new car trouble

Came home from work today.  Drove in the driveway.  Thought to myself, hmmm, that's a strange place to park the car.  DH's car was backed into the huge gully by the driveway.  We've never parked there before and it looked very unlikely that it was a planned event.  When I got into the house and asked DH why he had parked the car in the gully, he looked surprised.  Seems he forgot to use the parking brake or leave the car in gear and it rolled about 1oo feet backwards and to the left, past the other POS car of my daughters and then into the gully.  Our neighbor had to come over with his truck to pull the car out.  It's not looking good.  The back tire is behind the wheel well and the car can't be driven. The car was stopped by a huge tree stump.   Good thing it wasn't me or my daughters that forgot that brake!!  Thank god for Geico.  They will cover the damages, tow the car, and arranged for a rental car, all with one phone call.  Let's hope they stay friendly!!  Needless to say, bad moods seem to have taken over tonight.  Doesn't trouble come in 3's????  Yikes!

I'm also having trouble with the collar on my cardigan. (maybe that's the 3??) There is one spot that is bunching.  I think it's to long so I may have to rip a few rows off that one piece.  See, I HATE sewing sweaters together.  Isn't there someone out there that likes to do that???  I'll pay......

I have to go to the town office tomorrow to license the dogs.  One of my neighbors called animal control as my dog urinated on their flowers.  They claim the dogs chase their daughter when she jogs (trust me she has never jogged a day in her life, and I have never seem them chase anyone). I am so pissed that they couldn't just call me or come over to tell me there is a problem.  My pet peeve.  If you have an issue with someone, just tell them.  I haven't complained once when their son practices his GD drums every single night from 6 to 8 when I get home from work and would like to enjoy my gardens that I work so hard on.  I can hear them inside my house with all the windows shut.  Guess I'll be calling them next time the drums start up.

Lets hope tomorrow is better.

Car trouble

whew. Finally made it home from a surprising whirlwind of a business trip.  I went to NH on Monday after GETTING MY BRACES OFF, for a meeting that afternoon and another one on Tuesday.  My car has been running hard, nothing terribly noticeable, but a bit louder than normal, and something is just not right.  I decided to stop at a dealership on my way home Tuesday, as I had a 3  hour drive, it was raining, and there are some areas where there is no place to stop for miles if you break down.  The dealership was kind enough to take a look and then turned mean, when they came to tell me all the repairs I need on a 2 year old car.  Of course, nothing is covered under warantee, and according to the folks I needed about $1800 in repairs.  Some could wait, but others needed to be done before I could safely drive it home.

Luckily, I have a friend Ann, in Manchester, who I called and she came to get me at the dealership and let me crash at her house.  She also patiently waited for about 4 hours while I bought a new car.  Yup, that's right, I don't do car repairs well.  I put 100 miles per day on a car, so I need a car that can handle high miles.  Fords do not work, and I will never buy a Ford again.  This was my 4th Ford, and I have had trouble with every one, once they hit 70,000 miles.  I won't go into the story of the other Ford we have, that would take 10 pages, but suffice to say, I HATE Fords now.

Back to my friend Ann.  I knew her when I lived in NH when my girls were very young.  I've probably known her for 18 years. Her daughter was my first babysitter. We worked together for 4, and then I moved to VT.  Life gets busy, and we don't see each other very often, but she's the kind of friend that you can call when you are stranded and she will come, no questions asked.  We had a great dinner, a few cosmo's and wine, and didn't get to her house till 10pm.  Thanks Annie!!  You are a true friend.

So I got a very sexy, black Honda CRV.  He is very handsome, and I have named him Black Jack, or Jackie for short.  He had 4 miles on him.  He should be able to handle all the miles I drive.  Lots of nice compartments for all my gadgets.  Hopefully tomorrow I can take a picture of how handsome he is.

My chompers

My GVC is done, well, except for the part I HATE. The sewing part.  I wish there was a place you could take your pieces and some nice person would sew up the seams for you.  (hint, hint.  Anyone out there???)  I'll try to get it done this weekend.

Here's DD #2.  Isn't she cute as a button?  (borrowing my jewelry again, I see!)

My chompers!!  No braces!!  Feels like I have huge false teeth in my mouth.  I thought it would feel like my teeth were smaller without all that metal, but man, they feel huge.  I wish you could have seen the before pictures.  You wouldn't believe the change.

