't go to work and I sensed they weren't too thrilled about that but it hasn't been until this evening that I've actually started to feel somewhat normal. I'll be going in tomorrow and praying that Shannon hasn't come down with this yucky bug ... and there I'll be working on New Year's Eve all alone!

We are hoping to get together with the Twin Oak Paines tomorrow evening to finally give William his gifts and then with any luck we'll head out to see Mo on Friday afternoon.

Now -- the new year is upon us and there is SO much to do! Is it even possible that we'll be ready to have appraisers and inspectors in here any time soon?

Christmas Day 2009!

2009-12-30T19:08:00.006-05:00

Since Josh and Jess were still recovering (as were the Hortons) we picked up Mom and paid a short visit to the Twin Oak Paine's house. What fun!

Santa brought William a train table and it was a major hit! He spent the entire day playing with his trains. He did take a few minutes out here and there to open a few more presents, to show us how he can pucker up and give kisses, and to read his favorite new book (Bear Stays Up For Christmas) with GG (Great Grandma Paine.)

Some pics and a video of the day:

William loves his puzzles!

I can't resist a pictures of Cheeks!

So serious!

The Scowl!

Playing with the train table ...

William loves his new book - Bear Stays Up For Christmas

Reading with GG ...

William has learned to pucker up!

The Christmas Bug Hits ...

2009-12-30T18:57:00.002-05:00

Low and behold, on or about December 21st the Christmas Bug hit the Twin Oak Paine's house. Poor William! Josh heard him cough and checked on him only to discover he had thrown up all over his crib. A quick clean up and they brought him into bed with them.

Big mistake.

Three sheet changes later William finally had it out of his system ... but our little guy was still so sick! And just before Christmas.

Next up was Josh and then Jessica. I got a call on Wednesday after getting home from work asking if we could take William for the night. We ran up and got him and had a great evening with him. We could tell he still wasn't 100% but he was so much fun.

Unfortunately I had to work Christmas Eve day but Dave and Bree were home so William had lots of fun playing with everyone. Since I didn't get to grocery shop as planned on Wednesday night, Dave and Bree went and brought William with them. In fact, they even stopped by the bank and said hello! A nice treat for me.

Josh picked him up that afternoon and our Christmas Eve plans continued. We went out to see my mom for a bit then picked up Mom (Glennys) to come back to our house for dinner and "It's A Wonderful Life". Josh and Jess had planned to spend the evening with the Horton's but that was cancelled because the Christmas Bug visited their house too. We had a nice evening and ... yay! ... we all slept in!

Stay tuned for Christmas Day!

Next Up ... Jim Brickman

2009-12-30T18:38:00.007-05:00

A couple months ago I saw that Jim Brickman was coming to Rochester with his holiday tour. I thought this might be a really special treat for Dave and I to enjoy. We seldom put enough time aside to just sit back and take in the sights and sounds of Christmas and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.

I am so glad I bought the tickets when I did. We had great seats. And the show was fantastic.

Jim played a lot of holiday songs but also included a lot of old favorites. There were several songs from his new "Beautiful World" CD as well.

The show featured several other artists -- Tracy Silverman who played the electric violin (absolutely beautiful but one display of his Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, and Metallica abilities was plenty) as well as vocalist Anne Cochran. Mark Masri (what an incredible tenor) was also part of the show.

While Silverman's violin was beautiful and the vocals were great -- I wish there had been more of just "Jim" playing piano ... without accompliment by others. The songs he played on stage by himself were the best part of the show as far as I'm concerned. There really wasn't a need to devote so much of the concert showcasing the talents of his guests (Silverman in particular.)

All in all it was a wonderful evening. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and will enjoy listening to his CDs all the more having seen him in person.

Life Has Been A Little Crazy ...

2009-12-30T17:48:00.009-05:00

I'm trying to remember how long it's been since I've blogged about life in the Paine household. I guess it was probably around Thanksgiving. Well, a lot has happened since then!

With all that we have going on in trying to clean out the house and get ready to put it on the market, about the last thing we needed was a car accident or sickness.

We got both.

On December 12th, Dave had breakfast with the GOBS guys and then came home for a short reprieve before going to meet the guys from his fantasy golf group up at The Distillery. Fate had other plans.

