Labor Day 2025

 

 

Kicking off a two-week vacation on Labor Day 2025, the plan is to hang out with friends in Allentown. There'll be lots of walking, hitting the gym, and attending a conference. The second week is packed with meetings, a Meetup, and some bingo fun before getting ready to head back to work. Plus, there's a trip to Bishop’s Orchard for some apple picking and checking out the store. Sounds like a blast! 🍎😊

I've been reflecting on an observation: Whenever I mention my intention to undertake something, people often respond by inquiring about my work responsibilities.   It is Labor Day for one.  If you know I work at a university, you know I have the day off.  It's my vacation too.   Why do I get annoyed when they do this?  It appears my eligibility for a vacation is being questioned.  I resent it immensely.  I avoid asking that question, particularly when I am aware of someone's occupation.

I am thrilled that several of my family members did send me birthday wishes despite the fact I believed that they were avoiding me or isolating from because of the situation with my sister.

I left for Bishop’s Farm Stand around 10:30, stopping briefly at the bank before getting on the highway.   I expected empty roads, but the GPS prediction of light or no traffic was incorrect.  I got there at 11 and Laura was waiting for me.

We walked around inside for ten minutes and then headed to the orchard on New England Road.  Crowded place.   We had to pay for a bag ($25) we walked around to get water.  We proceeded to the orchard, where we found two varieties: Galla and McIntosh.  Neither of us had the energy to walk up the whole row. So we went to Guilford Commons

While we were at Guilford Commons—or en route—our friend Faith, who was unable to make the trip herself, requested that we pick up a few items on her behalf.   We didn’t see the messages until later. 

We first stopped at Mooyah restaurant.   I had heard about it for years and was interested in seeing it.  It’s a hamburger joint.  It was okay.  Then we went to TJ Maxx.  I wanted to look at Pocketbooks and shoes while Laura wanted to see coffee Mugs.  I found the pricing structure and overall organization to be unsatisfactory.  Reminded me of Christmas Tree shop or some discount place that really wasn’t discounted.  We returned to the car, had a conversation, then retrieved my vehicle and went home.

I've been home since 2.   I spent the afternoon watching tv with an occasional snooze.  Late in the day I cleaned the bathroom, fed Sky, chatted with Next door and picked up prescriptions and did odds and ends.

 

Now I am heading to bed.  I'll do housework tomorrow.   

 

 

 

Sleep

 I couldn't sleep Monday into Tuesday.. For a lot of reasons.  Probably the coffee I had earlier in the day.  THe other reasons were thinking about work.  All the things I have to do before my vacation tomorrow night at 4.  I had to train Tania on the claim forms.  I think it was easy.  I may be wrong.  I trained Tania on the scanning denials.

As for JT ,  I don’t know what else I can do.  We reviewed the notes she made and she decided that if she needs to ask Tania she will.  She is hoping to help me with the mail when I get back because she doesn’t have anything.  I suggested to her that she can continue with the batches.

My Friend Elia lost her father over the weekend.  She had been expecting for the last couple of weeks.  So she has been on FMLA. So no meetings for now.

I made sure things were done before I left.  I reminded people about my vacation so for email denials they have to send to Annette and Tania.  Hopefully in the near future we will be getting them in a dedicated email where all of us can access it.

THis vacation is two and half weeks and not the three weeks I thought.  Frankly I am glad because I have never taken more than three weeks off.

Early Morning Coffee 09-07-21

 

I got up early and fed the best kitties ever.   I was relieved that there were no messes on the bathroom floor this morning.  So they got the appropriate praise.  They looked at me and waited to be fed.   I made some coffee first because I had gone to bed sometime after midnight I fell asleep in the middle of the star trek movie marathon.  It starts up later today so I may watch it.

I opened the windows already it feels nice.  I am not sure how long that’s going to last.  I noticed that a tree has already changed its leaves.  It was in the high 50’s by 7.  It was 80 degrees all day and sunny.

I took a look at the map and times for travel for the hike tonight in Vernon and  as much as I would like to go I would have to leave at 4 to get there on time (they are meeting at five thirty)  and I wouldn’t get home until  9:30.  I am not familiar with the area up there. 

