This and That

Notice: This post contains Affliliate Links

On My Nightstand:

I'm still working my way through Born to Run!  I'm almost finished with it, but it has sucked me in on so many levels.  First, there is the story of Bruce, and his single minded determination to succeed against the odds.  How he managed to survive on less than $20 a week, with little more than his bold, brazen confidence to see him through.

Then, there's the second level that the music and his books speaks to. A much deeper level - and I don't know if it was intentional on his part, or if I'm reading more into his book than he intended.   Many times, Bruce is lamenting the life that he fled from in his songs - the working class life that his parents lived - and how quickly that entire class of life is disappearing.  That working class group of people that was able to live a middle class life with good factory jobs was beginning to disappear in the late 70's and early 80's.(A decline that continues to this day.)    Having recently finished the book Hillbilly Elegy, I see how the tales of despair and hopelessness have become interwoven.  Both Bruce and J.D. Vance are telling the story of the working class - stories that we all need to hear before they disappear.

My favorite kind of reference interview!

I'm looking for a book
said an adorable little girl, who is missing her two front teeth.
What kind of book?  I asked.
Bithcut.
????
Bithcut?  What does bithcut look like?
You know, Bithcut the Dog?
Ahh.... those missing front teeth!   


The Peach Orchard

Look at those pears!

Last week, daughter and I spent our day off roaming through the Pennsylvania countryside.  We drove up to a used book store, stopped by a beautiful library (pictures to follow later this week), and stopped by an orchard.  We are at the height of peach season right now!  I bought a big box of peaches, and I've had to hide them from my family - my crazy family that will put down a box of peaches before I even get a chance to have one.  So, half of the peaches are hidden deep in my fridge, and I've been eating them for breakfast and lunch.  The rest of them were gone within the first hour after my husband came home.




Word of Wisdom

Dr. Scott Parazynski was promoting his new book The Sky Below today on CBS This Morning.  He is the only astronaut to have climbed to the top of Mount Everest. In the course of the interview, he said something that has stuck with me, and I wanted to share as my closing thought:

The pathway to success is non-linear.  You have to accept some failure along the way.

-Dr. Scott Parazynski

READ

TRUTH  -  from one of my favorite authors.  I did this up until the kids were in high school!

New Beginnings

This time last year, I left my old job.  I enjoyed the place where I worked, but there was no potential for upward movement.  I was never going to be promoted, and my salary was never going to get any larger.  I was spending as much commuting back and forth to work as I was earning.  I was breaking even, and that was all.

I stayed there as long as I did because I truly enjoyed parts of my job.  However, after much contemplation, I decided to take a leap of faith and submit my resignation - without a solid job offer in hand.  (Never a good idea to do that, but I did have a back up plan if I couldn't find something in my field in a timely manner.)

Five days after I left that job, I had a solid offer in my hand!  I've been working at this library for a year now, and I am constantly challenged and greatly enjoy the community where I work and the people I work with.  I am fortunate beyond words that things have worked out as well as they have!

Sometimes, you need to stop and thank the universe for the great opportunities that you've been given.

Do you have any big opportunities out there, just waiting for you to pounce? 

Callie the Cat

My Dad has been on my mind a lot lately.  He's been gone for over 10 years, but the kids are going through transitions that he would have loved to see.  Who wouldn't want to see their grandson working on a PhD?  It'll be the first PhD in the family.    Anyway, I was scrolling through old posts that mention my Dad when I saw this post and had to laugh!  The events mentioned took place back in 1986 or 1987.  I originally posted this story on this blog on 10/15/2014.  Enjoy!

Have you seen the GEICO commercial with the Tazmanian Devil, the energy drink, and the collectors plates?

The commercial reminds me of my Step Mother's cat, Callie.

In 1982, after my parents were divorced, Dad set up living in a Condo in Alexandria.  He had a two bedroom condo.  His bedroom had a huge walk-in closet.  The kitchen was just off of the living room.  There were two doors in the kitchen- one just off the living room, and you walked across the kitchen and came out in the dining room.

Just off of the living room was a tiny little room.. a cozy little study, where he kept his computer, and his television, and the comfy sofa.

 Dad had always hated cats with a passion.  We had a dog growing up, but he hated cats.  Wouldn't you know, his girlfriend (my future step-mother) had a cat.  Her cat was a calico cat, named Callie.
Callie had been my stepmother's one and only pet for years.  That cat hated the intrusion that my father brought into her life.  He was constantly around, and the cat hated him for it.  She would lie in wait for my Dad, and attack him, jumping on whatever body part she could leap onto, and sink in with all of her claws and not let go until my step mother pulled her off.

Still, Dad remained a good sport about the entire thing.

And then, my step mother went on a business trip and asked my Dad to take care of her cat.

Dad agreed, thinking that he would go over to her apartment a couple of times a day and feed the cat and change the litter box.

