Wrong again . . .

As you can see the puzzle pieces are huge.  But I really liked the scene.

Thought I wasn't working hard enough in my Wii Fitness Coach work out. I finally accidentally found the list of things I could do to perk up the program besides just clicking on "No sweat!"  I had her crank it up and she threw in some more difficult moves which I liked. I ended up digging out the heart monitor and found myself pushing close to 150 bpm. I'd forgotten what the cardiac rehab guys had told me for my ideal beats per minute so I called this morning. Normal, 70 year old woman should be between 120 and 130. He checked out my results from the 12 weeks of rehab and told me I could go to the mid 130's but not over 140. So I checked out how things went today and I had to go back to my regular routine. I was surprised how hard I have to work to do pliés with bicep curls. So I'm going to just keep on working at my regular level and just let her beef it up a little when necessary.  Lesson learned for now!

On our cabin fever trip to Foster, RI and a snack at Shady Acres we had a pleasant surprise. A man sitting at the counter having his snack was a friend from our dating days! The minute I saw him I remembered our trip to Munson, MA for the motorcycle hill climbs. We had scrabbled our way to the top to get a good look at the action. On the way back down my feet got ahead of me and I was running pellmell without the ability to slow down. Sandy got in front of me and caught me. Good thing. I really was scared silly. I'm still wary when I'm walking down steep trails. Didn't realize how dangerous it could be. He and PS&D's Pop had a good time talking cars and politics. I put in my two cents too, naturellement! He is retired but his wife is still working at the Shepard Hill School. He's having a great deal of difficulty walking now. That's a real shame.

Finished my Grandma's Kitchen puzzle in record time - 5 days. Grampa did help me at the end. I took a photo of it and then boxed it up. I still think that it is an Alzheimer's puzzle. The pieces were too large for my liking. I may have to buy Ravensburger puzzles instead of Springbok for the next round, next winter!

Quote:  Early and provident fear is the mother of safety.    ____Burke

Cabin fever . . .

Back to England and WW II

Most assuredly have cabin fever. I just spent quality time with q-tips and organic pesticide oils cleaning up pockets of spider mites upstairs in the cold storage above the big bedroom attempting to save the Bonsai Gardenia Numéro 1. It's looking a bit peaked but I shall keep at it until I can put it out side, probably only in early May! It's such a beautiful plant but wow does it have problems. I may have to repot it too and even change the tray of rocks. We'll see what I can do playing Green Goddess! Gardenia #2 is very well and slowly some buds are unfurling. Didn't know that gardenias are very slow growing. That's a good thing for me. Maybe it'll help me to slow down. I'm always in a rush for something!

Grampa drove me to Cutler Middle School in Mystic yesterday and we watched Kiddo as his team won their game. The Groton Heat had to wait two hours for their next game so Kiddo and his Mom settled in to watch other games and Grampa and I went to their house so he could watch the Daytona 500 on the 60 inch screen, eat pizza and chips and drink beer! I went back for the second game and took all the back roads I could because I didn't have my license! The Heat got pretty beat up in this second game but Kiddo had an assist and handled his defensive duties well! He was all tuckered out and decided he really hated the Groton Celtics! So ends formal basketball for the season.

PS&D's Pop has offered to take me for a snack in RI so we can gas the car at better prices than here. I'll take him up on it just to get out. Had just enough snow last night to freeze on the driveway this morning but the bright sun is melting it away. Wish it would melt the whole yard. Still way too much snow. Can just about see the top of the rock outcropping to the right of the garage. And so I give it another  merdeski. (This is too funny. Spell check knows how to spell merdeski!) One other bright spot for today:  Kiddo had cut out all sorts of snowflakes and I had to color them. I used the pastels and they are very bright and peachy keen clinging to the fridge.

Quote:  O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath; a goodly apple rotten at the heart!  ___Shakespeare (Was he speaking of politicians?)

Disgruntled King Tut . . .

How 'bout that closet door?

