2011 Wrap up!!!

Hello!! I just thought I jot down some memories for myself in 2011. I tried to categorize them into different segments of my life.....Happy New Year!

MUSIC
Music seemed to be everywhere in my life in 2011!! Lifestyle changes seemed to give way for more frequent jam sessions, rehearsals, and post-concert parties in our home….whether it be “Moon Rock” grade schoolers banging on drums and pianos, or a post-concert jam of seasoned musicians…you never needed to put on the radio, as live music somehow was channeled within our 4 walls. So when it came time to discuss whether to have the legendary annual music party, Bob declined citing that he was content hosting more intimate gatherings of musicians.
Other musical highlights include:

- Jam session at the Kingston Rondout with Bob and Alan and his good friends Mimi & Earle....how funny that another 5 year old spontaneously pulls out a uke and jams with Alan on stage!!

- The Old Songs festival with Bob and Alan!! Alan and I performed on the main stage as part of the Jug Band! Meeting so many new people each year!!

- Alan meeting Pete Seeger and playing on stage with him with the other children.

- Listening to Bob play music in the evenings as we relax after a busy day. Instruments come and go, but my favorite is when he plays the Martin.

- Listening to Alan compose music….whether it be something he writes for his bus driver, or when he vents on his drums about having to brush his teeth.

- The Sea Chantey rehearsals in the downstairs music room, and the joy I have in serving them homemade apple pie or chocolate cake ……I loved having Alan snuggle with me on the futon as they practiced their songs!

- The Saint Patrick’s Day!! I wish I had my camera as Alan charmed the waitstaff at the Holiday Inn with his guitar!! And then the parade with the Folkloric band!! Is there anyone as jovial as Jim?

- This Holiday was filled with music, from the Nowell We Sing concert, to the Santa Train Run, to the special night with the sea chantey folks and friends.


HERITAGE FOLK MUSIC
It was a great year for HFM!!!! We have a core group of dedicated volunteers, raised money for our 2011 concerts and we are ready to kick off 2011! For me, I am still feeling the excitement of the Hootenanny!!! I also enjoyed the after party concerts we would host at our place….most memorable…3 Rix and Joe Hickerson.


SPIRITUALITY
Though I was ambivalent at first, the consistent empathy and support of the Unitarian Universalist community embraced me in a manner that energized my spirit in a way that no other religious organization has before. Examples in 2011: Reverend Linda sharing a tender moment with Alan after he had a nightmare about “bad heaven”; The Helgers family watching Alan after school for two weeks when my regular babysitter was on vacation….. Bob playing the Hindustani slide guitar at Reverend Linda’s wedding…..Paula bonding with Alan and stopping by his “craft sale”, (his only customer)…

In addition, the membership trusted me with several new roles this year….Communications Chair, newsletter editor and Interim transitions team member….Also exciting was serving as the pulpit partner with Reverend Jan!! She is our interim minister, and I have said this before…I gravitate towards leaders who utilize the relational approach to leadership…it’s a style that takes courage and a foundation of trust. Our minister is dedicated to “shared ministry,” and that combined with finding value and meaning in all religions, my membership at the UUCC blossomed!!

Other important religious experiences this year: Experiencing the openness of the Hindu Community with Bob and Alan, starting the practice of evening prayers, hearing Alan say grace at dinner…..volunteering at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving… and --- when you live with a five year old, even building a fairy house in the back yard can be a spiritual experience (another favorite memory of 2011)!!!


FAMILY
Bob, Alan and I started our second year living in our home. We are officially “moved in!” All of our big projects had been accomplished in our first year, and our biggest challenge is space. Instruments continue to multiply, but that is a good thing and very much encouraged here!

Our family garden flourished with tomatoes, squash, cilantro, and flowers. Also miraculous is our magical sunflower garden which appeared underneath our birdhouse a few weeks after the one I planted alongside the house perished.

Bob’s music career in his retirement continued to grow. He had regular gigs at Tastebuds and Inquiring Minds. I am also proud that he was hired by a cruise company this fall, and had several new gigs including Mohonk.

We had a family trip to Arizona (and one with just me and Alan at Xmas)…..and also enjoyed a vacation at Old Songs.

Alan started Kindergarten!! It was a toss up between Saugerties and Rhinebeck, and just like we did with preschool, we toured classrooms, had meetings with school officials, as if we were seeking a college!!! We chose Rhinebeck!!! Very happy with this!! Alan continues to grow and grow, and is the tallest Kindergartner in the Hudson Valley!!! He participated in T-Ball this summer, then had swimming lessons at the YMCA, and just started Karate (already has a red stripe on his belt).

Suzanne moved to NYC! We are proud that she completed a master training program at Dharma!! This year, she is teaching 2nd grade instead of 4th and seems to really enjoy it.

CAREER - As for me, I love working for Dutchess!!! Had a great year!! College Night was a success!!! I taught Into into the Liberal Arts, and continue to enjoy working with students from such a diverse background! Love making road trips to the schools and interacting with parents!!! While the commute is long, I am not opposed to moving across the river. It's still a few years away, but I can see that coming!

Thursday, July 15 - evening update

AFTER WORK: Raced over to Karen and crew (that fab uucc fam), and Alan was swimming with the 17 year-old son. Boy what an interesting kid!!! Such a great combination of creativity, approachability...he is oozing with sweetness (as is his sister!) Actually the whole family!!! Not only do they let him swim and play all of their instruments, but today they did a craft with him and presented it to me!!! HOW SWEET!!! God they are definitely special and I will always be grateful!!

THEN.....

Raced over to the YMCA for Alan's swimming lessons - actually kept Alan in his bathing suit from Karen's and we made it with 5 minutes to spare!!! He jumped off the deep end of the pool 2 times, and did an awesome job "scooping ice cream" and "making circles!!!

THEN.....Alan left with his Dad, and I approached my second job (Library) on an empty stomach. LUCKILY, it was only a 90 minute meeting, and I am home now with some pasta boiling in the water!!!! It was a LONG DAY!!!

Feeling grounded and focused, but a little on the tired side. Looking forward to wrapping up the week! Hopefully a family trip to ZOOM FLUME!

Too Early!! (with updates)

A great afternoon off with a planting spree must have tired me out. Crashed early - had to be REAL EARLY as I awoke at 3am!!!! This is not good!! I need the rest as today will be a busy day....work, swimming lessons, then a Kingston Library board meeting....I'll be on the go pretty much all day. But I'll enjoy it. Just need to pace myself. I'll come home and crash!!!

Things to do this morning:
- Gather the library things including that recorder which I currently missplaced!!
- Bathing suit/towel for Alan
- Alan's lunch
- I'll be eating all meals on the road today...breakfast and lunch are already at work. I may need to pack a dinner...
-Check plants and garden.....

My weekend is also pretty booked, so the next hour may be my only quiet time :)

UPDATE: 6:26AM - Fell back to sleep around 4:45, and was awakened by obnoxious alarm - I am usually awake before that peircing sound!!!! Anyway, still out of sorts, I botched the coffee this morning. First I forgot to put water in it, Duh! Then, something happened and it all clogged up. Had to start over, but there is no more caffienated coffee!!! :( GRRRRR ALso add to the list: Feed fish and birds :) That will make me smile! Maybe more updates later too!!! :)

UPDATE: 6:57AM - Just came back from feeding birds! Ended up weeding (without gloves, since this was spontanteous!!! Veggie garden is THRIVING!! Lots of tomatoes, 2 peppers, 2 cukes....squash still flowering...basil, cilantro, lettuce....And we have about 3 carrots still working it. Nice to spend time there (albiet 5 minutes....and now at 7AM, officially time to get ready!!! Oh, shooed a black cat out of the garage just now and had to investigate a beeping sound in the laundry room.....so much!!! Smile :)

Treated myself to new garden flowers!!!

love a lazy night

Indulged in a much needed lazy night where I did not cook or clean. Out to eat with my boy which I very much enjoyed!

Good day all around!!

Just more....

Not sure when it is age appropriate to start using math-addition flashcards, but with my five-year-old, we started this "math story" last night. I am actually surprised at this, since he seems to have a deeper preference for the creative, but he does have this intense curiosity to know things, and it clicked with me recently to start this "number story". The last month, he really was into counting his "stickers", counting numbers of strings on his instruments, counting the number of songs on his CD, and most recently he wants to know how deep the various pools and lakes are (so he can know if he can touch). He also told me a week ago that his favorite number is "12".

So all this numbers talk was my lead in last night with the flashcards (which I found when cleaning his room buried under unused car toys). I took out the first flash card, and said, "if the Saugerties beach starts out at 6 feet, and you go a little further and it's 2 feet deeper, then what is 6 + 2. The kid caught on right away. He even got 9 +7 !!! (He used his fingers and toes to count, but some of them you can see his rote memory at work for the easier ones like 6 + 6, etc.) I am so amazed at this, and I am thinking that something really was learned last night as he made connections with numbers in real life situations. Left Brained AND Right Brained. Maybe he'll INVENT an instrument!!! I think that this stage however is normal for children to start counting, etc. I know most children at this age are starting to read too. I have had some challenges with Alan with wanting to read books, or have me read to him. He would rather write them (which we did over the weekend to "Billy and Apple"). This child is exhausting!!!

All positive reports from the school. I didn't talk with the teacher today, but the book indicated that he invented two games that he played with two new friends. The UUCC family began their caretaking of Alan after school, and he LOVED IT, and THEY LOVED HIM!! When I picked him up, he was playing their piano, and wanted to stay longer. The family adored him!