TGIF

TGIF, stressful week at work, but I am remaining focused on Monday.  I get my braces off at 10:30!  I CAN NOT wait.  Over 2 years of picking food out of my teeth, shredded gums and mouth and achy teeth.

I visited my new nephew, Chase Morton, today.  How cute!  It still reminds me, every time I see a new baby, that birth is a miracle.  Those little fingers and toes.  So perfect.  My daughter was holding him, and it is only a matter of time before I am a grandmother.  Yikes!  I didn't think I was old enough.

Mike is calling my name!!

My climbing roses are starting to bloom.  Won't they be fabulous???
Reg, my neighbor, is 40 today.  He hates it when I dress up his bear.  But there are times, when I just have to sneak over there and do something funny.  At least I think it's funny.  I have to go sit on my front porch so I can hear him howl when he gets home from work and sees Betty.  (or Bernard as he calls him/her)

Strawberry queen

Mmmmmm, what will these 2 ingredients make??

The strawberries are fresh from my garden, picked today.  This is the second large bowl I have picked.  I made the biscuits, just like my Mimi used to make.  She would be proud.  Just waiting for the DD to come home with the whip cream.

I love a good harvest.

Thanks to Norma!  I have been enjoying garlic scapes in roasted potatoes and green beans.  I am so happy to have learned what to do with them!!

13 days and counting....

At least I hope it's only 13 days. 

Today I got an email from my boss about a meeting in Massachusetts on June 22 at 11:00.  This means an overnight for me, as it is 3.5 hours away.  The problem being, that is the day, at 10:30 am that I am scheduled to get my braces off!!!  It's been 2..5 years of having achy teeth, food stuck in by teeth, not wanting to smile, a surgery to break and reset my jaw, 6 weeks of a liquid diet, 12 weeks of sleeping on my back etc, etc, etc.  There is NO way I am missing THAT appointment.

Hopefully, the smile will look fantastic, and I will let people take my picture.  

Hope she understands when I miss the meeting......  she's a good boss......... right?????????

What's in the garden today?

Honeysuckle
Wigeila (no idea how to spell that one!) and the crazy daisies
My old copper fire pit that I am turning into a succulent garden.
Columbine, just found this beauty yesterday.
The window boxes on by garden cottage.
The strawberries are starting to turn.  I put the netting over the beds today, to try and keep the birds away.  Let's hope it helps.

Garden update

My first year growing potatoes.  Don't they look fabulous?I spotted this today.  Starting to ripen!
Beets I planted from seed.  Also my first year growing beets.  Can't wait.  I have loved beets since I was a baby, at least that's what my grandmother always told me.
The Blanket flower is starting to bloom.  Hundreds more buds.
And the Globemaster Alliums that I just can't get enough of.
I do love my gardens.  Today I threw together another quiche with fresh eggs from the girls, spinach and chives from my garden and VT Cheddar cheese.  We have friends visiting from NH, Barb and Bob, so hopefully it tastes good.

Need to start knitting on the sleeves of my cardigan. That would mean getting off the computer and washing the dirt off my hands.  Hmmmm, what to do?

Moving day tomorrow

Still down in Ct, helping my Suzy pack up her apartment and move back home for a while.  I didn't think she had much stuff, but OMG was I wrong.  We painted the bedroom yesterday.  Took 3 coats of paint, and several hours, but if we didn't do it, she would have been charged $300, so I guess it was worth it.

Should be an interesting summer.  I had finally gotten used to the empty nest, and now both my little birdies have returned.  Most likely it will go by quickly.  So I plan to enjoy every minute of the craziness.

Can't wait to go home and see how my garden has been growing.  Should be an entire weekend of gardening and unpacking.  I still need to plant my window boxes.  I don't think I've ever been this late.

18 more days until my braces come off.  The countdown has begun!!!

Visiting Suzy

Here is my beautiful daughter Suzy and my son-in-law Anthony.  I'm in CT, helping Suzy pack up their first apartment, as she will move home while Anthony is gone.  I've got a few meetings in Mass Wednesday and Thursday so it worked out for me to come and help her.   My vintage cardigan is coming along.  I am starting the sleeves tonight at Suzy's.  The yarn, Frog Tree Merino,  is incredibly soft and a brilliant blue.  I added 2 inches to the length, so I hope I didn't screw up the numbers.  We'll see.
 Be safe Anthony!!!  We will all miss you.