Sugarbushes, Rain and Police

I was up in VT this weekend for the annual touring of sugar bushes. Mmmm, my favorite, real maple syrup. The timing worked out well too, as Dawn and her boyfriend Bill were up for the day for their first ever sugar bush experience. We used to work together and she had just finished her last day of work last week – an end of an era. It was a beautiful sunny day and dad and Dawn and Bill and I piled into the Volvo and trekked around southern VT to visit three very different and distinct sugar bushes. There was the Corse Family Farm who have been making maple syrup since 1868 and provides a wonderful concoction of maple syrup milk shakes as part of the tour. I had been there before and picked up a half gallon of the Fancy. Strange as I’m usually a medium or dark kind of girl. But I still have a half gallon of dark and it’s good to have a variety of grades on hand depending on what you need it for. Then there was Dwight Miller and Son who are eight generations of sugar bushing and where there was a reporter taking our pictures. But it looks like we didn’t make the cut for the article, which can be read here. We wrapped the day up with a visit (and another purchase) at the Stone Family sugar bush. And of course, since we were close to the General Store in Newfane we had to stop for a round of homemade fudge. Needless to say, all the fresh air and maple syrup had me in bed by 9 pm!
I had been running a bit late for rendezvousing with everyone Saturday so sped up to VT. I was thinking several things on my ride up:

“Man, I really love driving Route 2 on a crisp, beautiful, sunny day – such a gorgeous ride, especially since I’ve gotten to know every twist and turn – where and when to pass folks.” And the river was wicked high – I thought it would spill over onto the road very soon.



“Man, I hate Priuses sometimes. Why would someone drive 40 mph in a 55 mph zone – crazy drivers.”



“Man, this is a sweet car, I can pass anyone anytime. Eat my dust Prius!” (not the case in my old Saturn on hills).



“Man, this car is as smooth as butter. I need to check my speed more often. I don’t notice how it creeps up at times.”



“Dude, it’s a good thing I know where the police hang out for speed traps.”



And that, my friend, is where I got a little too cocky. It’s a drive I’ve done often enough to be too comfortable. And I was put in check Sunday on my way home. Which is ironic as I have a sneaking suspicion that my average speed is lower on my way home. I had just started my journey and had just gotten onto Route 2 when I noticed the police car. The police car pointing my direction. The police car that just clocked me at 70 mph. The police car that just put its lights on and is coming after me. Should I make a run for it? I know the twist and turns of the road, I have a powerful smooth car. I could shake the cop. Ok, that’s not really what I was thinking. Instead, I was thinking:



“Man, it was a good thing I spent my afternoon at the RMV getting my license renewed and my registration straightened out this week.”



“Man, I’m glad I took a moment this afternoon to clean my license plate and put the new registration sticker on. And that I got my taxes done.” Because who knows what they’re checking back in the cop car after they take your license and registration info.



For some reason, this time I knew I was going to get a ticket. Usually I’m really nice and they just give me a warning (not that I’m saying I’ve been pulled over tons or anything). This time, I was nice but my heart wasn’t in it and I was resigned to get the ticket. I think I realized that driving an older worn car might have helped and now driving a fancier more expensive car didn’t help my cause. Plus it was the end of the day and I had just eaten dinner and was tired. So I hand over my expired license and my temporary license and my expired registration card and my expired extension for registration (it only lasted for 30 days which was like 60 days ago. I had forgotten to grab the new registration paperwork to put in the car the day before – it was sitting right next to the car keys, but I grabbed the keys and ignored the paperwork – opps). And I waited. The police officer came back and told me that the ticket would be $150 and would go on my insurance for 6 years and with a car like mine it would be an extra $300 a year and then gave me a written warning. No ticket! How sweet was that? I was reading it over and I like to think that it was because his first name is the same as the name of the street I live on. We had a special connection of sorts. And on my way back, I was thinking:



“Man, this is a really slow drive.”



But I’m several hundred dollars richer (or not poorer) and I’ve finally turned on the cruise control or as I like to call it, the “speed checker”. So that’s me. That’s me writing this right now in wet jeans from being in the rain 6 hours ago. It’s been raining non-stop since yesterday and the flooding delays are coming back for my commute. I hope I get home at a decent time tonight. I have a committee meeting at one of the schools we’re working on. Gotta represent!



Ok, didn’t get a chance to post this last night and it turned out the meeting at the school isn’t until next week and last night was for the police department which worked out quite well as I was able to ask the Captain about how the written warning works. I was wondering how long it was in the system. Turns out budget cuts have reduced the administration staff so these things don’t get recorded in the system anymore. His word of advice – don’t keep it in the glove compartment, but otherwise I’ve got a clean slate. Sweet!

Thankful Friday - Symphony

It’s been one of those mornings. The good kind where you are thankful for where you are. I enjoyed being able to sleep in a little and then run out the door to my therapists appointment a block away. Had a great session and then enjoyed the pleasant bus ride into work. Sitting on the bus leisurely reading the promotional issue of the local newspaper that was left on my doorstep while a light snow fell. I enjoyed that the cover article was about people I know and work with – newly appointed superintendent and one of the school principals I work with was quoted. I even knew the journalist who wrote the article. And the appointment was made at a Tuesday evening meeting which meant that was the meeting she had just rushed from to make our meeting (the superintendent has been acting as interim super while the search was being finalized). So it was like I was almost there.



And this after a pleasant evening. Noah and I decided to meet up at Kingston Grill before heading to the Symphony and it just so happened that pretty much the entire staff from my old job were there for drinks. I’ve had mixed feelings about leaving that job. I knew it was the right thing to do and it would have been silly to pass up the opportunity of my current job. But the people at the old place were what kept me there for so long. It was a great environment to work in – we were like family. Actually, I was thinking last night, that job was like my grad school experience. Folks have told me that some of their dearest and longest lasting friends they met in grad school. That hasn’t been the case for me with my grad school experiences, but is the case for this old job. Some of my dearest friends for life were made with my coworkers there. And I was sad to leave them and I missed that comfortable part of the job environment – the comradery. I still visit often especially since our offices are only a block away. But walking in and seeing them all there I was thankful I had moved on. They had just had another round of layoffs that day and three more people were let go. And the people chosen made no sense. I was thankful I was no longer in that frustrated situation and the insecurity of knowing whether the company would make it or not. It was nice to be able to visit and then leave it all behind as Noah and I sat in the dining room and enjoyed our dinner and caught up on the things. I could easily let this go. I wasn’t weighed down about that worry anymore.