He was at the Ridge Road West/390S exit ramp and was turning onto Ridge Road when a woman ran the stop light. She hit the car next to Dave broadside (the car in the inside lane) and then that car was pushed into Dave (who was in the center lane.)

While Dave made out the best of all (the others were injured and I'm guessing their cars were totaled) he still had over $3,000 in damages. Dealing with the insurance companies and collision shop took up the majority of his week and of course, we were without a car. No fun for anyone -- especially at Christmas time with so many things to do. As of this writing, the VUE is still in the shop, but maybe, just maybe it will be ready tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath.

Here's a couple pictures of our poor VUE:

She is currently at Brother's Collision Shop on Lake Ave. Did I mention they said possibly tomorrow? Yeah. Thought so.

So believe it or not, Dave drove the VUE home. I couldn't believe it. I was waiting for him to call me back (he called and said he'd been in an accident, was going to try to get out of the car, would call me back -- then didn't) and finally told Bree to stay by the phone while I drove up there to meet him.

Imagine my surprise to get a call from Bree saying he was home. Geez.

Anyway, we had originally planned to meet Josh and Jess at Toys R Us to pick up some gifts for William. Believe me, it's a blast to let him loose in a toy store and that's a "gift" to us! Since there was nothing we could do about the car (Dave called the insurance company and not much can happen on a weekend) we hopped in my car and kept the date. Afterwards we headed to Sticky Lips for BBQ. It was so much fun! The food was great and I think nothing could have salvaged Dave's rattled nerves quite as much as sitting across from William and watching him eat!

So ... that was December 12th. So much more has happened but I think I'll make it another post!

Mom's 85th Birthday!!

2009-11-29T15:02:00.008-05:00

We had a nice breakfast this morning (well, this afternoon) with mom. She's 85 today!

We made Belgian waffles and topped them with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM! And then had chocolate cake. Talk about having a little bit of sugar ... yikes!

But it was all good. We enjoyed watching William play and entertain us as he showed us that he can find the letter "O", pick out the "owl" from amongst the pictures on the page and that he can actually say "owl" now! He's so advanced for his age :)

Can't believe I didn't take a picture of Dave and Mom together. That was my intention. I just got busy. But here are a couple pictures from the day ...

Daisy trying to give Grandma a birthday present.

Mommy whispering to William to go and tickle Daisy.

It's like looking at the past and the future at the same time.

Irresistible.

Playing with the See and Say ... fun!

P.S. Thanks for doing the egg run Bree! Couldn't have done waffles without you :)

No Pictures ... BUT ...

2009-11-29T09:59:00.002-05:00

I'm kicking myself (ouch!) that I didn't think to bring my camera with me yesterday morning when I met Marilyn, Fay, and Jill for breakfast at the Hilton Diner. Talk about going back to happy times with some good friends ...

Fay was in town for the holiday and her 30th class reunion so we snagged her and made her get up early and meet us. Even though the waitress couldn't seem to get her order right (well, that first omelet was most certainly right. Unfortunately someone else got it who probably DID want mushrooms and peppers. The second attempt wasn't too difficult to maneuver was it? Picking the mushrooms and peppers out?) And at least the pie could be put in a box ...

Anyway, we had fun chatting for a few hours. We were so glad that Jill could get herself ready and to the diner lickety split after both Marilyn and I forgot to call her with the details. Oops. Sorry about the mix-up Jill!!

So after hearing all about what's been happening in Fay's life (she is very happy these days!) Marilyn dropped me off and I proceeded to accomplish a whole lot of nothing before going to Marilyn and Bill's house last night for snacks, Taboo, and Scrabble. After lots of laughs, too many snacks, and not enough sleep --

I am now getting ready for birthday waffle time. Still don't know if Josh and Jess will be joining us but hopefully we'll be able to celebrate Mom's birthday with a few of us here. We'd love to see William today.

I am planning on a full afternoon of laundry, shopping, and filling up garbage cans. Hopefully some cleaning will also get done. We had the piano tuned the other day and it sounds wonderful. Now we just have to figure out the best place to list it.

Enough of this for now. Maybe there will be some birthday pictures to post later :)

Let's Watch Football and Eat Chili ...

2009-11-22T19:49:00.011-05:00

It totally amazes me (and everyone else I suspect) how the Bills can shoot themselves in the foot (feet?) week after week. Today was no exception as they managed to let Jacksonville score with only about a minute left in the fourth quarter.

