The week has gone by so quickly. I’ve been incredibly busy with so many really great things. Here are the five things that topped my list this week.

1. Wednesday I went to Weight Watchers and lost 3 pounds! That is a total of 9 pounds in the three weeks since I returned to class. I really love the new program, and I am excited about the progress I am having.
2. Both Jack and I had appointments in different places on Wednesday. So he went off in his car to his and I went off in my car to mine. I arrived at my test early, and lucky for me they took me in about a half an hour before my exam was scheduled for.
3. The funny thing was, on our way home I was about 15 minutes ahead of Jack. So we decided I would go home and take care of the dogs and he would get the mail.
4. We’ve been trying really hard not to leave Greta alone for too long. She does sleep a lot now, but she also needs very frequent potty breaks. But on Wednesday, she did just fine.
5. Thursday found me cleaning and tidying. Friday I want to shampoo two carpets and get our guest bath and guest room all ready for my girlfriend’s arrival on Monday!

Happy Weekend!

I was waiting to be called for my test on Wednesday, and a woman about my age walked into the waiting room. I was crocheting a blanket and she came over and sat down and started talking to me.

We had many things in common, both in our lives with our kids, and the health challenges we have both faced. She was a devout Christian, and we both spoke about our faith in God, and how that had gotten us through those tough times.

We each spoke about our grandchildren and how blessed we felt having these children in our lives. How each day, our lives are that much better because our grandchildren are in it.

We talked about the blanket and who I was making it for. How this person was so dear to me, and how I hope that it will wrap itself around her with love, even when I am not with her.

We both smiled and laughed and I felt as if I’d known her a very long time. It was very strange, and yet very comfortable too.

Two people, two spirits, meeting up today and sharing that time in the waiting room, for important tests.

When my name was called and I stood up, she stood too. “May I hug you?” she asked. I put out my arms and held her for a moment. I could feel every bone in her body, she was so thin. But her hug felt genuine and loving. And I needed that, right at that moment.

I’d planned to give her my name and website when I came out, but she was gone. I missed this opportunity. I go back next week, to the same place to see my doctor. I hope she is there!

1. Summer is upon us this week in the Northern hemisphere. Tell us three things on your summer bucket list.

• Go to the Beach with my grandchildren.
• Go to Canobie Lake Park with my grandchildren.
• Spend as much time as I can with Greta.

2. Something fun you used to do as a kid in the summertime?

• Well, I grew up on Cape Cod, so going to the beach was my favorite fun thing. Mom would pack a basket with food and drinks, she would spread a big old blanket on the sand and get her beach chair all set, and while she read her books (that woman loved to read!) we played and swam and had a blast!

My childhood beach. Surf Drive Beach.

•  Riding my bike. I rode that bike all over town. Once I even rode the bike to the Bourne Bridge with my cousin, Janet. Why do you ask? Because it was there!

3. Rooftop or backyard? Why?

• Backyard. I loved and still do love, the green, green, grass, and the trees all around. Somehow, summer isn’t summer, unless you spend a lot of time outside. Since I live in New Hampshire, we spend a lot of time inside during the winter months.

4. Do you read food labels? Place importance on them? Make an effort to find out/care about where your food comes from?

• I am reading every label there are these days, as my Weight Watcher lifestyle really demands it.
• Every label tells a story of Fats, Sugars, Fiber, and Calories.
• It is so important to know the numbers.

5. A song you’ll have on repeat this summer?

• You’re My Number One by Pilot. An oldie but a goodie. It makes me want to dance.
• Hot Fun in the Summertime, by Sly & the Family Stone. Been one of my favorites for years

6. Insert your own random thought here.

• I guess the biggest item on my to-do list is a bit of deep cleaning in the guest room and my utility closet. Both places have been ignored for some time, so I need to break out the dust mops, vacuums and rug shampooer, and get myself working. I think I will do that Thursday and Friday and Saturday. Today is another big test in Nashua, NH and so after Weight Watchers, I am off to have that done.

Well, the news is not so good for Greta, long term. At fourteen and a half years old, I have to prepare myself that time is limited on this earth for my sweet girl. For now, she is on medication to make her more comfortable, which she will like because she will get her capsule in a piece of hotdog. Heck, I’m going to let this girl live it up!