Then we came home, and I admit to just making a simple dinner tonight. Bob was coming home late, so we did a quick dinner, and made it to the beach in time for a pre-bedtime swim. I am posting this pretty early on Tuesday!!! Have a busy day!!!

Oh, and a quick word about my sunflower garden. NOW ALL OF THE LEAVES are eaten. On Wednesday after work, I will purchase some already grown ones as a gift to myself and will plant them!!!

ONE MORE THING, my friend just posted this on facebook, and I like it. She posts daily quotes......

"The value of compassion cannot be over-emphasized. Anyone can criticize. It takes a true believer to be compassionate. No greater burden can be borne by an individual than to know no one cares or understands." Arthur H. Stainback

Caio Bella

Social Sunday

My favorite thing to do in life is to entertain at my home and cook for my friends...whether it be a child-friendly playdate, or special gathering...(remember my dream of a B&B!) Anyway, tonight, we just hosted the sea chantey group starting with a great BBQ including coconut shrimp, steak, corn on the cob, salad and pasta....I made my specialty drink...lemonade with selzer with fresh mint from the garden....homemade blueberry/peach crisp for dessert....I always think its fun to make dessert in the presence of company as a special way to bond with people, sharing the love....good thing I did this, because I received some good advice....cook the crisp with the peach skins ON!!! Oh, was it delicious!!!

After dinner/dessert....the music started, and we played lots of great tunes. Love having live music in my home, especially the sea chantey folks. They are such a dedicated group who meets regularly to rehearse....such interesting folks. It was great to get to know them better!!!

Food, friends, family, music...what else? How about spirituality...One of the best sermon's ever by Rev. Linda. Because it was her last one before she moves on to the next phase of her life, the place was packed!!! What an impressive person and she will be missed!

I should have made double the amount of sandwiches!!! (Yes it was my turn to make sandwiches for after service). I made turkey, monteray jack cheese sandwiches with cranberry sauce, lettuce...and WALNUTS!! They were gone in a matter of 5 minutes!!!

ANYWAY, have a big week planned!!! Need to get ready for tomorrow!! All is good tonight, and I am grateful!

Saturday, July 10th

Passed up on a lot of fun events today (b-day party, community BBQ, John Street Jam, train ride). It was a busy back to work/school week, and I felt content enough to stay home instead...that's okay!

Started the morning with Alan interested in.....puppets. Hauled out the puppet theatre. He wants to act out the Billy and Apple story we've been working on. It lasts all of 20 minutes!! NEXT!!!

Then off to take a Zumba class, and the boys go out for breakfast..... Couldn't be more prouder of Jules, who kicked off her first class by motivating us to burn calories with a hot combination of hip swirls. Very proud of her!! (FYI, two years ago, I introduced Jules to this fusion of Latin dancing/aerobics, and what a good match for her it was!!!!) So happy that she is certified, and she no doubt will have a following....she is an accomplished singer/dancer/actress/performer, and a beautiful person inside and out. I love you Jules!!

THen upon returning home, Alan and I cleaned his room. He needs more room for his "studio"/music room.

Went to Adams to pick up a few things including peaches for tomorrows cobbler!!! We are hosting the sea chantey folks for dinner, and wanted to make this special group of people something special.

Home in time for lunch....funny thing happened...As we all know the background of the sour cream stories in this household. Well, Alan and I were just finishing up lunch, and Bob was practicing his guitar....looked like he was practincing a new song. He starts singing an old Pete Seeger song, one that no one ever heard of before about sour cream!!! Alan gets a real kick out of it. I run to Alan's room to get a tamborine to play along...Alan looks at me, then runs to his room to get his violin, just in time to return for the last verse and we all kick it up a knotch to this silly ditty about sour cream. Musicians are a strange crop!!! Thanks Uncle Pete!!

ANYWAY, Alan has been working hard to earn his new drum set....We run back to Kingston later that afternoon and he picks out an affordable set!!! I put it together in about 10 minutes, and he is ready to rock....for the rest of the night actually!!!

Alan's Summer Job :)

Wednesday....July7th

Hey Mom...I mean Bootie...
Fired up that shiny new gas grill tonight, it is so grand! Once I conquered my fear of pressing that "ignite" button, it was smooth sailing. I recommend grilling corn on the cob. Fabulous. I thought of you when I cut up onions, sprinkled olive oil and balsamic viniger, and wrapped it up in foil. Chopped up red peppers and minced garlic, and wrapped that up too....All while barbequing chicken.....dinnertime! Am I making you hungry?

...Later, while sweating on an elliptical at my gym, I caught an episode of Seinfeld. Its been a long time since we've had a television, so catching 30 minutes of some good TV felt sweet. Sorry, I know you and Pops wished we had a TV so you can watch your FOX.... But I can't stand the thought of it...(Tv AND Fox). Oh, and Jules started teaching Zumba, and I think I can take her class this Saturday. A bunch of us are going to support her by attending.

...what else? Nothing intriguing. Had a pleasant day at work. Alan loves his new class, and the teachers love him and pulled me aside this morning to tell me how great he is and that he is doing so well! Love that news!

So now dishes are done, house is settled, laundry in dryer, and I am just chilling out (literally)...waiting for some RAIN! Veggie garden is thriving, but I am thinking that some insect is eating the leaves on my sunflowers which has me a little worried. Remember that giant magical sunflower that grew last year that no one recalls planting?!

ANYWAY, Love you,
Michelle

HOT July 7 First day back at work/school

Hot enough for ya!!! Sorry that I didn't have any posts yesterday....I was back to work from vacation, and very very busy, and conked out early while I was actually putting Alan to sleep, I think I was in the middle of telling him a story! LOL

He LOVES his new summer classroom and made the transition perfectly He played his harmonica for show and tell. It took me 90 minutes to get ready in the morning, had to finish up things from that list...which I thankfully did (except photos)!!! Then once at work, I spent the day returning emails, phonecalls, and had a small group tour in the afternoon.

After work/dinner (using freshly snipped cilantro from garden), we took a quick dip in the lake at the bottom of the hill to cool off. That actually put me over the edge, I came home very tired, and it felt good!!!

Oh, and Bootie and Pops back in AZ until August.....I think it is hotter here!

Well, I better get ready for work :) Love, Michelle

Here we go....Monday

Things to do (possibly with updates!):

- Food Shopping - DONE!!! Ran over my toe with a shopping cart at the god aweful Walmart where I sought to buy cheap bathing suits for Alan given that he will be swimming every day at summer camp.....While I was there, picked up snackies and this and that for a full cart...Totalling: $112. Then, went to Adams for the fresh vegggies, fruits and meats. A much different experience, was blessed with a spot right up front (this heat is a killer!)...Tonight, I'll be picking fresh basil from the garden and making pesto. Also BBQing ribs. I have food all set for everyone's lunches, and meals planned out too!!! Such a nerd am I, but as a busy mom, you have to be organized :)


- Bathing Suits - Alan - DONE!!! See above

- Contact Alan's babysitter for weekly update, etc. (Almost DONE)....

- Return all of the emails I have neglected this week!!! (DONE!)

- Bills and weekly budget (still procrastinating 8:42 pm, but that's next)

- Download photos from my camera from T-ball, Old Songs, Zoom Flume and upload them to a place that will actually print them!!! (Probably not going to happen)!

- Laundry - No more folkie skirts and jean cut-offs...back to professional clothes...they should be fitting better since all of this activity, exercise and healthy eating, I think I might have dropped a few pounds this month...no eating after 7pm, and cut out the sweets...

- Organize Alan's BackPack -

- Zumba class 5:30 meeting Jules there...DONE!! GREAT CLASS!!!


WHAT ELSE???

- Picked basil from the garden, and made FRESH pesto with pasta, tomatoes and zuccini...Oh SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YUMMY!!!!

July 4th

Certainly didn't notice today's heat given that we were in a wave pool all day...Lazy river too!!! Another fun trip to Zoom Flume, this time with Pops and Bootie....Maybe I should get a season pass? Bootie whipped up her usual fabulous Italian dinner afterwards.....

Hello July 3rd Yard Sale Wrap up

Quirkiest item sold --- 30 empty German beer canisters which had been stacked like gun ammo under our back porch...no we're not moonshining in our free time, they were abandoned by the previous homeowner.....SOLD $10

Happiest Customer/s -- A family who purchased two bags of XXL mens clothes...SOLD $5

Saddest item to see go ----- The elephant seat...$2

Most regettable item sold ---- Bob's white western shirt which was missed by him when he was sorting out his clothes. Sorry Bob!!!

Best deal not purchased --- A Norwegien sweater XL Tall worth $100, but did not sell for $1.

NEW Items (never used) that were sold: excerise Mat, iron (who irons?), and gray "career pants".

Free items still on the curb - rug and a marble topped broken dresser....(someone took the computer monitor)

Friends who stopped by knowing that we were having a yardsale: Ernie and Jeanne, Ginny

Friends who stopped by NOT knowing that we were having a yardsale, but just came to say hello: Eileen in the morning, and Patterson and Eleanor in the afternoon.

What we will do with the $97.85 made from the yard sale: We are going to take ourselves out for brunch, then go to the book store to purchase a bird book since we have had sooooo much gratification from the new bird feeder perched outside our front window.

Best diversion -- Put my shoes on after spotting a bumble bee burying itself into the grass a few feet from me!!

Well that's my yard sale wrap up. Afterwards, we hung out a bit, and then I drove up to pick Alan from Pops and Boot. We met up in Palenville as they were at North Lake....