Despite a less than exciting football game, we had lots of fun watching William play with his blocks and trucks. He munched on animal crackers and teddy grahams and even had a bowl of chili!

It's been a busy weekend ... I had to work Saturday until 1:00 and then came home to help with the window washing. We worked on it some more this morning and have the whole downstairs done. Last night we went to Lowes and looked into countertops and options for tub replacement. We picked up stain samples in hopes of getting the railings in the foyer taken care of. It won't be long before we're painting. I made arrangements to have the piano tuned so we can sell that ... all these little (and BIG) things to do!

Here are a few sweet pictures of William from today:

Playing the piano ... banging on those keys is so much fun!

Cheeks reading "That's Not My Snowman" ...

It's fun to climb on the table and knock all the blocks down!

Playing with the wooden car Poppy made for Josh 28 years ago.

Aunt Bree shared her Teddy Grahams and William was SO happy!

We bought Will's sweatshirt the day Josh graduated from Bonaventure!
I am certainly going to miss hanging with the family on Sunday afternoons when we move to Massachusetts!

Sorta Silly Stuff ... (Or Not)

2009-11-22T02:05:00.004-05:00

Found this little cartoon online and it gave me a chuckle ... and a reminder to stick to driving when I'm driving :)

I'm Looking Forward To Thanksgiving ...

2009-11-17T19:44:00.008-05:00

... and getting out of work early on Thanksgiving Eve ... it really feels like a holiday when they close the bank early.

... and making stuffing using mom's recipe. I almost always end up eating half of it (raw) on Thanksgiving morning ... to me that's the best part of the meal!

... and spending some time with Mom -- maybe I'll get out there early enough to see the Macy's Day Parade!

... dessert. Bree is making Apple Crisp!

... and cuddling with William again. Rocking him til he fell asleep Sunday evening was a little taste of heaven and who doesn't want a little taste of heaven on Thanksgiving?

Sometimes when there is so much "now" stuff happening, it's nice to look ahead to all the sweetness that's just around the corner.

Life is good.

William In The Fall -- Playing In The Leaves ...

2009-11-14T22:09:00.009-05:00

We had some fun with William this morning. This time it was my chance to babysit as Papa was out with his buddies doing the GOBS thing ... (Grandfathers Only Breakfast Series.)

We started out a little rough with tears as Daddy left (we don't take it personally ... we know it's just a phase Will is going through) and while he wasn't *happy* -- we did manage to get him calmed down by putting on his favorite TV program (Super Why) and popping a donut hole in his hand. He snuggled with Grandma for an hour and then started playing with his blocks.

He loved his new book "That's Not My Snowman!" and had fun playing the piano. But a few too many passes through the foyer and seeing his coat and hat got him going again. He stood at the front door and was pulling on it while saying "Open!" (well, it started with O ... we think he was trying to say "open".)

So on went the coat and hat and William and I went outside for a walk. He loved being outside and we managed to take in quite a bit of the neighborhood. He met Mario but Bernie (the dog in the yard next door to Mario's) barked and scared Will. So we headed home just in time to find Papa. We decided to go back outside since we knew Daddy was coming soon and Will wouldn't let us take his hat off :)

Once Daddy arrived Will cheered up considerably and we had some fun playing in the leaves ...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no ... no

2009-11-07T20:47:00.005-05:00

Sweet William.

He now says "No." Well, he said "No" before but now he says it repeatedly ... as in "No, no, no, no, no." And he means it.

It was not the best of mornings for our little guy. Mommy had stuff going on and Daddy wanted to play basketball with the guys so they thought it would be fun to have William come over and have breakfast with Papa, Auntie Bree, and GG-Paine. (Grandma Mema unfortunately had to work and was very sad that she could not join in the fun ...)

William, however, didn't think it was such a great idea. Even chocolate donut holes didn't help, although they were tasty and the crumbs stuck to his sweet little lips and cheeks long after the donut hole itself was gone.

According to his daddy, William was grumpy before he ever arrived at our house. He just wasn't happy and he wanted his mommy. So when daddy left he cried. He went and stood by the door. He put his bus by the door. He wanted his hat on ... (everyone knows that when it's time to leave you put your hat on.) And he pouted.