Can't say I really blame him but Kiddo wasn't thrilled when he got up this morning and had to put on his school project costume so his kooky Mémé could get a photo. It really is too small for him so I cut the sleeves free just a bit and actually broke the elastic for the head gear! He was happy with that because he hated the head piece. His teacher managed to get it on him for one photo, which I haven't seen! He didn't wear the head piece for the presentation. Must admit it was awkward and too tight. But kiddos have to suffer a little in life! Finally found a book that he really liked but it's the first in the series and just came out in January. Doubt we'll see volume two for quite a while. He is in the middle of a lesson plan. He has to teach the class all about salmon! It doesn't seem to faze him at all. Good on him! He and Grampa put together his solar powered car late yesterday afternoon but they had to modify it because we don't have any solar power! They used a C battery and it works very well. We almost wore it out running it between the kitchen and the living room.

Hell's bells. It's snowing! Merdeski. I hope it's just some pesky little storm. We would like to get to Kiddo's basketball tournament tomorrow. But he already knows that if the roads are bad up here we won't go. It's supposed to be rain along the coast. Big brother's Grasso Tech team made State's last night against Putnam. Perhaps I can bring the Kiddo to see his big brother play at least one more time. I'm sure the next game will be a killer as they will be the low seed against a top seed. But you never know until it's over!

Grampa and I were going to stop at the Roadside Diner for a coffee around 12:30. No room, not even at the counter so we settled for coffees to go, a home made Glorious Morning muffin for him and a magnificent fresh cinnamon, walnut honey bun for me. Heaven. Must get cracking on my Sprinbok, La cuisine de grand'mère before Grandpé disowns moi! He really doesn't like puzzle pieces for supper. Such a grouch.

Quote:  The crown of all faculties is common sense.   __It is not enough to do the right thing, it must be done at the right time and place.  __Talent knows what to do; tact knows when and how to do it.   _____W. Matthews

Very nice hoodie . . .

Grampa was out early today!

Took my bi-weekly journey to visit younger sister yesterday. We went out a bit earlier than usual since I had to return for a haircut at 3 pm. R. gave me a beautiful aqua/green soft, cuddly hoodie which just fits. I will be very careful when I have to wash it so I don't shrink it. It really is very good looking and comfortable. I'll wear it over a mock turtleneck unzipped! Cool beansies!  We had a delicious breakfast at the Harvest in Simsbury. Forgot that there was no school there this week and were lucky to get a table. The wait for our food was worth it:  delicious coffee, a type of eggs Benedict for me ( bottom up:  potato patty, crumbled crisp bacon, two poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce and a side of succulent fresh fruit). R. had stuffed banana bread French toast which was  delectable, sweet and delicious. I ate all of my food but we brought some of R's back home with us. We also decided we needed a monster chocolate chip cookie to snack on while we played cards! She almost beat me at cribbage and then creamed me twice at Casino. We laughed a lot because we kept losing track of the big and little casino!

Not making my trek to Groton today because Kiddo's Dad will pick him up after school for family haircut day! I'll go tomorrow when he has a half day and we'll return to Moosup for some sliding and working on his solar car with Grampa. I've just been offered  a drive to Ray's Hobby Shop and lunch at the Top of the Bay. Best be on my way!

Quote:  Two consorts in heaven are not two, but one angel.   ___Swedenborg

Nice excursion . . .

Couldn't help myself.  The frost on the bedroom window was sparkling this morning.

Haven't had optimal conditions for out door activities so we went for a ride to Hog Heaven in Sturbridge, MA.  I can always find something new and different to get for Kiddo. Poor Grampa has given up hoping I won't find something I like! Today I found a Klutz Complete Build-It-Yourself Kit for a Solar Car! Now that is very neat. I won't bring it to Groton but will dig it out when Kiddo comes for a visit on a sunny day. A quote from the back of the package: "Batteries Not Included. But it's not a problem. The energy for this car is provided by a one-million-mile-wide ball of nuclear fusion located at 8.5 light-speed minutes away. We have provided unlimited access it this source of power at no additional cost.It comes free with every purchase."  That just ticked my fancy. The drive home is so beautiful along 169 and we stopped at Java Jive for lunch. Grampa found a new radio station he liked which provided the background music as we ate our sandwiches.  91.1 FM is broadcast from The Pomfret School and plays all kinds of odd oldies with no real advertisements. Will watch UCONN women go up against Baylor tonight at 9. I'm not certain they can pull it off but I'm hoping. That would be a fantastic win.  Think I'll go tickle the ivories for a while. I've finally found some songs I like and are easy enough for me to play! Hope I don't forget myself and start singing out loud! An aside: bought gas in MA for 40 cents a gallon cheaper than Connecticut!

