A beautiful day

After a fun-filled day at camp on Saturday, Mike and I were ready for an off-grounds excursion on Sunday. We decided to hit the Ledges and made a late start. We arrived at the beach around 1, did a round of hellos to old friends and hung out. It was great. The weather was perfect, there were a good number of people (but not too many), and we got some sun.

Near the end of the day, my competitive darling must have decided he could top my blister. As we were traversing some rocks, his foot went down wrong and his broke one of his toes (ouch!). On the way to our towels, he stubbed a toe on the other foot. The poor guy was spewing blood.

Fortunately, he is doing ok. He's wrapped his toes and is soldiering along. It kind of messed up wearing his 5 finger shoes though -- the toe wouldn't go in its slot!

Happy Trails

Friday marked the first day of our long-overdue vacation. We decided we needed an active day, so we hiked from the Lee/Beckett town line to Upper Goose Pond on the Appalachian trail. The terrain was pretty aggressive (it was a major workout, steep hiking) and the path was well-trodden.

The day was beautiful and we enjoyed a nice picnic while we admired the view at the pond. The hike out was no less challenging. We were really happy to have the great workout!




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I did have one little foible during the day, which is a little embarrassing. My some rash of poor judgment I decided to wear a pair of Tevas I haven't put on in three years. I felt a large blister on my right foot about a mile and a half into the hike. Knowing there was nothing I could do, I kept going. Mike, my ever-present man scout had an extra pair of socks that I wore out. It made the hiking bearable.

I am on the mend with plenty more activity to come for the week. I'll keep you posted with more tales!

Dreaming of lobster rolls

The arrival of summer always brings an increased desire to indulge in lobster rolls. For us, anyway.

We haven't treated ourselves with the hearty goodness of restaurant lobster rolls yet. But, tomorrow, we'll make our own for the first time! I called the supermarket yesterday and asked them to cook up two lobsters for us. We'll shell them tonight and make our salad so it can absorb all the flavors for tomorrow night's dinner: lobster rolls, onion rings, and summer slaw.

I can't wait!!!

Some of the better movies

After ranting on what I think is bad, it is only fair to tell you about the recent movies we thought were OK (or better):

A Shine of Rainbows: This amazing movie made me cry. A must see.
Country Strong: Good music, sad topic
The Company Men: Mike thought it was weak; I thought it was ok
True Grit: Saw it at the theater, Mike didn't so we watched together. Awesome.
The Mechanic: A good, if predictable, action movie
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader: I like Narnia a lot
The King's Speech: I really liked it
Secretariat: Excellent

What's on your list? Good or Bad!

Locked into the bad movie rut

I don't know what it is, but it seems we've seen more than our share of bad movies lately. Here are a few of the disappointments:


The Hit List: Bad plot, horrible acting, poorly developed characters
Biutiful: The story could have been so much better, but it was just depressing
Just Go With It: D.U.M.B. but it did make me laugh some
Drive Angry: A bad choice for Nick Cage. The story was deplorably bad; so much so I fell asleep during a zombie movie
Due Date: So stupid it didn't make sense. But I did laugh a couple of times
How Do You Know: Plot? What plot. Quelle stupide.
The Tourist: The only good thing about this one was the two attractive stars. The plot was non-existent but at least they got to film in Italy.
Unstoppable: This movie is very stoppable. Just do it; click Stop. Save yourself the time.
The Scent of Green Papaya: I had high hopes. There was little language and it just drug on and on with no point.
Salt: Just another Angelina Jolie flick. She's just a pretty picture.

I'm not all grey clouds... Next I'll tell you the recent movies we liked!

Celebrating with a bang

The Fourth of July has come and gone. The summer can't be so far gone already -- really -- it just can't be!

We enjoyed a great weekend away in the Berkshires. We got to see our great friends (even Steve and Helen, which was a super treat), have some nice meals and relax. You can't beat it!!! Speaking of food (as I often am), I made a few yummy recipes that I want to share:

• Salmon with summer tomatoes and rosemary: This was a delightful Friday night dinner. I cooked it one the grill -- the parchment wrapping did not catch fire -- and the flavors were fabulous.
• Shrimp salad with butter lettuce: I skipped the pumpernickel bread on this. The salad had a delicate flavor.
• Herbed new potato salad: A nice flavor, but it needed more dijon and herbs. My all-time olive oil based fave is this one http://iamthebeholder.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/the-best-potato-salad-ever/
• Grilled onion salad: This was by far and away the show-stopper. Friggin' amazing flavors, sweet and carmelized without a bit of sugar. This one is a real keeper.
• Egg Nests: I've made these once before. You have to use a good stand mixer (not a hand mixer) to really puff up the egg whites. This is a nice alternative to scrambies and other eggs and would be tres fun for the kiddos.
• Mixed Fruit Salad: I put in whatever fruit I want. This is a nice, fresh break from the daily egg routine. We top with chopped nuts (this week was pecans) for a nice crunch. If you aren't diabetic and have nut concerns, granola would be perfect.

