Irish Dance show tonight

Tonight is the Irish Dance show in Stratford.  Mom is going on her own while I get Dave I guess.  Until then I have been doing laundry and watching TV.

I woke up at 7:30 and then finally got out of bed around 8.  I watched TV until maybe nine and then started the laundry.  I knew I had left some laundry in the dryer so I had to rewash them and they are still trying to dry.

I still haven't done anything with the Norton yet.  I am so apprehensive.  I probably will ask a question of Don and then do it.here will be updated then.

Mom went to a memorial for her classmate who died this past week.  She said she would do some errands afterwards. 

A new World's record

I think I broke the record for getting to work in bad weather. I woke up at 10 of 7 and was dressed and ready to go by 7:30. I left my work id some where in my room. I know I saw it just not sure where I left. I got to the office a little after 8. I found my ID holder with everything else right where I left it.



I had a good day....the pains weren't as bad as last night. As a matter of fact they are not as bad tonight either. Just spasms. I got all the daily work done and worked on more of the readdress mail.



I may have a potential DTC member for the third district. Janet who has been assigned to help scan and do the collection letters lives in the third district. I contacted Marsha Z and told her about it but she wrote me back later and told me to contact Rich with the info.



It rained for most of the day and I think it stopped but the weather forecast calls for highwinds and possible flooding. We don't usually have problems but the marshland river behind is brimming.



have updated news @ katescomputer.blogspot.com/

Nothing is ever Easy

Good news the big UPS envelope was my American Express Card for Costco.  Bad news they are a pain in the ass to get my card activated.  I was going to do it on line but Mom's name and stuff is on the sight and I don't want to change it on her.  I tried to call and at first my phone disconnected.  I tried a second time and had to speak to someone who was condecending to say the least.  I didn't have this problem before!  They wanted to know who the primary card is..ah duh?  I explained my name is on it but it is linked to Mom's card.  I got so frustrated I hung up.

I am also aggravated because the pains in the side seem to be acting up big time tonight.  Read it here.  Right now its fine but then in a while if I move or breath deeply it will hurt.

No news on the Computer front really.

Mom went to the reception for Congresswoman DeLauro this evening then she went to the DTC.  I joked that Congress would not appreciate the whole CT Congressional delegation being sick and sharing with the rest of the members.  Mom didn't think it was funny.  I did.

Groan

I knew I should not have said anything about my vacation time to Mom.  When I told her about the email I got that I needed to take the time or lose it she was trying to figure out just how much and she rounded it out to two weeks.  I explained our hours were 37 ½.  I told her I also was thinking of visiting my Ohio family.  This morning Mom suggested I take a week off and tear apart my room and give it a good cleaning.  She doesn’t think going to visit Uncle Ron is a good idea.  His sons live far away and he lives in a senior housing.  I think she could tell I was annoyed but I told I would think about it.

Anyway, I was supposed to go to a reception in honor of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro this evening but with me feeling cruddy I decided I am not going.  Mom agreed with me but she is going later on.

She is meeting the Knitwits this afternoon for their monthly lunch date.  It’s going to be in North Haven today.  They always have a great time.  I think this is not their usual restaurant but I also think they do what most people do try a different restaurant every time.

We are supposed to get some snow later on tonight (I am hoping it will be after I get home as I am wearing sneakers).  WE are supposed to get rain tomorrow too lots and lots of rain apparently.

Shortly before lunch Mom calls me and tells me there is a letter from UPS waiting for me.  She asked me if I was expecting something and I told her no.  Now tat I have been thinking about it could be from Silkies hosiery…forgot to pay that this month.

Well I better get going.  The second wave of the mail came and I am almost done with it

Wednesday February 23, 2011

Can't believe its Wednesday again.  It was a cold start like it has been for the last couple of days.  Work went well.  Still didn't do the lobby mail.  I will probably do it tomorrow.

Mom checked out the laptops.you can read it here.  She is going back another time to get the answers she was looking for.  I was afraid she would just buy the wrong one or the one that was available.  I was wrong.

Mom tells me Woody popped his head out of his lair today.  She was highly disappointed.  It will be very funny.  I thought he comes out later?

We got word today that a dear friend Tom C passed away.  He was a member of the DTC before I joined but he was on several boards and committees with Mom and our friend Carla H.  Mom has sent an email to Carla about this.

Started a new Journal

Started a new journal

Well I started my new blog this morning. http://katescomputer.blogspot.com/ I hope to be able to keep up with it every day.



I had a good session with Debra despite the fact it was hard to take deep breaths without it hurting. I told her about the computer and about the funeral but that over all things seem good. She was pleased to know I got the bed made.



I didn’t have dinner but I did take the Nyquil and started getting really sleepy. I woke up about 3 this morning. It was an occasional cough too. This morning I took the Dayquil stuff and seem to be doing okay.



One thing I didn’t write yesterday is we had a surprise visit from Ms Gayle. She looked great. She was dropping off papers and told us she will be returning March 7. Apparently she had a small set back but didn’t go into it.



Work went well. Lockbox seemed heavy at first but as I was getting into opening it really wasn’t. I had French toast from Paula’s for Breakfast and left over Macaroni and cheese for lunch.



Oh and I got an email informing me I have to take 155 hours of vacation time or lose it. I have until June 30 2011. That amounts to 1 month and five hours. So I have to start thinking about where I want to go.



Okay most of the mail is done….not going to do lobby mail…will be doing the redirect mail as it is getting a bit much for me.

Slow Day

It is going to be a slow day. There is no mail delivery because of the holiday and the banks are closed. Some of the Departments and companies in this building are not here. I was able to find some empty interoffice envelopes and can work on the redirect mail. The envelopes seem to be at a premium these days.

I am also not feeling well again. It feels like a pulled muscle in the back and I feel Nauseous. If it continues I am going to have to call the Dr.

I heard from Mardi today…she told me Dell computers is having a sale. I have no idea what I want and I still haven’t heard from Don yet. I know that every time something happens to the computer I want to keep track of it and I did for a bit but I think I am going to open another blog and keep really good notes for it…

I just looked up info on flash drives here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive ) and it seems a little overwhelming so I asked Steve and he says it could be hard drive corruption and possibly nothing I did…he feels CD’s are better the Flash drives. He did say that a Flash drive is about the size of DVD and you would have specified what you wanted saved.

