Category: thoughts

Posted in 2024, family, friends, leisure time, life, Memories, relaxing, thoughts, Travel

When Vacation Is Over

Posted on by nancyb422
At the end of the week

Is there anything worse on vacation than opening the Friday on a pill case? I can’t think of one!

Our last day at Lake Winnipesauke was spent on the boat with my sister and her husband who drove over from their home in Maine. We tried to dock in Wolfesboro for lunch again but everyone had the same idea so we headed over to Weirs Beach instead. We’ve been there many times by motorcycle for Laconia Bike Week in June so this was a whole different view! We saw buildings usually blocked by big white vendor tents and the arcades were in full swing. We had lunch at Dox and headed back out to drift on the lake.

It was a great week of boating, hiking, and shopping! The early part of the week was sunny but by Wednesday the smoke from the Canadian fires made its way to us and it was hazy sun. We knew rain was coming on Thursday so we headed to Conway for shopping – but we didn’t think to bring our umbrellas so ended up buying new ones!

Packing up on Saturday and saying goodbye to our little home was sad as I was finally sleeping past 6am but it was time to go. I’m hoping to rent for 10 days next year at the same location.

Our one bedroom cottage among 4 rentals on the property

Today it’s rainy in Connecticut which is perfect weather to get laundry done, open the mail, and get ready for our family’s Fantasy Football draft tonight!

Rainy Sunday following vacation
Posted in 2024, Goals, leisure time, life, Politics, relaxing, thoughts, Travel

Stepping Back

Posted on by nancyb422
Lakehurst Cottages, Alton New Hampshire

Mark and I are spending the week at a cute little cottage in Alton New Hampshire. We brought our boat up and it is docked here on Lake Winnipesauke.

After trading comments back and forth last night with a former classmate on one post and some stranger on another, I decided it’s time to take a break from social media. Personal Facebook and Instagram accounts specifically.

Today my phone was tucked away in my backpack, only brought out to use Apple Maps on the water (it’s easier to see what the islands are!) and I felt free!

Lake Winnipesauke New Hampshire

It’s time to take care of my mental health.

Posted in 2024, life, Memories, thoughts

Decisions Decisions!

Posted on by nancyb422
Dogs or cats?

I had a cat for 14 years. We adopted a dog 2 months after the cat passed away; he has been part of our family for 12 years. I didn’t grow up with either so both were new to me!

Chuckie Finster Benson, our cat, came into our home from his barn birth when he was a few months old in 1998. He had the most beautiful coloring and since he was orange, and our son was a fan of RugRats, it made sense to name him after the orange-haired boy Chuckie.

Maybe because he had barn cat in his blood, he preferred to spend his summers outside. He spent his nights in the winter in the basement, otherwise, I would find him on my head trying to wake me up at 3 am.

We would find him in the strangest locations over the years, always someplace warm like behind the couch on the radiator cover, inside the dryer on some freshly dried clothes, and always in the basket of blankets in the living room.

He wasn’t a cuddly cat but became one as he got older. He loved to sit right right next to me in my chair. I guess it was just another place to be warm!

When he died in 2012, we were all very sad.

So I started looking at rescue dog advertisements and found Wally.

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I mean really, how could you resist that face? He put on a good show at the Humane Society, letting us all crowd around and pet him. As soon as we got home, he latched onto my husband and that was it. Wally will fight you to the death to protect his man!

Wally was left at the shelter so he was likely 2 or 3 years old when we took him home. It’s been 12 years and he has slowed down. He still loves his lunchtime walks down to the corner and back and walking out to the edge of our yard to sniff all his favorite spots. He comes bounding back from his trip like he’s two years old again because he knows there is a treat at the end of his run!

Chuckie was easier because he could be left to roam. We could go away for the weekend and our neighbor would keep her eye on him and check that he had food in the house. Very easy.

Wally is a prickly pear so you want him to love you. So many people have been fooled by his wagging tail that they don’t notice the lip quiver that signals a snarl and snap coming!

I’m glad I’ve had one of each to experience having a pet but my answer would be Cats.

Posted in 2024, life, Memories, thoughts, Writing

Fall In Love With Fall

Posted on by nancyb422

What is your favorite season of year? Why?

Fall in New England is the most glorious season of the year.

A Weekend in Vermont

I catch a hint of its arrival in mid-August. I can see it in the angle of the sunrise through the leaves in the morning. If I stop and let the air wash over me, I can feel the slight chill under the heat. It’s brief, but it’s a taste of what’s to come.