 I'm not all about food, but it is a nice way to share happiness :)

Happy days!

The Return of Ms Kitty

I thought she was gone. Really, I thought she'd been out on a day pass or sneaky escape when we last saw her. We haven't seen hide nor hair since the last time I posted about Ms Kitty. Then again, we were gone from home for 12 days...

In fact, Ms Kitty is still around. Mike looked out the window last night and saw her uphill out the bedroom window. I talked to her for a bit from the bathroom window, but she wasn't too interested in seeing me when I went outside (read she ran away).

This morning she was hanging out with Mattie under the truck. The weird thing was that her fur was all over the place. It was like she molted. Or someone ripped her hair out. When she walked away it appeared she might have part of her skin ripped (I do not know if that was indeed fact).

I decided to lure her in with some tuna Pat got for Mattie last week (he only likes the juice, not the meat). It didn't take her long to come over and have a snack. I got some very bad photos with my cell phone that I'll just skip posting.

Little did I know that tuna must be an aphrodisiac for cats. For Mattie, anyway. Next thing I know, she's back under the truck with him, ass up and him, well, you know. Guess no one told him he's NEUTERED!

Plagued with rain tonight, I took some food out to the barn in case she was seeking refuge. She was in there and ran for cover when I went in. I put the food down and talked to her for a bit. I went in again later, scaring her again, and chatted as I walked by.

Maybe we'll have a new barn cat. I just wish I knew what was up with all this loose hair...

A week away

We are back from a week away in the Poconos. The Eastern Naturist Gathering was great fun. Though it did rain a few days, then warm sunny days made up for it.

We arrived back home around 4 pm on Sunday. Last night we caught up on the lawn, which hadn't been mowed for three weeks (the lawn tractor needed a part, and it would take me 3 hours to do it all with the self-propelled mower). That was fun :)

We did take a walk afterwards. It was very nice.


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More to come later on!

More flowers

Gosh, I am just flower obsessed and cat obsessed. Oh well, you knew already!

Mike's sister also gave us this plant...

So pretty!

A peony for your thoughts...

Our peonies are out now. I have snap pics quick while they last! Those pretty plants turn quickly...

I had fun taking photos of these... The first, from far away is in iAuto mode. The rest are in sepia and soft focus.

This plant was a gift from Mike's sister

soft focus 1

soft focus 2

sepia 1

sepia 2

I just love flowers!

More on Ms. Kitty

So... Yes, I am still on the kitty kick. And, I still think Kitty is a girl. I'm even thinking of names for her.

Don't get askeered for me falling in love yet; I don't think she'll be around long term (though it would be nice if it works out for her to be a barn cat).

We picked up the car from the shop yesterday and when we got home, she was in the driveway. She ran under the potting shed and we couldn't spot her. We gave up and went out for ice cream. When we got back home, she was out again. Zoom! Back to the potting shed.

As a sneaky way to lure her out, I took out some cat food. Tricky, right?! She came out and nibbled a bit. I got up to get my camera and some canned food; off to the potting shed again. She came out while I was inside (Mike stayed out) but then retreated when I came back out.

I sat up shop waiting for her to come back out. At that point, Mike had quite enough and went in to iron. After a good little bit, she made her way out.

I think she's thinking, "I see you see me, and I don't like it."

After a little bit she wandered over to under the front of truck. I slowly approached. Creep... Creep... She was watching. Mattie had enough of this creepy crap and just went to the truck. She came back to see him. I stopped about 10 feet from the back of the truck.

Hi, Girlfriend. Didn't know you were going to meet the folks today.

Really, mom, I'm not interested in her. We're just friends.

I'm now about 7 feet from her; she is perfectly happy and content

She even did a rolling around and stretching "I'm so happy" number

She's watching Mattie check out the kitty buffet

It was at this point that I decided to try to creep closer. No dice for me. She said, "Danger! Danger! Human too close!" and fled.

That progress isn't too bad for 3 days!

You know I'll keep you posted!

There's a new cat in town

We were outside on Sunday when we (Mike) noticed a cat on our stone wall. It was Mattie's size. He was with it, very closely following, as a matter of fact. I think it is a female because he was right with the other cat and not the least bit stand offish as he was with Midnight.

We got home last night and scared the dickens out of the little thing, who was sleeping in the driveway with Mattie on the patio table. She took off like a shot. I saw her later in the barn.

I'm not sure if she belongs to someone or if she is a stray. We left out food for her last night. I don't know if she ate it or if it was another animal.