The night before she left, my step mother brought the cat, the litter box, and the food over to Dad's house, saying that the two of them would be able to use this as a "bonding experience" while she was gone.

The war began half an hour after she left the condo.

Remember how I said that the kitchen had a walk from the living room to the dining room?  It really wasn't a very big kitchen.  It was an L shape galley kitchen- refrigerator as you walked in the door from the dining room, and a small run of counter space to the stove, then the counter turned an L for the sink and dishwasher.  The refrigerator was maybe all of 10 steps from the door to the living room.

The cat decided to take up residence on top of the refrigerator.

When Dad walked in to get a cup of coffee, the cat was laying in wait for him on top of the fridge, and jumped on top of his head when he walked in the door.  Without my step mother there, he could not get the cat off of his head until he went into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and stuck his head under the water.

A very pissed off cat jumped off of his head, and went skulking back up to the top of the fridge.

At this point, Dad decided that he could live for 7 days without going into his kitchen.  He could go get take out, and use disposable dishes.

The second day, Dad came home from work, and the cat was still in residence on top of the fridge.

Day 3, the cat had taken up residence on top of the computer in the office nook. Dad was thrilled to have access to his coffee maker, but was now afraid to go into the office area.  There was no way he was going to go onto the computer.  When he walked into the room to go sit down and watch television he realized that not only had the cat taken over control of the computer, the remote control for the television was next to the keyboard, within easy reach of a growling, hissing, spitting, very pissed off cat.

Day 4, the cat had taken over the bathroom.  Sitting on the back of the toilet by the door, the cat had chosen the ideal location to dominate and control the situation.  Nobody was getting into that bathroom without getting past that cat.  Dad admitted to me years later that he went down the street to use the bathroom, and left for work 2 hours early that morning so that he could use the shower in the gym at the office before he went into his actual office for the day.  He also admitted that he should have just locked the cat into the bathroom that day and left her there until her Mom came back home.

By day 5, Dad had gotten used to the intrusion and was counting down the days until he was done cat sitting.  He walked into the house and couldn't find the cat.  No cat in the kitchen.  No cat in the bathroom.  No cat waiting for him on the back of the toilet.  Where was the cat?  Not in the bedroom.  He slowly relaxed, and opened the door to the closet- and realized that the cat was in the closet - on the top shelf....

Now, on that top shelf, Dad kept his collectible plate collection.  I don't remember how many plates Dad had collected, but he had them all in boxes, and they were all stored on the top shelf of that closet.  Many of those plates were from the Bradford Exchange and the Franklin Mint - big names in plate collecting back in the 80's.  And on top of the boxes, there sat the cat.  A pissed off, cross eyed, angry cat, who was missing her person and angry at Dad.

As Dad opened the closet door, the cat leapt up, and took a huge swing with her paw and sent a box crashing down to the ground.  *Shatter* went the plate as the box flew across the closet and hit the other wall.  *shatter*, *shatter* went two more boxes in quick succession before Dad could even really figure out what was going on.

Aghast, he watched as the cat's paw hovered behind the next box and her tail twitched in anger and the whiskers quivered.  While Dad debated whether or not he could actually pull the cat off of the shelf without getting injured, the cat deliberately flung another box across the closet.

Swearing words not fit to be repeated, Dad slammed the closet door shut and went into the living room.  As he was calling the vet for advice, he could hear plates being shoved and flung off of the shelves at fairly regular intervals.  Many broke, some shattered, and a few survived.

The vet sent an assistant over to Dad's house with a cat trap.

As soon as the assistant walked into Dad's closet, she gasped in dismay at the mess in the closet.  Not only had the cat shattered multiple plates, she had also used every available cloth surface as a litter box.

With a triumphant meow, the cat quickly walked over to the Assistant and began rubbing up against her legs.  Murmuring "sweet kitty, how could the bad man lock you in the closet?"

She gave Dad an evil look and murmured something to him about "It's really not a good idea to leave a cat in the closet."

At Dad's request, she put the very compliant cat into her carrier and took her back to the office for a 48 hour stay in the kennels.

Dad spent weeks trying to undo the damage in the closet.  The plates were fairly easy to pack up, as most of them had been in boxes when the cat flung them.  That was just a matter of checking the boxes for damage, and throwing out the broken ones.  The more difficult part of the process was cleaning up the pee and poop.  He ended up having to throw out many items.  Even so, several months later, he would be rudely surprised when he would go to put on a pair of shoes, or pull some item from the back of the closet and find a special surprise from the cat inside.  Dad swore that the cat was using his closet as her own personal litter box while he was at work.

Surprisingly enough, that entire escapade seemed to be the end of the hostilities between Dad and Callie.  While Callie never really did like Dad after that, she never really went out of her way to attack him again.