Before I do get this stuff I need to see what Don does say.

My Computer crashed

I have no exact idea what happened but I was on the CBS site for NCIS and went to move off of it and it froze and it wouldn't move so I turned off the computer and then turned it on and got "disc boot error. Insert disk an hit any button..and of course I don't know hwere that stuff is...and tried it again after several hours and it didn't work. All my work is on it and all my journal notes and stuff.

Borrowing Mom's for now but really apprehensive about going anywhere..

My friend Dave O and Rose were supposed to go bowling but they didn't have open bowling until 8:30 tonight so we went to play pool. We have no idea what we were doing but we did have fun. Then we went to a Japanese restaurant and had Hibachi style cooking...no dessert for me.

Bingo went well...had about 12 players and the kids came and helped...Made it to church on time. After church came home and did some laundry and watched TV and then the whole computer thing went down

Today we said goodbye to my neighbor Mr. V. The wake was from 9 until 10:30 and the funeral services were at 11 am. Sylvia A rode with me to the funeral home and then to the funeral at the church. She couldn’t or wouldn’t do it on her own as she wanted to “catch up” and her shoulder wasn’t well after her fall on the ice last week.

I had to scramble around as I had gotten up around 8 (as I had hoped) and needed to make revisions to the minutes I had written up last night from the 4th District. I was really pleased at how well I did on those and got them out so quickly.

I had a few minor set backs. My GPS was missing an important part (the plug) and the computer was going far to slow to get directions. Happily I had Sylvia there with me and we found it with little to no problems.

There didn’t seem to be a large crowd at the funeral home but it seemed to be a normal crowd at the church. The procession was lovely and many people stopped for the procession.

The services were very nice. Mom was already at the church along with other neighbors. Kim, Sylvia and I sat with Mom. We didn’t recognize a lot of people there. I have a feeling they were friends of Richards’ and his family.

After the service I got gas for the car and then headed to work. I had to park on the 7th level because my regular spot was taken. I rushed to the office not even to check the car out. If I had I would have noticed the lights still on. As it was when I discovered it I had to stop someone who had jumper cables.

Work went well. The volume was light enough so that most of it could be opened and delivered. I wasn’t able to get the lobby mail which isn’t a lot but it will be next Monday.

When I got home Mom was on the computer. She had started dinner and was going to cook some Salmon for dinner. We had macaroni & Cheese and that was delicious. She made Peach apple pie. I had one slice of that.

Now I am going to watch NCIS and then Jay Leno as the Silverfox will be on tonight.

I did it!

Well I did it. I signed up for the Weight Watchers at work Program today. Maria was a little apprehensive because she thought I looked great already. I talked with Mom about it last night and she says go for it. It really pleased me that many people have noticed the weight loss. I just hope I can maintain it. Maria says the date hasn’t been decided yet but we do have 26 people signed up.
I met up with Joe Jeffrey yesterday and we were talking about Mr. Vince. Shortly after that Richard (Tom’s Step Son) came over and asked about the garbage and recycle pick up. We spent a few minutes going to down memory lane. It turns out he hung out with Bob and Jim when we grew up. Anyway, I think they are going to keep the house for now and he really urged us to get a will in place for things like this. After a short time the discussion broke up and we went our separate ways. Donny was just coming home by then too chatted with him for a bit. Then I went inside to get dinner. As I was going inside I notice the sky getting cloudy.
Mom came home around 6. I hadn’t heard head her come in but I was eating dinner. I nearly had a heart attack. I was watching the NCIS marathon. We talked about meeting the step son. Then Mom got into her pajamas and I finished my dinner. For the rest of the night we did our own thing. Mine was the NCIS marathon, and putting out the garbage. I fell asleep around 12 or so and then went to bed.
Now there is something that has been starting to bother me of late. As some of you are aware I have a short temper. I do cuss like a sailor at times but lately I have been saying “God Fucking Dammit”. No matter what it is that's happening. Whether it’s the computer moving slowly or Drop something or I have tripped over something. Sometimes I think I am loud and Mom can hear me. I get the feeling Mom is perplexed by it (although she is not letting on at this moment.). I have decided that from this day forward I am not going to do it anymore. Considering it is using God’s name in vain big time it isn’t always making me feel better but guiltier. I am also going to start doing more prayers… not loud ones but more quiet ones. I guess what I am trying to say is to be more open. I have done it before and it has been encouraged through out our faith.

Well I better get going the quiet time and mail will be coming soon…

Still Pretty cold

It is still very cold but not as windy as yesterday. I woke up pretty early but stayed in bed until 6:30. I got online while getting ready and that proved to be very frustrating. I was anxious to see what the reactions to last night’s episode of NCIS. I had to wait until I got to work.

The Drive was fine. That’s until New Haven. There was a disabled car by exit 48 to 50 and that made traffic come to a standstill for those going to East Haven at least. Luckily no problems for me but there were some people who were a little bit rushed and would cut in front of people to get to work.

M r. V’s obituary was in today’s paper and it mentions his love of dogs. I really think that was cute. I love how the obituaries of recent years try to have a story telling feel to it. It also says he will be buried in the spring. That alone brings a lot of questions to mind. For example what are they going to do with him until then? It will all be on Friday morning. Anyway, I put my PTO request in and for the most part it’s been approved.

Niamba just noticed today that my hair was colored. She likes it and it felt good to not have to tell people what I did to it. We discussed the pros and cons of spending the money on it. Others feel I have spent too much.

The mail volume so far has been extremely light. I had to go get it since no one called me. But it didn’t take long for me to do it. I have been spending the time doing redirect mail and online. At least I am making a small dent in it.

I am going to pick up soda for tomorrow’s meeting after work. Mom has everything else. Phil will bring the beer and the wine tomorrow. Rich S sent out another email about the aldermanic press conference yesterday. I have to fully read it first.I think it has to do with budgetary expectations or something..

Okay its lunch time and I still have today’s mail to finish. Its light too and I should be finished by 2 with it. I am going to have soup because I am so cold.

