These pictures were taken the morning of the 2 fire drills...this was the second one. Jack took these and I think they turned out spectacular.Saturday, July 28, 2007
New Pictures
These pictures were taken the morning of the 2 fire drills...this was the second one. Jack took these and I think they turned out spectacular.
It's raining men, Hallelujah!
To preface this story: We live on the 4th floor and in the corner apt. There are rain gutters near our windows. Construction crew shows up, plants a crane below on the grass and will be doing repair on the gutters until they are fixed. Lucky me!
So each day I am now used to hearing the compressor lifting the guys up in the basket to the wall (where my head is in bed). I hear them tapping on the gutter and the wall, so I know I’d just better get up because there is no way to sleep through that. Repeat every day and fast forward to this event. I can hear them talking to each other in the basket and one says something about “what size do you need?” “I have a ¾” socket” etc. Later that day after lunch they are now returning up to do another gutter and have to pass by my bathroom. OK, so I stand there with my camera and greet them and give them a bad time for waking me up every morning. They are smiling and interacting with me and then I say, “Why do you guys start so early in the morning? I heard you both talking about the size of your nuts this morning.” STOP, SILENCE, me realizing what I just said. So I do what most people who just put their foot in their mouth do…I change the subject and act like I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!
So here is a picture of them outside my window. They really got me twice, once when I was on the toilet and the other when I was in the shower. The sound of the compressor is what gives it away that they are moving. You just sorta freeze and wait them out! LOL
So each day I am now used to hearing the compressor lifting the guys up in the basket to the wall (where my head is in bed). I hear them tapping on the gutter and the wall, so I know I’d just better get up because there is no way to sleep through that. Repeat every day and fast forward to this event. I can hear them talking to each other in the basket and one says something about “what size do you need?” “I have a ¾” socket” etc. Later that day after lunch they are now returning up to do another gutter and have to pass by my bathroom. OK, so I stand there with my camera and greet them and give them a bad time for waking me up every morning. They are smiling and interacting with me and then I say, “Why do you guys start so early in the morning? I heard you both talking about the size of your nuts this morning.” STOP, SILENCE, me realizing what I just said. So I do what most people who just put their foot in their mouth do…I change the subject and act like I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!
So here is a picture of them outside my window. They really got me twice, once when I was on the toilet and the other when I was in the shower. The sound of the compressor is what gives it away that they are moving. You just sorta freeze and wait them out! LOL
The Elevator is what????
Broken, that’s what! We have to pack and we REALLY need that elevator!! We have soooo much stuff to load into the car and taking them down one by one is just not going to cut it. More later…….
It’s Saturday morning and the kids are starting to leave, one by one. The staff here at Taft is having mixed emotions as this is the best group of kids they’ve had in a long time. I think there were younger ones here than ever before and they tend to gravitate to the teachers. Of course who doesn’t like having a little one taking a liking to you? The staff here are really good with the kids. I mean last night at the formal dinner no one really wanted to leave. One advisor and her student were doing the chicken dance and she had on heels! We are sad to see them leave. Fortunately we have their emails so we can keep in touch with them. Jack took pictures last night so when he gets a chance he will download them here.
It’s Saturday morning and the kids are starting to leave, one by one. The staff here at Taft is having mixed emotions as this is the best group of kids they’ve had in a long time. I think there were younger ones here than ever before and they tend to gravitate to the teachers. Of course who doesn’t like having a little one taking a liking to you? The staff here are really good with the kids. I mean last night at the formal dinner no one really wanted to leave. One advisor and her student were doing the chicken dance and she had on heels! We are sad to see them leave. Fortunately we have their emails so we can keep in touch with them. Jack took pictures last night so when he gets a chance he will download them here.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Down the 7 in Connecticut
This is the view while I was driving. Wonderful huh? Make sure to click to get a better picture.
Check out this church!
Sorry the quality is not that good, but when you are driving alone and in a hurry you take what you can get. Fantastic church!
Getting lost is fun!
Yes, that’s what I said, getting lost is fun. Well it is when I get lost in Connecticut. I went down to Stamford last Thursday to visit a stamper who is really well known in the stamping community. I thought I knew where I was going, but I was wrong. So after a bit, I did call and get the correct directions, but because I had gone so far out of the way, I was able to see these great little towns and take pictures. I hope you enjoy them. I could relate to this picture very well as I had drank coffee and it was going through me and BAD! Now that's what I call a port-a-potty.If you can't read the sign on the lower left...click on the picture.