However, she would go settle down on the remote for the television on a frequent basis.  And she retained control of the remote for the rest of the evening when she did.  

Random Pictures

It's been a long while since I've posted any pictures!  I apologize if I'm repeating anything...

Daughter and I went down to Rockville last week.  She has both an Internship and her paying job with one of the major retailers.  She has to be onsite 3 days a week, and she works remotely the other 2 days.  On this particular day, we decided we needed to get out - but we still needed to be close to a library.  So, we went down to the Rockville Library.  We sat outside and used the library Wi-Fi, and daughter was able to go inside the library to research when she needed, and then come back outside.  We were able to watch the kids play in the splash pad, and we picked up lunch at one of the local restaurants and ate outside.  All in all, it was a fantastic day!

Do you see the tiny little bird hidden in the lattice work?  This was taken inside of the hotel in Princeton.  There were several tiny little birds hanging around inside the lobby.  They were flitting everywhere!

These 2 pictures go together, but I don't know if you can see them.  This is from the bird house in our back yard.  This one sits inside of Tiger's Memorial Garden.  In the square picture, I hope you can see the baby birds in the nest inside the hole.  In the circular picture, I think you can see the baby bird.  At least, that's what you're looking at.  It's a picture of the baby bird's beak.  I just want you to note - taking this picture was fun.  The mama and papa bird were right there, watching me from the Dogwood Tree.  They didn't get upset or start dive bombing me until I got close enough to take the second picture.  THEN they got upset with me! 

There's nothing better than S'mores that I can eat!  Gluten Free Graham Crackers, Marshmallows, and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. 

One Dish Cuisine

The safe version of Hostess Style Cupcakes!

I don't think I've ever reviewed a restaurant before, but this place deserves some recognition.

One Dish Cuisine is an allergen friendly restaurant.  Everything they make is free of gluten, soy, oats, egg, fish, shellfish, sesame, and tree nuts - except for coconut.

They have two separate kitchens.  One is dairy free.  The other is dairy full. 
Their food is absolutely amazing.

I believe that they are the only restaurant of their kind on the East Coast.  I KNOW that they are the only restaurant of their kind in this area.

Husband and I went there on Friday to celebrate our anniversary.  It was amazing!  The food is wonderful.  If they hadn't assured me that everything was safe for me to eat, I wouldn't have known that it was dairy and gluten free.

Husband and I split a pizza and an order of Chicken Parm.  The pizza crust was warm and crusty, and tasted just like pizza should taste.  The Chicken Parm was, hands down, the best I've ever tasted!

The baked goods were delightful.  Full of taste, moist and tender, my mouth still waters at the thought of those cupcakes.

The refrigerators just inside the door contain frozen and refrigerated food available for carryout.  The items are clearly labeled with Blue (Dairy Free) and Green (Dairy Laden) labels.  Not only can you eat a great meal, you can pick up safe food to take with you.

The service is fantastic, friendly and warm.  I enjoyed meeting the owners - who insist that you list your food allergies every time you order.  They both take the time to talk with you, get to know you, and assure you about your food safety.  (It's hard for those of us with food allergies to relax in a restaurant.  We ask a lot of questions.)

If you are ever in the Washington/Baltimore area, and you have any food allergies at all, this is your go to place for a meal.

It's taken me a while to venture down here - they've been open for several years, and I've been hearing about them since the day they opened.  I can guarantee that it won't be very long before I'm back again.  I've got a very long list of food that I haven't been able to safely eat in a very long time that I'm looking forward to eating!

You can visit their website, see their menu, and check out their monthly bread and baked goods clubs online here:  http://onedishcuisine.com/

Note: I have received absolutely nothing in exchange for this review.  This is a genuine reflection of my experience at this restaurant.  My opinions are my own!

Tornado on Maryland's Eastern Shore

I'm hoping that this comes through!  I've tried to link video to the news stories about the tornado on the Eastern Shore last night.  If the video links don't work, the text links above the video will take you to the web page.  It was a wild night on the Eastern Shore!  Shockingly enough, nobody was hurt last night.  Absolutely amazing when you consider the amount of damage and the fact that this hit around 1:30 this morning.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/07/24/late-night-tornado-on-marylands-eastern-shore-will-likely-be-confirmed-today/





http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/maryland/severe-damage-after-storm-hits-maryland-eastern-shore/459053152

Picture Books on my Mind...

I've been reading through the 201-2018 Nominees for the Maryland Black Eyed Susan Awards. 2 of the 3 books below are from the picture book list - Ada's Violin and Mother Bruce.  Both of them are wonderful books!  I would have a hard time choosing between the 2 books - Mother Bruce is a fun book.  With its bright, bold pictures it would make a great read aloud for a group of children.

