I heed the wise words of keeping your thoughts on religion and politics to yourself!
I have always considered myself a conservative democrat or a liberal republican which makes me Independent. I originally registered as an independent so I wouldn’t get any political phone calls but in 2023, that really doesn’t matter (does it Nikki Hailey who keeps texting for “William” to my cell phone as do the realtors in Florida hoping to buy his Coral Gables property) anymore.
My views have remained pretty consistent since I first registered to vote in 1978.
Perusing through a box of pictures, I found the journal and pictures from a trip to California at the end of July 2007. Our son was going into his senior year of high school and we needed to get the trip in before football practice started!
I’m so glad I kept a journal because there was a lot I’d forgotten and it really brought it back to me. Especially our day at the Moaning Caverns in Murphy, California! They are located about an hour from Twain Harte where Mark’s dad lived. When we would travel to visit him, I always made sure I found a couple of fun adventures so Cody wouldn’t be bored. The website looked very interested and he and I decided we were going to rappel down into the 165 drop. For perspective, the Statue of Liberty is 151 feet. The following is from my journal:
“Oh my GOD. 1st we watch a video with rules like NEVER let go of the rope, NEVER put your hand on the J-bar – real fear inducing. Then the person goes over them again. There were 5 of us. 2 girls went 1st then Cody then me then another lady. We have a seat harness & a chest harness. The chest harness has 2 carabiners & they attach the J-bar to it after weaving your rope through the bars.
Then you duck under a rail and grab onto the rope and feed the rope up toward the J-bar that makes you go down. So I’m hanging onto the rope with my feet on the wall and moving myself down. You can see a ledge so you go down to it and then there is a small narrow hole. You put your back to it and move yourself down. I’m going through this little hole sweating and questioning my decision. There’s another small flat spot and beyond that you see the walls far away and a lot of air space.
8/1/2007 Moaning Cavern Rappelling
I go through that last hole and go over the side. Bang around a little desperately, want walls to put my feet on but there is nothing except me, a rope, and a seat harness. It is freaking scarier than para-sailing last year (story for another day). My heart is pounding. I’m shaking like a leaf. Rocky (my husband’s nickname) knew I was freaked (they were at the bottom watching) because I was silent – no shrieks, no shouts – just silence. I was doing two handed pushing on the rope & even separated the bars a few times so I could go faster and get it over with! It’s hard to even look down because you’re at an odd position. Everyone on the walking tour is watching and when you get to the floor, you go just below (deeper into the hole!) and the guide pulls you in. I was shaking so much! I had to sit down. Cody said it was the “scaredest he’d every been“. After it’s over you have to walk up the 265 stairs to the top.”
I like to say “I’ll try anything once and if I don’t like it, I won’t do it again.” That DEFINITELY applies to rappelling! While looking up the Moaning Caverns there is no mention of a rappelling adventure on their site. Wise decision Moaning Caverns!
I moved into this house in May of 1961, the month after I turned one year old. Before that, my family rented a home a few blocks from my mother’s family home.
I imagine my parents’ eyes lit up when they saw the four bedrooms and the 1/2 acre yard. The bonus was the covered porch on the side of the house and a double bonus was a next door neighbor with four children!
The porch was where we watched thunderstorms lighting up the woods across the street, where we hung out with friends, where we slept on hot summer nights only to be woken up by the sun, well past sunrise beating down on us!
One of my Sunday mornings watching the world go by6:30 am on a September morning
I left for seven years to California and looked we looked high and low for a house just like the one I grew up in. We found one that had it’s own charm but then we had the chance to buy this one from my dad and we took it. We moved back to Connecticut 28 years ago and are still so thankful it worked out.
August 2021 and the start of the family room addition. The back deck wrapped around the the porch
The side porch is still a special part of the house. It was given a facelift a few years ago, had a deck attached for the back of the house for 10 years or so, and is now a little bit larger to go with the family room added 2 years ago. During warmer weather, I sit out there with my morning coffee and newspaper. It’s the same location that my dad sat for 40 years, reading his newspaper in warm weather.
The sunrise from my side porch November 4 at 7:30
I love that this house keeps so many memories alive.
It was late 1987 and I had recently moved to California to live with my soon to be husband. I moved my belongings by UPS so there wasn’t a lot of extra stuff (books!) that came with me.
Always looking for something to read I surprisingly found a book on a shelf. It was “Replay” by Ken Grimwood published in 1986.
It was about an overweight, unhappy in his marriage 40-something man who has a heart attack at his desk. But…..he wakes up, in his dorm room at 19 years old.
It takes him a little while to realize where he is but then he does what would be expected – he DOESN’T get involved with the woman in his unhappy marriage, and he starts betting on all the major sports events!
