TGIT!

Thanks goodness its Thursday! And I have a four day weekend... not that we get to do much since Steven has to work Sunday and maybe Monday. Plus the rain is supposed to make its way here again on Saturday - oh well! Still nice not to have to work for four days. Felt like fall here this morning. Overcast and cloudy until just a little while ago when the sun started to come out. So I had to go get a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks - tasted like fall too! I'd like to go get my mums this weekend - its about time to get them. If you get them too early they get all moldly and don't do so well. Now that it is cooler at night they should be fine. Tomorrow I'll probably paint windows in the basement to try to get them done so we can put them in soon. The plan is to at least get all the windows in before it gets cold out. Then we will worry about painting the trim when we paint the house in the spring. I think we have to really decide on the color soon. I'm still leaning towards dark blue - but Steven says it might make the house look small. We are considering a lighter version of yellow - but I'm not sure about that either. All I know is that I want a red door!

Interesting observation

Last night I interviewed Marilyn Beck, the entertainment reporter, for the AEPhi magazine. She was really interesting. One funny thing that she mentioned which was totally off topic but I had to go check it out today was the fact that in the NY Times the wedding announcements give you much more information than you ever need about the couple getting married. So today I went to read some of them and they are like little snippets into people's lives. One talked about how the groom's first marriage ended in divorce, another gives a complete background on how the couple met while studying abroad in Eurpoe, and most list the couple's parents jobs, volunteer positions and anything else that they ever remotely did or said. Pretty funny when you take a look at them.

Methuen

One of my favorite websites - Boston.com has a travel section on New England called Explore New England. This week they are featuring good old Methuen - specifically the Organ Hall downtown. Guess there are things that people would consider touristy in my hometown. The other neat thing on Boston.com today is that the Irish government is unveiling a new website with maps of Ireland that will help with genological searches. Pretty cool - Maybe I will have to look up the Lynch family history and get Steven to take me back to Ireland to find long lost relatives. Of course if you had ever talked to my Uncle John, my dad's oldest brother, he was from Scotland while the rest of us are from Ireland... go figure!

Rainy Weekend

The rain is letting up today but it was horrible all weekend. Felt cold and clammy and we didn't really do much at all. Yesterday though we painted windows and made a great dinner. Fall and winter are when we tend to do more cooking - well - Steven did the cooking but I helped. Other than that we watched a few movies this weekend. I fell asleep as usual during the one he picked out on Sat night - but Sunday afternoon we watched the Notebook. Steven said he did his chick flick duty by watching that one. But I think he liked it. I reccomend it if anyone hasn't seen it. This morning was a slow morning - didn't have to be at work right at 9 so I made a stew that is cooking in the crock pot while Steven painted windows. He's off fishing right now - cold out to be fishing. And - I went to the library and got the next book club book. My neighbor Debbi goes to the book club at the library and last month was the Red Tent - so I got the next one - All Over But the Shouting by Rick Bragg. I'll let you know how that goes. Then in September I signed up for a Pilates class on Monday nights. Just something else to do.

Sorry its so boring around here - not that life in CT isn't fabulous - but its pretty ordinary and everyday. Maybe next week we will have more to report. Labor Day weekend is the last weekend of outside tennis at the club and then Steven has to put the bubble up over that week. Let's hope he doesn't work himself to the point of exhaustion.

New iPod - again

So the other night my iPod just stopped working. We went over to Best Buy and they immediately exchanged it for a new one. But what I hear is that iPods seem to do this a lot. Luckily we got the 3 year extended warrenty. I hadn't even had the first one a month. But - the worst part is now I have to reenter my songs on it - I hadn't saved my cd's in iTunes so I have to redo all of them. We had almost 600 songs in the iPod so this is a pain in the neck. The other thing that is a pain is that I have songs on iTunes here on my work computer and songs at home on that computer - so how do I take my songs here and save them to my computer at home? The iPod doesn't let me copy from it to the comptuer. Good thing its going to be a rainy weekend and I will probably spend the whole time on the computer trying to get this darn thing set up again. But at least I won't be moving boxes with Greg, Kp and Colleen! hahaha - moving is fun isn't it? I'll wait to visit until Greg and KP unpack everything...

When I am a parent...

I will not call my kid's teachers, coaches, college, dorm or sorority headquarters and complain rudely. Its been one of those weeks. Members are moving back in to their houses this week so of course there are going to be a few unhappy parents. But this one guy has called five times this week - twice today - complaining about the sorority house. He is definitely trying my patience. And he had the nerve today to say that he was going to be rude to me because I was a staff member but when our volunteer calls him to hear his complaints he will "ratchet down his rudeness." ARGH! So just because I happen to be paid to work here that gives you the right to be rude? Just one of those days...

