Dear Debra

Dear Debra:

    Just wanted to thank you again for tonight.  Thank you for so many things.  I wanted to share with you something I hope will guide me these next several days.  So many things came through my head as I was driving home tonight.

How can I best react to things?  Without getting angry or exasperated?  The first was to breath.  TAke it as it was meant and don’t find offense (many things we have spoken of).  I was listening to an NPR interview with a musician who was named best artist of 2018.  The woman whom i never heard of was pointing out how she is so much a perfectionist and when things don’t go the way she wants she feels like  a failure, or a disappointment.  So many things i have related to and sometimes that is so dangerous when we listen to interviews. We find ourselves aligning with them. 

Anyway the point of this rambling is that I  have thought a lot of things for this week.  I hope to put them to use.

The drive was not bad through Long wharf like it has in the past but i attribute that to the city almost emptied.  However that wasn’t the cast in through West Haven.  There had been an accident but by the time I came through it was cleared out.  This rain is not easy to drive in.  You can’t always see the lanes or the painted lines on the ground. 

I decided to go to Christmas Tree Shop in Orange and get Christmas Cards.  Boy did I ever.  There was a huge bin just as I walked in and I think I got about 20 of them.  All about $4 and change. I also saw metal cars in a package I think about 6 of them i bought 4 of these.  I ended up spending just over a Hundred dollars on it.  I should be able to get christmas cards to all my contact lists. Now!

It was just before 7 when i got home.  I came in fed the cats and watched the end of Charmed on POP TV channel.  I checked my mail and found some more really cute cards (a second one from Diane and Rogier) so those will be replied to soon.

Now i am surrounded by the Christmas cards, and have music on in the background.  I have had some coffee and will start on the cards.   If I do it right I may even send some to my pen pals and include letters to them.  Your idea about going to the Post office in the morning is sounding much better along with the shopping.

Well I better get going before my renewed energy dissolves!

Jim's Birthday

Today is/was Jim’s 58th Birthday. Unfortunately I haven’t done anything for it. No e-card, no snail mail card, and of course no phone call. I am not sure what I feel but I will send him something maybe tomorrow. I have no idea if Mom did or not. It has been quite a hectic couple of weeks for her and she is concerned and a little bit annoyed with him with his choices. Yes I know it’s his choice but she is a Mom and is worried about him.

Last night was awesome. Before I left work we picked our secret Santa and I got Lucinda G. Unfortunately I have to guess at what she wants because she didn’t write it on the list. We were not supposed to tell anyone but I managed to tell Cami and Liz. They rolled their eyes.

When I left it was shortly before 4 but I managed to get to the polling place before my appointed time and got in and got to vote. I personally didn’t have any problems but I would later find out that there was a fire alarm that morning. There was one while I was there as well. I would later find out that some ballots from Fairfield showed up at our polling place as well. I am not sure how that was cleared up but I am sure it was.

I called Liz around 5 or so and told her about the fire alarm and she told me how it was at her polling place (apparently chaotic). After my stint I went directly to the headquarters.

There weren’t that many people there at first. Technicians setting up the Satellite feed for Cablevision 12 and MZ who was having dinner. I had a sandwich and water. It was only the first of many things I would eat during the night.

As 7 pm approached more and more people came in and then it got crowded. I had some lovely chats with many people. Around 8 the final numbers were starting to come in and then I think by 9 the victory speeches were made and of course we found out that President-Elect Obama had won the election.

It was nearly 9:30 when I left. My arms and legs were hurting immensely. I knew I had too much to eat and was glad I was going home. When I came home I turned on the TV and did some channel surfing. I decided to come upstairs and get ready for bed.

I had been dozing when I heard noises. It was after 1 and mom was home. She was getting into her pajamas and was rushing so she wouldn’t burn the tea kettle out in the kitchen. I went back to bed and fell asleep until 5 this morning.

Today was pretty good. Some people talked about the election and I told them about the bizarre occurrences at the polling place. I probably shouldn’t have done that but I really didn’t see anything wrong with it.

Work over all went very well. I finished sorting and delivering yesterday’s mail and then worked on today’s and managed to finish everything on my desk by 2:30. When it was all done I pulled EOB’s with Liz.

It started raining when I left the office. I got home by 4:30 and while Mom cooked dinner I relaxed. We had dinner around 5. It was leftovers and they were delicious. We had to eat quickly because we were needed to help clean up headquarters.

We got there and found that most of the work had already been done by (someone else.) Mike and Tessa had been there and said it was generally already done and they were just getting some of their stuff they contributed/loaned. We were not there long and we were back home by 7:30 I think.

Since we have been home I had emptied the dryer, taken a bath, and watched TV. The Mummy Returns is on FX Network tonight but I am not really feeling that well so I am going to bed.

Going Apple Picking Today

Good Morning! I am leaving in 15 minutes with Dave to meet Mary and her sons at the restaurant for lunch and then go to the Orchard. I suspect we will also do the Corn Maze. That should be fun. Not really but what the hay.

Hey everyone I am back. It has been a long day. Dave didn’t get here until around 11:15 and we had to wait a bit because Mary was still at church. I told Dave they should have said this originally. I mean I could have done bingo if I tried and also went to church. I was going to go at 8:30 but by the time it came time I didn’t.

