The First Date

Thirty-five years ago today Diane and I went on our first official date. We went to the movies with another couple to see Magnum Force starring Clint Eastwood. I found a trailer for the movie on youtube here. Transport to and from the theater was in an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon.
I can't say it was a great "first date" movie choice, but it went well enough for us to still be together all these years later....

Spring Has Sprung

This is a last look at the shovels before they go into hibernation. They have served us well, but it is time. What a beautiful day we're having. The sun is shining, I have the deck door open letting the fresh air in and my back is finally on the mend...

Mark has been busy harvesting wood on the property. We've been enjoying such reality shows as, American Logger, Heli-Loggers and Ax Men. I think they're making more of an impression on him than we realized. Please also note that Mark has shed his burly winter look.

The Puppy

Emily has a new love in her life besides RJ. His name is Angus, he's an 8 week old Pug and no we are not getting a puppy. Greg and I have reached the stage of been there done that. They sure are cute though...

Another Weekend Bites the Dust

It was much cooler today. The heating pad continues to be my best friend. I twisted funny in the shower yesterday and really set myself back. Luckily we still had Mark's old crutches in the attic so they've helped a lot. I'm slowly getting better today but am not yet ready for the grueling pace at work. My fingers are crossed for Friday.

Greg took Derek back to school this afternoon. Remember the car when we brought him home, same thing different day. He finishes up the end of May so that will be very interesting. Hopefully we can get things home in dribs and drabs before that.

Emily spent the day at her boyfriend RJ's. They have a new member of the family, an 8 week old male pug named Angus. Emily has been enjoying his company, oh yeah, RJ's too.

An hour to go until the season finale of Big Love...it was an exciting season.

Burning Day

With Spring comes one of Mark's favorite activities - burning. He had his friend, John, who actually is a distant relative come over to take 2 trees down and add them to the burn pile. John does tree work for a living and is trying to start his own business on the side. Mark's boss dropped by to check things out as well. Mark is in his full end of winter beard and Tom, his boss, is wearing the black hat. At one point Mark set up the chairs so they could relax by the fire. The other picture is Mark, Greg and John getting the fire started. A fun "man day" was had by all.

Ohhh, My Aching Back

The weather is finally getting better so I've started walking again. Sunday was my first time out in forever. I walked 2 miles but it was not a pretty sight. Wednesday I decided to go on a trail walk and take Abbey, our almost 13 year old chocolate lab. I don't want to take her out on the road anymore because she's quite hard of hearing. She was in her usual spot, asleep on the couch so I bent over to wake her and when I stood up felt a pain in my lower back. We did go on the walk which was probably not a bright thing to do on my part because I had to keep stopping from the pain. Long story short I missed work today and will tomorrow as well. The first time I've ever called in sick except in 2001 when Mark broke his leg. The heating pad is my new best friend and I have vowed to get into shape and work those core muscles. My fingers are crossed that I'll make it on Monday.

Signs of Spring

The calendar says that March 20th is the first official day of spring
but I know it started last Sunday. Most people think that the robin, with its bright red vest is the announcer of spring, but in our neck of the woods its the wild turkey. Three strolled through our backyard on Sunday. I was able to catch this fine fellow or perhaps young lady as it sauntered through our woods. Winter is trying to hang onto its few remaining snow piles but is quickly loosing the battle. Perhaps tomorrow I will see my first robin. At any rate I happily bid winter farewell and look forward to warmer days ahead.

What's In a Name

Diane says I need to contribute to the entries on this blog and since I am responsible for the name of this blog site here is the story behind the name. On the surface it is a reference to the passage of time, but to us it has another meaning. The 101 in the title refers to our house number. A house we've lived in for 26 years now. “Days and Nights” comes from the lyrics of a song that we used as the recessional on the day we were married. A performance and the lyrics of that song can be found here. So there you have it. The blog title inspired by our home and our song.

The Story Behind The Gazebo

I love the gazebo that is at the top of our blog. It's very special to me because it reminds me of a wonderful woman I was lucky enough to cross paths with for a time. I'm a nurse and have been working in the field of Dialysis for almost 30 years. I've met quite a few memorable people over the years, many wonderful people and some not so pleasant. The bottom line is they were all dealing with a life threatening illness and needed 3-4 hour treatments 3 times a week or they would die. I think that would make anybody a little cranky. I'm always amazed at the wonder of the human spirit and how we really can deal with most anything that comes our way.

