The "It's All About Me" Roadtrip & a brand new week

Now that I've been home for a full week I've finally downloaded my pictures. I hope you'll enjoy seeing a bit of what I saw... (oh, no, have I beome someone who shows home movies of my vacations? Yikes!) I'll keep it short rather than risk boring you too much...

The first week (Tuesday-Monday) I was in the western part of Virginia (not to be mistaken with West Virginia, although I spent a day there too). I'd driven through Winchester several times on my way back and forth to Knoxville and had wanted to explore it so when I found a journal writing workshop being offered there I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to play tourist.

One day I went to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. In case you don't already know this about me - museums generally bore me silly. This one was really no different but I did enjoy seeing the gardens of the Glen Burnie house which is also part of the tour. The house was owned by a prominent family for several generations. The last member of the family to own it lived full-time in Manhattan and stayed at the Virginia property once in a while. It's hard for me to imagine leaving these scrumptous gardens to return to New York City, even as much as I love New York!

Another place that I loved was the Handley Regional Library in Winchester. I may be bored silly in a museum but give me a library to roam around in and I'm happy for hours. This is, without a doubt, the most gorgeous library I've ever seen. I was so tempted to apply for a job while there but unfortunately they only had part-time positions and I couldn't afford to live there on what I would have made. I'll keep my eyes open and maybe someday they will have something full-time.

The "lobby"- is in a rotunda. There are two sets of the curving staircase the lead up to the second floor (and maybe higher, I'm not sure because I got a bit dizzy just climbing the stairs.) There is a huge stained glass ceiling at the top of the rotunda. Really pretty!

A work room that is fabulous. I love all of the wood. These are just a few of the pictures. I have many more since I was snapping pictures all over the place in there :)

That week I also visited Harrisonburg and toured the Virginia Quilt Museum. Sadly no pictures were allowed but they had some lovely quilts. Almost makes me wish I quilted! Almost! Another day I walked a couple of labyrinths at an amazing place called The Land Celebration (Gore, Virginia). It was such a peaceful and inspiring place. The people were so warm, welcoming and compassionate. I had a lovely walk and talk with the founder and hope to visit there again someday.

One of the ladies from my hotel recommended visiting Harper's Ferry (West Virginia). The old town is in a National Park. It's really something to see. I'd like to go back there sometime.

Standing at this lookout point I could see whitewater rafters and people tubing along the river. But even more enjoyable was watching the hawk glide overhead. He seemed to be just riding the wind for the pleasure of doing so!

This footbridge crosses the river to Maryland. As I was coming back across the bridge there was a family walking along. The mother called to the little girl to let me pass. The little girl looked to be about 5 or 6 years old. I joked that she was walking so fast that I couldn't possibly pass her so she went into a speed-walk! The race was on! She won! What fun! I really miss working with kids ~ they are so enthusiastic about everything!

After climbing many steps I reached a breath-taking view and a beautiful old church. I also reached a decision that I simply MUST get in better shape. Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy hiking and being outdoors. This was a reminder that exercise will make those activities even more enjoyable. I've been to the gym four times in the week I've been back and have started going to water aerobics. A good start, yes?

On Monday (7/13) I drove to D.C. and visited my favorite memorial - the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. I love it because it has gorgeous landscaping, magnificent water features and spectacular sculptures. Eleanor Roosevelt is one of the women I most admire in the world.


I wasn't sure where I was headed next but ended up in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It seemed a good place to stay so that I could do day-trips to different places. Downtown Fredericksburg has an excellent vegetarian restaurant (Sammy T's), some to-die-for ice cream options, and a slew of fun shops. One of my favorites was the Cat's Closet - all cat merchandise :) Even the other stores seem to recognize the appeal of cats...this was a "window display" that seems to change with the cat's mood

As I stood there watching the cat she had to move the boxes over a bit to get comfortable. Sorry for the glare in the picture - the way the sun was shining that day there was no way to avoid the reflection unless I waited for the sun to shift. It seemed more likely the cat would move first!

The entire trip was spent doing whatever I felt like whenever I felt like it, which frequently included eating at Red Robin (love their Boca Bonzai burgers) and Glory Days (yummy chocolate lava cake). I had a lot of fun getting to know some people who were staying in the same hotel. Turns out one of the women lives right outside Philadelphia so we're making plans to get together soon.