Last night I was good about enjoying the evening with Noah and not focusing on the end of an era as he heads off to grad school in a few months. I even was proud of myself and was able to swallow some more pills. I was a little nervous as the excedrins were a bit bigger than the last batch. But no problem. And the conductor was a hoot and a half to watch. As I mentioned before, Levine was out and this guy was younger. We were sitting off to the side so could see his facial expressions. He was very expressive – almost to distraction. But I’m so glad we finally went. I’m not big on live music – I could take it or leave it. But last night, there were moments where my arms would tingle or I noticed I stopped breathing. Perhaps it was the tight dress, but I think it was more the fullness and richness of the sound and the beautiful gilded setting of the symphony hall. Noah and I are thinking of going one more time before he leaves. Me all dressed up and he in his bow tie and Mao jacket. I was home and in bed by 11:30 – my wait for the buses wasn’t too long!




So, I’m not where I thought I’d be in life and I have been coming to terms with that recently. But I’m also appreciative of where I am and what I have and that is important to remember.

Richmond

I’m off to the Symphony tonight. I even threw a dress into my bag today so am ready to enjoy a marvelous performance. There was a last minute change and the conductor, James Levine is being replaced by this guy who I think is younger than me! They’ve pulled out the Debussy piece which I’m disappointed about as that’s why I chose tonight’s performance. But I’ve never listened to Sibelius, so something new.



I just got back from a busy long weekend in Richmond. My little 3 month nephew is so cute. No pictures as my camera is just not really coming through these days – ugh. He’s such a cutie and just staring to smile and coo and babble. And with all my practice with babies recently we had a quick connection and I became a pretty good caregiver. I even got to babysit some.
On Tuesday we had to make it to Norfolk on the coast for an early morning appointment. I decided to set my alarm for 5:30 as I didn’t want to wake up at 5 am. I get up and the house is quiet and dark. I go down and get breakfast and it’s still quiet. So finally I go in and wake my step-sister and brother in law up. They had turned off the alarm! The danger of setting it too early in the morning.



We make it to the appointment with time to spare. I get to watch my little nephew as his parents go in for the interview. And no more than 5 minutes after they leave, I’m holding the little guy on my lap – playing and feeding, and he lets one rip. I was pretty sure it was a poop although he apparently has a pretty mean (i.e. loud) fart too. I was giving him a little bit more time in case he wasn’t done, when I start to realize I feel moisture. I pick him up, and yup there’s a small stain on my jeans. But is it milk? Nope. So I find a bathroom which luckily had a nice large counter – you start noticing these amenities with a wee one. I open him up and the force has shot the poo down both legs! But he loves getting his diaper changed (even tried to wee on me the previous day – fun game, but I won that round). As I’m cleaning I’m thinking, man the diaper should have been more tightly secured and this wouldn’t have been as bad. I was about to curse whoever it was who diapered him last, when I stopped short, realizing it was me. Doh. So get him cleaned up, outfit changed and back out to the waiting room to check and make sure no one walked away with the car seat carrier. There was security but you never know what people will walk away with.



Ended up swinging by the outlet stores on the way back. We went to a ton of stores and I was exhausted about half way through. But did soldier on and stop by the ESPRIT store minutes before we were scheduled to leave for the airport. And found a pair of jeans! Kindof. I was rushed and even if I wasn’t I still seem to do this. I try on pants and they fit in the dressing room but then I wear them at home and they’re either too big (most of the time) or too small. It’s like shoes – they say not to try on shoes at certain times of the day because your feet swell after walking around a bunch. Well, apparently so does my butt or something. Hopefully a wash will set things right. I run out of the store into the waiting car to make it to the airport with moments to spare due to construction traffic. And of course, they wait to tell us after they board us on time and pull away from the gate, that Boston weather has us scheduled to sit and wait for an hour. I was ready to watch some tv and take a nap. Except I had a talker next to me. Once I accepted it I enjoyed the conversation. He was this older fellow who worked in the building industry. So we shared stories and experiences. Moved onto cars near the end and he approved of my latest purchase – good, reliable car. Ended up swapping business cards after getting off. Good contact. And as he said, what was the likelihood that we got seated next to each other – sharing the same profession. He said the conversation helped make the delay and flight fly by (he travels a bunch for work – day flights).



Oh, and can I just wrap this all up and spend a little time complaining? I’ve finally logged my miles from the latest flights over the past year and a half. Keep in mind I’ve flown to the Middle East via Europe three times, one trip in Europe, and a few trips in the US. I should have enough miles to pay for my flight to Paris this summer, right? Nope, not even close. One of the long trips I flew a different airline. I have 53,000 miles. That doesn’t even get me a one way ticket to Europe (55,000 miles). This is why I stopped participating in the frequent flyer programs. So frustrating. All those miles, I would think I would get something more out of them. Oh well, it’s not like I played for the long flights.

Friday Observations (posted on Wednesday)

I wrote these down on Friday while waiting for my flight to Richmond to visit some family there.



1. Today I know spring has arrived as I spotted my least favorite summer accessory – flip flops. Actually I love flip flops. Flip flops with jeans, flip flops with shorts. Flip flops on the beach and flip flops on lazy weekend days. But I really get annoyed when I see them on my commute. You glance at someone and they have this great outfit on – finance wear with the hair and make-up done, formal jacket and shirt and skirt or slacks and then your eye reaches the bottom and there are some cheap old flip flops. Ugh.


2. Mental note, taking the subway to the airport works wonderful, as long as it’s not during rush hour. I got to the platform and it was a sea of heads and suitcases. And we waited and waited and the sea grew and finally the subway/bus comes and only half the people could fit on. So I wait and wait and the sea grows and grows and I realized it would probably take a few rounds before I made it on (no cuing just a big mass of folks). So I gave up and took a taxi. It was a quick 10 minute drive for a mere $20 (versus the $2 subway ride). Oh well, got there early enough I could enjoy some Legal Seafood dinner.


3. Apparently the DMV no longer sends renewal notices for your driver’s licenses. How did I find this out, do you ask? I found out when I was in line at security at the airport, 20 minutes before I was supposed to board the plane and the guy checking my ticket asks me for another form of picture ID. Luckily I happened to pack my passport out of habit and that doesn’t expire until 2015 thankfully.


