KateP's musings

Dear Mom,     I can’t begin to tell you how the last two days have gone.  Last night was an amazing testament to you and your life and the impact you had on the lives you have touched.  There was close to 400 people that came through the greeting line.  Many from Mental Health services, your friends, family, the literary club, the knitwits.  Many of your children’s friends and peers came as well.  LT Governor Nancy Wyman paid her respects, and of course our dearest friends Senator Gayle Slossberg,  St Representatives James Maroney, and Kim Rose presented us with a memorial Citation from the CT General Assembly.  The funeral today was just beautiful.  The weather was perfect.  There were at least 100 people at the funeral services.  The Pall bearers did an awesome job from start to finish.  Adam and  Cousin Don C  did wonderful job at the readings and Father C even managed a few appropriate Railroad related p...

Well greetings and Happy Easter.   I hope all of you had a wonderful day.   I did despite the lack of sleep I had.   I got up by 8 and did some surfing and then got ready for bingo.   I was going to make DD run but the line was far too long.   It was nearly 9:30 when I arrived at the nursing home. Robin the newest Recreation staff member was on duty today and it was good to see her.   We chatted for a bit and then started to get ready.   We started bingo early (or at least tried) so that I could leave earlier or on time for church.   We also had Communion Distributed as well.   So we ended up playing for 45 minutes.   I left by 11 and got to the church by quarter after. When I arrived I sat with Nelson and Liz.   She was getting ready and then she sat with us.   She was serving communion and not the lectern today.      I really should remember and know my catholic teachings better.   I was expec...

How is it possible that I am still doing laundry at 9:30 at night?   I freaking started at 10 am and kept it going.   The only time I couldn’t move it along was while I was at church.   I don’t think I had that many loads to start with. When Mom came home from the store it was about 2.    Ethel called a short time later and told Mom she was taking the 1:45 from 125 th Street.   So Mom needed to pick her up after 3.   She ended up having to miss the Good Friday services.   We both left at the same time. While Mom went to pick up Ethel I headed to church.   There were a lot of people at this service.   I sat in front of the church.   I met the organist’s parents.   I knew Nancy C for many years through the Prayer group at OLOV.   She was my organ teacher for a short time.   The service was long.   It usually is and I usually get tired of all the standing.   My eyes felt a little weird and my ...

Top of the Day to you and yours!     May today bring you all the luck of the Irish.   It be a windy and cloudy day it be. The sun keeps hiding behind the clouds.   According to the famous weather page it is 37 degrees but feels colder.   I am going ot have some tea to get this chill out of me. Mom got up before me today.   When she had her coffee I showed her the new pictures of Master James Christopher.   We talked about her day in NY and how the play was (and of course she said it was great).   I told her about the Lawn guy(s) coming and what they did.   I told her of my time in Newington.   I had a great time.   I was a little early to Debbie’s house but it gave me an opportunity to make some calls.   We were on the road a short time later and with little to no problems. Our companions all came after 7:30 and for the next several hours chatted (as best we could) ate (once our orders taken).   A couple of th...

It was really rough getting up at 8 am this morning.   I know that I set my alarm for that time but part of the reason it was so rough is I took the night time Aspirin?   The stuff that has a sleep aid in it well I am here to tell you it made me want to sleep longer.   I didn’t like that feeling and it has happened almost every time I have used it.   I certainly can’t take it when I have to go to work the next day.   Yeesh! I started getting ready for Bingo around 8:30.   While I was showering I got a phone call from DebbieM.   We were coordinating schedules for April for the Mexican Train game.   I distinctly remember telling her to call between 1 and 4.   As it was I had the phone on Vibrate and didn’t hear it anyway.    This afternoon I called Roberta to let her know that any time in April will be fine.   I was really running late for bingo this morning and I knew it would be shortened because there was to be a ...

