Slacker Boomer

2010-12-23T17:41:00.001-08:00

Hey, I did celebrate the winter solstice. Not exactly the way I intended. A friend of mine had a ladies night at her house and we all drank some wine and bemoaned the Christmas work. This wasn't exactly the pagan experience I was picturing but it'll do. We all agreed that wiccan stores are kind of fun and the lunar eclipse added a touch of natural excitement but then we went back to discuss our Christian holiday.

This group used to be a book group but after a few years of no one actually reading the book I guess we just get together now and talk about our kids.

My sister-in-law went back to work because she felt she needed some intelligent interaction with "smart women." I also went back to work but I don't really agree with her. These women, originally stay at home moms, are some of the most intelligent people I know. They all have degrees and talented, polite and good kids. Conversation is real. Sometimes the intelligence is in knowing what's best for your family and how you'd like to live your life. Maybe it's smart to set yourself up in a situation that works for you.

Don't get me wrong. I work full time right now and I wouldn't have it any other way. There are a lot of smart women there as well. I just don't think you can judge a segment of the population with such finite definitions.

Let's go easy on our own and support each other regardless of our individual choices.

Note: Don't judge me on this post...read Christian as lapsed Catholic.

A Really New Thing

2010-08-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

Some of my yearly firsts are strange. This week I had a first. The first time I ever sewed outside. Seriously, this was way too hearty for me. The story is this, we decided to go camping so last weekend we pulled out the tent for the first time in a few years and set it up. Well, the zipper to the door was broken. This was a real problem for me because I am very fond of my tent and we paid 160 dollars for it some years ago but I don't think we really used it enough. (What makes my tent special is the entire roof is screen so on a clear night you can lay in bed and look at the stars, I love this.) So I was a little upset.

Of course all great ideas come in the middle of the night and I had an epiphany. I would sew velcro (there's no way I could put in a new zipper...I am talentless) onto the tent to hold the door closed. So there I am carting my sewing machine outside to sew the tent. A first for me (for most I would think) and also the last time I'll be doing that. The velcro holds okay for now but I'll let you know after the camping trip.

2010-07-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Phlox

Lavaterra

Zinnias

Sunflowers

Came home after being away only two days and my gardens have definitely changed. This is what's growing. No morning glories yet, and something is eating the pumpkins (trouble with pollinating and after I personally pollinate them, something eats them. Lucky if I end up with two pumpkins this year.) Oh well. There's a bunny out there who is well fed.

2010-07-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

Botanical garden - Sarasota

On Gardening

2010-07-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

I wrote a nice post and then I hit the "back" key and lost the whole thing. Ugh. Today is the hottest day of the year. It feels like I'm sitting in a refrigerator that's been placed inside an oven. On the upside, I found a cucumber in my garden today. Most gardeners probably don't revel in such minor accomplishments but for me, the idea that I can grow food never ceases to astonish me. Especially since last year I managed to grow a huge crop of weeds peppered with very few sickly looking tomatoes. This year I vowed to do better and I have been. I've been watering almost every day and I weed on Saturday mornings. Things are actually growing. I'm going to have tons of pumpkins and tomatoes and next week I'll be picking green beens. Too cool for words.

I should state here that my grass is another story. Brown and dead it mocks me. My neighbors look upon my yard with a brutal head shake. Do I care, no, not so much. If it were up to me, I'd plant food and flowers everywhere. I don't really get the grass thing.

I measure my years in the things I do each year that I've never done before. This year, so far, I made jam. It is the best jam ever and it was so easy. I have seven jars in my freezer. I also just got back from TN, but I don't count going new places. It seems to me this is a separate thing. Also, since I was working I didn't get to see much, but I did confirm that I'd like to go back.

Gardening knowledge: plant pumpkins as early as possible. Be ruthless about thinning your plants. They won't grow if there are too many. (This is my only advice right now)

2010-07-05T16:47:00.001-07:00

What Else?? Resolutions!

