Dreaming of Spring

We had another dusting of snow last night. Jim is away visiting his sister on this Super Bowl weekend. I am not feeling well, so I am home today thinking about warmer days and watching movies on the Hallmark Channel. I also applied to a few jobs on-line, but the pickings are slim.
Kate has put in her first full week at her new job, and on Friday actually assisted with the filling of a cavity. Get this...she loved it. She looks so cute in her scrubs.
Hope you are all enjoying the weekend!

Oh No

I got in my car after work yesterday and when I shut the door, my back windshield exploded into a million pieces. Evidently, while I was parked, a small rock must have kicked up from the main road and cracked the glass. When I shut the door the whole thing shattered. I happily discovered that it is covered 100 % by our auto policy with no deductible. Hurray. They will come out to the house today put in a new one.




It was very chilly driving home like this!

She did it!

I am happy to announce that Kate has a job. She interviewed last week for a receptionist/assistant position at a dentist office in Waterbury. They called her on Friday and offered her the job. She starts today. Hurray for her! Congratulations Kati Caterpillar, you've got your foot in the door!

Mystery Solved

I was on my way home from Southbury yesterday, I came the long way through Woodbury because I love that drive. I was crossing over Rte. 84 on South St. in Middlebury and there perched on the bridge looking down on the highway, was a much larger version of the bird Jim and I saw last week. I passed it quickly and then turned around so that I could take a picture of it with my phone. I pulled along side of it, and was only about 5 feet away. I rolled down my window and I must have spooked it because it seemed to just fall off of the bridge. I put my phone down and when I looked up it was swooping right toward my open window. I screamed and truly thought that it was going to fly right in. It didn't, but flew right across the front of the car so I got a great "up close" look. At that close range it reminded me of a golden eagle, it was huge and seemed to cover the entire windshield with it's wings. We think it was either a red shouldered hawk, or red tailed hawk. Amazing. So, no hawk picture, but here are some of my scenic ride home.

A Stitch in Time

I have quite a lot of free time at Mrs. O'Ladie's . I started bringing little sewing projects with me to help pass the time. I noticed that Mrs. O'Ladie had some things that needed mending and so I offered to do it for her. Now, every Sat she has things that she has set aside for me during the week to work on. Hems, missing buttons, loose seams etc... This is a lead up to write about her wonderful sewing basket. It is a medium sized blue satin covered box. It has 2 levels inside. The bottom level stores a small wooden box filled with buttons, a well worn and needle marked wooden egg shaped sock darner, and many small boxes filled with pins and needles. A sturdy plastic tray fits in to make the top level. It holds about 20 very old wooden spools of 100 % silk thread all in perfect condition. She has a small scissors with a 14kt yellow gold handle that are sharpened to perfection. I am in my glory. You have to understand, not only did my Mom show me how to mend seams, hem,and sew on buttons, she also had me take sewing lessons for several summers and made sure I signed up for sewing courses all through high school (Thanks Mom!). When I was pregnant with John...on Mothers Day, she gave me a beautiful Singer sewing machine that I still use regularly. I sewed for the kids when they were young, especially Kate. So mending for Mrs. O'Ladie and using her beautiful supplies is a joy. Quite often I think that I am benefiting more from this arrangement than she is.

The pictures are not the greatest...taken with my phone.


Box of sewing goodies. In the back and on the right are the packages of needles.
On the left in the back are the wooden spools of silk thread.


Wooden Sock darner


Measuring tape

Mystery

Jim spotted this large bird up in our oak tree this morning. The pictures do not show how huge it really is. At first we thought it was an owl because of it's size, but on closer inspection it had a hawk type face. It had a tannish spotted breast, tinged in orange. It's tail hung way down, and it was black and white striped. If anybody knows what kind of bird this is, please post a comment for me. There have been recent reports of hawks scooping up small dogs in our area, so we are being cautious when letting Tofu out.


These pics are blurry...taken thru the bathroom screen.



3 large crows in the same tree

It's a Dogs Life...

The first part of my life is a bit sketchy. If you aren't familiar with my story, I was rescued by a nice young man from an outdoor life in NYC. He brought me home to his family and life has never been better. I went from sniffing around in gutters for crumbs to 2 square meals a day (treats too!!). Life is good.

I am usually included on family outings. (Central Park)

I've been on vacations. (Maine)

Picnics

And at the end of a busy day...I know my place.

Not too shabby...

Night Out

Jim and I finally got out to celebrate our Anniversary last Friday night. We had a wonderful dinner at "The Good News Cafe" in Woodbury. Jack and Cassie had given us a gift certificate, which we used to the fullest extent. So much fun.

My Job

Thought it might be fun to show you where I work. I've worked here since 1999, behind the scenes. I do the insurance billing for this physical therapy/chiropractic office. It is an interesting position. It is much more challenging now because of all of the cutbacks by employers and their desire to switch over to HMO's to save money, and pass more of the health care cost off on their employee's. UGH. Unfortunately, I need full time hrs. and that is not possible here (28 hrs at most). So I am searching for a new job. No easy task in this economy.


