KateP's musings

Wow this day has been awesome! I woke up around 2 am and couldn’t get back to sleep for quite some time and when I finally did it was time for me to get up anyway. I was getting ready when Mom got up and wished me a happy birthday. While she was reading her paper I took care of the dehumidifier and let her read the card and see the pictures Liz and the kids gave me. I left the house a little after 7:30. It was around 8 when I arrived at the office. I found a beautiful balloon and a card signed by the team waiting for me on my desk. A note from Terry letting me know she would be in late and that we would have something then. She came in around 10 with a cake and hugged me. She told me we would be having a pizza party later. Through out the day many people wished me happy birthday and I thanked everyone for my card. I also showed them the card I got and the pictures. They loved the story I told them of my birthday breakfast. I spent most of the morning working on the lockbox fro...

Hey afternoon everyone! It is after 5 and sunny and 72 degrees out. It has been a beautiful day and also a clear indication summer is waning down to fall. Right now I am surfing the net and catching up with some NCIS forums . (Probably causing some trouble to boot) and kvetching about it here . Mom is at the literary club kickoff party and will be home probably about 7. She was busy cooking the rest of her stuff that she brought when I got home from church today. I suspect the schedule they will have will be like the one they had last year. Instead of monthly it will be every other month. I suspect it will be in October then perhaps December, February, April and the final one in May for the summer. I have no idea what books they have planned but I bet Mom told me and I forgot already. I had a really weird dream this morning and it was about work. I noticed my desk as being cleared off (as empty) and I noticed I had seen former co-workers in the file cabinets yet they were in a...

Today was my birthday breakfast with Liz and the kids. We met shortly after 8:30 at the IHOP in Orange we were seated and our orders were taken. Liz and Audrey had waffles and Jason and I had pancakes. For the next hour and half we talked about summer activities, parties, and Jason starting school. It was a lot of fun. Near the end a few of the IHOP waitresses came over with some ice cream and sang the Happy Birthday song. It was a lot of fun. While I was waiting I got a chance to chat with my co-worker Lee Petrowski. I was so surprised to see her and I finally had the chance to meet her husband Stan. I think they were waiting on their breakfast so I didn’t stay long. They left before we were even finished with our meal. It was nearly 10 am when I returned Mom wasn’t home but she came home a minute after I did. She had gone to the bank and was hurrying back for Senator Kennedy’s Funeral services that were on every channel you could think of. I turned it on from time to time...

The day is pretty cloudy and I believe the state is expecting to get remnants of Hurricane Danny that will be off the coast of Long Island. It is currently off North Carolina and in the Atlantic. If I read the weather pages right the winds are supposed to be 45 miles an hour. You see I need things written out so that I could understand it all these percentages and technical terms just make my head spin. I could resort to just looking outside a window and seeing for myself. Good news I was able to move my appointment tomorrow from 10 to 10:30 so I could have breakfast with Liz and the kids at good time. Liz wants to go to an early morning meeting before we meet so I think that’s a good idea. I also got a call from Dr. Martin’s office requesting a change in appointment for October. It was changed to a week later. We heard from Jim last night. He was a bit tired and sounded like he got a cold. He wanted to know about the charger he got in the mail from Mom. I told him that Mom was at a w...

Wow it has been a week since I last wrote (maybe more depending where I posted recently). It was sort of a hectic week and some what tense moments between Mom and I but I think they may have worked it out. Well that’s what I thought by Friday but I was wrong. Mom was still annoyed with me from the early events of the week. (I may not have gone into great detail in my last entry here . On Friday was the baby shower for my co-worker Martrese S. She made out like a bandit and was totally touched by everyone’s participation. There were the cutest clothes for the baby. There was cake and appetizers. I had to cancel my hair appointment for Saturday as I discovered I would be working that morning. It was moved to this coming Saturday (8/28) for 10 am. Saturday was a busy day. I worked for most of the day and had the annual MYWC Ice cream social. It was a great turn out and I expect we will have a lot of Mother Daughter members this year. Roberta and I spent ...