2010-01-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

Here we go again. Delusions run rampant on this day of the year. It's almost the same as when you buy a lottery ticket and have that "maybe I'll win" thought. No matter how hard I try I fall into the trap of making resolutions. This year I have three. The first is so boring and wide spread that I'm not even going to write about it, you all know what it is. The second is that I'm going to call people on the telephone (not e-mail and not facebook) and re-connect. Three people each week. Even if it's a repeat. I am feeling isolated right now and I don't like it. The third resolution is to spend as much of my money as possible at local establishments on goods and food (especially food) produced locally.

What is really funny is that nothing much is produced around here. In fact, I would bet that we Americans produce very little. The other day I was going to invest in a company that made wind turbines. Well, I don't think there are any in the US. If we don't produce anything how will we keep making money? The only thing America produces is spoiled movie stars. I hope someone buys them up and takes them away soon.

If anyone is from CT, could you tell me about interesting things that are produced in your area? I would like to buy useful things made in CT.

So rather than gripe about it, I'm going to go and sew myself some curtains. Bye.

Watch "Food Inc" its one of those 'watch immediately' videos on Netflix. Scary political stuff for sure.

2009-12-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

There's a lot going on in my family right now. Most hugely, a new generation is about to begin. I have waited for this for a while now. My children are, well, not babies anymore and I truly miss the little guys that used to live here. No one tells you how much you miss them. I love the big kids that they've become, probably more than the babies they were, but knowing that the babies will never be back is very sad. So, I look for some new babies.

I suspect that 2010 is going to be a transitional year and I look forward to the changes it's going to bring. I long to grow things and create things and not waste all of my time on this electronic leg warmer. My plan for the coming year is to celebrate the solstices. I feel really bad that I didn't celebrate the winter solstice. I noticed it and I quietly gave thanks for longer days to come. Next year, I'm drinking a brandy with some friends. (That sounds good but I'll probably really drink wine or Bailey's.)

2009-10-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been among the missing but since no one is reading this blog it doesn't matter. I've been tossing around the idea that I should be a Luddite. I love this term. The first thing to do is get rid of the TV and the computer. Will I have to take a bike to work? Is a bike considered technology? What date is the cutoff date for Luddites? I mean if it's in the 80's I can keep the TV and just get rid of the cell phone and the computer. If it's in the 20's I have to lose the car. [I realize the real Luddites were a while ago, but I think there's a modern movement, so there should be some kind of modern definition...or...do we hate all machinery?]

Can you imagine? I work in technology. My employer might freak if I decide not to use e-mail anymore. How would that work out? Somehow I think I'd be job hunting, which would be really hard without careerbuilder.com or monster.

No, I think people who claim to be Luddites probably typed their article on their laptop. Just like me. (or, heaven forbid, their Blackberries)

2009-08-01T15:40:00.001-07:00

What is going on this year??? I think I'm going to do all this stuff during my one week of vacation and what did I do? I pretty much took a lot of naps. My last three weeks before vacation were pretty much pure hell (I say this as an excuse). Today, finally on my way home, I visited Peter Pots Pottery. This was pretty cool. I bought a pitcher. This place is hidden in the woods of RI. There was a water wheel! It was an old stone and wood barn kind of place next to a brook. I think its been there forever, but this was my first visit. Their stuff is lovely and made right there. Do a google search. They have a website.

Other notable things from vacation...I walked on the beach 5 days out of 6; once with Brian, once with Joseph, and once with Mike. I found tons of sea glass and I finally used some resolve on that rug from my mother. These are my only accomplishments. I read a book "Run" by Ann Patchett. She's one of my favorites and this book was good. Just the right size, too. We had rootbeer floats at Iggy's and also fried clams (very very good). Brian and I checked out the bluebird cafe for lunch one day. This was very good. We also had a fancy lunch in Wakefield (not as good). Two visits to Brickleys and one to the candy store at the Pier shops. This morning we stopped for sweets and cold drinks at Sweet Cakes (a favorite). All in all it was a good week. [Apparently we ate a lot]

The things I meant to do and didn't: we forgot to go to Block Island and we also forgot about Roger Williams Park. We never went to Newport. Unbelievably we never went to the Spain or The Coastguard House. Also, we used to always get our first beer at Arturo Joes. What happened to that??? I think their fire through us off.