Ada's Violin is a poignant tale about the recycled orchestra of Paraguay.  Children who live on the edge of the trash dump have no real future - they will most likely grow up to be trash pickers, like their parents.  Until that magic day when a musician moves into town, sees the potential in the kids, and sets about making real musical instruments from the trash in the dump.  This true story will leave you in awe.

The third book is Amanda Panda quits kindergarten.  Now, it has been years since I myself have taught kindergarten, but this book struck a note with me!  My Dad used to run away from first grade when he was in school.  He'd leave at recess time and walk the two blocks to his older sister's office (she worked in the court house for one of the judges).  She wasn't able to leave until the courts closed for lunch, so Dad would hang out with her for a couple of hours before she could walk him back to school.  Just reading the book made me think of my runaway father!    Alas for Amanda, she can't run to the court house but she does quit her class.  If I were still teaching kindergarten, this book would definitely be in my first week line up - if I didn't read it at the orientation before school starts!

If you're a parent or grandparent of a child getting ready to start kindergarten in the fall, I'd recommend reading this book!  It's a very sweet look at the realities of starting school.


If you're interested in finding out more about the Maryland Black Eyed Susan Awards, follow this link:  http://maslmd.org/about-bes/

For the complete list of nominees for the 2017-2018 school year, follow this link:  http://www.bcpl.info/find-materials/black-eyed-susan-award-2017-2018

This and That

Notice: This post contains Affiliate Links.

This is one of my rare weekends off of work, so you get to put up with a "special" post from me on a Sunday!

On My Nightstand
The BOSS!

BRUCE!

I'm really enjoying Bruce's autobiography.  I don't want to stop reading.  The same voice that comes through so clearly in his songs is so very clear in his book.  His lyrical compelling look back at his life will leave you laughing and shaking your head, and sometimes in tears as you contemplate his honest look back at his own life.  I admit - I've been flipping through the book, reading things well out of order. (And I've enjoyed every minute of it!)

Bruce's voice was a part of the soundtrack of my coming of age in the 80's.  His music has always resonated with me, and carried me through times both good and bad. Reading his book, I realize that his music has been the focal point and strength that has carried him through his own challenges and joys.

The power of music.


The Towels!
Normally I work weekends, so I don't get to see the husband in action on a Saturday.  I get to see the results when I get home, but not all of the work that goes into making things happen.

So, husband washed towels yesterday and decided to dry them outside.  He came in to eat lunch and got sidetracked.  Keep in mind, I had NO idea that the towels were outside.  I was in my usual clueless state, quilting, cleaning the bathroom, and complaining that the kids don't call often enough (Hint, hint..Oldest Child....) when all of a sudden we hear the crash of thunder.  We look outside to see buckets of rain pouring down.

Now, my philosophy is, if it's raining that hard and you've got clothes on the line, just leave them.  The sun will eventually come out and dry them out again.  Not husband.  Nope.  Off he ran to go rescue the clothes from the line.  The towels were soaked and so was he.  It was a sight to behold!

Mike Rowe
Do you follow Mike on Facebook at all?  I adore him, love his blog updates from his dog, Freddy, and really enjoy the letters that he shares from his Mom.  Yesterday, he posted a text that he had received from his mother about his father out walking in the heat.  I don't want to step all over his copyright by publishing the tweet, but if you follow this link to his page and scroll down to the bottom of the page, you'll see the text message.  Do it!  You won't regret it!  http://mikerowe.com/

Man, I would love to have tea with Mike's mom! 

Damn Hot Flash
I know I'm fortunate.  I don't get many hot flashes.  Ever since I tracked down all of my food allergies, I have maybe one or two hot flashes a year.  I just felt I needed to qualify that, since I'm about to share a moment with you.

I was invited to a job interview last week.  There I am, in a conference room with 3 wonderful people, wearing one of my hated business suits with my hair down. (I never keep my hair down in the summer.  I always pull it up.  What was I thinking? It's hot with that much hair flapping around in my face at the best of times.  But on a 90* day?)    What should happen but the great grandmother of all hot flashes.  Bright red face, sweat pouring down my face, my hair seems to be holding in all of that heat - so even my scalp starts sweating.  What to do? Mention the obvious hot flash?  Laugh nervously?  Keep going?

I kept talking and used my resume to fan myself, but dear God, it was horrific.  No surprise that I didn't get the job, and I'm going to blame the hot flash for that one. 


An Incident in the Building
Last week at work, I was minding my own business on the reference desk, people watching and hoping that someone would come ask me a question.  A fun, challenging question.

Suddenly, a tone that sounded something like the tone you hear in the movies when a ship is about to explode, or enemy fire is at hand came out of our intercom system with the disembodied robotic voice calmly reciting "ATTENTION - an incident has been reported in the building.  Please evacuate the building immediately.  Do not use the elevators."

What is your first thought when you hear the phrase "there has been an incident in the building"?  Let me tell you, some interesting thoughts race through your mind.  None of them are warm, fuzzy thoughts, either.