Visiting Old Classmates
Saturday, July 21st, we were able to connect with one of Jack’s classmates that he hasn’t seen for over 40+ years, Roger and his wife Lynn. (See Jack’s Taft School Class of 1961 blog) They live in Long Island, which they told me is pronounced “Lawn Guy Land”. We had a wonderful time visiting with them.
As the wife in a situation like this you just never know how you will interact with the other wife. I know, just be yourself, but out here I don’t think they would really get my “blonde” sense of humor. I have the misconception that all people living on the East coast are “upper crusty” and so as to NOT embarrass my husband, I try to be prim and proper. Well, those of you who know me, I am NOT prim and proper. But I do try to behave lady like. That being said, I have been thoroughly pleased to find that all of the wives I have had the pleasure of meeting, have been WONDERFUL, and I thank them for that! The most common thread we have is the love for our husbands. Seeing them get excited like little school boys and sharing stories from long ago makes US happy. These reunions have proven to be more than anyone has dared to expect. Renewing old friendships, sharing stories, hearing things they never knew and catching up on their lives is a wonderful high. We laughed and laughed at the stories that came out, one by one, as the day went on. You would hear, “Do you remember old Mr. so and so?” “Do you remember when we ….” And they would laugh some more.
Let me tell you about Lynn, she went all out for us. We would have been happy to go out to dinner, but NOoooo Lynn would have nothing to do with THAT! She served shrimp with cocktail sauce and some great chips, then Roger brings out shrimp shish-ka-bob’s and puts them on the BBQ and serves them up hot. He then informs us, these are just appetizers!! Oh dear! Then she keeps bring out more and more….sweet corn on the cob, red potatoes (which Roger and Jack ate like M&M’s), fresh bread, wonderful salad, and BBQ’d Mako Shark! We sat outside near the pool, ate dinner and just took in the beauty of the scenery as well as the graciousness of the hosts.
After a bit, we went inside, told more stories, laughed some more and were served delicious apple pie and fresh fruit. (I was hoping there were no stairs around to climb!).
Around 9:30pm we HAD to leave in order to get back before we set off the alarms at school. We promised that if we are invited back here to Taft next summer, we will go back and spend more time with Roger and Lynn.
As the wife in a situation like this you just never know how you will interact with the other wife. I know, just be yourself, but out here I don’t think they would really get my “blonde” sense of humor. I have the misconception that all people living on the East coast are “upper crusty” and so as to NOT embarrass my husband, I try to be prim and proper. Well, those of you who know me, I am NOT prim and proper. But I do try to behave lady like. That being said, I have been thoroughly pleased to find that all of the wives I have had the pleasure of meeting, have been WONDERFUL, and I thank them for that! The most common thread we have is the love for our husbands. Seeing them get excited like little school boys and sharing stories from long ago makes US happy. These reunions have proven to be more than anyone has dared to expect. Renewing old friendships, sharing stories, hearing things they never knew and catching up on their lives is a wonderful high. We laughed and laughed at the stories that came out, one by one, as the day went on. You would hear, “Do you remember old Mr. so and so?” “Do you remember when we ….” And they would laugh some more.
Let me tell you about Lynn, she went all out for us. We would have been happy to go out to dinner, but NOoooo Lynn would have nothing to do with THAT! She served shrimp with cocktail sauce and some great chips, then Roger brings out shrimp shish-ka-bob’s and puts them on the BBQ and serves them up hot. He then informs us, these are just appetizers!! Oh dear! Then she keeps bring out more and more….sweet corn on the cob, red potatoes (which Roger and Jack ate like M&M’s), fresh bread, wonderful salad, and BBQ’d Mako Shark! We sat outside near the pool, ate dinner and just took in the beauty of the scenery as well as the graciousness of the hosts.
After a bit, we went inside, told more stories, laughed some more and were served delicious apple pie and fresh fruit. (I was hoping there were no stairs around to climb!).
Around 9:30pm we HAD to leave in order to get back before we set off the alarms at school. We promised that if we are invited back here to Taft next summer, we will go back and spend more time with Roger and Lynn.
The Day Jack Tried to Kill Me!
Honestly, he really did! He said he didn’t, but he told everyone the story, sooooo he at least thought it was funny!