RU Preppy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTU2He2BIc0

Just watch this - I laughed so hard at the last part about playing croquet... hahahah

Housing prices

Boy am I glad that we own our own house now. At work we are trying to find an apartment for a staff member to stay in San Deigo this fall semester and the prices are outrageous. Plus the fact that when you call about one place and aren't in town you have no chance at it because ten other people have already seen it and its gone. I can't imagine paying over $1500 a month in rent again and not have it go towards anything but the luxary of having a place to live. At least now what we pay each month we can look at as an investment. Of course that comes with additional responsibilities with it - like all the improvements that have to be done. We poked around yesterday online and looked up some of the houses currently for sale in Bethel and there are a couple that we would have considered and would now be cheaper than what we ened up with. But that was over a year ago - things change. We love where we live and enjoy the house and have plans for it in our head that we wish we could just do all at once.

Weekend Update

Well my weekend is over - Steven is still off today - the stinker! Not much to report from the weekend. I was supposed to play tennis on Sat morning -but that didn't happen. Sat night we met up with Ryan and Tina at the Bridgewater Fair. It was a spur of the moment thing but it was raining hard all evening. Oh well! Sunday was quiet - really didn't do all that much - did finish one of my library books. We are thinking about going to NH this weekend - but I'm not sure that we can make it. We'll see. Its a long drive.

Out of the blue

That could describe the great weather we have been having here in New England this week. The weatherman this morning didn't have a lot to say beyond "it's going to be awesome out today." The other thing that was out of the blue was last night. We had just finished cooking dinner and had it on the table when the front doorbell rang. Normally people just come to the back door so that was strange. Steven went to the door and from the kitchen I hear this voice saying "Hi, I'm Steve Wolfe, from Pitney Bowes, Allison knows me from the MS Bike Tour." Of course my Steven had never met Steve Wolfe (we always referred to him by first and last names in the office) but he had heard plenty about him. He had gotten a promotion with PB and was working up in Newtown this week and on the ride home saw the signs for Bethel, remembered that I said we lived near the movie theater, and ended up finding the house. We inivted him in for dinner and then had a good visit with him before he jumped on his motorcycle and headed back home to Stamford. So of course I had to call Priscilla (who I used to work with) and I said "Guess who just knocked at our door?" and she must still share a brain with me even though its been a few months since I've seen her because she guessed "Steve Wolfe?" We then had a nice chat and caught up on things. I like it when stuff like that happens out of the blue. Made my week - its been a pretty low key week and needed some excitment!

Oh - making progress on the windows. We would have had the outside trim primed last night but we forgot that we had to caulk around the sides and it needed to dry. Today may see some painting going on!

Gross

I don't usually post twice in one day - but I had to share that there is this crow on the fence outside my office window that is eating another dead bird! GROSS!

Jelly Bones Dora

That is what my name would be if I was a pirate. There is this website that if you put in your name it will tell you what it would be if you sailed the seven seas. I figured it was appropriate with the new Johnny Depp Pirates movie that is out. So I started putting in people's names just to see what they would be. Colleen would now be known as Epileptic Marie Barbossa, Greg would be Cap'n Carl Firecrotch, KP is now Cap'n Agnes Skullcrack and Steven (appropriately) would be called Poop Deck Wade :)

Busy Weekend

Our weekends are sort of short because Steven works on Saturdays. This weekend he didn't get home until 4:30 since someone was late coming in to work. Yesterday we made progress on the windows. He had put in three windows last week and this week we stripped the paint off the outside trim and he replaced some rotten wood. Pretty soon the whole window will be new! Today is more of the same. Steven's home and working outside again. Maybe we will get some primer up on the wood today so at least its not exposed. This whole project is going to take a lot longer than we thought. There are still nine windows left to replace and then the trim to sand and prime and paint. I don't think the whole house will be painted until next spring. Oh - and last night Steven was the Elgin Ave Croquet Champion. He had a trophy and all...

You know you're from Massachusetts when...

This list is courtsey of my father in law - I must say that its pretty accurate! (I edited them down a bit to the ones I laughed the hardest at...). I espcecially like the ones about Jimmies and Tonic!

You think if someone is nice to you they either want something or they are from out of town and lost
You know how to cross four lanes of traffic in three seconds
You think it's not actually tailgating unless you're touching the bumper of the car in front of you
The public transportation system is known as the "T" and y ou'd rather drive in bumper to bumper traffic for 4 hours to get to Boston than be caught dead on the "orange line"...
You could own a small town in Iowa for the cost of your house
There are 24 Dunkin Donuts shops within 15 minutes of your house and that is how you give directions
When people talk about "The Curse Of The Bambino" you know what they're talking about and used to believe it, too
You believe using your turn signals gives away your plan to the enemy
If you stay on the same road long enough it eventually has three different names
Someone has honked at you because you didn't peel out the second the light turned green
You have honked at someone because they didn't peel out the second the light turned green
Anyone going faster than you is a maniac. Anyone going slower than you is an idiot.
All the potholes just add to the excitement of driving
Six inches of snow is considered a dusting
Three days of 90 degree heat is definitely a "heat wave" 55 degrees is "on the warm side"
You cringe everytime you hear some actor/actress imitate the "Boston Accent" on TV or in a movie; if you don't have it then you're never going to get it even if you were born here
At the ice cream shop you call chocolate sprinkles "jimmies"
A Water fountain is called a Bubbler, or rather, "Bubbla"
You know how to pronounce towns like Worcester, Haverhill, Peabody, Scituate, Chatham, and Leominster
You know what they sell at a "packie"
You have never been to Cheers...any of them
You've slammed on your brakes to deter a tailgater
You keep an ice scraper in your car all year round
Paranoia sets in when you can't see a Dunkin Donuts, ATM or CVS
You've bragged about saving money at The Christmas Tree Shop (don't cha just love a bargain?)
You know what a "regular coffee" is!
You can navigate a rotary without a problem
You use the words "wicked" "pissa" and "good" in the same sentence, and often in the same compound-adjective
You know what a frappe is Saint Patrick's Day is your second favorite holiday...even when you're not IRISH!
You drink tonic and would never consider using it on your hair
You never say "Cape Cod"...... you say "The Cape"
You know the Mass Pike and 495 create some sort of strange weather dividing line
You actually get all these jokes