Rehab room


X-ray


Massage

Exam

Acupuncture

Reception

My desk

Sunday Morning

It's 6:30 am and I have woken up to the beautiful sight of a gentle snowfall. It has warmed up a bit, and so far another inch or two is on the ground. While other people that I talk to are tired of the excessive snowfall that we have had this winter, I really love it. Isn't this one of the reasons that we choose to live and stay in New England? Jim likes to talk about retiring somewhere warm, while I dream about going further North, like Maine.
I lit a fire, and am snuggled up with Tofu on the couch with tea and pumpkin banana bread that I made yesterday. I am going to catch up on some reading, and enjoy a quiet morning


My fire


Breakfast


Tofu anxiously waiting for me to sit down, in the hope that I'll share my breakfast

Favorites

I could not even think about doing this blog and not mentioning these 3. From left to right..Kelley, Rebekah, and Rachel. They are the daughters of my sweet friend Karen. They are a breath of fresh air to our Tuesday night bible study. It is such a blessing to have them there. Kelly and Bekah are both getting married this summer and it has been so much fun for me to hear about all of the plans right from the start. They always have me laughing, and I come away feeling so happy after any time that I spend with them. Most of all I respect their desire to learn and grow in their faith. Love you girls!

Unexpected Surprise

Jim called me yesterday afternoon to let me know that he would not be home after work. He had just gotten an e-mail from our friend Mike D. who was in town and wanted to meet for dinner. Mike and his wife Chris, and their daughter and son-in-law moved from here to North Carolina a while back. Jim was thrilled for a chance to spend some time with him. Their other buddy Bob D. (who thankfully still lives close) was able to join them at John's restaurant, here in town. They spent some quality time catching up over John's chicken orzo soup (famous in these parts) and "tastes like home cookin" meals. So wonderful that they could be together.





Mike, Bob and Jim at John's last night. What a great surprise.




I woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. It was frigid and snowing. When I let our dog Tofu out, the back deck looked as if fairies had come during the night and sprinkled sparkly dust. It was so beautiful.




That was really the temp. at 6:30am, and it is only supposed to get colder tonight.



The view out our front door.




Off the back deck.




Out the kitchen window. Beautiful!

Dinner guest

Kate called me at work yesterday to ask me if Jeff (her boyfriend) could come over for dinner. I was tired and still had to do the weekly grocery shopping, but I answered her with a wholehearted YES.
I made spaghetti and meatballs and was worried, Kate told me that he can be finicky. He came by at 6 and brought a cheesecake for us to have for dessert. We ate dinner and kept a lively conversation going at the same time. He cleaned his plate...I needn't have worried.
We had our dessert in the family room where the conversation continued. It was a very pleasant evening.

Nothing

There is absolutely nothing going on right now. The reason I know this is because I was tempted to do a blog entry on my trip to Costco yesterday with Kate. Lame! Really tho, Have you ever tried the Cod they sell in the freezer section. See...lame.
Kate sent/faxed all of her resumes out on Monday and is hoping for at least one call back for an interview. She is in a holding pattern right now. She can't get a car until she has a job, she can't start back to school until she has a car, she needs the job to help pay for the car. Not good. So we wait and pray.
Jim and I got snowed in and could not go out to dinner to celebrate our Anniversary. We plan on going this Friday if the weather holds. On the positive side, we played Phase One with the kids again and that was FUN.

My Saturday Job

I now do the 7-3 shift on Saturdays with Mrs. O'Ladie (not her real name...ha ha). It is challenging at times because she can be, well, to be frank...just plain mean. But heck, she is 100 for crying out loud, she is entitled to some cranky moments. I do not judge. There are also moments when she can be sweet and thoughtful. She has a wonderful self deprecating sense of humor. She's 100 and has buried 2 of her children. I don't know what her beliefs are, but she has a needlepoint of The Lords Prayer" over her favorite chair.
She is very sharp and very proper, a little forgetful perhaps, but her mind is 100% there. Amazing! She reads at least 3 books a week. Anyway, last Saturday she was reading the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Anita Shreve ( The Pilots Wife, Fortune's Rocks, Sea Glass). I was reading as well in a nearby chair. We had been reading for about an hour when she slammed her book shut in disgust. I nearly had a heart attack. You have to know that I am a little on edge when I am there...ready to pull the emergency cord at the first sign of trouble. When I asked her if she was okay, she said "no Patti, I am not okay". Yikes...I had no idea what was coming. "I cannot read this book one second longer". "Take it away and bring me another". "I will not read books with any sex or improper language...it pollutes the mind" . Alrighty then. I got her a new book.
I have thought about that moment often this past week. About how often I pollute my own mind and don't even realize it or give it much thought. I am somewhat desensitized. Not to the blatant offensive things, but the more subtle things that appear in the books that I read and the movies that I watch. I am thinking that I can learn a thing or two from Mrs. O' Ladie.

Memories January 9, 1982

Jim and I have been married for 27 years today. Hurray for us! Jim, honey, God was smiling down on me when he chose you for my husband. There is no other person that I could have gone through this life with. I love you. Happy Anniversary!


Mom, Daddy and Jim. Look at my gorgeous Mom. She was the same age that I am right now. My Dad was battling cancer, so I am posting the next pic of him before he got sick.


My Dad. Cape Cod 1978


Uncle Bob...walking me down the aisle


My beautiful sister

Look at those cuties...Ben and Erin!

Yesterday

An ice storm rolled in yesterday. The roads were awful, so we were all at home last night. It was great to be able to eat dinner with all of us at the table. Usually, Zach is at the gym and Kate is in class or at work around dinnertime. Jim and I eat together and then we keep the kids' dinners warm for them for whenever they get home.
After dinner, Kate suggested that we play a game that Jeff had given her for Christmas. We played until after 10 and had so much fun. I haven't laughed that much in a long time.

Thanks Jeff!

This is serious

Kate admits defeat