There were not a lot of smiles this morning. Papa captured a couple pictures of Will with his hat on, but they didn't include his cheerful grin.

Hopefully Josh will bring William with him tomorrow when he comes to help put up the shutters. And Mema will get to see him and love him up and maybe there will be a few smiles. We still have some donut holes after all.

Things That Go Bump In The Night ...

2009-10-31T15:15:00.012-05:00

Or at least Little Bats that like to fly around saying "Boo!"

This morning Dave and I, Aunt Barbara, Lesley and Andrew, Jessica and Will, Glennys, and brother Dan got together at Lakeside to visit mom and have some Halloween treats. Little did we know the "trick" was on us!

When Dave, Glennys, and I arrived upstairs to see mom and grab a room we were informed that the hospital had mandated that no children under age 18 could be allowed on the floors due to the H1N1 virus. Of course, we knew that Andrew and William were already on their way.

Thankfully, the nurse at the desk called down and got permission for us to meet in the cafeteria. Actually, I think that worked out better as we were able to all gather around a table and had a place to set out the cider and donuts!

Here are a few pictures to remember the day. William loved his new books and his box of animal crackers. He especially liked the donut holes!

Mmmm ... donuts

First we have some donuts ...

Cousin Andrew is missing some teeth!

Chatting around the table ...

Did someone just eat a sugar donut?

Tickling Cousin Andrew!

William gets a new book and it's DEAR time -- Drop Everything And Read!

Reading "Duck and Goose Find A Pumpkin" ..

Aunt Barbara knows how to make Will giggle -- just say "Boo!"

Even Little Bats know how to giggle!

Tonight William is going to go to Trunk or Treat at The Father's House church in Chili. Then I suspect the Little Bat costume will be retired for another time. But the bat ears may stick around -- Jessica says Will loves to wear it around the house!

Daniel's New Library Decoration ...

2009-10-29T19:36:00.003-05:00

It's amazing the things you'll find on the shelves in the library ...

Silly dog!

Halloween Sneak Peek ...

2009-10-29T18:31:00.010-05:00

William (a.k.a. Little Bat) went to "Trunk or Treat" at church last Sunday. Auntie Bree joined in the fun and snapped a whole bunch of adorable pictures. So -- here's a sneak peek of our sweetie pie:

In the bounce house ...

Another bounce house pic ...

Our favorite Little Bat ...

Flap your wings Little Bat!

So you hold your pumpkin out ...

mmm ... donuts

Such a fun day ...

Stay tuned for more pictures of Little Bat visiting the great-grandmas on Halloween!

The Magic of Motown ...

2009-10-25T22:21:00.003-05:00

Dave and I started off the weekend by attending the first of the RPO's POP series concerts -- The Magic of Motown.

It was hurry up and get out the door since I had to work until 6. We had a fast dinner and then headed downtown so we could arrive early enough to walk around the new Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theater and see for ourselves what has been going on behind closed doors since last spring.

We were not disappointed! The new Kodak Hall is fabulous -- it is so much more intimate than before. The boxes on the sides of the hall certainly add to the "concert hall" atmosphere and provide a sense of class that was missing. The new seats are wonderful and comfortable and the new halogen lamps in the chandelier are brilliant!

On to the music -- lots of favorite Motown tunes sung in the style of The Four Tops and The Supremes by Spectrum and Radiance. We were entertained with song and dance for 2 hours and it was a fun and lively concert.

I have to admit that the vocals seemed to overpower the orchestra ... while I enjoyed hearing the harmonies of 4 - 8 voices they were a little much when combined with the instruments. I really enjoyed the selections where a solo or duet was featured and the orchestra was able to be heard.

Still -- it was a good show and, while not my favorite of all we've been to, it was a great way to start the season. And of course, anytime I can get out for a fun evening with Dave is all right by me!

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday ...

2009-10-18T11:45:00.004-05:00

Here we are -- back to Sunday. What a week it's been!

First, I've been sick. I came down with the beginnings of a cold last Saturday (a few days after babysitting William who was coming down with a cold at the time) and by Sunday evening it was officially in the works. I spent Monday (the Columbus Day holiday) on the couch trying to see if I could nip it in the bud. No luck.

