Hubby – Rippled Effects

September 7, 2021

Life is an Adventure

Hubby and I set out today to go out to lunch, each of us in our respective convertibles. His (a 1951 Crosley) and mine (a 2005 Mini Cooper). I was following him down the road when he rolled to a stop on the low bridge over the swamp / Norwalk River about a mile and a half from home. Assuming the car was out of gas, he sent me back home for the gas can. But even when the little “yella fella” was fully supplied, he wouldn’t start. An antique car enthusiast stopped by but all he was able to do was use his pickup truck to successfully protect the little car from traffic while they tinkered with it.

We pushed it onto a convenient parking area alongside the road and I took Hubby home for the truck and trailer. As you can perhaps tell, it was a beautiful day. Facebook photos for documentation purposes.

Yes, an adventure, but I would have rather had the lunch on the deli’s patio that we had planned.

September 2, 2017

Kayaking – calm cove – small ripples

Well, to keep my “new year’s” resolution going – I’m posting for the 2nd day in a week. What slowed me down yesterday was that I tried to switch themes on my blog and totally blew it out of the water, so to speak. Thank goodness I live with a geek who actually knows what he is doing and can fix things like this. So, today’s post is in his honor — and here’s his photo from this afternoon’s expedition.

Hubby sets out into the cove in his kayak

April 22, 2016

What does home mean?

It’s been a long week here — actually a long month — well, really a long year so far.

2016 has been full of stresses and April chock-full of busyness. My quilt guild had a very successful show over the weekend. My part in the show prep started way back in July of 2015 and finally ended at about 6pm on Sunday.

The week was full of appointments and various duties and responsibilities, culminating today in a wonderful, restful time at our Spirit Stitchers group at my church. I spent the day talking, eating, knitting, talking, looking at others’ projects, knitting, talking ……I ended the day taking a dog for a walk, and I don’t have a dog, but a good friend does and we walked the town. So, I generally had a wonderful day.

But it felt so good to come home, take off the blue jeans and crawl into favorite knit yoga pants and a decades-old, favorite Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Note that you do not have to actually do yoga to be very fond of yoga pants. My husband is out of town so I had the quiet house to myself to do whatever I liked, which was mostly nothing.

Usually home means coming HOME to our wonderful property and house and my wonderful Hubby. But tonight it meant knit pants, feet up on the futon, quilting magazines, glasses of iced tea, and not much else. Home . . . . . welcome . . . .

April 13, 2014

Spring! Spring! Spring!

Windows were open today and some spring cleaning has begun. Things are really waking up around here and today’s (or this week’s discoveries) include:

– at least 21 of my BFFs are alive and well and swimming around (Best Fish Friends)

– at least 5 frogs have survived the winter including the original pair who have created the family we have — Yes Phinneas and Phillis are back!

– several daffodils opened today

– lots of day-lilies are showing thru the ground

– and hubby has found the first deer tick on his body! oh boy, here we go again

And I did some “airing of the quilts”. These are destined for the Hospital Avenue Housatonic Habitat homeowners. A friend of mine has a friend who wants to do charity quilting for Habitat so she gave me 5 of her quilts. They have been in this friend’s house since completion and the house has a big hairy dog. So, I’m tumbling them in the dryer to remove dog hair and airing them out. They now look and smell great!

Four Habitat Quilts getting their spring airing out

October 1, 2013October 1, 2013

Will work part-time as traffic cone

While on vacation in Vermont in July, I found ~~an expensive~~ a great jacket which turned out to be fantastic for bicycling on cool September days in Cape Cod. It is a rather vibrant orange with red accents and I decided that it looked quite like traffic cone orange. So, while on the bike path, I couldn’t resist having Hubby take my picture.

I call this “will work part-time as a traffic cone”

September 22, 2013September 22, 2013

Out of hibernation – AGAIN!

Off in Cape Cod on our annual vacation and determined to re-awaken this blog. Apparently Facebook is causing me some problems. It is so easy to do a quick post and then forget about it. They are much harder to review, however, and I miss looking back at my year on this blog.

My birthday is at the end of August, and for the past few years, I have used this date as the start of a “New Year”. I make more resolutions at this time than January 1st. And, I enjoy the fall cleaning more than the spring cleaning. So, in many ways September is a new start for me.

So, in the purpose of a new start — the first blog post of the new year — from Orleans, MA in Cape Cod.

tom and marlene in wellfleet 092213 — Selfie at Wellfleet Harbor

wellfleet harbor 092213 — Wellfleet Harbor

And a little catch-up with the goings on ………

great TV migration (1) — TV is prepared for hanging

The great TV migration of 2013 started with the purchase of a new large-screen plasma TV which had not yet been delivered. So the old flat-panel went up to the bedroom, installed by handyman, a.k.a. Hubby.

great TV migration (2) — ... and it's up on the wall

February 9, 2013February 9, 2013

Blizzard Nemo!

Why name a huge snow storm after a tropical fish, a movie star no less? Actually, why name a winter storm at all? How about “honking big pile of snow 2013″?

Hubby is out blowing the driveway (1/10th of a mile long and all hill!!). We will have to wait until he officially reports the snow depth, and it is hard to tell with the wind blowing so hard, but I’m guessing about 2 feet. It is almost up to his knees and since his 6’5” tall, his knees are waaaay up off the ground.

