Of Furniture, Shingles and Life

Posted on July 12, 2014July 12, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I feel like I’m neglecting this page. 🙁 I’ve so little time/energy during the week. I felt much better this week than last. I had much more energy. I wonder if the crushing tiredness was more from the meds they had me on for shingles than the disease itself. It hasn’t been too painful. The nasty rash reminded me of poison ivy. It blistered and oozed but it didn’t really hurt like I expected it to. I had one bad day when my right side from my toes to my head throbbed like a toothache. I even had an earache in my right ear. But it was just one day and some extra strength Aleve took care of that in short order. Now the rash has scabbed over but I’m tormented by a strange kind of itchy feeling; like I have little creatures running around just under the skin. Can’t wait for my check up on Tuesday!

One thing I did decide was that I needed more comfortable furniture. My old sectional couch was just too lumpy and uncomfortable. So after almost 20 years it was consigned to the trash. Getting rid of furniture in the city is an adventure. You can’t leave it in the dumpster. You can put it by the road and the city will give you 24 hours to remove it. Cross your fingers a “picker” will grab it or you’re in big trouble.

I didn’t have those options because I couldn’t move the pieces out of the apartment by myself anyway. I felt like the moving commercial that Comcast runs where the guy calls all his friends for help and no one steps up. My friends and friends with trucks all managed to disappear this week. So I called “Got Junk” and they arrived right on time to take my old furniture and my money. But at least it was done. Now I had an empty living room until Saturday when my delivery would arrive.

I had some concerns when I was told my delivery was scheduled for 6:30 AM Saturday…I live in a condo. I’m sure my neighbors would be thrilled with the bumping and banging and loud voices from the movers at 6:30 in the morning on a weekend! Arguing, begging and threatening to cancel my order didn’t have any effect. My delivery time was still 6:30 am – 9:30 am.

On Saturday I rolled out of bed at 6:15 am and waited and waited and waited. At exactly 8 AM my doorbell rang. There were 4 movers and they had my love seat and chair in the unit in less than 10 minutes! Yes they banged and yes their voices were loud, but it was 8 am not 6:30 and it was quick!

I didn’t measure the room. I just figured a love seat was smaller than my old sectional. I was about to be surprised.

My new love seat turned out to be much larger than I planned but even though the furniture takes up more room than I expected, I love it and its sooooo comfy. I should have replaced that old sofa years ago! (PS Ignore the messy “office” in the background)

A Milestone

Posted on May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 by Dusty Roads

WOW! I finally did it! I published my 1000th post on aroundustyroads.com! I almost missed it too until a little notification from wordpress popped up to let me know.

The exact post was “Sky High in Gatlinburg”. That’s a real milestone.

Cheers!

Now I just have to do it all again. Thanks for coming along for the ride. 🙂

The Hopper

Posted on May 16, 2014May 16, 2014 by Dusty Roads

This is kind of cool..I love getting plugs for my blog. I opened up my email and there was this notice. I followed the link ans sure enough, there was my blog.

Hey there,I’m Maggie, a product manager at Hopper, a Boston-based travel startup. Hopper catalogs the best travel-related content on the web to help travelers find inspiration and advice from knowledgeable bloggers.I wanted to write you personally to let you know we recently featured your post about Gillette Castle State Park on Hopper!Click here to view it or to sign up to reach new readers.

Hopper wants to reward awesome bloggers like yourself with more and better exposure, so if you have any feedback or questions please reply directly to this email.

Thanks,

Maggie
Product Manager, Hopper
maggie@hopper.com

A Big Day for Massachusetts

Posted on April 22, 2014April 22, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday was a big day for Massachusetts. It was Patriots’ Day. It’s not named for the New England Patriots football team, but the other way around. It’s named for those men who fathered our nation, the minute men, the rag-tag revolutionaries that won the nation’s freedom. Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts commemorated the “shot heard ’round the world”. The Battles of Lexington and Concord which marked the start of the revolution.

A trip to the Concord Green at dawn is a trip back in history as the battle is reenacted with muskets and Red Coats. It doesn’t last long but as the smoke from the muskets roll over the watching visitors it’s easy to be transported back to that day in 1775.

Two more modern events also take place on Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts.

Since 1959 the Boston Red Sox have been scheduled to play at Fenway Park on Patriots’ Day.

But the other big event is the Boston Marathon. This is so big that some people call the day Marathon Monday. Yesterday was especially meaningful because it was the first anniversary of the Marathon Bombings. For many people it was a matter of pride to make sure this year’s running was successful, safe , special.

I was going to meet my friends and co-workers at Mile 13 in Wellesley to cheer on the runners. One of my co workers was running. What makes her run so amazing is that she has been struggling back from an injury that only a couple of months ago had her bed-ridden. I can’t quite wrap my head around what an accomplishment this is!

I ended up missing it. I had to get my business cell phone fixed so I was stuck at the T-Mobile store all afternoon. 🙁 Sadly I had to pull the plug on my phone. It had been struggling on life support for several months and it was just time. It was so far gone that it took forever to get the contents moved from my old phone to the new phone but finally I was back in action. Unfortunately by then most of the runners had crossed the finish line.

The news reports state that The Marathon was a success and the Red Sox lost against the Orioles.

Life in the Hub goes on, the sun was shining and life is good!

The Ides Of March

Posted on March 15, 2014March 15, 2014 by Dusty Roads

In modern times, the Ides of March is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Caesar was stabbed to death at a meeting of the senate. As many as 60 conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius, were involved. According to Plutarch, a seer had warned that harm would come to Caesar no later than the Ides of March. On his way to the Theatre of Pompey, where he would be assassinated, Caesar passed the seer and joked, “The ides of March have come,” meaning to say that the prophecy had not been fulfilled, to which the seer replied “Aye, Caesar; but not gone.”

I remember learning this is school. I think we learned it in English class, not history, when we read some of Shakespeare’s plays. I was not a fan. To this day I find the Bard hard to understand. But this phrase did stick in my mind and apparently in many other peoples minds as well. I think everyone is familiar with the expression if not where it comes from.

It seems March 15 is right behind Friday the 13th as a day with bad vibes. 🙂 The ‘superstitions’ concerning the Ides of March are that on that date there would be forebodings that certain tragic events might befall persons if they do not heed the warning signs.

I am no soothsayer and I am not particularly superstitious but I will wish everyone well today while I remind you to “Beware the Ides of March”.