I know that in the Finding friends meetup I have been home later like being at Cyn’ house until 10 but I see them more often than I do the people in the hiking group. 

I finally got a hold of LawyerBob2 and he has some good news.  It may not work out for me but there is a mechanism in place that allows us to force the Audit to take place.   It is at the discretion of the court of course but LawyerBob2 believes I meet the criteria.  He doesn’t recommend that I file a complaint to the Bar association because he could accuse us of Harassment.

The rest of the day I made pasta salad and I watched the Star Trek movie marathon on BBC.  I watched it until I fell asleep. 

I did attend the committee meeting.  We have a couple of actions that are coming up but it looks like we will be ratifying the contract next month.

I did spend time with my neighbors. 

 

Didn't stay Long Friday Night

 

I got to the union office a little after four and parked out front and Ian suggested I come back an hour later so I walked down College to Shake Shack.  I wasn’t sure it was open but as I got closer it was.  I ordered a cheeseburger and an Oreo cookie shake.  I was getting nervous as it seemed to take long (I ordered it at 4:30 and of course it’s going to take long).  It arrived sometime later and I scoffed it down and headed back to the union hall where many others were gathering. 

 

We got our t shirts and paraphernalia and took some pictures.  I chatted with a few people.  Ian had us go over to Bienke plaza and put literature on the chairs for a presentation today.  I believe it’s the Presidents welcome.    It didn’t take long so we were going to handout the flyers on the streets.  He did say we would end early.  They were handing out sandwiches.  I had one and while I ate it decided to come home.  Others left as well.  Some of the others were doing art work on the sidewalks and I wasn’t going to do that with my knees.

 

I got home sometime after 6:30 and fed the cats.  Spent the rest of the night falling asleep and then went to bed.

 

Saturday turned out to be a lazy day for me.  I did a few things but that’s it.  I was entertaining the idea of going to Brooklyn CT for their annual fair.  Laura from the Finding friends group was heading up there with her friend.  I invited Dave and Jim but they were at the green River music fest in MA.  I changed my mind because I figured it was going to rain but it never did.

 

The rest of the girls from the finding friends group were all going to meet in New London last for dinner and concert but they had to make other plans.  It was raining.    I stayed home.  My reason was faulty.  I figured it would way too late to get home.   They all had their own things to do earlier in the day.

 

Even though I started this entry Friday night and it has taken me until now to finish (Sunday Morning).  I

 am not even ready to go to Brooklyn.  I am waiting to hear from Dave and I a few things to do before leaving.  My hope is to get up there by Lunch time. 

 

 

 

 

Last Day of Work

 Today is the last day of work for me until September 13.  I am so looking forward to not working but having things to do.  I have been looking on VisitCT.com for things to do but most are on the weekend and or at night.  My fear and probably what  will happen is I will be spending most of the day watching TV or sleeping.  IF possible (and not only that I need to make it possible) I will be taking walks.  

This is what I have so far:

 Lockwood Matthew Mansion Museum Until August 29.

Ghost walks in milford There are some in september as well

Concerts at Webb Dean-

Norwalk sunset cruises-until the 28th

New Britain ' until August 31

Marine life encounters Norwalk starts in the afternoon

Corn maze in Orange CT-Need to reserve tickets online.

I don’t think I can do much this weekend but I am going to do the regular house cleaning tomorrow and then keep looking through it and Groupon.  Steph, from the finding friends group, suggested I look at those.  I have to plan to reserve tickets ahead of time for many of these activities.

Dave and I have made plans for our mutual Birthday dinner at Founders Restaurant in town.  It replaced the Rainbow Gardens that had been in operation for 30 years (I believe the family was getting out of the business) in 2019.  This will be the first time I have been there.

Yesterday seemed like a slow day work wise.  There didn’t seem to be too much EOB scanning, and I had only a couple of cds to upload (with very little problem except one).  I did some of the refund backlog.  Didn’t get a chance to scan them yet but I hope I can today.

AT Liz’s suggestion I called LawyerBob 2 to ask/suggest/demand that we file a complaint with the Bar Association against LawyerBob 1.  Of course being polite and not confrontational about it.  She suggested that I ask him to do it.    He hasn’t called me back.  She also asked that he give itemized billable hours (I really hate that term).  I did try calling him late in the morning but he conveniently was out of the office for the weekend.  Liz has been suggesting we go with another lawyer now.  It's not going to be any different than the last one I am afraid.

