Well shoot ...

... those four days off went by in a blur!

Sunday morning and that means it's time for me to head into work for 16 hours and thank goodness that I'm finally feeling better because I know from experience that sitting in dispatch for that long when you aren't feeling well makes for an even longer day.  I must have managed to pick up the latest flu bug that was going around as shortly after I got home from a dental cleaning on Wednesday I definitely felt like Death eating a cracker.  It started with a sore throat and then progressed through a fever and chills and such while I spent way more time in bed than I would have liked. That much time in bed gave me a lot of time to read so I managed to polish off an entire book which makes two for the past week which is unusual for me but a good thing!  Perhaps being sick had its advantages?

I finally felt more like myself yesterday and even took the Nikon downtown to get some updated pictures of the Buckingham Memorial so that I could write a post for The Distracted Wanderer on a couple of local Civil War spots. For those who might not remember the original posts from back in 2008, I wrote a combination post about the Sedgwick G.A.R. Post #1 and the Andersonville Gun Memorial which you can get to via the link above should you be interested.

Amanda had her final two wisdom teeth removed Wednesday morning and even though they "popped right out" as the dentist said, she was still pretty loopy most of the day and remembers nothing following the procedure or for about the first couple of hours at home.  She especially doesn't remember the conversation in the car on the way home where she was lamenting that she couldn't keep her teeth and why not??  I'm pretty sure we had that same conversation when she had her two bottom ones removed a couple of years ago but she says she remembers that one.  Hopefully with these last two bothersome teeth removed she'll stop having the nasty migraine headaches she's been plagued with. Vicodin has kept her pretty pain free for the past few days but she said she feels like she lost an entire day or two in there somewhere.

So, Saint Patrick's Day has come and gone and I had nary a smidgen of corned beef as I just wasn't feeling up to cooking a big meal.  Guess I'll have to cook one up later on in the week should I happen to find one at a reasonable price.  I quite like corned beef but I have to say that I don't quite like the price!  Oh, and speaking of not liking prices, gas here in Connecticut is $4.00 a gallon and over - how is it in your part of the world?

Finally, before I head out the door to go to work, I just have to say that it's been a month since my friend Cyndi died and I simply cannot believe that a) it's been that long already and that b) she's really gone.  I think that having the distance between us makes it harder to grasp on to that fact as I've caught myself going for the phone so many times that it's pathetic.  Cyndi was always my go-to-gal when I needed or wanted to talk to someone and it's kinda hard adjusting to the fact that I can't just pick up the phone and do that anymore.  Needless to say I've had a lot of one-sided conversations with her and even though she's not talking back, I get the feeling that she's there and listening.  Her Memorial Service is set for April 14th back in Stockton and even though I can't be there in person, I will definitely be there in spirit as her friends and family gather to wish Cyndi a final goodbye.  Maybe then I will finally catch on to the fact that she's gone but somehow I doubt it.

Anyhow, time for me to get a move on if I don't want to be late!  Everyone have a fantastic Sunday no matter what your day may bring whether it be leftover corned beef sandwiches or Bingo with the Biddies or just a nice day to rest and relax!

Sunday Scenery

No Comments on Comments this Sunday as I was just too lazy to spend that much time writing the post on Saturday. Well, that and I was busy playing Rock Band with Jamie and that seemed like more fun! I'm sure you understand!

Instead I thought I'd post a couple more pictures from our recent visitor - Winter Storm Austin:

This is the view from my front door to across the street

Icicles on the roof of my house

You've heard of the Burning Bush, right?
This is it's cousin -the Frozen Bush!

Ah well, time to head over to work and hope that what little bit of a voice I've managed to recover is sufficient for talking on the radio. Well, either that or there won't be much that I have to say on the radio! We're supposed to get another storm today so I'm hoping it keeps people inside and healthy though chest pains and difficulty breathing don't seem to care what time of day it is or what the weather may be.

Here's hoping you have a healthy Sunday whether you're inside or out!

Sunday Sunset

We here on the East Coast are in the midst of our first heat wave of the season which oftentimes means that thunderstorms are also present. An unexpected one blew through the region early Sunday evening while I was at my son's house in Rhode Island for my grandson's birthday party. The only thing we got where we were at was some distant rumbling, a major darkening of the skies, and a bit of rain but parts of Connecticut got hit hard which was evident on my way home from all of the branches and leaves in the roadway.

As I was driving north on Route 12 making my way back home, I could see over the trees that we were in store for a gorgeous sunset and I knew I wanted to get some pictures of it. Luckily I had my camera with me and even though the batteries were starting to run a bit low, I was hoping they had enough juice left in them for a few pictures.

The trick at that point was to try to find a spot where I could get some good shots unobstructed by the many trees that are in the area and it was then that I remembered a boat launch right off the roadway I was on and decided that would be the perfect spot. Below are some of the shots I got and I think they came out really nice - especially considering I apparently have this major fixation with clouds lately! As I told Mimi a bit ago, I think maybe it's because I'm spending more time looking up than I am looking down and that's when you see some truly beautiful things.