We started off at 11:30 and headed to the Meeting place while we were driving Mary called and said she would not be getting there until 1. So we made a few side stops. (Now that I am writing this so late I can’t remember what order they were.) They were Dunkin Doughnuts, Vinnie’s garden shop they all didn’t take very long.

Mary and the kids were just ordering when got there (we had no trouble finding it). It was in a lovely place on Route 66. Yes Connecticut has a Route 66. We sat down and then gave our order. I had chicken nuggets, onion rings and water. I think Dave had tuna something.

While we were talking Mary had to reprimand or scold her son Eric a few times and encourage her other son Garrett to eat. She was saying that Eric was spoiled and that her MIL spoils him and then criticizes her for not disciplining him enough. Something I have felt on a number of occasions.

After we ate we took off for the Lyman Orchard Complex. We met up with our friends Julie and Keith. They brought their son and another little boy. We went to the Corn maze and went through it. It was $8 and as in the past went to the Cancer Society. This time it was in the shape of a lady bug. As in the past there were trivia questions and some extra stuff too. It got a bit hairy a few times.

Once we were done with the corn maze (maybe an hour later) we stopped in the Apple Barrel shop and did some shopping and tried the samples. I didn’t buy anything but everyone else did. Julie and Keith had to leave for home but we decided that we would do a pot luck dinner for November 1. Once we said goodbye to them we headed to the Orchard and did some fruit picking. Before we left Mary was a little annoyed with Dave for taking his time at shopping while she had the boys who were getting bored. It was not really Dave’s problem but he also does forget he is with other people.

First we headed to the Pears and got separated from Dave. I stayed with Mary and she had to scold the boys. I called Dave to see where he was but I saw him as he was coming back.

Our next stop was the Apples. I got just over 4 lbs while Mary was picking some and so where her kids. Once we finished we chatted and she admitted or criticized Julie for making comments about disciplining her kids or letting the kids stress her out. Dave was totally ignoring it but I made some suggestions (and observations) that counseling might help. I also said that some people feel they can discipline other people’s kids in their homes or set boundaries. She didn’t seem to buy it. I asked Dave later if she said those things not only to criticize about Julie but in around about way tell me not “to discipline her kids”. If they had gone on ahead or something I would say something and I asked and she said she had no problems with it. She also felt her SIL’s were too strict. I felt differently.

We said goodbye and headed back home. The ride was fine until we got to Milford. We got to Merwin Avenue and I asked Dave if he could help get he bulk trash out with me so Mom wouldn’t have to. (That was my intent but) from there it went to hell very quickly.

He hemmed and hawed and said he wanted to go walk the dog first and get some pie for Mom and me. Well I got angry because he wasn’t taking me home first and was reduced to us call each other names and him almost throwing me out of the car. He reminded me that the day after his father died I bitched about Mom but did he say anything no. I realized he was right. I apologized and I offered to go back and get the dog walked with him and we would do the bulk trash after. Things were fine after that. We emptied the car and then came back here.

I was apparently pretty hyper when I came home because Mom commented before I left. She has no idea what had preceded our arrival. We talked about the corn maze and how successful I was at the apple picking and how we found our way with little difficulty.

Once we had gotten enough stuff out for now Dave and I went back to the house and walked the Dog and then he had dinner and I had a piece of pie and then he drove me home and I apologized again.

Mom was watching and having a late dinner. She was exhausted and wanted to relax. I went upstairs and watched TV for the next few hours. I got into my pajamas and put the AC on. I was watching Philadelphia (1993) and something on the History channel about the Twin Towers on 9/11. It got to be too much.

I also checked some emails and answered some of the ‘Sad News’ replies when I posted last week about Dave’s Dad passing. One of them was from Telka. I was so embarrassed that I hadn’t seen them before this. I replied tonight. I also got an email from my friend Michele P asking about Lyman orchard. I hope she got the link with ease.

Mom went to bed a short time ago and I will be following suit. Tomorrow I go back to work. I was checking the work emails and found one from Stephanie M. She had the revised documents I had given her to use while I was on vacation. I have no idea what to expect when I get there. I am still concerned I will be spoken to about the stuff under the desk. I hope not but this will be chance to start out fresh again.

Well I better get going. I am too wired to get to sleep. I may throw out some more papers and then hit the sack. I am really worried that my alarm clock won’t go off. It was ringing when I got home.

Bad Habits

I am finding myself falling back into old and bad habits. At home I haven’t made my bed in what seems like days. I am leaving clothes on the floor. I am letting the clothes pile up in the laundry basket and in the blue room in where I do my ironing. I am eating food I shouldn’t be. I am also getting online when I should be working and using the credit card when I shouldn’t be either.

As I think about it I get a little agitated. I don’t want to incur high bill for the credit card because I was doing so well. When I eat certain foods I end up gaining the weight I have lost (I have lost some in the last few weeks) and the aches and pains that come when I have salt or something.

Its Wednesday Again

I can't believe how fast this week is going by. I remember every time I went to visit Nanny before she went into the nursing home (and even then) she would comment on how fast the week went by. I have always noticed it but it gets more prevalent as I get older.

Things at work are fine. Right now just working on the campus mail that came through. i should be finished with it shortly. Overall post office mail is light. If that's the case I can get to some letter writing if it is all possible.