Category Archives: Boston

What Can Possibly Go Wrong~

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Whatever can go wrong probably will!

I had a chance to work from home today because I have enrolled in a class to learn more about WordPress. Oh there’s lots of places to read about it but I felt I needed a instructor to explain it and answer my questions. Working from home would let me go directly into Boston. What could possibly go wrong?

I raced out of the house at 5 pm. My work phone was still blowing up with emails and I got a call as I dashed out the door. It’s also rush hour but the class doesn’t start until 6:30 so I felt like I had plenty of time. As I pulled onto the expressway I pressed OnStar and gave them the address. I didn’t want to take any chance of getting lost. I also wanted to know my eta.

Where’s the RUSH in Rush Hour?

Bad News. It was 11 miles and 54 minutes. WHAT?! 54 minutes to go 11 miles? That’s really bad. Turns out they were right. Shortly after I activated OnStar traffic came to a screeching halt. We crawled. I could have walked faster!

Then as if I wasn’t late enough, OnStar took me to the wrong address. I thought they were just routing me around the traffic. Nope. I have no idea where I ended up but it wasn’t where I wanted to be. After another call to OnStar and new directions I finally arrived at my destination at 7:30 pm. I’d missed half of the class.

No Need to be Rude, Dude.

I earned a really dirty look from the instructor who refused to accept my apology. His response was “Don’t expect me to hold up the class for you”.  Of course I was left without any direction to catch up. I was on my own. I finally gave up and logged into my new blog so I could follow along without messing up this space.

I picked up some tips but the most exciting thing is that I learned how to add Videos.
This is my first attempt!

I love this video of Buddy. It always makes me laugh and now I can share it! Yay!

 

One Man’s Junk is Another Man’s Treasure

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One Man’s Junk is Another Man’s Treasure

It’s Memorial Day Weekend and that means its the start of the Tag Sale (yard Sale) Season. Here in New England we take our yard sales very seriously. As the title implies, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

Tag Sale, Yard Sale, Garage Sale, Estate Sale

A yard sale by any other name is still a sale of your old discards. You’ll clean out your basement, attic, closets and garage. Drag it all out to your front yard and price to sell. Your neighbors and the professional pickers will go through your things, bicker over prices and take away your cast offs. With any luck you’ll maker a buck and get your home emptied out too. Your things go from unwanted junk to treasure.

What’s in a name?

What is the difference between the most  common sales?

1.  A Garage Sale is a sale of someone’s unwanted household items. Most often held in somebody’s garage or driveway, garage sales sell cookware, utensils, smaller pieces of furniture, children’s cast off toys and clothing, old tools, etc. Garage sales can often yield treasures when households are selling things from the attic or basement that belonged to their parents or grandparents. Garage sales can be very unpredictable in the kinds of items they have and can yield terrific things for very little money. A variation on the garage sale is the Yard Sale which usually has more items for sale than a garage sale so it spills out into someone’s entire yard.

2.  A Moving Sale usually contains the partial and sometimes even the entire contents of a home. Moving is expensive and many people sell a large percentage of their possessions rather than move them. Moving sales can yield terrific pieces, often large pieces of furniture that would be very costly to move.

3.  An Estate Sale is easily defined: it is the sale of the goods from an estate; i.e., someone who has passed. Estate sales often yield the greatest treasures of all because they contain the collections of a lifetime. Possessions being sold may have belonged to an elderly person, which sometimes includes the property of that person’s parents and grandparents. Estate sales often yield terrific antiques that are coming on the resale market for the first time. As a rule, Estate sales are run by professionals, who have been contracted by the family or by the estate’s executors. These estate sale professionals will go through all of the departed’s possessions, appraise its value, clean the items, then arrange, display, and price everything that will go into the sale. Furthermore, they will absorb the expense of managing the actual sale itself (including difficult tasks like crowd control & security).

4.  A Tag Sale is sort of a hybrid between a Garage Sale and an Estate Sale. This is usually a sale of someone’s property (who is living). Its of  higher quality than what you’d find at a garage sale. Generally tag sales are managed by professionals and will contain quality furniture and collectibles and often important antiques. (Except for Connecticut and some areas of New England where a Tag Sale is a Yard Sale is a Garage sale.)

Shop till you drop.

So if you are looking for a way to spend a some time and possibly your hard earned cash, welcome to the Tag Sale Season. It started Memorial Day Weekend along with the back yard Barbecues.

A Time to Remember on Memorial Day 2017

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It’s Memorial Day

On Memorial Day there are parades and cook outs and family get-togethers no matter the weather. Many folks have a day off from work WITH PAY!  Do we really understand how lucky we are?

The World Is Still Violent

Are we humans just a cruel, violent species? Are we destined to fight and scrabble among ourselves until we destroy each other and our world? Our veterans gave their all for peace. They have come home damaged emotionally and physically and too many paid the ultimate price. Yet we still hear of horrible acts of brutality every day. Look what just happened in Manchester England! Or what about the Pulse Night Club in Orlando, and the Fort Lauderdale Airport? And these are just a few examples. I could go on!