I was relieved when I came home and didn’t find crap on the floor in the bathroom.  Well that didn’t last long.  Sometime after I had cleaned out the box there was a pile of it on the floor.  I remembered to order some of the new litter (GC from the finding woman’s group seems to think that Tiger may be irritated with the stuff I was using) so I ordered two bags.  I don’t think I will be able to get it tonight.

I don’t think I am doing anything else this weekend though.  I am waiting to hear from Director Natalie regarding bingo this weekend.  I called her earlier in the day and by the time I left had not heard from her. :( 

 After work I went and did the Union activity.  Happily the rain held out until after we were done.

Friday the 13th.

It is Friday the 13^th.  It is almost the end of my vacation.   The main reason for taking it off was to get stuff done.  I still have a lot more to do.  Luckily lawn guy is coming on Sunday and we will begin getting stuff either to the dump or bulk.


I haven’t finished the shredding in the bed room but I did manage to empty out one or two cedar chests and an old hamper that we use for storage.   As I suspected there was table clothes in one and table runners in others and old bath mats and shower curtains I don’t want or have used.  


Tiger got trapped in one last night.  I could hear her meowing and I looked around until I opened it up.  So needless to say I closed it up so it wouldn’t happen again.  She was safe for the rest of the night.  Not sure where she slept because I was on the couch with Sky.


In the TV hutch there were all VHS tapes that I am going to send to the dump.  I also will take the CDs to Goodwill.  The pictures I found are in boxes right now.  I did manage to get Jim to admit that he needs to come up for inspection.  You think?  Not sure when he is coming up.


A few days ago my laptop was hacked and my computer guru was able to unlock and get it back.  He also installed the Microsoft 2010 suite.  I can now update my word processing documents I haven’t been able to update for so long.   Between not understanding what needed to be done and waiting for someone else to do it, it never got done.  


Now I am trying to decide if I should transfer all the stuff from my Google docs to hard drive and organize it the way I have there.  I set up my emails for the Google accounts so that I can save them.  I may just start from today.


I haven’t been to the gym all week even after the conversation with “A” last week.  I definitely have to go today.


I went to the Meetup this week.  The conversation was about men in the group.  You see a man posted to the group earlier this month.  The four of us there discussed that there is a ”Male” there some of us believed he was a trans but he is a Crosser and Mari brought it to my attention that I made a big deal about it the first time we met them at the hockey game. I almost lost Mari’s friendship but hopefully it will survive.  We all like the person.  We have been accepting but technically shouldn’t be in the group.


Despite the date I don’t believe it’s the cause of my misfortunate events of the past week.  I don’t usually think the 13^th is bad luck anyway.

I had a great time yesterday

Yesterday was a great day!  Despite a few anxious moments between phone calls to doctors and getting email alerts regarding the shredder delivery.  

The Calls to the doctors was to get the infusion number but they put me on hold and I had no patience for that.  LUckily I tried again this morning and they were a little bit more helpful.  The one with information was busy (I am thinking she didn’t want to talk to me because I hung up yesterday).  The one thing the infusion center is checking authorization.  The staff member said they would reach out to the center and see the status.  I hope it's soon.

I had gotten an email alert informing me that the shredder was not going to be arriving yesterday as promised that it would be here today or tomorrow. It really annoyed me because I really needed it.  The Cosmos must have heard me because when I got home from the movies yesterday it was waiting on the porch for me.  The only thing that wasn’t there was the sharpener plastics.  They did come in the mail this afternoon.

My coffee order will be sometime Monday.  I won’t have to worry about that unless Hurricane Dorian gives trouble.  

Liz picked me up around 1 and we headed to Bridge house where we had lunch.  We were seated next to a large and loud group celebrating a birthday.  We had our own conversations about the move,  family activities, and some rehash of history.  WE both had burgers.  I had a portabella burger (no bun) and she had a burger made her way.  Mine had vegetables and goat cheese.  I had coffee and tea.  I had a dessert of choc Mousse and peanut butter.  I hope to get that burger again.  By 3 we were on our way to the theater.