Incredibly Windy

It was incredibly windy and cold today and I could hear it and see from my room. I was cold for most of the day anyway.

I woke up around 3:30 send some emails out and went back to bed for another three hours. I wasn’t ready to get up at 6:30 but I did. I managed to shower, iron the clothes and dress and get out the door by 7:30.

Before getting to the office I finally mailed off the checks to the credit Union. So now Nancy will get her cancelled check back. I mailed the other HFCA form to Aetna.

My day was very good. I got most of the daily stuff done. I did check one last time for the last delivery of mail but it hadn’t come so I did the readdress mail.

I talked with Liz this morning she was good. She was going to have treatment today and start getting the house in order for the kids three day stay with her and Nelson. Stephanie (their Mom) is going to Ireland with her boyfriend. I don’t know where else they were going to stay.

Earlier today Rich S the chairman and our friend sent out emails about the Alderman having a news conference today at 4. I had seen the email and responded to them saying I would be getting out of the office by then.

When I got home Mom was already at her meetings. I relaxed for a while before getting dinner warmed up. It was about then when I saw Sylvia. I told her about Mr. Vinci.

She was saddened by the news but on the upswing her daughter had a baby girl an hour earlier. So that saying “circle of life” is very much true.

Now I am just waiting on ET and NCIS…

Valentines Day 2011

To all my friends, followers, and readers of this blog I would like to take this time to wish all of you a very happy Valentines Day. May you find love; continue to be loved every day.

As I was leaving this morning for work I saw Kim D and asked her for news on Mr. V. she hadn’t heard any as of that moment but she did say the family came home an hour after going to the hospital. Just as I was leaving though the Step-son and his wife drove up and Kim went to speak with them. I was thinking of going myself but I was afraid I would be late for work. During the morning I sent an email to Kim asking her for news and she sent me a message via Facebook that Mr. V had passed away. It was a blood clot in addition to the cancer that had spread. When I got home I told Donny the news. He had suspected it since he had called the hospital and they had informed him that Mr. Vinci hadn’t been admitted. We figured that by the end of the week the arrangements will be done. I spoke to Kim when she got home as well. I told Mom when I came in tonight.

The rest of the day went pretty well. I worked on both the regular mail and the lockbox and got both done by 3. I have to do the lobby mail but started on the postage/bad address tallies first. Both Susan and Patti were at a seminar all day but I figure they will be in the office tomorrow.

I had my session with Debra. I told her about the weekend and about the “cooking lesson offer from Nelson and how I felt about it and about the inability to be able to tell my family the things they do sometimes hurt and upset me. She asked what would happen if I would tell them that this offer sounds more like a judgment then an offer or even a criticism. I flat out told her they would probably tell me too bad and not to get angry.

Traffic on the way home was okay until I got to Long Wharf so I took a different route and got home after 5:30. That’s when I talked with Donny and Kim. It was nearly 6 when I came inside. Mom had a package on the front porch (she probably didn’t hear them knock) and that’s when I told her about Mr. V.

We had dinner straight away. It was lamb shanks and vegetables. It was delicious and filling. Mom caramelized the vegetables before cooking them. We also had mashed potatoes. This dish is one of my favorite meals,

After dinner I watched the first hour of NCIS from the 5th Season. The second is also from the 5th Season but I am really too tired to watch tonight and I am getting a headache. I think I may turn in early.

Finally got some Sleep

I finally got to sleep and it was good. I woke up shortly before the alarm went off and started getting ready for bingo. My fears were allayed when I found my billfold in the car on the floor. The sun was playing hide and seek for most of the morning. I stopped at Dunkin Doughnuts for breakfast and then went on to the nursing home.

When I arrived there were a few of the residents. I started serving the coffee and also got the key from Ping. I had the opportunity to meet the Per Diem Recreation therapist. Her name is Katherine and is lovely. I helped her set up the coffee cart for that morning. Natalie came after 10:30. They were busy setting up Valentine’s Goody Bags. We had 20 players today. Sadly Claire G was not one of them Natalie told me she passed away earlier in the week. I will find her obituary online and save it on the computer. There was an obituary for Margaret also and will try to find that one as well. Both of the ladies were mentioned in the petitions at mass today.

After Mass I came directly home. It was cold and cloudy and the snow ended as quickly as it started. Now it just looks like a normal winter afternoon.

Mom is just dusting and vacuuming downstairs and hasn’t a clue about what to do for dinner yet. I offered to help when it came time. I also told her about Nelson’s offer to teach me to cook. She looked at me and said “but we don’t want Puerto Rican food”. I told her he was making meat loaf (how many ways are there to make that anyway). She also told me they only said the things they did because they care. No they weren’t they are making assumptions based on no evidence and they are basically passing judgment on me. I knew Mom would not understand. But I did not pursue it.

Right now I am emptying out the emails in the mailbox. I had to delete one from the cooking Google groups because I am pretty sure I don’t have access to that one anymore.

While I am waiting for the emails having to do with a search of one of the schools (it’s over 3000 emails loading) I watched TV and had some lunch. I have been helping Mom get her old papers shredded as well.

Mr. V was taken away this evening by ambulance. I am not completely sure but almost 5 pieces of emergency squads came (2 fire engines, 1 ambulance and one squad car). According to Donny it doesn’t look good. He has bladder cancer and just came home a day or two ago.

Okay its getting late and I need to say good night.

Its amazing

It is amazing how much time quickly passes when you are not sleeping. I have spending the last three or four hours awake. Mom went to bed around 11 and probably fell asleep by midnight. I have watched TV for about an hour or so. The next two hours I have been surfing the net reading blogs and emails. I also have emptied out the inboxes that I have of my journaling lists and Google alerts. There is just way too many of them and I can’t keep up. I probably will empty out my main email account as well. Of course noting in various files what was deleted (especially if it is pertaining to bills and finances, or the woman’s club).

I just reset the alarm for 8 am. That should give me plenty of time to get my day started. I really need to do something with this room. It really is messy and little Audrey saw it the day they were visiting.

Mom and I were discussing our week long schedules. She told me she picked up cheese and crackers for the meeting on Thursday but didn’t get any soda. I think I will do that Wednesday. I told her that Phil is working on the Agenda for the meeting and will hand it out that night.