I spent the rest of the week trying to convince the folks at work that I was well enough to be there. After all, what would they do without me? LOL. Seriously though, it's pretty tough to call in sick (I'm not even sure HOW to call in sick there!) when you've only been working there a few weeks. So I toughed it out during the day and came home and crashed in the evenings.

By Thursday I felt the worst was over and on Friday I actually felt almost human. I still have a stuffy nose and a lingering cough but I think it's fair to say I've put the "cold" part of it all behind me. Thank goodness.

So I had to work Saturday morning which made my short week feel especially long for some reason. However, we had dinner with Pat and Steve to look forward to. We ended up going to The Arlington and had lots of fun chatting about the most recent goings on. Pat and Steve recently took a cruise of New England (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, Boston ....) so we heard about that and got the name of a great Irish pub in Quincy Market that Steve says we must visit. It's called The Black Rose and they feature Irish music and a lucky atmosphere.

Back to the Ayers house we sampled some ice wine while we watched Tailgate Warriors with Guy Fieri from The Food Network as the Buffalo Bills tailgaters competed against the Chicago Bears team in a tailgate throwdown. One of the team members from the Buffalo CBNG (Conklin's Bar and Grill) group was Hilton's own Brian Bartalo.

Sadly the Buffalo team lost (we think they got robbed!) but what was interesting was that even though it was filmed in August, they shot two endings. One ending had the Chicago guys winning, the other had the Buffalo team winning. They had to wait until last night when the show aired to see who actually won!

Anyway, we headed upstairs to play a fast-paced game of Mexican Train. As Dave and Steve battled back and forth for first place, Pat and I traded off third and fourth place honors most of the game. Ultimately I was the big loser when I managed to rack up over 500 points in one round (I hate it when you don't have a 3 to open up with!!) Thank goodness I don't take this stuff seriously (grrrrr .... )!

Home by 2 a.m. and we crashed on the couch. We finally got up, had a wonderful brunch here at home and now we're preparing to go visit the mothers and do some "Sunday" stuff (which means grocery shopping, laundry, picking up, yada yada ...)

All in all, it was a fun week. I was hoping to see William but with my cold that wasn't possible. I guess I'll have to get my William fix by enjoying this adorable picture:

This was taken on September 12th when we all got together to celebrate Will's first birthday. He was determined to eat the balloon!

Football, Dinner, and William

2009-10-11T17:49:00.004-05:00

We had such a nice afternoon. I was worried we'd have to cancel since I'm feeling a bit under the weather today (sore throat, headache, and all the other yucky stuff that comes with having a cold ...) but some sinus tablets helped and off we went.

It was so nice to just relax a bit and watch football. William was sleeping when we arrived and so we all just hung out and chatted about the cruise we have booked for next July and the excursions that might be worth signing up for.

But once Will woke up the fun really started. He was full of energy and had us all laughing ... he has added "go" to his vocabulary (which currently consists of "all done", "again", and "NO" ...) Dave caught this picture of him wearing his dinosaur hat ...

We struggled through the Bills game, watching them lose to the Browns 6 - 3 ... but had a wonderful dinner waiting for us when it was finally over. Jessica made a pork loin stir fry with sugar snap peas that was just delicious and we had rainbow sherbet for dessert. Fantastic.

Tomorrow Dave and I are starting a diet (we have 9 months to get in shape for the cruise)so it was a nice way to end the week. Hoping that sometime this evening we can watch "The Wedding" episode of "The Office" again ... it was so great, it really needs to be watched twice.

And of course -- since it's Sunday night -- it's DEXTER!!!

Nice to have a fun evening of TV to look forward to after such a nice afternoon!

Potato Chowder and Chat ...

2009-10-11T09:52:00.004-05:00

Dave and I had a wonderful evening catching up with Mark and Mary last night. Mary went to town and made a pot of chili AND potato chowder. Comfort food at it's best!

I opted for the potato chowder (what good Irish girl wouldn't?) and it was superb. Dave had a bowl of each (no surprises there either!) I brought my camera with me thinking I would take some pictures but it was forgotten next to my shoes (and is still sitting there as I type this. I'll need to stop there on the way to JJ&W's today to retrieve it!) So -- this picture is a somewhat fair representation of what my taste buds experienced (but I'm sure it isn't nearly as good!)

