Category Archives: Life

Bright and Cold

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It was clear and sunny and bright but the cold of the last few days continued to linger. At least the overcast and snow was over. There was still a little snow on the ground but it is January in the northeast so what else can I expect.

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I’m heading off to join the Audubon Society on a Snowy Owl Prowl at Duxbury Beach. The 8 am excursion was booked but they decided to have a 2nd trip at 12 and I managed to get a spot on that one.

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It was time to break out the winter camo. Time to see if it was as warm as the sales pitch said. I skipped the pants because I’d be in and out of a warm van and I figured it might be too much. Instead I pulled on a pair of “leggings” and then the size too big jeans that I bought to keep the waistband from irritating my shingles rash. No one would ever know I was wearing 2 pairs of pants and I figured the extra layer would be enough to break the wind for the little time we would be out of the van.

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I packed up my sunglasses, a snack to prevent low blood sugar, a water bottle  and the big camera lens in case I had a chance to use it. Then, looking like an extra from Wild West Alaska I headed out.

Arriving at Duxbury Beach I could see that the sea ice had frozen. Since it’s sea water with a lot of salt it isn’t really solid but it looks like regular ice from the shore. While I waited for the Audubon crew I hoped out to snap a picture of the Powder Point Bridge.

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Immediately the wind hit me. But after a second I realized that the cold wind was only hitting my face. The rest of me was comfortably warm. That was all it took for me to fully accept my “camo” winter parka. (This is my “concentrating” look as I try to take a “Selfie”)

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Shortly after that the Audubon Vans arrived . There were 2 of them and probably 9 of us so we were very comfortable, not crowded at all. I got the front seat with our driver and guide, Dave.

Sally drove the 2nd van and checked us in. Once she was sure we were all present and accounted for we were off.

Baby Its Cold Out There

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The latest update in my Facebook feed on Beau is that he is still alive and still in captivity. More sharing and social media rabble-rousing is planned. I think the authorities in Tennessee could take a tip from the movie Frozen and “Let it go, Let it go, Let it go”. A terrible abuse of power.

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But on another note, what does everyone think of this cold weather. Friends in Florida tell me it’s cold there too. Is anyone warm?

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Last night the winds were howling and making a real racket when I went to bed. I lower the heat at bedtime down to around 60. I can’t sleep if its too warm and since I’m in a condo with units above, below and on each side, throw in the heated common areas and I’m usually pretty toasty warm. I knew it was cold when I woke up this morning and heard the furnace running.

I remember growing up in the Adirondacks and hearing my folks comment on the cold. I remember plenty of below zero days back then but as a kid stuffed in a bulky snow suit I didn’t really care.

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If the cold froze the tops of the snow to ice we’d just take cardboard boxes and use them as sleds. Sometimes we had to crawl back up the hill because the ice crust was so slippery. Of course wiping out on that kind of snow was guaranteed to leave a blood trail! That crust could cut like glass!

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I don’t know how cold it got last night but there were lots of reports of frozen gas lines and dead batteries in cars and school buses. I did not even put my nose out there! I can work from home so I was not about to brave the cold even if I do have a snugly warm snowsuit just like when I was a kid.  I’ll be trying that out for the first time this weekend.

FedEx  was working in the cold. At about 10 am I had a knock on my door. The man standing there looked like Nanook of the North. He had a mustache  and a hooded jacket with fur around it.

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I think I just stared. I don’t know who let him inside the building but that poor man looked frozen. He didn’t say a word, just handed me my package and left. I think he just wanted to get the day over with so he could get out of the cold. His brief stop at my door probably didn’t give him much time to get warm before he had to go right back outside.

So, how’s the cold where you are and how are you coping? Am I just a wimp?

 

 

 

 

 

Even my Horoscope Gives Me a hard Time

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I feel bad enough that I can’t manage to post more often any more but today’s horoscope even chimed in with a guilt trip!