You know, I had read an article the day before about how people tend to freeze in emergency situations.  It went on at length to state that because of our own natural confusion, we will be the cause of our own demise in an emergency.

Let me just say that in this case, the answer was NOPE.  We had people up and moving out of that building before we got our walkies out.  I went to make certain that my half of our floor was clear, and people were gone before I could get there.  They were stuffing laptops into bags as they walked down the stairs.  Calmly and quickly, they moved out and did not linger.  That building was cleared in record time.

I can hear you thinking "But wait, Bettina... what was the incident?  Was everyone OK?  Did anyone get hurt?"

The pipes for the water sprinklers on the first floor ruptured.  We had water everywhere.

Fortunately for us, the break was over a fairly empty spot.  We did lose some materials, but not as many as we could have.  None of our electronic equipment was damaged, and the water never got close to the electrical outlets.  The library closed for the rest of the day, but we were up and running the next day.  Ceiling tiles were replaced, and the carpet was clean and dry!

Our facilities management team rocks!

Enjoy your week!

Book Review: Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?

Notice: This post contains Affiliate Links.

Alyssa worked with Obama starting in 2005, and eventually rose to be his Chief of Staff in the White House.  In this fascinating look back, she explores volunteering in the political process, working for political campaigns, and what it's like to work in the White House.

I enjoyed this inside look at the workings of the White House.  Alyssa stays away from politics and focuses more on the ins and outs of her job, and what she did in the campaigns and in the White House.

Looking to satisfy your curiosity about the inner workings of the White House?  This book is for you!

Thinking about pursuing a career in politics?  This is the book for you!

Friday Foibles

Friday seemed to be a pretty off day around my neck of the woods.  I just had to share the misadventures of my friends.  (Names have been changed to protect the innocent.)

Susan was leaving for work with her husband.  He put his watch, wallet and cell phone on the roof of her car in order to help her put her stuff in the car.  Items placed into car, wife hugged and kissed, husband gets in his car and they drive off in opposite directions.  Somewhere along the way, he realized he's left several important things on the roof of her car.  He gets to work and calls her, but, nothing is left on the roof of the car.  He drives back home, gets out of the car, and walks the roads that she travels to work.  No sign of his stuff.  (Still no sign of his stuff as of this writing.)


Debbie got to work, put her purse and keys in her locker, locks her locker, and heads down to the main floor.  She realizes as she gets to the stairwell that she left her key fob in her car.  She goes back to her locker to get the keys to car when she realizes that she locked her car keys in her locker - and the key to the lock on her locker is in her car.  Her son finally showed up at work a few hours later and brought her the spare key.  Fob retrieved, purse now accessible!

And I saved the best for last.....
Tina takes her eight year old son to summer camp before she heads into work each morning.  Friday, she gets all the way to work, looks down at the seat next to her and realizes that her son's lunch is still sitting next to her.  She glances into the back seat and realizes that her son is still sitting in the back seat, hunched over, trying hard to hide and not to laugh at her. 

Top 37 Things You Will Regret

I was scrolling through my Facebook memories this morning, and I came across this article about things you will most regret NOT doing when you are older.

http://www.social-consciousness.com/2016/06/the-top-37-things-you-will-regret-when-you-are-old.html?m=1

I have to say, I've been very mindful of most of these over the years.  In the book Anne of the Island, written by L.M. Montgomery, Anne and her friend Philippa are discussing their lives and their future.  Philippa tells Anne that whenever she's unsure of what to do, that she should question what she would not regret when she was 80 years old and looking back on her life.

I decided to take that on as my own mantra at a fairly young age, and it has helped me make up my mind on some of the most complicated decisions I've faced over the years.  I remember a DJ on the radio about 20 years ago saying "You never hear of an 80 year old saying they wish they'd spent less time with their families over the years." 

There's truth in that statement.

Anyway, if you've got the time, take a look through this list.  There's a lot to think about!

Princeton Public Library

Husband had been away in New Jersey on business the past couple of weeks.  I went up a couple of days early, before he was officially finished with the trip, so that I could spend some time with him and see the lovely city of Princeton while he was at work.  Like any good librarian, I spent some time in the Princeton Public Library.  The library is a gorgeous building, filling most of a city block.  This modern three story building has floor to ceiling windows on three sides, making the space light and bright, and adding to the overall character of the building, as the surrounding buildings outside of the library become a part of the interior of the building.  Come and join me!  I want to share some pictures of the experience I had while I was there!

The farmer's market was next door the the library!

So this big beautiful mural was in the front hallway.  Residents of the Princeton Community all contributed something to the wall.

Detail on the wall.  It's phenomenal, isn't it?

The first floor reading room.

View from the back of the first floor room to the front.

The view from the landing on the second floor down to the first.

Non-Fiction on the Second Floor.