We had fun chatting about all the latest news -- Dave's decision to accept the job transfer, our anniversary trip to Gettysburg, William, and all the new TV shows. I think we've been convinced to give "GLEE" a try. Must remember to set the DVR for Wednesday night to record it. We have some catching up to do before jumping in.

And since I forgot to take any pictures, I'm going to steal a recent one from Mary's photo album on FB and include it here ... just because it's so nice to see those smiling faces :)

A wonderful evening with friends.

My Feet Hurt.

2009-10-03T20:42:00.006-05:00

Gosh, working 6 days in a row, most of the time standing up has really taken a toll on my feet. They really ache tonight! I am in great need of a foot massage (I am so hoping that Dave reads this soon!)

Still it was such a beautiful fall day that even with throbbing tootsies I find it hard to complain. The trees are starting to turn. The rain that threatened the weekend all day Friday was long gone today (good news for the Apple Fest people) and the air was crisp. I am LOVING it!

Tomorrow will be a busy day with a birthday cake to bake, lasagna to prepare, the house to clean and laundry to finish up. It's a short weekend after working today but I have a 3-day weekend to look forward to when next Friday comes. Woo Hoo! I love paid holidays.

AND -- we had exciting news today -- Meghan competed in a 10K race (6.2 miles) and she came in THIRD for the women and SEVENTH overall (out of 250 people). Who knew she was a runner?!!! And she did it all in 46 minutes -- YES -- 46 MINUTES!!! (and in crummy shoes too.)

We are so proud. And she didn't even train for the race. She was planning to walk but when she saw all the "older" people running (you know, the ones in their 30s and 40s) she decided to pick up the pace.

So I guess I shouldn't be complaining about my achey feet. I have a feeling that tomorrow our Meghan is going to not only have achey feet but an achey body!!

WAY TO GO MEG! Dad and I are so proud of you :)

Fun Weekend!

2009-09-27T21:51:00.005-05:00

Fall has arrived and just in time for a fun weekend where we could enjoy cooler temps and trees in the yard starting to turn.

We spent Saturday morning watching William (well, Dave and Bree watched him while I went for a hair appointment) and then chatted with Josh and Jess when they got back from AAA about our cruise options. Looks like we'll be heading to Alaska next July!

After they left we spent the afternoon getting ready for an evening with the Bohrers and Wirths. We got out the fall decorations and did a quick cleanup. Bree made pigs-in-a-blanket and I cut up pepperoni and cheese. We put the wine in the fridge to chill and then tried to relax for a few minutes before everyone arrived.

What a fun evening. After a couple hours of hanging in the kitchen and catching up we headed to the living room and had a Wii Bowling tournament. That Marilyn! She won it all but Jill gave her a run for it. All those years of being on bowling leagues were finally paying off. We really had a lot of fun.

Sunday was basically getting ready for the week (after sleeping in a bit!) Later in the afternoon we headed up to Josh's to watch the football game. Will was lots of fun -- I got a couple pictures of him practicing his smile ...

And then this one was just silly enough that I had to include it ...

Back to the grind tomorrow!!

William and the Ice Cream Sandwich

2009-09-26T13:38:00.002-05:00

We had William for a little while this morning while Josh and Jessica went to AAA to look into Alaskan cruises (hooray -- we are booking a 7-day trip for next July!) I decided to have an ice cream sandwich and William was very excited to try it. He sat on my lap and enjoyed ...

Cheeks

2009-09-21T20:57:00.004-05:00

Aren't these just the most adorable cheeks? This image graces my laptop's desktop!

Surviving the New Job ...

2009-09-21T20:31:00.007-05:00

I am trying to make a list of all the things I haven't blogged about (but wanted to) over the past several months. Let's see -- my Mother's Day trip to Atlanta, the trip Dave and I took there in late June/early July. Our trip to Gettysburg ... William's birthday ... the list goes on and on.

However, I'm probably going to have to start with more current stuff and work backwards with "flashbacks" about what's been happening in the Paine family. It's just easier that way!

So I should probably start by mentioning that I have a new job. I decided phlebotomy just wasn't for me and decided to focus on looking for customer-oriented lines of work. I also was hoping to find something close to home (yeah, I was thinking of those nasty drives to RIT during those winter snowstorms and how much I never wanted to have to go through that again). Lo and behold I noticed that The Bank of Castile was looking for a bank teller at their Greece office. Hmmm ... 3 miles up the road. Five minutes from home. Out went the resume and in came a call for an interview.

