Sunday Scribblings #75 The End .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. (a perfect example of how great my job is)

I’ve probably mentioned once or twice before — although my job is demanding and very, very chaotic (as is every other position in our office) the docs that we work for are just phenomenal!!

Case in point…… and keep in mind that this is not fiction!!

At a staff meeting about 2 months ago, we were told to keep a certain date open. We would be closing the office at 1:00 for the afternoon and we would be taken to an undisclosed place to do undisclosed things. All very mysterious. And such fun to try to figure out!! One of our ladies had been going out of her mind in the weeks leading up to the day, trying to guess what we would be doing. It was so entertaining just watching her, trying to get clues out of the docs, trying to guess what it could be, piecing together snippets of what was said or not said. Hysterical!! And as the date drew nearer, she became even more agitated about wanting to know where we were going. I have to give the docs kudos for this one — although we received several emails containing clues in riddle form, no one even got close to what happened.

After closing the office, we had a great little lunch of pizza, then we drew numbers out of a bag to decide which of 3 vehicles we would each be going in. Off we went on our magical mystery tour, all still wondering where we were going and what would happen when we got there. After a road trip of about half an hour, we arrived at a very large mall. More and more mysterious — everyone piled out of the vehicles and kind of stood around wondering what was next. Our office manager gave each of us a piece of paper listing the rules, while Dr B handed us each a $100 bill. The deal was, we each had to spend $100 in one hour — only on ourselves, not including food. The person who came closest to spending their entire $100 would be getting another prize — although we won’t know until Tuesday what it will be. Surprisingly, a few of us had a bit of a time spending money “under pressure”. It was hard to figure out what to spend it on when all your mind wanted to do was marvel at what we were doing!!

And so — as instructed, we shopped, we spent, we ran into each other giggling and laughing in pairs and groups, then we met at the appointed place after about an hour to calculate who the winner was. One lady in our group hit $100 right on the nose due to some very savvy purchasing. Way to go, M.A.!!! We sat around with our docs, talked and laughed, marveled some more — oh, and we also found out that the afternoon wasn’t finished yet — seems we had dinner reservations at The Cheesecake Factory!! We were speechless!! And astonished and bowled over and floored!! Needless to say, we all rolled out of the restaurant with very full tummies, happy smiles from ear to ear, and still more marveling at our delightful afternoon.

Besides the obvious reasons for enjoying this outing, I think there was another more subtle reason for which to be grateful. We were able to reconnect with the other members of our “family” — we all work so hard and bustle about so, it’s easy to forget that there are more people in the chain than just you or your immediate co-workers. It was lovely to sit and eat, talk and catch up with everyone.

Now I ask you — how can you not appreciate (and work extremely hard in return) for employers who will go to such lengths to insure that you know that you are an appreciated member of the team? It was a truly incredible end to a remarkable afternoon and we won’t forget it anytime soon!!

Yummy Tomatoes!! (and not so yummy rocks)

Just a few of Sweet Baboo’s fabulous looking and even better tasting than they look because they are grown without chemicals tomatoes!! (Those rocks in the back are just a few I took out of the literally buckets of rocks around the house that I always bring back from the beach.)

Autumn is on it’s way

I’ve made a list of harbingers of autumn on the way and summer just about over. (Have I mentioned how much I love lists?)

1. The tree frogs are silent — it’s not hot enough any longer
2. The crickets chirping that sometimes drives me crazy at night has settled into a very low hum
3. Sweet Baboo’s tomatoes are turning red — what a double edged sword that is. I can’t wait ’til the tomatoes are ripe enough to eat, but they’re not ripe enough to eat until it’s almost Fall!!
4. There is a bit of color showing on the tips of the Maple tree branches that line Kennedy Drive, one of Putnam’s main routes into town.
5. Hurricanes are being reported by the weather service.
6. Our pool water has cooled to 76 degrees — not much chance of it warming up again this summer.
7. The light is slanting in now in the afternoon through our bedroom window and shining on the hallway floor. The sun has started it’s trip back south again.
8. The stars are easier to see at night — the haze that comes with the hot weather is dissipating.
9. Our cat, Sadie Mae, has reverted to sleeping in her Fall/Winter hidey-holes.
10. The air has started smelling more clear and crisp — it’s not all the way there yet, but it’s coming!!

On the one hand, it seems that summer just started — although sometimes the heat and humidity turn me in a bear. On the other hand, Autumn is my favorite time of year and for so many reasons. Warm sunny days, cool nights, clear light that only comes with the Fall. The trees usually put on a good show with their color and there’s nothing like the smell of falling leaves. The country fairs are starting — always good for the local economy. Oh, and apples!! The apples will be coming in to harvest soon — Apple Betty, Apple pies, Applesauce — I guess each season has it’s pros and cons. And the world keeps turning…….

Gotta love Brad Paisley

Sunday Scribblings #73 Diary

For no reason I can fathom, when I first read the prompt I thought “dairy? What would be interesting to write about dairy? It’s just milk and cheese and cows and…….oh, the prompt is diary!! Well, why didn’t you say so! Never mind……..” (Emily Latella)

Silly, eh?

