I have had an unusual week, schedule-wise. Yesterday I had to go to Boston for a lengthy meeting, we’ve had company, I’ve got personal time I’ve got to use up before the end of the fiscal year, blah blah blah. Anyway, that meeting yesterday meant I spent 3 times longer in the car than I usually do and, while listening to Sirius radio, they happened to mention a few historical events that happened this week and they came together in my head as an idea for a blog post.

So.

Yesterday was the 21st anniversary of the infamous O.J. Simpson police chase. While the rest of the world was glued to their televisions watching Simpson’s white Ford Bronco I was holed up in the library at the University of Rhode Island where I was in grad school at the time. In other words, I missed the whole thing.

Yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of the arrest of 5 men in the Watergate scandal. I was 6 at the time and what I mostly remember about that summer is that I couldn’t watch Sesame Street because everyone was watching the Watergate hearings all.the.time.

And finally, on June 17, 1978 Jimmy Buffett’s Cheeseburger In Paradise hit it’s peak on the Billboard charts at #32. Jimmy isn’t known for having big hits with his songs but his fans are loyal and that song is an anthem for those of us who tailgate at his shows.

That’s what I’ve got for you today. What’s happening with you?

Hello, my friends. I had a wonderful weekend and I hope you did, too.

The Friday night pre-wedding party was great fun. I got to hang out with Jo-Ann and Sharon and her family. And I got to eat delicious sushi.

Dale and I left for the wedding Saturday morning. We had a wonderful lunch at the Publick House, the site of the wedding. We bumped into Don and Lois at the bar and had a drink with them and then checked into our room. It wasn’t long before Jo-Ann and her husband, Shawn, as well as Jo-Ann’s brother Bruce and his wife Vivian were all in our room. We set up snacks and drinks and had a merry time of it until 6pm when we headed downstairs for the wedding.

And the wedding was lovely. Sharon’s son was handsome in his tuxedo and his new bride was gracious and beautiful. The whole affair was elegant. Passed hors d’oeuvres during the cocktail hour, a delicious dinner, a wonderful band, and plenty of dancing and laughs. As we were having a night cap in Jo-Ann and Shawn’s room after everything had ended who popped in to say hello but the bride and groom! That was probably one of the best moments of the night. Or, I should say, the morning since it was early on Sunday by then.

As we went to bed I remarked to Dale that my throat felt a little sore. Uh oh. Sure enough, by last night I had a stuffy nose and a headache and a fever. I’m actually writing this post from bed on Monday morning, and as soon as it’s posted I plan on rolling over and trying to go back to sleep.

You know what, though? A cold is a small price to pay for such an awesome weekend!

It’s Thursday. Let’s talk about some things . . .

• Thanks so much for all of your compliments on yesterday’s Halloween party post. It took me almost 2 hours to get that done so I really appreciate your comments.
• I made the cake pictured above for the party and it was fantastic. And simple. You can find the recipe right here. It’s the perfect fall dessert.
• I am entirely sick of political commercials and can’t wait until they stop next Tuesday. Of course, they will be replaced by Christmas commercials and that’s not much of an improvement.
• At the library we subscribe to something called Freegal. It’s free and legal music and allows users to download (and keep!) 3 songs every week. It’s fairly expensive and isn’t used all that much so we are trying to come up with ways to get people to use it. Any suggestions from those of you who are (and aren’t, especially) library users?
• I haven’t been to Rhinebeck in more years than I can remember. And I haven’t been to New Hampshire or any of the others either. I thought long and hard about going to The Fiber Festival of New England but it’s not going to work out.
• The reason it’s not going to work out is because this Saturday is when we are setting up our Field of Flags for Kiwanis. This is the event where we ask people to sponsor flags for $10 each and we split all of the money we raise with Fisher House. You can read the post I wrote about last year’s event here. And if you’re so inclined and would like to donate, you can do that here with PayPal.
• The other reason a trip west won’t work out this Saturday is because we are getting together with friends for dinner on Saturday night. They are definitely worth missing a fiber festival for as they are some of my longest standing friends and I love seeing them.
• But I am hoping for a getaway with Dale soon. Maybe Maine? Maybe Deerfield? Let’s go!
• Thanks for reading!

Work is busy, stuff at home is busy, life is busy busy busy. Something has to go and, unfortunately, it’s today’s blog post that is being neglected. Or, phoned in, if you will. Just to keep you from being completely disappointed, since you showed up and all, here are three things on my mind right now.

1. I have a new laptop. This is an exciting thing. But also a royal pain-in-the-ass thing. The iTunes set up, the software installations, the Dropbox downloads, and on and on it goes. I know you all understand. I do think, though, that once I’m completely moved in to this new baby that I’m going to be very happy with it. It’s a speedy one, that’s for sure.
2. We are very close to being done with all of the home improvement-y stuff. In fact, Dale just texted me a picture of the grids he installed today on the upstairs windows. I think – but I will need to double check myself – that those grids are the last of this project. To recap we have had new siding put on, new windows installed, 3 new storm doors installed, a new front door (it’s gorgeous), new front steps, a new ceiling in the room we are now calling the den, a custom ordered window in that same room installed, new carpet in 3 rooms, and new paint on the bookshelves and walls of that new den. We have also bought new furniture for that room. This has been going on since July and I think it might finally be safe to pull that building permit out of the kitchen window.
3. I have been very lazy about going to the gym lately. Truthfully, I’ve been lazy about this since we got back from vacation in September. This laziness has led to a bit of snugness in the waist of my favorite jeans. And some puffiness in my face that I am definitely not happy about. And so, this week, I have recommitted myself to the Y. I went after work one day, something I haven’t done in ages. And I’m going after work today and I will go again tomorrow. I feel so much better about myself, not just physically but mentally when I go and the holidays are coming and there’s stress at work and exercising is the best way I know to relieve stress. Well, drinking is too, but that can get me in trouble and it doesn’t do anything for the snugness of my pants so off to the gym I go. Encouragement is encouraged, my friends.

And I am signing off. Forgive the brevity of my posts this week, won’t ya?