I reminded Mom that we are supposed to be attending the Lions Club Pasta Dinner next Saturday. Our Friend Kathy P is a member and she is also on the DTC with us. Mom feels that as friends we should do things like that for each other. Kathy has supported a lot of things Mom’s been involved with as well.

Then I was shocked to find out she will be attending a memorial for a friends husband. It is in Simsbury CT. Do you remember when I mentioned Mom got a phone call last week? The friend called to let her know the husband died. Priscilla and her husband have children and grandchildren in the area but spend half the year in Florida. As soon as the memorial is over (or soon after) Priscilla will be going back.

Well I am going to try and get some sleep now. I have to check the car to see if the wallet I had to pick up from the office is still in the car. I can’t seem to find it since I came home last night. I know I had it after the hair salon but it wasn’t in my pocketbook or coat pocket when I came home.

I am tired

Well I managed to do the errands I needed before taking off for the hairdressing appointment. No issues with getting to to the office but noticed a lot of Utility work being done through out the towns.

After going to the bank I went and picked up some paper towels to clean inside the car. The glass cleaner and the all purpose cleaner were pretty much frozen. I did manage to get some of the fluid out. I expect the bottles to crack soon.

I went to the car wash near Liz and Nelson’s and went through the express (no inside cleaning) because it would have cost more. I felt like and idiot going through it because I wasn’t following directions and the guy was getting annoyed with me. As it was one side of the car was not done right and neither was the back by the trunk. So from now on I will do it myself for free.

Mom was surprised to find me back at the house by 11. She thought I would be at the hairdressers and nursing home by then. I explained that I did the errands but my appointments were not until 1.

So she left to run her own errands and I hung out for a bit. I left the house by 12:30. I got to the salon about 15 minutes later. I had to wait a bit and the Lisa and I discussed what was to be done. First she colored my hair to close to natural brown and then took about an inch off. All in all it took about 2 hours. I think it looks great and Liz loves it and Mom says it looks nice but she would have preferred au natural (with the big gray streak. She also thought I had black hair (no I don’t).

By the time I got out of there the club activity was finished. I called Telka to see if she was still having the movie and dinner thing but it was cancelled. So we got together and chatted about the activity. It went very well. Everyone enjoyed themselves.

After I left Telka’s I went to visit Liz and Nelson. He was making dinner and making offers to teach me how to cook. The two of them kept saying “you can’t rely on take out!” to that my response was that’s what cookbooks are for. Quite honestly I wish to God they would stop doing that. It really isn’t their business and it’s getting old. They have done this at least a few times over the years. That and Liz bringing up my lousy driving.

It was nearly 4:30 when I got home. Mom was at church so I hung out for a bit. When she did get home she put the dinner on. It was lamb chops and pirogues.

After dinner I was on the computer and then watched TV. I actually sat through the end of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was cute. Now I am going to bed.

Full Day

It is going to be a full day today. I have several errands to run including the bank, and to the office all before I get the haircut and do the Valentine’s Delivery.

I am going to catch up on some of my friends’ blogs and emails before I get going though.

When I first looked out I saw gray skies. Now I see the sun shining. So I don’t know when the snow is supposed to start. I hope after I get home from everything.

Big Changes for Egypt

I can’t believe the news. Egyptian President Mubarik stepped down after a military coup. According to Mom it happened this morning but when I was online this morning the only article I had heard was he was angrily stating he would not let others dictate what he was going to do. The crowds were dancing and chanting when I saw the news. I need to go read what else is going to happen. Mom has explained that the military was favoring the people and will help with the transition.

On the local news tonight they went to Hamden and talked with a group from a Christian Church whose members are Egyptian Americans and the members plan on gather supplies to send over in case stores and places like that have a shortage of supplies. They are hopeful and excited. I am going to try and follow this in the months ahead.

We had lovely dinner spaghetti with shrimp and clam sauce. It was delicious. I had a lot. Unfortunately I still seem hungry. I have to ignore it.

Mom says the state sent two huge trucks to clear more of the snow away. I noticed some thing was different when the snow bank at the end of the street seemed higher. The street seemed much wider. Mom was really impressed. Many cities and towns not only in Connecticut but across the country have had to resort to dump trucks and back hoes to pick up the snow and move it some where else.

According to the weather forecast we might be getting light snow showers for the weekend. They are not expecting any real accumulation but it will not last long. The rest of the week is supposed to get up in to the low fifties.

The leg is starting to feel better. I have had it up on pillows but when I move there is a slight twinge. I probably will take a shower and use the shower massage.
I had a message from Emily in my Facebook inbox from the 6th. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen before now. Anyway she was answering my questions about which of the Pennsylvania Football teams were her favorites. She said it used to be the Eagles. I am not sure if she is even interested in Football at all. Anyway, I told her I would like to come down and visit sometime.

Earlier today I wrote Phil V an email asking about the Agenda for the meeting next week. I also sent him a list of attendees so far. I haven’t heard from him yet but I expect that by tomorrow morning I will.

I think I am going to get into the shower now. Have a great night everyone…stay warm!

Another Cold Friday

It is now after eleven and working on today’s post office mail. It is much lighter in volume and I should be done with it in a reasonable time. I finished yesterdays early this morning and have already done the lockbox. I still need to finish the return mail tallies for yesterday as well as the lobby mail. I can do those later.

I called Mom at break time and she said Mike K was over to help with her computer and pictures. I guess she was having problems with getting some of the pictures off of her camera. I think she told me she has a meeting later on in the afternoon but that the rest of the time she has paper work to do.

I haven’t been outside but others who have been say its cold out. According to Weather.com its 30 to 32 degrees out (depending on where you are). I don’t want to go out there at all. When I do leave I am going straight home.

Tonight should be fairly quiet. Laundry and hopefully clean the room. I won’t have much time to do it tomorrow. I have errands to run and volunteering to do in the afternoon. I may go to the dinner and the movie section with Telka and the girls but I am not sure yet.

The lower part of my body has gotten stiff and a Charlie horse. I was fine until I sat down this morning. I hope this goes away soon. Well like I said tonight keeping the legs up on pillows for most of the night should do it.

