Odd weather day . . .

What a sweet face.

After breakfast this morning we were going to go to Epping, NH for opening day of Dragstrip but the weather seemed a little iffy so I checked on line.  The races were called off because of the lousy, rainy forecast. So I went to the last Children's Mass of this school year at 9:15.  From now until October I'll have to settle for the 11 am Mass. I found that I prefer the earlier Mass because it seems to give me a longer day and I get more done!  But 11 am it'll have to be.

Spent much of the day getting caught up on reading my National Reviews and the Bulletin before P&D's Pop asked if I wanted to go for a ride.  So we took a nice ride to We-Lik-It in Abington to get some ice cream.  It's really a pretty ride up Route 69 to Route 44 and then 97 to Abington.  There was no one there when we arrived but they streamed in as we were getting ready to leave.  Visited with a couple of burros and two comely long-haired goats (angora?) We were a bit disappointed with the ice cream.  The chocolate wasn't really chocolaty - how can you mess with chocolate?  Behind the store we could see a maple grove and the trees were all connected with tubing that ran to an evaporator.  Pretty neat.  Of course it is no longer working.

It's been a very cloudy day but not too much rain until we decided to go to the flying field after we returned from Abington.  We only got as far as PHS when the heavens opened and a deluge ensued. Of course we turned around and came home.  The sun came out ten minutes later!  Ah, the vagaries of Connecticut politics showing up in Mother Nature's cruelty.

We had lunch Saturday at the Roadside Diner and I admired a neat mug on one of the shelves.  I really couldn't get over the giraffe mug; it was Trish's personal coffee mug so she took it down to show it to me; then she gave it to me. That was really such a nice thing for her to do.  I will bring her a Thank You note Tuesday morning but it can't really express how happy I am with the mug. It makes me smile.

Kiddo, Grampa and I went to Porter Pond Friday evening and he was so thrilled.  Grampa had a good bite on his line but couldn't snag the fish.  But the Kid got so excited when he got a bite and it stayed hooked.  He had some fun reeling in a 16" Pickerel that weighed about a pound.  Grampa unhooked it and threw it back for him.  He was not ready to leave after that so he kept fishing and in a little while he hooked another Pickerel, this one was about 20 inches long.  He had to fight a little to bring it in.  Again Grampa released it to the wild and Kiddo was so hopped up we had to stay for another half hour to see if he could hook another one! While watching the guys fishing I saw a blue heron across the Pond fishing next to shore. I was supposed to bring the camera but, naturellement, I forgot.  Darn . . . there were some beautiful sights as the sun was setting on the water. Kiddo wanted to go fishing again the next morning but it rained quite hard all day so that was nixed. Did get my concert though he was not too excited about that!


Quote:   Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort.   ___Sir H. Davy

Le temps est magnifique . . .

The Dewey Oak, Granby, CT

The last few days have been incredibly beautiful. Sunday, Easter, was so nice.  Although we only had our small family together it was just about as fine an Easter as this old house has seen. Kiddo and his brother played basketball after dinner; Mom and Dad relaxed while Grampa and I enjoyed the day.  C, our neighbor, came over after dinner to invite Kiddo to gather eggs on their lawn with the gaggle of children visiting for the holy day and so he and his Mom went to socialize for a while.  His Mom found out that one of the cousins by marriage works at EB in the same building as she.  That was really nice.  She keeps meeting new people and getting more comfortable in her position.

Today was another gorgeous day and so we went together to the flying field where P&D's Pop flew his model while I walked my four circuits of the fields. I've also worked outside clearing the horrible monster weeds that clog the area in front of the southern wall above the garden.  What an unholy mess.  I can only get a little done and that takes me hours!  The weeds are gargantuan and spread on a runner which then stops and makes a tall tough unsightly bushy plant. I'll never get to the end of it.  At least when the urge strikes me to go outside and work I always have something to do.  So I guess it's a good thing to have monster weeds around.

We'll have prime rib on the grill for supper tonight along with turnip, broccoli, mashed potatoes and gravy.  Then I'll make some soup with the broth I cooked up last night.  Puppy from next door has already had one of the tasty bones and has come back for seconds.  He'll get one a day for five days and that's that.  I found a nice photo on line of the Dewey Granby Oak.  Hoping I can get some good shots of it when I visit with younger sister during the coming seasons.

Quote:  Our affections are our life.  ___We live by them; they supply our warmth.   _____Channing

Yesterday with the ancient oak in Granby . . .