2009-07-05T11:44:00.000-07:00

So I've been reading the Barbara Kingsolver book about eating local foods. I'd love to try it but alas, my garden is basically 8 tomato plants surrounded by thousands of weeds. So I've been researching where all the grass fed beef is in CT and also where to find the local farmer's markets. There's a farm stand on my way home from work, but that's only going to carry me until the pumpkins are gone. I don't think I have time for any canning.

Well, I'll try to be a better person. Maybe I can buy a few of my dinners at Whole Foods (and starve the rest of the week). There's a farm in Canton that raises grass fed beef. The website wasn't clear if I could just show up there an buy a steak. Somehow I doubt it. I don't know how to deal with 1/2 a cow.

Tonight we have fireworks! Hooray. Let us all put on long pants and socks and traipse through the poison ivy to watch.

2009-07-04T05:42:00.001-07:00

I know, I haven't been doing this. I think I'll start again. It's the fourth of July so that's always fun. Yesterday I had a funeral. Actually it was my Godfather. What I noticed about funerals is that the most tears are shed by the sandwich generation. Everyone cries, this is true, but the sandwich generation just leaks uncontrollably. I know the reasons for this. We are the generation that is faced with losing our loved ones the most. Also, we are the generation that previously was impervious to such loss (most of us). The shock of finding ourselves in the unhappiness of death and the shape of our lives, hugely busy and responsible, we all just break down. The younger generation is sad, true, but they have a buffer generation between death and themselves. The older generation has been seeing loss for many years. This isn't to say that it gets easier but maybe they are all cried out.

My other observation is that family is a funny thing. I find warmth in seeing people that I've known my entire life. I'm lucky in that my families are huge but loyal. I have around 50 cousins all tallied and when there's a death I see close to all of them. This is unbelievable to me. Also, even though we aren't all close, it's huge that everyone comes together for the short time that life has to stop for death.

2009-03-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is my mondrian period (ha)

Total accident last spring - dogwood tree near home

Fun w/ hand coloring - well - photoshop

2009-03-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

I wish I could just delete that last one. Who am I kidding, I can't even make my bed every morning (ever). I did do a few nice things and I tried to get our money in order. I will say something, though, every time I found a nice low interest rate it would change just when I'd contact the bank. Soooo, when I failed at that thing I kind of lost my motivation. Typical. This is where the slacker thing comes into play. So then I was thinking I'd write a book. The book is about losing weight for free. I've started it but now, two weeks in, I haven't lost any weight. So today I'm stuffing myself with carbs and feeling sorry for myself. [Not really]

I'm hoping with age comes wisdom. Enough wisdom to stop trying all this stupid stuff. Today I answered a craigslist ad for a wedding photographer. I even uploaded a website page to link in. What am I thinking? I never tire of these little ideas that go nowhere. Well, we'll see. I did kind of trick myself into going back to work. Maybe I can trick myself into starting a business and writing a book. Hmmm.

52 Permanent Changes

2009-01-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm going to bite the bullet here. I'm going to use this blog to track the next year of my life as measured in "permanent changes." My goal is to enact 52 permanent changes to my life in the coming year. Not so much becasuse I'm unhappy, more because I want to jump into life and line things up the way I want them to be. That's not to say my changes will be huge. Most will be in the neigborhood of home maintenance (a fifteen year old house that still has contractor's paint walls in many rooms could use a new year's resolution).

So for the nitty gritty. Last week I painted a room in the basement. Total cost of my renovation is in the neighorhood of $75. I'll post a picture later today (my camera's in the car). This week my change goes more to the financial. This week I'm realigning some finances. the specific things I'm doing includes setting up direct deposit for my kid's college education, moving the kid's savings account to a bank that will actually pay them some small amount of interest, and applying to re-fi the mortgage. I've already done one of these and I plan to do the other two on Monday. The rates are really low...

