Quiet

I know -- I've been awfully quiet lately. I tend to not want to blow my own horn or speak before things work the way we like. Plus...we tend to have somewhat rather boring lives.

I started volunteering at the Concord-Merrimack County SPCA at the beginning of the month. They were very excited to have a geek on board. I needed something else to do with my time off (I like to stay busy) and I love animals. Rather than becoming a cat-lady with 100 cats, I figured that I could help out (even in some small way) at the SPCA. So far, I've gotten them caught up with some data entry, helped send mass emails and worked on creating the Facebook page. Going forward, I'm not sure what I'll be doing -- but I'm happy to help out!

Wil and I have been trying to find someplace new to live. The house is too much at this point and we need to save money. Since there is just the two of us, we really don't need a lot of room; just need someplace that will allow us to bring our zoo (3 cats & dog). We had a duplex in Manchester lined up, but that fell through. So we're working on an apartment in Concord. Trying to get out of the current house by mid-July.

Wil's house in Pennsylvania sold this month. All of the credit goes to my sister-in-law, Marybeth. She was wonderful!! She did all the leg work and follow up to get the house sold for us. One less thing to worry about! Perhaps a little bitter-sweet for Wil; but I know he wanted out.

I love being a geek

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, "Who's on First?" might have turned out something like this:

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software...

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "W" if you don't start with some straight answers... What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!


(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START".............

First Anniversary

Wil and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on Sunday. Hard to believe that it's been a year!! A few of our friends were also surprised -- seems a year has flown by faster than we could imagine.

Our first stop on Sunday was breakfast at the Cornerview Restaurant for breakfast -- our favorite spot in Concord. Breakfast was delicious as always; we ran into some friends and had our favorite waitress (Iris).
Next we headed to Funspot in the Weirs -- Wil wanted to play Star Trek pinball. Course, it was a bit busier than it has been other times we've been there; so Wil had to wait for his pinball game to get free. But he was able to play a few balls & I found a poker machine that I did well at (4th one was the charm). Afterward, we stopped for an ice cream at Sawyer's Dairy Bar in Gilford before heading to Maine.

As we drove through the rain, up 95 to Portland -- we couldn't help but reminisce about our wedding day and having the same weather a year ago: sunny morning, rain during the day and clearing at night.

We stopped at the Maine visitor's center in Kittery and got a few pamphlets. On our way north, we decided to swing through Old Orchard Beach (OOB). We had gone to OOB for our mini-moon after we got married, to relax and stare at the ocean. While we were there, we enjoyed the SoHo Pub -- touting itself as a British Pub in Maine. As we drove through OOB, we saw that it was open and stopped in for a drink.



After awhile, we were on our way to Portland for dinner at DiMillo's Floating Restaurant (http://www.dimillos.com/restaurant/). The restaurant is a converted car ferry that originally ran between New Castel, Delaware, and Pennsville, New Jersey. Later it ran between Newport and Jamestown, Rhode Island. In 1980, it was sold to the DiMillo family and converted into a floating restaurant, one of the largest in America.



Dinner was SUPERB!! We each started with a cup of clam chowder -- a New England classic -- it was rich, creamy and filled with clams. Wil ordered Frutti Di Mare (shrimp, lobster, calamari and mussels, simmered in spicy tomato sauce and served over angel hair pasta) -- it was filled with seafood, including JUMBO shrimp! I ordered Seafood Alfredo (shrimp, lobster and scallops, served over fettucini with alfredo sauce) -- it was FABULOUS!! Every bite was filled with wonderful seafood -- we were pleasantly stuffed.




outside DiMillo's -- we found a gentleman from Conway NH that took our photo




When we got home, we unwrapped our wedding cake topper. It had been in the freezer and I put it in the fridge last week to defrost. We unwrapped the cake and cut in -- it survived!! It was a delicious and moist as our wedding day. :^)


One year down....49 more to go!