The day here was very hot and humid and we were told to expect thunderstorms, but none came. Just some brief showers that brought down the temperatures from 93-88 degrees,

Jack and I sat down to compare appointments. I think you reach an age, where doctors appointments have an almost weekly spot on your calendar. All I will say is, Thank Goodness for good medical insurance!

Luckily, my best friend from Deleware will be arriving one week from today for a visit. We’ve been friends since we were 13 years old and met at a Christian Camp run by our Diocese. We came from similar backgrounds, and in the good old days, we wrote letters to each other. Phone calls were too expensive, and there was no such thing as computers or cell phones with unlimited services. So, we wrote. Seeing that we were teenage girls, we wrote a lot. I recall my letters to her would be many, many pages long.

The letters continued during the High School Years when she went off to college and I started my life as a wife and mother of two girls. Our visits together were also infrequent due to the fact that we have never lived in the same town. She was originally from Salem, MA and I was from Falmouth, MA.

I moved to New Hampshire and she moved to New Jersey and after that to Delaware. But through it all, good times and bad, we have been there for each other. So her visit is something I am really looking forward to.

My weekend was a fairly quiet one. Which for two reasons was very good. First, I wasn’t feeling too well. Nothing I could really put my finger on, but I felt tired, washed out, and headachey.  Second, it was so darn hot here! Just a hair under 90 both days and on Sunday, there was no breeze at all. Ugh.

I did manage to cook a steak on Saturday for dinner and Sunday was a rotisserie chicken. Nice meals and both fit in with my eating plan.

You know, I hate to say diet because I am not looking at Weight Watchers as a diet. It’s no quick fix. It is not going to miraculously turn me into a thin person. In fact, I will always be who I am. A woman who loves to cook and also loves to eat. So this new lifestyle is a way for me to learn about the good things to eat, while at the same time teaching me how to also enjoy a few treats occasionally.

It’s moderation, isn’t it?

I also got a little laundry done, and decided to clip Greta again as her hair had grown out. Poor baby, now with no double coat, her fur is almost like cotton candy and mats very easily. She has a little dry skin, and I am thinking a bath with a conditioning shampoo might relieve the dryness.

Monday’s Madness will find me bringing Lili in for her yearly shots, and Greta will tag along. She hasn’t felt well the last week either, so I asked if I could bring her in. I shall report in with the results tomorrow.

I have decided to start replacing the things that Lili chewed up during her first year with us. I know that she is now 4, but I was waiting until I was sure that her chewing days were over. I ordered a new magazine rack today. I’m looking for a new mudroom bench and moved my good dining room chairs into the kitchen to replace the four kitchen chairs that she chewed up. Oh my goodness, was Lili an aggressive chewer! My house may never be the same!

Hope you all have a great week!

Here are the five men, who shaped my life. In their own ways, they were my father or a father figure to me. They have all passed from this life to the next, but their memory and the love they gave me, lives on in my heart

My Dad. He was an amazingly talented musician and he passed along his love of music to me. Dad was devoted to our community. He played the organ at both the Congregational Church and the Catholic Church in North Falmouth.

He was the Music Director at Highfield Theater for many years. He also was a summer police officer in our town. And when we went to local parks for cook-outs, Dad was the burger-meister! He has been gone a long time now, but I still think of him often and miss his wry sense of humour.

My Uncle George. He was the father who taught me everything growing up. How to swim, how to dive, how to bowl, how to hike, how to play cards, and how to love unconditionally.

When I was about 7 years old I cut my toe badly at the beach and he carried me all the way home! And helped Mom drive me to the doctor’s office for stitches. He was not a loud man, but in his quiet loving way, I just knew that I was one of his special kids. In fact, when Hubby and I married, Uncle George walked me down the aisle. I miss this sweet, loving, wonderful man!

My Uncle Bob. He was fun to be with. But, he required that I act like a mini adult too. That was fine. I adored him and just wanted to spend time, quiet time, with him.

I did a lot of things with him and his wife, Auntie Cynthia. I remember being on his boat, or when they took me to their home in Quincy and to museums. And I recall my Uncle once got a monkey. Cute, but it didn’t last for long.