I think the recession is an opportunity to pull back and maybe get a couple of bargains. Also, I better re-finance now while we're both still employed. As for my "do something nice" resolution...all I'll say is so far so good.

bye

2009-01-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here's what I'm thinking...when there's a snow day maybe all the teachers (and other school related employees) could go to the student's houses and babysit so the rest of us can go to work.

Or...maybe the weathermen should do this. Maybe then they wouldn't be so dramatic about the forecast.

I love being home with my kids, it's my employer that's not too wild about it.

That said, what I really want to write about today is New Year's resolutions. Ah...everyone says they don't have any or they aren't making them this year, but inside their brains they're thinking, "I'm going to try to lose a few pounds." I think everyone thinks this (or some version of it). Personally, I know I do. I don't say it out loud, though, because I also plan in my mind to fail. So what kind of a weird tradition is this?

I was going to write in this thing that I want to do 52 permanent changes this year. And to prove I was serious, last Sunday I painted my basement. Now I'm thinking just one permanent change is pretty good. Hey, last week my basement was a dirty white. Maybe I'll tell you all about my second permanent change next time I post. Oh yeah, I also plan to do one nice thing for someone else each week. On this resolution I will not speak. If you tell everyone you did something nice it doesn't really count. Those will be a secret but I'll let you know if I slack off.

Bye.

2008-12-23T15:36:00.000-08:00

Ah, facebook. hmmm. Okay I gave facebook a shot. Maybe I'm crazy but I don't really get it. It seems like a place to prove you know a lot of people. The unfortunate thing is, the people I know well and like a lot aren't really out there. (Well, some...) Is the only goal to that site to get a long list of friends? Is that real? I'm thinking come to my house, sit and have a drink. Let's have a long chat about everything and that's what a friend is. I'm just not too sure about these photographs that hang out in cyberland talking about what we're all doing right now. Especially since everyone is doing the same thing, really. They're typing stupid stuff on their computer.

Enough about facebook.

Just a little blurb about Christmas. It's definitely commercial but I think that's okay. If you watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" they were worried about commercialism in the late 60's. I find it comforting that we're still worrying about it. My niece doesn't want any gifts. She didn't want to participate in an exchange. She's very green. She's a young adult without kids so I think her stand makes sense. But I'm thinking that the gift giving thing might be good for the economy. What's good and bad is a very fine line. Is it okay that I received piles of presents when I was a kid but now since it's my kid's turn I can go all green and refuse to participate? Seems mean spirited.

I do wish we could find a way to do away with all the packaging and wrappings. This is where the real waste is.

2008-11-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

Being from Massachusetts is a gift. I grew up in a state where everyone believes (and I do as well) that they have the best of everything. It's comforting to believe that you live in a state with the best city, the best sports teams, the best vacation area, funniest comedians, the best colleges, and the best medical facilities (I'd like to add in here that Massachusetts really does have the very best clam chowder). I'm not writing about this so that I can argue and defend the position. I'm from Massachusetts and I don't need to defend this because I believe (as do all of us) that it is all very true.

Problem is, I don't live there anymore.

I carry with me my convictions even though I've been out of the state for 25 years. What I found truly amusing was during some medical issues a couple of years ago I wanted to be referred to Boston. The doctors around me were adamant that they could do better than anyone in Boston. Every doctor I approached had the same conviction. I learned pretty fast that the rest of the world doesn't know about Massachusetts' superiority. Ha.

Some quick facts, though. The Chinese food in Massachusetts leaves a little to be desired and the RI beaches can't be beat. (Lovely landscapes in CT, shopping in NY, and of course the lakes in Maine)...But if anyone can figure out a way I can move back there...

