You're not going to belive what happened now!

So, let me start at the beginning.........I was born%&^&#$@, wait that's too far back.
The fun(?) starts the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Lynn and I arrive home and get the mail which includes a letter from our Landlady(I won't write what we really call her)saying that as of Jan. 1st 2010 are rent will increase by $500! WHAT? We have 2 options......
1. we can sign a 6 month lease or
2. we can just go month to month and can we please let her know by Dec. 5th.

We went with option 3.......see ya!

So instead of celebration Thanksgiving, and decorating the house for Christmas(which we do every Thanksgiving weekend) we started packing the house.

We have lived there for the past 6 years so there is a lot of stuff to do.

1. we get a storage shed since we have to be out on the 31st and so far we have no where to move to, so start making boxes to go to the shed.
2. make a pile of stuff to give to goodwill
3. make a HUGE pile of stuff to just take to the dump

So we start looking for a new place....in December.....in the snow.........when no one is looking to move and there is not a lot of options for places.

Lynn is checking out Craig's list everyday and I contact a Mom at my school who is a real estate agent for some possibilities.

We are really stuck, we have some great friends who let us know that we could totally move in with them if we need to, but we still need to get our stuff out!
We got lucky and found a great place 2 blocks from Lynn's office! OK one problem solved! If it was only that easy, the couple living up there now bought a house so we can move in when they close on their house and move out. (cause that always goes smoothly). They were going to close two days before Christmas (we hope) but we still don't know if they are out or not.

Now in the midst(is that how you spell that?) of all this we had already planned to rent a car and head out to Wisconsin for Christmas with Lynn's family. Do we go? Do we stay? Do we start pulling our hair out? Did we run out of options?

Well, here is the plan as of right now.......we came to Wisconsin(I'll write about that trip later) Our house is all packed up. We leave to drive home today(Monday Dec, 28th) and we move Wednesday Dec. 30th.

I'm just sure everything will turn out just right and there will be no problems at all with the move or anything else..........

....as long as...........
the other couple has moved out..........
we don't get trapped by weather on the way home.........
we can't get moved............
my head doesn't explode!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now that you are all caught up, is anyone else tired!

Nanner

P.S. Most of the trips to the storage shed have been done with the Honda! Only 7 or 8 boxes will fit in the Honda at one time. Fun times!

Santa Yourself - Turn yourself into a dancing Santa

Santa Yourself - Turn yourself into a dancing Santa: http://www.dancingsantacard.com/?santa=29611
I hope everyone can find this and run it on your computer. Let me be the first to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
Just click on the link to view my greeting.
Nanner

Christmas Music

So we are 4 days from Halloween, then getting a bead on a nice Tom Turkey for Thanksgiving, and finally Christmas rounding out the holiday season.

I know most people have very hard and fast rules for when you can begin to listening to Christmas music......only after Thanksgiving......only after Dec. 1st........any time in Nov/Dec.......there are as many rules as families.

I've always thought that to just listen in December is not nearly enough time, but for others that's more than enough (right Dad?).

When Lynn and I were nannies we always had the last week in August thru Labor Day and we would road trip to Wisconsin to visit Lynn's family. Our tradition was that on the 21 hour trip home we would only listen to Christmas music thus starting the holiday season. Most people thought we were a little nuts but we loved it...........it was car karaoke all the way to Connecticut!

Let's face it, its some of the only music we know all the words to. Plus, it just makes you happy when you hear it, can you really frown when you hear Dean Martin singing "Let it Snow" or Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" or even the Muppets singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"!

I think Christmas music needs to be played whenever you need a quick pick me up, pop in your favorite Christmas CD and let it fly! (Maybe that's just me?)

Til next time.........Merry Christmas!
Nanner

SKUNKS

Lets talk a little about skunks!

Its about 4am on a Tuesday morning(very early)
Lynn and I are sound asleep with the AC on in the window(its still a little muggy)

All the sudden we awake to the AC blowing skunk spray in our faces!!!!! (GAG!)

There is apparently a skunk gang war over turf and the turf is OUR FRONT YARD!!!!!

We(Lynn) get up to turn the fan away from our faces but the stench is still so strong and all we can do at this point is laugh about it. (it really did suck!) Just a lot of skunk foo coming through the window.

Oh well, what can you do(since I don't own a gun)..............

I'll keep you posted!