It goes on from there and everything is great – until he “dies” again but comes back a little older, and a little older….. He realizes, he can live his life as crazy as he wants to because he’s “replaying” his life.
After a few times, he discovers that there are others who are doing the same.
I’ve read this book 3 or 4 times and It is a fascinating premise. Die and end up back in your early adulthood with the knowledge you left your existing life with. As they say “hindsight is 20/20”! What would you do? Would you want the ability to come back and right wrongs? Change behaviors? Go to the love of your life faster without dealing with all the dopes first?
I’ve contemplated it. I think about what I would do and how I would make sure I found my husband – just sooner!
Growing up I loved when the clocks moved forward an hour! This was before they started messing with when it happened. Every year it was the last Sunday in April and with my birthday being the 22nd, it was a pretty good bet it would happen on the morning of our family party.
Our relatives, including 4 close in age cousins, would come over for food and cake and us kids would play in the yard all afternoon. My dad would bring out the motor scooter with side car (on loan from his brother) and take everyone on rides around the neighborhood. It felt like the day stretched on forever!
Falling back an hour usually coincided with Halloween back in the 70s so it would be nice and dark early when Halloween rolled around. We’d get out around 5pm and by back by 9pm to sort our candy and make trades. My sisters and I went to a catholic elementary school so we’d have the next day off because of All Saints Day. It was one of the few perks of going to our school!
I came to realize very quickly that babies do not recognize Daylight Saving time! Dogs too. They are going to keep on their regular sleep, eat, poop time regardless of what the clock says!
As the years have gone by, I realize I don’t do well with the time change at all! I’m going to bed at 9 when it’s really 10 and then getting up at 5:20 – which my husband reminds me “it was 6:20” – and I feel exhausted! Or because “it’s really only 8 but the clock says 9!”, I’ll stay up for an extra hour and again, exhausted!
Arizona and Hawaii have it right – they just don’t participate. Good for them! Who do I need to talk to here in Connecticut? I think we should be a little oasis of common sense!
We were in Fort Collins, Colorado in early September for a family wedding. Because it was on Sunday evening, we decided to stay an extra day and fly home on Tuesday.
At one of the events for the wedding, someone mentioned they drove up to Laramie Wyoming to visit the Wyoming Territorial Prison! It was an hour away and all we had was time.
Easy shot up the highway!
Once we said goodbye to everyone at the air bnb we shared with family, we headed out. When we got to Laramie we looked online for a restaurant for breakfast.
The remains of Sausage & Biscuits and our pretty inexpensive bill
Accomplice Beer Company in downtown Laramie is a bar / restaurant / brewery. No beers for us but we cozied up to the bar and had a delicious breakfast.
The Wyoming Territorial Prison was surprisingly close to town. In its prime it was probably a long way from town!
The welcome center to the prison
They have a welcome center to buy tickets and of course a variety of gifts to purchase! We knew we’d be back after our self-guided tour.
The first building was the wardens house and it was decorated for the era it was used.
Love the way pictures were hung!The warden’s residence
Around the grounds were carriages that were used during the time of the prison
I’m sure some prisoners reminisced about robbing one of these! And I’m sure they didn’t like seeing this around!This must have been a very uncomfortable ride!
Inside the prison, we walked through the two floors and throughout there was information about the rooms and the prisoners who were held there. The most famous prisoner was Butch Cassidy. His story is a little different than the movie!
In a cellWash roomGeorge Reeb, prisonerInformation on prisonersSharing a cell
After going through the prison, we walked through the prison yard and over to a building their used to make brooms for sale. We had a lot of these brooms in our home growing up and of course, we had to buy one to bring home! We had to get creative to get in in the suitcase but it survived!
Inside the prison yardOne of the watch towersThe broom building
On our way home we were just amazed at the wide open land and the clouds! The clouds were so huge and they looked close enough to touch. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them!
Big, beautiful, fluffy clouds!
We didn’t really notice on the way up to Laramie, but on the way back we were also amazed by the changing landscape between Wyoming and Colorado. It’s fun to watch it unfold through the miles.
We were excited to add Wyoming to our list of states visited but we’d like to explore more! Someday…!
My husband and I spent a week in Lake George in August. We brought our boat and stayed in a 1950s type resort about a mile or 2 north of downtown Lake George.
Our second hike of the week was at the Cook Mountain Preserve out of Ticonderoga.
We (I) always make a point to find someplace to hike because I really love to hike. But we (I) always manage to get lost! This trip was no exception because we got sort of lost finding the trailhead! First we drove to the “destination” but it was far past the trailhead. So we backtracked and you couldn’t really see the trailhead from that direction so we turned around again! We found it on the third try.