4. And finally, to round up the day (on Friday), I was sitting peacefully at Gate 32, knitting a new sweater and watching the planes take off and land while dusk fell. And then I was sitting attentively, making pretty good progress on my new sweater and watching the planes take off and land in the dark and realizing the seats were filling up. And then I was sitting, a little worried, knitting on my sweater, no longer watching the planes and wondering why the Tampa plane hadn’t left my gate yet since my plane was supposed to take off in about five minutes and wasn’t even there yet. And also, why hadn’t they announced anything about the delay of MY flight? And finally, I find out there is a difference between the numbers 32 and 36, especially since my flight was at Gate 36 and was already boarded. And run on board with a minute to spare. So strange considering how many gates I’ve sat at over the last year (30 plus). But it had been a hectic day wrapping up things before leaving and a Friday after a long week. That’s what it was. I’m not losing it. Really, I’m not!

Happy St. Paddy's/Evacuation Day

Man, how does that happen? It's almost the end of the day and still so much to get done.
Unfortunately I still have work to do. And I have no great meal planned for dinner. And my outfit is uncomfortable - I think I've outgrown this shirt.
But at least it's sunny and nice out and will be for a couple more hours. Remember it used to be dark just a month ago at this time. And at least I work at a company with a prominent Irish sector so that translates into finishing the day while drinking a bottle of beer. And at least I'm not in the middle of a siege on Boston like those poor folks back in 1776. You can read more about Evacuation day here or go get the book, 1776. Many folks think it's just an excuse to be able to celebrate St. Paddy's day and not work.

Old Ladies and Knitting

Today I decided to take more time in the morning getting ready and doing chores in the beautiful morning sunlight that pours into my apartment these days. That and the fact that it was midnight by the time I hit the sack since my committee meeting went long and it took me awhile to wind down. The point being it put me on the bus into work later than normal. An older lady was sitting next to me and when I pulled out my knitting, the Norah Gaughan side-ways sweater, she became interested and asked what I was making which turned into a pleasant conversation to accompany my trip. It made me think back on how knitting on public transportation can open up the socializing. When mom and I were flying to India a few years ago to visit my brother, I had made the brilliant decision to take two red eyes so that our layover in London gave us a whole day to visit the Tate. I think it was on the train back to the airport, where both mom and I were beyond exhausted and we weren’t even half way through the trip yet, I was sitting across from an older British woman. I was knitting away on a tank and I could tell she was excited to see someone knitting in public. And maybe even that I was younger. You could tell she wanted to start a conversation but it wasn’t proper or something – she was very British and reserved. I blame it on the lack of sleep, because if I was more well rested I would have started the conversation but I was just too tired! The knitting was the only thing that was keeping me from passing out from pure exhaustion.


And then a few years before that I was on a train into Berlin with some friends for a weekend trip. This was the summer I thought I could go without knitting and on the second day had to go out and buy yarn – lesson learned. I got a good deal on the yarn but the needles were ridiculously expensive. Why would I spent 15 euros on two thick sticks! So I came up with this amazing way to knit with my pointer finger on my left hand and a pencil. It was quite ingenious and resulted in a beautiful scarf. Well the older lady on the train to Berlin was a knitter and quite intrigued. She watched me for awhile, figuring out how I was doing it and then started a conversation. Unfortunately it was in German and my grasp of the language was very minimal so that fizzled to a close quickly.I’ve been sorting through my yarn stock this week. For several reasons. One, I lose track of things in my head so go through drawers and cupboards periodically to tidy them up and also reacquaint myself with the items. It keeps things organized up in the noggin. Second, I’ve been updating my inventory list of yarn for sweaters. A few purchases from last year seemed to have snuck in unrecorded. And thirdly, I just love color and texture and organizing color and texture. There’s such a calming nature to it – caressing and admiring and imagining what I could turn this fiber into. I’ve decided to pull out all the random balls of yarn that aren’t enough for a sweater and pool them together and see if I can turn them into something – hats, socks, scarves, baby sweaters, you get the drift.
And then I realized (ok re-realized because I like to forget this as much as possible) that a lot of my “sweater” stashes for yarn do not have enough balls of yarn to make a sweater. How do I know this? Because I’m going through some of these balls of yarn that had once been knit up into a sweater but then was ripped back and wound into balls because I was sadly too short and the yarn is discontinued and there is no more yarn out there in the same color. It’s very sad. I realized, I need to start making some fair isle sweaters since I’m not a big fan of vests. I found some cute kid patterns and it looks like I’ll get to try my hand at making my own pattern. The best patterns I’ve found are based on the infamous Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Seamless Yoke Sweater. But most of the ones I love I don’t really have the right yarn or enough of the accent colors. I’ve got to use the pallet of yarn I currently have and create something. These are a few of the styles I like. I’m thinking something inspired by William Morris. But think that would take much thinner yarn to pull off effectively. We shall see.

Alarm Clock

It’s sunny out! Yesterday I spent over 4 hours commuting. I was really happy that I had spent time this weekend to get a knitting project moving again so I had one with me. I’m part way through a sweater know – Norah Gaughan’s Side-Way Ribs Cardigan. After spending forever on the bus getting into work I figured I might try leaving a bit later to miss the rush hour mass. I hop onto the subway train and it goes well at first. And then it starts getting slower and slower. To a point where we are just stopped. Except it’s not like I’m on a bus and they can just let us out and walk. And you don’t know if you’re broken down although after about 15 minutes, and no movement you start moving towards that conclusion. They finally come over the loud speaker to explain the situation and what’s next. Except the wiring is poor so you can barely hear it and, of course, just then, there’s a kid at the end of the car that decides to start speaking loudly to her parents. All I heard is that we were a disabled train. I’ve been behind disabled trains but never in one. A half hour later, they end up getting another train to push us into the next stop. But not too bad as I had my knitting and ended up having a pleasant conversation with the person next to me – they’re trying to enter the wonderful field of Sustainability in the building industry so got to pass on my wizened advice, or what passes for it. (Added later: I just did my good deed for the day - provided intros to someone who might help this person find a job - yay me - feels good).