After we leave the restaurant, we see we have time before we have to meet the buses, so we decide to take the subway. OK, I’m game, let’s do it! So down into the subway we go, down, down, down. Very steep stairs! Jack tries to get a metro card but the darn thing didn’t look like it was working. So I step up and take a look. I see that you have to push a few buttons here and there and voila, it works….I told him it looked very similar to a Keno Machine and that’s why I knew how it worked!! LOL
So we get our tickets and go through the turnstile and down still more stairs and head over to where our train is to come. Keep in mind, Jack lived there for 8 years and I totally trust his judgment that he knows what he is doing. (psst, wrong!) We wait and wait, then he realizes, this is the wrong area, we need another train, so we maneuver our way through people and along close to the tracks (remembering the man who saved the life of some guy who fell into the tracks). So now we have to go down, down, down even deeper into the city. We are now in the right spot to catch our train. We wait, and wait and wait. It’s HOT and HUMID and there is still no train. I’m thinking, OK, I’m in Hades…sitting in the waiting room of Hades. There are no signs anywhere telling us what time the next train is coming and we look and see that it is now 8:00 and we are supposed to be at Grand Central Station catching the buses that are going to take us home! Because I can’t use the words I said, I’ll say this…*!!!@*&! Use your imagination.
Ok now guess what we have to do…yup you are right!! We now have to climb UP to the street. Envision this…Jack who has had both his knees replaced 2 summers ago and me, his not so slender wife (who had just had dinner AND dessert) climbing up the steep stairs. Now we cannot climb leisurely, NOOOoooo we have to haul our asses up those friggin stairs and in a big fat hurry! Jack passes an escalator and I’m standing there pointing with a “uh, um, look” and he’s already gone up the stairs. So since I do not know where the escalator will take me, I HAVE to follow him. I’m climbing, climbing, and trying to breathe and not die. Heck, I couldn’t even sit down on the stairs for a minute because I would have gotten run over AND who wants to sit on those grimey stairs?? All I could focus on was “breathe Nancy, breathe” and “why did you have dessert?” FINALLY, I reach the street and air! Jack is looking at me saying “Are you alright?” Again, I cannot tell you what I was thinking! But he knows I am stretched to my physical limits and calls a cab. Thank God for his “whistle” that I usually complain about, it deafens my ears. He hails a cab and instantly one is there! I get in still trying to breathe. He tells the cabbie where we want to go and to “step on it”. I’m breathing with all my might, my eyes closed and just focusing on not dying. The poor cabbie thinks either “1) this woman is having a baby, or 2) she’s about to die. Either way, its not gonna happen in my cab” and he tears out of there and heads to our destination. I don’t remember much and Jack said it was good that my eyes were closed. We get to Grand Central and hop out. Jack hands the guy 10 bucks for getting us there in time and safely. We go around the corner and the buses are still there, a big sigh of relief. After a bit, I finally get back to normal breathing. We get on the bus and start to relax, and again Jack asks, “Are you ok?” to which I respond “Why did you try to kill me, and what was wrong with using the escalator??”. He says, “What escalator?” and that’s when I wanted to kill him!
After we leave the restaurant, we see we have time before we have to meet the buses, so we decide to take the subway. OK, I’m game, let’s do it! So down into the subway we go, down, down, down. Very steep stairs! Jack tries to get a metro card but the darn thing didn’t look like it was working. So I step up and take a look. I see that you have to push a few buttons here and there and voila, it works….I told him it looked very similar to a Keno Machine and that’s why I knew how it worked!! LOL
So we get our tickets and go through the turnstile and down still more stairs and head over to where our train is to come. Keep in mind, Jack lived there for 8 years and I totally trust his judgment that he knows what he is doing. (psst, wrong!) We wait and wait, then he realizes, this is the wrong area, we need another train, so we maneuver our way through people and along close to the tracks (remembering the man who saved the life of some guy who fell into the tracks). So now we have to go down, down, down even deeper into the city. We are now in the right spot to catch our train. We wait, and wait and wait. It’s HOT and HUMID and there is still no train. I’m thinking, OK, I’m in Hades…sitting in the waiting room of Hades. There are no signs anywhere telling us what time the next train is coming and we look and see that it is now 8:00 and we are supposed to be at Grand Central Station catching the buses that are going to take us home! Because I can’t use the words I said, I’ll say this…*!!!@*&! Use your imagination.