It was a great day!!!

July 2

...taking a short break...in the process of completing chores at a nice slow and relaxing pace to live concertina music with the occasional"checking in" of my five year old who happily occupied himself with composing and creating while also just reminding me that he is being "mindful of the needs of others" (taken from grace). He has something in store for Pop Pop's visit later I guess.

Anyway, loved being outside to weed and water my veggie garden, sunflower garden and sidewalk garden. Everything else is overgrown and dry!!! Sprinkler on lawn for a few hours.....Trying something new....this week, the shower curtan and sheets will dry in the sun with our back yard clothes line!! Just scrubbed two bathrooms, and folded and put away laundry!!! And yes, we have clothing pins!!!

I am also marinating some steak for tonight's family dinner with Pops and Bootie arriving. We will be visiting a family that we met at the UU this afternoon, so it's a little late to squeeze in a swim. That reminds me, Bootie, bring your bathing suit!!! Better give you a call!!! Back to chores!!!

July 1st

Hello!!! Splish Splash ---- Scoop!! Now why didn't I think of the ice-scooping method of teaching a child how to swim? Brilliant!! Day one of swimming lessons couldn't have gone better. Another family trait that he inherited, this one from the Tagliaferros with both cousins having been champion swimmers.

As we departed from our lesson, Alan spotted a friend from school, and there were squeals of laughter!!! Here's a coincidence....We ended up at the same pizza place afterwards, and the two of them had a grand time reconnecting (we've been on vacation for how many days?).....boys can be sooooo silly!!!

Well, that was the highlight of the day...snapped lots of photos....etc.

What else? Also prepared for this weekend's grand yard sale...Please, if you are reading this, and want some great deals, or even a car....Let's make a deal!!!! I am ready to donate this car and/or sell it for a steal!! I certainly am not a pack rat and I don't care about how much $ we make....just want to DECLUTTER!!! :)

OH!! Pops and Bootie arrived tonight!!! Should see them tomorrow!!! It's a short 4 day trip, but nice none-the-less YEAH!!!

Have a great night :)

The "Jugs" (Alan playing Slide guitar)

June 30

Hello folks!!! This will be a quick post, for I am beat and off to sleep!!! Had a fabulous day at Zoom Flume with Alan. Loved every second!!! Treasuring this vacation. It has been wonderful!!! No plans for tomorrow except swimming lessons late in the day....what adventures lie ahead tomorrow??!!!

He's a creator not a consumer. Right? Well, that was the goal...such a creative young fellow with such musical abilities....Ah! But lets remember the genes folks. It was only a matter of time....We have a very very savvy entrepreneur on our hands who just discovered that he can actually make a business out of his talents!!

When Alan decided that he wanted to sell his arts and crafts, while playing his music to attract customers, I shared this news with both his father and my family. After looking at the pictures and the "cute factor", both sides of the family quickly took credit :) - mind you it skips a generation on my side....I will work for chocolate (LOL!) Which family member tried to sell old newspapers?? LOL

Well, I think this is all because of Abdul. Something regarding "the thrill of the sell" clicked while helping him out at his booth at the Old Songs fest. I am not sure if it was the helping of the customers, or what, but he enjoyed that experience. He doesn't quite get the idea of "making money" though....today, When the postman walked by to look, he sadly said he didn't bring any money, Alan said, "don't worry, I have some, and opened the register with a fist full of pennies. Maybe he takes after me after all :)

No sale with the postman, so Alan patiently waited for a paying customer for about two hours. He was a little sad that nobody was around...It's not like when we lived on Washington Avenue when we were the social hub of the neighborhood with Alan greeting passersby with a cute "hello!"....not many people walking down and up our hill on a hot June day.....Thank goodness that Paula, a fabulous friend from the UUCC, learned what Alan was up to via facebook. What a TRUE GEM of a person....a beautiful person inside and out, she made a visit just to see Alan, to buy something from his little store.....I will never forget the kindness of this woman!!! She bought one of Alan's egg carton caterpillars, and other trinkets... It so made his day that he was ready to swim right after she left!!! Now that is pretty damn special!! Thank you Paula!!! Then, to the Saugerties Beach for the duration :)

Old Songs wrap up - quick jotting of memories

Feeling a bit tired, but wanted to record some memories from the Old Songs Festival before I forgot them all!! LOL!


Memories:

- Alan invites a boy named Eli to join him in the bird cage. They play music together, attract attention from passersby.... At first they called their band "the birds", but someone else suggested "the bird brothers", which they both seemed to like that. They hung out a lot at the festival. Very cute. :)

- Alan meets Naomi and her two brothers. They jam under a street tent. Throughout the weekend, Alan spots Naomi "Hi Naomi!".

- Alan enjoyed hanging out with Abdul and when he went to his van for a moment, Alan minded the store, and helped out the customers. "May I help you?".

- Jug Band - we had 3 rehearsals and learned about 5 songs. Alan played his Uke and harmonica. This year, he is happy to be up front :) Even professional musicians praised this little boy...

- OMG, the "Music Tent!". This retired English teacher as a service to the community trecked about 200 musical instruments into a musical "petting zoo" with unfettered access!!! OMG, this is where we spent most of our time!! Everything from hammered dulcimers (next on the list!), banjos, violins, drums, pianos, accordians, flutes, guitars...you name it, he had it!!!

- PARADE!!! Alan played the Uke in the children's parade!!! lots of fun!!!

- Alan's picture was in the Old Songs magazine (page 5), a photo taken last year with him playing the guitar and the kazoo.

We only came home with one instrument - Bob purchased a new guitar....

********
THEN, today, the fun continued!!! We made it to the beach by 11am, swam for an hour, out for lunch, then home again. Playdate with Julie and Jace at their house. Home by 3:30. Alan and I colored for an hour. Alan decided that he wanted to make a store for all of his "crafts", so tomorrow, you will see us on the side of our house with a cash register. LOL!!!

He is a creator, composer, and now an entreprenuer!!! Out of control....Absolutely!!! Loving every second of this boy!!!! :)

Here are song lyrics he wrote today"

"When I see a brown eyed girl, it reminds me of my mommy"

"I do something nice for you, you do something nice to me"

"Thank you mommy for all the nice things you do for me"

My heart is melting!!! :) Posting photos soon! :)

Friday!!!

Hello folks, I'll be taking a break from writing this blog until Monday-Tuesday. However, you can still be in touch via facebook. I'll be uploading photos there from my cell.... :) All is good....later, Michelle

Thursday, June 24

It's Moving Up Day today at Alan's school. You can count on me posting pictures later, though it will be a busy busy day. Check Facebook if you want instant updates....Krauses Chocolates for Alan's teachers, all 7 of them!!! What a most interesting, challenging, surprising, and gratifying year its been. I think we ALL learned a lot this year. Two of his teachers have requested his "autograph" as they are convinced he will actually be famous some day....He has spent significant time in the new summer classroom, the new teachers are awesome. They will be arranging for "special" lunches so Alan can visit his previous classroom...this school is AWESOME!! They have stepped up to the plate in every manner possible, helping us through rough patches with grace and skill....and have supported us all the way...I remember when we were exploring possible schools, and this one stood out...It was like being on a college search, trying to find the best fit for him....

Teachers, we love you!!!

Sun-burned....June 23

Some solitude after lunch by treating myself to the "walkway over the hudson" before picking up Alan. Enjoyed a quick visit to Alan's classroom and arrived home early enough for some significant swim time at the lake.

After dinner, baked homemade blueberry crisp for the Heritage folk music meeting....Alan was so cute. He wanted to greet everyone as they arrived, and gave them each a "Ticket" so that they knew that they had arrived at the right home.

I'm a litte sun-burned and there is sand in my shoes :) It's official....summer!

....for the birds

Snapped this using my cell phone this morning..it's a cardinal in our new bird feeder right outside my front window. So fascinating! Need to get a bird book to identify our visitors....have a great day folks! I am only working a half day!

June 22

Sorry, wish I had more exciting news to report to you...Just the usual, work was all good, etc... we were too tired to swim after school/work, plus it was rainy. ...I threw some turkey burgers on the grill, and stir fried some onions & mushrooms...Just finished a press release and the UUCC newsletter....didn't make it to the gym....paid bills, budgeted...Learned that my parents are making an unexpected visit back next weekend...that was fun to learn....We are having a gathering here tomorrow, so I bought fresh blueberries and will be making something special with that....something sweet and mushy :)

Yesterday....my life

Woke up with a flurry of activity – would you like the details?

6:00am - Alarm blares. (I am typically up before the alarm goes off, but had a restless night’s sleep). Made fresh coffee. While it was brewing, I took a shower….then made my cup of coffee, and allowed myself to play on-line scrabble and check email/facebook.

6:30 Approached mountain of clean clothes….played this game with myself that I would fold until I found something to wear. Finally got dressed…through my hair up in a scrunchy, brushed my teeth…no makeup.

6:45 Realized I didn’t have anything for Alan’s lunch or food for the week, so I went to Price Chopper and did our weekly shopping.

7:30 unloaded the groceries. Began making Alan’s lunch. Spilled a bag of pirate bootie on my toes. Packed up things to leave.

7:50 Watered my sunflower garden and sidewalk garden.

8:00 Left to go pick up Alan in Kingston

8:05 – home again, forgot pocketbook and wallet.