Quote:  It is sweet to feel by what fine spun threads our affections are drawn together.   ___Sterne

Blew it big time . . .

Bonsai Gardenia #2 in action. Had to have Puppies' and Dante's Pop take the photo.  I kept muffing it!

Oh well, I did it again. We brought Kiddo home 2 1/2 hours early this morning! Got up at seven and it was snowing with the forecast indicating we would get up to 3 inches today before turning into heavy snow tonight. Never one to take chances, especially with our Kiddo, we packed up early and were on our way. Naturellement, when we got to Groton the sun came out! So we went to McD's for breakfast before bringing him home. Ended up waking Mom because we needed to make certain we didn't drop him off with no one home.  That would have been a second time!! Not good. So I made the poor kid knock on Mom and Dad's bedroom door just so I could rest in peace!

We went to Kiddo's brother's basketball game last night. The Eagles of Grasso Tech lost to Goodwin Tech of New Britain but we had a lot of fun watching the game. Kiddo loved watching Big Brother in action. Very cool. Big brother will graduate in June. Can't believe we've already come to that stage in his life. He is going to school, working after school at Cardinal Honda from 2 to 6 pm and from 8 am to 2pm Saturdays. He also kept some of his hours at Big Y and works there Sundays. Super good kid. He and his girlfriend were at the house Valentine's Day and he asked me to guess how many roses he had given to his girlfriend. So I guessed a dozen. Told "Be real, Irène!" I guessed again. " Twelve roses?" With a shocked look that said " How could you think I'm that cheap?" He told me, " Three dozen." So I immediately asked the young lady, "How come?" Answer, "He was bad yesterday." Too funny. They then went out to dinner at Foxwoods! She is a Junior at Grasso, hairdressing, I think.

We're back to snowing in Moosup. Sick of it. Was going to get a photo of King Tut today but circumstances prevented me from doing so.  Maybe next week.

Quote:  To analyze the charms of flowers is like dissecting music; it is one of those things which it is far better to enjoy, than to attempt fully to understand.   ___Tuckerman

Not just for our kids . . . for all and sundry . . .

 Perry and Irene

And for $6.95 . . .

Sunday blueberry pie - all gone last night!

Have no clue why I wanted to go out for lunch today but Puppies' & Danté's Pop was agreeable as I offered it as my Valentine's Lunch. We went to Central Village's Roadside Diner and for the whopping sum of $6.95 I had excellent fresh Italian bread, baked scrod, mashed potatoes, green beans, coffee and strawberry apple rhubarb crisp! Just perfect. These guys put out a great meal. I'll have to start double exercising because I had breakfast today with T. at Old Tymes, Cinnamon Crisp! Perhaps two hours of good conversation whetted my appetite for lunch! I believe we'll have tuna sandwiches for supper.  It's already Ash Wednesday!

Grampa is washing the Hyundai because the amount of dirt and salt on it makes it look like a mud ball. We're supposed to get some snow tonight but not enough to mess up my Thursdays at Kiddo's school. Looking forward to seeing him to hear what he's been up to with all of the snow days. He did call to let us know he had lost another tooth! The outside thermometer is reading 60 degrees but that is with the sun shining right on it. There is a lot of melting going on but I believe that Kiddo will still be able to go sliding Friday afternoon.

Completed the last CD of 48 CD set as I exercised yesterday and put the book up for sale at Amazon. It's not going to fetch as good a price as the last set did. But if I clear $35 I'll be able to order the last book (8) in the The Outlander series which will come out in the Fall. Come to think of it I believe I've already pre-ordered it! And besides I already have book seven  in the series ready for exercising!

Quote:  To have ideas is to gather flowers; to think, is to weave them into garlands.  ___Mad. Swetchine

Blueberry pie. . .