We got to the theater in time got the tickets and found a great seat.  There weren’t many people but that’s okay.  There were plenty of previews and ads and there are some great movies coming out in the next several months.

I loved the movie.  It was slightly different than the original but overall kept to the theme of the original movie.  I found out that Liz never saw the Original so I bought her the original as a gift this morning.  She doesn’t know I did it.  I hope she doesn't mind.  It will be here sometime next week.  The movie got out around 6 we made a stop to pick up her prescriptions and then got home.  We did notice that the ground was wet.  It rained for a while as we watched the movie but the sun was out as we went to the car.

I may have a slight problem.  The original movie was on FreeForm tonight and I think Liz saw it.  She said she liked the one we saw better.  I actually gave her a heads up via text tonight.

I had about an hour before I needed to be at the  Ladies guild.  So I put the garbage out front and opened the shredder and used it for a test run.  AWESOME.  Fed the cats and left for DD and the meeting.

The meeting went well despite revisiting the membership issues.  Happily ( hope) it was resolved and the woman was reinstated.  Laurie did an awesome job.  I also spoke up about being civil and calm.  I know am co chair again.  AH who was going to leave still may but I hope she doesn’t.  I have to give her the list of board members and their emails.  

We have lots of things including the plant and bake sale I need to make something for that weekend.  I won’t be able to sit and work the tables though.   We have a paint night later on in the month, the auction and a retreat.  WHile we were there it rained for a second time yesterday. 

When I got home I finished putting the rest of the garbage out and did some shredding a lot of it.  I did a couple of hours of it and then watched TV and then took a break from it.  The Shredder is smaller than the other one I had to empty it about 4 times but that’s okay.  It worked just fine.

I finally went to bed around 1.  Tiger who had been teasing me for attention came up for a little while and slept then Sky did for a few hours.  

I stayed in bed until 6 this morning and when I got up did the routine we normally do and then I went back to bed for a while with the TV on. I have had the TV on for most of the day.  I finally turned it off after Lunch.

   I haven’t done much of anything else.  I emptied one of the drawers in the spare room.  Found pictures from JIm’s life in Pittsburgh with baby pictures of Kris, and Emily.  Then mid morning received an email reply from Kris. He was replying to my email earlier this week.  Then texts from Jim himself as he is traveling to Denver to visit Kris.  I hope I didn’t tell him anything Kris was waiting to tell him.

I did have lunch from Adams this afternoon.  Spare ribs and stuffing.  I also have pork Tenderloin for dinner.  

I called Mama today, and we got caught up with our activities and her plans for the trip in October.  She told me some of our local friends went through a sad time as their furbaby died two weeks ago.

Among the other texts from Liz she tells me the Lawnguy is willing to help me put stuff to bulk pick up and suggested we get the big Junker tank.  (I know there is another name for it but I am starting to get so tired that I can’t think of the name)

Today though was pretty much a lazy except for a few phone calls, and a trip to the store for my meals. I kept procrastinating about the shredding and putting more clothes into bags.  I have been writing some letters and put some pictures together for my brother who i learned today is visiting Kris in CO. I will have to just start early tomorrow.

Long weekend continues

Day two of my long weekend.  I slept in this morning for the first time in a long time.  I also slept on the couch this morning for no particular reason but that I wanted to.  When I heard the alarm go off we did the morning routine.  I actually fell back into a deep sleep.  Awoke to find sky above me and Tiger is somewhere.

I called the vet for the titans because there is still liquid poo.  I don’t know who did it but I am betting it is my girl.  They suggested the chicken and rice and mix the two canned food for a few days. So starting tomorrow I will mix the two canned food.  They spent the rest of the day in the bedroom closet and came down around 3.  I fed them dinner around 5:30.    

I had gotten a headache while on the phone with Mama R and about an hour later I was getting sick.  Luckily it wasn’t as bad as the previous week but it was uncomfortable.

I spent the rest of the evening quietly and now going to bed.  It's far too hot this evening and I need the AC.

