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Showing posts from November, 2013

White Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving Storm Early this morning, after days of of anxiety over the impending "winter event" that started yesterday afternoon and was expected to last several days, we made our way down the NYS Thruway to pick up Annalisse for the Thanksgiving holiday. Before hitting the open road, though, we stopped by to pick up big bro at RIT. I was really happy he came (And early! We picked him up at 6:30am) since he had not been to Mercyhurst, so that was nice. We got to the college by 9:15 and were back on the road heading home, after a stop at Panera, by 10:30, arriving back at around 1:30. Thankfully, the storm was over-predicted (as usual), and the roads were clear with very fine flurries but no accumulation. Now the anxiety can start about the trip back on Sunday, but not before we spend some wonderful time together. It's so nice have my chicks back in the nest - and puppy is pretty happy, too!!

Decking the Halls, Super Early

As I count down the days to a delicious turkey dinner, I cannot believe I am decorating for Christmas today. Well, actually, I'm doing the first stage of decorating, which is the inside house stuff. Next weekend or shortly after, Mark will decorate the outside/porch. Then, in a couple of weeks we will get the tree and the transformation will be complete. I'm doing it so early this year because next Sunday, the day I usually decorate (the Sunday after Thanksgiving), we'll be driving Annalisse back to Mercyhurst. And, knowing me, I know I am too tired after work to decorate (especially being so dark and cold when I get home). You know, I spend a lot of time during the year not wanting Christmas to come. In May, June, July, I marvel about how fast the year is going and how it will soon the the holiday season again, and that, too me, is not a welcome thought. It's not really Christmas, but rather the decorating and shopping that I'm not too crazy about. It's a hug

Your Coming In and Your Going Out

Last night I had an hour long conversation with Aunt Carol Chase to make arrangements to have lunch and go see my Mother when I visit on Friday. Obviously, it doesn't take an hour to make such arrangements, but I know when I call Aunt Carol I've got to set some time aside. I guess I'm lucky I got away after only an hour. During the course of the conversation Aunt Carol was talking about Auntie, whom we lost in September. Auntie and Aunt Carol have always been as close as sisters as Aunt Carol was just 10 years older than Auntie and her lifelong best friend. Aunt Carol said something that was particularly touching, about how when Nonnie was in labor with Auntie, Aunt Carol was told by Aunt Pasqueline, who was attending to Nonnie's home birth, that it was "time for her to leave," as Nonnie was "getting close." Shortly after Auntie was born Aunt Carol was right there, and by her side for the rest of her days spending time together, and, in later ye

All roads lead to...Fairport!

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Get ready for another post about the awesomeness of Fairport. You've been warned. FBC Maybe it's just my street, maybe it's living in the Village in general, but when your neighbor is walking by your house and says, "C'mon, let's go!,"you go. Especially when it's to the grand opening of the Fairport Brewing Company . That's right: Fairport even has it's own microbrewery. My God, before long there will be absolutely NO REASON to ever leave Fairport. Anyway, we headed down to the FBC grand opening in and around their cute little building in the heart of downtown. They had live music and festival type food, and Southside Johnny played great '70s and '80s rock. The best thing, though, was the demographic, which skewed my age or older (wonderful given my recent sensitivity to aging). We saw tons of people we knew and it was a blast. I seriously can't think of a better community to live in. Lucky!!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the KFC

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April 13, 1976 Funny story. A couple of weeks ago I convinced a car full of coworkers to accompany me into the city to go to Swan Market , a German deli, for lunch. Let's just say German food was waaaayyyy outside some their comfort zones. So far out, in fact, that two of them got a turkey sandwich on rye. IN A DELICIOUS GERMAN DELI. But I digress. On the way to Swan's we passed by a Kentucky Fried Chicken (or, KFC as it is now known), and I remarked that it had been years since I had eaten KFC, and I would love to have some but it's no longer part of my diet. I love that stuff, I think if I had some now I'd feel pretty sick from all the grease. Me and KFC, we go way back. Back to 1974-5, in fact, when my sister, Mary, had a job there and would bring home leftovers every night after work. YUM, what a treat. So, ironically I had just talked about eating at KFC when the Facebook page for my hometown paper posted that they were looking for stories and pictures fr

Harvest Dinner

On Saturday we took a trip up to my sister Mary's for a "Harvest Dinner" celebration in her new house. For the past three years Mary's awesome husband, Larry, has lovingly (and painstakingly) renovated his parent's 30+ year old huge split level. The house had great "bones," but needed much updating, and Larry outdid himself honing his Jack-of-all-Trades (master of many) skills to do literally everything in the house (plumbing, ad/heating, roof, floors, counters, drywall, painting, windows, etc. etc. etc!!). Larry also built all the cabinetry, and even some of the furniture, including an amazing bar with three different types of curved wood, an Adirondack-style wooden bed, and a dining room table with 300 year old wood found in one of the family barns. My sister's role has been to scour the Earth for decorations, including the hicory/leather-seated dining chairs, bar stools and counter chairs. The house is absolutely stunning, yet warm and invitin

6000 Calories!

Last year, as I noticed my weight creeping up-up-up, I decided to get back on track with watching what I eat. About 10 years ago I was able to lose approx. 20 pounds with Weight Watchers, and got myself down to an appropriate size/weight for someone who is 5 feet tall (and has a short waist...). But, like many other things, I started to slip back into old habits and gained, not all, but a bit back. Let's just say I was on a trajectory that was not making me very happy about my body image. The key for me has always been journaling, portion control, and, of course, making smart food choices. People don't realize how much they actually eat until they start to write it down. So, not wanting to re-invest in Weight Watchers (at least for now), I decided to download a handy little "app" called MyFitnessPal. MyFitnessPal helps you determine your optimal daily calorie intake to meet your weight goal, and has a very robust database of foods - from general type foods and dis

Funk-y November

Over the last couple of weeks I've felt the funk settling in. I've been aware for a very long time that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). Truthfully, for those of us who live in the north, who doesn't have it to some degree? But, boy, am I aware of it as I feel myself getting more cranky, prickly, hypersensitive to any type of criticism or feedback, and over analyzing any real or perceived slights against me (paranoia?), and just generally wanting to roll up into a ball. Last  week Mark was in Denver for work and I was kind of glad for that because I think he might have been on the receiving end (undeserved) for my foul moves and unrelenting picking. Best to keep a distance. This, THIS, is why I need to live some place warm and sunny. My soul will battle the good/happy vs. cranky/unhappy Judy until the days get longer, warmer and sunnier again. Come, spring, come!! This post is dedicated to Barb "Ma" Bell, with whom I shared many discussions ab