Top Ten Summer

June 13, 2014




                                          Top Ten Reasons to LOVE Summer


Even though it has been raining in Connecticut for what seems like weeks I am so looking forward to my favorite season.



10. Longer days energize me. I actually go out after work instead of putting on my jammies.


9. Having lunch on the beach.


8. Sleeping with the windows open.


7. Reading on the beach.


6. My birthday. Okay it's not all about me. All the July birthdays, Lauren, Josh and Megan, too.


7. Peaches and tomatoes.


6. Listening to the radio (yes, my little portable radio) on the beach.


5. Hot dog roasts! Always think of Bud when I think cookouts.


4. Happy hour on the beach.


3. My huddle buddies.


2. Walking on the hot sand.


1. THE BEACH.

Summertime Sadness

January 27, 2014




Let me just say that I missed the ENTIRE Grammy Awards last night because I got called into work. Just as I was putting up my feet at 8PM the call came. I did get to see Beyonce and JayZ putting on a performance that would have been best performed in their bedroom, but I missed Pink, Katy Perry and Madonna. I did see a small portion of it on the very tiny TV in the PACU lounge but not on my HDTV with surround sound! So I don't know if Lana Del Rey won any awards for her song, Summertime Sadness. But what I do know is that I have severe summertime sadness.



I'm tired of hearing about the polar vortex, arctic air mass, snow or black ice. I'm also tired of hearing about the projected weather forecast for the Super Bowl. They picked an outdoor stadium on the east coast. It snows here and gets cold in the winter. Didn't anyone think of that? As a born and bred New Englander I am used to the bleak frozen winter months between January and March. Months where the only thing I can think of to do is dress warmly, throw a log on the fire and cook comfort food. Months where even going out to dinner or a movie is predicated on how close I can park my car to a warm area.



Where are you, summer? I'm waiting patiently for you. Although I can't imagine not having a winter season, (are there really people who haven't experience snow and ice?!!) I am a summer girl. So I'll just have to wait for the first signs of spring....tulips and daffodils, robins and longer days. In the meantime I'll keep the fire going and the heat turned up.


                                                         "Summertime Sadness"

Kiss me hard before you go
Summertime sadness
I just wanted you to know
That, baby, you're the best

I got my red dress on tonight
Dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight
Done my hair up real big beauty queen style
High heels off, I'm feeling alive

Oh, my God, I feel it in the air
Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare
Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere
Nothing scares me anymore

There's Frost on Your Pumpkins

October 15, 2012



Margo, if we hadn't gone away last week I would never have remembered that line. And it is priceless!

We had the first frost this past Friday. I had to go to work Saturday morning and it was SOOOO cold. I wanted gloves but didn't have time to look for them. I used the seat warmers in my car. I finally turned the heat on in the house this week but wasn't happy about it. I will really miss the summer. I have so much more energy. Now it will get dark early. Some days I feel like I leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark. (Sunset last night at 6:10 PM. )  Then I really feel like hunkering down under the covers.

But this winter I am going to try not to succumb to that outlook. I don't think it will be good for my mood. I am going to try to FORCE myself to go out in spite of the cold, dark nights. Or maybe, I can have people here in my warm cozy house. Then I don't have to worry about going out!

But I am still hoping for a few days of Indian Summer. I haven't put away all my sandals or taken my sweaters out of storage. There may still be some balmy days ahead.

Mortensen's Ice Cream

August 31, 2012


I have a long weekend with no call! The last weekend of the summer. I hope I can concentrate on the positive instead of thinking of how the man I trusted with my life betrayed me. I can always turn to ice cream to soothe my soul.


This week Hilary and I went to Mortensen's for lunch and ice cream. There are two. One in Cromwell and one in Newington on the Berlin Turnpike. It is very much like a Friendly's but family run. It is in an unassuming building, somewhere I would never have stopped at in the past


We had a delicious lunch. Veggie burger and tuna melt. And homemade cole slaw. The hot dogs looked great! And the milk shakes!!! Wish I could have tried a little of everything. The ice cream was nothing special but the whole experience was fun. Having lunch with my daughter, trying a new ice cream place and shopping at a Marshalls we had never been to in Wethersfield made the day special.

Here's to the final summer weekend of 2012. To everyone who is going through a difficult time, get out in the sun and try to enjoy yourself. Start out slow if you have to, one step at a time.

Cinderella's Story

August 28, 2012




My life is a fairy tale. If only! I spent last weekend being very busy but the the summer is waning and I am going to go into hibernation mode soon. I was out Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Unheard of, really. But Sunday night I was determined to get home early, which is for me 8PM. 7:30 is even better. You know, getting up at the crack of dawn, etc. Always looking at the time worrying about my car turning into a pumpkin.

I met old friends at the Branford green to see the Steve D'Agostino Band. It was the last in the Jazz series on the Green. He came highly recommended. I announced as soon as I got there that I would be leaving at intermission. But someone assured me I would not be able to leave once I heard them. And he was right. They were fantastic! As "smooth" as my friend described them, it was hard to gather up my things and leave. The weather was perfect, the moon was gorgeous and the Trinity church made a stunning background to the music. The food and the company and of course the wine cinched the deal. I didn't get home until after 9PM. Then it was setting up the coffee for the morning and getting my lunch ready and the usual bedtime rituals.

It was worth every second. Even though I mistakenly set my clock for 5AM instead of 4:30 and had to race around in the morning to get to work on time. Bed unmade (which I hate) with no time for a swig a coffee, and I forgot my watch (which I REALLY hate!) but I made it to work. Singing Cole Porter tunes all day!