I then proceed to wait and wait and wait for my bus. Luckily I could wait inside out of the rain. At first I didn’t think it would be long as the bus I take comes every 7 minutes. I see a bus coming and got excited except it was the 84. Wait, another one, nope it’s the 55N. Wait some more and there’s two in the distance. For sure one must be mine. I even walk out into the rain to start cuing up. But nope it’s a 62 and another 84. Back inside to wait. And wait and wait. And then I see this darkened vehicle that looks like it might be a bus. But is it out of service? Must be as there are no lights on inside nor is there the display on the outside saying the destination. But it stops and people start boarding so I run out and it’s a packed bus. The lights were on inside, but there were so many people jammed in that light couldn’t escape out the windows. I squeeze little ol’ me in through the back door. Almost felt like we need some of those Japanese Pushers.
So that was my commute – a new record for me. I still had 20 minutes to run to the grocery store before it closed at 9 pm. This morning I left a little early, just in case, since I had a morning meeting. Good thing as the roads are still closed down and it was slow going. Head down and knit knit knit for me. The flooding is crazy. You can check out the videos of some of the spots here.





And lastly, I think I need a new alarm clock. I have a nice four hour window for getting into work. Sometimes I’m early, sometimes I’m later and usually I don’t have too many morning meetings to dictate the time. So I’ve been a proud non-alarm clock user for the last four plus years (and maybe even longer). I do use one about a half dozen times a year. As a just in case precaution and 99% of the time I still wake up before it goes off. Somehow, if you think about what time you need to get up the next morning, that’s the time you get up. Since I had the morning meeting and the questionable commute, I figured I should play it safe. Set the alarm at 7 pm which was my drop dead leave the house by time.





And it goes off and I wake up and I think, “it’s a little too dark for it to be 7 pm”. The sun is starting to rise and granted, we’re in that period where the sunrise time is changing exponentially and not linearly – ie, it’s changing quickly, but it still seemed off. My alarm clock went off at 6:37 am. I double check – yup set at 7 pm. I check Alarm 2 that I never used – yup still defaulted at 12:00. I don’t know, it’s weird. It happened once before which made me start thinking it’s time to replace the clock and then I promptly forgot. But this is the second time and, yes, it’s erring on the conservative side – earlier rather than later. But still not good. I don’t ask for much in my alarm clocks, but reliability is a key item. Gotta love technology but you also gotta wonder what’s going on in there too. So, if you have come across a cute radio alarm clock that can live in a bathroom, let me know!




Oh, and I decided to wear the new jeans today before I hemmed them as they almost make it. If they’re completely pulled up, I don’t walk on them with heels on – too much. I think I might still trip and fall today, so need to just run them to the tailor down the road. They’re supposed to do an amazing job. Not 5 bucks but I don’t mind paying a little bit more for convenience (close by) and a really good job. They’re jeans after all – that you wear almost every day, if you can. I’m thinking of trying to find a second pair and getting one hemmed for heels and one for flats. I love not having my love handles spill over the tops of my jeans. And I’m skinny, so that tells you something about the old jeans being a tad bit too small.

Daylight Savings

This morning I overslept which was strange as I had gone to bed at 10 pm. That’s ten hours of sleep!. It was a tiring but fun weekend, chock full of activities. Saturday I got up early and drove through the rain to visit my godson and his family. On the way, since I was early, I swung by the hardware store and ran through the rain to pick up some much needed light bulbs (why do I have a bazillion 75W but no 60W?) and a timer for a lamp. Not even 9 am yet and “check” another thing crossed off the list. We went to the local discovery museum which was fun since I had the excuse of accompanying a kid so could climb on the stuff and play too. Had to run to the car as it was pouring. Got a little wet. Then home and played with his little sister while he went down for his four hour nap. She realized she had to up her game on cuteness as she’s been testing her parents lately. She’s now cooing and smiling and flirting up a storm. Quite cute. And the cutest thing was when I went in to get her brother after he woke up from his nap – there was a moment there when he realized it wasn’t mom or dad coming to get him like usual. And then he realized it was me and was super excited and started to swing between being bashful and flirting to being full on “play with me”.


I did manage to sort through all my half finished knitting projects. I ended up just brining over the basket that holds them all. I undid some and the rest are now written down as pieces to work on which makes it seem like a step towards them being completed. I’m slowly making progress. Saturday night I stayed later than usual so that Aaron and Cec could go out and enjoy a dinner together. It was funny watching them before and after. Before they were dragging their feet and couldn’t figure out where to go and were close to just staying home. I got to watch my movie on HBO while both kids slept the whole time. Granted I did have to re-bink the little one a dozen or so times as she liked to spit it out periodically but yet still wanted it. They got home and said it was one of the best meals they’ve had in a long time. You could see a change in the energy level even though they were soon heading to bed. Yay! Then off home I went, I even got to stop by the TJ Maxx and run through the rain to return a pair of jeans (J Brand) that fit wonderfully but were too long and several other items. Loved seeing the credit on the credit card. Did a quick round in the jean section one last time. Found another pair of J Brand jeans super duper clearenced that I almost bought but then compared them to the ones I just returned and they were exactly the same, except $30 cheaper. I didn’t buy them, unfortunately (you’ll see in a moment). Got home, ran through the rain lugging my knitting and should have dropped into bed, but instead decided that I’d stay up past midnight to catch up the latest Lost episodes from this season. I don’t know, I liked the earlier years. It just seems to be getting weirder and darker. Kind of like how the Harry Potter books went. I like the earlier years.
Sunday morning. I woke up late. But I didn’t realize how late until a half hour later after making pancakes I’m checking my phone and there’s a text from my friend Marie that I was going to hang out with that day. “Where are you, you ok?” And then I noticed it was 10:20 am and not 9:20 am! Daylight savings!! Which is strange as I’ve been telling everyone this week, “don’t forget”. Even the day before I mentioned it. I even mentioned it to Marie. I have it written down on all my calendars. And I forgot. So quickly hopped into the shower and drove off to the Cambridge Antique Mall to meet up with her. I had to take some alternate routes as some of the roads were closed due to flooding. I parked in their flooded parking lot and had to get out through the passenger door. It was pouring! I got inside and it was all antiques. What you’d expect, except I was here for the used bikes. They were down in the basement. Imagine your classic antique mall. Way too much antiques stuffed into an old five story building. And in the basement – antiques everywhere (including this beautiful “surfer” mid-century cherry table that I almost bought except I already have three dining room tables and no dining room really). And there in one of the corners, there’s tons of bikes and a little shop to fix them. It was just full of character. The bikes were old man! And still almost $200 which is crazy. I felt more comfortable just spending an extra $100 or so and buying a new bike. So we perused the bikes and then went and perused the rest of the store. There were some cute side tables I almost bought. But instead took Marie’s advice and used her technique – take a picture. So am thinking about them. I’ve been hunting on craigslist for some in the living room but maybe these are the ones. I’ve also been looking for a short bookcase to have up in the loft to make it look a little tidier with all my stuff. And at first I noticed this little pine bookcase and then I noticed the nice Danish book case behind it (on its end). Snap. I did end up buying an $18 original print of this beautiful sailboat on the sea. I believe it’s a lithograph. I was unwrapping it this morning and I’m even more in love with it now. I would have picked up these three Rockwell Kent pieces except they were much more expensive and I think they were just framed prints from one of his books. Still, love R. Kent and there’s a family connection. Snap. Seriously thinking about this one. They’re really nicely framed. I apparently have a nautical them going on.