We left the house about 8:30. It was a bit strained because Mom and I had a fight over stupid stuff last night. Anyway we got the 9 am train to NY. The ride itself was quiet and quick. Mom slept while I watched the scenery pass by. It was 10:30 when we arrived in NY. We made stops at the Market place for extra bread and to the Information booth for directions to the pier. After we did a bathroom run and keeping an eye on some woman’s bags while she did a bathroom run we headed out to the bus with our handy coin in hand. Three buses we needed drove by us. That was because we were not at the exact spot to be picked up. WE finally got a cab. That cost $11 including a tip. When we arrived we emptied out the cab and we headed to the ticket booth. I heard Jim calling out to us and so we gave him our stuff and we went to the booth. We went to the boat. It turned out to be the wrong boat. We wanted the 12:30 –three hour tour and we got the 12 pm –two hour tour. So for the next two ...

Good Morning everyone it is early Wednesday morning and I will be leaving for work soon. I didn’t get a chance to write yesterday because I was so busy, hot, and tired. I arrived at work to find that no one did my work on Monday so I was busy opening part of Monday’s and part of Tuesday’s mail. I will be finishing the mail for them today. I am hoping that today’s mail will be light so that I can catch up. I grumbled about it a few times “I am never going on vacation again”. Gayle laughed and said “I am so sorry”. She looked at me at one point and laughed and said she would be in on Saturday and that I could OT for it with the help of Gabby. I put the request in for having tomorrow off for the Harbor Cruise. I won’t have any problems with that. That’s the other reason for the OT. Mom found out that we lost a cousin we didn’t know lived in state. She was living in Cheshire and was thought to have gotten married late in life and moved away. Mo...

I slept in until 7:30 or 8. Mom had already started on the cleaning out of the attic. She found a picture of me playing Wyatt and Tasmania from next door. She almost was going to through out I think. It kind of annoys me when she does this that she throws out stuff like this.I got a call from my co-worker and friend Dolette warning me about the traffic jam that happens almost on a daily basis in West Haven. It was not unlike what I did for her last week. I called her back to let her know I wasn’t working today. I called her back later on and chatted with her for a bit.I spent the morning doing laundry and got bathed and dressed by 11 and filled the car up with things for Good Will. I left after Mom came home from running errands. I wanted to check to see what else I was bringing. After the successful run to Good Will I called Liz and stopped by to see her. We didn’t talk long for she had things to do. We talked about John Hebert’s Wake and Funeral, the parties for the weekend, and fina...

Good Morning everyone! It is almost 7 am and I am up early. Yesterday was a great day. According to the New Haven Register it was phenomenal. There were a lot of people in the booth by the time I got there and we got a lot done by the time I left. I didn’t go straight home I ended up sitting with Tessa and the other Democratic Tent up on the green. I was there for two hours then I headed home. During that time I made calls to Dave to let him know where I would be and for how long. I wasn’t sure. AT one point he was having breakfast at a restaurant by City Hall and then just around 11 he came by the Tent on the Green. I also ran into some other people I knew and one of them was Dottie B. It was okay. AT one point she was making comments I thought were digs to the club and Telka. Tessa was telling her about the club. We both told her we were in the same club. Anyway it seems as if Dottie joined the Milford Woman’s Club I found myself saying one of the women I met there w...

Today is going to be a busy day for me. Today is the Annual Milford Oyster Festival. I will be working with the DTC this morning prepping the food for cooking. We have a tent that sells food. We usually do hot dogs and hamburgers, and gyros and fried dough. This year though no Gyros it is too much to keep an eye on. After I do my stint there I am going to be walking with Jim Amann our candidate for Governor of Connecticut. Once that is done I will be coming home and getting ready for Bryan’s Birthday party. It is at 2 pm but I still need to get a card for him. I will be giving him money for his birthday. Then I will leave here by 1:30 or so and get to their home in North Haven. Mom will hopefully join me there. The reason I said “Mom will hopefully join me there” is because she is still not feeling well. I am going to give her myself number when I get to the tent so that she if she needs me for something she can have someone call me. Today is also Dave’s Birthday he is 46...

I am so glad it is Friday. I had a pretty good day despite the fact I had misplaced (or so I thought) my wallet that held my credit cards and my drivers license and my work id. I just found it before I started writing. Since I couldn’t find my badge holder I couldn’t get anything to eat or drink (except maybe raid candy dishes). I was so hungry. I also couldn’t get tickets for the tennis tournament starting next week. I am hoping I can do it tonight. Mom got sick this morning before I got up for the day. I called twice and both times she didn’t answer and so I figured she was sleeping. She was up when I got home and apparently being very low key. She isn’t hungry so I am going to warm up so soup we got at trader Joe’s last week. Mom also tells me that we may not be going to the cruise on the Hudson on Monday after all and could I change the date. AT quarter of five? No. She does this to me every time she wants me to take time off. She thinks I could do it at anytime. I am ...