Okay I have about an two hours before I go home…and I have some stuff to do…

Jamie's 12th Birthday

Today is my youngest Nephew Jamie’s 12th Birthday. Unfortunately I didn’t send him anything yet but I did send birthday wishes via Facebook bright and early this morning and after I talked with Jim I asked Jim to give hugs to him for me.

I admit I haven’t been doing right by Jim’s kids of late (except maybe for Christmas) and I am not sure why I don’t prepare for their birthdays. I will just have to do better soon.

This morning I had a very scary time. As I am sure you are aware there was natural Gas explosion in Allentown PA. I found out about it at 5:30 from NPR Morning edition. I got up and emailed Jim. Around 6:30 when Mom got up I gave her some of the details I knew. Later on in the day I called Jim on his cell and I also contacted Mardi to see if she heard the news. Around 11 I heard from Jim and he was safe. He basically slept through it all. I have a feeling he was two miles from the whole thing but from what he said this morning he was in that area that earlier and didn’t notice anything.

Mardi emailed me and said she had heard from her daughter and she was fine and so was the college. I was very relieved. Mardi and her family are very special to me. Of course when I sent Mardi the email I left out a number for my cell phone so she couldn’t call me (Headdesk).

The rest of the day got very busy for me. I had gotten slammed with more mail then normal. The reason for it is because the USPS was holding on to mail until they got paid. It turns out they posted the payments for the PO Box to the wrong account so I had mail post marked from the end of January. I wasn’t able to finish the mail and will have to do it tomorrow. The lockbox was exceptionally light. I think I know why. At first everyone was making excuses even after I explained the PO made errors in payment posting.

I was really glad to be going home when I did. MY hip/backside and my wrist were hurting for most of the day. You see before I left for work I was putting out the garbage and I fell on the ice at the edge of the driveway. There are no obvious bruises. It hurts when I lean on them too much.

Yesterday was the woman’s club meeting and it was great. I had a good time and ate stuff I shouldn’t have. As a result I wasn’t feeling well when I got home. Anyway, we have the dates set for the Beth El Shelter dinner and carnival. We are working on the blood drive date though.

Mom had a very nice visit from Liz and Audrey today. I guess they spent the afternoon together and wanted to see Great Grandma. Mom was surprised when I knew about it. I told her I called Nelson and he had told me.

At this very moment she is at the finance board meeting at City Hall. It is to request allocations for Bridges and Regional Mental Health Board. I am not sure what time she will be home.

I have to pay some bills and then I think I am going to bed…so I will see you all tomorrow.

Family Update

Happy February everyone! I hope this month is beginning to thaw out for you. It is really making me look forward to the spring season. I have been noticing the sun setting later and later these last few weeks and it is great.

The weather as most of you probably know has been pretty harsh for most of January and it doesn’t look like its going to let up anytime soon. There were several building and roof Collapses in the news one about 2 miles from my house. As a matter of fact here is what my house looked like in one of the January storms:




Health wise I seem to be doing okay right now. Last week my left foot hurt and I am not really sure what was going on (some felt it was the weather). I had to reschedule my appointment with the Lupus Doctor at least three times and I finally got to seem him today.

Work went much better the rest of January and so far is going pretty well this month. Because of the storms there was a couple of days I missed and one where we didn’t have to go in until noon.


The Woman’s Club is in full swing for the spring season. We are just finishing up a spice and herb fundraiser that one of our girls club members suggested we do. We have a few activities coming up this spring. Sadly one of my Bingo Regulars who were a 101 expired this past weekend and a few of the girls really were taken with her.

Things with the DTC are status quo. We didn’t have any meetings last month due to the weather. We should be making up for it this month. WE are still showing support for our embattled P&Z chairperson. I am not sure exactly how that was resolved. On another note another member from my district felt it necessary to report me to my mother over some comments I made recently to a Police Commissioner who is also a fellow DTC member and I have yet to discuss my objections to this person. She was also not pleased that not messages went out for last month regarding cancellations of meetings. Hello? It was storming out the nights the meeting were supposed to take place…It was basically a no brainer.

Mom is doing pretty well. She turned 84 this past weekend and we had dinner with my Brother Bob and his family. But I will share more in a moment. She recently signed up with Twitter. I can’t believe she would actually do this but when the creators of Facebook and Twitter showed up on Charlie Rose last week she was very interested in finding out more about it. She has a lot of things coming up on the volunteering front and is finishing up her tenure on some of her boards. She has even decided that over the next couple of years will be pulling back from the Justice of the peace job.

As I said after almost two months I finally got to see my brother Bob and his family (well my niece) for his birthday and 33rd Wedding Anniversary.. He has been teaching and recently returned from the recess break. Ethel is fine. Diane took a respite from the tour to recover from Adrenal exhaustion. She will be returning to the tour in about a week for the final shows that are happening in Toronto. After that she will be ending her touring career and concentrating on working in the NY area. John by all accounts is fine. He continues to share his exploits on Facebook which is disconcerting for some of us. Before anyone says its not our business you would be right but it is still difficult to watch and not say anything. Robert continues to work as a paramedic in the New Haven area.

We heard from Jim over the weekend. Everyone is doing well. Jamie has been staying with him for weeks at a time and it’s been very good for both of them. Last month he sent us a picture of him and the kids Christmas Morning and it’s a beautiful picture. The kids all did excellent in their Mid-term reports.

Liz and Nelson and their families are doing very well overall. Liz is fighting bronchitis again this week. She spends time with her grandchildren as much as possible.

My Nephew Rich is continuing to work two jobs as the construction part is slow at this time. He does have a girlfriend who is pushing to get married and he isn’t interested.

Chris is working and spending time with his kids. He does have a new girlfriend and still lives on the other side of Milford. His son Jason is in cub scouts and looks so adorable in his uniform. I have attached it to this update. Chris’s beautiful daughter is in gymnastics and having a blast. I am afraid I don’t have any recent pictures of her but I promise to get some soon.
My Beautiful Niece Lisa surprised me last month with a visit to my office. She brought her beautiful and handsome son Nelson 3. I was in heaven. I showed him off to my team mates and they just loved it. I was floating for hours. It was my first time meeting him since he was born. Liz tells me she and Poppy will be babysitting a couple of times a week when Lisa returns to work. I have the most recent picture attached as well.