Nanner

Day 9

Day 9..........Saturday June, 16th ..............the trip home

So, I'm really sorry to keep you all hanging but I just haven't been able to get it together and have 5 minutes at the computer for ages!

Well, I've had a great week in Oregon, absolutely perfect weather, great food, and fun with friends and family but now its back to reality and heat, humidly, and work :(.

So I fly out of North Bend on a hopper and switch planes in San Fran to get to JFK. Its a lot of travel but I should be home about 10:30 at night........IF ONLY IT WERE THAT SIMPLE!

I get checked in at North Bend and its foggy.....FOGGY! My plane is delayed out of Portland, but I have a 3 hour layover in SF so I'm good, we are looking at a 30 min delay. Mom and Dad and Grandma are with me at the airport so we are chatting and waiting for the fog to lift.

After an hour I go check in again and the plane from Portland came down but couldn't land so it went back to Portland.............OK?

After another hour I am getting a little worried about my connection so I go to the front desk again and check on my flight. The attendant says that now I probably won't make my connection. BUMMER?

So I see about a later flight into JFK..............NO AVAILABLE SEATS?

OK, now what? The attendant (who is pretty new, John) says to me ..... do you know any other airports in the area? #^*%?#& Don't you know John?

So we start going through the other NYC airports, CT airports, West Chester airports and still there is nothing...........He can get me into Hartford CT thought Denver than St. Louis to arrive Sunday at noon. NOON!!!??? That won't work John,,,,,,you see I have Yankees/Mets subway series tickets for Sunday and I need to be in CT before Sunday!!!!!

Now I'm almost 4 hours after I was supposed to leave still looking for a flight..............Yee Haw, John has found me something.................

North Bend to Portland,,,,,,,Portland to St. Louis,,,,,,,,,,,,,,St. Louis to BOSTON!!!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME..........BOSTON, but that is all John has so hey book it! The only worry now is there is no room......NO ROOM.........for delays, I only have 20 minutes between each flight. No sweat!

I get to Portland and make my connection, We are hitting a headwind that's slowing us down to St. Louis..............I'm not the only one trying to make this next flight to Boston and people are getting worried........me included........

As we are getting ready to land the flight attendant tells us to check with the attendant right outside the gate for where the next gate is...........OK

I'm the first one out and ask about the gate for the Boston flight............I'm at D36....it's at C7.... HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!! She tells me not to go all the way around but cut through the McDonald's area down the back hallway to a short cut to the C gates....................and I'm off!!!!!

I make it to the gate as they were beginning to close up the plane, I said there were several people coming from my flight so just wait a minute.........we all made the flight, but it was close.

Now we are in the air and I'm so hungry, there is no food on the flights unless you but it now, usually I get something on my layover but that didn't happen this time so I forked out about $15 for dinner and snacks. Oh well.

So I'm all set now except I was supposed to go to JFK and now I'm going to Logan in Boston, and instead of landing at about 9:30 I'm landing at 11:45!

Lynn and Bevie came to pick me up and we headed home, I needed to eat and then we dropped off Bevie and went home and were in bed by............2:30am and up at 8am to get into NYC for the baseball game!

The most amazing thing to me is that I totally got all my bags without any problem........but that was the ONLY thing that wasn't a problem...

Now I'm back and can't wait to visit again................

Hope you all enjoyed my trip as much as I did...........

Nanner

Day 8

Day 8......Friday........June 12th........(My last full day)


So earlier in the week Uncle Chuck wanted to know if I wanted to go crabbin' with him and Dad?
Heck yeah I wanted to go! Up and gone to meet up with Chuck in Charleston to go into the bay.


This is Uncle Chuck getting ready to throw out the pots to catch the little, tasty fellas.

Once the pots are all out then we take the boat in and have breakfast near the boat launch.
(It's a whole ritual thing...)

So here is Chuck bringing up one of the pots.....the first one was really full, but the next ones were not as much, but we still brought in 18 crabs.

This one was a nice little haul. You have to measure them to make sure that they are big enough and you need to only take the males (there is a joke in there somewhere).

It's kinda like the show "The Deadliest Catch", but on a much smaller scale ;-)

Then after a hard morning of crabbin', its time to cook and pick all the meat out, which is more fun if you have a little "Moose Drool" beer to chase it down. (thanks Brad).

It was a blast going out with Dad and Uncle Chuck and there is not hardly anything better than crab that is that fresh! YUMMY!!!