I have had this cold since the middle of last week.   Today seems to be whooping my butt.    I have been sleeping or watching TV mostly.   I have had a nose bleed and I am not sure if I should be extremely worried about it especially with the Coumadin level being so high.   The Oral surgeon says that if I bleed profusely that I should go to the doctor.   I have gone to see Junior this morning and I will when I get back from Church later.   Milford continues to recover from this storm.   I think city and state officials did a great job getting things done.   Yesterday there was a Sandy Relief and Recovery Fair at City Hall for those families still in need of things.   There are meals and water distribution centers at different points in the city as well locations for charging stations for cell phones. The UI and CL&P continue to work on areas still with now power and according Senator Gayle Slosberg the locations were in...

It has been a few hours since I wrote and in that time I managed to clean out the car and go to church and have dinner and almost done with folding clothes. In a short while will go to bed. Cleaning out the car took about an hour or less. I thought it was too hot to haul out the behemoth vacuum cleaner and the little one was not enough power so I might do it tomorrow in between activities. There is a box of old parts from the engine (can someone please tell me why they would leave it there?) that I need to dump some where. I am thinking a dumpster. Mom and I went to the 4:00 mass at St John Vianney in West Haven. It is a really nice church and it has good feeling from it. The church is a modern type church and has been around a good long time. In 2002 it merged with Our Lady of Victory Church in effort to save it from closing completely. Many churches in the Connecticut Diocese are still in danger of closing. You can read the very interesting history of both churches in the link ab...

Today was about celebrating life. We said goodbye to Cousin Doris this morning at St Lawrence Church. The music was lovely and it was not a large gathering but it was enough to share the prayers and the emotions. One of the deacon’s was an old friend of Cousin Doris’s family and it turned out a friend of me and Mom’s. We knew the Deacon from a prayer group at another church in West Haven. The Service actually was very short. Short enough to allow me to get my hair appointment moved to an earlier time while everyone was at the cemetery for last rights. I met everyone around 10:30 at the restaurant. We sat with Cousin Renee and her family. First there were breakfast food (Danish and bagels) and then we had salad, rolls, and for the main meal penne al vodka, a chicken dish and sausage and peppers. It was nearly 1:30 when we finished and headed home. When we got home Mom and I changed out of our clothes and each did our own thing. I did some laundry and Mom made some calls and did...

Now this is the way I like my Sundays. Activities in the morning and the afternoon relaxing with a few chores here and there! Bingo went well I had the pleasure of Jillian and Nicole’s company to help out. Angela was there doing other activities but we did our usual catching up. Chef Phil told me of recent labor activities. He seems to think the Parent company is trying to break the union and close the facility. I was not very shocked to hear the news but I would be surprised if it happens. I managed to make it to church on time! Miracles do happen. I know there are a lot of times over the years that I have missed church for one thing or another or just plain because I didn’t want to but I am here to tell you it doesn’t matter what your faith is. It is important to make it a real part of your life. It helps you center your life and gets you through times that you may not understand. Anyway, the ministers from St Therese in Maribel Haiti (the sister parish of St Mary’s) was...

Hey all I am going to be leaving very soon for Jessica and Chris’s wedding but I wanted check in. I will be wearing the two tone (blue and white) print dress and white low shoes. A pearl necklace and of course my hat to finish out the ensemble. The weather is cool and windy and overcast with reports of rain through out the afternoon. I have to say I am a little apprehensive as I have a feeling a certain sister of mine is going to pull some crap with Mom. She was annoyed (pissed off) at Mom when Mom was trying to see if I could still go to work come Tuesday. For the last 45 minutes I have been projecting what to say if hse tries something. Mom is out getting some cards for us for the wedding. I have no idea where the hell she went to get them but my main worry should be getting dressed. Well I better get to it….see ya all later.