Now I am home and trying to get back into something of a routine. I'm still looking for a job and am trying very hard to keep an open mind and an open heart no preconceived notions about where I will end up or what I will be doing!

It is nice to be home with my kitties. The indoor family was glad to see me. The outside gang didn't say much one way or the other about my return home. I have to believe they are glad to see me too but they are more stoic about their emotions. They aren't shy about their demands for food though!

A few weeks ago I discovered that Punkin has babies and they have become quite the little three-kitten show around our deck! Here are a few pictures I captured of them. It's challenging because if they see me at the door they take flight!

The litter of kittens that appeared last year was nicknamed "ABBA" because they were all such dancing queens, they would stand at the door and dance to get our attention so we would come feed them. This litter I've nicknamed the BeeGees because it appears the two blonds are twins and then there is a little gray one who is so cute! That's as close as I've come to naming this group (so far!).

Alice has a litter too but I've not been able to catch pictures of her family. This morning Randy rescued one of Alice's kittens who had gotten his little neck stuck in the soccor net in our neighbor's yard. Apparently when Randy went outside he heard the kitten crying and went to investigate. Alice's other babies were sitting around their sibling as he/she was trying to get free. Poor baby must have been terrified because it didn't even struggle when Randy was cutting the net to let it free!

Which brings me to one last request....if you buy sodas or water or anything else that has the plastic thing that holds the group of bottles together - PLEASE cut each piece of plastic before throwing it away. Entirely too often those products end up in a land-fill and it's a danger to birds and other creatures.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hi there...remember me?

Hello again. I know it's been a very long time since I've stopped by my own blog site. That's a pretty sad statement isn't it? I'm back from my vacation and looking forward to sharing pictures with you. We have some new kitties in our neighborhood and I'll be putting their photos up around here too but for right now I just wanted to share a couple of fascinating Web sites I've discovered and hope you'll pop over and check them out. It'll give you something to read while I'm trying to compose something here! Ha! How arrogant does THAT sound??? I'm actually only kidding about my own writing but I am SO EXCITED about these two new places I've discovered that I would love a chance to discuss them with you.

The first is the Web site of a musical artist I particularly like ("I'm Your's and "Lucky" are two of his songs playing on the airwaves these days). If you haven't heard Jason Mraz, by all means, check him out. His Web site is jasonmraz.com. What I really like about his site is his "journal" pages. Mr. Mraz has some very cool writings about philosophy and life experiences there. Apparently he is a student of world teachings and does yoga and other reflective practices. Not necessarily what you would expect to find on a musicians Web site, huh? I find his writings both thought provoking and inspiring.

As a result of my reading his blogs I discovered another fabulous Web site... called The Story of Stuff. This 20 minute video about how we, as consumers, are over-using our planet's resources is powerful! I do hope you will check out The Story of Stuff and pass it along to your friends.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please come back soon - I promise I'll do better about showing up here. Thanks loads for your patience and your gentle nudges!

Old friends

Hi again...

Last week while I visiting Knoxville I had the great pleasure of catching up with some very special people. I've always loved my life-long friends but in the past few months I've become even more aware of how magical it is to be connected with people who share a history.

Here are a few of my special Knoxville people...

Karen and I have been friends since 3rd grade. She's one of the most constant people in my life. I know I can count on her no matter what! I've known Brent since 1st grade. When I was little he (and David) had to pick me up so that I could get a drink from the water fountain. I hadn't seen Brent in more than a dozen years. It was fantastic to spend time with them.

Anita (to my right) was my friend and classmate from 1st through 12th grade. I hadn't seen her since graduation and was thrilled that she came to the party. She's such a sweet person. Debbi (to my left) came to our school in 5th grade and we were instantly great friends...well, most of the time! We still laugh about the squabbles we had in elementary school. We've maintained a lovely friendship all of our adult years and it's always a fun time whenever we're together.

Eddie (in yellow) and Scott - still sweet after all these years

Phil (in blue) volunteered to man the grill and did a great job of it. David (in brown) generously opened his home to us!

David's parents joined us. Mrs. McC was a room mother for most of our elementary school years. It was impressive that she recognized us and remembered all of our names. It's been a lot of years since she's seen most of us and we've...um...changed! David's dad is a riot! Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in their family!

In their "man cave" (or in this case...man porch)
L->R David, Dan, Phil

Here we are...and the tall ones are still in the back row...just like our class pics from elementary school.

I had such a great time. These are people who share my childhood memories (good and bad LOL). Having time with them is one of the best things about going "home."