Then off we went, running through the rain to our cars. We headed to the Food show at the conference center. Found parking on the street, but had to run and it was far and I’m really not a runner and I’m out of shape so half way there my body is like, “What the hell, you’re not in danger, it’s just water. You can get wet or have a heart attack. Your choice.” So we walked the second half. We were already soaked, so it didn’t matter. We chowed down on all the samples and just as our jeans were dry we headed back out and got soaked again heading back to the car. Made it to Wheelworks where I tried out several bikes, but not really because, did I mention, it’s been raining and they didn’t want their bikes to get wet. I have a short list, but am still overwhelmed by the selection. And apparently there’s this thing where they don’t want to sell you a bike where you can sit upright. It’s not efficient use of energy and you should really be hunched over the handlebars. I think the vertical is more comfortable. So have to figure that out. No bike yet. It was hard even getting onto the bikes when you have wet jeans on.
And then off to some furniture stores to help each other figure out what to get. Marie has a new house and husband. After I drop her off I’m driving home through the rain and keep seeing one umbrella after another get turned inside out. I do make a pitstop by the TJ Maxx by my house and surprisingly find a pair of J Brand jeans that fit and are still too long. But according to Marie, when you buy the expensive jeans that’s what they do – sell them long so that they fit more people and then you get them hemmed. Jeans hemmed?! But apparently there are places here that do it quite well and you can’t tell a difference. So I bought these jeans yet again (and unfortunately back at the first price I bought them and not the super duper reduced price). I was going to swing by the grocery store but that’s when I ran out of energy and home I went.



And finally, this morning. I left late like usual on Mondays and my commute was the longest ever! I got wet waiting for my bus since I figured I’d forgo the umbrella and just put on the rain jacket since it is a Noreaster after all. Luckily I brought one of my knitting projects and made some nice progress. More roads were closed due to flooding so they had to reroute us along with everyone else which meant we were crawling. It was so slow. I had a hot chocolate when I got in as I was chilled to the bone. And a coworker grabbed some New England clam chowder for me when she was out which was nice. I love clam chowder (except the clams are stuck between my teeth). Going home will be fun. This rain just won’t stop. I wish it was snow. At least it looks like 60s and sun in Richmond while I’m there this weekend.

100

I love my little town I live in. Lately I’ve been having friends trying to talk me into moving to JP. A bunch of friends from my old job all live there and it’s a great little community. I do consider it occasionally and then I’m reminded of the wonderful attributes of my area. Case in point: this morning I was running out the door, a few minutes behind schedule which is all it takes to see the last of my buses drive by. Meaning I’ve got about 10 minutes to wait until the next batch. As I’m walking up to my bus stop, across the street I recognize the figure heading towards their car. It was Bill who’s on the town committee with me. He’s this dynamic retired fellow who is quite a character. He even invited me to Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago – his 5 grown children with their families were all descending on their place and he still thought to include me. Well, it turns out being two minutes late meant that I was on time to catch a ride down to my subway stop which happened to be on his way and put me at least 10 minutes ahead of schedule. So this morning on my way into work I had an enjoyable animated chat. We are often on opposite voting sides of the committee – I’m pro environment which sometimes means a little extra spending – he’s pro not spending money on extras unnecessarily. Anyways, it was nice running into someone I knew and having a small change in my morning routine. Good energy.
In other news, I have to say I’ve really benefited from understanding why I was so tired all the time. Last month when I went in for my annual physical, I was half hoping the test results for the Lyme disease test would come back positive. Not really, as I don’t want to have to deal with something like that. But at least I’d know. I’d know why I was tired. And now I have that. I really worry a lot, to the point it was almost like white noise and I didn’t really realize I was doing it. And it’s exhausting. My therapist had me do this exercise. She had me write my name while at the same time counting backwards from 100. It was hard. Doable. But hard. If that’s how I went around in my life I’d get exhausted quickly. Which it turns out is what I’m kind of doing right now. If only diagnosing it could shut it off, but at least I’m starting to put it in check. Not all the time as it’s hard identifying it. But I’ve seen progress. To the point that I’ve been able to start chipping away at the long “to do” list that was starting to get out of control. Oh, that’s the other thing, I have unrealistic expectations of what I can accomplish with my time. So I’ve started putting that in check too. And interestingly I’m getting more stuff done. One thing I’ve started doing is, in the mornings as I get ready for work, I tackle one of my chores I put off doing, usually it only takes 15-20 minutes anyways. Yesterday I did the dishes. Today I cleaned the floors. This way I don’t feel like I have to get all this unfun stuff done on my weekend and leaves me worry free to enjoy my weekend jaunts. Which is particularly good as this weekend is completely booked up and I’m leaving town next week. Which means my landlords will be up checking on the boys and I want the place to be super duper presentable. Almost there.
And finally, a special shout out to my biker friends, err, bicycle friends. Between when I posted the last post and now I have swung back to maybe coughing up some money and buying a new bike. I even made plans Sunday to go to Belmont’s Wheelworks - the place that keeps popping up in recommendations of places to go from folks. It’s supposed to have a huge selection and I started reading up on the styles and came to the same conclusion as some of the recommendations people posted. I don’t need anything fancy or fast, just for commuting and running errands. I’m going with a gal friend who knows bikes which I appreciate as I’m always worried about getting hoodwinked into not such a good deal. We’ll see what I have to report on Monday!