I had to run home and shower after crabbin' so I could have lunch with two friends from high school, Sue and Cammi. I haven't seen them probably since we left high school (20 odd years ago). This year I started on facebook and reconnected with a lot of friends from high school and the summer camp that I used to work at.

It was so fun to catch up with what everyone has been doing. Good thing that the restaurant didn't mind us hanging out well after we finished our lunch!

So now there is only one day left of my vacation, I head home tomorrow, and that's a whole other story!

Nanner

Day 7

Day 7......June, 11th..........

Mom had to go to the hospital where she volunteers a couple of days a week. So Dad and I spent the morning getting ready for Jim and Vicky to stop by on their way to family reunion camping. By getting ready I mean we cleaned the house, washed the laundry, went food shopping, washed the car, redeemed our soda cans, and baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies from scratch......... YEAH RIGHT!!!!!

We spent the entire morning looking up video's on "you tube" of Jeff Dunham and all his cast of characters......Sanata Annana......Jose` Jalapeno`(on a stick).......and Walter....plus so many more video's it was crazy---------(hey, maybe we should take a shower and get cleaned up since Jim and Vicky will be here in any minute----ok, just one more.....)

We managed to be cleaned up about 3 seconds before they got here. Nothing like some good ol' Ellis timing :-)~

We had a great visit and lunch with Jim and Vicky, when I do get homesick, its not just for my folks and brothers and their families........I miss my extended family that I grew up with. We were all so close and we did so much together; holidays, birthdays, weekends, and of course camping! I think that I was in high school before I realized that not everyone took vacations with their extended family too. It was like that movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" but its more like "My Big Ol' Redneck Family"......good times.

Only 2 more days to cover on my trip so stay tuned!

Nanner

Day 6

Day 6, June 10..........and now for something totally fun.

So we just dinked around pretty much all day with me giving Mom some computer lessons.....now she can shop online...Woo Hoo!

We had dinner plans at Uncle Chuck and Aunt Marilyn's house. Marilyn makes the best fish! And of course bonus we got to watch part of the Seattle Mariner's baseball game(Chuck is a big fan). We had to leave to go out to Todd's shop where he manages an ATV rental place so we could go for a ride out on the sand dunes.........I haven't done this stuff in years, I forgot how much I love it..........

Here is the view from on top of one of the dunes..........This is the McCullough Bridge in North Bend, built in 1936. It's the longest structure on any Oregon Highway.

The red ones are Razers which can ride 2 people and the white one is a single which Mom and I rode.

Here is my brother Todd coming up a big hill.

Here are Verissa (my sister-in-law) and my Mom (with the yellow helmet).
Here I am coming down a hugh hill.....the scary part is that when you come to the top you cannot see over the top you just have to go over blind and hope for the best. Plus its sooooo steep!

Phew! I made it! It can be so scary, but its really too much fun.

Here Mom and Dad are getting ready to go down this hill and up the other side. The problem is that if you don't go fast enough you will get stuck halfway up the other side...It happened to Mom once but only once and she did great!


Me and Mom having a good time!

Of course there is some stuff even my family won't do......we didn't know who this guy was but he was getting some great air!

I forget just how beautiful it is on the dunes. Pockets of water and trees along the trails and just the open dunes overlooking the bay and you can take trails all the way out to the ocean. I remember going to the dunes when we were little in our old jeep. Sometimes Mom would make us kids get out while Dad tried to climb a steep hill. One of so many great memories from growing up where I did. I wouldn't trade where I grew up for anything.

Nanner

Day 5

Day 5 June 9th.............



Happy Birthday Grandma! The day started with a quick trip to Walmart to get a birthday card and some cough drops and maybe cough syrup(once again I get sick when I'm in Oregon, I don't know why, but I do almost every time). I'm having this wicked cough that comes up from the depths of my lungs and sounds like I've been working in a coal mine my entire life(maybe even born down there)! So we get to Walmart and hit the card section trying to find the perfect card for Grandma and I start to cough......and cough harder........and HARDER, now people are looking and Mom and Dad are starting to worry, and I'm starting to worry(if I cough much harder I might just wet my pants)!........Good News, someone is coming over to help me(now I'm really embarrassed)..........HOLY CRAP.......this woman comes up to me and asks if I need any help......



First off, I can't talk because of the coughing

Second, I really am embarrassed

and Third..........SHE'S WEARING AN EYE PATCH.........HELLO DOES SHE ONLY HAVE THE ONE EYE OR IS SHE SO WORRIED FOR ME BECAUSE SHE LOST THE ONE EYE COUGHING!!!