I forgot to mention that I found an email from an old Pen pal friend of mine Abby C. I believe she is still in AZ. Anyway she wrote it and sent it Thursday. She was sending it to several of her friends she had not heard from and was checking to see if the email was still working. I thanked her and explained that I was out of pen paling. I did invite her to email me when she could. Jim called yesterday. He wanted to let Mom know he had gone to the Doctors as she asked. Apparently they spoke earlier in the week and he sounded horrible. The doctor thought at first he had pneumonia but he didn’t but he is on Antibiotics. He says that having Joe there is really been a big help to him. Jim told me that Emily’s play is this weekend. This morning I got up watched some TV watched Lydia’s Italian Kitchen on Create TV (aka Long Islands Public Television) and she was making stuffed Veal? Cima something. I suspect it will be on Channel 13 tonight. I spent some time catching up with my f...

Easter Morning started out cloudy and foggy and temperatures in the mid 40’s. It got better by 9 and was sunny for the rest of the day and just touching 70 degrees by the end of the day. I had some breakfast and watched Law & Order Mom came down around 8 and got her coffee going and reading the paper. She says she was extremely tired. I got ready for Bingo and church around 8:15. I made my stop at Dunkin Doughnuts. It’s been a while since I did that. I usually get coffee or some of the potato medallions. The morning was eventful. PJ was on duty but was elsewhere in the building and the coffee was delayed because not enough pots. One of the residents spilled tea all over herself. We also had to keep the door closed for a period of time so that one of the residents who expired could be moved to the morgue. Annie who plows right through anyone and everyone was getting excited and wanted to leave the room. It was really frustrating at times. Because I started bingo late (yet ...

Well I didn’t get to go to bed until way after midnight this morning. Instead I did some online banking and paid some bills. I could hear Mom getting ready for bed. She was both tired and cold from our activities earlier in the day. The Reason I couldn’t sleep or get to sleep is the soda and coffee I had while at Lisa and Nelson’s house and because my back still hurt from pulling muscles when I was at work. I put some Ben Gay ® on and took some Ibuprofen for it. I could also feel my nose starting to run. I hope to heck I don’t have allergies right now. When I finally did get to sleep it didn’t like I was sleeping long because I started getting cramps. I ended up having the runs. They didn’t last long but they didn’t make my stomach feel very good. It was nearly 7:30 when I got up so I got ready for bingo. I made a quick stop to Roberta’s to feed Junior. I got to spend time with my godson Charlie (a mixed shepherd) from next door. It was after 8:30 when I left and went to th...

Aw man you should have been here in Milford today. It was absolutely beautiful today. It was sunny and in the mid to upper 40’s today. I think it was in the 30’s at the beginning of the day and when I started for Mediplex it was a bit chilly but when I came off the highway after church the sign read “44 degrees” when we drove by it again later on it read 47. That’s almost 50 degrees. I even went without a coat for a short time. Today went well despite the fact there were some annoying moments with Mom but I will get into that later. When I left here in the morning Mom asked me about an email with information about the benefits of Bingo or something. She wanted me to share with Natalie. I haven’t yet. She started to criticize and get all pouty because I didn’t. This didn’t bode well for me and I knew it. When I came back from Bingo/church she wanted to make her weekly complaints. The first was not rinsing one of the containers before putting it in the dishwasher. The second was leaving ...

Good Morning it is 6:30 and dark actually I think the sun should be breaking over the horizon soon. I have been up for about thirty minutes catching up on some of my friends journals over at livejournal.com I had posted some questions (I am really hoping they answer) in regards to the show. I am up early with the intention of doing some laundry before getting to do the volunteering aspect of the day. However, that didn’t work. Today is a very busy day first there is Bingo. I don’t expect much to happen there. I do hope Marisa and friends will be there. If the gang is suffering from Cabin fever then it will be slightly frantic I think. After church I will be joining the club for the Valentines Delivery. That should take about an hour or so. Later on there is a Dinner and a movie at Telka’s. Of course I forgot to take money out of the bank on Friday. I don’t think I will be eating dinner. I probably could skip a meal. Hey everyone. It is now after 3. I have been home for...