Easter 2014

No the ancient oak is not my sister rather an old monster of a tree that we came upon pretty much by accident.  We had to stop for some odds and ends at a family run pharmacy and I saw some pictures of the oak on cards they had for sale at the check out. We asked about the oak and were given directions by several clerks and customers so off we went.  It is an incredibly large oak in circumference and its branches are huge quite a few touching the ground and seemingly growing from the ground.  It looks like it has suffered through many cataclysmic events.  I plan to go back with my camera to see if I can get any good shots but it is so massive and so close to a winding, hilly, rather narrow road that I'm not sure I'll be able to figure out how to photograph it in its awesome, fearsome ancient beauty. I would like to get photos through the seasons just as Monet painted Notre Dame at different times and seasons. I was surprised to see this tree in Connecticut.  It reminds me of the marvelous live oaks we've seen in Louisiana.  It doesn't look as if anyone is working to preserve it.  It is our understanding that the tree was hit by a truck and damaged during the freak October snow storm.  Seems to me that it needs some dead wood removed so it can save its energy and remain whole and healthy.  Of course I know nothing about these things.  I shall look it up.  Perhaps there is already a committee somewhere that is keeping tabs on it.

After we tracked down the Granby Oak we made our way to Granville, MA and The Scoop.  The ice cream shop had just opened Saturday so we lucked out. Had a chance to sit a while and watch the donkeys, sweet new goats and llamas. Very nice. P&D's Pop and I took a ride to Mystic this morning and ordered a new triple spinner at the kite store.  Hope he doesn't forget to order it. The owner is very disorganized - I mean very, very disorganized. I should take a photo of the inside of his tiny shop. There is no room to walk around. There are kites and spinners open and hanging everywhere plus you come very close to stepping on some. To take my name and number he handed me a wrinkled envelope! We shall see if he remembers me when he places his order in the next couple of weeks if the salesman actually returns - seems he hasn't been seen in a while.  Gee, perhaps he's under a pile of spinners in the back of the shop? Didn't dare to ask. Last time I ordered from the shop he had a young college student working for him and he was somewhat organized. He doesn't even know what his inventory is!

 On the way home we stopped for lunch at Buono Appetito on Route 2 going towards Foxwoods.  It's a new building that is taking the place of the old Dew Drop Inn.  It was surprisingly fine.  We just had chowder, a hamburger with fries and they also brought out their home made focaccia with dipping oil which was delicious. Could have been an expensive lunch but we only had water and got away with $18 minus the tip. Not bad.

Will pick up the chocolate cake at Gregg's tomorrow and then the prime rib at Big Y as we get ready to celebrate Easter. Doesn't feel like Easter.  Not sure why. I know it's Good Friday.  Perhaps I'll try to find the link to a rather good rendition of a pop hit Hallelujah whose words were rewritten telling the Easter story. It is beautifully sung. I think either link, at the top or the bottom of this page will get you to the song.

Quote:  The soul's calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy.   ___Pope

For Easter

My cup runneth . . .

Here he is. Pretty neat little fellow.

Well Kiddo called me last night and it seems Dr. Dad and Dr. Mom believe he has a badly sprained ankle. So he iced it, kept it elevated, rested and was able to get around, slowly last night. Hope it heals well.

Yesterday P&D's Pop was inside CVS to get a prescription while I waited in the Elantra. As he was returning to the car I heard voices! Yep, Timmy from Alabama and Susan from New Jersey, our niece and nephew, came over to say hello. What a surprise to meet them like that. The circumstances are not the best though. Their Dad's father died so they were spending time with their grandmother and family before the church services. No matter the reason they were here it was swell to get some hearty hugs! And then today at the Children's Mass on Palm Sunday Father asked us to process from the school to the church. I joined in, holding doors and singing too and lo and behold I saw a young man looking at me as he passed through my held door and it was John with our niece Wendy and their son from Virginia. So this was another pleasant happenstance. And . . . on top of all that the bluebird waited for me so I could take some photos earlier this AM. I was working out with the medicine ball near the kitchen window when I saw the little sucker guarding his house. I grabbed the camera and quietly rushed out to the end of the garage in my not-to-be-worn-outside sneakers and got in some pretty good shots without my glasses. Hallelujah!

Will be going to Groton tomorrow as Kiddo is on vacation. Good stuff.

Quote:  There is nothing so elastic as the human mind.  Like imprisoned steam, the more it is pressed the more it rises to resist the pressure.  The more we are obliged to do the more we are able to accomplish.   ___Tryon Edwards

Started out okay but then . . .