I made sure we signed the book and the time we started out just in case we disappeared on the trail! The trailhead had a map posted as well as maps to take with you (done, still managed to get lost).
The trail started out fairly flat but once it started on the Ridges Trail it was fairly steep – 680 feet over a 1/2 mile – then more gradually to the views. We had our hiking poles and I’m glad we did! The trails were clear so there wasn’t much climbing over and under.
Trail signsOn the trailMushrooms along the wayTwo view optionsview of Lake GeorgeHeading to Lake George view
We got to the Lake George view and were a little disappointed! I thought we’d have more of a view and I had to really walk around to find a good view. We sat for a bit and had a snack and then moved on to the Vermont view.
farmland down belowLooking into VermontFrom a different viewWhere I was standing and what’s in the distanceFarther in the distanceEven Farther!Mount Independence in the distance
I spotted the flag on top of the mountain and remembered a trip to Fort Ticonderoga we took on the motorcycle. We never went to Mount Independence but I know we saw it from the Fort. This was definitely the better view.
Purple mushroomsOdd looking mushrooms Puffy and weird texture mushroom No hike is complete without a selfieHe just keeps walking as I take pictures!More mushrooms!The best meal we had to that point all week!
We were pretty tired by the time we were done and stopped at this general store for lunch which was delicious! The owners were really nice too!
If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?
By saying “if you had a million dollars to give away”, gives me the notion that perhaps I’m already set up for retirement. Like I don’t need this million dollars. Let’s go with that. I’ve become some kind of multi-millionaire, my son and his wife, my sisters and their families are all flush because I’ve taken care of their home loans, college loans, and set up college funds for my adorable great niece and nephew, and this million is chump change to me.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way – I would give my million dollars in parts to my public library, the local Master’s Manna that provides food and clothing in our town, to our animal shelter, and to our state Foodshare that happens to be headquartered in my town.
I’d set up trusts to distribute the money so it continues to grow because these organizations aren’t going anywhere and I’d want to be sure the money is there forever. Or something like that because what do I know about donating such a large amount of money anywhere!
I spend the week working on my computer doing work things thinking about the things I want to do on the weekend, which are also on the computer. But then the weekend comes along and I feel – guilty? – about doing it! Like because I’m not actively moving, I’m being lazy! While I’m rationalizing it in my head, I feel an angsty feeling in my chest like I want to explode. It is fucked up.
I’ve tried to blame it on my husband by saying to him “Well, I feel like you will think I’m just being lazy” when obviously we both know it’s me being a head case!
So how or when did I get this crazy notion in my head that sorting pictures, or writing stories, or researching family names is lazy? I’m the same person who could sit for 4 hours not moving while reading a book and not think twice about it. The same person who could sleep until 1 p.m., even on a weekend morning when she wasn’t hungover!
Maybe it’s because my husband’s home activities are more active. Working on his motorcycle, yard work, and things around the house. He’s even taken over 80% of the cooking. I think there’s something to that and that’s where my guilt comes in because in my head he’s doing so much more when actually, he’s doing things I did for most of our marriage!
That’s it! Guilt gone! Don’t you wish all of life’s problems were that easy to solve?
First, my mind always jumps to business when I think about what I do. Second, my mind always jumps to what I think I’m not doing as well as I “should” do. I really have to shift my thinking on a regular basis to realize, it’s not all about the business and what I’m doing already, is pretty good.
So, for me, the questions is what would I LIKE to do more of and that answer is – work out. Yes, I truly enjoy working out. I look forward to getting up in the morning and using my Peloton Bike+ to do strength workouts and ride. I also have the option of Yoga and barre classes and stretching. I put together different classes the night before for 30-50 minutes of work and get started after my morning coffee. If I didn’t have to go to the office, I would work out longer!
There has always been something so rewarding for moving my body. I used to ride my bike outdoors a lot from when I was a kid on through college. When I moved out to California, I had a fancy road bike and my husband, his friends, and I would traverse the hills and canyons of the East Bay and Sonoma County. Unfortunately, the move to Connecticut and ridiculously terrifying drivers stopped that!
I enjoy running and over the years did that pretty frequently outdoors as well. I’ve started up again on the Peloton Treadmill but outdoors has been walking workouts. I entered one benefit run during 2020 but only because it was during COVID so they had to do it on your own! I’m “not ready” to enter any runs and do it with <gasp> people.
When we were in Colorado earlier this month, we road the vast trail system in Fort Collins, and took hikes in Boulder and Fort Collins. It felt so incredible and I really felt in my element.
Thoughts From The Passenger Seat 