Ah des gustibus non disputatum est (spelling??) Remember that one, Jo Ann? [Pretty much this is all tongue in cheek,...I like it almost everywhere...and no place like home]

2008-11-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

A lot of kids these days are kept very very busy. Just about every kid I know is signed up for something. Some are in karate or gymnastics or fencing etc. I find myself wondering what this is all about? Do we think they're going to cease to exist at some point? I mean, most of the things I'm interested in I chose myself as an adult. I came home after school and mostly watched tv. Okay, not necessarily what you want for your kids, but maybe it's not as bad as the perfect people think. You know the perfect people, they're the ones who don't invite you over unless the house is perfect (which translates to once or twice a year). Their kids are perfect and their lives are perfect. They have more house than they can afford and they lease a new car every three years. They wear makeup to the grocery store and basically make the rest of us miserable.

My problem is, because all the kids are kept so busy, there are never any around to play with my kids. My kids play outside at our house. Don't get me wrong, there are always extra kids here, but a lot of the kids that would be around are spending their days playing travel soccer; every weekend, a lot of weekday nights. Too bad.

How fun it must be for those perfect people to spend all of their nights at soccer practice and every weekend at soccer games. Ugh.

I'm not sure what we're all going for, but my kids are pretty good so far.

More about the perfect people in the future, I'm sure.

2008-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

One time my friend Mary and I went to a Carly Simon concert. It was pretty much as you'd expect but at one point I looked around the hall and noticed something. There wasn't a natural head of hair in the house. The place was full of women with various shades of strange colored hair. My own hair at the time the very non-color of barnboard. Now it's a shade bordering on light orange with barnboard and gray roots. All I want is my hair to be brown. Nothing spectacular just a regular old mousy brown. Like it used to be. I've colored it again and again. it starts off great but inevitably the orange sets in.

What really cracks me up is there's a woman at work who's in her early thirties. She used to have blonde hair but the other day she came in with the ideal shade of brown. I'm thinking, "You've got to be kidding." This person doesn't need that hair color. She's young enough to wear her own color. (not quite sure what that is...) I need that hair color. Doesn't she realize she should wear her own color proudly for as long as humanly possible? Oh my. Well, she'll find out soon enough.

2008-11-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

I had a terrific social studies teacher in the eighth grade. Everyone loved him. A friend of mine definitely held him in high regard. She was an artsy person who loved music, art class, and theater. She was also pretty intelligent and got good grades. One day, the social studies teacher says to her, "...But you're a jack of all trades, master at none."

She was devastated.

I've carried this with me ever since and I don't forget it. I've decided to wear it as a badge of honor instead of a scathing insult. I held her in high regard and decided that if that's what she is, than so must I be. Thus began my foray into every subject that I became even remotely interested in. I've learned a fair amount about a lot of things. I still feel a little unemployable but I suppose that comes with the territory. I can bake a darn good cheesecake and locate certain M objects through a telescope (no one pays me for either, though). I could go on and on but I picture my husband's eyes rolling up into his head. Here we go....

Now, about my friend, I wish we still kept in touch. I've heard, though, that she has settled on one occupation and has had a lot of success.

I think the teacher's comment changed us both, a little.

2008-11-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

I'm the oldest person out here in blogland, I'm sure. My question today is "When, exactly, did work stop being kind of fun?" Everyone is so stressed out these days that they forget to drink Bailey's in their coffee around the holidays. Also, don't people ever leave their buildings for lunch anymore? Bad enough to work in a cubicle but to eat leftovers in the same cubicle. Ugh. It's no wonder everyone's on anti-depressants. I think people are depressed because their lives kind of suck. What needs to change is this, everyone should speak their mind. I don't mean they should shout at one another. I mean, if they think things should change in their workplace they should say so. Sometimes people look at me like I'm crazy because I say what I think at work. It's unheard of, these days, for anyone to ever express an opinion. Are things so futile that nothing can change? Ever?

So, tomorrow, go in to work and tell just one person what you really think. I'm not suggesting that you say something mean. I'm suggesting that you express your real opinion about something at work. For example, if you think the software you use could be better if just this one thing would work, tell someone who has the power to fix it. If you wish the woman in the next cube would lay off the perfume, nicely tell her. Let's all stop tiptoeing around each other and let's get involved in our jobs. Why should all the muckety mucks have all the fun?

Nobody likes a "Yes" man.