Where did the month go? It's the 30th already?!

Well, with shopping, preparations, decorating, then getting through the actual holidays, the month just flew by. It sure seemed to come up on us fast then zip right on by. No worries though because I'm ready for 2010. My friend Nancy told me today that she was really looking forward to 2010 being much better than 2009. Let's hope so. I had quite alot of mixed experiences this year both good and bad. I did go on three trips; one to the UK, one to Hawaii, and the last one to Alaska on a cruise. In the middle of all that, I got laid off at the end of May. I have now had about 7 months to hang out with my husband, son, and pets. All are going to be very unhappy when I go back to work. Especially my dog Nikki. She has become quite attached to the idea of being right next to me all day.




I'm hoping that next year brings several things. One is a job, two is a bit of weight loss (more like alot), three is celebrating my 50th birthday with family and friends. Yes, 50 is rapidly approaching (in May) and I am so looking forward to that milestone. I would love to have the people that mean the most to me help me celebrate it. My daughter has been put in charge of all or most of the arrangements but I will be glad to supply a list of people that I would love to have with me.

At any rate, the year is winding down with one more day to go. After the New Year's weekend and Sean is back in school, I hope to get a bit more serious about my workouts and food plan. No more holiday goodies. And whose idea was it to make that homemade caramel anyway?!
Happy New Year!

Under the Facebook Spell

"Confessions of a Facebook Bejeweled junkie Or how to spend time on useless pursuits"

Back in the day, about 6 or so years ago, I installed a "purchased from a retail store" version of Bejeweled. I had played it online when I needed a distraction from work (since I was ever so busy) but the online games are just a big tease. They let you play a few times on a trial basis but then they want you to purchase it. So, I did but not from an online source. I was then able to install it on mine and a coworkers' computer as well as the one at home. I was hooked. I played it alot and got excited with each new level. But after a period of time, I lost interest. My main hobby is genealogy and it requires a considerable amount of time on the computer but when you hit brick walls and it gets frustrating, you temporarily move on to other things. (We won't even talk about my secret addiction to spider solitaire). So, recently I joined Linkedin which is a good professional contact/networking site and then very reluctantly joined Facebook. I once had a Myspace account but got really bored with that. I did not want to take the time to set up my profile and it seemed a bit cumbersome. In addition to that I found out that someone was trying to use my hotmail account as their myspace name. A couple of years went by and along came Facebook which I discovered already had a ton of people I knew in the FB community. So I took the plunge. Well, checking the daily posts from my group of friends and reading emails got to be a bit boring so I looked around to see what kind of games were out there. I saw that some of my friends were on Farmville, alot, and some were on Yoville, alot, and some were on Mafia Wars, alot. Since those activities didn't interest me and I had already spent time taking about 20 totally useless quizzes, I found a 1 minute bejeweled that kept track of your score as well as your friends. Now, let's consider this for a minute. My husband is in bed pretty early 2 nights a week, works the night shift 2 nights a week and sleeps during the day during 3 of the 7 days of the week. My son is in school, the house is clean and totally organized, the laundry is done, it's raining outside or at least very cold and I don't watch soaps or game shows. I spent my alotted amount of time working out, I read the books that I checked out from the library and I am at a standstill on my current family tree search. So, here is where the Facebook game and quiz people prey on the bored and vulnerable. They put out the hook, wait for you to bite, then start reeling you in. It becomes a challenge to try to get that high score in just a minute. That isn't much time but it also makes it so it's not much time to click on "begin again" and keep trying. Over and over again. I don't know what games may be lurking on Twitter or Myspace and I really don't want to find out however, I do know that it is easy to get hooked on one of the Facebook games. My weakness is Bejeweled but my friends are on Farmville, Yoville, Mafia Wars, etc. DURING WORKING HOURS and sometimes after work. Judging from the amount of time that they spend on those apps, I can see that they really enjoy doing it but have to wonder if they are as out of control addicted as I am. Some of them, in addition to the Facebook apps, play Worlds of Warcraft online AND manage to fit in scrapbooking and other hobbies. Perhaps an intervention is in order. I can just see someone saying that playing bejeweled or selling produce on farmville is very "Therapeutic". Honestly, I only click on the red squares to improve my dexterity. No, really. It is therapeutic and is increasing my ability to use the mouse so much faster than I had previously. Yeah, that's it. And why is my wrist hurting so much at 1:30 in the morning?

