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!

Family tradition continues...

For as long as I can remember, my mother has always gone to Marblehead, MA to plant flowers at her mother's grave. She used to take a day off from work and go with her father and stepmother. Mom remembers her mother planting flowers at the Campbell-Dingley plot and always wanted to continue the tradition. When my grandparents were too old to make the trip, I started to join mom on her yearly trek.
We would head to Marblehead, plant flowers, look around the cemetery and then stop in Peabody to have lunch with our aunt. Gramma always planted germainiums -- ugly flowers. I always teased mom about buying them....Gramma wasn't planting them, who cared what kind of flowers we got? Thankfully mom stopped buying germainiums.
This year, Wil joined mom and I on our trek. We planted flowers, talked to Grampa and Gramma, discussed family history and took a tour of Marblehead. I told mom years ago that the tradition will continue with me and my children -- just don't expect germainiums!


Wil, mom and I at Fort Sewell, overlooking Marblehead harbor

All better

I'm "normal" again -- well, I'm Bethie normal! :^)
I met with the GI doctor's PA last week. Marcy was wonderful! Very nice, explained everything in normal-speak-terms and reviewed all my test results. Again, no real reason for being sick -- just the inflamed lymph nodes in my abdomen. Luckily the pain went away as mysteriously as it appeared. The ER doctor was right -- it's like a cold, last for 10-14 days and there is nothing that can be done except deal (and take Vicodin!).

Many thanks to those who wished me well earlier this month.

It's not a baby

I've had a stomach ache for over a week now. Course, everyone's first question is "Are you pregnant?" No.

It started with what I thought was just a tinge of a stomach ache....bad food, not enough sleep, etc. Just an overall icky feeling. So I stayed home from work and camped out in bed for a few days.


Still not feeling better, I headed to the doctor. She thought the tenderness in my abdomen might be associated with my gall bladder. I went for an ultrasound and blood work Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon brought excruciating pain; my ultrasound was normal and the blood work didn't show anything. I was off to the ER for pain & a CT scan. If you have the chance to have a CT scan -- DON'T DO IT!! I had to drink two bottles of this wonderful chalk shake. It was all I could do to keep it down; two shots of nausea medication kept it down.

The CT scan was clear. JOY! All my insides look normal -- except my lymph nodes were inflamed. Apparently this is a common occurrence that has no cure. It's not viral, so there are no antibiotics that can be taken. Just wait it out with pain medication (Vicodin is my friend!), follow up with the GI specialist, drink lots of fluids and keep a bland diet.

Thank god for a wireless network, laptop and cable....

Purple Iris

There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will..
So, don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.
Enjoy life -- each and every day!

Sweep sweep sweep!!!

The Red Sox played three games against the NY Yankees this past weekend -- one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in the league.

Friday's game was won by Boston, in 11 innings. Jason Bay had a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 9th and Kevin Youkilis had a single homer in the 11th to win the game -- 5-4.
Saturday's game was won by Boston, in 9 innings. At one point, Boston was down 6-0; but it's not over until it's over. The boys came back to win the game 16-11!!
Sunday's game was won by Boston, in 9 innings. Both teams battled each other well -- but Boston pulled ahead in the 5th. They kept their lead and won the game 4-1.

Welcome to Boston - sweep country!!

Visting the Basin

The Basin -- Franconia Notch Parkway

Wil, Scott, Jeff and I visited the Basin on Sunday -- it was overcast and a little chilly. But we had a great time wandering around and watching the water rush by us.


Beautiful water pools -- very loud!!


Wil and I enjoying the scenery


Swirling pools of water...


Water rushing over the rocks


Wil at the Basin


Wil and Scottie -- there isn't really THAT much of a height difference between them. Just uneven ground.


Jeff and Scott

Quilting day

NH Eastern Star has been creating quilts all year. Upon completion, they are being donated to around NH for families and children in need. Yesterday, Wil and I dropped by Bristol to help out the quilters for a bit. Most of the quilts are complete; they needed to have sleeves basted on the back (so they can be hung & displayed at Grand Chapter) and labels sewn on.

One of the many beautiful quilts that were made.

Our small group -- hard at work.

Threading needles -- the bain of our existance all afternoon...

Wil, Cindy & Gloria.

Mom always said she couldn't sew....
And yet here she is!!

Mom making sure she's doing it right.

Even Kenny pitched in!

Gretta & Wil

Consideration

I was headed home today after my manicure -- 93 South in Concord. Traffic was busy, but we were moving. I slowed down near the on ramp of exit 13 to let traffic in (plus my exit is only a half mile away). Some jack-off with Rhode Island plates was going slow....I was giving him the room to merge into traffic, instead of just passing him and leaving his turtle butt in the dust. So I'm being semi-patient and waving my hand as if to say "Ok, c'mon, you can do it - merge!"
The jack-off keeps hedging his way in and finally decides to merge, but not before he decides to flip me off. WHAT IN THE.... ?! I wasn't being rude -- in fact, I thought I was being nice! So I returned the favor. Jack-off rolls down his window to flip me off again before picking up his phone and speeding off down 93 South.

Thank you Mr Jack-Off. I appreciate your enjoyment of my courtesy.

bnc

Blog Move

I've moved my blog! This format promises to be easier to read, write, edit, share and comment on. (Never saw comments on the old format....) I was never sure if people were reading my blog -- so it was time for something new!

The posts from 2009 were copied over to this new format. All previous posts are still available on my website.

Enjoy the new format -- come back often and comment all you like! :^)

bnc

15 April, 2009

Baseball season started last week with a bang. I was all geared up and ready to rock on Monday -- watching my boys play the home opener against the 2007 ALCS Champions, Tampa Bay Rays, but mother nature had her way and the game was postponed a day. Tuesday afternoon, Wil and I camped out on the couch to watch the Sox beat the Rays 5-3. Yeah buddy!!

It was a victory -- but it didn't last long. We're currently at 3-6 -- not a great start to the season, but it's April and anything can happen. Hell, this is Red Sox Nation!! It ain't over until the fat lady sings!!

My favorite player is Kevin Youkilis --



Kevin joined the Sox in May 2004, starting at third base. It wasn't until 2006 that Kevin moved to first base, where he currently plays as a fabulous defense. He has also played second base and left field. On June 25, 2007, Youkilis played in his 120th consecutive game at first base without an error, breaking the prior Red Sox record set in 1921 by Stuffy McInnis. His batting average started at .260 in 2004 and in 2008 was .312 -- he hit 29 homeruns and 115 RBIs in 2008.



bnc

2 April, 2009

Surfing the web over the last few weeks I happened upon a website -- Lolcats n Funny Pictures of Cats ICanHasCheezburger.com. I've flipped through over 400 pages of pictures and laughed my butt off at some of the pictures. Sometimes I wish my job was an animal photographer....lots of patience for that one -- wait for the perfect pose or moment.

Here are a few of my favorites....









bnc

27 March, 2009

Welcome spring!!

These pretty purple flowers show up in my front yard when spring has arrived.... They showed up earlier this week, just
hadn't gotten a chance to snap a good picture of them. They're a beautiful color and start to appear mid-March. At some point,
there must have been some gorgeous flower beds around our house as there are a lot of flowers that come back each year.

bnc