My Niece Cheryl and her family are doing well. She continues to work in city hall of North Haven and as Justice of the peace. Her husband is apparently working at local TV station building sets and landscaping. Their youngest son continues to excel in the high school sports and will be graduating in June.

Cheryl and Nelson Jr.’s brother Adam continues to work in NYC and prepare for his upcoming Nuptials. The family got together for the “meeting the parents” dinner and they had a great time.

Well it is now after 1:30 in the morning and I need to get some sleep. I need to be up early to get a good parking space as the garages in New Haven were experiencing some structural damage and had to displace their clients yesterday and this will be for a couple of days more.

Its Monday

For some unexplained reason I woke up around 3:30. I think it’s because I have a guilty conscious. I never deposited/cashed the check that Nancy H gave me at the beginning of the year for working for her. I have been procrastinating continuously but I said that yesterday. My problem yesterday was the computer slow and I said the hell with it. I will be rectifying that in a moment.

I am going to send an email to Phil to remind him about the meeting this month as well as ask him what he wants me to say to the 4th District members. That meeting is “supposed” to be on the 17th. Mom says a reminder should go out at least ten days prior. I would like to do this right again. When it comes to my secretarial duties for the 4th it tends to get spotty. I would like to not do that because I would rather not be the subject of discussion again. As far as I know no one else is bothered by the dropped emails from January but the ones I mentioned last week.

I am following one of my fellow Journal Writing member’s blogs. Her name is Erica and she is very talented. She made hers an art and poem journal.

I am expecting no big deals at work today. Probably regular mail stuff. I will be working on the redirect mail and hopefully get it all done by the end of this week for the next batch. It should be rather simple. I noticed I left some things to the end (like Doctor orders that need to have a signature for later) I am going to try and get them out as they come in. If they are those Connecticut Medical Journals they could probably wait.

I am going to let a few people know that I saw Ann (IP) at the nursing home and that she asked if anyone was gossiping about her when she left. Of course I told her no that we don’t do that. A few people asked where she went but that’s it (actually a few really did say she didn’t work out). Of course I wasn’t going to tell her that. Ann was rather unusual and it made for some awkward moments. Apparently she wasn’t showing up for work as she was supposed to.

I see Debra this afternoon and will let her know that things are back to somewhat normal with Mom.

The first part of the week is filled with meetings and Doctor’s appointments but the rest of the week should be quiet. I hope we won’t have to reschedule the Valentine’s Gift delivery. I will be going late to it anyway.

I probably should be starting the newsletter entry tonight as well so it can be posted by tomorrow.

Okay well I better get the banking done…see you all later.

Writers Block Superbowl

Are you watching the Super Bowl this year? If not, how will you enjoy the day? If you are watching, how will you be celebrating the game?


I am sitting here just thinking about it is as there just about 2 hours left until it starts. On the one hand I have been debating whether or not to start actually watching sports to understand it and know what I am talking about with others. On the other hand I have the tendency to lose interest very quickly.

If I don't watch it I probably will watch the cooking shows that are on PBS during the first hours and then get online and read my blogs and catch up on my friends blogs. I will probably visit many of the other forums I go to for my favorite TV shows.

I may even do some writing and updating on my computer.

On a Whim

I just finished reading some of my journal-writing emails and one in particular from Ray sparked my interest. I signed with 100words.com. A site that encourages writing of anything but it has to be 100 words a day. Well considering I write anywhere from 100 to over 300 plus words each day with the journal entries it might be a waste of time but I am going to read what others right. The first one I read was a little vulgar but it was a review of an Alien Movie. I did send a question about length. IF it is more will it post? Well I got my answer. It will be very interesting to see how others write.

I have been noticing

For the past two weeks ach day I have been noticing the sun setting later and later. It’s really cool. The sun setting when it does makes it hard to drive home sometimes. I like it though because it means spring will be here soon.

I had a great time last night. We left the house after 6:30 and drove to Bob and Ethel’s. Two ducks flew onto the rotary and we slowed down for them and the driver behind us didn’t see the ducks and began to honk his horn. We got through it okay. When we arrived Bob and Ethel were cooking still. They prepared fish, asparagus stuffed mushrooms, and salad. It was all delicious. Ethel insisted I try the stuffed mushrooms she does this to me all the time. I can wait you know. She also wanted me to try some sea salt. Now I know I have told her in the past that I can’t have salt. I know I have told Bob. Unfortunately she cooked the Asparagus in salt (grilling having it on top) and I ate it but really. I had tor remind her couple more times. The mushrooms had had mozzarella in them too. Needless to say by the time we went home my hands were stiff. For the first time in a long time I had a glass of Merlow. I don’t usually drink any alcohol but I did this time. I also drank water. For Dessert we had cookies and sliced apples.

Diane and her boyfriend Rojiere joined us for dinner. It was great. They both looked great. They took the train in from the City and will be here for the next few days. Diane will be retuning to the tour in Toronto as they finish up the tour. That will be in April. Diane is now looking for something local within the city. She is considering going into Opera.

We were there until ten o’clock talking about current events, Union and labor management, and other things. Bob got very passionate about some of the topics which make it very hard to continue discussing anything with him.

When we got home I watched the last episode of the NCIS Marathon and then went to bed. It was the one where Kate gets killed.

Today was a lovely and beginning to be warm day which caused the snow and ice to melt a little bit more than usual. The Temps were in the high 40’s.

I got up after 7 I got the clothes out of the dryer and got the newspapers from outside and put some more rock salt on the sidewalks. I had breakfast and the surfed the net (as well as starting this entry). I left the house a little after 9. Mom was still sleeping when I left.
When I arrived to the nursing home I was greeted by the regulars from Bingo and with the news that my girl Margaret S (the centenarian) had passed away the previous day. It is a little unnerving as I had a feeling on the way to the nursing home that was certainly the case. AT one point I needed to go the car for the keys to the closet and this woman saw me and noticed I was upset and she asked if I worked there and I said no that I volunteer and then she had the nerve to ask me what was my problem now! I looked at her and I told her I wasn’t going to tell her because she was being rude. I mean come on you see someone you don’t know from a whole in the wall and be so disrespectful to? I walked away from her and then passed her again when I went back in the building..