My most favorite Nintendo game in the past was Tetris. I am so glad that Facebook doesn't have an app for that. If they did, I would be in big trouble. Now, should I play single suit or two suited spider solitaire?

A busy month and a time to reflect, December 2009

Here we are again, on December 1st. There's shopping to do, Fawn's birthday is this month, Christmas is almost here. It is looking like busy should be the word for Decmber.

Well, I have to say what a year it's been! I had a terrific trip to England and Wales with my good friend Rhonda in March/April, then went to Oahu in June with my son and husband, and then on a cruise to Alaska in August for a week with just my husband. In the midst of all of that I was laid off from my job at the end of May. Having the time off has been huge for me. I completed numerous landscape projects, helped clear out some trees and used the wood chipper to make a great mulch for my gardens, and organized most of the interior of my house. The most signigicant benefit has been not having to stress or worry about going back to work. That alone has resulted in a more rested, relaxed, and contented me. I made homemade jam, started sewing, and started baking and cooking things that I have not attempted in the past. I spent time working out, shopping, making trips to the library, and going out to lunch with friends. I was basically doing all of the things that I normally would only have had time to do on the weekends and even then would have felt rushed. So, while the unemployment dollars are not what I was used to making, the fact is it helps and we're doing ok enough for hubby to tell me that he really doesn't want me to go back to work until after Christmas. And that is ok by me. I do still have to look every week, which I am doing, but since I'm not finding anything it does give me time to do other things. Which will bring me to my next post about how when you have the time, you can find yourself getting wrapped up in unproductive and nearly addictive computer programs. See you on the next post!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Brrrrrrr - Fall is here

When Jim left for work this morning at 4:30 it was 31 degrees out and the ground was frosty. I dug up the last of my pepper plants and am working on completing my mulch project in the circle garden. It's already making a big difference. When this project is done I will no longer have to weed whack or mow in that area and won't have to worry about those nasty weeds. Maybe it will help with the slugs as well.

I will post pictures of the progress tomorrow.

Amazing connections

I was thinking the other day, about how many years it's been since I started in the electronics industry and how many people I have met and known. Sometimes it is just mind boggling. It was 1979, I was not yet 19 and here I am at almost 50 years old. Yikes! Where did the time go? My first gig was at Almac/Stroum in Georgetown. That one didn't last even a year but I still remember almost everyone's names and faces. Of course through out the last 30 years there have been people I wish I didn't remember or even have met for that matter but hey, life doesn't give you mulligans so oh well. Conversely though, there are people that I really wish I would have kept in touch with over the years. Some of them I really miss. Now that I'm so much older, most definitely wiser, and have my priorities in this world pretty straight; friendships, relationships and associations are so much more important to me.

When I was at Almac there were probably at least 50 people there that I remember and sadly I am not in contact with any of them. The next place was Spectro Acoustics and there are a few from there that I keep in touch with. The next was SGC where I was the purchasing agent and I soon met tons of distributor sales people. The next stop was Arrow Electronics where I spent the next 4 years. One of those years was spent in southern California and another was at the corporate office all the way over on Long Island. At Arrow I met people from all over the country since I was supporting the branches and distribution hubs as a corporate product manager. I had the opportunity to do some traveling then as well. However, New York was not my home so child in tow, I came home with no job lined up and no prospects. It took awhile to find something when I got back home but along came Western MicroTechnology, then ES/Chase, followed by IEC, then Shannon, and most recently OutBack Power.