Heavy snow load on the garage roof — and serious blowback as he started the snowblowing job.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — snow load on the detached garage roof

The birds are feeding at the feeder and we have seen a little of everything in the past 4 weeks. And, we had a visit from something I hadn’t seen before, but after looking at photos up close it may have been just a big puffy bluebird! At our sunflower feeder.

And I believe it is mating time for the squirrels — they do start very early in the year. Suddenly there seem to be more of them running around and making attempts to raid the bird feeders or take advantage of the seeds spilled on the ground by the sloppy eaters from above.

Spring cannot come soon enough. As soon as my popsicle of a hubby gets back in from moving tons of snow from our driveway, I’m sure he’ll agree.

July 21, 2012

First Fruits – and Completed Commitments

Today was a busy Saturday. Hubby was up early for a swim. I was in town to visit Ridgefield’s Summerfest on the way to a rehearsal. Lunch on the patio of a local restaurant. Trip up north to the pond supply store. Home to sit on the deck and read (Hubby) and knit (me) for a while. Then gardening for Hubby and baking for me. Then dinner cooked on the grill. A run to the grocery store for missing ingredients for cupcake frosting. A stop at the Carvel!!!! And home to frost cupcakes and watch le Tour de France. Whew! No wonder I’m tired and Hubby is sleeping in the chair with his computer in his lap.

Some random thoughts and photos before I close the lid on this laptop and head off to bed . . . . . . . . . . .

This picture is of some of the first fruits of our garden (gathered and eaten today), though we’ve had some zucchini prior to today.

In the completed commitments category are the two quilts made for the two new homeowners of the Linden Place homes built by Housatonic Habitat for Humanity. The home dedications were in June and I made a quilt for each of the two homeowner families. I haven’t heard that a CO has been issued for either home, but I’m sure they are anxious to move in. Here is a photo of me by our pond with the two quilts in my arms. They are about to be loaded into the car and driven to the dedication ceremony.

me and linden place quilts — Me and the Linden Place quilts

I really enjoyed the quilting and finishing of these quilts. They were done in beautiful weather and in my wonderful quilting “studio”. Doesn’t this look like a great place to work?

linden place quilt — View from the "drivers seat" as one of the quilts is being quilted

November 6, 2011

Saying Thanks Sunday (day 1)

Power was restored to our home late yesterday afternoon after 7 days and 2 hours without electricity. There are folks in our town (13% of the households) that still don’t have power tonight, so we are considering ourselves to be quite lucky and are thankful that life is returning to normal for us. Some of the people that I’m seeing at the town emergency shelter where I’m volunteering are totally at the end of their patience with the situation and are mad and getting tough to deal with.

Sitting in church listening to the sermon and music today was good for my mental state, and of course for my soul. So, thus begins the counting of the blessings each day (just as I counted the days without power and logged this in my journal).

Today, November 6th, is Day 1 of restored electricity (not counting, of course the fact that it went off again for a bit this morning). I’m thankful for, . . . . . . . , let me think . . . . . . . OK . . . electricity!!!!!

I’m thankful for electricity,

the house is warm,

the TV is tuned to one of my favorite shows,

hubby is sleeping on the sofa next to me,

tomorrow will be quite busy, but life is really good.

Saying thanks on Sunday.

And the Christmas cactus is getting ready to bloom — before Christmas as usual — here is a photo of what’s to come.

christmas cactus closeup — "Thanksgiving" cactus blooming in its new location in 2010

November 30, 2010December 9, 2010

Late November happenings at Squirrels Manor

Ah, the last day of November, my parents wedding anniversary. I am assuming they are celebrating in some fashion up in heaven. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! I miss you both.

And, back here on earth, Thanksgiving has come and gone, not without a bit of adventure however. We didn’t have guests scheduled this year as my kitchen was supposed to be under construction. Construction being somewhat delayed, we could still cook there so hubby and I got up on Thanksgiving morning, not too early, and began the prep of the turkey and the stuffing ingredients. Somehow, (how?, perhaps we’ll never know) hubby managed to drop a big glass mixing bowl and break it. I was turning away from what I was doing to ask him what the <>?L:!! was going on and saw blood dripping on the white tile floor. He didn’t know at first he had cut himself. So, turkey back in the fridge and us off to the Emergency Room for 9 stitches in his index finger. He COULD have just said he didn’t want to help this year — such drastic measures weren’t really necessary! At least it wasn’t the new hardwood floor (yet to be installed) that he was dripping blood all over just as it wasn’t the new ceiling and lighting rail system (yet to be installed) that I smoked the night before when I burnt the cranberries. Anyone thinking what I am — that maybe we weren’t SUPPOSED to be cooking this year?

And the Christmas cactus is it’s usually impatient self and couldn’t wait ’til Christmas for full bloom . .

The hibiscus is trying not to be outdone. I didn’t think it would live inside over winter and said so to hubby — in the plant’s presence the other day. Something like — “this plant is not looking too good, I don’t think I’m going to be able to keep it“. The next day he (all my plants are he) opened a beautiful bloom and two days later, this one. Guess I was wrong and was being told so in the only way plants can talk — with outstanding beauty!

Oh yeah, it’s advent now. Not much Christmas decorating has been done here — not much will be possible. But I did purchase the advent candles. I imagine every picture I take will have construction items in the background.

If I turn my back and concentrate on my computer, I can almost pretend that my sitting room doesn’t actually look like this (photo on left). But this beauty (photo on right) will soon be in my kitchen — with some handles on it so I can get the drawers open.

And, last but not least, we have had two visitors for about a week that are to go home tomorrow. They have been real quiet and don’t eat much. Good house guests.