Bike Dilema

The weather! Gorgeous isn’t it? This weekend was so beautiful. No jacket needed. I had meant to drop my bike off Saturday morning at the local bike shop to get it fixed up. Let me clarify, it’s not my bike (my bros but think he forgot about it) and it needs an overhaul. The tires are always flat and I discovered this really makes a difference, especially for little ol’ me. Last summer I was commuting by riding from my place to the nearby subway station and it was really nice, besides being the slowest person on the path – being passed even by the mothers pushing the baby carriages. Although, I do have to admit, that I stopped after I was in Sweden. Dad and I took the hotel’s tourist bikes for a ride one morning and although they were these super heavy bikes (I could barely lift it over the curb) I couldn’t believe how easy it was to ride. It was like I was floating on air. I realized then, my bike is junk.
Last night, I left work right on time. Right when everyone else was heading home – it was crowded. It took me almost an hour and a half! But I did catch a little of the daylight. And this morning I went in to work on the late side, enjoyed the beautiful sun, and it only took 30 minutes total! On my bus ride to the subway station I was thinking, “it’s so nice out, it would be even nicer to enjoy it on the bike. This would be perfect weather for riding too – not too hot and not too cold. I really wish I had gotten around to getting my bike fixed Saturday.” But then I remind myself that the reason I’m procrastinating about getting the bike fixed is because I think my brother got it off of craigslist years ago for $20 and it’s going to cost a lot of money to get into decent running condition. Did I mention the rust on the chain? And then I’ll be faced with the dilemma – sink money in the bike and fix it or get another bike. Which then opens up the question of which bike to get? There are so many options and they’re not cheap. I was checking out bikes today and was overwhelmed. How do I know if a bike fits? I’m leaning back towards bringing my current bike in to get fixed and at least find out what the damage would be. I’m using the bike to commute, nothing fancy, and it’s locked up with tons of other bikes at the subway station, ready to be stolen. So if it’s more of a junker, the better - more likely it will be waiting for me when I return after work to ride home.





Although, I just found out about the new google map feature. Have you seen this yet? When you go to get directions like you usually do, you can select “bicycle” from the pull down menu (which is usually set as “car” by default). I’m lucky enough to live in an area that has this feature so out of curiosity I put in my address and work’s address and tada – a nice route for me to follow. The funny part is that it says it would take 52 minutes. Riding from my place to the subway station is less than quarter of the entire distance. And that takes me about 20 minutes. According to google it should take me 10 minutes! But who knows, maybe with a better bike… Any suggestions?

Says You

There are now two cities in the country that have two all-talk public radio stations. And I’ve lived in both! WGBH just bought another radio station and restructured to be an all-talk station so now WBUR has some new competition (check out the recent article in Boston Magazine). I have to say I love my public radio (as I write this I’m listening to a podcast of fresh air). And Boston is ripe with wonderful productions right here in our own backyard. One of my favorites, and lesser known, is Says You. I stumbled upon My Word years ago when I lived in San Francisco (the first city in the country with two all-talk public radio stations). For those of you not familiar, My Word is an old BBC production that is so good it still is in reruns, even 20 years after its last production. It’s a radio quiz show about words: vocabulary, etymology and more. Says You is something similar, but is American and is still in production. Think Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, but instead of the subject matter being current events, it’s all about… you’ve got it – words! Same dynamic though – very funny and entertaining.
But I keep missing the show. So going through my list at lunch (yes I started lists again), I decided to tackle item 14, “Look up Says You schedule”. I’ve got it written down now. Written down for Boston (two times on WGBH). Written down for beyond Boston, the neighboring stations I might happen to drive through while visiting folks one state over on the weekends. I even discovered it’s on an AM station out of Holyoke. Who knew.



And while writing this up I figured I’d check to see if one of the benefits of living in a city with two all-talk public radio stations might be listening to reruns of the superb show My Word. I vaguely remember catching it here, or do I? And this is what gets my goat – the arbitrariness. I sifted through the WGBH schedule. I even checked out KQEDs schedule. But when my search comes up with a potential WBUR listing, I can’t access it. “Access Denied: Surf Control” How crazy is that? Work’s got a frustrating surf control program on our machines. I’ve run up against this before while streaming songs off of youtube to help me get over the mid-afternoon hump (30 minute limit). Or when I was catching up on facebook postings during my lunch break (30 minute limit). I even had the IT guy tell me to go onto wireless when he was helping me find the best scotches (no alcohol, tobacco or gambling sites). It’s just silly. So I think, maybe, My Word is on at 10:30 pm one night. Which night? I’ll have to wait and find out.



Unfortunately, Says You doesn’t have podcasts. And I did a quick search of some of the areas I know my loyal readers live. I mean reader :) And not much luck there. You can potentially stream the radio stations that do carry the show, or buy the podcasts, or enjoy this little snidbit from their Daily Dispatch page:



HALF BAKED…

Posted October 22, 2008

As I heard it, the correct translation of Marie Antoinette’s statement, “Let them eat cake” should correctly be, “Let them eat poorcake.”


French ovens were heated with wood or other materials that generated soot that coated the walls of the oven. To keep the bread dough from becoming covered with this soot, the walls of the oven were coated with a mixture of flour and water. When this mixture had dried to the walls of the oven, the bread dough was placed in the oven and baked.


After the oven had cooled down, the sooty, flour mixture--like sooty matzo--was chipped off the walls, placed in a basket, and put on the outside steps for the poor to take and eat. Thus, the lady in question was simply giving practical, if somewhat flippant, advice to her poor subjects: If one cannot afford the bourgeois bread, he can avail himself of the poor man’s “cake.”


Carl F. Weggel of Boston, MA

Hot Water Found

The list of missing items was too extensive to exhaustively list. Another item just returned to me this weekend – my hot water. It was hot enough in the kitchen sink, but the shower was dismal being only luke warm. Warm enough to use but not pleasant. Plumber came last month but didn’t really fix things. Every time I’m in the shower I’d start drafting a letter to my landlords, and then promptly forget to follow up. But Saturday it was hot again for some unknown reason. This morning it was still hot. One more shower and I think I’ll rest easy again. Yay!

Kennebunkport

Saturday, I had about an hour and a half to kill before my dinner with friends in Kennebunkport so decided to check out the infamous Kittery outlet malls. Now, I don’t know about you, but I used to love my outlet malls of the 90s. I remember when mom and I first discovered them, a whole other world of opportunity opened up. And then they slid. The deals got less good and stores like TJ Maxx popped up. More often the outlets were not worth it. Which I think is still the case, but I hit some good sales this weekend.



