Raining and cold

Posted on October 11, 2014October 11, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I was hoping the weatherman would be wrong but he hit the nail on the head today. Rainy and cold. I might have to break down and put the heat on. I wanted to wait until I had the furnace cleaned. Of course I’ve been procrastinating. Just too many other things grabbing my attention.

The car has really been rattling and the tires are wearing unevenly. It’s 13 years old and has 180000 miles on it. If I need a ton of work is it worth it? If I were to get a new car , what would I want? I have no clue so tomorrow its going into the shop for a thorough going over. When that’s done I should have a good idea of what I need to invest if I’m going to keep it.

It’s still raining so I went to the mall for a haircut. Over an hour wait without an appointment. Lets see what else I can do to pass the day.

A stop at the used book shop to pick up some good reads. Then a visit to my friendly T-Mobile store for a quick education on the new wireless calling. Oh Look, a mattress store is right next door. I need a new mattress but I have no idea what kind. My old one is 20 years old and saggy and lumpy.

1 hour later…..

I have a new mattress being delivered on Wednesday. They will take the old one away. I really didn’t intend to buy a mattress today but it’s been on my mind. I think I tried every mattress in the store from inner springs to memory foam. I ended up with a pretty traditional one, a beauty rest. It had one extra feature that I hope will really work. It has a gel core? Or something like that, that is supposed to keep you cool at night. If that works I will really like that.

$Natural-Latex-Mattresses$

Last stop , groceries. Always a challenge. I settled on a pot roast. I’ll toss it in the crock pot tomorrow morning and that will give me meals for the week.

The rain has finally stopped but its still cold. It’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow but not much warmer. I think I’ll take a look at those books. I got a couple of Brad Meltzer’s and a couple of Iris Johansen’s. That should keep me busy.

Everybody Loves a Parade

Posted on October 9, 2014October 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Finally leaving the midway and rides behind we found another building we hadn’t explored.

They had a mechanical cow where you could try your hand at milking her. A stage was set up with a garden revue, animatrons that sang songs and popped up and down. Very cute.

This was also where a chick hatchery was set up. The display held a large number of eggs which were on the verge of hatching. You could see tiny cracks form and eventually out popped a baby chick! This would have held our attention for hours if the parade hadn’t stated. Having missed out on the circus I was determined to see the parade.

The theme was Carnival like the parades in New Orleans with floats and beads.

There were marching bands.

And float

after float

after float.

But the participant that made it all worth it for me were the Clydesdales!

There they were in all their splendor . Manes and tails braided, feathered feet prancing high. It took my breath away! They even had their dalmatian dog with them.

They are truly magnificent animals. The crowd’s reaction proves that they have super star status. Probably because of all the wonderful commercials Budweiser has used these animals to star in.

Yes, seeing them up close like this made the whole trip worth it for me.

The kids liked the beads 🙂

The Big E

Posted on October 5, 2014October 5, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The elephant ride was in the past and we began working our way toward the big circus tent. It was loud and people were everywhere! Your senses are bombarded by noise, color, smells. Some smells were barnyard and others were mouth watering aromas as we passed food booths. It was lunchtime after all. T shirt stalls abounded and one of the buildings was crammed to the rafters with souvenirs! If you want to spend money it sure looks like we came to the right place.

We stopped to watch an automated calliope, very ornate. The kids were fascinated.

There was the circus tent, my goal du jour!

But we were too late. The 12 o’clock show was full. The attendant recommended we come back at 3 pm for the 4 pm show so that was the plan. In the meantime we headed toward the food stalls for lunch.

Progress was slow as you can imagine. The kids wanted to try everything, even the giant slide.

We were looking for the Budweiser Clydesdale Horses but didn’t see them. The kids zeroed in on the bear exhibit. That turned out to be a favorite with the kids as they visited it a second time later in the day.

It was a hot day so we were all sweaty and thirsty by this time so lunch was under an umbrella at a corn dog stand and what corn dogs they were! Foot longs or larger and giant drinks. It was a welcome break.

We still had so much to see.

80 degrees in September

Posted on October 1, 2014October 1, 2014 by Dusty Roads

WOW! Blue sky and hot weather. Seems like a summer’s day not late September. Near Southeastern MA where I live the leaves made a sudden color change this week.

We are starting to see some reds and oranges sprinkled in among the greens and browns. But out near the western part of MA it’s still very green.

I know this because last week I drove the Mass Pike (RT 90) from New York to Worcester as I came back from the Adirondack Balloon Festival. Now, on the spur of the moment, I’m driving the same route again on my way to the BIG E, also known as The Eastern States Exposition. It is the largest agricultural event on the eastern seaboard and the sixth largest fair in the nation and I’ve never been.

To encourage me with this adventure I’ve picked up Nancy and her 2 children , Alex and Dawn. After all what’s a fair if you don’t have kids to enjoy it. It’s been years since I’ve been to any fair but I know there are lots of animals at this one, 4 H exhibits and the signature dessert, The Big E Cream Puff.

It’s about a 2 hour drive and we made one stop along the way for a bathroom break and leg stretch. The kids used to fall asleep on long rides but as they have gotten older they are more alert. They entertained themselves in the back seat with electronic toys and minimal sibling fighting.

We made it to the fair right about noon. We thought we had plenty of time to make the 1 pm circus in the big top. So we took our time heading in that direction. In fact, as soon as we entered the gates there was an elephant ride. Dare-devil Dawn had to try that right away.

A camel stood in the background and ponies carried smaller children. On the other side of the elephant was a petting zoo. So much to do and we just got here!

Just a quick Hi

Posted on September 14, 2014September 14, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Hi everyone! Are you still waiting for me? Oh my, you are wonderful! I’m finally starting to mend, at least my legs and back. The shingles continue to hang on. I had to stop PT because it was only making me worse. I was ready for a wheel chair and the back pain had changed. It wasn’t an ache anymore, it was take your breathe away pain. So I stopped and called my doctor who was on vacation, She won’t be back until next week and then I won’t be available. In the meantime I have seen a big improvement. I can walk again, the back pain persists but much less intense. Yesterday I walked all around the mall without stopping! Before I was walking from bench to bench, to rest before going on and I am limping much less.

Labor Day weekend I had company and we went on a cruise of the Cape Cod Canal. I have pictures and stories and promise I’ll share soon. The next day we went to the Roger Williams Zoo. More Pics but I wasn’t walking too well then so my poor friend was held to a mere crawl around the zoo as he waited for me to keep up.

This is the busy fall season for real estate and I’m am working long hours but it will be worth it. One of the agents I support asked me if I had adjusted to my new schedule. (It’s suppose to be 9-6 M-F) I said yes but I got to thinking how time is so precious.

On my old schedule I had too much time. Oh I had time to write my blog daily but I was also bored a lot of the time. Now I scramble for every spare minute. There are days I pull laundry out with every good intention and never get a chance to look at it again until 8-9 pm. But I’m not bored!

I expect free time will be cyclical based on busy seasons and off seasons. So I expect I’ll be able to start posting more in another month – 6 weeks as we head into the holiday seasons.

So my blogging friends, you are never far from my thoughts. I always appreciate you and your support! Back soon 🙂