I think I could say that the number of people that I crossed paths with is well over the 1000 mark and is probably more than that. Like I said, it is mind boggling at times. When I first started, alot of the people I knew were at least 10 to 15 years older than I was. Some of the people I knew early on have passed away, retired, or sucessfully left the electronics industry to pursue other interests. Others are still plugging away at their respective distributor, OEM, or rep jobs. I've worked in all aspects of electronics; distribution, manufacturing, rep company, contract manufacturer and I would say that my favorite environment has been in manufacturing.

I would go back to any of those environments however, at this point because I want to work. I will also work outside of the industry, for the government, or pretty much anywhere for that matter. The thing about it is that I like diversity, I like meeting new people, I like learning about new things. Hey, on this last go around I learned a ton about renewable and alternative energy and since I had never been a facilities manager before, I gained an enormous amount of knowledge and skills doing that. Learning new things and having new experiences is what keeps you growing as a person.

Well, that's probably enough for tonight. Tomorrow I'm making homemade blackberry jam and blackberry pancake syrup. Yep, it's good stuff.

See you on the next post!

The job search heats up

I was laid off at the end of May and here it is September 1. I had a great summer with Jim and Sean, went on two vacations, and took care of most of my project list and now I'm ready to go back to work. I need to go back to work. Not just for the money, which I do need, but I am not a successful stay at home kind of person. I need to be busy and challenged. I need to make a contribution to a company that I enjoy working for and I need to be productive. There are alot more projects I could be doing both inside and outside of the house and I will continue doing that until I go back to work but now that Sean is going back to school and vacations are out of the way, I'm ready.

So, the all important "networking" has to be stepped up. I'm checking all of the common job search websites but word of mouth and contacts both personal and professional will hopefully help to increase visibility.

Alaska update

Ok, it's time for pictures then on to the next post. I have alot of ground to cover since I haven't posted since the 11th of August.





So, this cruise we went on was on Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) and took us up through the Inside Passage of southern Alaska. This was our second time going to pretty much the same places but this time on a different NCL ship. At any rate, I would recommend this trip to anyone. And it is not just for old people. There were alot of kids, teens, young adults as well as us "old" folks. It was a 7 day cruise which went to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Victoria with a couple of "at sea" days. The scenery was the most amazing part of the cruise. It was incredible. The mountains are right next to the shore, the glaciers so close you can practically reach out and touch them and the wildlife phenomenal. We saw humpbacks breaching, orcas hunting, harbor seals snatching salmon, bald eagles in trees, and big bears near the shore. The weather was perfect and the water was like glass. Something that we didn't see last year that we saw on this trip was a glacier "calving". This meant that a chunk was breaking off and falling into the water. It literally crashes into the sea. So cool!


In Juneau we went panning for gold, in Skagway we went on a helicopter and walked on a glacier (it was 8 degrees there), and in Ketchikan we went to the fish ladder then went shopping. In Victoria we went to Butchart Gardens but it was very disappointing because it started getting dark almost immediately after we got there.


The food on the ship was great, the casino was a blast, and the juggling duo of Sharkbait was really funny. It was so good that we bought their video.


Just to give you an idea of how incredible the trip was, we took over 1400 pictures. Of course not all of them are perfect and you wade through the imperfections but I would have to say that over 1300 were keepers. I bought a new program for making great slide shows called "Roxio". It took a bit to figure out but I made a killer slide show set to music with transitions. It consisted of a little over 300 pictures.

Alaska

Well gang, here it is Tuesday morning in Alaska. We are enroute to our first stop which is Juneau. This morning we have seen humpback whales and dolphins. Yesterday there was a huge pod (around 60) of dolphins right off the bow of the ship. It was very cool. I'll check back later. See ya!

