Author: admin

Winds of Change

I’ve been at odds lately ….
Stevie Nicks, one of my all-time favorites, 
 asks the question in one of my all-time favorite songs -.Landslide
“Can I turn with the seasons of my life”
Easier said than done.
The thing thats tugging at me the most right now is simply this..
This job…the one I’ve held the longest,
the one I’ve cherished the most
is slowly being outsourced.
Meaning…
 my kids don’t need me so much anymore.

They are slowly but surely getting what they need and want

from the outside world… as it should be.
But… that leaves me slightly at odds. I’m a little lost in that knowledge.
The not needing..you know.
And the what next?

Caramelized Apple Cake

 Got this recipe out of a magazine, delicious and not too hard to make.  I used a cast iron skillet (oven proof is necessary).

Caramelized Apple Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 5  tbs  Butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large granny smith apples – peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Heat oven to 375.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl, set aside. Use electric mixer high speed to beat 1/2 cup of butter in large bowl until creamy (1 minute). Add granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and vanilla, beat until blended. On low speed blend in flour mixture and then sour cream.

Melt remaining 5 tbs butter in ovenproof 10 inch skillet. Add brown sugar , stir 2 minutes. 

Add apple slices to the pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 10 minutes or until tender.  Let cool 5 minutes.

Spoon batter over apples and spread to edge of pan. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack for 20 minutes, run knife around edge and carefully invert onto plate.

Not to change the subject, but I’m changing the subject….
The first week of Catholic High School has been a success!
I don’t know who they sent home after the first day in my son’s clothes,
but whoever he is has been doing his homework
without being asked
Neatly! Organized! and with enthusiasm!!!
He’s even waking up after the first bugle call every morning..
instead of the 56th.
Holy Crow.
Literally!
 And to those of you who recommended ditching the ironing of the shirts and just snapping them right out of the dryer… Eureka!.. it works!
  I’m doing a happy dance, can you tell? 

Where were you?

…my sister and I were talking on the phone. I was folding laundry, piles all over the bed.  Then a news flash on CNN.. a plane had hit one of the twin towers.  My first thoughts were “Oh, a pilot error, how terrible.”   Now riveted to the TV, my sister and I watched in horror as the second plane hit…and it was instantly clear this was no accident.

 Of all the images you can view with a google of the numbers 9/11, this one haunts me the most. This is the very instant when the world would change forever in a twisted and horrible way.  It brought clearly to the surface all the anger and hate that lies beneath. Until this time my generation lived in a relative time of peace.. too young to have been a part of Vietnam, old enough to have been around a while without the experience of living in war time.  I was so naive. 

  And then there was the time of rallying together.  We were One Nation again…flags hung from highway overpasses, doorways, bumper stickers…. waving from car antennas, worn on clothing.. we were again a proud nation standing strong together, caring for each other.  For a while.  We’ve drifted again -yet another tragedy, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Since the time he could walk he was taking things apart and actually fixing them as he got older.  He was aloof and sarcastic and funny at the same time.  When we were 10 years old  playing in the yard, I tangled with a bees nest and had three stuck in my hair. As I went running and screaming for my mother… his mom yelled out her front door “Arthur,  what did you do?’…..
When friends began settling down and he was invited to a housewarming party, he’d bring a large quantity of toilet paper and beer as a gift.
 He also made his own brew.
 He loved his dog, buddy.
Time went by.. he became a fireman in the tradition of his family.
And he was a good one.
On that day..that day…
he had the day off. 
But.. his station needed a tool to fix something and he happened to have it
in the back of his truck and he also happened to be the most capable fix-it guy.
So he crossed the bridge and went into the city…
Arthur T. Barry
We all have stories of that day,  where were you?

Before and After – The office of the Boss

 This room, located in the front right corner of the house if you’re facing it from the street.. was originally a dining room. Since we use that big keeping room (kitchen) as a dining room, sitting room, hanging out at the island room… Mike made this his office.   Jeff did all the cabinetry work in his shop, and the fireplace and beams are original, even the stones are back in place.  Mike took photos before the dismantle and the stones were marked so that they would go back together properly.