So much outlining and still more filling in to do!

To quote Puppies' and Danté's Pop, "It's colder than a witch's tit." Started out at 2 below, went to 3 below and it is now 9 above. That's progress for you! I'm going to finish up the frozen blueberries kid brother gave me ages ago and make a sweet, comforting, aromatic pie. Even though we went to Central Village for a very early breakfast I'm not venturing out for Mass. The roads are not good and I can't imagine the steps up to All Hallows are in very good shape. We couldn't make it (from Route 12 and by the Medical Center) up the drive way coming back from the Roadside Diner. I got out and opened the garage while Puppies' and Danté's Pop went down to the bridge to turn around and come at the yard with some speed. That worked out well. I'll spend the day cooking, watching UCONN men and women basketball, playing the keyboard, reading and maybe some cross stitch. I've only been working on it for a few years! I must say that it is truly beautiful to look out on the bright snow shining under the sun's rays. The sky is a perfect blue, no clouds. Don't think we'll get too much melting today before the rains come in tomorrow and raise havoc. Typical Nutmeg weather. Hoping younger brother and his wife make it home from Arizona although they could probably stay longer and keep away from this blinding, but beauteous snowy mess. The wind has died down so we do have a plus! Another plus - I exercised for half and hour and didn't cough.  Gee, five weeks and it seems I'm back to normal.

Quote:  There is no trifling with nature; it is always true, grave, and severe; it is always in the right, and the faults and errors fall to our share.  It defies incompetency, but reveals its secrets to the competent, the truthful, and the pure.   ___Goethe  (Not too sure about the revelation part!)

The aftermath . . .

Top of side steps from porch.

 

Bottom of side steps from road.

 

Spinner can't spin.

 

Cleaning in front of the garage.

 

       

Porch.

 

We shall see . . .

Back to England - WWII

Puppies and Danté's Pop has already scraped off about two inches of snow from in front of the garage. It is about 2:30 pm. The snow started at about 8:15 this morning! But the wind is starting to come up and the snow is coming down faster so we shall see what the Blizzard of 2013 leaves with us. Spent a nice visit with younger sister Wednesday where we splurged and pigged out on a whole (small) cake from the Harvest.  It was very good - marble with raspberry on top and fantastic, thick, rich mocha frosting all around. Shocked myself as I ate my half! Couldn't stop eating until the last, tasty bite of frosting disappeared. Very pleasurable and great to share with R. She beat me at cribbage. Must be taking lessons from Cousine S! They're starting to gang up on me.

Seems that Kiddo did quite well in his King Tut presentation but no grade has been sent home. He said that his teacher commented that he was the only one who remembered to speak in the first person! It seems that she asked him "Where did you get your staff?" (I found a neat one at Amazon with a flared cobra head!)  He told her, " My father, Amenhotep, gave it to me!" Cool beansies. He has been lax keeping up with his reading but I've been on his case. We'll see how it pans out. Made myself buckle down and finish reading American Pastoral by Philip Roth. Not good. Not good at all. I read that it was one of The Great American Novels so I decided to buy the Kindle edition. It is not a great novel and the Kindle edition was full of mispellings, lacunae, and odd symbols in place of parts of some words. I've written to Amazon to complain but doubt I'll get a refund.  I bought it in November and just got around to reading it. When I finally looked up the reviews on it after I had finished reading I realized the author had written Portnoy's Complaint which I recall was a blockbuster sex novel some years ago. I'll have to be a better judge of literature than I was for this latest fiasco. I'm going to start reading The Curse Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town a novel by Robert H. Steele. He was our Congressman in the early 70's and ran for governor in 1975. In 1971 he took part in the annual VJ Day parade in Moosup and stopped by our house to refresh himself! That's when we were pretty heavily involved in Republican politics. I remember walking the parade route which started at Kaman and went up Main before cutting across to come down Lake Street, then up High Street and down Daggett.  I was expecting our first kiddo! Boy did I give out a lot of candy and pot holders!