Springs Preserve

Today we are heading to Springs Preserve  It is a huge place owned and operated by the Las Vegas Water District to provide a place of fun and education in way to live with the desert.  There are lots to do. We didn’t walk the outdoor trails but there are plenty of things to do inside to learn about sustainability and it was quite interesting.  They also have a little town that was Las Vegas before it became the spectacle it is today. We were there for hours.

Later on in the day we headed to the Rio for a presentation on Holocaust Survivors and we got to meet families and survivors of the Holocaust..  M’s Parents were survivors. There was a dinner we didn’t know about but we got to sit with children from local schools that were learning about it earlier in the day.  We had dinner prior to it. It was very interesting.

We got home by 8 and relaxed.  I didn’t make it to my 12000 steps but I do know I did a lot of walking and my legs and lower body were rebelling.  We spent the next couple of hours watching TV.

The weather was nice and sunny and it got to the low 70’s (74)  It is expected to get to 71 today BAck home it is predicted to be in the low to  mid 50’s and possible chance for rain. So glad I am not going to be there yet. It will be like that when I get back too.

I had a full on cheeseburger at one of the restaurants at the Rio Casino It makes the Double Whopper weak.  But the onions they use stays with me (not unlike garlic usually does). I know I will have to pull triple duty today to get back on target.

I continue to keep in touch with family back home.  Tried my nephew again but not much luck there. May just need to text him.

No Major Plans

It's 12:30 am Tuesday.  I am starting my second week in LV.  We just got home from an evening at the Freemont Street experience.  It was amazing.

We parked and started our night El Cortez.  We walked through part of the experience to get to Tony Roma's for dinner.  I had the Chicken Mojo. There was so much I had to bring it home. We spent the next several hours split up.  M did some gambling and R and I enjoyed the music and the walk and window shopping. The Light show was awesome and going every hour on the hour.  The Zip line users were over head and I am telling you I would be screaming the entire time!

We made a quick stop at the store for my fruit and yogurt and a card for my co worker Michele who had lost her sister after a short illness.

We made it to the Exploration Peak Park...we did the mile long loop around the park.  I was slightly disappointed because we couldn’t really find the start of the other trails that really turned out to be too much (and in not shaded).  

We had dinner and a quiet night afterwards.....

Almost ready

I think I am almost ready.  The kitty care has been arranged.  I am awaiting the most recent chewy delivery that should be here later today or tomorrow.  My hope is there is enough food there for them.  I can’t believe I will be away from them for so long.  

My suitcase is completely packed.  My outfit for the ride is picked out.  My ride to and from the shuttle is all set.  I spoke to Sis via text and she will be picking me up half hour before my shuttle pick up.

I just have to pick up some meds and put them in the med dispenser and then put that in my carry on.  I have my camera phone but I think I will pick up a camera or two when I get out there and tomorrow I need to order Beilles.   

At sometime between the gym visits I have to go to the bank and to the hair salon and get my hair done.

Work was okay.  Even though I got a lot done it took longer because the systems were giving me a hard time.  I didn’t ask AC how it was for her because I don’t think she was having problems but from what i gather others had problems with their stuff.  It was frustrating.  Everyone wished me a great time on the trip.

I had a great session with Debra.  We discussed the challenges that I had and how it was handled.  We talked about the trip as well.

Tonight the oil bill was waiting for me again.  Can’t wait to have it less during the summer.  I Hope.  Actually it was this time I am surprised.  That’s  good thing too.

I made shrimp and rice tonight.  I just put shrimp in cornstarch and seasoning and cooked it in  pan with a little bit of oil.  The rice was the Riced cauliflower.  It came out good.

I managed to not do very much tonight except watch a couple of movies and now its time for me

Just wanted to check in before

Good Morning everyone! In about 12 hours I will be on my way to Tamarac to visit my friends.  I got the trip information and all that goes with it around 8:30 last and because the computer was a tad slow it took me nearly 30 minutes to print it out (part of it was the checking in).  I was going to check my bags in but when I learned it was another $25.00 I said no way.   My sister says if it is too big then i will have to pay the $25 anyway.   I called DO up and sort of chewed him out.  I will get my return info the day before I come home.

I have a few errands to run including getting the stupid umbrella that I not only wanted but needed.  I kept putting it off and now I have to get it.  I will go to Marshalls and get one after I got to the bank.  