Keep close those that you care about

After I wrote about the value of association I realized that I needed to follow up on searching for someone that I had been thinking about for some time. I worked for a really great person back in the late 70's and the last time I talked to him was when Fawn was about 2 years old. His name was Mike Bresnan. My father introduced me to him when Mike owned a gas station across the street from the Ballard Locks and the Lockspot Tavern. The space has since been occupied by a Taco Time. Mike then took over ownership of an Arco station in the Shoreline neighborhood of Seattle. He called it Mike's North City Arco. It was on 175th and 15th NE. Long about 1975/76 I lived about 3 blocks from his station and eventually went to work for him. Yes, I was a pump jockey. I also learned how to work on cars, process credit card receipts, do the banking, and close the books each day. I was only 16 years old when I went to work for him but I learned alot in the 2 years that I worked for him. He was a great person and very caring human being. He and his wife Sally were involved with the Lake City Vigilantes for alot of years which is a Seafair staple. They volunteered much of their time to the community and charitable organizations. At any rate, I had not spoken to him or seen him since 1983. While I had thought about him from time to time over the years, I did not make the effort to find him. I emailed the secretary of the Vigilantes on the night of the Seafair parade because seeing them again made me think of Mike. She emailed back to me that Mike had passed away in 1991 from cancer. I could just kick myself for all the times that I could have picked up a phone and said hello but I won't. See note below. I know that if he had not somehow affected my life, I would not now be thinking about him some 30 years later.

*Sidenote: Regrets are those things that you did do (and should not have done) or should have done (that you did not do) that you simply have not made peace with. You cannot change the past but you can control how you approach the future. Make peace with your regrets and you will eventually learn that they are a part of what makes you the person you are today, for better or worse.

So, you all have people that you know that from time to time you say "I should call them", or "I should stop by and see them". The opportunity to do that will not come by and hit you over the head to tell you it's time. Don't wait, pick up the phone and say "hey". Email them, drop by and see them. If these people are important to you, make it a point to tell them what you think of them and what they have meant to you. Ask yourself if these are people that you would truly miss if you found out, after the fact, that they were gone.

No, you are not too busy. No, you do not have too many things going on and there's just not enough hours in the day. No, you will not "get around to it". As a wise Jedi Master once said, "Do or do not, there is no try". He also said "Always in motion is the future".

The value of association

I have been officially working (W2/Paycheck) since 1974 with a couple of breaks along the way, to have my children as well as a couple other reasons, and have met and known hundreds of people. Some just came in and out of my life and others were people that I grew close to whether for a short time or a life time. I do have a couple of friends that I have known since I started in electronics over 30 years ago but most of the people that I'm close to now are ones that I have known for 15 years or less. It is difficult at times to stay friends with people that you meet at work once you leave for another company because it soon becomes "out of sight, out of mind". You each have your jobs, your daily lives and your interaction is minimized to the point where it sort of fades away. What I have found as I have gotten older is that the friendships that I have cultivated over the last 10-15 years have meant more to me and have been deeper and more lasting than the ones I had when I was younger. (again with the exception of those that I have known for 30 years)

I put more value on my associations with people now that I am older because of the rewards from knowing them. We all tend to gravitate to people that are friendly to us or have common interests or simply because we sit next to them all day. But of those people, how many do you tend to pursue a more lasting friendship with? It is those that you find a true connection with. Something that goes deeper than just the person that you see from 8-5. There are people at my "previous" job that I found that connection with. These are people that have had an impact on my life. In other words, sappy as it may sound, I am a better person for having known you. You affected my life in some way that was profound and meaningful. So, I thank you all for that. And I say this now because you all have to be told if you don't already know that I am TERRIBLE about keeping in touch with people. I will do better and as I said, now that I am older it has more meaning and significance for me so staying in touch is important. It just is easier said than done.

I get emails from people all the time about friends, sisters, special people, and they all say that it needs to be forwarded to 9 people or 15 people and while I don't mind getting those I very rarely do anything with them. I know who my friends are. Some agree with me politically, some are on the same plane spiritually, some share my sense of humor, some are on the same philosophical level, and some are just at that "aquaintence" level where it could grow into a long term friendship or stay right there and never go further than talking about the weather. And that's ok too.