My neighborhood park
The maple tree in my yard

Skip to mid September and I feel the cold within the heat and the heat within the cold. If I close my eyes I can imagine both a fall day and winter is coming or a spring day and summer is around the corner!

Vermont steel bridge

October. Now October is the Gem of the season! That’s when we have glorious colors and bright blue skies. Every tree I see, I want to take a picture of it! I’ve been on many motorcycle trips during “leaf peeping” season and my head is on a swivel looking at the beautiful scenery and enjoying the wonderful weather.

Morris Rock, Wallingford
Posted in 2024, life, thoughts

Butterfingers Rule!

Posted on by nancyb422

Describe your dream chocolate bar.

My dream chocolate bar is a Butterfinger bar.

I like to nibble all the chocolate off the sides and top first. Then I start on the peanut butter layers inside. I work all around the bar until it’s gone. It gets messy!

I haven’t had a butterfinger bar in a very long time.

Posted in 2024, life, thoughts

Finding joy

Posted on by nancyb422

I’ve been taking a 5 minute meditation in the morning after my Peloton workout.

In the early part of the class she says “what we look for we have a tendency to find”. Now I know this, but to hear it as I’m mediating was like a lightbulb moment.

I run a business. Most mornings I would wake up with the thought, “oh boy what’s going to happen to day”, and it was never in a “yay! Can’t wait to start my day!”

But over time I decided to try and be grateful. I wake up and thank God for this day and what it will bring me – without the negativity! Some days are better than others, because that’s life. But if I look for the rainbow instead of the thunderclouds, things will be alot brighter right?

Posted in 2024, life, Religion, thoughts

Religion

Posted on by nancyb422

Do you practice religion?

Religion: “the service and worship of God or the supernatural” or “a particular system of faith and worship”.

I attended Holy Trinity School from first to eighth grade. Every Sunday we attended 9:15 mass at Holy Trinity Church.

I made my first communion in third grade, and my confirmation in sixth grade, and our eighth grade graduation was at the church.

Through high school, college, and until my mother passed away when I was 27, when I was home, I attended church with my family.

During that phase of my life my religion fell into the “a particular system of faith and worship” category. I felt like I was always being talked at.

About 10 years ago, I began exploring other options of religion. I tried the episcopal church, the baptist church, the local non-denominational church, and even met with the Jehovah Witness ladies who knocked on my door!

I found that I really enjoyed the non-denominational church because it felt like everyone was involved in the ceremony. I read and learned more about the Bible than I did in my years at school. I loved the music too!

This began my “service and worship of God (or the supernatural)” phase. Although I don’t attend the church anymore, I feel closer to God than I ever did before.

Posted in 2024, family, Goals, life, thoughts, Writing

Can We Have It All?

Posted on by nancyb422

What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable?

Today’s prompt is a good one!

Can we have it all? Does the pursuit of something you want – money, a home, a family, a high paying job, better health – cause the scale to tip towards that and create an imbalance of “everything else” you want? Or is the thing you are pursuing going to lead to being able to “have it all”?

I think it’s a really big juggling act to be able to get to the point where you can say “YES, I finally have it all!”. And do we even want to utter those words because you know, that’s exactly when the other shoe will drop and then you will say you jinxed yourself. Oh, is that only me who would do that?

Looking back on the past 44 years, I had a career that I backburnered for family, but I became my own boss. I have a home that I love, but it took a circuitous route to get there. I have a family that I love, that had complications both in meeting my husband, and having our son. I have my health which I am faithful to maintain. I have money in the bank but it came at the expense of the death of a loved one.

I don’t want to jinx myself so I will say – I am happy at this point in my life. Is that Having It All? Maybe the answer to the question is another question – Are You Happy?, and my answer would be Yes, I am Happy.

Posted in 2024, life, Memories, thoughts, Writing

Items Always With Me

Posted on by nancyb422

What personal belongings do you hold most dear?

I guess if I didn’t think they were “dear”, I wouldn’t wear these same four rings every day.

rings I wear every day

The thick band with the diamond – the band was my mother in law’s wedding band. We had a new diamond put in for our 30th wedding anniversary.

The thin band is my original wedding band.

The silver ring holds a Danburite crystal. I found it in an antique store in Sonora California while visiting my father in law in 2022. It was meant to be – I was getting ready to leave but decided to look at the jewelry and this stuck out. The crystal takes its name from Danbury Connecticut (I’m born and raised in Connecticut), and it fit perfectly!

The bottom ring is a worry band I bought while visiting with friends in Los Cabos Mexico. It was a splurge and I have worn it since early 2020.

I have a lot of other rings, but these 4 just feel so right together!