White Christmas

I know that all of my family and friends in Vermont have been getting plenty of snow over the past week. And I know its cold and I know its wet but I say be grateful and enjoy it. You don't know much you miss it until you no longer have it. The beautiful Green Mountains covered with a fresh coat of new fallen snow, its breathtaking beauty dotted with Christmas lights twinkling in the dark. There won't be a White Christmas here in Cincinnati this year, in fact I believe there rarely, if ever is. Tonight once again we are in the midst of an ice storm. It sucks! I can't believe how much I miss the snow covered mountains.

So Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy your time with your family and your friends. Look around and appreciate the things around you.

I will be coming home the second week of January for a few days and hope to see as many of you as I can. Take care and enjoy the holidays.

Weather

Boy the weather here is nuts! One day it is 12 degrees in the morning and by 12pm it is 50. The next day it is 24 degrees and instead of snowing it is freezing rain. Add to that the fact that nobody in Ohio can drive in any kind of precepitation and you have the makings of gray hair and heart failure. Now we know the weather in Vt can be kind of fickle but as least there is some rhyme and reason to it. And we Vermonters have learned how to drive in Rain, Snow, Sleet etc, etc. They start closing schools here if there is even a threat of 2-3 inches of snow and businesses will close if there is a prediction of 5-6 inch's. To top it all off the salt companies have supposedly increased the price of salt that the county's in Ohio have had to reduce their consumption which means they have less to put on the roads. Does any of this make sense? What's a girl to do?

Its The Holiday Season

So here is my living room all decorated for Christmas. Beautiful isn't it? I enjoy sitting here in the dark just looking at the tree. Tonight I am sitting here alone as Mike is back in VT on business. Lucky him. He got to spend the afternoon with our grandkids, somehow it doesn't seem fair to me at all.
Most of my shopping is done, just need to send boxes to California and GA now. It sucks that I won't be seeing my family this Christmas but what can you do? There is always next year!
My California girl is doing well! She is happy and is in a great relationship. I miss her though!
There are way too many stores around here! Far too much temptation for the shopaholic in me! My New Years resolution will be not to buy yarn until the tent sale at WEBS in May and not to buy any more makeup until what I have now is gone. I think that might be in a year or more except for mascara of course. I can't resolve to not buy clothes, a girl has to have a reason to go out now and then.
I am really trying not to be sucked into a deep holiday depression but I have to tell you its tough. Not only am I away from my family but today I found out that a girl that I worked with, actually was re-orienting her after she had been out on an extended leave, was found dead over the weekend. No details but we suspect an overdose of something! Its tough to get through the day when you keep wondering if you missed something that might have made a difference. Intellectually I know I didn't but emotionally is tough.
Well enough of that maudlin crap. I will finish my protein shake, ( yes that is my dinner), and enjoy my tree!

How do you mend a broken heart?

I am the very proud grandmother of Collin, Ashley and Brendan. I love them and miss them very much. When I was recently home for Thanksgiving I spent as much time with them as I could.
However there is a special bond between Collin, my oldest, and me. He is our firstborn grandchild and the first boy in born to our, (Mikes and mine), small family. Collin turns 8 this Friday, 12/5. Happy Birthday!
When Collin was born Mike was recovering from pretty significant knee surgery. He was not to bear weight on his leg, nevertheless when we got the call in the pre dawn hours of a cold December morning he drove us to the hospital to witness the birth of our first grandchild. My daughter however was in a hurry and gave birth to him just prior to our arrival.
He was perfect, beautiful in every way. My daughter handed him to me and her nurse asked if I wanted to give him his first bath. What an honor. From that moment he has had me wrapped around his finger.
As I said he is now 8 years old and nearly as tall as his very petite mother but he is not too old or big to sit and snuggle with me. So it was with very heavy heart and sadness that I had to say goodbye to my grandkids when the Thanksgiving trip home was over and I had to leave to return to Ohio. Brendan, the baby was very concerned that I button my coat before leaving the house. Ashley, my very precocious granddaughter was telling me her mother was going to buy her a special phone so that she could see me where ever she is. Then I went to hug and kiss my Collin goodbye. I started to cry as it is really hard not to see them as often as I used to. He too started to cry although he did not want me to know this and he turned his head away. We stood like that for several minutes and then I had to remind him that he was standing outside without his coat or shoes. Even then he did not want to let me go.
When I finally convinced him to go inside I was crying pretty hard. I cried most of the night and the next day as I left VT. In fact I am teary as I write this now.
So until the next time I get to hug each of them I will have this broken heart, one that will only be mended by a hug and kiss from those special little people, my grandchildren.

Giving Thanks

So as Thanksgiving approaches I realize there is much for me to be thankful for. I know that I don't always remember all of the good things in my life so it is a nice reminder at this time of year to really count your blessings.

In my current job I talk to hundreds of people all over the country who have health problems. Some of them have real reasons to be angry at what life has thrown their way but often times they are very grateful for what they do have. Those that have strong faith are even happy! This never ceases to amaze me.

Then of course there are the other types, you know the ones I mean. They are the people who really don't need a lot of anything yet they are very miserable and angry. What's up with that? So to all of my friends and family have a really Happy Thanksgiving! I am very happy because I am getting ready to leave for Vt in 5 days. Its my first trip home since coming to Cincinnati 9 months ago. It seems like an eternity.

Airport Police

The airport in Dayton is located at the end of a highway. Once you get to the airport there is no where else to go. It is also 1 hr away from my house. I was on my way there today to pick up my mother who was due to be in at 1pm. Mike is also scheduled to come in today but not until 4:30. So anyway I am on the highway to the airport when I receive a call from my mother who states that her connecting flight to Dayton has left and she is still on the tarmack and cannot get her connection.

So I am left to make a decision, either drive into the airport or not. So I decide if she is not coming in at 1 I really don't want to be at the airport but I have now entered the place where I need to decide if I am going to the terminal or parking. Since I don't want to go to either and I saw an exit sign a few feet behind me I decide to turn around and leave. I turn around only to find there really is no exit, its been blocked. (Too bad the didn't remove the sign) I then notice that the road is only 1 way and guess what I am headed in the wrong direction! Ok so I know I have made a mistake and need to turn around but just at this moment here comes the airport police with all lights flashing. I know he is after me so I stop where I am and take my license out of my purse. Now Mr. Airport Police exits his car and instead of walking on the side of the road away from traffic to approach me instead goes behind his car and walks in the road to my car.

As he gets to my car I state I made a mistake by thinking the exit sign meant there really was an exit and I know I am headed the wrong way. He is all business and tells me first to put both my hands on my steering wheel, then he tells me to turn off my car. Really how can I do that with both hands on my steering wheel?

So anyway the car gets shut off and he asks for my license and insurance card. (Guess he didn't care about the registration). So I hand them over and he asks me if I was aware I was headed the wrong way on a one way street? (Give me a break, I thougt I told him that when he first approached me!). He tells me to stay in my car and he returns to his. So now I wait, and wait and wait. About 7 minutes after he goes back to his car another airport police car comes by and stops to talk to him. So I am thinking OMG I didn't know traveling 75 feet in the wrong direction was a federal offense! I am waiting for the second cop to get out of his car and cuff me for crying out loud. But no, cop number 2 leaves and I wait for Mr. Airport Police to come back with my license and insurance card. Another 10 minutes go buy and I can see him in his car on the radio and cell phone. Must be he was on hold with the FBI or something. By this time I am praying that he just give me a ticket and let me go.

Finally, finally after nearly 20 minutes sitting on the side of the road with all of his lights flashing he comes back with my license and insurance card in his hand. I am looking but don't see a ticket. He is still all business and tells me I have a "completely clean driving record.". Funny I already knew that. He said he wouldn't ticket me and we would just call it an accident. (Once again I thought I said that.) So the moral of the story is don't mess with the Dayton Airport Police, they really have no sense of humor.

Music

"Its a little bit funny..." how music can affect you. I am sure most of you will recognize the opening quote from Elton John's Your Song. That I believe was his first big hit. But I digress. Seriously music has a way of bringing out the good and bad in most of us. As I was driving the morning Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison came on the radio and it immediately made me think of my very good friend Charlie. Charlie is a talented individual who loves to sing and play his guitar. Brown Eyed Girl is one of the songs I have heard him sing often.

Charlie and I worked together for many years and I miss him a lot! Of course remembering Charlie also made me remember many of my other very good friends Rhona, and Barbara my ya ya sisters who will always have a very special place in my heart, my good friend Jen who always listens without passing judgement, and many, many other friends from RRMC. Of course the good memories don't pass without some of the bad slipping in. I don't need to mention those individuals by name but you know who you are.

So there you have it the power of one song opens up all sorts of memories of times places and people. And to quote the great Lennon and McCartney "In my life I've loved them all."

It really is a small world

It is amazing just how small the world really is especially with the internet. I was visiting one of my favorite knitting sites earlier, Ravelry.com, and was reading a post from someone who was very familiar to me. Now please note that Ravelry is a huge site, used by hundreds of thousands of knitters from all over the world. Just the fact that the person whose posting I read seemed familiar was wild in an of itself. I was not sure if it was just me longing for some more contact from home.

Well I decided to send this person a private message and ask her if she was who I suspected. I was thrilled to receive a message confirming that she is indeed an old friend and co-worker. I knew we had shared similar interests but ironically neither of us knew the other one was an avid knitter. It was great to reconnect with her.

Speaking of knitting I am currently working on 5 if not 6 projects. Trying to get some things done for Christmas. My yarn collection seems to grow however many projects I seem to complete. Here is a recently completed pair of socks. Now if I could just complete the other six projects. Then I could start on 6 more.

Well goodnight everyone. Take care of yourselves.

Getting Ready

So it occurred to me recently that Christmas is fast approaching! As most of you know I believe my real job in life is to spoil my grandkids mercilessly. Having said that of course I have already bought them far too many Christmas presents. The cost of shipping things from South Lebanon Ohio to Rutland is insane. So what to do with all of the presents except get them wrapped and bring them with me to Rutland. So that is what I have been doing. I have been diligently trying to find the gifts which of course I started buying immediately after last Christmas and had moved with me. And guess what! I can locate some of them. LOL. But not to worry I have more than will fit in my car, especially with them being in gift boxes and all pretty! Oh well, getting everything in the car, that will be Mike's problem.

It is pretty cold here today. Last week it was in the 70's, today I think it is about 40 and the wind is blowing. Everything is parched and ugly as it never rains here! The weather people are saying that we are having a drought, it only took them 5 months to admit what all of us already knew. At least Mike is no longer watering the lawn. Our water bill was crazy all summer long.

Mike has gone to Vegas, some work related conference. He surprised me last week and bought my mom a ticket to come here to see me. She will be here on Friday. That was very sweet of him. Hope everyone is doing well in Rutland. I miss you all. I have attached a picture of some of the deer I see everyday just a few yards from my house. There are more dumb deer here than I have ever seen and they are huge. They cross the road like they own it and stop traffic on a regular basis. They can be a pain but they are nice to look at.

I love you all, will post soon.

Life in Cincinnati

Well here I am creating and posting on a blog. Hope everyone is doing well. Here we are just 2 1/2 weeks from Thanksgiving. 9 months since Mike and I moved to Ohio. Lets just say it is not Vt and I am having a very hard time coping with life here. I miss my home and all of my family and friends. I cannot wait to see as many of you as possible when I am home for Thanksgiving.

I am trying to be postitive but it is not easy.

So the good things about living here:

We have a great house

There is lots of shopping

There are museums, theaters and all sorts of cultural activities nearby.

The not so good things about being here:

I really hate my job and this states has the second highest rate of unemployment in the country so my attempts to find something different have not yet met with success

My house in VT has not sold so I am paying for 2 houses

Not a lot of discretionary income because of having to support 2 homes

I really really miss my grandkids

My job doesn't allow me to get away to travel back to VT

Ok so as you can see the bad outweighs the good in this case and so as soon as we are able we are planning to return to our home state. If, by some miracle, the house there sells before we are able to move back then we will just find another house back in Rutland.

So we did get to go on a vacation this fall. In fact we just returned last week from Hawaii. We were there to celebrate our 36th wedding anniversary. This was our second trip and it is really beautiful. The thing that we found the most different this trip was the number of Japanese tourists far outweighed the number of Americans on the island. We were once again on Oahu. Being there and seeing the beautiful mountains made me realize how much I miss seeing mountains each day.

Here is a picture of us on the North Shore.

I will keep you all posted of our lives here. Please keep in touch. Love you all!