Category Archives: School

Oh No! Where did the Summer Go?

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Summer’s Last Gasp

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It’s still summer. August is still summer and it’s only August 31. According to the weather folks tomorrow, September 1, is the first day of meteorological fall. Oh boo hoo! Fall in New England is nice but I miss summer already. Labor Day weekend is the last long weekend, our last chance for summer fun.

Fall leavesSigns of Fall are all around us

The seasons change and the signs are there. School has started. I got stuck behind a school bus on the way to work. The turkeys are getting restless. I saw two big turkeys by the side of the road on my way home tonight. A big maple tree on Route 140 has begun to turn colors! Already! The nights are cool and mornings have a crispness to the air. A sweater or jacket might be in order. I can open a window and turn off the air conditioner. Football is top of mind as the boys of summer fade away. Another fall sign that’s not so nice is the ragweed. Seems like we have a bumper crop this year. Excuse me while I sneeze.

Road trips are callingWaterfall

Along with the cooler nights will be the fall colors. Leaves will be changing. Our roads will be filled with leaf peepers but even I plan to be one of them. Maybe a trip down the Mohawk Trail or back to New Hampshire to visit a place called Diana’s Baths. They are a series of waterfalls and cascades. I have it on good authority that although they are lovely any time of year, fall is especially pretty.

 

Cranberry Harvest Festivals

In Massachusetts, home to Ocean Spray, fall means the cranberry harvest. From mid- September until late in the fall,  cranberries reach their peak of color and flavor. The landscape is dotted with the bright red cranberry bogs as they wait for the harvest. Cranberries can be harvested wet or dry. Interested in visiting a cranberry bog? We’ve got lots of farms for tours or products.

Down on the cape the cranberry harvest season begins around Labor Day and usually runs into the middle of November. The Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association has created a cranberry harvest trail guide.

Cranberry bog

I love cranberries. Maybe fall’s not so bad after all!

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!

 

Reading, Writing and Real Estate?

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They say no news is good news but it makes for boring writing.

That’s kind of where I am at the moment. I did hear back from the magazine publisher. I must admit they were very kind and encouraging. They told me they had decided to go with someone with “proven credentials”. They went on to suggest that I submit ideas and articles as a “Freelancer”. Once I’ve been published a few times doors will open for me or so they say.

So onto the next and that one is a clerical-type work from home position for a real estate firm. The job I applied for required a salesperson license, which I do not have, so I coughed up the $400.00 for the course fee and have been throwing myself into it with single-mindedness.  I need to complete the 40 hour course which is being doled out in 4 hour increments to get a certificate that will let me take the state exam. That’s another $100. Then if I pass he exam  there will be another fee for the license.

The firm decided to speak to me about another position that would not require the license to start but if I get that job I would still need to get the license eventually so I might as well bite the bullet and do it. Having the license will open up additional opportunities. I actually got in the door for a face- to – face interview for that position. The manager promised I’d hear by May 10. Fingers crossed but at the same time I kind of believe that if it’s meant to be it will be.

Unemployment found a position for me. The only one they had was for a bilingual dispatcher. The only problem is that I am not bilingual. English  is my only language and sometimes I wonder about that! 🙂

The weather has been sunny and warm and the air is filled with pollen. Even with allergy pills I’m sneezing, coughing and dealing with itchy, runny eyes. Ah how we suffer for the beauty of flowers!

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The 3 cats are doing better together. Smokey still tends to “Mix things up” with Buddy which is stupid on his part.

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Buddy is probably 10 years younger and 2 lbs. heavier, which is a lot for a cat, plus Buddy has claws and Smokey does not. (I did not de-claw Smokey, he was that way when I got him). I think you can see that this isn’t going to end well for Smokey so I have been intervening. Rocky holds his own. I think in his case it’s just rough play.

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Other than that I’ve done nothing but fret over my weight (but done nothing), read novels, and try to figure out where to go for new material for photos and this little corner. Judging from my lack of posts this week I think you know how that’s been going.

Counting down to the Alaska cruise.

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I don’t know how the WIFI connection will be on the ship and I don’t plan to pay an arm and a leg for it so my posts  may be spotty then  too. But I’m sure the Alaska posts and photos will be worth waiting for.

Well, now you’re up to date with my life. I hadn’t forgotten you. Aroundustyroads is always on my mind. Thanks for hanging in! 🙂

Real Estate, Interviews and Alaska…Busy , Busy

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Sorry I missed posting yesterday. I had an interview right in the middle of the day. I just couldn’t get myself settled enough to write and I didn’t want to jinx myself by talking about the interview before it was over.

The other excuse is that I need to buckle down again to finish the real estate licensing class. That’s four hours a day for 10 days not counting the additional studying. I’ve completed 8 hours and I’m working on the 3rd block of 4 hours. It would be nice if I could finish and get the test done before we leave for Alaska but it will be cutting it close.

I ‘m also staring at my home office that needs a major renovation and I haven’t taken even a baby step toward getting that done…ugh. I am feeling overwhelmed and I’m not even working. So much to do so little time.

Now you have my excuses so please bear with me over the next few weeks. I may be a bit “spotty” on my posts until we get back from Alaska but I know I’ll have tons to share from that.

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Oh and speaking of Alaska I picked up our cruise documents and plane tickets. Other than confirming the dates were correct and that I had vouchers for everything I didn’t look at them too closely. Then I got an email from Princess Lines referring to changes. Again I glanced but didn’t look too closely. I had too many other things going on but my sister looked. She emailed me that we had a balcony room!

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Well that got me moving and I looked it up. Sure enough. We were upgraded from an ocean view on the Baja deck to a Balcony on the Aloha deck. How cool is that!

I’m getting excited. Hard to believe it’s almost here!