Ok now guess what we have to do…yup you are right!! We now have to climb UP to the street. Envision this…Jack who has had both his knees replaced 2 summers ago and me, his not so slender wife (who had just had dinner AND dessert) climbing up the steep stairs. Now we cannot climb leisurely, NOOOoooo we have to haul our asses up those friggin stairs and in a big fat hurry! Jack passes an escalator and I’m standing there pointing with a “uh, um, look” and he’s already gone up the stairs. So since I do not know where the escalator will take me, I HAVE to follow him. I’m climbing, climbing, and trying to breathe and not die. Heck, I couldn’t even sit down on the stairs for a minute because I would have gotten run over AND who wants to sit on those grimey stairs?? All I could focus on was “breathe Nancy, breathe” and “why did you have dessert?” FINALLY, I reach the street and air! Jack is looking at me saying “Are you alright?” Again, I cannot tell you what I was thinking! But he knows I am stretched to my physical limits and calls a cab. Thank God for his “whistle” that I usually complain about, it deafens my ears. He hails a cab and instantly one is there! I get in still trying to breathe. He tells the cabbie where we want to go and to “step on it”. I’m breathing with all my might, my eyes closed and just focusing on not dying. The poor cabbie thinks either “1) this woman is having a baby, or 2) she’s about to die. Either way, its not gonna happen in my cab” and he tears out of there and heads to our destination. I don’t remember much and Jack said it was good that my eyes were closed. We get to Grand Central and hop out. Jack hands the guy 10 bucks for getting us there in time and safely. We go around the corner and the buses are still there, a big sigh of relief. After a bit, I finally get back to normal breathing. We get on the bus and start to relax, and again Jack asks, “Are you ok?” to which I respond “Why did you try to kill me, and what was wrong with using the escalator??”. He says, “What escalator?” and that’s when I wanted to kill him!
il vagabondo
Now last year Jack had shown me a really large part of NYC, but duh me, I “thought” I had on good walking shoes, but noooooooooo I did NOT. After walking I had really bad blisters and had to return to Grand Central Station and could not go to the restaurant he wanted to take me to. So I vowed this year I would have the proper shoes on and I did!Well let me tell you something, Jack is sneaky. He has a way of telling you the truth, but not all of it! We started walking to this restaurant, and walking, and walking and finally I had to stop to rest. I said to him, how much further? He said, 5 more blocks. I said OK I can do that…well 5 more blocks and then more and more blocks I say how much longer and he turns and says, “We are here”. Get this ladies and gentlemen we are talking about a friggin’ hour to get there!! Heck I would have paid good money to take a cab and bypass all the homeless, freaks and crowds we saw. We did, however, get to see 2 wedding parties outside of “St. Patrick’s Cathedral”. Pretty fancy, smancy stuff. Around the corner at the hot dog stand there was a Muslim kneeling and praying, which was very interesting to us. We really didn’t want to interrupt or invade his privacy, but we stood back and watched. It was really very touching to me.
Back to the restaurant, “Il Vagabondo” is a restaurant and Bocce ball court. Jack used to hang out here when he lived in NYC. We were greeted by two gentlemen in suits and the bartenders. Jack chatted with them and reminisced and they were happy he had returned. I ordered cheese ravioli and Jack had a delicious grouper in a white wine and black olive sauce. Then we ordered dessert, he had canoli and I had chocolate mud cake. We were in heaven. I was very happy we actually made it there this time.
Mama Mia!
We (yes, Jack AND I) saw “Mama Mia”. It was fun, although I didn’t know all the ABBA songs. The antics of the cast were hilarious…it was really a “tongue in cheek” kinda thing. We had an enjoyable time. My second Broadway show!
Our Day in NYC
Saturday, July 21st, we rode with the school to NYC on buses. We stopped for lunch at Mars 2112. It was lots of fun. At one point the staff at the restaurant gathers and the song “Dance to the Music” comes on and they all start doing a dance, waving their arms in the air, etc. Well, not to be outdone, a group of our kids got up and stood next to them and join in! It was awesome!