I really hate to tell admit this but my blog is the closest thing to a diary that I’ve ever had. I love the idea of keeping a diary. I love the idea of a book that has “Journal” or “Diary” stamped in gold flowery letters on the front, with or without the little key, with page upon page upon page of pretty paper. Something about all that potential just gives me the shivers. I’ve even tested the water a few times, bought myself a notebook/journal/diary and wrote a few things. But inevitably, I lose interest and toss it in a drawer. I do so admire people that are disciplined enough to write down their innermost feelings on paper on a somewhat regular basis. I’m just not one of them.

For instance, Sweet Baboo keeps a journal of sorts. He keeps track of when the wrens come back in the spring, when the crocuses poke out of the ground, how much fuel oil we bought and when we bought it. Weather notes for his garden. When he planted his seeds indoors and when they sprouted. That kind of thing. Just notes of this and that. It works very well for him.

Writing things down in my blog is what works very well for me. To my mind, if you rely on the computer for organization in your life, it is the natural progression to have a blog to write down “deep, dark thoughts”. Or knitting patterns — or Haiku — or letting off steam — or posting favorite pictures. I like the neatness of a blog. I like that I can write, then re-write, then consult my thesaurus, then walk away, then delete and write again — until I’m satisfied that there is no more improving it. Try doing THAT in a book!! I would have a very messy diary, for sure. Not that’s there’s anything wrong with that!!

Want to read more about diaries? Just follow the link to Sunday Scribblings. CLICK HERE.

Sweet Baboo’s finished socks

They didn’t turn out too bad — however, I have a cute Sweet Baboo story to tell you.

I finished the socks, wove the ends in and proudly presented them to him (I was so impressed with myself!!) and he proudly put them on. I sat on the other end of the sofa and looked at his feet — something didn’t seem right. I went over and looked at the bottom of the sock — the foot was too short by about 1 1/2 inches!! The heel doesn’t even begin to fit right. I told him that I would have to rip out the toes and extend the foot a bit longer and he says “no, that’s okay they fit fine, I really like them” and I said “no, they’re not fine they don’t fit correctly. Why didn’t you tell me that they didn’t fit right when I finished the first one” (which he tried on to make sure everything was okay). To which he replied, “I didn’t want to hurt your feelings by telling you that they needed to be longer”. Gee gosh, how can you get mad at that? But I’m still going to rip out both socks!!

Darling Daughter’s sock

I am SOOOOOO loving this self-striping yarn — it makes me look like I’m doing all kinds of fabulous stitches and yarn changes when all I’m doing is a stockinette stitch. I had knitted about 4 inches total for the foot and got ticked off with the laddering on the sole, so I frogged it back down and added a needle and it seems to have eliminated that problem. I’ve been knitting at work and the ladies that I work with can’t believe that I haven’t done myself an injury with all of the knitting needles I have going at one time. I can’t wait to finish this pair and go on to another one!! I’ve made way too many trips to the yarn shop and now have balls of yarn all over my sewing room, which will soon be called the knitting room. I’m going to have to have a sale of all of my fat quarters — I can sell my fabric to make more $$$ to buy more yarn. I will have to decide if it is more lucrative to sell them on ebay or just run an ad in the paper.

Kitties from I Can Has Cheezeburger blog

Haven’t visited blog yet? OMG THEN CLICK HERE!!! I guarantee that you will get a chuckle when you visit this blog. The caption language is a little strange to get used to, but it adds to the picture. Don’t these little kittens look kind of like itty bitty Collies?

Our precious GrandDolly

I had to take this shot while she was sleeping — when she is awake, trying to get a picture of her is like trying to nail Jell-o to a tree. Like most one year olds, she is in perpetual motion. I have three times as many photos of the back and top of her head as I do of her face!! This first year has gone so fast!!

Sunday Scribblings #72 Goosebumps

This is a list of things that are guaranteed to give me goosebumps every time they occur.

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The movie is “Say Anything” - John Cusack and Ione Skye. Their relationship is in crisis. She is in her house and he is outside standing beside his car. He holds his boombox over his head and blasts “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel to tell her how much he loves her. Gets me every time!!

Watching the fireworks over Boston Harbor that are synchronized to fire with the cannons of the 1812 Overture that is being played by the Boston Pops.

The view from Whiteface Mountain

An Olympic gymnast executing a perfect uneven parallel bar routine and then sticks the landing!!

The scene in “Bridges of Madison County” when Francesca opens the cardboard box that the UPS driver brought her and she pulls out the silver bracelets that Robert always wore.

Being with my baby in the labor room while she was giving birth to her baby.

The end of “Alien II” when Sigourney Weaver tells the Alien that is intent on getting Newt to “GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!!”

“Nights in White Satin” by The Moody Blues

Standing next to Niagara Falls

A tickle on the back of my neck

A sneeze (Thanks, Jackie!)

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So, what gives you the goosebumps? Scary movies? Your imagination? A memorable song? If you’d like to read more about goosebumps, the people that get them and why, CLICK HERE.