Bluebird peeking out as he constructs his nest. (Grampa's photo)

Well Friday ended up being an okay kind of day.  Only one hasty doctor's appointment in New London and the nurses were able to call in a prescription at the Groton CVS since I wasn't going home until late afternoon. Kiddo and I had a good trip home and after supper he played basketball 'til almost dark while I sat in calm repose on my garage swing. Even today started out very well.  Grampa had to go to the Thompson Dam to help with the Yankee Flyers' cleanup day so Kiddo and I went to breakfast at McD's.  It's good to spoil a kid once in a while!

 After an excellent concert ending with All My Loving by the Beatles we went outside and he was racing a remote control car around the driveway as I watched. In a flash somehow as the car veered towards him, he tried to jump out of the way but instead landed on the driveway as the car wiped him off  his feet.  Not good. After letting him rest in the driveway and being pretty sure he hadn't broken anything I helped him up and thought I'd take him to the emergency room.  He couldn't put any weight at all on his left leg.  But he just said, "Let me rest, Memere."  So we hobbled into the house and I called his folks who thought I should just bring him home and they would decide what to do next.  Got him into the car with an ice pack on his left knee and off we went. He couldn't climb the stairs at his house so his Dad carried him up.  Hoping to hear from them soon.  His folks think he just hyper-extended his leg but I'll feel much better if they bring him to the doctor's.  Kiddo doesn't need a bad leg.  He and I were hoping to go to UCONN this week and get some jerseys and t-shirts!

The weather is so beautiful today that I've put most of my plants out on the porch, opened a couple of windows and am barefoot.  So nice . . .

Quote:  One that desires to excel should endeavor it in those things that are in themselves most excellent.  __Epictetus

Hypercritical . . . gotta stop . . .

Delphic Sibyl - Sistine Chapel  ( Recently finished reading Irving Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy about the life of Michelangelo Buonarotti.)

Good gravy . . . went to 9:15 Mass and was so turned off by the visiting priest.  He's been around for a long time, even stayed in our parish some years ago but his simpleness drove me crazy then and it still drives me nuts. I know he means well but he reads the gospel and explains it in his own words to bring it down to our level. Oh lordy . . . drives me off the deep end. I really wish we had a good preacher here once in a while.  This priest is here to run a mission for the week; there were more people than usual at this kids' Mass so I'm assuming they came because of him.  He preaches to the kids the same way he preaches to adults - as if we're a bunch of simpletons.  It's probably just me - I want more than nice, made up, over simplified, cute, stereotypical stories to show me the way. It doesn't help that I'm reading a novel, Morte d'Urban about a priest back in the 1930's out in Minnesota. I'm having trouble figuring out if being a priest means being simple. That cannot be.  I guess they're just plain ordinary human beings with all of our human failings so I should stop being so tedious in complaining about them. I should think more about shaping my own strategies for living a good, calm, helpful, loving, working, appreciating, understanding, peaceful yet unaccommodating of evil life. Let's see where that get me!

It's a beautiful day; bright sunshine; sunny skies; UCONN men are going on the the Championship; the women are playing tonight; P&D's Pop is flying after cleaning up the bathroom for me while I was at Mass.  So all in all life is just fine.  Gotta relax and go with the ebb tide; catch up on my reading; exercise; work on my minute mini-cross stitch; rake some leaves etc. Okay feeling better after that tirade.

Quote:  They only babble who practise not reflection. -- I shall think; and thought is silence.   ___Sheridan   (Need to practice this.)

A beautiful day in the neighborhood . . .

Rhubarb shoots - Spring's Delight

Started out grey and gloomy; went to rehab and perked up; stopped by younger brother's for a few minutes but was smoked out!  (he was burning wet Spring lawn rakings!) received another salubrious jar of shag barks and maple syrup (super yay!) shopped for way too much food at Big Y; gassed up the Elantra; put the groceries away with P&D's Pop; snacked together; waited impatiently for the Blood Orange Sogno di Sorrento to arrive by FedEx so we could sign for it; it's a gift for Oneco friends, very hard to find; went off for a nice short haircut; came back and we went out for another snack at the Roadside Diner; raked up the leaves near the garage so the flowers can breathe in this warm, sweet air; put up the garage swing; P&D's Pop left pine needles and twine out for the bluebirds.  Wow - I can't wait to go out after supper and sit on my swing - always puts me in a good mood - no cares, no worries, enjoying life, smiling about the kids all being home last week along with Kiddo . Thank you, Lord.

Quote:  God is a circle whose center is everywhere, and its circumference nowhere.   __Empedocles