So now I'm coughing up a storm and trying not to laugh because its making me cough more and I still might wet my pants!



I cough my way over to the pharmacy and chug some cough syrup and buy some cough drops and then call Lynn to get a hold of my doctor to get me a script.......



So that was the first adventure of the day............Jill, Verissa and I went to the movies(Angels & Demons) I liked that book so much better than The Davinci Code so I had high hopes for the movie and it was ok.



Then we all went out to dinner for Grandma's birthday to the Chinese place in North Bend that used to be the old dinner. I guess some things never change since the table behind us ordered pancakes for dinner......the food was great! Of course I had another coughing fit as dinner was ending and spent the last 15 minutes outside in the parking lot. Tomorrow should be just as fun too.



Nanner

Day 4 Sidebar.......

A quick sidebar on Day 4.......


Lynn's niece Aidan is really the only child that has never warmed up to me from the start. I don't know if I scare her because I can be a little loud or kinda jumpy but for whatever reason she just doesn't really care for me. Two years ago when Lynn and I were in Oregon for Christmas Aidan would not give me the time of day, even though I tried to bribe her with snacks and all kinds of stuff.

A year or so before that when we were all in Wisconsin she would walk around saying, "Where's Nacy?" (no that's not a misspelled word, that's how she said my name) When someone would answer her and point one direction she would travel the opposite way!

Last year we were doing a web cam at Christmas time and as soon as I walked into sight on the computer Aidan got a disgusted look on her face and hopped off her Mom's lap and walked away. We all laughed, but I started to wonder if she would EVER like me.

But this year in Oregon I think we had a breakthrough! Aidan let me sit beside her in the car and go with her to the game park and look at the animals. Then the real breakthrough happened and Beth (Aidan's Mom) got it on film......I was calling the ducks by quacking through my hands and Aidan thought that was really cool and she was trying to call them too....

She bought some postcards at the gift shop and when we got in the car she said that one of them was for me. YEAH!!! So at the next stop I bought her some chocolate candy and I think we now have a working relationship. It only took 4 years but I think we are now friends.......thank goodness!

Nanner

Day 4

Monday June, 8th........The Bandon Game Park

Lynn's sister, Beth and her husband Brad and their daughter Aidan came down to Oregon for a visit and mini vacation while I was there. We went to a game park near my Mom and Dad's house to visit with some animals. Aidan LOVES animals and at the game park most of them have free run of the place and some are in their own habitat (for every ones safety).

Everyone say Cheese! (is it just me or does Beth and the LLama have the same smile)?

Are your jeans a snack?

Maybe something in your pocket?

Hey, get me outta here! Yikes!

I don't know what these are, but all they wanted to do is sniff each others butts!

Hey, aren't you lost. Shouldn't you be at Meerkat Manor?

Hey Baby, "how you doin'?

Aidan had just no fear when it came to the animals. She wanted to touch and pet each one, even the ones that didn't what anything to do with her. She walked into this feeding padock where there had to be 50 or so animals pushing their way in to the front of the line to eat and in walks Aidan coming right up beside them to pet them. No Fear!

I think the animals liked Aidan as much as she liked them! They would watch her from their habitats.

This little guy just wanted to play with someone.

One of the best parts of the day at the game park was me turning to Beth and asking her did she know where Aidan was and what she was doing? Beth turned around and saw Aidan making all the little round poops into pancake poops with her shoes. (the sound effects were the best.....spuck!)

Then is was home to Mom and Dad's for burgers, dogs and round table talks of politics...........and of course Texas Hold'em and Pictionary...........cousin Cheryl's and I favorite game when we are together.

Another long day of fun and games...............Nanner

Day 3

Sunday June, 7th...........Graduation Day

Jill's big day finally arrived and everyone was really excited about it. There was a bunch of family at the big event.

And (for the most part) everyone was well behaved.....kinda. There is a whole, long story about Jill, her Dad and Grandma and Grandpa in San Fran that I won't go into now but from that trip (a few years ago) there were 4 San Fran 49'ers ponchos that appeared while Jill received her diploma that both embarrassed Jill then and now. At least Jill has a great sense of humor and can take a good joke.

The happy graduate!

I'm very proud of Jill!

So are her Mom and Dad! Proud and thankful that they all lived to see this moment......there were some tough times involving homework and other school related work....like there is in every family. Good Times!