Once again I found myself up past midnight working on the computer. Well not exactly working on the computer but web browsing to my forums and answering some posts. Silently promising myself not to get into arguments or involved with arguments. I did find myself doing that a number of times this past week. I think the extra coffee I had yesterday is the culprit (it usually is) and so is falling asleep in front of the TV while watching 48 hours. I tried to fall asleep by reading some fan fiction and watching "Burn Notice" and Freaky Friday (2003) but couldn’t watch it. I must be crazy considering Mark Harmon was in that. I am happy to report that I got the minutes done but didn’t send them out because I was waiting on them for updates. When I got the updates I revised the minutes and sent them out. Mom had some great ideas when I send out the email about the minutes. I had to call Phil to get one of our member’s new email address. We chatted about the meeting. Bing...

Today was the Stamford Thanksgiving Parade sponsored by local businesses and I believe this is the 8th year for it. It was starting at 12 noon so Dave and I left his house by quarter of 9 and we stopped at the Darien McDonalds and had breakfast. We got to Stamford by 10. The street was going to be shutdown starting at 10. So Dave and I walked around the book store Barnes and Noble and then at 10 I went to St. Johns Church which was right on the parade route for mass. Dave didn’t want to go so he walked around and then we got together after mass. We played telephone tag and apparently missed each other after the mass. We finally found each other a short time later. We stood in the spot directly across and watched as the crowds gathered and a saw clowns, police (from various cities and towns) drive around. We even talked with other parade watchers. It was really fun. As the time came the parade started at 12 but got to see it by 12:20. There several marching bands from Stamf...

It is just 6 pm Sunday night. I have been in my pajamas since 4. Mom is downstairs watching TV and getting her dinner. I had my dinner a little while ago. There is nothing wrong we just didn’t want the same things and really didn’t know what to have. I was still recovering from a headache I had gotten earlier in the day. After bathing and taking some ibuprofen and getting some sleep I am back to “normal’. Today was pretty good. I left here just before 9 and went and got some hot chocolate because well I wanted one and it was pretty chilly this morning compared to last night where it was 65 degrees and tornado watch for most of the state. Bingo went well and I had the girls help. After bingo I went to St Agnes for Mass. I was starting to fall asleep there and not so sure but I think that’s when my headache was starting. After Mass I came home. Mom was on the computer looking at the Medicare D programs (she is need of getting a different one now). While she did that I starte...

Did you Change your clocks yet? I had to do change the VCR in the living room (again) and the microwave and the oven. I had to change my alarm clock and my watch. Everything else did it on its own. Well not everything. The two kitchen clocks will have to be done later. In the past I would sometimes get up at the 2 am time and change it then go back to sleep. I don’t know why but I did. I don’t even know why 2 am was the appointed time but I guess there is a reason. Yahoo had an article on the time change I probably should have read it. Today will be the last Sunday that Mom goes to the Mercy Center for a while. Starting next week the Center will be starting renovations for an indefinite period of time. Mom is so not looking forward to that. She loves going there and listening to Father Whitson. She will most likely go to St. Agnes. She really doesn’t like that church but it is our parish. I would imagine she will go to St John Vianney’s if she has a choice and that wou...

Good morning! It is after 8 on chilly sunny Sunday. I have been up for a while now. I got the papers so Mom wouldn’t have to go out and I cleaned up the sink (she must not have been feeling well last night she rarely leaves stuff like that). Mom’s back is bothering her again. She walked down the stairs gingerly and very slowly. When I finished the sink I told her to call me if she wanted me to do something for her. She says she has an appointment to see the Doctor tomorrow but she is not sure if she will keep it. She has a bunch of meetings to attend that she can’t get out of. The way I see it is if she is driving and something happens she won’t be going to the meetings anyway. Then again she was driving fine yesterday it was the whole getting in and out of the car that was uncomfortable. I got an email from Telka a couple of days ago that I just saw yesterday. She defended her thesis and it was accepted. She is now Telka diFate PhD. She will be graduating on May 10, 2008. ...