Of course, I should be really careful about leaving my camera unguarded. Joe (Karen's husband) is a practical joker so I consider myself very fortunate that this is the worst he did with the camera! Never a dull moment when he's around, that's for sure.

There were some really fantastic spouses and children who attended the "reunion" too but I haven't posted pictures of them because I'm not sure how they feel about having their pictures made public!

I also got to catch up with my friend Donna. Donna is another one of the people in my life who seemed like a life-long friend from the moment we met!

Everyone who knows me knows that my aunt Nancy is one of my most favorite people in the entire universe!!! Always has been. She's my mom's baby sister but has been more like a sister than an aunt during the past few months. I don't know what Karen and I would have done without her. Her husband, Jack, is really special too!

Here's my "niece" Mandy. My sister hates having her picture taken so I'm not posting one of her here but it was fun spending time with her too.

As you can see, I'm very lucky to have really spectacular people in my life. I may not see them as often as I would like but I always know they are there for me as I am for them.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit. I hope you're life is filled with people who make you smile.

A Finger-Lickin' Good Time

Hi Everyone, I've had such a fun week! I returned from Tennessee on Monday so that I could attend a book signing on Tuesday. My very favorite series in the entire world is the Stephanie Plum novels. This week was the long-awaited release of Finger-Lickin' Fifteen. A few weeks ago I saw on Evanovich.com that Janet Evanovich would be signing books at the Cherry Hill Barnes and Noble, which is close to my house! Needless to say, I knew I wanted to be there for that.







What a treat to be the first stop on Janet's book tour and on release date no less!











Luckily, Mavis was also available to go so we decided to meet at the store at 7 a.m. to get our bracelets for the signing. I arrived at 6:45 and was the first one there - by a long shot! :) Mavis arrived a few minutes later. Around 7:30 we were joined by a nice woman, Karen. Talking to Mavis and Karen made the time pass quickly. Karen (to my right) was so friendly and pleasant that it soon seemed like we'd known her forever.



I guess the early bird does catch the worm...or in this case...the first bracelet. Which turned out to be even more exciting since Barnes and Noble arranged us by numbers so I got to be FIRST in line to meet Janet!!!










This was the first major event at the new Barnes and Noble in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The management did a FANTASTIC job of seeing that everything ran smoothly. The manager, Anne, was so sweet and so dedicated to providing a fun experience for all in attendance. I'm sure her day wasn't easy but she kept her smile. She even recognized me later in the day and commented on my being the first in line!



We enjoyed talking to Janet's daughter, Alex, who was a real sweetie and has a terrific sense of humor.

From L->R: Karen, me, Alex, Mavis






It was a real honor to meet author Janet Evanovich. She asked what I had to do to get the #1 bracelet. I think she was surprised when I told her I arrived at 6:45 a.m. It was sooooooooo worth it!









With Mavis and Mr. Clucky







If you haven't read the Stephanie Plum novels, you really should go out and get One for the Money right now. I highly recommend reading them in order. But be warned...they are addictive. Once you've read one, you'll want to read them all.




Of course I have to add a picture of one of my babies...here's Punkin' sunning himself on the porch. He's forgotten that he's feral and spends a lot of his time sitting by the door looking in. I feel so bad...I want to bring him in too! He's letting us pet him now and is quite the little mush-ball.





I hope you're having a good day. I'll be back in the next few days with pictures of my Tennessee reunion with childhood friends!

On the road again...

Hello again...another week has flown by!

Still nothing job-wise. I'm disappointed to report that I never heard back from the school that I thought would be the perfect job for me. As my friend Sheri reminds me, that means there is something even more perfect out there.

I'm leaving Monday morning to go to Tennessee again. This trip will involve less work and more play. I'm hoping to see some friends throughout the week and then on Saturday night my friends from elementary school are getting together. Several of us had dinner back in January and it was so much fun. This time we were able to locate a few more and I'm so excited to see them. I'm just blown away to think of how rare and how special it is to have friends that I've known since I was six years old!

They try to deny it but I suspect Toby and Dolly are really good friends. Or perhaps they are both just too stubborn to give up their favorite spots!

Unlike her Mama, Dolly doesn't mind profile shots! Maybe that's because she has a cute nose!

Dolly decided she had been the subject of enough pictures and wanted to experience life from the other side of the camera!

Lacey expresses her opinion of photography! Everybody's a critic!