8:15 arrive at quickcheck in Kingston. Alan not there yet, so I go into the quickchek bathroom to finish getting ready, comb my hair, put on my makeup. Then I still needed to buy Tuna as Alan will only eat Tuna from Quickcheck. While I am making my coffee, Alan comes up behind me to greet me!! It takes a while to get out of Quickchek, and we are running late.

8:45 – pulled over by police on Rt. 209 for speeding. Talk my way out of the ticket... He let me go! Drive to school was pleasant. Alan is listening to more Hindu music and a CD with ocean sounds.

9:010 – Drop Alan off at school. We are late, but he is greeted at the door, and gave me a hug…

9:35 – WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK

5:35- DINNER...my suggestion....BIG stuffed shells!!!! Baked...YUM

6:00-7:00 BEACH!!! Nothing like an evening swim at the lake....Alan jumped off the dock about 100 times....nice to wear him out...it was great. Water was cool, but refreshing!!! It also was a good workout for me as well!

7:30 - showed Alan a little bit of "Singing in the Rain".

BEDTIME....I think I fell asleep somewhere about 9:15...

June 20 Sunny Sunday

Lovely day.....continued to feel more woven into the fabric of my spiritual community....a UUCC family has offered to watch Alan together as a family (they are teachers on break from school with 2 kids) while Ashley is on vacation for 2 weeks in July....What a relief to have that taken care of!!! Plus others approached me today as well to check in (and vice versa)...as I've mentioned before, the socialabilty factor at a religious institution is something I am getting used to, but definately matches my personality :) Good fit! I am also taking on more responsibilty, I am now the communications chair, and actually need to write a press release tonight for them!!! (Also doing their newsletter, and flyers!) I'll need to get a committee together soon!! :)

I felt bad having to take off right after services, but there was so much on my list of things to do today...I hardly feel like I got them done....Sorry to have missed my friends at Mezz....I took too long at the nursery choosing hanging plants, etc. By the time I got settled, I just ate leftovers for lunch instead of treating myself as planned.....I did make it to the gym for 30 minutes...did more yard work, laundry, and now I am waiting for a homemade fritatta to finishing baking...(featuring freshly snipped cilantro from my garden)...

AND HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! Spoke to my Pop's twice today! :)
Maybe more later :)

Hey there, what's new? June 19th

Just checking in? How the hell are ya? Pretty damn good!!! For a sunny Saturday in June, it was pretty damm good!! Alan and I played in the morning, then I drove him to his dad's for the weekend (father's day!)I hurried home to get ready for a fabulous picnic at Epworth Retreat Center...can the people at the UUCC be any nicer? Spent a few hours there, really getting to know people better. Bob and Henry played music together which added such a nice atmosphere to the event....Then upon returning home, I raced to the gym to workout for 30 minutes, then out to the movies, and out to dinner....nice weekend...Don't think I am going away.....Looks like my friends are playing a Mezzaluna tomorrow, so may catch up with them after lunch...Is this what they call a "staycation"?

Hope you are all having a great weekend too!!! :)

...or maybe

...Or maybe I'll stay home and SLEEEEEEEP ALL DAY!!!!!!!!

Spontaneous!! :)

...this weekend, all of the boys are busy, and I have a free weekend ahead of me, and just in time....I am tired, and in need of GETTING AWAY!!! Where does one go alone on vacation? With such short notice, no time to recruit anyone to come with me....and I am NEVER alone, so this will be a new experience for me....and it will have to be spontaneous. Maybe to the beach....a friend recommended Hammondassett in Connecticut, but that's tooooo far. Then, I was thinking maybe I would head to New Jersey!!!! It's been 27 years since my family moved from Vernon, and I have very fond memories there, so maybe a self-reflective weekend in the place where I grew up....the lake, the woods, the church, the hill, the red store, the gulf station where i had my first kiss...I am sure it's all developed now with a Walmart, but we'll see.....Who knows, maybe I'll end up doing chores all weekend with an hour at North Lake.

Whatever the case, I don't want to head out until after a my congregation's picnic on Saturday morning....that gives me time to plan (tonight!)but also limits me in what I can squeeze in......

June 18 Friday

....just a quick good morning, need to move swiftly....more tonight... :) TGIF

June 16

Nice having some time off today!! Here is my backyard vegetable garden.




You cant' really see them, but they are there!! Baby sunflowers popping up in the soil. Moments ago, Bob helped me nail in a pretty ornament on the back post...can't really see it. Thanks Bob!!



....back yard again...this is the herb garden....oregano and peppermint....



.....and this is the one you see from the road, it's along our sidewalk....Alan chose all of the flowers here.



We also have strawberries growing, and another garden that has been overtaken by weeds!!! Well, thanks for checking this out!!

June 15

...Greeting summer with much anticipation! Here is a ramble of what is on my mind tonight!!!

The lake is a short walk down the hill and Alan has learned to jump off the dock

...tomatoes and squash are flowering, berries are heavy and are dropping from the trees all over the yard...and in about 5 spots I have sunflowers growing....

I have given up on the rock garden. It looks fine with just pebbles.

Each time I go to the market, I leave with more flowers to plant!!! Tonight, 2 geraniums, red fox, and some other flower grabbed by the little one.

I have been gardening barefoot....and I am very prone to poison ivy, so this is not such a smart thing to be doing.....

What else? Bob and I practiced "Ashokan Farewell" yesterday. I played guitar, and Bob played mandolin. Many people don't realize there are words to this song as it is usually played instrumental. If you are familiar with the song, you can hear the melody in these lyrics.....

The sun is sinking low in the sky above Ashokan

the pines and the willows know soon we will part.

There's a whisper in the wind of promises unspoken,

and a love that will always remain in my heart.


********
Isn't that gorgeous!!!

*******

Nothing else much to report tonight. Alan had a GREAT day at school. We discovered apple chips. We all had salad for dinner....and it was a pleasurable evening!! Goodnight! Caio Bella!

"Perfect" Monday!

Good News! Had a series of medical procedures the past month, and today the doctor said "perfect!" Now that is a word we like to hear!!! Guess my cocktail mix (I don't mean alcohol, hardly my thing)....of vitamins was making me sick!! Stopped taking the cocktail on May 1st per doctor's order, and she said within a month I would feel better....took only 2 weeks, and I feel 100% better!! Went through the process of all sorts of tests anyway, just because when one turns 40, you want to make sure you are healthy!!! (Actually that's when I started taking the cocktail!)....ANYWAY, I dropped a few pounds (just a few), and went to the gym 3 times this week....so feeling pretty good!! Today at the hospital, the first thought I had when I woke up was...how silly is it that a busy person like me has to schedule a medical procedure in order to squeeze in an afternoon nap!!! Well, I think that's funny anyway!!!

I think many of us in June are tired, and looking forward to vacationing!!! I am looking forward to a weekend away VERY soon, destination TBA!!! And also there is Old Songs Festival, a great FAMILY event. Alan CAN'T WAIT to see Abdul and Ariel, and is looking forward to playing in the band again (and sleeping in the tent!)....and of course, Bob can't wait for the instrument exchange!!

Sunday - List of things to do

Things to do - Sunday
- Church
- Put in screens in living room
- Fix bathroom sink
- Calk bathroom tub (upstairs)
- Laundry
- Weed side garden (all other ones are looking good!)

Let's see how much I REALLY get done! such an exciting post, right :) LOL

Saturday June12

Alan had a defining moment of his childhood at the supermarket. As I parked the car, he noticed a older bearded man in the car next to us who he believed was Pete Seeger. As I walked around the car to unlock the door for Alan, I told the man what my son believed. He decided to play along!!!

Alan was thrilled, and even asked him if he knew Bob!!!

The man responded, "Bob Dillon?"

Alan said, "No "Bob Lusk!"

(Turns out that the man ACTUALLY KNEW BOB!! Bob knows everybody!!

Anyway, every time we bumped into Uncle Pete in the supermarket, they would have a cute exchange, including a high five, etc. Alan thinks that Pete Seeger is "silly!"

OF course Alan wanted to call Bob right away....he shared the news with just about everyone. I guess he inherited his star gazer gene from his mommy! LOL!

************

Later we made a cake together for the our congregational pot-luck and annual meeting. What a group of such special, supportive (and interesting) people. Alan came with me, and he immediately sought out his friends that he has made there, and of course the reverend and Paula. I love our connections here!

I'll probably have more time to write later, so check back!
***************

Other news, T-ball cancelled because of rain, Alan went to the barber, I think we have some sunflowers finally popping out of the ground....Today Alan goes to his dad's and I have to prepare for tomorrow's medical procedure. Oh fun!

Hi!

No time to write!! Maybe later!! About to decorate a cake....

Garden 2010

Gardening

Vegetable Garden (back yard)
- carrots
- cilantro
- peppers
- tomatoes
-basil
-squash
-cucumbers
- row of flowers

Herb Garden
- Oregano
- Pepperment

Rock Garden - still being worked on - it's in the front yard. Will be getting more rocks today including the bird bath!!

Sunflower Garden - This is on the side of the house. Planted from seeds. We'll see!!!

Alan's Garden - mainly pentunias, but there is another yellow one with a name I can't remember. Also sunflowers (from seeds)

Strawberries - along hill on side of house...

This is definately a team effort!!! Each day we all contribute!!! Watering, weeding, etc. The rock garden will be finished today. Our lawn is still brownish. I am hoping that the rain this week helps out. Also want to get some hanging petunias for the front. It's been great not having to mow (hired someone), so that now I have time for all of the fun stuff!!! Worth EVERY $$$$!!!!

Back!