Quote:  If ever this free people__if this government itself is ever utterly demoralized, it will come from this incessant human wriggle and struggle for office, which is but a way to live without work.  __Abraham Lincoln

Change of plans . . . redux . . .

And I must include the best of the Roses.  (1985)

On my return from Mass yesterday and Puppies and Danté's Pop's return from watching horseshoes in East Hartford middle child called and said they would manage without me for their Super Bowl Extravaganza! So that was pretty cool and we spent a nice anniversary quietly together. We went to the flying field in Brooklyn where I walked for at least half an hour in the breezy cold. Yikes! But it felt good to be outside. I haven't walked outside in many weeks. The cough is letting up but still tenacious. Hope this week finally kills it! In the afternoon we watched UCONN men beat USF. It was a come from behind game so that is an enormous feat for Kevin Ollie and his bedraggled Huskies. Had a pick up supper before settling in for Super Bowl XLVII. We have never actually watched a bowl game, ever! This was so comical it was fun! Of course Grampa watched Dumbest Stuff on Wheels during half time and I played solitaire! We saw a couple of glimpses of the show and I was content to win at solitaire. The best part of the game was keeping track of the Facebook comments by family and friends. Did a lot of laughing! Going out this evening with Oneco friends and tomorrow I should be seeing Kiddo in the afternoon (he has a half day?) to find out how his Tutankhamen presentation went.

Quote:  Love is patient; love is kind.  Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish.  Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries.  Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth.  There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. Love never fails . . . Saint Paul 's First Letter to the Corinthians  Chapter 13

Forty-six years have gone by . . . not possible . . .

Perry and Snoopy at our second apartment in East Hartford.  First apartment was near the cathedral in Norwich. September 1967

Moi.  We lived up the covered steps until 1969, East Hartford.

May 31, 1965 - Good thing Gram wrote on the back of her photos!

Still feel the way I did when we met in 1964. We're good. That may be understatement but don't know how to express the depth of my emotions. Married Friday evening February 3, 1967 less than two months after Perry returned from Vietnam. Were married at All Hallows Rectory - sister Rose and brother Larry were witnesses along with Ma, Pa and Gram.  Fr. Millette officiated. Wouldn't change anything of these 46 years. This good life continues.

Not quite as planned . . .

 

 

Had a change of plans because of Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow, our forty-sixth wedding anniversary! We decided to go to the Corner Bistro today but, naturellement, they were not opening until 4pm and we wished to eat at 1pm. Our backup plan took us to the 99 Restaurant in the Killingly Mall area. It's a good thing we were late for lunch. The place was very busy but quite a few people were leaving when we arrived so we only waited about seven minutes. Food and drinks were really quite good. Much better than our last outing at a chain restaurant, the Outback, in Warwick. After a good lunch of fish and chips for Puppies' Pop and  delicious mac and cheese for me along with salads, key lime pie (moi!) beers and a Kahlua and Vanilla Stoli for me we got home in time to see the UCONN women beat St. John's by the skin of their teeth. Tomorrow I'll go to Groton late in the day to keep Kiddo out of mischief while Richoni's rocks!

We had a good Friday into Saturday visit with Kiddo. He found the old green fountain pen that MaTante Rose used to use, an empty ink bottle and the blotter on top of Grampa Rose's desk and asked how it worked. So we set him up at his table and he whiled away the time practicing  his cursive. Really enjoyed using that wonderful old pen. I don't think I ever expected to see it used again. We only put some water in the bottle but there must have been a lot of dried up ink in the pen. It worked like a charm. He even took a tour of his Aunt D's room to see her Waterman Calligraphy pen, the beautiful, colorful ink bottles and the instruction books I used (once, perhaps!) I think he'll be taking it all out again when he comes next Friday. He was really keen on using the pen!

Monday he has to give a report to his third grade class about King Tutankhamen. He has it pretty well figured out and a costume too. I hope he pulls it off without being too nervous. That's a tough job. At least those were tough jobs for me! The doctor called in an antibiotic for me yesterday and it seems to be working. Hallelujah! Four more pills to go and I hope the cough of 2013 is history! I know Grampa seconds that!

Quote:  If there is anything better than to be loved, it is loving.   ___Anonymous