Who Says I Don't Have a Green Thumb?

I have to admit I am not the greatest gardener in the world, and Hydrangea are probably not the hardest things to grow, but I am
pretty proud of how mine looks! This plant is at home in Sanobornton, up here in Maine I have some flowers growing that someone that was here before us planted. Some lily's and some purple things, I don't even know what they are.

The Host

This is Stephenie Meyer's first adult book. I read her whole series of books for young adults/teens when i got them for Brooke and they were fabulous. In fact, the next book comes out this weekend and Brooke has her book reserved down at Barnes and Noble. This book, the host started out not so good. I had a really hard time getting into it, and figuring out what was going on, but boy did it get good once it got going! It is about an alien life force that takes over the world, these aliens are inserted into the necks of all humans and the world totally changes. There is no more violence, murder, rape. Health care and food and everything else is free, everyone works to provide for each other. But, there are still bands of humans hiding out in order to not get changed. And, there are some strong humans who can't be taken over by the aliens, as in this story. Melanie has an alien inserted into her neck, the alien is called Wanderer. But Melanie is still right in there with the alien and they end up becoming friends. She leads the alien to her group of hidden humans out in a vast series of underground caves in the desert. Of course she is greeted with total hostility, hatred and mistrust because she is an alien now but they slowly get won over when they realize that she is not going to lead the aliens to them. Great book.

Baby Pix

These are some ultrasound pictures of my nephews baby. ET phone home!! How bizarre is that, but very cool.

What a Face!!

more cat pictures

Pictures from the storm

This is a picture of the house where the woman was killed in the storm: http://cmonitor.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?userphoto=&image=19773810&event=&CategoryID=
Another image of the storm's destruction:
http://cmonitor.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?userphoto=&image=19773806&event=&CategoryID=

Devastating NH Storm

We think in NH we are for the most part, safe from storms that produce funnel clouds but yesterday proved us wrong. We had a severe storm go through an area of about 25 miles. It is probably about 1/2 hour from here in York Maine. We saw the dark clouds, and we got wind and buckets of rain and thunder and lightning but no tornado like winds. Epsom, Northwood, Deerfield, Barnstead, Ossippee, they got the worst. Click on the link to read more...
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807250316

I can hear the thunderstorms in the distance, they are coming closer and closer. It is very hot and very humid today, even here by the ocean. Gary has had a great vacation for weather though, we are not complaining. On Thursday they had Water Day for the kids here at the campground. Brooke worked with Danielle for the day with the kids instead of in the store. Gary and I went to Perkins cove. Did some shopping, had some lunch. It was too freaking hot to walk the Marginal Way in my rubber flip flops so we took the trolley over and I walked onto the end of it in Ogunquit to take some flower pictures. Thursday night we went to Bingo at the fire station down in Short Sands with the Gilbert's. Gary won $30, I won $0. Friday we went to an estate sale and got some stuff to re-sell on e-bay. Then later in the day we took the bikes to Short Sands with Charley and Shelly and the kids. We went bowling and Charley won, but I came in 3rd. After that we biked to Brown's for ice cream. I don't even like Brown's ice cream, I don't know why I submitted myself to the torture of the hills we had to ride up. On one hill I just had to walk, I told Gary to tell the others that we stopped because his chain fell off, not because I couldn't make it!! then we managed to get back on and ride, we turned the corner and there was another damn hill. I put it in the lowest possible gear and huffed and puffed my way to the top. As I crested the hill, red-faced with Gary behind me not faring much better, there were some people sitting out on their porch, drinking wine and probably not sweating in places that you shouldn't sweat in like I was. they cheered us on, yelling that "we could do it!!" HA! I did, but I think my knee is broken, or at least badly sprained. (just kidding) It was embarrassing because the kids went right up the hill like it was nothing. Anyway, we got ice cream, although I only wanted about a gallon of water at that point. then we rode home. through the rain. Wasn't that just lovely. I just wanted to get off the bike and lay on the sidewalk in a fetal position, so I didn't stop pedaling because I wouldn't have made it home if I stopped. This was all Charley's big idea, so at the campground they got to their camper first. I rode by him and just pointed at him and mouthed the words "you're dead meat". Then Gary went by him, not looking at him, with his middle finger up. (Gary didn't learn that on his own, I am pretty sure that his brother Billy showed him how to do that when they were growing up) We can be so pleasant when pushed to the extreme.
I have eaten far too much food this week, and it is all Gary's fault. Notice that I blame other people for a lot of stuff? But, why be a quitter now? I think we will go for Chinese food for dinner.

Bowling and More

Water Day

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Producers

Yesterday our friend's Lou and Carol came up for the day. We went to the afternoon showing of The Producers at Ogunquit Playhouse. This play was the funniest thing! I loved every second of it. After the play we went to the Lobster Pound in Cape Neddick for dinner. Gary and I split a shrimp cocktail then we both got the same dinner. It had shrimp and lobster and scallops in some rich cheesy sauce, way too rich. But I had 2 glasses of wine so it didn't bother me too much. :)

Tender at the Bone

At an early age, Ruth Reichl discovered that "food could be a way of making sense of the world...If you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they were."