When we left all the kids were gone with their chaperones except for these 2 little guys who are 11-12 years old and are just standing there. (Jack and I would adopt them in a nano-second) We asked some questions and found out they were alone, had lost their chaperones, and wanted to go to see “The Hershey’s Store” and “M&M World”. I can’t really tell you their names or much about them because they are students here, but as Jack says, “If you get them both soaking wet and put rocks in their pockets they still wouldn’t weigh more than 100 lbs combined!” Just wanted you to have a visual of Jack and me with these two boys. So we headed down to the stores and oh my goodness did they have fun. Keep in mind they don’t show much emotion and don’t really like to get their pictures taken and they are very quiet. So we snapped a picture of a giant Hershey syrup bank and humongous 5 lb. Hershey Bar. Then we headed across the street to “M&M Store”, it was 2 stories high! The boys looked around and were amazed that M&M’s come in ALL those colors! You name the color, they had it! Just when they thought they’d seen it all they went around the corner and saw MORE to which they said “ooooooooooooooohhhh”. So cute! There was a machine that would imprint a M&M character on a penny so they did that. Afterwards, one of them said he didn’t like it that they ruined a perfectly good penny! Again, cute! They didn’t buy anything at all, which was amazing to me, since we are talking about CHOCOLATE!! It was time, so we headed up the street to the theatre to see “Mama Mia”. And, Boy, were the chaperones VERY relieved and happy to see the boys show up and even happier that they had been with us.
When we left all the kids were gone with their chaperones except for these 2 little guys who are 11-12 years old and are just standing there. (Jack and I would adopt them in a nano-second) We asked some questions and found out they were alone, had lost their chaperones, and wanted to go to see “The Hershey’s Store” and “M&M World”. I can’t really tell you their names or much about them because they are students here, but as Jack says, “If you get them both soaking wet and put rocks in their pockets they still wouldn’t weigh more than 100 lbs combined!” Just wanted you to have a visual of Jack and me with these two boys. So we headed down to the stores and oh my goodness did they have fun. Keep in mind they don’t show much emotion and don’t really like to get their pictures taken and they are very quiet. So we snapped a picture of a giant Hershey syrup bank and humongous 5 lb. Hershey Bar. Then we headed across the street to “M&M Store”, it was 2 stories high! The boys looked around and were amazed that M&M’s come in ALL those colors! You name the color, they had it! Just when they thought they’d seen it all they went around the corner and saw MORE to which they said “ooooooooooooooohhhh”. So cute! There was a machine that would imprint a M&M character on a penny so they did that. Afterwards, one of them said he didn’t like it that they ruined a perfectly good penny! Again, cute! They didn’t buy anything at all, which was amazing to me, since we are talking about CHOCOLATE!! It was time, so we headed up the street to the theatre to see “Mama Mia”. And, Boy, were the chaperones VERY relieved and happy to see the boys show up and even happier that they had been with us.
Playing Catch-Up
Just checking in. Today is Monday, the beginning of the last week here at Taft. I have very mixed emotions. There are so many things still to be done and not enough time. But let’s focus on what we have done!
Friday, July 13th we went up to Hartford to visit a classmate Herb and his wife Cheryl. We had met up with them last year and were excited to see them again this year. We went to a very nice restaurant in Hartford, and then walked over to the theatre to see a play called “The Good Body” by Eve Ensler. It was a quaint little theatre, and there were 3 fantastic women playing all the parts. It focuses on women and the love/hate relationship with their bodies. I tell ya, it was fantastic!! Even Jack was laughing out loud! Go check it out because it should be in your neck of the woods soon.
Friday, July 13th we went up to Hartford to visit a classmate Herb and his wife Cheryl. We had met up with them last year and were excited to see them again this year. We went to a very nice restaurant in Hartford, and then walked over to the theatre to see a play called “The Good Body” by Eve Ensler. It was a quaint little theatre, and there were 3 fantastic women playing all the parts. It focuses on women and the love/hate relationship with their bodies. I tell ya, it was fantastic!! Even Jack was laughing out loud! Go check it out because it should be in your neck of the woods soon.
Monday, July 09, 2007
I MADE BROADWAY!!!
Ok, I’m not in a Broadway Show, but I did go to one. I’m a fan of musicals from way back when and yesterday a dream came true… I saw a show on BROADWAY baby!!! And I couldn’t have picked a better show to start with than “The Color Purple”. Oh my, my, my!! Words cannot express how wonderful, exciting and exuberant this show is! The cast did a wonderful job of transporting you into their world. It was one I did not want to leave. The story was so moving; you could not help but laugh, cry and say “Amen”!! The characters were so good, that at the curtain call when the one character you “loved to hate” took his bow, you didn’t know if you wanted to clap or boo him!! Now that’s great acting!
I’m so glad the audience gave the cast a standing ovation…they deserved it! We wanted to say “encore” but there was not another song to sing! I wouldn’t have minded if they had broken into a hymn and let us have church! That’s how uplifting this show was.
