Very happy, impressed and not surprised . . .

According to his wife, the best RC flyer out there.

P&D's Pop got a phone call today from the engineering teacher at PHS who told him about the plans for his classes this year. It looks like Grampa will be helping out with building model airplanes and a solar/battery powered car. That is such cool beansies. I'm so glad they recognized this man who is so capable and helpful on just about anything that has a motor, drives or flies! He is ingenious and did I mention  my best love? Yes he is. He was also invited to go up North on a fishing trip but he declined, not too intrigued. I believe it shows how much the guys at the high school appreciate him. So very nice to know that his knowledge and intrinsic understanding of things mechanical is needed and helpful to a bunch of teenagers and they like him and understand how much he's learned about living a good life tinkering and always figuring out new ways to do things and he's willing to share his expertise with them.

Speaking of new ways to do things the orthopedic doctor in Willimantic put me on a six day regimen of prednisone for tendinitis in my right shoulder and sciatica on my left side. Whoopee! I think I'm on the mend. Will start PT for the shoulder after Labor Day - three days a week for four weeks and will see Dr. Scarangella at the end of October to make sure all parts are in proper working order. Will go to see younger sister tomorrow; younger brother and his wife should be home this evening from their trip to Alaska and Seattle. I'm sure they'll be exhausted but happy. That has to have been a great, exciting trip. I'm still working on understanding how my Panasonic camera works and I have learned a little. So much more to know - I know so little it's like a pin prick on an iceberg - so much embedded in that fine camera. I'll never get to the end of it all but will make a little dent if I can only have some patience!

Quote:  All nature is a vast symbolism; every material fact has sheathed within it a spiritual truth.  _____E. H. Chapin

Yup, some energy and zest making a come back . . .

Just for fun

I have no idea why this body does it but every few months it feels like it's sixty and in slow decline mode and then, pop, I'm back in fine fettle at forty-two and alive to life. Had a very good day with younger sister and her childhood friend who stays in Moosup for the summer before heading back to her home in Florida. Old friends have great memories and we  had a lot to laugh about also shared the pain of losing loved ones and best friends.

Today is clear, crisp, dry, bright and ever so beautiful. Mother Nature has given us a scintillating October day in mid-August. Wow. We started out at Lizzy B's where my friend Linda has finally retired from her full time night job as a nurse in Rhode Island and now looks 20 years younger as she works as hard as ever at the restaurant and grocery store she has taken over when the owner went bankrupt and left Linda a mess. She's still way too busy but at least she's not working night and day, only days!

Missed two photo ops yesterday. A red-shoulder hawk was sitting as big and pretty as you please on the bluebird house by the garden. Of course by the time I was set to get a photo it flew off into the woods by the spring. I did try to chase it down but failed. Later on a turkey buzzard landed right in front of the same bluebird house and again I was too late. But it's still fun to try to catch these critters on camera.

Went for a walk through Moosup today and met my cousin Michael who walked a short way with me. He had already walked his mile or so at 6 am! Good grief, that's too early to be out of bed! He was on his way for his cup of Jo at the Cumberland Farm Hang Out. I generally wave to him and his buddies when I drive by. As much as I do complain about Moosup I still feel comfortable and safe walking the daytime streets. We won't talk about the black, back alley nights.  It's too bad people in general never improve. Some are and will always be dim-witted, crude, vulgar cave dwellers no matter the century they inhabit. But of course we still have the good, kind, generous souls who make living sweet and just. Sometimes both inhabit the same body and there is a mighty struggle - good does not always win.

Quote:  I find successful exertion is a powerful means of exhilaration, which discharges itself in good humor upon others.   ___Chalmers

I needed that II . . .

Spink's Beach Bric-a-brac

P&D's Pop took us for a ride to his old stomping grounds at Quonset, RI. Wow, we hadn't realized how long it's been since we were there and we had collected sea glass at the end of the road. The end of the road no longer exists as a place to collect sea glass - it's a big time sea time naval company complete with gates, trains and monster warehouses. But as luck would have it we weren't allowed to barge through the gate at the port where all the Audis and Porsches land but the guard told us how to find a nice little beach where we were able to collect some shells and sea glass. Naturellement I brought my old camera, I was afraid I might fall or something and didn't want to chance the Panasonic, and although Grampa had reminded me to bring the extra battery I inconveniently left it in the car so I only took a few photos. But that was fine because it was just pleasant to be walking along the beach with no one around. And it was especially pleasant to be with my boon companion.

Quote:  Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue, to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak.    ___Socrates

I needed that . . .