So 1.5 hours, 100+ stores spread out over 10 shopping plazas, and a desperate need for new jeans – pairs to wear with heals and to wear with flats. Also a need for casual sneaker like shoes and more pants that fit would. Except I didn’t really know what size I was now. I’ve gained about 10 pounds recently (and quickly) and it all seems to have gone to the hips/thighs. Store after store I would wait in lines to try on clothes and find that the tops I picked out were too big and the pants too small. By the end of my allotted time, I came to accept I was coming back the next day on my way back home and just purchased a bunch of clothes without trying them on. I made out pretty well. Got a nice infusion to the old wardrobe. I even found a beautiful weekend bag set from Brooks Brothers (over $1,000!) that I paid a fraction of a fraction of the full price.



Off to Kennebunkport, picked up some beer (supposed to be wine but couldn’t find any). It was a wonderful night – full house of old high school friends (and their mates). Maggie and Dave hosting, Sarah in from DC, Nima and Shireen up from Boston with a surprise and Reegan and Mike with their two kids over from NH. Finally meeting Dave was good – got to reminisce about our college days. Although we don’t know each other, we went to the same undergrad school – one year apart. He was on the swim team even. I wonder if Cec know him. And Shireen is due in August! I thought maybe she was pregnant at first but she had her coat on so kept quiet – you never know. And it’s been ages since I saw Reegan and her family. Scheduling to go visit next month. I’m always surprised when kids remember you even though it’s been over a year since you saw them. A. came running to give me a hug when I first walked in, very charming



Good food, good company and my wine glass never seemed to be empty all night. Later in the night, the boys were off beating each other up on the play station and we were talking relationships and dating. Sara is a character so hearing her take on the dating scene was funny. Exactly the same as me, if not worse. And our married friends were stumped how we were both still single. Of course I have a new round of blind dates ahead of me with “sweet” guy friends of theirs. Who knows, it’s all about the numbers.



Spent the night and enjoyed a delicious egg sandwich breakfast on fresh sour dough around the kitchen table. Apparently I don’t like to pack anymore. The last several weekend trips, I pack the essentials, but that’s it. So didn’t really have another outfit to wear, but having run by the outlet, I did, kind of. Decided to wear my new Brooks Brothers button up shirt and plum wool sweater from Banana Republic. We headed off to check out some land M&D are thinking of buying to build on. Nice wooded plot at the end of a quiet road. Then we separated and I went with the guys to…. the firing range! But keep in mind we’re in Maine, so it’s basically some land with a shack on it and some stuff to shoot at in the distance. No one was there so we had the place to ourselves. D has some pieces that we got to try out. I’m fairly conservative on gun control - meaning I’m on the liberal side of things. And I don’t ever want them in my house, ever, but I’d still like to know how to handle a weapon just in case I ever got into a situation. We tried our hand at a Glock 9 hand gun (just had to look that up – didn’t know how to spell it). Unfortunately it didn’t have a safety which was one thing I wanted to learn about. D was a great teacher, relaxed and informative but also very aware of safety. It was a lot louder than I expected. I guess I figured I knew what to expect since our media culture is so full of shooting. And the casings would gently bounce back at you as they ejected which was strange. Also got to try out an AK 47. These are the rifles that have fought in so many wars. It was very strange seeing one in person, let alone empty a clip. It was loud and had a kick (but not too bad) and was heavy. And after you could really smell it. I’m glad I’ll never have to be a soldier. It really gave you a sense of what it might begin to be like to be a soldier. Something I’d not wish on anyone. I was glad to finally have this opportunity. I’d been wanting to go to a firing range for several years now, but really wanted to go with a friend to show me the ropes. I just didn’t think it would be up in the backwoods of Maine, while dressed up in Brooks Brothers.



On the way back we swung by the beach – beautiful salty air and every dog frolicking on the sand had their tails wagging a mile a minute. On my way back to Boston, swung by Kittery again. Returned some clothes, tried on a dozen more jeans, and left with a pretty good haul. Although mostly tops. Two pairs of pants and no jeans. And no shoes. The search continues. And can I add some of these stores I haven’t been to for awhile like the Gap or Banana Republic and the quality has gone downhill. The Banana Republic seems more like a Gap now and the Gap seems like some crummy mall store. I used to love the Gap. Oh well. Made it home exhausted from a late night the night before and way more shopping than I’m used to, and in heals too! Thank goodness for left-overs. I heated up some of my split pea soup and pineapple soufflé. Kicked off the boots and traded them for flip flops, snuggled up with the boys and caught the movie Penelope on cable (which I haven’t canceled yet). Charming movie.

Lists

Decided to break today’s post up – here’s part 1:


I don’t know when, but awhile back I swore off lists. They were providing more harm than good as they just reminded me of all the things I hadn’t gotten around to doing. I still occasionally jot down a grocery list here or a short Christmas list there, but generally rely on the age old premise, “if it’s important enough, I’ll remember it”, which doesn’t always hold true.
Well, last week, I bought a planner. You know those old fashioned paper books with the weeks printed out. I used to use one for school all the time, and grew up with the one from the Met or MFA by the family phone. My therapist recommended I start planning out my days – both work and life. I think the point was to see that I had unrealistic expectations of what I could accomplish and come to some middle ground and not be so hard on myself. So Thursday, I ran by the cool office/art and craft/stationary/play store. It’s a wonderful store. Just tons and tons of stuff stuffed onto the shelves. It’s a little chaotic but you find the strangest things. I found a pack of blue books for $1.49 and had to restrain buying them. The calendar I got was fun to sift through (and surprisingly not on sale considering it’s almost a quarter of the way into the year). It has the time zone map and international calling codes (although UAE is not listed) and a list of the birthstones. But it was the clothing size equivalents that made me chuckle. The smallest size in Women’s Clothing – 8! The biggest size in Women’s Shoes – 8.5! I’m off the charts apparently. Strangely enough, I have trouble scheduling out beyond a day. So Friday night I planned out my Saturday. I did half the stuff that was scheduled, but other stuff that wasn’t written down. I didn’t get around to doing my taxes and fling away the pile of papers that have accumulated. Nor dropping my bike off at the shop to get a tune up. Nor dropping off my dry cleaning that I’ve had in a bag for a year now it seems. I did make it to the dealer and now have my key programmed. It’s so strange to get into the car and drive away without ever taking out a key. I’ve driven those types of cars before. But this weekend, popping in and out of the car so often made it more real and strange.