Thanks again to all who stop by to read my blog. I hope you've enjoyed it more than Lacey! I probably won't be able to post from the road but do hope to have some interesting photos when I return.

Have a fantastic week. Talk to you soon.

Happy Anniversary...the benefits of a good deed :)

Hello again! It's a very special day in our house! We're celebrating Lacey and Dolly's one-year anniversary here. Their story proves there are many rewards to even the most random act of kindness... or as my friend Lori-Ann says "no good deed goes unpunished!" Please permit me to share the round-about way a speeding ticket brought great joy to my life:

Last year on June 3rd I had to take a day off to go to court for a speeding ticket! Afterwards, I decided to take some towels to the animal shelter. While there the receptionist made a plea for canned dog food so off I went to the local grocery store (am I a sucker for animals or what????) When I returned there was an older couple there. The woman had a cat wrapped in a towel and another in the carrier. The woman was crying as the man announced to the receptionist that they were there to "surrender" the cats. The woman's 91 year old mom had passed away and the couple couldn't keep the cats due to allergies. Since our shelter is NOT a no-kill facility the girls' "shelf life" would have been about 72 hours. So I convinced the couple to change their plans. Instead of surrendering to the shelter (which would have resulted in tons of paperwork to spring the girls) the couple took the kitties and met me at a local vet clinic. This allowed me to adopt the cats immediately. They stayed at the vet's overnight while being checked out to prevent them from bringing any diseases into our house.

It's been a year now and I honestly cannot imagine life without these two!

"Don't bother me, I'm trying to sleep!!!"

After a year here, Lacey still won't come downstairs. I was planning to get rid of the little footstool in "her" room but she claimed it for her own!

Dolly's favorite song is played by an ice cream truck. It doesn't matter where she is in the house, if she hears the refrigerator or freezer door open she comes running to see if maybe, just maybe, she'll get a taste of ICE CREAM!!!!

In honor of her "anniversary" today she did! Yum!

Don't be fooled by how close together they are...there was lots of growling going on!

"All those carbs have made me very sleepy"

"Hey, Mom, why are you standing on your head?"

"Ahhh, the sun feels so good!"

Perhaps reflecting on Dolly & Lacey's story put me into the mood to do something worthwhile today so I cleaned out my pantry and donated the food to a local food bank. This afternoon I sat down to watch some taped Oprah episodes and was thrilled to find an episode about volunteering. If you didn't get a chance to see it you can still read the featured stories by going to Oprah.com/heroes.

There were many inspiring stories on the show which aired 5/19. One was of a young girl who is helping "homeless" cats. You can see her website at freekibble.com. By clicking on a give button on the site you can help feed cats and dogs. As you know, I love animals but I also love stories about kids who volunteer. My friend, Janet, has two daughters Sarah and Lauren. I've known Janet and her family for almost 10 years now and even when her girls were very young they always found ways to help those less fortunate! In a time where too many kids are completely self-absorbed it's very impressive to hear about the ways Sarah and Lauren reach out to others! Kudos girls!

One thing I believe with my entire heart and soul is that when we do for others our own lives are enriched.

Many thanks to all who have sent encouragement about the job interviews. I received notice today that I was not selected for one of the positions (luckily it was the one I was least excited about) and found out that for the other one the notification of the second round of interviews will be the middle of next week. I'm still very enthusiastic about that position as I believe it would be a PERFECT fit for me! So please keep those fingers crossed and I'll let you know when I hear more!

I hope you have a wonderful day and that great things come to you!

Happy June

Hi everyone. Happy June. Can you believe how fast the 1st five months of the year have passed?!?

I was surprised to discover it had been so long since I'd posted here. Time bandits strike again. Last week was great but didn't have many photo moments. I did interview for two jobs in New Jersey and celebrated a phone call from my sister telling me we have a contract on mom's condo! Perhaps things are taking a turn for the better!

Since I never got around to showing you the park where Mavis and I had our picnic I thought I would share those shots today. It's a lovely place. I hope you like the view...

Cool steps, huh?

This sweet little couple was going from bench to bench. Don't you just love seeing couples that look like they have been together forever?

The woods beside the lake were a spectacular green with the sun "dappling" through the trees. There's a walking path into the woods that I must explore someday soon.

And then just for fun....

A silly shot :)

AND

a whisker moment

Well, that's all from this corner of the world. I hope your June is off to a fantastic start.