It's good to have someone to come home to who just takes you out to a monster Margarita  Lunch when he knows you're in the throes of medical turmoil. Yep, I needed that good lunch of Blueberry, Strawberry Salad with Grilled Chicken  and the whopping Margarita served in a tall water glass. It was imperative today of all days because although I passed my doctor's appointment with flying colors I finally have a doctor who looked at me and said, " You're an excellent patient and you know what's going on so I'm calling in a prescription for Bactrim so you'll have it when you need it; just use it for three days." I really appreciate his doing that because the fiasco of trying to see a doctor when you have a UTI is outrageous. He said some people, like me, are just genetically prone to UTI's and since I know when I have one he wants me to treat it immediately but only for three days. Love this man. If I get a fever then of course he wants to see me but otherwise my next appointment is in a year. Yay!

Life has been pretty smooth other than the aches and pains of growing up. Kiddo's birthday party yesterday was the best yet. He invited 6 friends and they had a ball in the pool and on the water slide his parents had rented for the day. Kiddo got a little beat up by the slide but all in all 'twas a great party. Grampa stayed home and baby sat the Hot Rod which he put out by the garden with a for sale sign. Since it was VJ Day a lot of people came by the house. There was a lot of looking but no buyers, at least not yet! I've been having fun with the Panasonic Lumix but still have so much to learn. Even though I have the ebook written by Graham Houghton I've sent for the hard cover. I still prefer a book book when I need to read something really important. It should be in tomorrow but I doubt  I will improve any time soon!

Younger brother and his wife are in Alaska and I'm certain they are having a wonderful excursion. Just the thought of them at Glacier Bay brings back wonderful memories of our sojourn in 2006. I'll see younger sister this week and hopefully bring one of her childhood friends who is in Moosup for the summer up to visit her. Also had a really nice visit from older brother and his wife this past week. As I said, life  is good.

Quote:  The wise are instructed by reason; ordinary minds, by experience; the stupid, by necessity; and brutes by instinct.   ____Cicero

I remember Syl's . . .

Because I like the look of the feathers.

Had reason to go back and reminisce about my first job. I was sixteen. It was the summer of 1969 and I drove to Taftville every morning to open Syl's Restaurant by myself. I got there for around 5:30, unlocked the back door and hoped there were no customers waiting at the front door because I had to get the monster coffee machine brewing and the grill fired up as well as get the eggs, bacon, sausages, pancake batter, bread ready for cooking and toasting. I opened the door at 6 but sometimes regular customers would be hanging out and I always felt guilty if I didn't open early. Generally the early birds were accustomed to start their day with coffee and a donut. They plunked down their 25 cents on the counter and I would be happy to keep the dime tip. I had to cook the bacon and eggs on the small grill that we had in the eating area, made up of a horseshoe counter and booths, so I didn't have to leave the cash register unattended while cooking and waiting for 7 o'clock when Ruby or Edna came on to do the real cooking in the back kitchen for the day. It got to be pretty wild sometimes but I never remember anyone hassling me about waiting too long for service. Man, I used to be fast and organized.

The reason I bring this up is Puppy's Pop and I were in Taftville yesterday morning and we stopped at Syl's. Of course it is no longer Syl's and has had many iterations since the original restaurant. I was so happy to see that it is now a real honest to goodness bakery and coffee shop. Two old men, yes older than I so they're officially old, who have baked their way around the Norwich area for years, have opened a real bakery. We only bought two single serve blueberry pies for our desert for supper yesterday evening but you can order breads and pastries of all descriptions, take a seat and they will deliver to your table. The place was rocking and the parking lot was almost full. What a great place to go for real home made goodness. We watched through a window as one of the old men was checking a yellowed recipe as he was making what looked like a crust of some kind, very rich looking and crumbly. Heaven on earth. Looked like the people eating and ordering were a very happy contented gang. I think I like old fashioned good food and people. Really nice to see my old haunting grounds still going strong.

Nothing exciting to report about selling this old house. I have to be careful not to let that put a damper on our lives so I just go about my daily tasks and hope for the best. We did have a chance to meet our old Vermont friends for lunch in Manchester, CT this week. They were down visiting relatives and gave us a call. We don't go up to the Hot Rod Show in Essex Junction any more so it was wonderful to talk with them. They look healthy, wealthy and wise . . . I mean that in all sincerity. They are a very together couple in all aspects of their lives. They hinted they would love to visit Louisiana.  Now that would be spectacular if we get there one of these months.

Quote:  Love one human being purely and warmly, and you will love all. __The heart in this heaven, like the sun in its course, see nothing, from the dewdrop to the ocean, but a mirror which it brightens, and warms, and fills.     _______Richter

Tried to snag a Gucci bag . . .