I am purposely not telling you about the story line, this is something you need to experience first hand. I’m in Heaven.
I’m so glad the audience gave the cast a standing ovation…they deserved it! We wanted to say “encore” but there was not another song to sing! I wouldn’t have minded if they had broken into a hymn and let us have church! That’s how uplifting this show was.
I am purposely not telling you about the story line, this is something you need to experience first hand. I’m in Heaven.
Wake up call
Imagine….it’s Saturday evening. All the kids have gone to Boston for the day. Jack and I have had “quiet” time all day long. 10:30 rolls along and we hit the sack…nice and peaceful right??? WRONG!! 11:00 all 3 buses arrive and unload 160 wired, loud and excited kids…right outside our window. Oh dear Lord in Heaven…talk about noise!!! Then of course, after they leave the parking lot they come INTO the building and onto their designated floors. So we hear the pitter patter of BIG feet along with squeals that sound like “stuck pigs.” OK, so who gave them sugar???
About midnight they have finally made it to their beds, there is peace and quiet….all is well.
4:30 AM…. wooooo it….woooo it….wooo it…OMG, it’s the fire alarm!!! Which little hoodlum brought fireworks to the dorm?? Get up, get dressed (have you ever tried to get dressed with your fingers in your ears to keep your ear drums from bursting?), brush hair (we wouldn’t want to look like we just got out of bed do we?), head down the hall and do a “kid search” to make sure there are no stragglers left behind…there were, two of them! Then we walk hurriedly (is that a word?) down 4, yes 4 flights of stairs! Just as we get to our meeting point, the alarm gets turned OFF. I’m thinking, “I got up why?”
We find out from Fire Marshall Bill that there is a defective alarm in a vacant room (rats, I thought sure it was one of the munchkins). So off we go back up (4 floors remember?) to our rooms. It’s now 5:00 and I can’t get back to sleep. Go figure!
OK, we are FINALLY asleep and woooo it …wooo it… woo it…YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! Another fire alarm??? Just shoot me now. It’s 6:00 AM. Repeat above procedure…get dressed, brush hair and find little lost boys and head down 4 flights of stairs ….same defective fire alarm!! Now I’m thinking…do YOU want to take out the battery or do you want ME to do it???
We finally got back to our room about 6:15 AM…I went to bed, Jack watched The Tour de France.
The End
About midnight they have finally made it to their beds, there is peace and quiet….all is well.
4:30 AM…. wooooo it….woooo it….wooo it…OMG, it’s the fire alarm!!! Which little hoodlum brought fireworks to the dorm?? Get up, get dressed (have you ever tried to get dressed with your fingers in your ears to keep your ear drums from bursting?), brush hair (we wouldn’t want to look like we just got out of bed do we?), head down the hall and do a “kid search” to make sure there are no stragglers left behind…there were, two of them! Then we walk hurriedly (is that a word?) down 4, yes 4 flights of stairs! Just as we get to our meeting point, the alarm gets turned OFF. I’m thinking, “I got up why?”
We find out from Fire Marshall Bill that there is a defective alarm in a vacant room (rats, I thought sure it was one of the munchkins). So off we go back up (4 floors remember?) to our rooms. It’s now 5:00 and I can’t get back to sleep. Go figure!
OK, we are FINALLY asleep and woooo it …wooo it… woo it…YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! Another fire alarm??? Just shoot me now. It’s 6:00 AM. Repeat above procedure…get dressed, brush hair and find little lost boys and head down 4 flights of stairs ….same defective fire alarm!! Now I’m thinking…do YOU want to take out the battery or do you want ME to do it???
We finally got back to our room about 6:15 AM…I went to bed, Jack watched The Tour de France.
The End
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
ROOM WITH A VIEW
Well here is a picture from our room. It's been very pretty here. Blue skies, white fluffy clouds and green, green, green!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
What we are doing....
I thought I'd give you some idea about what we are doing while we are here. Jack has 2 morning classes..he teaches Math (Algebra I & II). Then we are free for the rest of the day. I sleep in (SURPRISE!) and Jack goes downstairs (we are on the 4th, yes 4th floor) grabs breakfast and then returns with a plate of breakfast breads and cranberry juice for me! He's so nice!
Then off he goes to class and I catch up on emails, make cards, order cakes (remember, I'm the cake lady for the school) do laundry, shower etc. Then about noon we head downstairs (did I tell you 4 floors?) for lunch. Let me tell you that these guys have a menu you just can't believe!! Lunch and dinner are really our "social" hours. We get to visit with the other teachers and just get to know them. Boy they come from all walks of life. Very interesting people.