One of my goals has been to live my life in such a way as to have a positive influence on the people I meet. And while I don't wear my Christian beliefs on my sleeve for all to see and hear, I do try to show people that my happy outlook, contentment, and serenity all come from within and are directly tied to my relationship with God. I also try to show that life is just too short to waste valuable energy on the negative stuff. It's just not worth it. Here are some thoughts to ponder; laughter burns more calories than anger does, it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile, and crows feet are not a sign of age, it is a sign of a person who has smiled alot in their life and has the lines to prove it. I'm proud of mine!

Anyhow, after visiting my former place of employment today and having an interesting and enlightening conversation with a couple of young ladies, I realized two things. That I probably DON'T want to go back to work there if an opportunity arose, and that the people (at that place) that are important to me will remain that way long after today.

My late night philosophical rantings are now complete, for today.

Aloha!

Well, Oahu was a blast! We had alot of fun, sun, food, and adventure.

We arrived on Saturday the 4th and had the pleasure of watching an amazing fireworks display that night. But our first treat was lunch at Sam Choy's restaurant on the way to our hotel. I had the best plate lunch with the very best Mahi Mahi. There was rice and spam and beef and chicken but the fish was moist and flavorful. I think it's my new favorite. We spent an entire day at Pearl Harbor which was both humbling and awe inspiring. The Arizona memorial really rips at your heart and the USS Missouri is a reminder of what our resolve as a country accomplished in the end. This was the ship that the Japanese signed the terms of surrendor on.


We hiked to the top of Diamond Head which has a breathtaking view from the top. The guys went parasailing and had quite a scare. A big windy sqaull came in just as their shute was at the top of the line and it was so strong that it ripped a hole in the sail and took the guys on the boat along time to get my guys back down to safety. It was not a pleasant experience for either of them. However, our snorkel trips, swimming and just walking on the beach proved to be just right. We also went on a boat trip to swim with dolphins, which is where Sean got sunburned. It was awesome. While they were snorkeling with the dolphins, I was taking photos of everything. It was amazing. Sean ended up spending the last day there with his arms covered in bandages due to his bubbling burns. Ouch!








The pictures above were all taken at our hotel. It was a gorgeous place to stay.






The pictures above are from the sites at Pearl Harbor. It was the Arizona, the USS Missouri, and the USS Bowfin sub.




The picture above was from when we went to snorkel with the spinner dolphins. I'm glad I stayed on the boat and took pictures.





The last one is a shot of Diamond Head from the beach at our hotel.



Happy viewing!

Aloha on my mind

Well, we're only 4 days away from 85 degrees, sandy beaches, snorkeling, and some much needed and deserved R & R. I have been out of work now for 4 weeks and have worked my arse off nearly the entire time on landscape projects outside and organizing projects in. It's time for a break.

I went to the Worksource office today for a mandatory orientation session on how to fill out the forms, how to use the worksource resources, how to look for a job, etc. I would say it was somewhat helpful but I already knew most of what was discussed. Unlike back in the day when I was on unemployment, about 18 years ago, you now have to keep a log of every job you apply for and you have to apply for a minimum of 3 per week. The worksource website has a ton of search options and links so I will be able to utilize those resources. That means I will have to go on line while I'm in Waikiki. The hotel has a business center with free internet so it should be no biggie.

When I get back from Hawaii, I will need to get back to networking and looking a bit harder for a job. I'm really hoping to be back to work by the end of August but with the current unemployment environment, it could be alot longer than I want. We shall see what happens.

3 weeks since the layoff

An amazing thing happened this morning, I had to stop to think about what day it was today. That was a very strange feeling. Not having a place to go each day is both a pain and a pleasure. I am really enjoying hanging out with my hubby and son so not having to be at a job each day is good in that regard. But trying to let go of that sense that I SHOULD be going somewhere important is difficult. I think I'll probably get past that point right about the time that I find a job and have to go back to the whole "routine" thing.