Our Brave New World

 

Security is tight. We use plastic see-through bags so everyone can see that we’re not carrying a weapon. We suffer through metal detectors and have our bags searched. I’ve even been swabbed for gun powder residue. This is the world we live in now. No one is truly safe. On this Memorial Day I can’t help but wonder what would those who died for our freedom have to say about it? Would they feel that their sacrifice was in vain or that we’ve squandered the chances they have provided to us?

Proud and Sad

I am so proud of our service men and women, so overwhelmed by what they have done and continue to do to protect this country every day. But I am also sad. Sad that there is so much hate and violence around the world. I’m very sad that in a country built on immigration and acceptance that there are still incidences of prejudice and evidence of hate crimes. Somethings just don’t seem to change, just the victims.

Honor our Fallen With an Open Heart

Its Memorial Day and while we barbecue and wave our flags, stop and think about the real meaning of this day. Think about those in our military today and the many who have served our country bravely. Open your hearts to the principals they stood for and many died for – Freedom; freedom of speech,  freedom of religion, freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness for all! Say no to prejudice and discrimination. God Bless America!

It’s a Matter of Dress

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Navy Dress Code hasn’t Changed!

When I was visiting the USS Constitution I was impressed by the way the sailors were dressed in period costume. But I was corrected. These may be vintage duds but the are still official Navy Uniforms.

The Pike and Sailcloth

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When you approach the entrance to the dry dock you are greeted by a crew member. The one who met me was carrying a Pike. I asked him what it was and he said it was a boarding pike. He immediately demonstrated how the sailors would crouch, bracing themselves and point the  tip of the pike toward the gunnel. When the enemy tried to board they threw themselves on the sharp point. As he went on to say, we didn’t have to kill anybody. They did it all themselves!

He explained that his pants are made of sailcloth so if a cannon ball ripped the sail they could cut a patch from the legs of the pants.

The 1813’s

The crew in those days referred to their dress code as the 1813’s. It’s a official Navy uniform  and its wear is still prescribed in the Navy uniform regulations. Prior to 1813 and during the War of 1812, the  enlisted crew served in whatever clothing they owned when they joined the service.

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The “uniform” evolved as crew members began to buy clothing that looked like other sailors eventually they all started looking alike, creating a “uniform” appearance.

There are many types of Navy Uniforms

My brother was in the Navy and over the years I got to see several uniforms. I know there are service dress uniforms,  worn for official functions not rising to the level of full or dinner dress. they are seasonal with white worn in summer and blue in winter. I’m partial to the white myself.

Service Dress Blues for male junior enlisted personnel are based on the standard Navy jumper in navy blue, colloquially referred to as “crackerjacks” because of the Navy-uniformed figure that adorns the Cracker Jack snack box.

Of course there are the Full Dress, Dinner Dress uniforms, Working uniforms, shipboard working uniforms and the list goes on. I think it would be a full time job to keep straight when to wear what uniform!

So that’s a wrap

I love the uniforms and I thought seeing these young men wear them with such pride, even through they could be mistaken for a costume, was very uplifting.

Nothing quite like a man in uniform!

 

 

 

 

Old Ironsides, The Oldest Commissioned Naval Vessel Afloat!

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Old Ironsides , Still Floating after all These Years!

She is the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. Every year she sails out of her berth at the Charlestown  Naval Yard to help Boston Celebrate the 4th of July. Well almost every year. She’s in dry dock to get a bit of a face lift. But hey, if I were 200 years old I hope someone would give me a face lift too.

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Construction

The USS Constitution got her nickname Old Ironsides because cannon balls seemed to bounce off her sides like she was made of iron. Actually her hull is made of Southern white pine. However those wooden sides were lined with copper sheathing to prevent shipworm but apparently it also gave the hull extra strength. The sheathing was imported from England but the copper bolts and breasthooks were forged by Paul Revere.

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Copper does not hold up well to seawater so from time to time the Navy brings the aging ship into dry dock to make repairs and restore as much as practical to her original state in 1812.

A Little History

The USS Constitution was launched in 1797, one of six original frigate class ships to start the new country’s Navy. She is most well known for her actions in the War of 1812. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of “Old Ironsides” and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. Although retired from active service in 1881, there was no rest for this grand lady of the sea.

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Through the years

Since she “retired” she became a museum ship in 1907. In 1934, she completed a three-year, 90-port tour of the nation. The Constitution  sailed under her own power for her 200th birthday in 1997, and again in August 2012 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over Guerriere.

The Crew of the Constitution

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As a fully commissioned  Naval ship. The USS Constitution has a crew of 60 sailors and offices. These officers and crew are all active duty U.S Naval Personnel.

The Future

The Constitution enter Dry dock 1 in May 2015 for a 3 year restoration  project. The project is slated for completion on July 2017. She will be re-floated the night of July 23, 2017.