Feeling like fall

I know its only the second week in August but it is beginning to feel a lot like fall around here. The temp last night went way down - it felt awesome this morning to have it be 60 degrees at 7:30. And around the office students are starting to call about fall recruitment. I have a lot more to do that keeps me much more busy. Of course there are a few weeks left to enjoy the summer. Steven and I will try to make it to NH but I'm not sure when that will happen. I haven't been playing much tennis - but that should change this week. I played a little last night but the guy I was playing broke his glasses and so we only played about 45 minutes. Tonight I'm playing with Tracy (who reads the blog every so often and will be happy to see a mention here). In about a month or so the bubble will go up so we have to enjoy outside tennis while we can.

What a morning!

I've done a lot today - and its not even noon! First I voted in the Democratic primary, then went to the doctor, got to the office at 9:35 and Staples was delivering my new filing cabinet. Unpacked it when SBC called at 10 saying they would be at the house in fifteen minutes to fix the DSL. Ran home and after an hour there - the guy did something to the wires in the basement and it seems like its working great - even faster there at home than here in the office! So finally we can have reliable internet at home.

August 7

Did you know that August 7, 2006 is a Bank Holiday in Scotland? So if I lived there I wouldn't have to work today - my birthday. I learned that little fact this morning on my Sudoku desk calendar. Yes - 31 years ago today I was born on a day much like today - rainy and cloudy according to my mom. Dad didn't have to work because of the weather and so I was nice enough not to inconvenience them and came into the world late in the afternoon. Considerate of me huh? Well - tonight we will continue the lobster on my birthday tradition and go to Greenwoods here in Bethel where they have a Monday night lobster special. Steven gets out of cooking lobsters at home. It won't be the same without the ceremonial lobster race across the kitchen floor - but at least neither of us has to do the dishes. Or clean out the enormous lobster pot which has been hibernating in the cellar.

iPods and other stuff

There is so much stuff that you can buy for an iPod. I got a little set of speakers at Bed Bath and Beyond to put on my desk so I can play it at work as a little radio. Then there are the carrying cases, car adaptors, speakers for the house, etc etc. There is a huge market out there for these little things. I'm still getting ours set up the way we want it. Steven put a request in for some music that he likes so I have to load some CDs onto it. But - again - the internet at home isn't working. We will probably switch in the near future because both of us are annoyed. We never had problems with the cable modem.

As for the rest of the summer - August is wide open right now. We might get to the lake before Labor day - or it will have to wait until September. We didn't go to the Big E last fall so I think we want to try to make it up there this year. Maybe people might meet us there. This weekend is supposed to be great here - can't wait to start on our windows - yes we still haven't started. Its been so hot and we were gone a lot in July.

Oh - another thing...

We went to see the movie Scoop last night with our neighbors - it was great! The real reason we went to see it was because it was so hot and the theater was nice and cool. But the movie was great. Definitely not your typical Woody Allen movie.

Computer issues

So yesterday I told you that our computer at home has a terrible connection to the internet. For almost a week its had a spotty internect connection. This is the same problem that they came out for about two months ago. It is fine for a while, but always goes back to the same problems. Its really annoying. We are thinking about cancelling our SBC service and going to the cable modem again, which is fine because we have the old modem that we used in Danbury and the other one we used in Redding. The really annoying part for me is that this will mean changing email addresses again - so if you go back five years to when I moved to CT I will have had five different email addresses! Eight if you count my two news one for work now.
My current home email is the sbcglobal.net one... so if you are using something else - its wrong. But don't blink because it might change again! ARGH!

Early birthday present

So last night we went and I got an early birthday present - a new iPod that plays videos too! Its cool. Of course our internet at home decided to not work - really don't like SBC or Att or whatever they are calling the DSL company these days. We really might switch to comcast again. But anyway - the new toy is great. I have to work on transfering my cds to our iTunes. But you can also get tv and videos on line too. How cool is that!