Yep, took a little break from writing, but I'll be back this week!!! Notes about this weekend:

- Alan learns how to jump off dock at lake, and is given the nickname "Foxman" by a man named Sparrow...

- Planted sunflower garden next to roses.

April 24

So many joys to report.

Opening day across the Hudson Valley for T-Ball leagues!! Today was Alan's first ever experience with an organized sport. He and about every 5-year-old in Rhinbeck was equipped with a glove and bat. We met at the field near the Aerodrome, so in between throws and catches, one could look up and watch WWII Biplanes circle the sky. Pops and Boots accompanied us. The coaches showed Alan how to "step-throw-step" and to keep your head up while throwing the ball. It was sooooo cute watching him follow the coaches instructions and how after just a few times, he was doing it!!! So cool!!! Catching is still a challenge. Pops suggested getting him a better glove. After batting practice, the league actually arranged for the children to play a game!! All the parents broke in hysterics when the first child hit the ball, and all of the children ran in a million directions. Roger took a video of Alan's first time at bat where he hit a single!!! If you watch it on facebook, you'll see how about 5 children tried to catch the ball, and Alan ran to first, gave the coach a high-five, then started to run to me...the coach had to turn him around to go back to first!!! How funny. We forget that the children really have no concept of the game. During practice, they even had to teach the children the basics like running the bases. BTW, Alan made it to home!!! Scored a point!! (my Dad corrected me...it's not a point, it's a run LOL).

After that experience, we went out for lunch at Ruby Tuesdays, food shopping, and I purchased a new portable DVD player and CD player.

We rested a little bit in the afternoon....Alan was tired after 2 hours of running...After watching a movie and listening to his new Bach CD, he went around the backyard picking flowers, etc. Bootie cleaned my refrigerator and kitchen, and Pops took a nap.

We then all prepared for the dinner party with the Kamrass crew. Bob made BBQ chicken, I made pesto, salad, corn muffins and baked beans, and Boots made some sort of asparagus with dip. Alan LOVES the Kamrass girls, so they had a great time playing together. Alan even let Sophia play his guitar. All three children made music in the bedroom....I love seeing them all grow up together....

Family, friends, fresh air. Breathing it all in :) Caio Bella!

April 23 TGIF

Playing Scrabble at the moment, waiting for my opponent to once again make a marvelous move!!! While I am waiting, here is my day:

My work day was the usual, meeting with prospective students, processing scholarships, arranged another school visit and tour, etc....

But what I REALLY REALLY appreciated was coming home to dinner ON THE TABLE with my family waiting for me. Pops and Bootie picked up Alan, so they already were home, and Bob had thrown some burgers on the grill. All I had to do was help the youngin wash his hands!!! What a blessing to be with my family and have this all ready for me. I don't know who did the dishes, but someone did them too!!! Just like you wrote on Facebook Mom...IT DID MAKE ME HAPPY!!!!! Any extra help is ALWAYS appreciated!!

I also appreciated Bootie giving Alan a bath and getting him ready for bed. I love doing this, but it is also very sweet to observe them with this (plus, you know how tired I am on Friday nights!). After my parents left, I introduced Alan to "We are the World". He got a kick out of naming some of the musicians (he knew Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Lionel Richie). He is still into Bach but his Baby Bach CD broke (it got stepped on at school), so we searched for Baby Bach videos and watched them for a while. HE fell sleep listening to our friend Rich's CD.

BIG DAY TOMORROW!!! I am sure I will have LOTS to REPORT!!!! Stay tuned!!! Check facebook as well throughout the day...I'll be uploading pictures as I usually do on the weekends....I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO A GREEEEEEEEEET WEEKEND!!!!

April 23rd AM

Didn't hear from me last night, because I came home EXHAUSTED!!! Two late nights and an early morning presentation, and I just conked out. Even had my dinner in bed!! (Leftovers from Mom's dinner and Bob's potatoes)...Lights out had to be 7pm!!! I woke up at 3AM, but had no problem getting back to sleep!! I did have tentative plans with my girlfriend Paula, but we both actually felt the same way!

It all is very good though....moving forward on lots of new projects, and Rhinebeck High School is always fun. They asked me to come back again, so I have next week, and at the end of May. The new topic they want me to present on is "Time Management"...I have this activity that illicits the differences between high school and college using a time management activity...It's a great group of kids. I think my total number of visits to this school would be smoething like 8!!! My director joked that I should have an office there!!! DCC has such a great reputation (great faculty and services), that we are getting many students their senior year coming to DCC before heading to other colleges. What we are finding is that those students who intend on transferring, end up staying for 2 years anyway because of the quality of the education (and you can't beat the cost)...

ANYWAY, right now, I am baking Alan's lunch...have to stop at the store before school to pick him up salad (yes, his new favorite veggie), I HAVE TO REMEMBER THE CAR SEAT!!!) since Boots is picking him up from school......They are coming over for dinner tonight....Not sure what's on the schedule for work....no visits or tours though, so I will be catching up in the office....AND...TONIGHT...maybe time for scrabble. Bob's sis just invited me to play another game....Mom, I haven't had the time to figure out how to invite you to play. If you have time, why don't you start a game...It took me about a week to finish a game though!!!

It's looking to be a great day folks!! CAIO BELLA!

April 21

Found myself a little more groggy than usual this morning, typical of a morning after a big event. I energized myself with a little aromatherapy by picking a few lilacs. Alan had an idea. He decided to give them to his teacher. You can imagine the parade of smiles (and sniffs) that greeted him down the hallway to his classroom. I followed suit by presenting our office staff this morning with gifts for Administrative Professionals Day (adorable melon-scented candles wrapped in dainty ribbon.)

I am just winding down now (10:15ish)...After a busy day at work, I still had to 2 meetings!!! I picked up Alan and took him to the UU with me for the first meeting where his Dad picked him up. It was nice having him meet the reverand for a second time....Then, I hurried home for the Heritage Folk Music meeting where we hosted about 5 people to organize upcoming concerts, and to assist us with the administration of the organization. FYI: I didn't have time for dinner, so I munched on the refreshments that Bob put out including chips and trail mix and diet coke....wondering now if that was such a good idea....I am exhausted, but the caffeine so late will no doubt give me a mind buzz...ANYWAY, our good friend Ernie put together a nice brochure AND a dvd of one of our events! Plus, I used my netbook to take the minutes of the meeting, and just sent them to Bob, so I got that off my plate instantaeously (it's all about time management and organization folks).

So now it's 10:27. I have an early morning presentation at a high school, and have topick up Alan early. Vacation? Yes, I 'd like one soon!!! :) Caio Bella!

April 20, 2010

As I scurried around the house arranging for our morning departure, the scene in the living room evolved from Alan sweetly singing "pigeon house" on the couch with his homemade banjo, to an all out jam with Bob joining with his banjo to the tunes "skip to my lou" and "i've been working on the railroad". As I waited for the leftover pesto to heat up for Alan's lunch (forget about those chicken nuggets), I captured the moment by snapping a photo with my cell. I was a little worried that their fun would facilate a struggle with getting him ready for school, but I maximized my time management strategies, and was able to get everything in order before luring him away. I am happy to report that he also dressed himself!!! (Shoes too!)

WORK
Well, almost two years of smooth sailing, but finally had my first major faux paus at work, but luckily caught in time!!! Phew!!! I purchased double-sided corrugated plastic signs to direct people to our Open House. I sent my students out to put them around campus pointing prospective applicants and their families to the theatre. 5 of the signs included arrows pointing forward. Now, when the arrows point forward and are double-sided, you are actually sending people in two different directions depending on which way you are walking...so basically I ALMOST had people going in opposite directions. Oh my!! Luckily, this mistake was pointed out to me many hours before the event, so it was caught with many hours to correct. I spent about an hour this afternoon pealing off the lettering for these 5 signs so we could still use them. Diverted the problem!! Again...PHEW!!!

So now my feet are aching, Open House had record numbers (was it my spam)....and I'm home, Pops and Boot left a little while ago and now waiting for Bob to come home from rehearsal,,,but before I leave let me see if I can squeeze more good things out of this day...

OTHER GOOD THINGS:
- Scored 90 points on a Scrabble move with Bob's sister (albiet she is still winning!)
- Enjoyed the piano music at Open House (thanks to our amazing music professor and his students!)...and enjoyed the brownies (thank you Brian, you are amazing!)

THANKFUL - Thanks to my parents who not only picked up Alan at school, but Bootie when food shopping, made dinner, AND took my son out for a walk....all on very little sleep as she took the Red Eye yesterday....Awake for 48 hours!! We Diano-Tagliaferros never seem to run out of steam...always on the go-go-go!!

ALSO, lastly thankful to have been able to say goodnight to the little guy. He has such a sweet voice.

*****AND***BOB is in the newspaper today with his Fiddle n'Folk group!! It's a dedicated group of musicians who meeting weekly to jam. Now that the weather is warmer, they are outside! These are some of Bob's most oldest and dearest friends who join him....I have enjoyed spending time with them, they are very interesting!! Alan loves the fact Earle is a real live train conductor!! :)

ANYWAY....still waiting...he's at rehearsal...He'll be happy that I have brownies leftover from the Open House....Caio Bella!