I'm happy that Mattie has someone to hang out with. He seems to be having a good time. If that means having another kitty around for a while, that is ok with me. I'll try not to get attached.

By the way, the cat looks a lot like our first cat, Scrumpy. He was handsome and sweet -- I'm sure you've all heard his story by now.


The "new" cat has similar markings in the face and a fluffier tail. I don't have pictures of her yet (since she runs when she sees me, as all smarties should).



I will take broad liberties and post a few more pics of Scrumpy...

I'll keep you posted!


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Grumbles and Growls

I called my gynecologist in November to schedule my April appointment. They told me, we don't book out that far, you need to call back. So, I used my handy dandy online calendar and set up a reminder to call early March for my late April appointment. Noper doodle. Not good enough. The soonest I could get was June. Well, ok.

I thought it was all set. A couple of weeks later, the doctors' office called again. My GYN wanted to go to a conference the day of my appointment and I'd need to reschedule. Hmm... Okay, I did.

My appointment was today at 3:00. I arrived 15 minutes early and quickly filled out the paperwork. At 3:25, I went to the receptionist to find out when I might be seen. At 3:35 I was taken back to the exam room and weighed. And there I sat until 4:10. No check-ins, no "the doctor will be ready in a few minutes". N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Oh, but I did hear the doctor outside the exam room BSing with the nurses for quite a while.

I initially planned to pick up Mike and his luggage (from a trip that was cancelled at the last minute) in Boston. The seriously late appointment precluded that and we changed to him taking the train (very inconvenient with luggage in rush hour).

I finally walked out at 4:10. Party because I needed to get to Southborough to pick up Mike and partly because, well, I was pissed. I mean, really, at least show me the smallest amount of courtesy and treat me like a semi-valued patient.

I left a message for the office manager on my way to pick up Mike. She is supposed to call Friday. We'll see if she does and how that goes. In the meantime, I've gotten a recommendation from my primary care physician and can see him in a pinch if I need to.

Sigh.

p.s. I failed to mention that I waited almost an hour to see the doctor last year after a 4 month booking for the "soonest" appointment... And, she is not an obstetrician, just a gynecologist, so there was no baby delivery or emergency appointments to blame. I really don't think I'm being bitchy (and even if I am, I simply don't care).

**Update **
I heard back from the office manager today. She was very apologetic and horrified about what happened. She is going to investigate the situation and call me back tomorrow. Maybe we can make lemonade out of lemons. I sure hope so...

A Peaceful Retreat

We went to our friends' house yesterday and had a great walk around their property. Their rhoddys are in full bloom and were just amazing.

A pretty welcome

 They have a nice pathway down to the pond their property borders. The retreat is a tucked away treat line with more rhoddys.

A great spot for sunning, too!

They even have fun art scattered around to complete the feel...

You just can't beat this solitude!

In addition to having pretty flowers, they grow pretty flowers (and veggies). It really is a sight to behold.

And you can't beat a deuce and a half as yard art!

Thanks for the great night, Steve and Helen!

A cool tribute to 9/11

I was working away yesterday when one of my coworkers said, "Hey! You have to look at the window at this motorcycle." I did, and was awed. This motorcycle was pulling a trailer with a miniature fire engine -- flashing lights and all.

Isn't that awesome?

I couldn't help myself. I grabbed my camera and went outside to talk to the owner. Turns out, he is a Newton firefighter. He wanted to make a tribute to the fallen firefighters from 9/11, who get so little press each year.

He bought the bike and had it painted with flames. He included a flag for the fallen firefighters.

Look closely to see the flag

The trailer was a 16'x20' dirt bike trailer he cut down. He made all of the engine himself, with exception to diamond plate. The top lifts up for storage and the lights flash.

How cool!!!

Mattie Lou

I just love him.

On the prowl

He's always on the move (except when he's not)

 

 

 

He's getting tired of this picture stuff

Rhoddy-o

So, are you ready for day two of this week's flowers? Our second plant(s) to bloom this week are our rhododendrons.

By the barn and milk house

By the driveway

By the front door

By the road

Even though the first three photos are of the same color rhoddy, they are in fact different. Really!

Happy days!

Flower Power

Our lilacs had turned after our long weekend away. Bye bye blooms... But the lovely thing about our yard is that we have new blooms now!

First up, the iris(es).

I'll more for you in the next entry!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy wishes to all my friends in the blogosphere! I feel like summer has officially started!








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Fresh starts

One of the nice things about camp is that we really enjoy yummy breakfasts. As such, we're always looking for a twist that will be different and fun.

This morning we tried egg nests (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/egg_nests/)
















They came out great!

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Where's the fire?

Here in the Ghetto, my friends...























And my sweetie









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