Jill's best friend Tia! What a funny pair they are.

After graduation the graduates had an all night party that they were bused to so we took the opportunity to decorate Jill's car. She love it. We filled it with balloons and wrote all over it (so much so I can't believe she could see to drive it home). We also put the 49'er ponchos over the seats!

So after the car Dad, Todd, Verissa, Spencer and I decided to hit the casino for just a little while. Well, we ended up staying for about 3 hours and it seemed that none of us could lose. We all just kept breaking even or a little ahead. At the end Dad wanted to play a $5 slot machine and Todd, Spencer and I decided to all put in $20 and share. So a couple of pulls and not much happened so we thought, "Oh well" I was worth a shot, then came a turn for Spencer and he hit for $200! WOO HOO!!!!!! So as we were leaving we walked out with $50 more dollars each!!!

I don't think we should ever go to a casino without Spencer......ever!

Stay tuned.........this in only the 3rd day!

Nanner

Day 2

The saga continues............

Saturday June, 6th.

Up at about 5am (thanks to the 3 hour time difference) then just waiting for my brother and his wife to come down and other relatives to get into town. Some last minute running around to get ready for Jill's graduation party tonight.

Lots of family at the party, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandma's, parents, great grandma and friends and the dogs.

My sister-in-law made a full on Mexican dinner....I mean everything including homemade refried beans and lots of other dishes all from scratch. What Jill didn't know is that this was a clue to her gift from her folks and aunt Val. She got to go to Mexico for a week with her Mom and Aunt Val.

I was a lot of fun to see family that I don't get to see that often......including Lynn's sister Beth and her husband Brad and their daughter Aidan.

Keep watching for the next update.........Graduation Day!

Nanner

My June Vacation

Well here it is, the tales of my vacation in Oregon when I went home for Jill's graduation. Let's see if I can run it down for you all........

Day 1.
Friday June, 5th. My first travel day. Lynn took me to JFK airport in NYC for a 6am flight, so that means that I have to be there 2 hours before my flight....so (do the math) I'm waiting in line at 4am (but the ticket counter doesn't open until 4:30am) so I'm hanging in line updating my facebook from my iPhone (that was for you VCC).....I get through security (where there are posters for how to avoid the swine flu!) and since I've now been up for almost 5 hours I need to eat something. NOTHING.....I mean NOTHING is open at JFK before 6am?%&$@%???? Is this not the busiest airport in North America..........holy crap. I finally find a deli and buy an $11 sandwich.

Now I'm on the plane and doing fine, I fall asleep before we take off and sleep for the next 4 hours which is great, but that means I still have 2 1/2 hours left in the air until we reach San Fran. I land fine and have time for a quick bite before boarding a plane to Portland, OR.
I land in Portland and have about 45 minutes to kill before getting on the puddle jumper/prop job that will take me to North Bend. While in the airport there is an announcement over the PA system that could only happen in Oregon........."Will the passenger who left his fishing rod in the 'Made in Oregon' store please come and identify it we are holding it for you." I think the best part of the announcement is that they had to identify the fishing pole. Was there more than one person trying to take it? I swear, only in Oregon......well, maybe Wisconsin too.

Finally after 15 hours since I left my house, I'm in North Bend waiting for Jill to pick me up at the airport, but she's not there yet so I give her a call and she said that they are on their way. They? I though just she was coming, but no.......now I start to hear it..........

THE REDNECK EXPRESS is coming up the road. My brother Todd's huge diesel truck with Coalton (the great dane) tied up the the bed of the truck, and Tucker and Pepita(the chihuahuas)
hanging their heads out of the window from my niece's lap. What a wild ride!

So then to my Mom and Dad's house and an early night (the three hour time difference is not bad this way, you just want to go to bed early and get up early).

So, there it is ..... day one of my trip. Stay tuned for more updates soon.......Yes Barb, soon!

Nanner

Happy Father's Day

I just want to wish my Dad a happy Father's day. I had a great time visiting Mom and Dad in Oregon and will shortly update my blog with the entire, weird trip.....just kidding it was a blast! This is just a quick note and I'll update this week for sure.........Nanner

Baseball Season

As Many of you know, I LOVE Baseball. I like to play, watch, listen and watch movies about baseball.