4/19/10

MORNING:

Since I lazed on Sunday afternoon, Monday morning meant waking up extra early for leftover weekend chores. A mountain of clean clothes piled high on Alan’s bed needed to be folded…Alan’s lunch required more than a simple slapping of peanut butter on a slice of bread…I actually spent $25 on a week’s supply of the healthy “Bells” chicken nuggets (requiring 35 minutes of baking). What a lucky kid to have two small Tupperware containers (one with ketchup for dipping the chicken, and the other with ranch dressing for those carrot sticks)… grapes, and I even packed a bottle of cinnamon for him to sprinkle on top of his applesauce. A little extreme, but it works to get him to eat fruit. (See one of my blog entries from 2007 on this topic if you want to know more!) Did you know that my son invented cinnamon juice (he’s a creator all right!)

All morning he wanted to listen to Bach (even in the car on the way to school). Actually, it was a CD called “Baby Bach”. I reminisced with him how I used to play this CD for him when he was still in my belly (crazy, but true!). It actually was one of the first CD’s we played for him even after he was born. He told me (and his teacher when I dropped him off), that cut number 5 is NOT relaxing and that she may want to skip that song for rest time.

WORK:

Called the office from the bridge’s toll booth, an accident delayed my arrival to work by 45 minutes (like I want more time in the car!). We gathered materials for tomorrow’s open house, I met with prospective students, and organized the scholarship program. Last week I ate out toooooo much, so I brought in my breakfast (PJ sandwich ) and lunch (quiche from Adams with baby spinach and grape tomatoes) .

HOME

"Thank you God for pesto and the love." Those were the chosen words tonight for Alan at grace. He came home last week asking me about pesto. Aparrently his friend had it for lunch, and it must have smelled so yummy that every 5 year old in the class probably went home asking for pesto...So I also bought basil at Adams (I already had the other ingredients including pine nuts!) So when we arrived home, I had him stuff all of the ingredients into the vegamite. It certainly was a hit. I posted photos on facebook.

Aesop's fable at dinner tonight was very interesting...It was about Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva and Momus. Momus is very critical, finding fault with the others..... Alan said, "I don't like that story, it wasn't positive."...We processed this in a very age appropriate way.


AFTER DINNER

Walk up the hill. Alan brought his scooter (made him wear the helmet). Visited with the 3 new friends (from the cemetary!)....hey, that's where they live!!! Alan had picked a tulip from our yard and carried it all the way to give to one of the girls. Very cute. We didn't stay long, jsut kept walking so that he could get to sleep by 8. Mission accomplished!! He listened to Baby Bach tonight (so cute, he was holding the flashlight!)

Listened to Bob play hindu music tonight (on the guitar, not the veena). Time to check facebook - need to return some emails. Then off to catch some ZZZZ

April 18 - thankful for good things

A list of all the good things that happened today:

SHARING: My friend Maggie accompanied us to church today. I asked her to join me since I haven't seen her in a while, and its hard to make plans during the week...but I really thought she would connect there....and she did!! She enjoyed the experience very much and wants to return! She knew several people there as well.....The topic was "aging", and our minister played a recorded interview of a woman in her 70's....A lot of what she said hit home, and as I move toward the twilight of my years, I also hope to do so with humor and grace.

What other good things???

FLOWERS- ...I try to always have fresh flowers on the table, it's just very cheerful...The flowered plant that the Rhinebeck teacher gave me is still in bloom (over a month!)...but now I also have LILACS!! I have a vase in the living room (which fragrant smell is competing with the roasted chicken that Bob made)...and some in the bathroom as well. We have two trees in our yard!!!

NAP! - A rare occasion, but I did have a delicious one this afternoon!!! I must be tired!! I do work hard and play hard, and I tend to just collapse from exhaustion.

HMMMM what else? I sound like Martha Stewart...but other good things today.....crescent moon and clear evening sky....the Mary Oliver poem the minister read today....cream style corn with dinner...Alan wanting more Aesop....Alan "organizing" the living room...the humming of the dishwasher (something I never take forgranted!)....I-Chat...facebook....and of course my REAL family and friends, I love you all! Good night!

Bob just returned from gig. While he's unloading, quick update. Dinner with Pops at our favorite Italian Restaurant - Gisianos! Then, Pops and Alan played drums in his room. Something is wrong with the amp and wire to electric guitar, so that was disappointing because we were looking forward to showing Pops the new sounds!!! Pops stopped over to gig before heading home....


And once Alan was asleep, I am getting my butt kicked in Scrabble!!! I did learn that Qi is now a word in the latest addition to the Scrabble Dictionary....I hate loosing Scrabble, but its nice having a good challenge!!! I am still adjusting to this on-line version...no excuses!!! I have met my match!!! (as nerdy as it sounds, but an ideal vacation for me would be to play scrabble all day!!) Anyway, have a great night!

April 17 4:05pm Saturday

We were all up early this morning. Still in this non-cooking mode. Bought breakfast for the fam...but I brought it home, so we all ate together at the table, which for breakfast is rare. We're good at eating dinner together, but breakfasts are usually quick, on the run or in the car..(or at my office desk)....not very relaxing...but today, we even said grace at breakfast. Then, lunch at birthday party, and we will be going out to dinner tonight with Pops. Basically, just not in the mood to cook, though I actually enjoy cooking...

The birthday party was fun. Family from the UU congregation invited us. Turns out they are neighbors!! we would have walked, but it was rainy. We plan on meeting for playdates at the lake as they have a son Alan's age. Met up with Julie and Jace at this party as well. Alan had a great time...he painted a birdhouse, played some game under the TV table with the other kids, and ran around outside...house parties are my favorite!

Pops will be here in an hour. Alan is listening to a music CD that goes with a book. It's rare that he listens to children's music. He just out of the blue said he loved me. (can you hear my heart melting!) More later!!

April 16th TGIF

Most kids after their bath are read bedtime stories.....mine helped me clean the toliets tonight! Is this a new ploy to stay up late?

Pops flew into town and is in the Greenville house. Bootie-Boots will follow this Tuesday. Nice having the parents back!!

Today, was picture day at Alan's school. He looked very handsome in his red oxford.
School called in the afternoon to let me know that he got stung by a bee. Great. This past weekend he had some trepidation about being outside because of the bees. I promised him that I would give him an ice cream cone if he got stung. Of course, today he remembered that when I picked him up! So he had a cone on the ride home. They said he didn't cry and was very brave! (was this a ploy to get ice cream?)

Caio Bella :)

April 14th

Alan and I had the day off to participate in a big moment....Kindergarten Screening!! He did very well, scoring perfect on some sort of language/verbal test...everything else came out in normal range. T-Ball starts in 2 weeks, so I am hoping to meet more people in Rhinebeck...It is such a great school district. The guidance counselor at the high school promised me he wouldn't retire until after Alan graduated!

Oh! BTW, We thought this was funny....He asked the teacher about naps and lunch - then he made a joke. When he learned that they have lunches there, he said, "do they have spinach, my daddy likes spinach..."then looked at Roger and laughed...We all chuckled...

It was a special day too. Alan woke up and made his own breakfast, eating it on his new red bean bag chair. He was excited about the day, but was a little down on himself for having problems singing... Luckily, Bob came to the rescue and gave Alan his first voice lesson.

...what else? Kind of tired, but here are the highlights:
- Out to lunch with Alan (again!)..Pete's in Rhinebeck
- Glued and painted a wooden airplane ( I glued, Alan painted)
- Enjoyed a popsicle on the back porch with Alan...
- Shot rocket balloons in the front yard..
- Walk, played with the kids again from yesterday and met a new kid as well....

Need to get the bath ready for Alan...(wacky watermellon)....have a great night! :)

April 13-14

THANKFUL!! Lawn was mowed as I pulled into the house yesterday..Last season we typcially just did the front, and didn't do the side and back as the cord to our electric mower wasn't long enough, and it was an extra hassle. Now, as I look through thr beautiful back window, not only do I see the lilacs starting to bloom, but the grass near our Buddha is all mowed to!!! It's the small things in life that bring a smile to my face!!!

Yesterday, I took the afternoon off..routine parent - teacher conference day...reviewed ideas for next year.... Out to lunch with Alan at Panera Bread..then off to my least favorite activity. I couldn't delay getting him sneakers and t-shirts. Picture day is Friday, and I wanted to get him a new shirt (red!).

Last night we found a strange place to meet new friends. Alan wanted to make a left not a right at the top of the hill, so that meant...cemetary. His newest favorite subject to talk about is God and Heaven. We actually met a very nice 9 year old boy and 11 year old girl at the cemetary...they live across the street from the cemetary and know it very well...they played several games together. First, Alan facilitated a game of Delta takeoff, and the three of them buzzed around gravestones. Then they asked him to play several jump rope games followed by tag. Alan had some trouble with jumping rope, but he was incredibly sweet with them....we also got an earful from these children about their homelife....

More adventures today!!!!

April 13th AM

SCRABBLE!!!! Love the game, did't have time to play in AZ, and now I was just challenged to play on on-line scrabble game by Bob's sister...I am not into all of the other applications that Facebook offers, but this is a game that I will REALLY REALLY be getting into...I can see myself playing ALL NIGHT...how cool that you can do this on-line with people from all over the world. OH NO! I can see myself really really getting into this!!! How exciting!! Didn't realize how much I miss the game!!! I am a little rusty, so I bet she will beat the pants off of me!!! I am soooo glad she set it up, so all I had to do was click on and start. I still need to figure out how to set it up if I want to invite others....

So many memories of playing scrabble with my parents and grandmother!!!! Learned all my best strategies from them!!! I have word lists downloaded somewhere. It's great to be able to have the ability to play on-line...MOM, ARE YOU ON SCRABBLE???