It was kind of interesting that all this happened at the same time
I was considering a position with The American Red Cross. God certainly answered my prayers when I asked Him to intervene if that wasn't the right path. And the timing worked out so perfectly as I was able to get two interviews in before heading to Massachusetts with Dave (business trip for him). In fact, I was fielding calls about the job the whole time we were there and accepted the job while driving home.

So -- I started August 31st. I spent the first week training in Batavia (yep, an hour drive ... 40 miles each way!) and then the next two weeks in Caledonia (just as long a drive but only 30 miles ...)

I had such great experiences in both places. I was just hoping that working in the Greece office would be as nice.

Today was my first day in the Greece office. I'm so glad that's under my belt. It's nice to feel like I finally have a home after 3 weeks training in different locations. I'm excited to get to know the people working in Greece -- they sure seem like a fun bunch.

I'm hoping my feet will adjust to standing the majority of the day and that processing all the various transactions will soon become second nature. I know that it all just takes time. Looking forward to it all getting easier!

One day down ...

The Sleeping Grandpups

2009-09-20T18:04:00.002-05:00

Meghan snapped this picture of their pups in a rare moment of peace and quiet. That's Desmo's new bed that he got for his birthday. Desmo is the brown one (on top) and M is the little one (she's a blue one.) They're just the sweetest pups!

Bree and Jay -- Together 5 Years

2009-09-19T20:51:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Bree and Jay's 5 year anniversary. To celebrate they went to a movie and dinner and ... had their pictures taken. I just loved these and had to post them.

A New Grandpuppy -- Introducing "M"

2009-05-02T22:31:00.009-05:00

What a busy week it's been -- although I can scarcely remember what has managed to keep it so full. The days seem to just fly by, one flowing into the next with hardly enough time to reflect on any one event.

Earlier in the week I found myself immersed in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons -- a book I've wanted to read since reading The DaVinci Code came out a few years back. Since the Angels and Demons movie is about to come out (May 15) I decided I should get busy with it. However, I spent half of Monday and just about all of Tuesday with my nose in the book. I did manage to get a little laundry done and dinner on the table but that's about it!

Wednesday was my "William" fix -- as usual, he was lots of fun and I left their house exhausted. But it was a good exhausted :) Daisy had an evening grooming appointment with Jessie and kept us running. We got home just in time to be further confused by LOST.

Thursday was spent keeping busy around the house and doing more errands. We had someone come to estimate having the house trim painted (Yay! They'll be coming in June to paine so we'll finally be able to cross that job off the list!)

Friday I got out to visit Mom -- and had the fun of watching a mama duck with her dozen or so babies as she tried to move them from one part of the parking lot to another. I am SO thankful that none were in my path as I rounded the curve into the parking lot. I briefly caught them out of the corner of my eye as I pulled in. I could so easily have hit them had they been just a few inches in another direction.

It was fun to see the mama squawking at a good samaritan that wanted to help lift the ducklings up over the curb so they could follow mama ... he was quickly informed his help was not needed as mama squawked and rounded all the ducklings back up and then she (and they) went into "hiding" mode (she pulled her neck down and ended up looking like a rock. The babies did the same ... simply amazing) She did, however, keep poking her head up to see if the good samaritan had left. Too funny.

This morning was our monthly breakfast with Glennys and we were all happy that Josh came and brought William to entertain us. He is just growing by leaps and bounds. He's now pulling himself to a stand on the coffee table and couches with barely any effort and his two little teeth are in view for all to see.

He is becoming more vocal and will pound the table top to mimic you if you pound. He loves his little yogurt drop treats and we get a kick out of him picking them up and popping them into his mouth. Jessica certainly knows how to get him laughing -- he was in a full belly laugh tonight (we went up to their house for a BBQ cookout later this afternoon) as they played peek a boo on opposite sides of the coffee table.

Daniel and Meghan let us know that they have a new addition to their family -- Little M! She's a toy blue chiquaqua and is simply adorable. Daniel sent pictures so we could meet her. I, of course, will get to see her in person this coming Friday since I'm flying down to spend Mother's Day weekend with them!

Here are pictures of M -- she is about 14 weeks old here.