Bingo went well. Of course I started late but also gave the full hour. After Bingo I had to arrange a time for the carnival with Natalie so I called Telka up and we arranged for the carnival to be in late March. I also told Telka about Margaret.

The rest of the day was fine. I was late for church but that is the norm with me. After Church I headed home. Liz wasn’t feeling well so I didn’t want to bother her. When I got home I chatted with some of the neighbors and then gave Sylvia some of the rock salt for her sidewalk. While I was talking to Donn6 about animals and such a hawk flew by us and into the tree in the Jeffrey’s house. It was not there long but it was a beautiful sight to see.

Mom was upstairs clearing out old papers and as of 4 pm was still doing that. She did talk with Jim for a short time and I think she may have called Liz not really sure. Everyone is doing well. Very well but I will leave that for the Family update on Tuesday.

I did make the phone squad messages early so I also watched various programs and had the urge to go read blogs. I also finally got some banking done. Well at least the deposit letter that I have been procrastinating in writing to send to the Credit Union. It’s not always easy for me to get to the Credit Union in Town. Their hours are slightly different then mine.

Okay well I better go for now. Have a great Superbowl night!

Lots of Birthdays

As I indicated yesterday today is Mom’s 84th Birthday. It is also my brother Bob’s 62nd Birthday as well as his and Ethel’s wedding anniversary. I tried to figure out how many years but it started hurting (not really) to figure it out. I am thinking it’s their 33rd actually.

In years past we have gone out to dinner with them to celebrate both birthdays and the anniversary but I really don’t know if that is being discussed this year. I think there maybe several factors involved that include finances, time, energy, health. We will see as the day progresses.

I have been up since 8. I have already started one load of laundry and had breakfast. Mom got up around 9:30. Right now she is on the phone with someone who called to wish her a happy birthday. It was Aunt Serena.

Mom says Macy’s is having a sale on some clothes that I am in need of. I may be interested in going to take a look at today. It all depends on the weather.

Well I made an appointment to get my hair done but it won’t be today it will be next week at 1. What a relief. I have no idea what Lisa (the girl who does the hair lately) is planning but I hope its good.

I heard from Telka today she is surviving the winter ice stuff as best as she could. She gave me some phone squad messages to send out this weekend and I will get them done before the weekend is done. She gave me a couple of updates with the Red Cross and the shelter dinner. The guy hasn’t been returning her phone calls. She is looking forward to meeting her son’s girlfriend who has lived in Florida all of her life but never has seen snow. Well maybe in pictures.

Around Noon we got a phone call from Ethel inviting us for dinner around 7. Mom had a hard time understanding her and it is quite annoying too. It’s not her English per se but she has a habit of lowering her voice as though she is gossiping and it really is uncool.

The rest of the afternoon I split my time from watching NCIS marathon and trying to get some cleaning done and the phone squad messages.

I am really at a loss for a title to this entry. There were moments that I was frustrated and there were moments I was satisfied and there were moments of over indulgence.

I can’t believe I let myself get so frazzled by things such as a car windshield fogging up or perhaps frosting up after having sprayed the de-ice spray on it. I wiped off the window both inside and out it didn’t work well. I drove for a short distance and realized I was becoming a danger on the road. Yelling wasn’t helping at all. I looked at the switch and realized it was not on the right setting. *Headdesk*. Needless to say the window was fine by the time I got to the highway.

Other frustrating moments came through out the day. My ankle has been hurting on and off all day. I would walk on it and then turn on it or move it a certain way and cause me a slight stumble. It was painful. As soon as I got home I have been raising it on pillows and so far it happened once. The leg seems to be getting stiff.

I got a lot done. I am making a little more dent in the redirect mail. It will be the first things I work on come Monday. LG (the drama queen) apparently fell on Tuesday and banged her self really bad. She was very unsteady and was forgetful today.

I ordered some flowers for Mom’s Birthday. I requested they be at the house by 4:30 and just as Mom got here they arrived. They are very beautiful. I was going to order them for tomorrow but with the questionable weather coming through I didn’t want to risk the drivers getting hurt or the flowers not arriving on time.

Tonight Mom and I had leftovers. Chicken and Rice and vegetables it was delicious. I really do like chicken and rice even though this burned my mouth a few times.

I think for the rest of the night I will just surf the net and then go to bed early

Another Reprieve before the next Storm

The sun was shining all day. I am not sure what the temps were but I do know not everyone had the sun shine. Cami tells me her boyfriend was driving in Westport and it was snowing. The staff was pretty much at normal numbers today. There were two people who didn’t return. But we do have a new temp scanner from the IP Pool.

I had plenty of work to do; I had two days worth and managed to get it done by the time I left. I still have the lobby mail and the redirect mail to do.

We had wings and things for Terry’s Birthday today. Her actual birthday was Monday but the weather wasn’t great. It was delicious. I think I may have had more than my share but I was hungry today. I still owe Niamba some dinars.

The ride home was a little slow. Traffic was heavy coming out of the garage and onto North Frontage Road. The sun glare was not helpful either but the sun reflecting off the ice covered trees was really cool.

Oh I received excellent news. Liz and Nelson’s Niece Nora and her husband welcomed their little baby girl into the world yesterday. Avery has black hair already. She is on Nora’s Facebook page. It is a beautiful picture. Great Uncle Nelson felt very proud.

I was talking to a fellow blogger on Facebook. Jody (waves to Jody) is doing well. His work keeps him busy and that’s good. I will be sharing the blog entries with him when I post this.

Mom is going to the Sewer commission meeting with Kim tonight. Kim was telling her she needed to be there so she is going. I will stay home. I am so tired anyway.

I am going to watch NCIS for a while and then ET for the Mark Harmon interview.