Some of my favorite baseball movies include; *61 (about the year Rodger Maris broke the home run record)....... A League of Their Own (about the women's baseball teams in the 40's ) Fever Pitch (about a Red Sox fan and a chick flick too)...... Bull Durham (about a minor league team and their characters)......Major League (a comedy about the Cleveland Indians)................ For Love of the Game (about a major league pitcher going through memories while pitching a game)........ The Natural (about a pitcher who had to wait until later in life to play)....... Sandlot (about a group of boys and their adventures of one summer)............ Pride of the Yankees (about Lou Gehrig)....... Bad News Bears (about a group of little league players)......... Little Big League (about a boy who inherits the Twins and becomes their manager)....... Angels in the Outfield (about a boy who sees angels who help the LA Angels).... Mr. 3000 (about a man getting ready to enter the baseball hall of fame)........ Rookie of the Year (about a boy who gets his arm hurt and in fixing it becomes a major league pitcher).......... and the best was saved for last...................Field of Dreams (about a man who hears a voice in the corn field at his farm saying,"If you build it, he will come.")

There are so many more but these are just some of my favorites. Below is a video of one of my little guys in class who loves baseball too. He always sings Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

So that's it for now, enjoy the games....................Nanner

Seeing Andrew and Colin

Lynn and I got to see the twins on Easter weekend. Andrew and Colin. They are so cute and a lot of fun. They are approaching their 3rd birthday, and what a handful they are.

We had so much fun playing ball, bubbles, chasing, and naked shopping cart game.

We left Connecticut about 5am Friday morning and drove 51/2 hours to upstate NY where the boys(and their parents John and Denise)were visiting the grandparents.

We stayed up there until after dinner (which was delicious homemade mac and cheese and pulled pork sandwiches) and the boys going to bed. Then drove home getting in at about 3am Saturday morning. Of course we slept until about 2pm Saturday afternoon.

It was so worth the long car trip to see the boys and visit with John(Lynn's brother) and Denise(John's wife), and her folks. It was such a beautiful day weather wise too so we got to spend some time outside.

The boys had a great time playing with the new balls Lynn and I brought them and I loved playing with my new video camera so I hope you enjoy the clip and leave you with this

Thought of the Day

With the pitter patter of little feet, comes a stampede of fun.

Until next time.......................Nanner

My Grandpa

OK, lets try this again.......

Most of you know that I lost my Grandpa Louis (Louie) a couple of weeks ago. Last Friday he was laid to rest in his home town in Iowa.

My Grandpa was a GREAT man and I'll miss him terribly. Lynn found this poem that really says it all................

God saw you were getting tired
and a cure was not to be,
So He put His arms around you
and whispered, "Come to Me."

With tearful eyes we watched you,
and saw you pass away.
Although we loved you dearly,
We could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,
hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He only takes the best.

I'll miss you Grandpa........................Nanner

My Grandpa

MARCH @%&*%$#$ 2nd!!!!!

It's March 2nd and its SNOWING AGAIN!!!!! This winter will NEVER end!!!!
I know that the idea of snow is great, but the reality is I have a long driveway and I don't own a truck with a plow!!!

This is the drive way looking from the top at the garage to the street below. Still another 8 inches on top of the 35 inches we have had this winter. I can't wait until the summer and I can complain about how hot it is. Lynn actually broke the shovel this time. What a winter.

Hopefully this will be the LAST snow update on the blog until next year.

Nanner

Old Memories

So as I said before I joined the facebook phenomenon, and something very cool has happened. I connected with a group of past camp staff from the Girl Scout camp that I worked at for eight summers between 1985-1992.

Did you ever do something that you knew in your heart you were the best at.....well for me that was working at Camp St. Albans. The summers that I spent there was some of the best times that I had in my life. It was one of those jobs that I was not just good at, but a job that I was GREAT at.

I spent 2 summers as a unit counselor and unit leader, one in the kitchen(I'm not sure what I was thinking), one as the waterfront director, 2 as the program director and my last 2 as the Assistant Camp Director. I still think that if the council knew half of the stuff that I did I would have never been in charge of ANYTHING!

Not that I broke ALL the rules, but lots of them were left in the dust as I spent my summers singing the Banana Slug song, skinny dippin at night, water fights outside the dining hall, playing find the counselor or just other crazy stuff.

Sometimes we snuck the horses out for non approved trail rides, took the Viking boats out for scaring the counselors in other units, had to sleep outside the camp gates because we came back too late from a long night and couldn't get back into camp.