For some reason, when I was walking back here, I felt like I was in the engine room of the Star Ship Enterprise!

It's hard to tell what these are at first glance.  They are the little meeting/study rooms.

 

Second Floor.  I am envious of all the seating!

More second floor.  Look at all that study/work space!

The view off of the third landing.  Looks like a nice space, doesn't it?
  You can access the balcony through the children's space on the third floor.

Children's area on the 3rd floor.

More children's area.

Children's.  Do you see the giant swan hanging from the ceiling?

Underneath was a trumpet and a copy of E.B. White's book Trumpet of the Swan.

 

I couldn't find any information about why there was a trumpet and a copy of the book in glass under the swan.  I imagine there's a really good story about that!

Third floor, looking over to the teen section.

Looking from the back corner of the teen section.

I really love the beauty of these angles!  Taken from the landing in between the second and third floor!

Princeton Public Library website: https://www.princetonlibrary.org/

Monday Musings

Don't you love the smell of clothes dried outside on the line?  I've been drying our clothes outside for the past month.  It's a great way of keeping electricity costs down, too.  It's been warm enough outside lately that the clothes are drying long before I get the second load out onto the line.  I've been able to get 4 loads of laundry washed, dried, and put away well before noon if I start early enough in the day!

I spent the last two days of husbands trip to New Jersey with him.  I got some time to explore.  Wouldn't you know, it rained the entire time I was there!  Did you know New Jersey only has full service gas stations?  Considering the rain, I really enjoyed the full service!  I could get used to something like that!

I love this building!  #Princeton.

I noticed something a little odd.  The last time I was roaming around Princeton, my kids were little.  Very little.  I had a Graco stroller.  I would lay down the back of the stroller and lay my youngest who was six months old - down in the back part.  (He's now my middle child.)  Oldest child was 2-1/2 years old.   I'd put him in the front of the stroller, where he could look out.  We'd go roam around town, the campus, just about every where.  Husband and I roamed around campus one morning, and I couldn't get over how much easier it was to roam around the campus, and how much smaller the campus seemed.  I couldn't understand why.  After all, I'm 20 years older, and not nearly in the shape I was then.  It finally hit me!  I was walking around campus.  WITHOUT a stroller built for one but containing 2 kids!  Overall, it was a much more enjoyable experience when I could walk up and down stairs and not have to go out of my way to avoid them so I could get the stroller up!

Farmer's Market season is in full swing.  Have you stopped by one yet?  What have you found?  I got a small basket of peaches and made a little peach cobbler just for me.  *yum*  I also found corn on the cob that had been picked an hour before I bought it.  I cooked it an hour later, and in my mind, it still tasted like sunshine.  I love this time of year!

Daughter's trip to Towson

Daughter graduated from the Community College earlier this month.  She had been accepted to four colleges, but narrowed her choices down to 2 colleges - both are local, which would allow her to live at home while going to school. 

She needed to make a final decision about where to go to school, so I told her that she needed to make the commute to each school during rush hour to see what she was willing to do.  One school has the capability to drive back roads pretty much straight there.  No major highways.  The other school involves driving on 795 and the Baltimore Beltway.  She's not a fan of highway driving.  I thought that she was going to choose a school based upon the drive.  Not a bad reason to pick a school, but not the best, either.

The school she felt was the best match for her was, of course, the one that involved highway driving.

Time was ticking down on the admissions decision, and she couldn't put things off any longer.

The Friday before the decision was due, I went into work and told her she needed to have made a decision by the time I got home from work.

Later that afternoon, who should appear at the Reference Desk but Daughter, decked out in her University t-shirt that she had picked up at the book store while she was at the school.  I was so proud of her!  She drove up to the school and back home, knew she could do it, and was ready to make her commitment!

Later that evening over dinner, I was telling husband about her daring drive into work on the highway when daughter stopped me.  "Wait," she said.  "There's more to the story".  It turns out that she has her mother's sense of direction, but not her mother's GPS. On the way back, she took a wrong turn and ended up in Baltimore City.  And thus began her scenic tour of the city:  The Jones Falls, The Trolley Car Museum, both Whole Foods Stores, the Zoo, and the Inner Harbor.  If you're keeping track, she basically went through the entire city, exiting on the South side.  She got onto 95 South, back onto the Baltimore Beltway, and came home down 795.  For a kid who really doesn't like highway driving, she did a pretty good job!

She did prove to herself that she can handle highway driving.  She also proved that she can deal with getting turned around and still get herself home again.

Since this experience, I have moved the GPS over to her car.  I typically use the Waze App when I'm driving someplace new.  Now there's no more getting lost for her!

She's driven herself back up there three more times since this experience for events, meetings, and orientations.  She's feeling more confident that she'll be able to get to classes in a timely manner this fall.

Changes and transitions can be difficult!  So proud of her for taking on this particular challenge and crushing it!