Howdy! Did you get an email from me today? If you are a high school student living in the Hudson Valley, you probably did!! All you do is convert text files into excel spread sheets, and using this cool software, you can send out tons of emails with just a few clicks --- and get campaign stats too! The purpose was to promote our Open house next week...It was quite fun! So many hats worn today....advisor/counselor, public relations writer and techy...so things went well at work today...though I was only there half day....

After work, ran to the supermarket to pick up groceries....Alan wanted pork chops again, so I bought centercut thinly-sliced ones so that they would cook FAST....and just did a quick shake and bake dinner....he was actually hungry while they were still in the oven, so we started him out with some left over pasta...
While dinner was cooking I multi-tasked by preparing his lunch for tomorrow...
The rest of the evening was pretty mellow...a few loads of laundry, Bob played the concertina, and Alan was coloring more CD's. At bedtime, I took out the flashlight...We have a few of those paper mache planets still hanging up (and a comet), so we pretended that the flashlight was the sun, etc...No, we didn't discuss quantum phyics....(i was much too tired for that LOL)....He fell asleep listening to Johny Cash.

It was a peaceful, easy night...though life is not perfect, I am as centered and grounded as I have ever been. How? Support/Empathy/Truth...

Whatelse? Mom, since I didn't hear from you today, I hope you are back to work and feeling better!

Tomorrow we are celebrating Rita's birthday, and I am bringing in strawberries (no chocolate, half of the office went on weight watchers)...I should join!

...And I now hear a banjo and must go....

April 11

We love Saraswati in this house. She's the Goddess of Wisdom and Art (including Music)...She is prominently showcased in our dining room similar to Grandma's statue of Mary....We eat dinner under her picture every night.....You can tell my son is growing up in a Unitarian lifestyle. This morning, his creativity drove him to write a book. On the cover was a picture of Saraswati with all 4 arms and her Veena (or Sitar?), and let me transcribe the words he wrote: "THank you god for the love and joy. Thank you for the saints and god. Thank you for the whole world." (Of course I helped him out with the spelling, but he wrote more of the words himself than I had anticipated. For example, he knew the word "joy"....Not sure why he mentioned saints, though I have been known to pray to saint anthony since I always loose things, and Saint Nicholas....So we talked a little bit more about saints today....then at church, it was very celestrial. Bob Berman gave a talk about biocentrism, and coincidently, Alan wore his homemade solar system t-shirt.

Alan did well at the religious ed program...he didn't even want me to stay with him....they made wands with stars...he was invited to a birthday party of a child who he knows in that program, and a playdate with another child. He certainly knows how to work the room....love watching them run in the grass after church....they made up a game where Alan would blow bubbles and his friend would pop them with a racket....Then afterwards at lunch, Alan was so excited to see a family we know from the old songs festival and our beach, but we have never officially had a playdate together....exchanged contact info with that family too! Unfortuneately, arranging for playdates these days takes weeks of planning!!

Then, we spent a good portion of the afternoon organizing his room...He cleaned his instruments, and arranged them in a fashion which surrounded him (see facebook photo)...I escaped for a cup of coffee on the back porch, and he painted for a little while. I was a little worried because he was afraid to come outside for a while because of the bees...that's why I stayed out extra long so he would be comfortable....Then, he came out, and we decided to go for a long walk. I suggested his scooter, and he jumped at that idea. We went down the hill, then up, and stopped by a friend's store....

...As we approached home, I suggested that he watch a movie (I could use a little break)...so here I am....This really was a great weekend....but Mom, feel better soon...maybe more later

April 10th...

Just a few notes about the day....Thoroughly enjoyed outing to see the cousins for Bella's birthday at Jumpin Jakes...This morning, Alan picked her flowers from the backyard and painted a rock for her - both of which we forgot :( but we did remember the birthday card he made for her....

Alan has also acquired yet ANOTHER new guitar (and AMP!). Electric - (red)...looks like a lightning bolt. Cousin Keith thought the new guitar was soooooo cool, however when Alan showed him his concertina, the jokes about polka were inevitable....

Sorry we didn't get to Rich's CD release party. He and Cathy are great people, and great friends. I hope the event was well attended!!

Dinner...chicken pot pie...Alan's "graces" are getting cuter and cuter, and Bob reading Aesop tonight was about "friendship"...Wonder how many people read Aesop at dinner??

We just finished watching a movie....

Happy.

April 10 AM

AM: Nice morning. Alan woke up with lots of creative energy, he must have been dreaming about his friends at school, because he immediately asked for an envelope to send one of his friends an invitation to come over and play. After that burst of creative energy, we snuggled on the couch for over an hour looking out the window talking about all things existential.....somehow something as simple as spotting a dandylion turned into a discussion about photsynthesis. I made breakfast for the fam - pancakes....Alan sang us a song using sign language which was so beautiful....After breakfast he played my guitar (he likes to do that with the capo to make classical music)....and now he is making cousin Bella a birthday card....have a great day...more later...

April 9

Knock at the door during our dinner...looked out the window, and it was the familiar face of one of the village police officers. ..turns out they were looking for a specific person...didn't recognize the name.....apparently, the person left the scene of an accident, and they have a partial address. Wish I could have helped them out...we'll probably hear about it in the papers....speaking of dinner, ham & pea soup...stopped at Adams on the way home, and Alan made himself a nice concoction from the salad bar...

Oh food.....black cherry ice cream in the office yesterday, today someone brought in donuts, and then my weekly campus tour launched with cookies and hot chocolate......Oh my! One never goes hungry at DCC!

WHAT ELSE?? Actually....BUYING ON MY MIND....you know that I would rather work towards being a creator not a consumer, and I would rather stick a needle in my eye than go to the mall, but recently my mind has been corrupted with thoughts of buying, buying, buying...I guess I am discovering what greed looks like on me...(today was a handcrafted Indian kurta!).

New car? If I could only walk to work...how happy I'd be!!! (and fit too!) Toying with buying a new car, only to make my 1 hour and 15 minute commute to school/work much easier. (Do I really spent 2.5 hours in the car a day!)

We are a family with a fleet of 3 vehicles already...I recently bought my parent's used car, and I have a perfectly workable Dodge Stratus "off road" in the driveway, and our van is fairly new, so it seems like an extravagence to have yet another vehicle...But this morning, I did put the Status up for sale again. It’s a well-running vehicle, so whomever buys it will be getting a great deal if you can look past the cosmetic issues (air conditioner needs re-charging, small dent, rust, front seat rocks a bit.) Fielded two inquiries already. We'll see.

LAP TOP?? - Waiting to see just what the newsletter with the UU will entail. Maybe I will use this as an excuse to buy a new computer, and I can enhance the work we do for Heritage Music as well. Or I might just buy "Publisher" and use our existing computers ( we have a laptop, netbook, and actually we just disassembled the desk top)....maybe I'll rejuvenate my resume-writing business again, or the public relations business, and write press releases and newsletters!! (in my spare time LOL)....I still haven't used my 2010 DCC voucher yet (the college gives me $350 a year to buy whatever I want...camera, computers, books, software, etc)....Last year, this money went to our new netbook. Maybe I'll give that to Alan, and use someof the $ to get myself a new laptop.

REAL ESTATE?? Yes, I've been bitten by the real estate bug! Oh My! Don't even know where to start with this one. Keeping the dream alive!

PRIVATE SCHOOLS?? Don't want to name them specifically, but way too expensive!!! But it was fun to look...Hopefully a Rhinebeck education will serve my son's intellectual curiosity...I'll keep on saving for his college education....maybe I'll have him bridge his senior year of high school here at DCC. It's actually not that far away. 10-11 years and I'll have him explore bridging....BTW, tuition here is free for children and spouses of DCC employees! He told me the other day that he didn't want to go to "sleep away" high school. This gave me a chuckle, and explained the educational system and the different types of colleges. Yes, this was with a 5 year old. It was fun putting on my college counselor hat with him....FYI, when we start the college search, I'll remind him that he didn't want to go to a "sleep away" school, and we'll see how much that changes! LOL

$$$$$Hey, the most important thing about these thoughts of buying buying buying is that at least I have my debt in check, a budget, excellent credit, and can move forward by making informed choices. So that gives me the ability to dream about $$$$ without feeling guilty! It's important to balance keeping your dream alive with being responsible. Live the life you love!

Just processing all of this is keeping my spending in check.

ON THE HOMEFRONT - I've stolen a few moments to write this and it's after dinner as I ramble on....Alan wants to watch a movie now, and Bob is playing banjo. We'll see how the evening progresses. No matter what, I am happy in my hoodie with my hair pulled up with a pair of mismatched aregyle socks! Very cozy.....

April 8th

Dear Diary, not much in the mood for writing tonight, but here is my entry for today...

- Thanks to the ladies who treated us all to black cherry ice cream this afternoon!

- Congrats to Araceli our amazing student who won the DUE award. Hope to make the ceremony!!

- Alan and I created a "pleasure book" tonight. It's basically a scrapbook of everything he loves, from music, to the solar system. There is a picture of Johny Cash, Santa, a firetruck, frieda fuzzypaws, candyland, family photos, etc. It was a fun project to start tonight. FYI, he said Bob's dinner was "awesome". He ate pork chops and carrots and ravioli!
He wanted to put food pictures in the books as well...LOL. We are still reading Aesop's fables after grace, and tonight it was about greed....it was a great springboard for a discussion about toys, etc.

Just a regular day!! Tomorrow...TGIF.....have a few weekend outings planned...