In this memoir Ruth Reichl tells a story of a life determined, enhanced, and defined in equal measure by a passion for food. Beginning with Reichl's mother, the notorious food-poisoner known as the Queen of Mold, and on to those at her politically correct table in Berkeley, who championed the organic food revolution in the 1970's. Spiced with humor and sprinkled with recipes, Tender at the Bone is a witty and compelling chronicle of a culinary sensualist's coming-of-age.

Vacation

It was the annual deep sea fishing trip for the guys this weekend. Brandon (my nephew) did not attempt it again this year, he has tried everything and can't shake the sea-sickness when he goes out. So it was Gary, my Dad, and 3 other guys that went. Afterwards we all had a cookout with fresh haddock that we cooked on the grill in foil packets. I just put a pat of butter, a slice of lemon and some dill in each packet and it was delicious. I made way too much food as usual. Corn muffins, clam chowder, tortellini salad, ziti bake, strawberry/pineapple jello dish, cappuccino mousse trifle and apple spice cake. Nicole and Eric came up for the day and I sent a lot of leftovers home with them.
Gary is on vacation this week. Yesterday we went to the movies and saw Hancock, it was totally awesome! I loved it. Then we had lunch at Fresh City. I had teriyaki stir fry with veggies, tofu and jasmine rice. Shopped at Old Navy afterwards, Brooke and I got some shirts, then we went to Barnes & Noble where I could browse for a long time but the rest of my family gets bored quickly. I picked up a James Patterson hardcover book that was only $6.98, Beach Road. I don't think I have read it.
Today was laundry day, not so much fun but the towels were running low. We cooked on the grill tonight and had corn on the cob, yum!

Fishing Trip Weekend

Follow the Stars Home

Follow the Stars Home by Luanne Rice is a really good book. I picked it up at the flea market the other day and didn't realize that I had read this another time. But, I didn't remember what happened in the end so I read it again. It's about a mother who chooses the wrong brother to be with, gets pregnant and then finds out that the baby will be born with abnormalities. The brother that she chose could not handle the idea of having a child with problems and he takes off before the baby is born. The mother raises the child (who was born with significant problems) alone for 11 years with help from the brother she didn't choose who is the child's pediatrician. There is much more to the story than that, the mother takes in a 12 year old girl who is having problems at home and the brother who left is not totally out of the picture. Good book.

Jimmy Kimmel Funny

"I guess there was one small incident where [Hillary] jumped behind the wheel of the bus and tried to run [Obama] over. Other than that, Hillary and Barack seem to be getting along very well." --Jimmy Kimmel

The Hollow

This is the second book in this Nora Roberts
trilogy, Sign of Seven. The first book was Blood Brothers.
In Hawkins Hollow the lull is over and the nightmare is about to begin...For seven days every seven years, madness descends on this small town. But three men bound by blood and three women bound by ancestry to a demon have pledged their souls-and their hearts -to stop it.
I have to say that this is not her best trilogy that I have read. It is good, and it kept my attention but it was not riveting.

Fun on the Fourth 2008

I don't think I have a career future in film making! I went to the beach the other day with my brother-in-law and is wife and kids. No, I didn't go in the water, it is still too cold for me.

Tagged

IF YOU JUST HIT MY BLOG...YOU ARE NEXT...TAG! YOU'RE IT!!

10 Years Ago I Was:
Cripes I was only 34 and thought that was old. We were here in Maine, but we were still on our old site up on the hill, looking out at the ocean.

5 Years Ago I Was:
Wah, I was still under 40, a mere 39. We had just built our new house and had moved our site to the middle row.

1 Year Ago I was:
Already an old bag at 43. :) Nothing new there.

5 Things on my To Do List today:
1.) walk
2.) bike ride
3.) go to the beach?
4.) work on my jigsaw puzzle
5.) finish my book

5 Snacks I Enjoy:
1.) potato chips
2.) dove chocolate
3.) cheez-its
4.) wheat thins
5.) honey mustard Pringles

If I were a billionaire I would:
1.) Pay off all my families debt
2.) open an animal shelter
3.) buy houses just to fix up and re-sell
4.) go to Hawaii
5.) Randomly give money to complete strangers who are in need

6 People I want to have lunch with tomorrow:
1.) Gary
2.) Brooke
3.) Nicole
4.) Bill T.
5.) ML
6.) Chris Daughtry :)

5 Places I Have Lived:
1.) Medfield, MA
2.) Northfield, NH
3.) Tilton, NH
4.) Sanbornton, NH
5.) York, Maine (okay, only for the summer!)

5 Jobs I have Had:
1.) bank teller
2.) day care provider
3.) teacher's aide
4.) substitute teacher
5.) gas station attendant!!!