It looks as if the Alaska trip is not going to happen. My brother told my mom that it wouldn't really be worth all the trouble of traveling to stay for only few days and then leave, but I don't want to take any more vacation time. (I want to save some days for next fall when I need extra time to do homework.) So my mom and I talked and I said maybe it would be best to hold off until next year when I could plan my vac time better (I think I've already taken 9.5 vac days so far this year). I feel relieved actually because now I have more time to play with this summer taking a Friday here and a Friday there the way I like to.

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Even though I made time for a nap yesterday, I ended up doing all sorts of chores such as vacuum cleaning, picking up dog poop, grocery shopping, mail sorting and purging, dish washing and laundry folding well into last evening so I don't feel that relaxed today. Recently, I've been a little down on myself for all the down time I seem to require every night. In the evening, I like to spend most of my time on the couch reading blogs on my MacBook (or reading something else). Now since I'm still feeling slightly frazzled from last night's blitz of activity, I'm thinking that instead of feeling bad about needing lots of down-time, I should just know that having it keeps me sane. It's just how I am, and nothing to be ashamed of, right?

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Guess what time of year it is in Connecticut? Well, yes it's spring, but it also happens to be Lilac Time! I'm so excited about it. I think lilacs must be my favorite flower and part of their mystique is the fact that they come out every year for only a few weeks in May and then they're gone. They smell heavenly and are such a pretty color. We have a type of lilac bush in our backyard, and I love it, but it's a different variety and it doesn't look or smell the same as the kind that are my favorite. Last year, Blue and I went to the park on a Lilac Sniffing Expedition so I could get my fix, and I think we may have to do the same thing again this year.

Labels: family, life at home, spring

posted by Miss Rachel 5/05/2008 08:23:00 AM

. . .

I planted flowers at two family graves last weekend. My paternal grandparents have been dead for a while (1970 and 1981, respectively) and my dad never planted anything at their grave, but now that my dad is buried there, my mom really wanted to plant stuff. Since I'm the only relative left in Connecticut, the job fell to me. I bought pink, white and red impatiens, the shade-loving flower, because I had the impression that the grave was in the shade. I also bought some white alyssum. I turned out to be wrong about the shade, but I planted the impatiens anyway, and decided to check back on the grave this coming weekend. There was supposed to be some sort of marker for my dad at the grave, but there was nothing there and when I told my mother she called cemetery office and they said they knew about it and would take care of it. So I want to check on that too.

My maternal grandfather has been dead since 1962 and my grandmother sporadically kept up on planting stuff there. After my grandmother died in 2000, my mom and I have tried to keep up on it. One of the problems is that my grandmother chose a stone that has a planter on either side of it so you have to plant stuff in both or it will just look unbalanced and not "right." It was typical Nana behavior to create more of project by choosing a gravestone like that. Anyway, that grave gets full sun and my mom and I have had a hard time getting anything to last there. Last year she put in hosta and I was surprised to see that *one* of them came back up. Of course, the other planter just had weeds in it so I had to fill that one, and I put flowers around the hosta in the other one. The hosta was kind of small so there was room.

The plants I chose for Nana's grave are pink and white vinca and purply blue lobelia. I love the color combination. I ended up having some left over so I planted some of it in my flower box on the porch. I still have some left over so I was thinking I should put it at my dad's grave if the impatiens don't make it. I'm hoping not to have to do that though. I think I would like to put the rest in a hanging pot I have. It can hang next to the calibrachoa plant my mom bought for me in Rockport. She wanted to pay me back for the flowers for the graves, but instead we decided she could just buy me a plant as a gift.

Here is the planter that had some hosta growing in it at Nana's grave.

Labels: family, spring

posted by Miss Rachel 6/07/2007 06:36:00 PM

. . .

The lilacs are out, and as you might have guessed from the color of this page and the picture at the top, lilacs are one of my favorite flowers. The weather has turned rather cold and damp for the last few days, but I didn't want to miss out on the "lilac experience" so yesterday Blue and I ventured out on what I called a lilac sniffing expedition. There is a lilac bush in my backyard which you can see here, but it is a different variety. It looks pretty and it smells nice, but it doesn't have quite the heavenly fragrance of the purple and white ones so I decided to head out and bring Blue with me.

We went to Elizabeth Park, home of the world famous Rose Garden. There was some kind of work going on in some trees there. I guess they were pruning or something - ? The trees aren't the kind you normally think of pruning though - big old oak trees. They were sending men up from trucks in those little cart things. A lot of people were standing around watching, but I couldn't really see what was so interesting. There was also a plant sale going on. I wish I had the time and inclination to garden, and I seriously have been thinking about it, but I held off on buying any plants. I would need to get a place in the yard ready and plan things out a bit, not just buy any plants that struck my fancy willy nilly.