Time to go play on the Wii.

The Great Landscape Project

If I were younger and could stand the heat, I might be tempted to go into the landscape business. But since neither applies to me, Thank God! I think I will leave it up to the experts. In the meantime, the following pictures represent just a small portion of a front and back yard project that took about a year and a half. The added bonus besides being pretty to look at is I get some new muscle mass and have lost a bunch of pounds. Woo Hoo!

The first picture is the view of our house from the road. The next two are before and after of our front garden along side the road.

The two areas above are right in front of the house.

This one is in the center of the front yard.

Now we're in the backyard. The photo on top is the east side of the yard, unfinished. The second photo is the finished product. The next two are the before and after of the south east corner which is at the end of the row of blocks above.

The next two photos are of the northeast section of the fenceline before and after.

The next two photos are the before and after of the south west side of the yard. The after photo is just the corner section.

The west side again but this time the after picture is of the northwest corner of the yard.



The next few pictures show the center half circle just off of the end of the deck in a before, during, and after process.

The last picture shows the deck that we built and over to the right is the shed that we built from scratch.

To look at the finished landscape projects you would think it looks easy. I'm here to tell you that it is extremely labor intensive but in the end it is all well worth it.

On to the next big project.

Anatomy of a lay-off

Well, I never thought the day would come that I would get laid off from my now "previous" job. It was a position that I thought suited me as much as I suited it. I loved, really loved, going to this job each day. The company was awesome and the position was both fun and challenging. I learned something new each day. There I was at 4 years and 3 months and the company had a 30% reduction in head count. I became an addition to the ranks of the unemployed. This happened on the 28th of May and now it is the 15th of June.

During the first two days I was in total shock. I thought that if I ever parted from the "company" that it would be on my terms and would surely be my choice. Not that I thought that I was not expendable, I just thought that my position was necessary to the functioning of the "company". I was obviously mistaken. At any rate, I cried off and on for the first few days even into the following week. As I said, at first I was shocked and devastated. What alot of people don't get is that it does not just have a financial impact. It affects your psyche. In my case, this was not just a job to me. I put my heart and soul into my work. I was a completely dedicated employee. So what happens is it affects your sense of self worth, it affects your sense of being needed and needing to be a part of something bigger than yourself. It messes with your internal clock and your routine. You get up at a certain time, you stop for coffee at the same place around the same time, you drive on the same road, pass the same group of cars, go to the cubicle or office or station at your job and make a contribution to the success of the place that you work for. You have the places you go to for lunch and the places you stop at on the way home. You have the friends that you work with, the daily emails and jokes that everyone shares, the sense of comeraderie. The impact that a layoff has on the average person upsets the sense of balance that each of us has. And then there is the wallet. In my case, the financial impact came second. It was the complete jolt to my emotional center that took the biggest hit.

I do still stop now and then to ask why? Not why me, why the position? It makes no sense. I did get two weeks severance which I think should have been more but hey, I am grateful. I also did get any PTO that was accrued which was also fine and some of the really cool people there wrote some very nice personal recommendation letters for me. That was awesome. Since I have never really had any breaks between jobs in the past, I thought it would be really nice to take the summer off this time, if we could afford it. My husband decided that we could so that is what I am doing. He went so far as to tell me not to worry about it (finding a job) until the end of August. That was sweet but I will worry about it and I will eventually get really serious about it but for right now, I need time for me and my family and my house. I have taken care of the unemployment situation, had one job interview so far, and am slowly working up to actually updating my resume and getting on some job search engines. It's kind of a slow process because I've been spending most of my daylight hours working my butt off doing landscape projects. I've lost 9 pounds since I've been off work and have found muscles in my shoulders and back that I didn't know I had. Oohrah!!!! Mom is getting buff! By the way, I will post pictures tomorrow night of all of my finished garden areas. They look really awesome so it was all worth it.