Today I started the lists again. I’ve commandeered the January pages into lists: “To Do”, “Wish List”, “Errands”, “Projects”. They’re slow going strangely enough. I’m holding back writing it all down because I don’t want to freak myself out I guess. Apparently I have some split personality going. I do have to say it is fun crossing off accomplished tasks, even if a few at a time.

Guess What I'm Wearing?!

It’s shiny and sparkly and beautiful. My watch came back to me! And my car keys. And a wad of cash ($80). And a packaged mint. They were having a little party behind some books in my bookshelf. I’ve been going through some restructuring recently and I think here is some evidence that things are on their way up. This morning I decided to take care of some outstanding tasks instead of waiting until tonight when I’m tired and worn out. I pulled out the box on the bookshelf I stuff receipts to balance the credit card statement I just got. And there they were! So I think I’ve pretty much recovered from my losing spree. Without looking back at old posts, the only thing I really miss is my grey hat. The sunglasses I’ve replaced with new ones I love. And the other stuff I can’t remember so well (btw, the cell phone returned the next day, I had my neighbors call me). One of the things I’ve been working on is mindfulness. I spend too much time in my head and it’s exhausting I’ve come to realize. I’m a worrier. Didn’t think I was but there it is. It’s great identifying it and I’ve been learning how to recognize and adjust accordingly. Slow going and challenging, but progress is being made!


I was writing up a Random Wednesday post (in my head) which never got posted, but have to include one little moment. Wednesday morning I woke up like usual but realized I could hear a bird outside my window. Which is strange as I think I’ve heard birds during winter, but I guess just not in the early morning. Must have to do with what species and migration habits. Well, a little later, I’m on my way out my front door to work. I open the door and I can hear a mob of sparrows animatedly chatting away. It was really loud. And then it was deafening quiet as I step onto the porch. I look around and couldn’t find them at first. Usually they hang out at the neighbors bird feeder and on the phone lines between our houses. But it was empty. As I walk down my private sidewalk I can start seeing them in the hedge between the two houses. The hedge is brown and they’re brown, but I could start seeing tons of little bodies in there. And as I reach the end of my walkway, they start back up in their chatter. I guess they had a lot to catch up on since they’ve been gone.
Then Wednesday night I got home around 7 pm and I don’t know what got into me but I cooked up a storm. I didn’t sit down to eat until after 10 but had a ton of food. I baked a ham (Neiman Ranch – my favorite), pineapple soufflé with some whole wheat bread that was starting to go stale. I also cooked up some French braised carrots – my new favorite way to cook carrots. And made the kale dish and cranberry pilaf I had from my dinner party. I finally tried the split pea soup recipe that got axed from the dinner party menu. It’s almost the same as our old family recipe mom sent me. Except it has a carrot instead of celery. I was a little nervous as mom had mentioned that leaving the celery out made for really poor tasting soup for some reason. I just really don’t like celery so figured I’d give it a try. It’s marvelous. Actually, my stomach is rumbling, so am going to go heat up a bowl.



I’m heading up to Kennebunkport Maine this weekend and just checked the weather – 50s! It’s been awhile since I got together with this group of friends. Sara is coming in from DC, Reegan from NH, Nima and his wife from Boston, and Maggie is hosting with her husband who I finally get to meet. It’s honestly been two years trying to meet this guy. But at our get togethers, either I’m missing or he is. Perfect timing too as I went a little avocado crazy and now have several super ripe avocados that I don’t really have the appetite for anymore, having had several earlier this week.

39 Steps

Anyone watch Masterpiece Theater last night? That was very strange. It was Masterpiece Theater meets Hitchcock. They redid 39 Steps. It was pleasant enough but was missing that Hitchcockian flair. It was just really strange.
And apparently there's a book - who knew - love the cover.

Rain is not snow

It’s been raining and raining. That’s all we’ve been getting, rain. When it was February, it was just crazy weather. But now that it’s March, I’ve given up thinking it’s winter (I miss my snow). And today I wore my new pair of shoes that are apparently from France and are hip and urban. The key thing is that I went sockless today. It was a little cold, but the shoes are super comfortable. I think they may become my new favorites, well at least for casual outings. [Note, I couldn’t find a picture of them, but you get the sense from these other pairs].
I love their packaging too – really cool graphics on the box - definitely a keeper. Speaking of keeping which is kind of like finding, which I really mean returning home (great segue!), today I found two things. Or rather, they came back to me. Well one was a pleasant rediscover of a piece of clothing I forgot about. Over the last two years I’ve done a pretty heavy overhaul of the closet and am down to a much smaller wardrobe. Still not quite there, but working on the European approach of having a few classic quality pieces that fit well. The benefit of a smaller wardrobe is knowing everything you own. But this morning, a black sweater fell on my head as I was rooting through my sweater shelf. I love the sweater – beautiful black cardigan I picked up while clothes shopping with mom this Christmas. Simple lines. And then, as I’m skipping down my stairs this morning in my new shoes and rediscovered sweater (and jacket, it’s still cold) I got my mail from this weekend. And there was a post from my mom – a gift certificate I had gotten from my aunt for Christmas. I opened it at mom’s and then it promptly disappeared along with almost everything else I own it feels like. I kept going through drawers and piles of paper, thinking I tucked it away somewhere, but couldn’t remember where. I gave up and here it found its way back to me!



This weekend I did some more cleaning. Partly because my apartment really really needs it. But really it’s because I can’t believe my car keys and watch haven’t showed up yet. I’m starting to get nervous. I’m 99% certain they are inside somewhere. But where? I thought I’d have come across them by now. I’m a little nervous they are next to a heater melting away or somehow made it into the bags of recyclables that I put to the curb last week (I should have checked). They’re the only thing that’s left the house (besides the trash but there’s no way they ended up in there, right?). I really want these two things to come back into my life. I’ve adjusted to wearing a white version of my favorite winter hat. And I bought new pairs of gloves and sunglasses that easily replaced their predecessors. Well, I did love the old sunglasses. But these new ones are cool too. And style of sunglasses is so fleeting. But my car keys and watch. Where-are-you??? I’m starting to contemplate pulling some late nighters and do some very very thorough spring cleaning. But then I breath and say “ohmmmm” and let this pass. I will wait for you to return. I will wait until you’ve got this out of your system and the time is right and we are reunited. Because if my gift certificate found its way back to me from over 750 miles away, across five states, you guys can find your way back to me from wherever you may be.