This is going to be somewhat short as it is getting late in the evening and I am tired: 1. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for all their idiosyncrasies and quirks. As well as their abilities to cope with what ever comes their way. 2. I am thankful for my nephew John’s safe return from Iraq. I pray he doesn’t have to go back again soon. I look forward to his next adventure (that of getting married to his girlfriend in December) 3. I am thankful that the aches and pains I have felt today are gone and hopefully will not come back tomorrow. I had a hard time walking and bending my left leg. 4. I am thankful for the ability to live in a country in which despite its pitfalls I can still feel safe in my home and not have to worry about Bombs going off or being run off for my religious beliefs. 5. I am thankful for the clothes on my back and food in my stomach. 6. I am thankful for a job that allows me to live fairly comfortable in my lifestyle.

It is happening. The days are getting shorter. I have noticed for the past several nights that it has gotten dark before 8:30 when just weeks ago it was still light out. It means that the fall season will be here in no time. I actually don’t mind it. I really do like all the seasons for all the reasons. They would be the different activities, the weather changes, and of course the time change. I think the time change is in October this year but I will have to check again. Today went pretty well. I was late to work again (just about the same time as in the last few days). This time I was trying to get the CD adapter/.player that Liz gave me to work. It doesn’t. I probably could have done it when I got home but I was hoping to be playing the music on the way in. I got most of the daily mail done by the time I left. There was one pile or batch from yesterday that I decided to put with tomorrow’s mail. I couldn’t finish it today because I was tired and ...

Man today was a long day. I started the day with a small headache from the back of my head and then it progressed to the front. I mentioned this in my Kate's Journey with Lupus: Headaches entry. The mail volume was heavy but I will finish it in the morning. I was also distracted by a birthday party for A Lopez. There is some back story to that as well. I walked in with her this morning and she seemed as though she was slightly put out that no one remembered her birthday yesterday. Well I had known (and possibly gave it away) that Niamba was going to do something for her. Later when I told Evette about it she was upset and explained that Arcenia asked that nothing be done for her. Now I know Arcenia has been like this for years. There was an argument between the ladies and as a result Arcenia moved her seat. When I left for the day it was a little after 4. The aches and pains subsided for a bit but they would come back later after I had taken down the curtains and washed the window...

Well it is Monday night and in a few short moments I will be heading to bed. The day had started off rather hectic but as the day went on it got better. I got up got ready for work but didn’t bother to watch the news or listen for traffic reports. If I had I would have known not to get on the highway. Somewhere on 95 there was a three car accident. It back traffic up all the way to the West Haven exits. I stayed on the highway until the West Haven/New Haven line. I went along the side roads and managed to get to the Garage after 8. I got to the office by 8:15. I had shared my tale of whoa with a few people including Dolette whom I called while on the highway. She had told me about the three car accident. I am not sure if she got to the office before me or after me but we laughed and joked about it. The mail was interesting. The lockbox portion of it was lighter then normal for a Monday. The US Post office Mail was heavier then usual. However, I man...

Good Afternoon it is almost 1 pm and I have had a busy morning already. I went to Liz’s and saw the kids. I haven’t seen them in some time. I think since Liz and Nelson renewed their wedding vows in June. I gave them the T-shirts I got for them on Martha’s Vineyard. They will be at Brian’s party next week but it would be very overwhelming with all the commotion there. Mom was up by 7:30. She got home from the wedding around midnight. She said it was a wonderful wedding and Cheryl did an excellent job officiating it. There were 100 people there she told me. Now she is looking to buy tickets for the Christmas show we attend every year with the PA branch of the Phelans. Bingo went well despite the fact I was not there until a few minutes before the games started. They were very accommodating so that was good. While I was there a large motorcycle caravan rode by and it was pretty cool. After bingo I went to church and then to the post office to drop off some bills and the muc...

