Sunday, October 7 - Massachusetts

Good evening friends! As the days continue to lose their light a bit earlier every day, the weather continues to be her unpredictable self. Mid October, and yes, the evenings are becoming chilly. But daytime temps still fluctuate - cool and "mizzly" one day, then shoot back up into the low 80s. Heavy rains at times in between. Fortunately no unexpected floods here!

Every time I think it is about time to put the patio furniture away for the year - the weather changes and gets warm again for a few days. Same few days I start to think it is time to put the A/C away - then boom - we get a few warm humid days. Go figure!

I am not looking forward to the clocks changing back to EST in another 4 weeks! I truly prefer New England's DST. I used to get up very early - 5:30 AM when I worked. It took me awhile to acclimate, as I am really more of a night owl. I put in my requisite many years of the getting up early thing. Never really got accustomed to it, but I did it.

Now retired, I have reverted to my previous night-owl ways. Hey... you have to go with what works for you. :)

I have an alarm clock, as most people do. I set its time about 20 min. ahead of the actual time, thus the alarm goes off a bit earlier. I just like it set it that way; not sure why . Accustomed to it for years. I have it set for radio for the morning (as opposed to an alarm).

It is a very straightforward alarm clock. No bells & whistles or weird features. I have had it for about 12 years now.

However, it seems to have taken on a life of its own the past few years. Every once in awhile the time has been skipping ahead an hour or two, throwing me off kilter and has me jumping up out of bed at odd hours. I cannot even try to blame the kitties walking over it, as the clock requires 2 hands and pushing a button to set.

Most odd. (I chalk it up in the column of "appliances that hate me".)










 The whole past month has been odd, really. Strange things happening amidst the wonderful. And that is life. At least mine!

Stay tuned folks!

Friday, October 5 - Massachusetts

Good afternoon intrepid followers. That long wailing sound you hear would be mine. Why? Because my Brother and I were unable to travel to Martha's Vineyard this weekend. Why? Work - mostly his.

Neither of us are happy about this; not at all. We have had this trip planned for months, as you know. Hotel rooms booked, ferry booked. It is not an easy trip to coordinate between the hotel and ferry availability, non-refundable fees, etc.

Being Columbus Day weekend - after which they roll up the sidewalks on the Vineyard - all inbound & outbound ferries were completely booked for 2 days. I looked for a later time in the day; not to be had. Called the Steamship Authority (they oversee the reservations), and there was not even a chance at Standby.

So we had to scramble in order not to lose the $900 for the hotel and ferry that has already been paid for. I was able to put off the ferry reservation - the new one is good until September of 2019, but carries a small fee of $10 for the change. My most awesome Brother called the hotel and was able to shift our reservations until Spring.

This can only happen this once, however, in both reservation instances.

I am more than disappointed and totally disgusted about the whole thing. Not at my Brother - it is not his fault. His (and my) boss demanded we be here today, especially Brother. I have no good words on that subject so I will leave it.

I have worked for some difficult people over the years. To be expected as an Exec Admin to Presidents, CEOs, and COBs of major companies. Handled it, dealt with it. Nothing like this, however, especially at a lower level. Do not keep changing the rules on me. Tell me one thing, decide it is not to your liking or not remember. Then switch gears mid-stream.

So once again - I reiterate. Nope - had my fill of this one. More than. I have other words I could use, but I will not.

I will finish out the season (about a month) because I committed to it. I fulfill my obligations.

After that I SO look forward to getting back to my happy little life on my own schedule with my own things to do.

I do apologize that this post has been mostly a "whine" and took the tone of a bit angry. But there you have it. I really am an upbeat person most of the time! It is definitely not a good thing when I get angry (please do not ask). I learned to tamp it down years ago.

Exceptt this time it affected both my Brother and me in a big way.

Stay tuned for more adventures! I promise they will be more light-hearted next time!!

Friday, September 28 - Massachusetts

Good evening! I have decided to make it a point to post more regularly, even if it is at times about mundane stuff. Tonight, however, I wanted to share the wonderful day I had two Sundays ago at my Niece's bridal shower :) Lots of pictures today.

My Niece has exquisite taste, and although she is keeping the wedding low-key, the details are definitely quite upscale! For her bridal shower, she chose the Tuscan Kitchen in Salem, NH, as a venue.

My wonderrful Sister (her Mom) planned the entire brunch. Quite an undertaking on my Sister's part: ordering invitations that matched the wedding invitations, coordinating the food and private room with the restaurant, the floral arrangements on each table, and countless other details that went into the day. This - on top of her full-time Accounting position.

Table Floral Arrangements

It was wonderful! Well done, Sis!! She probably left around 7:00 AM to head up to NH for the late-morning affair. I drove up but did not have to leave until much later. It was a beautiful day, on top of it all :)

The room she reserved was called the "Wine Cellar", for obvious reasons.

The Wine Cellar

The Wine Cellar

My Sister had arranged for pitchers of mimosas and sangria for each table, in addition to a table with a large tray of fruit and cheese appetizers to greet everyone.

Appetizer Table

Hot food followed on the buffet shortly. Mushroom and sausage fritata, Tuscan style brunch potatoes, ricotta filled pancakes, and something else. I cannot remember as I zeroed in on the pancakes! I ate three - they were that good!!

Food Buffet Table

My Niece opened a LOT of really great gifts that day. (I know, as I sat next to her and duly logged the giver and gift.)

Gift Table

Too soon it was over and people left in groups, taking their bridal shower favors on their way out. I feel good about that as I was able to contribute a little something to her day. The hand-painted glasses, each with a hand-written tag (my Niece & her fiancee's names on the front, washing instructions inside, & a short "hand painted by" on the back). Took a week for my hand to uncramp. My Sister bought gift bags and small bottles of Prosecco to go with.

Favor Bags

It was truly a wonderful and joyful day!


My Sister looked absolutely beautiful in her periwinkle-colored dress, and totally glowed with pride at her daughter. My Niece was stunning in a simple white flowing dress, but I think she would look great in anything.

So very, very well done, and hands down the most upscale bridal shower I ever attended. Once again, well done, Sis!! You outdid yourself on that :) You were absolutely amazing!

Stay tuned, my friends. A week from now I will be having dinner on Martha's Vineyard. Not lugging the laptop, so the adventures will have to wait until after. Getting away for a few days should help ease my somewhat frazzled state of mind. Work has gotten in the way of everything recently - not in a good way - and I intend to rectify that. Need to.