I am at that point that whatever else needs doing (making the beds, straightening up) is now not important than being ready for the trip.  The car will be here by 3:30 (I am guessing) as I seem to remember they came a tad earlier than the time I wanted them to come.  This should get me to the airport by 5 which leaves me two hours at least to get something to eat and relax.  Boarding is at 7:23 pm. Doors close at 7:43 and then 16 minutes whoosh into the sky.

To be honest I am not really moving that fast either.  The party I wrote about yesterday didn’t break up until 1 as i could still hear the music but not as loud as earlier in the day.  Those of us who didn’t go enjoyed the music from our perspective homes until it was time for me to go to bed.   I tried everything to get to sleep finally semi warm milk was the cincher.  

I nearly scared liz last night when I called her at 9.  I was calling her to check in with her before the trip (I am calling her today as well).  I just didn’t realize the time.  I told her I got my boarding pass and how I was enjoying the lovely entertainment.

Do you believe this?  I am heading to Florida to see friends I haven’t seen in awhile and I am whining because I had neighbors partying until the wee hours!!!! REALLY?  GAK.

You all be safe and enjoy the good weather that’s planned for the week.  I will see you when i get back.  I will post about the trip when I get back.

Ended up

Because I wasn’t feeling well last Thursday night  and the lack of sleep from it I barely did anything Friday.  I did some laundry, cleaned out one of the litter boxes, emptied the dishwasher only to fill it up again.

 

I made myself an early lunch of steak and potato and had yogurt.  I was not anxious to eat too much as my shoulder still hurt. I think the aches and pains are from the amount of cheese I had in the last couple of days.  

 

I fell asleep for the afternoon watching the X Men double feature.   I did fold some of the clothes and sheets and put more laundry in.  You are probably wondering where all these clothes are coming from.  Some of them have been there a few days and needed refreshing.

 

When I didn’t fold the clothes I watched TV.  I actually sat through Hawaii 5-0 haven’t done that in months.  It's a good show.  It has done a few cross overs with the NCIS franchise (mostly the LA show) now there is some discussion prompted by articles that that H50 will do crossovers with MacGyver and or NCIS again.  Someone even suggested that all of them were in the same universe.  I don’t understand how that would be the case.

 

Speaking of NCIS there is an article from Deadline.com announcing that Jennifer Esposito will not be returning to NCIS next year.  I read the article but I still not getting the reasons behind it.  Quite frankly her character rubbed me the wrong way.  Not as much as it did to Nas on one of the boards  She doesn’t like the way the actress/character has her hair styled.

 

Oh and I had a family of foxes in the back yard yesterday morning around 9 a mother and her kits.  I took a lousy picture of the kits but that’s it.  They disappeared shortly after that for their den which is behind my yard.

 

I was in awe that Dr. T showed me a picture she took of a baby bear in her garbage the other day.  It was a beautiful bear but clearly it couldn’t have been alone.  So now she has to be careful with her pups and with the garbage that now stays inside the garage.

 

Today is now crunch time.  I have to go to the store and get a few things and get money out for my trip tomorrow.  I also have the housewarming party over on the next street.  It starts at noon. I have to still pick up stuff around here because I just don’t want to be a slob while I am not here.  

 

There is one thing that is beginning to get me a little nervous I am supposed to be getting tickets via an email and I haven’t gotten them yet.  I wanted Dave to come over and help print them out and make sure I got all the information but he couldn’t.

 

OMG someone is mowing their lawn at 20 of 8 in the morning and there is a noise whatever for woodmont..:O This is funny I was talking with Kim next door wondering if our other neighbor is planning on putting his family home on the market (it's been empty for quite some time now) and Kim is hoping that when or before it does they offer it to her because then her eldest daughter can move in.  There is enough room to have another house put in between the two houses which would be a tad crowded (at least i think).

 

The other house that went on the market is now off and being rented-again.  I don’t know to whom but I am with Kim when she expressed concerns of a fraternity house like atmosphere.  My own fear is a gang could move in and those images not so cool either.   I realize that’s an extreme idea but it could happen.  I mean really there are condos being built down the street from here and I never thought that could happen.