Getting back to the gazebo, Dot was a retired first grade teacher that lived in the town next to ours. She never had any kids of her own and always told me that her husband used to say it made her a better teacher because they were all her kids. Her town has a beautiful open area. In New England most towns have a common area like that. She had been thinking for some time that it needed a gazebo and asked me what I thought. It was her wish for the people in town to enjoy it for concerts, weddings or whatever suited their needs. Once she made her mind up she made the proper contacts and in a very short time there it was. I go by it every time I drive to work. Her memory lives on...

The building to the far right is the town hall and one view from the gazebo. The other building is a meeting place and reception area, another view. The Common is a very typical quaint New England space.

Sequences

Have you ever noticed how life is full of sequences. I first was introduced to this concept from a book I started to read a few years ago, but never actually finished because my own sequences got in the way. It was meant to be a humorous read but it definitely had a message attached to it. For example, you might decide that today is the day you'll clean out the attic. You head up to the attic full of enthusiasm and thoughts of everything neatly organized and cleared out. Before you can get going you realize you need to get containers for things you want to keep, so off to the store you go. I think we've all been there.


That's kind of what has happen with this blog. Greg decided to sign us up knowing that I would do most of the posting, which is pretty much how it's going so far. Once I got started with it I found it was kind of fun. I'm thinking, boy it would be nice to have a netbook so that I could move about freely and sit in the family room watching tv and be with the family. I do have a laptop but it's fairly substantial with various extra USB things hanging off it like a mother dog feeding her pups. Netbooks are pretty inexpensive, especially when you have a gift coupon to Amazon, and quite small. They're basically for surfing and doing light tasks... so on Friday my new Acer Aspire arrived. I chose blue my favorite color and the sequences have begun...

Spring Break

Last evening we picked Derek up at school. He is officially on Spring Break. He doesn't have any big plans like going south or anything like that. He hopes to get some much needed rest.

He tends to not travel light. We took the seat out of the minivan. He brought home his drums, keyboard, bicycle, laptop, books, laundry and a classmate in need of a ride. We get to take them all back in a week.

One of the things he hopes to accomplish is getting the observations that are required on the elementary, middle and high school levels done. Some are for classroom, recess and music. His major is music education. I'm thinking this will be a fast week.

Cash for Books

My daughter, Emily, is an avid reader and very environmentally responsible. Last weekend she deposited a large bundle of books on my desk that she was ready to part with. I could recycle them at our local dump but I decided to see if I could get any money for them. I found this website: cash4books.net. Simply plug in the ISBN code on the back of the book and it will tell you whether it will take it and how much they’ll pay. Granted a lot of books they wouldn’t take but I was able to sell 9 books. They pay for shipping. You print the label right from them. I went to the post office website and scheduled a pickup and never left the house. We’ll get back about $11 which I figure is better than nothing.

There are other sites as well. I compared several and this one took the most books and ended up giving us the most money.

Rainy Day Memories

Driving into work this morning it was very dark and rainy with a lot of glare on the road. It reminded me that late winter/early spring is one of my least favorite times. It's the time when the snow is melting and before everything starts to come back to life.

Around here it has it's own season and name. New Englander's call it Mud Season. I don't recall hearing that growing up but I sure know what it means here. It's the time when our dog, Abbey, is constantly tracking in mud and when we try to walk around the yard we sink in. Our footwear makes sucking sounds and feels like it will be left behind when we walk. Typically the days are raw and damp.

With all the snow this year and recent rain our sump pump has been running for about a week. The water table is very high and it won't take much to wreak havoc.

The pictures above were taken in the Spring of 2006. It's of a house not too far from us. This was the year when we had incredible rains and there was flooding all over. In the summer there's hardly any flow. The water is a little higher than usual in the lower picture but above was what it looked like during the floods. Schools were closed in town because some roads were impassible from the heavy rains. I'm hoping this year isn't a repeat. They said it only happens every 100 years so we're not due.

The Beginning

I think Greg thinks that I don't have enough to do so he set up this blog. We'll see how it goes. I'm new at this and make no promises. The high point of the day for me was going to the dentist this morning. I'm one of those dentist phobic people but recognize the importance of dental care so I shlump there every 6 months. I had an uneventful appointment and nothing that needed an intervention. As I walked to the car I felt like doing a little Snoopy dance, so I'm happy and can relax for another six months.

Yesterday we got another 6 inches of snow . Here's a pic I took this morning. It seems to be our Monday tradition. Last Monday we got a foot so maybe next Monday will be 3 inches.

It started to snow as I left for work at 5:30 a.m. It was very hypnotic watching the giant flakes flying straight at me. I had to remind myself to keep an eye on the road. And there you have it my first blog post.