You Go, Girl!

This is a Throwback Thursday post to 2010.  I originally posted it on my old blog - Mom's View.  I reposted it on here on December 10, 2015.

A couple of weeks ago, I was subbing in a special education classroom.  One of the little guys in the class has shown a troubling tendency to run.  

A runner in school is a bad thing.  These kids run away from the source of their frustration and anger.  Believe me when I say I sympathize with them.  I do understand the need to flee and get away from it all.  The problem is, kids who are prone to running will run out of the building.  They run blind- with no destination in mind, and no purpose other than to escape the school.  The danger of them getting lost or hit by a car is very real.

This little guy had run for the doors by the teacher parking lot before, but he had never left the building.  I can hear you thinking "Then why don't they just lock those doors shut?"  Well, the doors are locked from the outside- so that some random person can't just walk into the school.  However, according to the fire marshal, those doors must remain unlocked from the inside so that the kids can get out in the event of fire.

Anyway, I was in the hall with this stubborn little guy and two other teachers when he decided to make a break for it.  He ran to the far end of the building, hit the doors and kept on running.

I caught him in the parking lot.

Here's the best part.  The other two teachers I was standing with are both 20 years younger than I am.  I got there first, and I got there a good 15 seconds ahead of them.  Even better, they were wheezing and out of breath.  I was just standing there, hugging little one and telling him the story of the Three Little Bears. 

Hmmn.... 40 something year old, overweight, out of shape woman totally beats the 20 something teachers doing the 100 yard dash.

When I got back into the school, one of the volunteers who'd been sitting in the hall reading with a child when everything happened looked at me and smiled.  "You go, girlfriend!  You totally rock!  Beating those young things out the door!  Who-HOOO!" 

Now THAT's a priceless feeling!

Tiger's Memorial Garden

We needed a way to honor the most awesome cat in the world - Tiger.

After putting our heads together, we decided to plant a bird garden in the back yard, close to where he really enjoyed hanging out and watching the birds.

We've slowly been working on adding elements to his garden.

The first thing we did was make a memorial stone for him.  I had some concrete in the house for making stepping stones from when the kids were little.  (Yes, I do have entirely too much junk in the house.)  I made the stone in a disposable pie pan.

We decided that this garden would go in a corner of the yard that's close to the Elm tree.  The grass kind of curves around the tree, and it seems like a natural place for a garden.  We already have a bird house back there, so that was our starting place.

We then planted a couple of bushes - one holly bush, and one rhododendron.  Both bushes are evergreens.  The holly bush will bring in a lot of birds, and he enjoyed hanging out under the rhododendrons close to the house.

The Rhody is finally looking good.  It had a hard time adapting to the new habitat, and spent a lot of time "weeping".  The ends of the branches are no longer weeping to the ground.  Hopefully, this means it's taken root!

I'm a fan of Hostas.  They are big and leafy, and they are perennials.  I picked up three of the biggest Hostas I could find at the farm stand, and then added in some big bold New Guinea Impatiens in front. Hey, I even did something I haven't done in this house in the 10 years we've been here.  I put down landscape cloth and mulch.  Whoa - this space is looking really nice!

Daughter works at a major big box retailer.  Over the past few weeks, she's been picking up solar garden elements to put in that corner.  We have an LED tree, and LED bird, and an LED color changing ball. 

It's hard to see the twig tree in this picture, it blends in so well.

For now, it's finished.  I have plans to add a bird bath and possibly a place for butterflies to puddle.
It's become a nice, reflective place.  We have plans to add a couple more things back there, but we won't add any more plants until the fall when the weather gets cooler and wetter.

Wow, you can really tell where the landscape cloth went down!  I really need to put more down.

Resolutions

As many of you know, I began keeping a list of my resolutions on my blog a few years back.  It helps to keep me on track.  I make these promises to myself that I'm going to do these "things"  every year, and then I was forgetting them come the middle of March.  I started keeping a list online, and "wham" I am keeping all of my promises to myself  - ok, I'm keeping MOST of my promises, not all.  It's been a great thing!  This has been a crazy month.  Husband has been out of town for the better part of a month, and keeping an eye on spending for both of us has been something of a challenge.  I'm glad he's back home now!  I really missed the guy!

1) Complete 12 Home Improvement Projects in 12 months

After.

Bathroom tile before.

Recover the kitchen chairs.
Add the knobs to the cabinet under the kitchen sink.
Fix the sewer line out of the house, through the basement wall.
Replace the baseboard heater in the hall bathroom.
Replace the lighting in the hall bathroom.
Re-enamel the hallway bathroom tile.
Add knobs to the new cabinets in the bathroom.



2) Lose a few more inches around my waist
1/2 an inch is good.  I've worked hard for that half inch!  I'd like to lose another inch, but any progress I make at all is good progress!