              Feeding the baby girl


 Sitting on the garage swing while P&D's Pop was practicing horseshoes when a neat gray car came up the drive. My merchant marine cousin, his wife and her sister from Sweden had come by for a visit. It was really pleasant to sit outside and chat. They all enjoyed my flowers and my cousin gave me heck for not having any dahlias but I explained that I'm not really a good gardener and had given the dahlias to my brothers who don't mind taking care of them! No one seems to believe that I am a derelict gardener! If something grows I say "Yay." If it doesn't grow I say "Domage." So that's it. No special treatment except - I do try to keep the gardenias healthy. They love to summer outside under the dogwood and have a tough winter in doors. In any case when our company started to leave I picked up a beautiful black leather purse that my cousin wife  had placed on the ground next to her chair. I asked if she would care to leave it with me because it really was a beauty. She declined the offer with,"It's a Gucci." I smiled and thought I would have liked it anyway! Gee I hate pocketbooks and since Angie died almost 7 years ago I have only bought one purse and that was when I had brought my younger sister shopping in Granby! Angie always kept me supplied by passing on her purses as she replaced  hers pretty systematically! Still miss her terribly.

Have a meeting with the realtor tomorrow. We're disappointed that he did not follow through on telling us what actually transpired when the two men came to look at the property even before it was on the market.  People have noticed that there is no advertising for the house except for the sign out front which does not indicate that it is a MLS listing. We've had a couple of nibbles ourselves and asked them to speak with the realtor because we've never bought or sold property in the conventional sense before. I'm even thinking of speaking with our realtor in Louisiana who has found at least two properties we would have really liked but since we have no idea if and when this old house will sell we should probably have her quit looking for now and wait until we have a buyer. It's already driving me batty to not be able to act on buying our southern home. There are options, of course but neither of us is at all brave with spending money we don't have. Oh well, we'll see if our realtor can explain why he hasn't told us what transpired with the two local powerhouse buyers!

Quote:  There is great beauty in going through life without anxiety or fear.  -Half our fears are baseless, and the other half discreditable.    ____ Bovee

So lax I am . . .

Thought I had killed the Mandevilla but voila, it has lived.

Can't believe I'm not keeping up with this poor blog. Not sure why. I really don't do anything special but it seems I'm too occupied to sit down, relax and put a few words on the iPad parchment.

We spent a quiet 4th of July at home. It was a gray day but we still cooked up some hot dogs and hamburgers that were very tasty. Perhaps they were so good because we don't indulge in them often. The best part was the strawberry shortcake I made for dessert. The berries were so sweet I ate too many as I sliced them. They hardly needed any sugar. I had bought some Bisquick, first time in many years, to make the galettes. Wow, Bisquick has improved over the years. The galettes were out of this world delicious - warm, sweet with just the right crispy top. I broke down and bought a can, yes a can of real whipped cream instead of Kool Whip! It was a storybook ending to a perfect 4th of July with the best love on God's green earth.

Bought a new camera and I can't seem to stop playing with it. It has so many settings but I'm not even afraid of it. We bought a very good camera about nine years ago and it befuddled me for all of those years. For some reason I want to play around with this Panasonic.  Perhaps it's because there are actual YouTube videos that explain the camera in terms that I can understand, at least I get a little of the instruction. The nice thing is I can repeat watching the videos until some of the instruction sinks in. I have also downloaded a free eBook about the camera which backs up the videos. I do have the CD instruction book but it's a painful exercise to even know where to look. In any case it will take me years to get all of the particular information I need to take perfect photos but in the meantime I'm having a great time missing the best shots of my feathered friends because I'm so slow at setting up. I have to leave the camera in the house when I go outside to relax on my garage swing or else I'm always looking for the next perfect shot. We have so many beautiful birds in the yard I can't keep up with them. I often sit on my swing and will see hummingbirds at the feeders near the house and in the dogwood; there will be bluebirds hunting in the garden and up on the hill; the rose-breasted Grosbeaks, the various woodpeckers, finches, doves, cardinals, towhees, blue jays, sparrows, titmice, catbirds, cowbirds, nuthatches, chickadees will be attacking the feeders near the porch and the robins, grackles, crows and starlings will be searching for bugs on the lawns as the hawks fly in for a tasty morsel from time to time. I will see the the turkey vultures and swallows skittering overhead while a stately heron will glide by. The birds take turns, except the hummingbirds, bathing in the burned out stump of the largest tamarack.  Along with all of the flying creatures we can watch the turkeys, squirrels, chipmunks, deer, foxes, neighborly dogs and cats when they also come out to play. All in all a pleasant way to enjoy this sweet existence on planet earth.

Quote:  No nation can be destroyed while it possesses a good home life.   __J. G. Holland      (Are we ever in trouble.)