Confessions of a Grandma

I got my flu shot today at a local pharmacy.  My new medicare card gave them fits, but after three people worked at it, it finally went through so I didn't have to pay out of pocket. Did I already say I was rear ended in traffic? I was not hurt, but my new car!!! It will be fixed and the kid's insurance has accepted liability.  I strongly suspect texting and driving was a factor.  The problem now is that I spend so much time worrying about the car behind me that I am afraid I will end up rear ending someone.  Life is hard. Some have accused me of having way too much time on my hands: Purple page in my art journal Knitting a blue bird.  I don't know why. And also an owl. Because I like owls. It stopped being hot very quickly.  The leaves are starting to turn and day time temperatures have been in the 60's.  It's as though a switch was thrown on the autumnal equinox. I  put away the AC unit and dragged out a blanket.  And...

Wildflowers I picked on a walk down a dirt road. The weather has suddenly turned cooler.  I was using the small AC unit in my bedroom right up until this past Tuesday when the temperature reached 90º and the humidity was about 90%. I have had that little AC unit for years and I usually don't even bother to drag it out.  And if I do, it is usually just for a week tops that it get used in July.  But this was a hot and humid summer -- practice for if I ever move to Florida full time. I was listening to a piece about Rachel Carson on public radio last Sunday.  I knew about her book Silent Spring  and her warnings about the chemicals impacting the environment.  I did not know about her concerns about global warming.  She had started working on a book about that before her death.  She was charting increasing ocean temperatures along the eastern coast back in the 1940's and 50's. There is an interesting article about Rachel Carson in the Marc...

SO Margaret of Straight Up - No Chaser recently posted a story that illustrated who she is .  Her story, her blog in general, is wicked funny and worth a read.  She did end the story with a "your turn" sort of challenge. I have written about this before -- giving blood: My first husband was a community spirited, giving back kind of guy, and that is extremely admirable. He may have gone too far, though, when he convinced me, many years ago, to go with him to donate blood. As he pointed out at the time, I was young and healthy. I should feel a responsibility to help those in need. It was an easy thing to do. He did it on a regular basis. They give you juice and a donut when you are done.  A donut?  You should have lead with that! Okay, all ready. I went with him to the Congregational Church where the Red Cross was having a blood drive. The volunteer greeting us at the door gave me a sticker: "Be nice to me. It's my first time!" Goody, a sticker. What am ...

I am glad that our trip to Boston was on Monday and that we did not feel tempted to linger for a few extra days.  We drove through this area on the way back to Vermont. multiple-gas-explosions-set-more-than-homes-ablaze-across-three-communities-north-boston I am feeling a teensy bit nervous about the natural gas heat in my condo. *** We did learn about this Boston incident while we walking near Faneuil Hall. https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Police-NH-man-offered-to-buy-teen-girl-from-parents-492867791.html *** Uh Oh.  Manafort set to cooperate with the Mueller investigation after more charges are brought? I guess loyalty can only go so far. Although I have to say I marvel that loyalty to a sinking ship has gone as far as it has by so many. But that's just my own opinion. *** My heart goes out to anyone in the path of Florence.  I have been the Cape Hatteras and to St. Martin  within four to nine months after hurricanes had passed through. ...

I had a doctor's appointment in Boston. (Aren't there any ENTs in VT?) I had promised my granddaughter a shopping trip for her 17th birthday (which was in June) so a trip to Boston seemed like a good way to cash that one in.  We left on Sunday and stopped at the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester before tucking in for the night.  Oh, yeah we had dinner at the Lobster Boat in Merrimack -- lobster rolls and French fires.  We like our lobster rolls Connecticut style, butter instead of mayo, and they accommodated.  It was a very good restaurant with everything tasting and smelling very fresh. We spent the morning seeing a little bit of Boston.  Kristen did some more shopping and we had a lunch that spanned several of the food vendors at the Quincy Market. Performer (who wanted $20 from each onlooker) It was pretty gray, but the rain held off til later. My doctor's appointment was supposed to be at 2:30, but the doctor was running late.  I was f...