Jeff and crew …..
I know there should probably be a photo of some prestigious politician or religious leader or prominent family member  up over the mantle there… but this rhinoceros photo speaks to Mike in some mystical way,  (POWER,  MIGHT,  BRICK SH*T HOUSE, I’m guessing).  

See you at the Fair

 I can’t think of a better way to start the fall season in New England.  Within driving distance we’ve got everything from a MEGA -Fair, which draws Saturday Night Band Talent such as the Charlie Daniels Band and Leann Rimes… to small town fairs that have all the charm you’de expect.  The kids love hooking up with their friends and we get to eat all that sinful food. 

There’s a certain elecricity in the air…the combined energy of good live music, the smell of woodsmoke and bar-b-q.. talent contests, agricultural exhibits and 4-H projects, the rides, the games, young lovers, families, gathering of friends old and new… it’s a love affair I’ll never outgrow.

His shirt said Ho Ho Ho.    I Believe.  

Guess I’m not quitting my day job…

 …just yet.  I was going to try my hand at storm chasing this morning, but Earl petered out. 

My favorite room in This Old House is the back porch. We spend alot of time out there…cool breezes off the fields gently caress even on the hottest day.
There are storm windows for what we hope is going to be three-season use.
While riding out the heavy drizzle today, I read this…the fall edition is a great issue….

Storm or no storm, that’s the question.

 The last real hurricane I remember was Gloria in 1985.  We took a beating here in Connecticut, without power for 7 days, trees felled everywhere.  Here’s a picture from Gloria archives along Long Island Sound.

As Earl heads this way… or not…. our public schools have declared a half day today, my daughter’s college cancelled classes and recommended students go home.  We’ve got plywood ready for that huge window in the family room and we’re taking in the lawn furniture. But you know… I think it’s gonna be a bust.
My friend Cindy and I were going to act like a couple of stormchasers,  bring the boys and the cameras to the Rhode Island beaches this morning and take awesome wave photos.. but the webcams look foggy and the waves are minimal. Not worth the drive.  Might head down to our local beaches tonight… I love a good storm…
as long as no one gets hurt   ðŸ™‚

Have Mercy

    Tomorrow morning at 8am my son will become a high school freshman.  
 My baby.   
 The Youngest.  
 The last baby I’ll ever have.  
(Yes, that thought occurred to me long ago, but still.  Hush.)
Honestly, this boy was independent from the get-go.  In his first day of life he stared out from his hospital bassinet, eyes wide open with wonder, not a peep of protest or cry for reassurance.  The nurses marveled at his gaze, at his ability to follow them around the room with his eyes.  “They don’t usually do that so young!”. said one.   He never did bother to crawl… he sort of just GOT UP when he was 9 months old and that was that. 
Tomorrow starts a new chapter. He will attend a private catholic high school and this in itself will be strange territory.  I believe firmly in a good public education and it’s how we were all brought up. My mother was a public school teacher for 39 years.  For several reasons we (and he) decided instead of our town’s public High School,  this was the route he would benefit from the most.
For him the workload will be two-fold.   It was his decision to attend, and it will be up to him to keep up and apply himself.  ( “Required Summer READING LIST?  But… this is my SUMMER!!)    Getting him to sit in the dentist chair for an un-novicained root canal would be easier.  
  For me the ironing will be TORTUROUS  truly a labor of love.  And so will the letting go… something I’m not very good at. For now there is still the boy in the young man… and I’m cherishing every minute.  For now, there are still bike rides and sleepovers and xbox and turtle tanks and smores by the fire.
  Last night  over Buffalo Chicken Pizza and orange and lime sodas  we discussed what they might want to do when they grow up.  Two of the three shrugged their shoulders, and my son replied in all seriousness…
 “ I’m going to be a Trophy Truck Driver”
Ok then.

18 Things

1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing really stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

3. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

4 Was learning cursive really necessary?

5. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on number 4. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my own neighborhood.

6. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

7. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.
8. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. -such a sinking feeling…

9. “do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this…ever.

10. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring, Hello? Hello? but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

11. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

12. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

13. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand while cutting off circulation in major arteries than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
14. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

15. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?   (welcome to my WORLD)

16. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in to get past at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters! HOLD that Tiger!

17. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far. -yep, this makes my blood run cold; been there, done that.

18. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is.