I never really had any idea of the impact that I had on the campers other than they really took to me and I had fun playing and teaching them all I knew.

Years later, after I left camp for the last time, I found out 2 things.......
1. they named a trail after me....Skeeter Lane
2. a camper that I had in my unit came back to camp as a counselor when she was
old enough because she had so much fun with me and how special I treated her
but I can honestly say that I really don't remember her but I made a mark on her

You never know the impact you have on a child at the time, but its there nonetheless. I knew everything about camp, it was scary. I knew the hidden trail from Pixie to the waterfront, the best place to hide and read a book during the Find the Counselor game, and how late you could be and still get Chinese food from the grocery store.

Camp was an amazing experience and the only job I've ever had where I knew that's where I should be because I was really good at it.

I'll leave you with a saying from an old Camp Director

May the surf be at your back,
the moon light your way,
your swimsuit never creep up your behind &
your peanut butter always be moist.

Nanner aka Skeeter

A Retraction from the last Blog

I should know better that to try to write something after midnight, I'm old and tired!

1. Davy Crockett was born on a mountain top in Tennessee not Daniel Boone.

Daniel Boone was at the Alamo, which was a movie with John Wayne,
John Wayne was in The Quiet Man with Maureen O'hara
Maureen O'hara was in The Parent Trap with Hailey Mills
Hailey Mills was on TV in Saved by the Bell with Elizabeth Berkley
Elizabeth Berkley was in The First Wives Club with Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn was in Best Friends with Burt Renolds
Burt Renolds was in Striptease with Demi Moore
Demi Moore was in A Few Good Men with.......Kevin Bacon.

That was for my brother Spencer!

also I have one more random thing.....

26. I have no sense of smell...which makes changing diapers a perfect job!

I'll try to post before midnight next time so there won't need to be a retraction the next day.

Nanner

25 Random Things

So, I have gotten on facebook. For those of you that don't know (Mom & Dad), its a social networking system via online. Which means that you can see what's going on from day to day in the lives of your friends and sometimes connect with old friends that you haven't seen in a while(like from high school).

On facebook there is a note going around that some friends have written titled 25 Random Things about me. I thought I might give it a shot on my blog(hope I can come up with 25 things, it might just be 12 random thing about me by the end).

1. I was born on a mountain top in Tennessee..? Oh wait, that was Daniel Boone not me. I was born in Coos Bay, Oregon.

2. I used to race cars..? No wait I just drive too fast

3. My first real job with a W-2 and everything was in a lumber mill..? That one is really true, it just didn't last to long. .

4. I play the drums..not so much anymore but I did for a long time.

5. I love my job.....I'm a preschool teacher and if I didn't love it I'd be toast.

6. I have several collections including...Star Wars, baseballs, Nancy Drew books, turtles and playing cards...weird stuff that doesn't really all go together.

7. I LOVE Baseball...if I won the lottery my first summer would be visiting every ball park in the MLB!

8. I cry alot...sometimes if I'm happy, I cry sometimes if I'm sad, I cry sometimes if I watch a hallmark commerical on TV, I cry and sometimes I cry for no reason at all.

9. My first car was a 1970 Chevy Chevelle.....2 door, no AC, black and fast. See #2

10. I had a great childhood....it was like the movie "My Big Fat Greek Weeding" but it would be called "My Big Fat Redneck Family". Not redneck in a bad way, just lots of family all around and a fun night is staying in and listening to old stories about your folks and their childhood.

11. I grew up on an old farm...which means that we had a barn and some small fields surrounded by lots of trees and streams.

12. I still miss my Grandma Julie.

13. I'm a very likable person and all kids(except one) like me and think I'm lots of fun......you know who you are Aidan.

14. Lynn thinks I'm good at my job because I work with 2 year olds and she says that its my peer group.

15. I really wanted to be a writer.

16. I really wanted to be an Olympic Gold Medalist....I have no idea for what but always wanted to stand on the podium and hear the National Anthem (See #8, I'm tearing up thinking about it)

17. I love to try to make Lynn laugh...I like making other people laugh too, but I love to hear Lynn's laugh.

18. I'm really bad at housework...I'll do it when I have to, but try to just step over and ignore it if I can. Sorry Lynn.