3) Get away with my husband twice.
One was a visit up to visit oldest child for a weekend.
Two was a trip to go pick him up from New Jersey.  We stayed a couple of extra nights after he was finished before we came home. Fortunately, we weren't near a state beach and weren't impacted by the state shut down.

4) Lenten Cleaning Challenge
What a blast!  I got lots and lots of stuff out of the house!  This is the page from my journal where I kept track of my progress.  

5) Post at Least 12 Reviews on my Books for Teens Blog.
Hey!  It's coming along!  Not quite 12 yet, but I'm making progress!

My reviews for June:
My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen
Flame in the Mist

This brings my total for the year up to 6!
I've enjoyed every one of the YA books I've read this year!

6) Finish the Hallway Bathroom
It's funny how life goes.  The bathroom remodel is finished.  Or so we thought.  I got home the other day, and the pocket door between the sinks and the toilet/shower area had fallen off.  We hadn't replaced that in the original reno budget because we thought it was in good shape.  Of course, husband was out of town when it happened, and he hasn't gotten to it yet.  He's got the really long list of things that accumulated while he was gone.  Maintaining a 50 year old house is constant work!

According to the box, it can flush an entire bucket of golf balls.  You know, in case if you ever feel the need to flush golf balls....

7) Participate in the NoSpenduary Challenge
Finished!  We're still saving, as we're building our savings back up again for the next big home repair, but at the moment, this is not the priority.  We have built our emergency savings back up where we like to have it after we dipped into it to replace the plumbing line out of the house.

8) Learn Another Language.
Yeah, this one might be a lost cause.  I'm not even sure I can handle my first language at times!

9) 100 Things Every Marylander Should Do
I really need to knock one of these out this month.  I see a problem, though.  We had a librarian promoted at work, and I've picked up extra hours until the replacement is hired.  So, nice paychecks for me, but minimal time for other fun stuff!

10) Daughter's Quilt
I'm back to working on it again!  I think it's safe to say that I have about 1/3 of it finished.  I really would like to finish this before the end of the year!

What do you mean "I'm in your way? Quilt around me!"

11) Clean out closet and dresser drawers.
I need to get back to this.  I've got one dresser left.

12) Clean Out the Little Room in the Basement and Make it Usable
I've made some progress on cleaning this out over the past month. The room itself is cleaned out.  I've swept, and swept, and swept some more.  We have drywall that is going to need to be replaced.  We had a flood in the basement several years ago, and husband thought he had gotten all of the drywall taken care of.  Nope.  Move that last bookshelf out of the way, and I see more damaged drywall.  (Add this to the massive list of things husband needs to take care of in all of his free time....)

13) Work on Landscaping the Front Yard
Sadly, I got a head start on this when the plumber pulled out one of the big bushes in front of the house.  Now, I have only 4 overgrown bushes to take care of in the front yard.  With the heat of summer upon us, I'm not going to do anything just now.  Once September comes along, and the weather cools off, and we get more rain, I'll put in some new bushes.

There was a bush right there in the middle.

14) Take at Least One Class through the ALA 
I finished the class!  I submitted two of the lessons that I wrote, and they have been approved as library programs for this summer!  Hooray!  It's going to be a great summer!  Even better?  I got a few more CEU's to add to the total number of hours I need to renew my teaching certificate.

How are you doing with your resolutions this year?

Luna, Luna, Luna

Luna in her cat cave.  "Don't stick another thermometer up there, or else..."

It has been a wild and woolly couple of weeks.  I haven't had the time to update anything on here, as I've been dealing with some very real life issues at home.

Did you know that there are kitty neurologists?

I know this now!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was getting ready for work when I heard a sound from Luna that I have never heard before.  I searched her out, and found her.  She couldn't walk.  She would try to stand, flop over on her side, and make that noise again.

I immediately picked her up and took her to the vet.  We were waiting outside of the office when the staff showed up for the day.  The vet took her inside, and took a good look at her and then kept her for the day for observation.  We thought we were at the end.  I was afraid we were going to have to put the cat down.

Fortunately, Luna is still alive and kicking.

She had a seizure.  Our vet ended up keeping Luna for the day, and then we took her to the neurologist the next day.

We don't know what caused the seizure.  We think she may have hurt herself during the initial seizure when she fell.  We have a fluorescent light at the bottom of the stairs that is flashing on and off like a strobe light.  We've been speculating that the light triggered the seizure and she fell down the stairs and hurt herself.  For now, we're keeping the basement door closed.  Husband is out of town on business, and he will replace that light when he gets home.

Luna is slowly getting better.  She is walking better now.  She's still not hopping down from things, but she has started hopping UP on things.  We still can't get her interested in playing with her toys, but she is looking at them again.

Our sweet little kitty.  We love her so much, and she did just lose her companion, Tiger. I wish we could make her understand everything is going to be fine.