My Papa Fred. Another quiet man, who was quite old when I lived with him and Grandma. But he showed me something important.

What real love between a man and woman was all about. I would watch Papa and Grandma sitting on their sofa watching Lawrence Welk. Papa would hold Grandma’s feet in his lap and stroke them gently. He simply adored Grandma and had all of his life. When she died, he no longer had the will to live and passed eight months later.

My Papa Sam, my Dad’s Dad. I didn’t know him as well, but I remember him taking me to the Prudential Building in the summer to listen to the Barbershop Quartets sing.

I remember sitting on his lap and listening to him sing along. He had such a beautiful voice.

These 5 men helped to shape the woman I grew up to become. Each special in their own way, and now, each greatly missed.

Happy Father’s Day! I remember you all with love and many memories that make me smile!

My plans for Saturday are easy. I plan to do a little laundry and sit and crochet. I’ve been running around like crazy this past week and quite honestly, I am tired. So tomorrow, a movie or two, perhaps letting Jack watch some of the Golf and downtime.

I hope this will help to recharge my batteries and get me back on my feet. What do you do when you need some downtime? What recharges your batteries?

Have a great weekend!

Here we are, another week went by and it’s Friday!

So, here are the things on my mind, as this week comes to a close.

1. First on my list is traffic! How do people drive in heavy traffic, day after day, without losing their minds? I got stuck in a terrible traffic jam in, of all places, Nashua, NH. I literally went 5 MPH for almost an hour, only to find out that it was a broken down Public works truck in the fast lane. My biggest question is…why didn’t they move the darn truck so that the rush hour traffic could get through? It was very frustrating. What I did in the end, to escape the total madness, was put on some music and car dance! It got me the trough the traffic.
2. My doctor’s appointment went okay. I need more testing done before we decide what to do. This means two more trips to Nashua in the next 10 days.
3. This is the last weekend of Motorcycle Week. Mostly it has been okay, but I am quite sick of the constant drone of the motorcycles, riders that ride tandem, so that they take up as much space on the road as a wide load truck, and what I like to call the rockers. They ride their bikes down the road weaving back and forth coming dangerously close to the centre line, and even going over it at times. The news is always full of what automobile drivers should be doing to protect the motorcycles, but what about the cyclists taking care of themselves?
4. My daughter took this great picture of Savannah and me at her graduation. I’d gotten her a little outfit for her graduation gift.
   
5. Another great week at WW. I lost another pound. I am really loving the new Plan. I am finding it easy to stay on. I think because you really can eat anything, and many of the foods are part of the Zero Point foods. In many ways, I feel like I am finally learning how to eat correctly!

On Wednesday I drove down to Southern New Hampshire for Savannah’s graduation from Kindergarten! It was marvellous to watch our girl, in her little gown, get her medal and diploma for completing Kindergarten. My heart was full and I was so proud of her!

Her Class sand two songs. One in French and one in Spanish. It was wonderful to see these little children enjoying themselves as they sang their songs. And Savannah loves music and she was up on stage swaying to the music!

And then she got her medal from her teacher and posed so I could snap a picture!

After the ceremony, we gathered in her classroom and watched a short video. We also took a few pictures. Here is my favourite one of Savannah and her Mommy and Daddy!

Now it is Official! Savannah has graduated from Kindergarten and is an official First Grader! Wow!!!!

Today is the thirty-third anniversary of the accident that took my beloved daughter, Katie from our lives. Many years ago I wrote about the accident, and the things I could recall. You can read that post HERE.

The 13th of June is a somber day for me. and I think it always will be. At this point in life, I get quite angry that Katie did not live to grow up. Never knew her first love, went to a Prom, had children, or could be whatever it was that she wanted to be in this life. It was all taken from her, and from those of us, that love her.

Below you will find a montage of pictures of my darling little girl. While putting this together, I was struck by the fact that one of the hardest things as a parent is when you realize that a certain picture of your child, is the very last picture you have.

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
‘Cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven
Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?
I’ll find my way through night and day
‘Cause I know I just can’t stay here in heaven
Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging, please
Beyond the door, there’s peace I’m sure
And I know there’ll be no more tears in heaven
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
‘Cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven