The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

Lots of Little People!

2008-09-05T12:27:00.004-04:00

My new bus is a 66 passenger, 22 seats with three in each. Yesterday I brought in 64 little people. Thankfully we had a couple of sub drivers on standby so I had one ride with me and he was great at getting them into seats fairly quickly! He was still with me this morning and we only had 61. The head driver is moving some of the kids to two other buses so our numbers will be fairly even but that doesn't start until Monday. They are all kids that I will really miss :'(

I expect between 55 & 60 to ride home with me and it is going to be 90° so I'm hoping we get out of school and get some air moving through fairly quickly.

It's been a stressful first week but at the same time a good week. My 1st route is already set and running on time; the kids have been great. Having had an extra driver with me I have an almost complete roster already and my name tags already done up. I'll tackle a seating chart on Monday.

Another First Day

2008-09-03T20:04:00.004-04:00

Today was a bit crazy, typical for the first day of school. I think I found all of my secondary students. Several of the kids I had last year were MIA and that offset the influx of new students.

My elementary route changed a lot from last year and I have about 25 new faces and names to learn plus the seven kindergartners that start tomorrow. For the first time in years no parents followed the bus.

This afternoon several of the kids were sure that I'd missed their stops because of the route change and others were so busy visiting that they neglected to come up when we got to their stop. One little one came up with her shoes in her hand! It took her a long time to get them on and meanwhile, two of the kids that were waiting to cross over with her got tired of waiting and just walked in front of the bus and then ignored the horn. We'll be talking about that tomorrow! I also ended up with two little girls that should have been on a different bus so I ran them out to where they needed to go. The radio was going crazy and the last hour felt like two. I got back to the garage about a half hour later than I expected to.

Hopefully tomorrow will go more smoothly.

I do love my new bus! I used one of the oldest buses in the fleet for summer school so today was my first day with this one. I figured I'd have to get out the ladder to adjust my right side mirrors and discovered that it has electronic ones! I can't believe how tight I can make my turns on the narrow village streets and I think I've figured out the alarm, at least I didn't set it off today :-)

Congratuations to the Newlyweds!

2008-08-31T19:00:00.006-04:00

My niece was married yesterday. She was beautiful, her attendants were beautiful, her mother was beautiful, the service was beautiful and the guys were looking good too.

Exchanging Rings

Now Mr. and Mrs.

The new family

First Dance

Bean was one of her cousin's attendants.

Angie & B

Sil, B and John

Bean talking with John's aunt J and my sister-in-law K

My great-niece caught the bouquet

We enjoyed ourselves!

John's sister and brother-in-law

PJ and Liz on the dance floor

Liz and Papa dancing

Bean and Liz. Liz danced with everybody!

Unlike her sister, Nikki preferred to watch the dancing.
I did get her out on the floor once.

The bride's brother and K.

My great-niece and great-nephew

More nieces, D & L. L is the mother of the two in
the previous picture.

The Matron of Honor

Everyone had a great time and enjoyed seeing family that came in from all over the country. I hope to get the rest of the pictures into an online album soon.

Old Forge

2008-08-24T13:13:00.009-04:00

With summer school over, John and I decided to get away for a couple of days so we headed to Old Forge. It had been years since we'd been there, the last time was a day trip when the kids were young and we took them to Enchanted Forest.

It was an interesting trip. We were robbed before we made it all the way into town!

We took the train out of Thendara and it was held up by the Loomis Gang.
Guys on horseback and with shotguns stop the train.

The characters move from car to car.

I have ridden on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad a couple of times before and this was certainly the most fun I've ever had. A tip if you go, sit on the station side of the car to see the action outside.

We moved on to our motel, right on the pond.

We were pleased with the views from our balcony.

At check-in the key to our room was missing and they had to get a spare. We were told the key was probably in the room. It wasn't. I had no trouble opening the door. When we went to go out for dinner John tried it and couldn't get it to work. I tried it and it worked just fine! I told him it was just pay back for all those times that I've told him something was broken and it worked just fine for him.

Of course I could no longer get it work when we returned... We had to go get a new key and were told it was no problem they had several sets.

The door to the adjoining room had just a bedroom type lock, with the lock on our side. I don't think I would have been happy in the other room knowing that the folks next door could pop in when ever they wanted! There may have been a chain or something on the other side but we didn't try to open it and find out. There was no bolt or chain on either of our exterior doors which made me a little uncomfortable at night. We've had a couple of odd experiences in similar situations not to mention the missing and surplus keys.

There was a free lawn concert that we were able to enjoy from our room.

The lake was pretty at night too.
I loved this bright yellow boat house.

Old Forge Pond sits at the beginning of the Fulton Chain of Lakes. Rather than rent a boat we decided to cruise the first four lakes with Old Forge Lake Cruises.
The boat had a nice open top deck. There was a group that had come up on the train from Utica. We happened to pick the time when they were filming a tourist piece and we got a ~~staring~~ ~~bit~~ walk on roles. OK we actually just got to sit in our seats while the video was being shot.

The videographer was on the mail boat which was keeping pace with us just outside the main channel. If you see the video look for me - I'm the one taking pictures of the camera. We were all watching him and waving when all of a sudden he just about fell out of the boat as it suddenly slowed! I think they just hit a sand bar and everyone was OK but they didn't follow us much further.

Now I love kids. Maybe that radiates off of me or something but it seems that small children are always seated behind me on buses, trains, planes and boats. The little guy behind me was cute as a button and bored to tears. I started cracking up when he was whining and his father, after several attempts to figure out what he wanted (the boy said juice three times) told him to tell his mother what he wanted because dad couldn't make out what he was saying. As much as I like kids, I do not like having my chair kicked repeatedly or being hit in the back of the head by flailing arms. When we got to the turn around point we headed downstairs where the view wasn't nearly as good and I wish we'd stayed up top.

In one of the narrows we passed a kayaker and his dog. Yes, the dog was in the kayak and if he'd had his way he would have chased our boat right out of the water. The dog was barking and lunging and the guy was holding onto the dog to keep it from jumping in after us. I was cracking up. As far as I could see the kayak stayed upright. I wonder if the same rules apply to dogs in kayaks as dogs in canoes? LOL Naturally, I had put the camera away so I missed out on a great picture.

The rest of our trip was fairly uneventful. We read a couple of books, enjoyed the wildlife and relaxed.

Will it Ever Stop?!

2008-08-16T19:45:00.005-04:00

I am so incredibly sick and tired of rain. I got up this morning, saw the sun and put my shorts on thinking to get out while the getting was good. Right about the time I finished dressing it started raining - even though the sun was still out. Then the sun went away and it poured. It rained off and on all morning. I finally got out and cut a few things in the garden and staked a couple of others but it felt both muggy and cold at the same time. It's mid August and dang it, it should be hot! I have two weeks off and I want summer weather!

So I spent the day on the computer. I transcribed some more letters and spent a couple of hours hunting down census records.

Yesterday was our NYS mandated refresher at work and it was not the most interesting one I have ever attended. The topic was pre-trip and post-trip inspections which most of our drivers do very well. We did spend some time going over accidents that had made the news around the country. A good exercise to get us thinking for the start of the year. I have to get in and set up my bus and photocopy the stack of paper I'll need the first week. I may put it off until after Labor Day but then I'll be competing with everyone else for copier time.

John took Mike to the last session at the museum. Nikki was camping and didn't go. All the kids seemed to enjoy the program so I hope I can sign them up for it again next year. Alex and Liz made good use of the dress up box and they really loved the old switchboard and phones.

My Boys and Angie

2008-08-15T18:20:00.003-04:00

What do you get your wife for your anniversary? Angie wanted new family pictures and that's what she got! I thought I'd a share a few of my favorites.

Angie, BJ
Alex, Mike

Buddies!

They are always rough-housing so I loved this one.

A Day at the Farm

2008-08-14T14:35:00.002-04:00

Between work and all of the things going on this summer I have had very little time on the computer. I have my refresher tomorrow and then I am off until after Labor Day.

A couple of weeks ago we all went to my sister's for Mom's birthday party.

Mom & Bean.
We cut her a break on the number of candles.

Country Girl & Ron rent out most of their acreage.
The kids liked seeing the big tractors at work.
They were working between the rain storms
to get the hay in for silage.

Sprout and Twig are always in motion!

A rare picture of these four together.
Twig, Sprout, Mike & Alex.

We also took a wildflower walk down to the creek.

Happy Birthday Mom & Ron

2008-07-31T08:38:00.001-04:00

Both my mother and brother-in-law are celebrating birthdays this week.

Where did the week go?

2008-07-27T07:09:00.004-04:00

A week ago Friday I had the opportunity to meet another blogger, Martha, of Lookin' Up. She had to go to Oswego and detoured over my way for an afternoon visit. John & I enjoyed meeting her and her son and Country Girl was able to join us too. She brought me some delicious blueberries and a pretty plant that has been traveling around the garden looking for the perfect spot.

I puttered away the weekend in the garden, read a book and caught up on ironing so that I'd have something to wear to work.

The alarm clock went off way too early Monday morning. I have to be in at my regular time for summer school. There had been a problem on the bus the week before so that all got dumped in my lap first thing. The kids didn't give me any problem but Monday & Tuesday were unpleasant and frustrating days.

Summer school finishes early and I don't have time to get to Mom's between runs so we went Monday afternoon. This is harder for her because she tends to doze in the afternoon. We finally did get a few weeds pulled but not enough that anyone else would notice.

The rest of the week found me in a funk and I have no idea why. I got very little done, read some books, spent time in the garden and did a bit of baking on the cool days. I spent very little time online so I am way behind with my regular reading.

I had stocked up on cigarettes before the new tax hike went into effect and they ran out. NYS is giving out a free two week pack of nicotine patches. So Friday I quit, again. Since I've quit many times before I'm not holding my breath. The first few days are always the hardest so I picked this weekend beacuse I'll be busy and with non-smokers. Who knows, maybe this time it will work.

Back to Work

2008-07-18T13:22:00.004-04:00

My summer vacation was cut short today. They needed a substitute monitor so I filled in. Next week I will go back to driving but only an easy, Monday - Thursday morning route, so my afternoons will still be free.

I've been enjoying my time outside. I have another couple of books read. And I actually have started on some of the summer projects that I wanted to get done. The back steps are painted as are the clothesline poles. I thought I start with little things :-)

Rainy Day Play

2008-07-13T16:03:00.004-04:00

Last week footnote Maven introduced me to Wordle and I've been addicted ever since. Go ahead and play, you know you want to.

Two Weeks Gone Already!

2008-07-11T20:28:00.004-04:00

Vacation is flying by and I haven't started on a single project that I need to get done yet.

We had a great 4th of July. The kids wanted to play kick ball as soon as they got here. I took a bunch of pictures but after that I was having such a great time I forgot to take any others. It was such a great day that Liz even played well with Sprout!

Monday we had to drop John's car off because it was leaking brake fluid. Turns out it was also leaking transmission fluid. Oh, well, repairs at this point are still less than car payments. Mom was doing well and in the mood to reminisce a bit. I didn't get anything done at her house either!

After I dropped John off, to pick up his car, on Wednesday, I signed the kids up for a history program at the local museum and I'm looking forward to that next month.

Alex got cut on his eye ball by a pool float earlier in the week. By the time we saw him on Thursday he was doing fine but he did show us a scary picture of himself wearing an eye patch.

When the weather has been nice I've been working in the garden. When it's been raining or too hot to work I've been transcribing letters. I've finally gotten ahead on them. About 35 done and 1,000 to go ;-o

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T07:12:00.000-04:00

I've been enjoying my vacation. Puttering in the garden and reading - actual books, not just stuff on the computer!

Yesterday I spent the day cooking and cleaning in anticipation of our annual 4th of July Barbecue. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone in one place and at the same time!

I hope you all have a wonderful day as well!

Happy Aniversary!

2008-07-02T05:20:00.000-04:00

Stomp Stomp Clap!

2008-06-27T06:41:00.000-04:00

I survived the last day of school yesterday. I felt a little off when I got up but certainly not bad enough to call in sick. They had offered monitors to any driver that was worried about kids acting up. I declined and my kids were even better than I thought they'd be.

The middle school had their awards ceremony and ran late, just like last year and the year before, and the year before that........ It took a couple of my kids forever to get to the bus because it was their last day in this building and they had to hug everybody goodbye. We have a tradition here that all of the teachers line up along the sidewalk to wave good-bye and we blow our horns as we drive by. Most districts don't equip the buses with air horns but we do. Having done this for years I knew to take something for a headache ahead of time. I'm toward the front of the line and the horns didn't start too early so it really wasn't too bad. I let them sit wherever they wanted and cranked up the radio and they talked, laughed and cried. They did not throw things, yell or get out of line in any way. I had had trouble with this group off and on during the year and almost didn't keep the group for next year. I'm glad I'll have them next year and I'll miss them this summer.

Because the middle school ran so late, we were very late getting to the elementary school. Both the students and teachers were more than ready for us when we finally had all 26 buses lined up. I knew I'd be in for a loud trip when I heard them all screaming as they poured out of the school. The little kids think it is a big deal to be the first one to their bus and this was Liz's last chance for the year. I could see her running out in front of the pack and since I had no students on my bus yet I pulled my keys and met her on the sidewalk. I grabbed her and gave her a hug and kiss and let her go. She was unhappy with me but she was still 1st to her bus. LOL I missed Nikki as she went by :-(

At the elementary I was 24th in line. The horns were loud and seemed to last forever. I can't imagine being a teacher listening to all of them standing on the sidewalk! (I know some of them bring ear plugs) I stopped blowing the horn as we headed out onto the road expecting the "No more teacher's, No more books" chant. I'm not sure if it was planned or spontaneous but they surprised me with "We Will Rock You". There were 52 of them in a 30' tin can yelling WE WILL, WE WILL, ROCK YOU! - followed by the stomp, stomp clap. They couldn't remember the rest of the words so they just kept repeating that over and over as I drove to the first neighborhood. The parents waiting for the bus at the first stop heard us long before they could see us round the curve. I let them keep it up through the first neighborhood and told them that was enough as we headed out on the main road. Only one 5th grader kept yelling. He was of the opinion that he would not be on my bus next year so he could do what ever he wanted. I pointed out that I had his Mom's phone # and he decided being grounded at the beginning of vacation wouldn't be good. The other chant did start, but fairly quietly. I got on the PA and pointed out that I'd be calling the parents of anybody that used any of the bad words in the 2nd and 3rd verses and surprisingly I didn't hear any of the words.

Most of my parents know to listen for the horns and I'll be along shortly. Some of my new parents weren't aware of this and were mighty annoyed that I was running so much later than expected but at least when I run late they are all out waiting and I had no left over kids.

Several of the elementary routes had to be changed somewhat for next year due to the high cost of fuel. (Currently $5.16 a gallon here.) More of the buses will be full like mine. I will be swapping a few streets with another driver which will save him miles and fuel. I will still have 50 - 60+. I will miss some of the kids that will be on the other route and at the same time I'm looking forward to meeting the kids that will be new to me and the driving challenge that the new streets on the route will provide.

I decided not to work this summer so I can enjoy working in my garden, catch up on some projects around the house and continue to transcribe letters. Hopefully I'll get back to regular posting here too ;-)

Count Down

2008-06-07T17:40:00.004-04:00

Writing here is a habit that I've gotten away from. Things have been very busy here between work, gardening and Mom.

Last Saturday Country Girl and I went plant shopping. She also brought me plants and then I went to a plant swap on Sunday. I also have been potting plants up for the plant sale I am doing for Relay for Life next weekend.

On Monday I took a group of third graders to Beaver Lake Nature Center. I love going there and walking the trails. My favorites are the Woodland Trail where I saw several Jack-in-the-pulpit and the Bog Trail.

I went to Mom's two days this week and she is doing OK. She didn't use the oxygen on Thursday night and she really noticed a difference. She was having trouble thinking clearly on Friday. So now we know it is helping. I moved the machine into her bedroom where the air conditioner is and she should still be able to use it in the living room but maybe not in the kitchen. She started again with the oxygen building up in the house and I explained again that the oxygen would just dissipate. Knowing that she was befuddled she agreed to try not to worry too much about it.

In my spare moments I have started transcribing some of the letters that I got on my trip to Michigan. It's interesting learning a little about the day to day life of my ancestors.

Summer is finally here. I like it warm but yesterday was too warm to be at work. The outside temperature hit 90 + so on my bus it was well over 100 when I was parked and due to a group getting back from a trip late, all my schools were late and I spent too much time parked, waiting for students to board.

Schools across the country are already on summer vacation or finishing up for the year. We go until June 26th :( The next three weeks will drag. I have to decide by next Friday if I am going to clean buses again this year. Right now I'm leaning towards not but that changes day to day and hour by hour. The pay is OK but I know that the weeks that I work I'll be too tired to get much done at home.

I have decided to keep my route next year. I have had some frustrations with a group of students over the last few months and had considered bidding on something new but overall I really like my route. Several elementary routes have been changed so that we could eliminate a couple to save fuel. I will still have 70% of the kids I have this year and the new route will suit me I think.

I made the decision to keep my route before I found out what bus will go with it next year. Really, I did! I will be driving a 2007 IC next year !!!! After getting the bus I had this year I really thought I'd be keeping it three or four years - and would have happily. When the head driver told me what I'd be getting I was shocked. Several other drivers aren't happy that I'm getting something so new with my lack of seniority but I understand that this is the only way they can reward me for the extra things I do. I can't wait to take it out for a spin!

Another Birthday!

2008-05-28T19:08:00.004-04:00

It's official, I'm a terrible grandma! Alex celebrated his 6th birthday last week three times and I'm just writing about it now. Things have been terribly busy here but I did help him celebrate two of the three times.

He had is official party a week ago Sunday. You can see from this picture that the partying wore him out. :-)

He was so pooped that it took him three tries to blow out the candles.

A couple of days later we celebrated again at our house with his brother and cousins. He got to pick what we had for dinner followed by another cake. I still haven't bought more birthday candles so he got that same candle we used for Nikki's birthday.

He wasn't quite as tired this time!

His actual birthday was a week ago today and his parents took him to the pizza place with the big mouse and video games. I'd say he celebrated plenty.

While he was turning 6, Ross was celebrating 60. A belated wish for a very Happy Birthday Ross!

The Little Drummer Boy

2008-05-19T21:03:00.003-04:00

Mike had his first band concert tonight. He is in the percussion group so he was at the very rear of the stage where we couldn't see him but they had a photo-op before the performance began. He shares my love of music. I was a bit disappointed that he didn't pick a woodwind instrument because I can play them and could have helped him. But his father, aunt and uncle didn't pick them either - they play trombone and trumpet. I guess we could have our own band ;-)

For a beginning band they did very well. There were only a couple of squeaks and everyone stayed together.

After the band portion of the concert was done the chorus took the stage. Like me, Mike is vertically challenged so he was right in front. The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Today felt more like late winter than mid spring with cold temperatures, clouds and showers all day. The weather appears to be clearing and we were rewarded with a pretty sunset on our way home.

Life with Mom

2008-05-13T20:23:00.005-04:00

I took Mom to the doctor today. This was a follow up visit to see how she's doing with the oxygen and new prescription. She is supposed to be on the oxygen 24hrs a day but she has refused to use it during the day because "it's just too much trouble!" She's told me that she's worried about tripping over the tubing. I've explained to her several times that she can just take it off if she wants to get up and do something and put it back on when she sits down again, I even had the technician from the oxygen company tell her the same thing because we know I couldn't possibly know what I'm talking about.

Mom totally blindsided me when she started talking to the nurse about the real reason that she won't use the oxygen during the day. It seems she was convinced that if she took it off and forgot to turn off the machine that the oxygen would just keep building up in the house, flow into the cold air return vents to the furnace and then the house would blow up!

My jaw dropped to the floor and I sat there, struck dumb, while the nurse explained to her why that just wasn't possible and that she had nothing to worry about as long as no one was smoking in the house. He must have noted my surprise because as we were leaving he squeezed my shoulder and patted my back.

As soon as I got the portable tank switched off back at her house, she had me turn on the machine and had no trouble getting around with the tubing. I really hope she'll continue to use it all of the time and that it helps her think more clearly.

Birthday - Circus - Birthday - Birthday

2008-05-06T20:42:00.003-04:00

Boy, was last week a busy week! The kids were here on Monday and since it was Nikki's birthday week we had a small celebration. I couldn't find any birthday candles so we had to improvise.

On Tuesday Alex was in the kindergarten musical Circus, Circus. They sang and he bounced and swayed the entire time.

Every circus needs a candy vendor. He did a good job and the production was cute.

Wednesday Nikki had her party at the mall. This time there were two cakes and presents! It's hard to believe that she is 8 already - 8 going on 12!

They have indoor mini golf at the mall and the kids had a great time. I have to say that I enjoyed it more than the roller rink - I didn't fall down once. Some of the kids at the party ride my bus and weren't quite sure what to make of me outside of work.

Sunday found us helping Twig celebrate his second birthday. Bean doesn't like me to share pictures of her kids but how can I resist. He's the baby and is getting so big.

It wasn't warm enough for the waterslide but that didn't stop the kids. It was just as much fun to bounce down without water. Mike and Alex were there with us because BJ and Angie both had to work. Of course they didn't bring a change of clothes. There was just enough water ponded at the bottom for them to both get soaked.
Any spare time I had last week was spent in the garden. I hurt my back picking up Twig on Sunday so I haven't accomplished much since then.

The girls are getting ready for a short vacation so we didn't have kids night this week. Maybe they'll all be able to come late next week.

Time Flies!

2008-04-25T18:48:00.004-04:00

Where did the week go? The weather here has been phenomenal and I've been spending as much time as I can outside.

Saturday evening our friends, J & S, stopped out. Between all of our work schedules we don't get together as often as we used to so it was great to have an evening to catch up.

Sunday Mike and Alex were here and they played with the kids next door while I worked in the garden. I think everything is about two weeks ahead of where it was last year! The boys discovered that I have a garter snake working for me ;-)

Monday, back to work and a visit with Mom. I didn't get nearly as much accomplished as I needed to. I really need a couple of full days to get some spring cleaning done there. She's still not using the oxygen as much as she is supposed to.

John's brother and sister-in-law surprised us! The live in Tennessee so we enjoyed having dinner with them here. It's been a very long time since we were able to get together, just the four of us. I even got to drive their Corvette!

Tuesday, back in the garden and the kids were all here for the evening. The bugs were driving Liz nuts so she spent sometime inside. I wish I could bottle their energy. The garter snake entertained them for awhile in the garden and I think that was the only time they stood still!

Yesterday and today were half days at two of my three schools and I declined the overtime that I could have had so I was done at noon each day. Yesterday the boys were here for awhile and today John and I did a bit of shopping. The rest of the time I spent in the garden.

The good weather is only supposed to last through tomorrow so I'll be outside for most of the day. I just received permission from the library to begin publishing that family letters that I went to Michigan for so I have lots of transcribing to do!

Home to a Perfect Summer Day

2008-04-19T18:48:00.004-04:00

I spent my spring break in Michigan researching my family history. I left Sunday and didn't get far before I had a tire problem that delayed me 3 hours. At least I was still in an area where I knew my way around and found a shop that could get me going on a Sunday. I crossed into Ontario at the Peace Bridge without even having to show my ID! I'd never been west of Hamilton before. A good portion of the trip was quite lonely and my cell phone didn't work. I was concerned about the tire but it got me through. Crossing back into the US took awhile. They were checking every car fairly thoroughly including taking my keys so they could look through the trunk.

My time at the Bentley Library at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, was amazing.... and extremely painful. I need surgery on both my feet and I have scoliosis so spending 2 1/2 days standing to photograph over 4 gigs of material was hard, but well worth it. You can read more about what I found at Apple's Tree.

Ann Arbor is a college town and there were things that reminded me of Syracuse. Ann Arbor seemed much more vibrant and a bit larger. The college kids were quite friendly, the other drivers patient and I quite enjoyed my time there. I loved having the opportunity to meet Jasia of Creative Gene. I felt bad that I didn't recognize her right off but she quickly forgave me and we had a wonderful 3 hour dinner at a pub.

I left Ann Arbor 1/2 a day later than planned and zipped across the state to Benton Harbor. The highway in Michigan was terrible in sections but I'm not complaining because they didn't charge me anything to drive across the state! In looking for information prior to my trip I stumbled across the Berrien County Genealogical Society website and found that another blogging friend would be giving a presentation on blogging. I wasn't going to miss that! Again I didn't recognize Juliane's granddaughter of Two Sides of the Ocean but when she was introduced she was easy to pick out ;-) We didn't have much time to talk then so she invited me to her home for a lovely luncheon and great conversation on Thursday.

I've been very fortunate in my meetings with other bloggers.

I spent a lot of time on Thursday lost on country roads. Berrien Co, MI borders Lake Michigan and is much like the New York counties that border Lake Ontario. There were tons of orchards and many more vineyards than we have in this part of NY. I had some disappointments in a couple of cemeteries and successes in others. By the end of the day Thursday I was exhausted and ready to head home.

Friday morning I had a short visit with my aunt and uncle. My uncle has Alzheimer's and had no idea who I was which was very sad. He had always been so animated when I had visited in the past. I enjoyed catching up with my aunt and learned that I have a new cousin that I didn't know about! I'm sure that Mom received the news of his birth but she sometimes forgets to pass things on to me. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't have any family pictures with me so I'll be sending some on to her.

I made a couple of other stops yesterday but most of the day was spent driving home. I chose to follow the south shore of the lake on the way home. It was a very long but uneventful drive.

John tells me that the last of the snow melted on Thursday. I had worked on cleaning up the sections of the garden that I could get to before I left but there was still plenty to do today. The weather was just perfect. We set a new record high temperature of 87°!

The boys will be here tomorrow and I'll be back in the garden. I'm anxious to start working with the documents that I found in Michigan but I'm just as anxious to be outside in the good weather!

Snowball Fight!

2008-04-06T21:09:00.003-04:00

What do my boys do on a beautiful, warm sunny day? They have a snowball fight with the kids next door! I was working in the garden where the snow is gone and told them to stay out of the snow because they didn't bring a change of clothes. They are carefully standing on a tiny grassy patch. I didn't specifically say no snowballs. They had fun and stayed (mostly) dry.

We finally can see patches of grass and we spent the entire afternoon outside. I didn't get all that much accomplished but I rarely do on my first beautiful spring day. Yesterday was beautiful too but a meeting kept me inside for most of the day.

I finally made my reservations for Michigan. Mom has an appointment next week that John will take her to. I have a very busy week coming up to get ready to go!

It's Finally Melting

2008-04-02T11:40:00.004-04:00

30 March 2008

2 April 2008

We hit the mid 60's yesterday and we are finally seeing the snow shrink. Back to cold this morning but the skies have cleared and with temperatures predicted to be in the 40's and 50's for the next several days it should keep melting a little each day. Hopefully by the time I get back from Michigan in a couple of weeks it will be pretty much gone.

They're Back

2008-03-24T11:51:00.002-04:00

I know spring can't be too far away here when they geese stop on their way through. On the way to Mom's yesterday I remarked to John that they should be in the swamp near the corner. I was momentarily disappointed when they weren't there. This year they were on the other side of the road just a little further on from where I usually see them.

I've been in a full blown depression the last few weeks. Winter doesn't seem to want to end. Mom has had another round of doctor appointments. The kids at work really have cabin fever. Add to these the death of two good men, both only in their 50's.

Sunny days, the return of the geese and shrinking snow banks are helping to get me back to myself again.