Hey everyone it is a beautiful Saturday Morning and I am doing the normal Saturday routine. That would be cleaning. The past few weekends I have been doing things outside the house. The week went by pretty well. I worked mostly and relaxed at night. Mom did some heavy duty cleaning and wouldn’t really let me help much because she wasn’t sure what she wanted done but she managed to get it done. Friday I went out to dinner with my friend Dave and we had a good time. Two Actors from General hospital was at the night club (for comedy hour) they were Greg Vaughn and the girl Natalia? We didn’t see it because it was for $70. Neither of us was up to it. I am still working on the pen pal clearing house. I haven’t really done much with it but I hope to later on today. I still have to find people who want some friendship books or I have to send them back to the original owners and I am not looking forward to that. My brother Bob and his family are doing okay. I think he is still cleani...

Hey everyone I saw another deer near the edge of the highway between exit 42 and 41 in Orange today. It was foraging along the tree lines on the southbound of the highway. If you are familiar with the area I think you might know what I am saying. It’s been the second time this week I have seen them. IT is usually about 4 pm. I am always pleased to see them. The last time it was an adult and two little Bambi’s. I know its been a couple of days since I wrote but I was beginning to think I would get boring if I wrote everyday and as it was I never finished an entry from the 4th so I was behind. Work is going well. I am almost caught up with everything. Gayle asked me how it was going and reminded me if I need to work OT and get the mail done that I could. I thanked her and told her it is almost done. Some of my teammates were getting on my nerves with their cackling and moaning about the amount of paper that was at the printer. I am not sure i...

Hey everyone it is after 9 and I am getting sleepy but I need to do something first. I need to write my cousins Bill and Susan in Georgia for being such wonderful and fun hosts while we were visiting them on the Cape a few weeks ago. I don’t know why I put it off but I did. Work went well. I have to finish today’s lockbox now and it won’t take long. I hope to have all of tomorrow’s mail done by the time I leave for the day. I brought Carol H home from work today and told her of the events from Friday. She was surprised at the drama couple’s behavior. I watched most of NCIS at 8 pm because it wasn’t on at all today. There is a marathon tomorrow and it starts at 9 am. Well I am tired and I am going to bed.

It is Monday night and the sun is all but gone. I am a bit achy but I suspect that the pasta salad at lunch and the BBQ sauce and Worcestershire sauce I added to the stew for dinner tonight is the culprit I have taken the appropriate medication for it and hope it kicks in soon. Work went well I kept busy the entire day with a few trips to the internet. I also told a few people about the incident with the drama couple’s car. No I didn’t crash it but what basically happened was the husband treated me like crap because I opened the front door of his car to let his wife in. He cussed me out for no reason. Had I known he was going to pull the entire 4x4 up to the front door of the building (under the awning) I would have waited. Technically he wouldn’t have been able to do it for two reasons. One people were standing there and 2) you don’t do that. I ignored CC on the way out but was telling one woman that knows her about it and she was as everyone else I told appalled at their beha...

As many of you know there was a really bad storm here on Friday. There had been a tornado watch in effect and it did happen. In yesterday’s paper they were not sure what exactly happened but they did indicate the hardest hit and it had pictures of Milford and West Haven. The paper indicated that the blocks between Grove Place and Fairview Avenue (my Brother Bob’s place) was hit hard. Mom went to see him yesterday and indeed that was true. Bob was out there clearing out the debris Mom told me this morning that the Fire Marshall stopped by and told Bob a microburst is what hit the area of Bob’s house. After the beautiful sunny day yesterday we have clouds right now. According to Mom it is supposed to get up to the 80’s and be humid. I will probably stay inside and try to clear out the pen pal files and any thing else. I received several wonderful “Welcome Back” emails through the journaling lists and it felt wonderful. I will try and post more often as possible for that. I spen...

Well hello everyone! I know it’s been months since I wrote and to be honest I wasn’t sure what to write. There had been a lot of stress in family issues I wasn’t really prepared to write about. I am glad to report that although the stress and concerns are still there and probably will be for a long time there is still hope. I have been trying to keep busy with all the activities that I can. Work is going well and my health has had good days and bad days. I managed to lose some weight but I also have been having a lot of aches and pains. As I am writing this not so much pain but the day is still young. I have completely dropped out of the pen pal hobby after recent activities. I had received a prison letter and it caused some stress and I handled it the best way I could. The methods didn’t please Mom but by the beginning of the summer I had decided to stop it completely. I have to inform all of my pals that are not on my groups (dropped out of them too) but in contact with a few still v...