During this past week I have also been mastering the art of sleeping in and nap taking. That surely takes some skill you know. I used to get up early even on Saturdays but now I am learning the ever so subtle art of rolling over and going back to sleep. I'm sure that by the time I get back to work I will have to break that habit.

I have found quite a few job search sites and so far have gone as far as adding them to my favorites. There is one that I looked at today that may be helpful but I had to leave to pick up Sean from school and go to Home Depot to get more bark for the front garden. My pets love having me here everyday as I get to spend time playing with them and going for walks. My list of projects is growing but they are all things that I've been wanting to do for a long time and had been wishing I had time for, now I do.

Ok, I am now trying to infuse this situation with some humor but in keeping with my personality, life is really all about perspective. On Thursday it will be three weeks since I got terminated from my paying job and started my other job at home. My perspective is this, it is an opportunity to have some time for ME. It is an opportunity to do the things that I want to do. It is an opportunity to take the time to look for a job that suits what I want to do next. I get to spend time with my son, be home on the days that my husband is home, and develop a new appreciation for the 6 acres that I live on. I can work on my genealogy projects, use the sewing machine that I got for Christmas which has never been out of the box, organize my photos and files on my computer, and finish my UK trip power point presentation to share with Rhonda. And I can take a little more time to thank God for all of the wonderful things and experiences that he has bestowed on me and be exceedingly grateful for what I have and who I am.

My situation is rather unique among the people from the "company" that lost their jobs. I have the advantage of having a husband who has planned for just such an instance and put away some money. We had already arranged to go on vacation in July and again in August and fortunately, had already paid for it. So, between working in the yard, reorganizing the house from top to bottom, and vacations, I will look for a job. But I really don't want to start until after the middle of August unless it is a totally killer job that I can't pass up.

So, as time goes on I'll add more of my thoughts about the layoff and it's impact on my world.

In the meantime, the animals need to go out and the front garden needs to be watered.

Where has the time gone?

Wow, it would seem that the last few months have just gotten away from me. Alot has happened in the Reeves world. We managed to make it through the unusually long lasting winter. I was so frustrated and fed up with not being able to get out of my driveway let alone down to the main road that I finally scraped my Accord out of the neighborhood and bought a CRV. It was very effective in the snow and almost completely eliminated my instances of being stuck at home because of the weather. Some of the perennials in my garden were not so lucky and unfortunately did not survive the winter. It looks like we are going to have to spend some time and a few $$ at the nursery to replace a bunch of them. Hopefully the replacements will be hardier. Fingers crossed. I'll post some pictures of the unlucky victims later.

March brought the opportunity for travel for me. I had been trying to orchestrate a trip to England for about 8 years but could never seem to get things worked out. It all finally came together and became a reality for me this year thanks to my friend Rhonda who agreed to be my travel buddy and to the low air fares. I'll have a few pics to upload soon and perhaps a slide show later. My main purpose in going to London was to obtain all of the relavent records of my father's time in the British Merchant Marines during WWII from the National Archives. We were able to find a great deal of information that will be extremely helpful in filling in those years in my dad's biography. The trip to Cardiff was to get more family information, see where my dad was born and lived, and visit the cemetary (to get records) where alot of the Gee's are buried. More on my trip later.

April brought the 1st birthday of grandbaby Daniel. (see fawndre.blogspot.com for pics and details). Daniel is such a joy to be around. He is such a good baby and always happy. My baby girl is such a great momma. I am so proud of who and what she has become. I watch her with Daniel, with Andre, and her friends and how she interacts with people. I see the grown up that she has become and I have to say that she has exceeded my expectations. Way to go little girl. She is by far and away a much better mom than I was. She is very positive and happy, very patient, very creative, very intuitive, etc. Andre is a pretty darned good daddy as well. I really like Andre's parents. They are a pleasure to be around and so great and supportive of "the kids". They seem to have quite warmly welcomed Fawn into their family.

Well darnit, the weekend is just about kaput and tomorrow is yet another work day. How many years until I can retire?