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Your Daily Horoscope

You may not have the time to write the next great epic novel, but you could have a few minutes each day to write a blog post, or to share some ideas in social media. You may find that people are drawn to what you have to say right now.

2014 a Year in Review

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I’m not going to talk about missing airplanes, radical insurgents or riots that are a throw-back to the 60’s. Nope this is just going to be a nice easy summary of my year. Simple and mundane.

The theme for my 2014 should have been “Be Careful What you Wish For”. I spent almost half the year being bored and restless. Then around April several co-workers and friends started wooing me to a new position. I admit I was resistant. I had my eye on a non-existent position on the “buy” side. I was being teased and pushed toward the “listing” side of the business, sometimes referred to as the “dark side” by the “buy side” folks.

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Taking a shaking breathe and questioning my sanity I accepted the new challenge on May 18.

I’d just come back from my vacation in Tennessee and my mind was clear and relaxed. Good thing too because I found myself thrown in at the deep end of the pool. It was time to Swim like mad or sink. I am happy to say that I did not sink, maybe floundered a few times but eventually I helped my team close over 50 deals between May 18 and December 31! Several were over $1,000,000.00!

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I expect to do even more in 2015 because I’ll have the whole year and we have added another team member.

I like the fast pace and the bonuses I can earn. I love feeling like a part of a team rather than being spread over many agents and areas.  Here’s to a rocking 2015.

Because of the activity in the job that pays the bills, my blog and my photography definitely took a back seat last year. My “photo a day” goal died a rapid death once I was thrown into my new job and regular blog posts followed closely behind.   I don’t like to write about work. It either sounds like complaining or bragging and there’s always a chance of giving away something that I shouldn’t so with long hours during the busy season my topics really were limited. I don’t see that changing this year either but I’ll do the best I can. Better to post less often and be interesting than just to post drivel in order to have a post…at least that’s my feeling.

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I am finally feeling better. 2014 was a really rough year for health issues.

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I’m not 100% but certainly much , much better than I was for most of 2014. Maybe I’ll be able to make a dent on the 2014 goal of losing some weight. Start small. Lets see if I can lose 25 lbs and then go from there.

And that about sums it up. I hope you reach all of your goals for 2015!

 

All I want for Christmas

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Sigh! I’m beginning to understand a bit about the aging process.

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All I want right now is to get my home back in order and cleaned up. It seems like forever that I’ve been living in boxes. First the kitchen and now the furniture that I need moved.

 

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And it’s mainly because I can’t do this by myself. I used to be able to move this furniture alone but now I can’t get it to budge! So I am at the mercy of other people’s schedules.

I can see how someone, particularly the elderly, could become hoarders! No strength or energy to throw stuff out!

The kitchen still isn’t finished.

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I’m still waiting for the electrician to install the microwave range hood. That would get one big box out of the way. Then I’m waiting for my neighbor to help me move the sideboard and hutch.

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I emptied that out to make it easier and lighter to move but I haven’t connected with him since he said he’d help. So that means I have all those boxes sitting here.

There’s an armoire on it’s way. It’s a Saunders so I know that means it will have to be put together. I hate putting together furniture. My knees and back hurt so much it makes it very hard but the ones that were already assembled were terribly expensive. To make room for the armoire I need to clean out the book case and move it to another corner. I used to be able to move this book case by myself. Now I don’t know if I still can or not. I sure hope so!

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Then there’s an old rickety book case in that corner that needs to be cleaned off and thrown out. It’s sitting where I want to put the book case that’s where the armoire is going to go.

It’s like a puzzle.

It makes me tired just thinking about it but everything is at a standstill until either my electrician gets here or my neighbor. Until one of them makes me some room I am stuck and I hate being dependent on someone else. I hope one of them gets here before the armoire otherwise I have no idea where that box will go!

In the meantime I am living surrounded by boxes, dust and cat hair. I may not be the best housekeeper but I’ve never lived this long surrounded by such chaos, not even when I’ve just moved.

I mean it when I say all I want for Christmas is a clean and organized home.