April 7th

It took a year, but I just carved out time to enjoy a wacky watermelon flavored bubble bath in our new home tonight. Don't miss the jacuzzi or the glass steam shower from the old house AT ALL...bottle brushes to clean the jets, an unending supply of windex on the glass shower doors. Never again!! Hey, but on a positive note, at least we profited from the renovation of the bathroom...remember that old wallpaper..UGH! Keeping it simple at the new house...just a tub with some bubbles is all I need to relax!!!

We enjoyed dinner on the back porch tonight....pasta (because I am Italian and that's what I love to eat)...and coconut shrimp....Then, I reclined on the couch by 7pm, aand felt very slothlike...too slothlike!! So I sprung up and proclaimed that I was making cookies!! This was very well received by you know who!! (the big kid, not the little one)...Peanut butter cookies!!! From scratch!! Added M&M's too!! They came out VERY tasty. I was a little worried, because we didn't have any brown sugar, and I'm not the best baker....The recipe said you could substitute honey, which I did, and boy they came out good. In typcial Italian fashion, I didn't really use measuring cups, just a little this, just a little of that...maybe that's why I am such a better cook than baker...but these cookies rocked....I baked one batch and froze the rest of the batter for another day.

Nothing else special to report. Alan played guitar at school. They loved it. Realized I am overly tired the last 2 days because I am out of routine with my vitamins maybe? Back to that tomorrow....and the calling to get to the gym is starting to fade....I didn't even go for a walk....But I did spot a new red tulip in my front yard. And how could I forget, Happy Birthday Derbo!

April 5th

I am snuggled on my couch beneath a blanket that I crocheted myself...not sure if I learned how to crochette from my mom or grandmother, but it's warm, colorful blanket. Alan is asleep, back on track given the jet lag. His radio is still playing as it does everynight....tonight's choice was Michael Jackson, he must be thinking of his Grandma Bootie tonight. Bob is downstairs, just went to visit him...he's fixing a banjo. He baked a delicious ham this afternoon, a task we thought might not happen given the power outage in the neighborhood. Alan loved it!! (another food he will eat!) I made pasta and a salad. We started a new tradition at dinner which was Bob's idea, and tonight we did it for the first time with Alan. We have Aesop's fables, a series of short stories with a message. (really short, I am talking 2 paragraphs). Then we talk about the message in the story. Tonight was the Fox and the Lion, and the message was "familiarity breeds contempt" .....

I am also thankful tonight that I will sleep with fresh air as Bob put the screens in the windows. The night air feels cool, but freshing....yet there are two screeching cats out there....well, that's the scene at the moment...the day was pretty good all around given it was my first day back.....

....Received a warm reception upon returning to work today (and it wasn’t just because I brought in bagels). It was nice to be back….and in my mailbox was my travel check. J I wish I had brought back something Arizonian for them, but we just didn’t do that type of shopping. In fact, I feel bad that Bob had wanted to bring back a souvenir, but we just weren’t shoppers on this vacation…so Bob ended up buying himself and Alan a T-shirt at the airport! I noticed he's wearing it today.....

Other news… today the first email I opened up this morning was a request to teach LAH 100 again this Fall. It’s a win-win for me…the extra cash is nice and the course is fun. I have some ideas to enhance the curriculum from last year including adding a more comprehensive critical thinking and writing component that is both self reflective and fun as it relates to different disciplines within the humanities. Specifically, I have a bunch of new activities that assist them with exploring resources, programs and tools to illicit how their skills and interests relate to various career paths. It’s all about informed decision-making (my crystal ball is broken!) and knowing what resources are available to them.

Just like last year, I’ll take them to meet the college president so that they feel an even greater connection to the campus. Plus, he really enjoyed meeting them last year..in fact, I asked him to talk about what his major was, and how he decided on his career path…this normalizes the process and lessens the pressure valve that students often feel like they must pigeon-hole themselves……also, maybe I’ll carve out time this year to administer the MBTI (ENFJ!).

After work, I had an enjoyable brief visit with Roger and Eileen in Rhinebeck where I picked up my boy. While Alan made CD's (coloring circles he cuts out), we discussed soccer or t-ball for Alan. They tell me he did well with getting his vaccinations today at the doctor's and he also had a very snazzy new hair cut. Stopped at the accountant on the way home to sign my final tax forms, and ka-ching....nice refund coming my way, maybe as soon as Friday from the feds....nice!! Saving up!

Then, Alan and I sang a few songs together, mainly James Taylor ("You are my only one" and "In my mind I'm going to Carolina".) Thank god for google where I can look up the lyrics!!!

He was a little resistent to going to bed, he's out of routine, but we sorted it out, and we snuggled a bit, and he fell asleep and here I am reflecting reflecting reflecting on my day....

April 4th part two PM "things done"

UPDATE ON TODAY'S LIST OF THINGS I NEEDED TO DO -

Laundry is ALL done... My front loader is HUGE, so I can fit 3 loads in one 55 minute shot! I still have flashbacks from years past, lugging clothes to laundry mats where the machines were scanky and dirty...actually, it was just last year when in the apartment, waiting to move in here!!! Ugh!! Never again. There is nothing more gross than a dirty washer machine! It must be karma, because my washer is awesome, and I reward it by keeping it nice and clean....I love my washer and it shows :)
Now if the clothes could only make it into the drawers LOL!!! I am getting better at this!!!

Spring/Summer clothes unpacked and hung neatly in closet, while winter clothes are stored until October. (I did leave out a few long sleeves just in case!). It's always fun to do this, because I literally forget what I have, and then rediscover what bad taste I have in clothes LOL. Thank goodness for me I don't care LOL...don't like shopping, and it shows!!

Food shopping accomplished, however we giggled how Price Chopper and Hannafords were both closed...and ended up at the yucky Walmart. We got out of there at about $168 which wasn't bad for what we ended up with...wasn't too crowded, and we didn't have to wait on long lines. The meat is pretty bad though which is no surprise. I made philly cheese steaks tonight, and we threw out the leftovers. Yuck!! We would have been better off with a frozen pizza.

FUN? Finished New Moon and now starting on the third Twilight book (Eclipse). Hung out with Bobby, showed him my new beatles tune I've been working on....and then jammed more including Freight Train, which I can now play with Alan since he likes that song so much. He's at his Dad's still, and his father shared with me some awesome videos of him playing the banjo that Bob made....(via skype).

Cleaning? Passed on most of this...things are pretty much in order, just dusted living room....(except office)

Also went to the UU today....brilliant how the minister interwoved Passover and Easter with the theme of "Second Chances". I am still getting used to how social the UU is, it's becoming a way of life for me, not just a Sunday excursion.... Upon arrival at a Catholic church, you enter silently, kneel and pray. At the UU, even if I sit alone, I am approached and welcomed....and never feel alone.

What else? Oh, during dinner, my mom texted me that she and Pops felt the California Earthquake all the way in Phoenix!! WOW! They were at dinner with Jim and Nancy and felt the table shake. Eerie. That's something I never want to experience!

No gym, no walk :( but lots of thinking about it LOL :)

Well, that's the day's wrap up. How'd I do? Let me check my list below :) Day isn't over yet! Need to get coffee maker set up for the morn, and Alan's lunch too!!! Wait, I hear a man singing in the other room!! Need to BOLT!!!

List of things to do - April 4th AM

After I finish this cup of coffee, I have a bunch of things to accomplish today, my last day of Spring Break. The more I get down, the easier the week will be!!! Lets keep that in mind!!
1) Laundry - not only do I have to wash clothes, but I just brought up a huge bag of spring/summer clothes that I need to sort through
2) Clean house - easy, vacuum, dust...bathrooms are still clean, but I need to straighten up a bit..
3) Grocery Shopping - this time its my turn to use the price chopper card LOL!
4) Finish the book New Moon
5) Go to UU
6) Gather things to bring to work and Alan's school (bag, lunch, blanket,etc)
7) this one can wait until tomorrow, but if I have time, I need to get April's calendar in order. we have a busy month, and I need to input dates on the calendar.
8) Spend 10 minutes in my office - just 10 minutes!!!! what a mess!!
9) Go to gym if open (or better yet, outside for a walk!)
10) Call Maggie or other friend about the yard sale donations

Not sure what Easter dinner will entail. We celebrated Easter while in AZ, and I cancelled my plans to go to White Plains. The thought of driving today...not going to happen. Sticking close to home....getting things done...now where to start...I hope ny PM blog post will have good updates!!!

April 3 pm

Self-imposed pressure to get outside this morning, given the absolutely gorgeous sunny day. That was a mistake...I was jet lagged, tired and subsequently not very patient with the youngin who was also tired....the melt down occured outside a music store in Woodstock (which was an unintended pitstop to magic meadow where we were supposed to throw rocks in the creek.) Drove home instead.... Once I gave myself permission that it was okay with just staying inside to recoup from our long travel day, we had a much better afternoon.We jammed, had lunch, watched Beatles cartoons. Alan played his banjo, violin, drums, piano, and guitar....while I rested in my room, he designed CD covers. (I hardly ever rest during the day, especially on a sunny day, but I was really really exhausted)....Later, I did walk around the yard and spotted some of the spring flowers that I planted this past autumn....mainly the blue hyacinths around the quan yin (sp) statue and a handfull of small dafodils....Bob also continued to do some shoveling in the garden...some sort of mulch project......Alan wanted to build a water fountain around the Buddha...he's at his dad's tonight...His "emma" is visiting...lots of granparenting happening here this week!

Anyway, I did get outside the evening. We scrapped plans for HV Folk Guild (sorry guys), and decided to hang low and go for a walk through the village and have dinner out....OH, and got to Krauses to late (boo!)