Then we head upstairs (4 floors) and Jack watches TV on his laptop and falls asleep. We find that our bodies are beginning to finally respond to all the stress we had before left California. With my dad and the emotional rollercoaster ride with his illness after his surgery, my son in law dealing with a cancerous tumor in his kidney, the surgery (the Dr has proclaimed he is "cancer free") worrying about my daughter who is pregnant and watching my grandaughter, who is two and has only two gears (fast and faster). Then all the while we are worrying about my dad, Jack's mom died. Although we knew she kept falling around December, all things seemed to be alright, and then all of a sudden, she passed away. Totally out of left field...she had just turned 91 in May. So needless to say after all of this and getting ready for our trip, we were stressed.
Things are starting to get better now, but the reality of his mom's death is starting to wear on him. She was cremated and a memorial service will be held in Maine (August 1st) where she lived and at the church she had attended for so many years. The end of the week we will head to New Hampshire for his family reunion in which another memorial service will be held.
Ok back to our regularly scheduled program.....at 5:00 dinner is served and we head back down (yup, 4 floors) to the dining room. After more socializing, we head back upstairs....(4 floors) and play cribbage or Jack has dorm duty. It sure is very relaxing and we get a chance to just enjoy each other's company.
We have some exciting news, not only is my daughter Jennifer pregnant and due on December 13th, Jack's daughter Kelly, is pregnant as well and is due on January 13th. Kelly had an ultrasound and she was told that the baby's hands were up over its head and waving to her. She said "no way, he's signaling a TOUCH DOWN" Yes, Jack's girls are as much into football as he is.
So that's what a day in the life of "The Hills" is all about. We are now calling The Taft Summer School our "Summer Home in Connecticut". I'll take more pictures the more I get out and about.
Happy 4th of July! Be safe!
Nancy and Jack
Then off he goes to class and I catch up on emails, make cards, order cakes (remember, I'm the cake lady for the school) do laundry, shower etc. Then about noon we head downstairs (did I tell you 4 floors?) for lunch. Let me tell you that these guys have a menu you just can't believe!! Lunch and dinner are really our "social" hours. We get to visit with the other teachers and just get to know them. Boy they come from all walks of life. Very interesting people.
Then we head upstairs (4 floors) and Jack watches TV on his laptop and falls asleep. We find that our bodies are beginning to finally respond to all the stress we had before left California. With my dad and the emotional rollercoaster ride with his illness after his surgery, my son in law dealing with a cancerous tumor in his kidney, the surgery (the Dr has proclaimed he is "cancer free") worrying about my daughter who is pregnant and watching my grandaughter, who is two and has only two gears (fast and faster). Then all the while we are worrying about my dad, Jack's mom died. Although we knew she kept falling around December, all things seemed to be alright, and then all of a sudden, she passed away. Totally out of left field...she had just turned 91 in May. So needless to say after all of this and getting ready for our trip, we were stressed.
Things are starting to get better now, but the reality of his mom's death is starting to wear on him. She was cremated and a memorial service will be held in Maine (August 1st) where she lived and at the church she had attended for so many years. The end of the week we will head to New Hampshire for his family reunion in which another memorial service will be held.
Ok back to our regularly scheduled program.....at 5:00 dinner is served and we head back down (yup, 4 floors) to the dining room. After more socializing, we head back upstairs....(4 floors) and play cribbage or Jack has dorm duty. It sure is very relaxing and we get a chance to just enjoy each other's company.
We have some exciting news, not only is my daughter Jennifer pregnant and due on December 13th, Jack's daughter Kelly, is pregnant as well and is due on January 13th. Kelly had an ultrasound and she was told that the baby's hands were up over its head and waving to her. She said "no way, he's signaling a TOUCH DOWN" Yes, Jack's girls are as much into football as he is.
So that's what a day in the life of "The Hills" is all about. We are now calling The Taft Summer School our "Summer Home in Connecticut". I'll take more pictures the more I get out and about.
Happy 4th of July! Be safe!
Nancy and Jack
More pictures of New Haven
Doesn't this just beat the freeways in So Cal?
Quaint little towns
Look at the houses nestled in the hills.
A drive down to New Haven
I tried to get the full flag while I was driving, but only got the top of it!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
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