So anyway... Blue and I walked past the plant sale, and then went down the path that runs along behind the annuals garden (which is currently filled with tulips) and the rock garden. It was very quiet back there - no people. I could just hear just hear birds singing. I wasn't scared though. There were plenty of nice seeming people nearby. And then we got to the lilacs which surround the Heritage Rose Garden.

It was lovely. I walked around for a while smelling the lilacs and taking pictures of them. There were 2 men talking and one of them had a pug so I brought Blue over to say hi. The pug acted kind of crazy though and was making all these sounds like the Tasmanian Devil so Blue got behind me. We talked for a little while about dogs and lilacs, and then I continued on. I circled back by them again a bit later and one of the men suggested I take a bouquet. I think he was joking, but I mentioned I would have to a be a lot taller, as most of the lilacs were high up. I took a few more pictures and buried my nose in the blossoms once more, and then Blue and I headed back to car.

Labels: Blue, dogs, spring

posted by Miss Rachel 5/20/2007 06:18:00 PM

. . .

As I said last night, I'm getting my hair trimmed. I'm going to the salon up at school. It's in a little group of shops, restaurants and offices (including the Library Science office) across from the school called the Village Commons. The Village Commons is so great. It's one of the few things called that where it's not a euphemism for "a strip mall of chain stores." There are walkways and little nooks and crannies and benches to sit on, and none of the stores are chains.

My hair appointment is before class. I also have to pick up the course evaluation forms at the office before my class. The school needs a student volunteer to distribute and collect the evaluations, and I volunteered to do it for my class. It's such a little thing, but I feel so proud of myself for volunteering to do it, like I'm being a good citizen. So I'm heading up to school a bit earlier than usual to make sure I have adequate time. I don't mind going up there early. It's so pretty, and we are having some lovely spring weather now anyway. The lilacs are coming into bloom. Maybe I will see some up at school. :-)

Labels: school, spring, the world around us

posted by Miss Rachel 5/12/2007 07:43:00 AM

. . .

I don't feel like posting, but I want to get back into it so here are some random bits:

I finished my paper, presented it to my class and handed it in. There is one more class (with other students' presentations), but my work is done until the summer session starts.

My workout plan for the week: weights today and Thursday, plus three cardio workouts.

Spring is beautiful, but I'm already mourning the ephemeral quality of some of the blooms. Forsythia and magnolia are almost gone by. Lilacs will be out soon.

I started reading Pride and Prejudice yesterday, but mostly all I want to do is watch videos.

I have been watching tons of vidoes, especially Poirot. I also caught up on some Ugly Betty yesterday. I got hooked on The Amazing Race, but now it's over.

Watching: Battlestar Galactica, Season 2.5.
Six Feet Under, Season 5.
Ugly Betty
Rocky and Bullwinkle, Season 1.
Poirot: The Veiled Lady, The Lost Mine, The Cornish Mystery, The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim, Double Sin, The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, The Kidnapped Prime Minister, The Adventure of the Western Star, How Does Your Garden Grow? The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor, The Double Clue, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest.

Labels: physical fitness, reading, school, spring, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 5/07/2007 08:02:00 PM

. . .

I did pose for the Library Science photo at school on Saturday. I wore my pink Red Sox cap in the picture. I was standing behind someone else wearing a Red Sox cap, but his wasn't pink.

I always have my final paper for Cataloging class in the back of my mind, but I'm still avoiding working on it. I have a feeling that it's done, and I certainly hope I'm right (!), but I need to proofread it, and edit it. It's up to about 7 pages. I chatted with this girl who took the Cataloging class last semester and she said that her paper was only 5 pages long (the paper is supposed to be 8 to 10 pages). She said the teacher said it was a little short, but still gave her a B+. Hearing something like this increases my confidence.

I mentioned smoking last week, and yes, I have taken it up again. For now. Parameters are the same as they were in December: none before noon, none at work, no more than one per sitting and no more than four per day. It's been going fine and often I have fewer than four. It took me 8 days to get through one pack. And yes, I know it's bad for me and all that, but I'm trying to keep my head together, and somehow, smoking helps me deal.

I am still working out regularly and tracking my food in Fitday. The trainer at the gym said I looked like I'd lost weight. I have lost 2.5 pounds off my highest recent weight, which was actually a pound more than I told my doctor so I'm sort of seeing it as a 1.5 pound loss, if that makes sense. At any rate, it's a move in the right direction. Just a very small one, but I'm trying to stay positive here.

The weather is mild and everything is turning lush and green.