WEnt in Later

Shortly before 6 am this morning Yale U sent out the weather alert phone call. The whole essential personnel report at regular time and all non-essential personnel report in at 12 noon due to the current weather conditions. They are icy and have caused accidents on I-84, I-95 and probably side roads as well. We were urged to check with Supervisors if we have questions. I sent a text message to Cami to see if she got the same message. I asked her if she is going in at 12 and when I didn’t hear back from her I was afraid she was annoyed with the question (she may have gone back to sleep). Anyway I left an explanation and then posted to Facebook and Twitter.

I just realized this morning after perusing the net that today is Ground Hog Day. Clearly the rodent didn’t see his shadow so of course six more weeks (whether he did see it or not) of winter.

Mom was surprised to find me eating breakfast in front of the TV around 8:30. I explained to her what the deal was. As I am sitting here fuming about her other dismissive responses about the sidewalk I really don’t owe her a freaking explanation.

If the sidewalk is a sheet of ice throwing down salt rock alone isn’t going to be helpful. You need to freaking clear it before someone sues your ass off. Anyway, that was my job before going to get the car cleared off. A branch came down on to the neighbor’s car and broke the windshield wiper blade in half. I had heard something while watching TV and it sounded like the ice was falling off trees and roofs.

The drive to work was slow and at times a little scary. There were huge chunks of ice coming from other cars and drivers on the opposite side of the highway would splash through puddles of slush and I couldn’t see for a short time.

I got to the office by 20 of 12. By then more and ore people were coming in. I think there were at least fifteen before 11 and by the time I left for the day it was 25 people. I spent the time doing redirect mail. This time I worked on the authorizations. I made sure I had some lunch.
When I got back to the garage I spent a good 20 minutes getting the rest of the ice off the car. I was soaking wet by the time I got home. Mom was cooking dinner.

Mom made Chicken and rice and various vegetables (Corn, cauliflower). She made apple turnover cake. I decided not to have it tonight as I am pretty sure I lost more weight since the last time I weighed myself.

Right now I have the TV on and it’s on NCIS. I think its on all night (well until 11) so I am going to go watch it.

February not starting off well

First of all I apologize for not writing yesterday. I got in to an argument with Mom yesterday over really stupid stuff and by the time I got home I had a headache and went to bed.

It started yesterday morning. I called Mom to see how her day was and then proceeds to tell me that Tessa told her the day before that I had commented to a police commissioner that I don’t like the police department in town. Mom wanted to know why. I got defensive and angry. Defensive because I don’t appreciate being told what to think and that was basically what she was saying. She was criticizing me for being angry and for my reasons why I don’t like the police department in this town. That doesn’t mean every single police officer just a certain few. I am also angry at Tess for what I consider “reporting me” for my opinion which is by constitution my right to discuss with a member of the commissions we put up for election and recommendation. Twice in the conversation Mom had said to me we won’t talk about at that point. We hung up on each other and I was so furious I was turning red.

After talking to Cami and Arcenia about it (they sympathized with me) I called her back and demanded that she be at Debra’s later in the afternoon. She refused and said “You are not telling me off”. I told her it was either show up or I talk to a lawyer. We hung up in each other’s ears (again).

Later on in the day when it was time for my appointment with Debra I was waiting in the waiting room and saw the other therapist that shares the suite with Debra. I acknowledge that she had issues with my loudness before and that she probably should expect more as right then I was very angry. She just smiled and said Thank you and okay. It saves her from walking to the door.

I told Debra the events earlier in the day. She asked me take a moment and calm down a little. I explained the situation and when I finished she told me that yes I do have a right to be angry but that I need to do what is best for me. 1) Calmly tell Mom that we were not going to discuss the earlier events until we both can listen 2) Respectfully tell her that I am rightfully upset and that I feel she is all in my business and criticizing me for opinions that I have a right to have. 3) I need to tell Tess that in the future if she has issues with me to come to me directly and not to Mom. Remind both of them I am an adult.

Debra feels that one thing happens I start to bring in everything that anyone especially Mom does to me and inflames or makes things bigger. That may be true but to me that it is all related. The controlling nature to contain me because they feel I have anger problem. They (anyone) feel that I am out of control. By the time I left I was less stressed out and not as angry.

However that wasn’t the case ten minutes after I got to my car in the garage. It took me a half hour to get out of the garage. It took me over an hour to get out of New Haven alone. The lines to exit the garage were long. The traffic on North Frontage Road was slow and the snow banks didn’t help any.

I called Mom while I was still in the garage and explained what was going on. I told her I would be home as soon as I could. She seemed fine-curt but fine.

It was 6:30 when I got home. I had a headache and was literally exhausted. We had dinner I can’t remember what we had but it was good. I asked a couple of questions about the 4th District. Basically when should I contact Phil to remind him and should we offer the house for the next meeting. She was fine with that. She answered me okay I guess.

After dinner I went upstairs to watch NCIS. I really didn’t watch it as I was starting to fall asleep and decided to go to bed. I was asleep in ten minutes.



Today wasn’t so bad. I got a lot done. I got most of the lobby mail done that had come in the last few days. Exception was the one that comes at three. I did the mail that needed rerouted.

There was an early ice storm that came through the state in the morning and it turned to rain until lunch time. It did through the southern part of the state not so sure about Northern. I will find out from Mardi how it went in her area. IF anyone in the Connecticut area is reading this chime in.

After work I headed to my appointment with Dr. Martin. It was a slow drive but I made it. Unfortunately they were closed. I called them and was frustrated and asked what was going on. The woman said I should have gotten a call. They closed the Milford Office because of the weather. (I found later they didn’t call the house phone.) I told them in the future to call me at work, or on my cell phone. They apologized but never gave me a new appointment. I told them I hope everyone was able get home safely. I don’t know when the next appointment will be now.

Tonight has been okay. There were a few moments I wanted to tell Mom off because she wanted to hear what the commentators were saying about the Egypt Crisis.

We had salmon for dinner with potato patties, and cauliflower and corn. It was really delicious. After dinner I watched TV. I did do some laundry before dinner and it is currently dumped on the ironing board. Mom fell asleep while doing the dishes so I finished the few things that were there.

Now that it is almost ten I think I better get to bed. I have no idea what to expect for the weather. I do plan on going in but I won’t if I can’t get out of the driveway.