Credit for this beautiful drawing of Snape and Lily goes to *perselus
click here to help provide food and care for a rescued animal living in a shelter or sanctuary
Lovely quotes:
“To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.” ~ Mary Oliver
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." ~ Dalai Lama
“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time’ is to say, ‘I don’t want to’.” ~ Lao Tzu
Took a half day off from work last Friday and headed up to Vermont for a girl’s weekend! It’s about a 4 hour drive for me, which I don’t mind in the least. I listened to “A Night Circus” (narrated by Jim Dale, swoon), put on cruise control and off I went.
Some highlights:
- Meandering up and down Church St in Burlington again
- snow flurries that didn’t amount to anything each morning
- walking in the woods with my friends, their children and their dogs
- Enjoyed some delicious lasagna (with an amazing vodka sauce) at Bove’s Café (the chef went up against Bobby Flay in a throw down…Flay won, but I heard he used much more expensive ingredients to tasty it up even more)
- Finding a little corner cafe that served a great maple soy latte
- Walking into Dobra’s Tea to see what they had to offer…amazing place!
- Playing a new game with Betsy’s daughters (i’ll be doggoned if I can remember the name of it…it was kind of similar to Apples to Apples)
- sitting around talking, reminiscing and just enjoying getting to see each other again. Betsy lives in Rochester, NY, Kris & her husband in Jamestown, NY and Maureen in Essex, VT, so it’s a bit of a ride in any direction if we all want to get together.
current time: 1:56 p.m. (a word of caution…the tone of this post will go from light hearted to not just after the “feeling good about” prompt, so…be forewarned
in my mug: Just a little bit of tea that I need to finish
in my belly: a bite size Butterfingers and most of that cup of tea
in my ears: besides the ringing, I hear folks talking in the conference room next to my office
in my bag: I just switched bags this morning (thanks, Michelle!). in it are the following: iPad and cover, two pens, 2 lips glosses, 3 zipped pouches (containing various and sundry things), a Coach wristlet, small camera, checks, coupons, wipes, brush, hand lotion, aleve, tissues, gum, mints, anti-bacterial goop, and a doggy poop bag.
feeling good about: I’m sure there’s something but it’s just not coming to mind right now because mostly I’m…
feeling bummed about: the fact that Cindy lost her husband Chris this morning, a scant month after his diagnosis of Poorly Differentiated Adenocarcenoma…fucking cancer. God damn fucking cancer. [AAAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE--that's the scream I want SO BADLY to let loose right here, right now, to echo the hallways at work but...I can't. Soon, in the car, on the way home. Better believe it!!!]
thinking about: how life can change in the blink of an eye
Used my iPhone to take this shot this morning on the way to work…the somberness of it struck a chord…although at the time, I did not know why.
Recently, Dave and I have been going to the same Chinese place for, of all things, their sushi bar. It’s one of those all-you-can-eat buffet places, and at first my sushi snobbishness got in the way. But last Thursday (usually we go on Fridays, but we were going to a concert that day) I finally gave it a chance, and oh boy! The sushi chef made me some salmon and tuna nigiri to order and it was as fresh and delicious as the nigiri I’d gotten at Whole Foods during the week…and way less expensive.
Friday night, Dave and I met Andrea and Bill at Bull Run in Shirley to see the still amazing Johnny Winter. If you go see him…BRING EAR PLUGS! Cause, apparently…JOHNNY LIKES IT LOUD! SO loud, in fact, that to me it sounded distorted. So I stuck my fingers in my ears…lo and behold, I could hear him sing and play clearly! That night was pretty foggy and on the way there, I almost hit a cat that decided to do a U-turn in the road. I was a bit stressed when I got there, and without me saying it, Andrea noticed and just gave me a hug. It helped!
This weekend, we were supposed to watch Dave’s grandsons, but because the younger one was sick, Dave went over there by himself since we didn’t want me exposed to more germs and getting sick again. So Saturday, Wolf and I took a ride to the beach! It was a warm-ish (for here) day. Wolf loved it! Every time he sees a mussel shell, he tries to bury it in the sand. Dig, dig, dig, I tell him! I stopped for a slice of pizza afterwards and parked nearby where the old Frolics used to be. Many many memories of concerts at that place in my 20s. I also cleaned the condo, vacuumed and hand washed the floors and did some rearranging.
Sunday, I was going to clean and organize more, but … the best of intentions and all that. I rented the movie, The Help and enjoyed the heck out of it. Made some buttermilk and cornmeal waffles and buttermilk chicken for dinner. Both were delicious! Click on the link for the recipe, if you’re so inclined. I also made a big pot of 15 bean soup, which I ladled into pint mason jars for my lunch next week (and extra to share with a friend at work who likes my cooking).
Saturday, Sue (Dave’s sister), Melissa (his daughter) and I went to Pickity Place for an delicious lunch and on the way back we stopped at a consignment/antique shop called White Home Collections (I almost always find something I have to have there!).
Sue & Melissa, at my urging, tried on hats. Of course, the photographer hates being in front of the camera, right? Well, Dave remedied that (as you can tell if you look closely at the picture in the middle) Sunday while he and I were antiquing up in Northwood, NH.
Day 07 – A picture of someone who has made a big impact on your life.
Gaylen, she’s in the button on the lower right…she taught me patience and believe you me, that was no easy task! I was a very impatient person, easy to anger and stubborn when we first met. I also didn’t much like her when we first met…thought she was an airheaded southern bimbo. Ah…me, first impressions can so often be wrong! She was my life line when I lived in Japan, she made my life there so much more enjoyable in so many ways. I miss her a lot. She’s going through a rough time right now, too; her Dad’s in hospice. If you can spare a good thought or two for her, please do. Thanks!