Labels: fat, fitness, school, spring

posted by Miss Rachel 5/01/2007 07:14:00 PM

. . .

I am taking yet another day off from work to do schoolwork, but I haven't done any of it yet today. Yesterday, I conducted my interview with the librarian and took tons of notes. Afterward, she gave me a tour of the office (she is a librarian, but she works in an office for a library consortium), and introduced me around (there were about 6 other people who worked there). Everyone was very nice, and they expressed instant groans of recognition when they were told my paper topic was quality control in cataloging. The manager said that it was good to see a "young person" interested in that sort of thing. Hee! I'm betting he didn't realize that I'm 40.

In the afternoon, I spent a couple hours typing up my paper from my notes before I could forget what they meant. I have about 5 pages now which, after editing, will probably pare down to more like 4, but I think it's a good chunk. I e-mailed it to my work address so in case I have some kind of computer crash, it will be available. I know I can also save it on disc, but honestly, I still haven't quite mastered how to do that without Sweetie's guidance (burn folder - whaaa?). Yeah, I'm sure I can do it by myself, but I just haven't bothered to remember it exactly. I think one more disc burning review session, and I'll have it down. Another thing I usually like to do with paper drafts is print them, but my printer isn't working right. As Sweetie says, my printer is worth every cent I paid for it. (It was a free printer.)

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Sometimes I've heard people say that the weather in New England is so severe nowadays that the seasons go from winter to summer with no spring. But I don't really think that's true. We have spring; it's just not very long. Yesterday, however, would be a point in favor of the "no spring" argument because it was like a summer day - sunny with temperatures in the 80s. As Mike Landin said, "Yesterday was like a day out of midsummer, minus the high humidity. In other words, it was spectacular."

After working on my paper, I spent some time hanging outside with Blue listening to my iPod (and uh... um, smoking a few cigarettes...). I was sitting on the steps of the deck with Blue lying behind me, and I decided to see how he would work out as a back and head rest. Turns out, he does a great job. A few times he put his snout in my face, but mostly we just hung out peacefully communing with one another and the summery breeze.

Labels: Blue, library science, life at home, school, spring

posted by Miss Rachel 4/24/2007 09:35:00 AM

. . .

I can't believe it's Easter. It's the most un-Easter-y Easter I think I've ever had. I even forgot it was Easter. But then it's not as if I usually do much for this holiday. The Easter bunny no longer visits and brings me a basket of candy as he did when I was little. And coloring eggs is fun, but you kind of have to do it with other people and have some people to eat them too. With Sweetie's having gone vegan, he wouldn't be that much help in that department. Anyway, happy Easter to those who are celebrating.

Another thing that makes it seem un-Easter-y is the weather. It's cold, and it even snowed a little last week. Thank god it didn't snow for that long nor did it accumulate. I'm kind of done complaining about the weather though. It's not that unusual here in New England to get some snow in April. That's just the way it is. And there are some flowers starting to come up. Soon we'll have a few clumps of daffodils in bloom.

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I'm starting a new weights program at the gym tomorrow. I'm meeting with the trainer to go through it. She e-mailed me a spreadsheet of the new program. Here's what I'll be doing:

Bicep Curl/Over Ball
Reverse Hyper/Leg Lift
Isolated Bicep Curl
Dead Lift Row
Rest & Repeat

Lying Single Arm Tricep Crossover
Dead Lift Elevated Heels
Tricep Dips/Bench
Rest & Repeat

Wall Squat/Alt. Front Shoulder Raise
Push-Up/Row
Reverse Curl In/Ball
Rest & Repeat

Single Arm Chest Fly/Ball
Superman (reps)
Push Up/Step
Rest & Repeat

Inner Thigh/Ball Squeeze
Slow Double Crunch
Plank Hold
Rest & Repeat

Lying Hamstring Curl/Machine # 3
Plie Tap
Rest & Repeat

Yikes, doesn't that seem like a bit much? (But at least there's not the 80 squats I had to do in the old routine.) I don't want to have to spend forever at the gym. Of course, I'm of the mindset that if I'm going to the gym, I should get a good workout when I'm there or what's the point? I still haven't seen much progress in terms of my weight on the scale, but I do think my butt seems a little firmer so I think working out may be helping.

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As you can see, I don't have much to say, but it's been so long since I posted I thought I should check in at least.

Listening: Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Judy Garland - The Capitol Years

Watching: Six Feet Under, Season Five
Futurama, Volume 2
Miss Marple: The Sittaford Mystery (2006) starring Geraldine McEwan
Survivor: Fiji (and tonight I watched an episode of the Amazing Race.)

Labels: fitness, listening, spring, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 4/08/2007 09:13:00 PM

. . .