19. I had my first ATV at 6 years old and a motorcycle at about 9(See #10).

20. I really didn't think I was going to be able to find so many things.

21. I wish I would have learned how to play the Piano as a child, not that you could have gotten me to do it then.

22. I love my parents and my brothers and I don't tell them that enough.

23. I subscribe to only one magazine.....Cabin Life....I don't own a cabin, but would like to some day.

24. I like growing older and learning more and more things, I just wish my knees could keep up.

25. I LOVE growing older with Lynn.


So there are 25 funny, sad, memories, thoughts and afterthoughts about myself.
Let me leave you with a Thought of the Day

Mushrooms are just a fungus.....like athletes foot!

Think about it.............Nanner

SUPER BOWL

OK, so its the night before the big game. There is still so much to do..........

1. finish all the chores so there are no interruptions
2. pre make some meals....so there are no interruptions
3. make sure the comfy clothes are clean
4. buy beer.....in CT you cannot buy beer on Sunday
I don't get it either
5. get to the store for necessitites.....chips.....dip......cheese......meat snacks.....
6. make sure the cable bill is paid
7. get a good nights sleep because even though the game starts at 6:15(EST)
the pregame begins at 9am with the Today Show.

For those of you who don't DO math that's 9 hours of pregame before the game starts so you're looking at about 13 or 14 hours of TV.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Nanner

Getting my ducks in a row!

So the holiday season is behind us with all the gifts sent and opened....we are off the open road.... a new year is upon us and the Christmas cards have finally been sent!

Both Lynn and I have had our birthdays(Lynn's was Monday the 5th and mine was Saturday the 10th) so that is done. We have already been scrapbooking in the new year and the first babysitting jobs are next weekend for us both.

Now the only thing left to do is...........PUT THE CHRISTMAS STUFF AWAY!!!!!!! Oh man how can two people collect so much crap oh,,no.. I mean treasures. We have had to shovel the driveway 3 times since new years day and we just haven't had the energy to bring up all the boxes from the basement and get the tree taken down and all the knick knacks put away. Then the several follow up trips to the basement for the decorations that we missed the first, second, or even third time we sweep the rooms for everything.

But with the New Year comes all the promises for a new you and not falling into old habits and keeping on top of your life in general, but I think having your Christmas decorations up until Valentine's Day kinda blows all that out of the water.

I should get going and clean off my desk and put the clothes away or maybe just have another piece of birthday cake and look at my treadmill......

but at least tomorrow is another day.

Nanner

The Tomato Saga

Let me share with ya'll the saga of Lynn's tomatoes......

Lynn has this tomato plant that she has tried to grow tomatoes on for a couple of years now. We take it out in the summer and to the front porch in the spring and fall and to the upstairs bedroom in the winter. We wrap it in blankets to keep it warm and still it doesn't grow.

Well all that changed this year. Lynn got two(little) tomatoes to grow on it this year. She was so proud, we had to talk and encourage the little guys to grow. I had to help do this too. We had to go and praise the little guys to keep them going strong.

Finally, they were as big as they were going to get so it was time to pick them off the tree so we could stare at them on the counter top for a few weeks.

So on New Year's Eve we had salads with our dinner and Lynn finally ate her tomatoes and they were delicious.

I can hardly wait until next year and we can start the whole experience again. I really enjoy having to go and talk and praise the tomatoes and I don't even LIKE tomatoes!

Nanner

Happy New Year

So, you want all the details of the party girls night on New Year's Eve? Let me tell you it was a rip roarin' time. Lynn and I spent time preparing for New Years Eve by taking a nap in the afternoon(my school was let out early due to a snow storm that hit yesterday).

So after the nap we had a great dinner(Lynn made steaks on the grill) then we hunkered down on the couch and watched TV in our jammies until the ball dropped at Times Square then we went to bed.......WOO HOO do we know how to party or what!

The storm got really bad with fresh snow and below zero wind chills so we didn't venture out at all once we got home. It was a really nice night all cozy inside hearing the wind howling outside, the only thing better would have been if we had a fire place, but we have had 2 friends with fireplaces have squirrels come in this year.

One of my directors had a flying squirrel come in on Christmas day and reek havoc in their tree and then it hid from them until they were eating and out he came again. Her brother finally put on some mitts and got him outside. Two of her three sons were alternately terrified and amused.

So maybe a fireplace is not the best idea.

I hope everyone has had a very safe and happy holiday.....oops I almost forgot........Happy Birthday yesterday to our friend Bevie....usually were get to spend some time at her house playing cards, but it was just too stormy......

I hope you all get just what you want out of the new year.

Nanner