Amanda's favorite is the second one from the bottom, which I rather liked myself, too. The thought occurred to me, though, that if I keep taking so many pictures of clouds, I'm going to need some more computer memory to keep all the pictures in pretty soon! But it just might be worth it!

An Unexpected Day Off

We here in New England are once again getting hit with a Winter Storm (and it isn't even winter yet for cripe's sake!) for the second time in a week. Today's mess consists of snow, freezing rain, sleet, and maybe even some regular rain to top it all off. Makes for great driving - NOT!

The storm before this also consisted of snow and freezing rain which made for major nightmares on the roads as well so because of that and the two hills that I live on, I left my car at work Thursday and had someone bring me home in the four-wheel drive pick-up that we have at work for plowing and such. Even that had a bit of trouble making it up the hills here as the City of Norwich didn't seem to have done much plowing at all so I was glad that I hadn't tried driving myself. I've already had to leave my car elsewhere and walk up once and I get the feeling that I'll be doing that more times than not this year if this weather keeps up.

I brought my car home yesterday as the roads had cleared up nicely but was rather worried about getting into work again today and was debating whether I should have someone pick me up and bring me home just in case the roads were bad again. Turns out that I don't have to worry about that as the on-duty supervisor called a little bit ago and told me if I didn't want to come in today, he had my shifts covered and I could stay home. Well, I didn't have to give much thought to saying "YES!" so now I have the whole day ahead of me to work on my Manic Monday post, make my blog rounds, and maybe even think about how I'm supposed to write a post about a "groomsmen gift".

Of course, what I really ought to do is get off of the computer, brew up a nice hot cup of tea, and get my Christmas cards written out but do you think I'm going to be smart enough to do that? Well, maybe after another move or two in Scrabulous!

Winter Grumblings on a Sunday Afternoon

They're predicting some pretty nasty weather for later on today - snow and freezing rain and ultimately ice - everything that I absolutely hate to drive in despite of the fact that, as a New Englander, I've driven in all of it many times over. That doesn't mean I have to like it, though! Naturally this sort of weather never ever seems to hit us on my days off. Nope, it's another one of Murphy's Unwritten Laws that "Bad weather will always occur on days you don't have the option to stay home snuggled under a blanket eating popcorn and watching reruns of "Cold Case" on TNT." Or something like that!

The worst part is that this nasty inclement weather is supposed to come in later tonight and last through until the morning which means that I get to drive home in it at 11:00 p.m. tonight and then, after a mere eight hours, turn around and drive back to work in it at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Add on the fact that I live on the side of two rather steep hills and it's enough to make a person think about calling a real estate agent to find someplace on lower ground or consider a complete career change and move to somewhere back in California! Of course, I have a pretty good deal where I'm living compared to the cost of other rentals in the area and I like my job so I guess I'm stuck for another winter in spite of my mumblings and grumblings to the contrary!

Oh well, it's that time of the year, isn't it? Let the bad weather driving games begin!

Shipoopi, Stew, & Stuff

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After a rather busy day yesterday, it's been nice to have a Sunday to just relax a bit and sit on the couch. I think I could rather get used to having Sundays off though I guess I'd best not, I only have this afternoon off as I've got plans for later on.

I spent most of yesterday cleaning the house and cooking as we had invited Jason, Amy, & Cate over dinner. That would be the Jason, Amy, & Cate who are related to the phenomenal Lyn-Z of Mindless Self Indulgence fame who is married to the one and only Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance fame. Normally I wouldn't even mention that but I figure with Google dropping my Page Rank faster than the stocks crashed on Wall Street in 1929, I could go for some shameless self-promotion and drop names!

Truth be told Jason, Amy, & Cate don't need to be related to any one at all for me to want to invite them over for dinner as they are three fantastic people and I truly enjoy their company. It's good for Amanda to have Jason come over and pick on her unmercifully and then break out into a pretty decent rendition of "Shipoopi", originally made famous in Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man" but maybe more widely known in this video -


It was actually quite entertaining to have dinner and a show of sorts! Since the first time I met Jason at American Ambulance he's been making me laugh and last night was no exception! Poor Amy and Cate were getting quite the work-out with the eye-rolling but I could see they were holding back the snickers themselves! Cate is one lucky girl to have a father who has such a good sense of humor.

For dinner I made homemade beef stew in a bread-bowl that turned out to be quite tasty, in my own humble opinion, followed by apple crisp using a slightly different recipe than the last batch I made. In this one I added some chopped pecans to the topping and drizzled it with butter prior to baking it. Yum! Considering that it was a cold November day yesterday, it was the perfect meal - again in my own humble opinion! And one of the best parts is that there's plenty of leftover stew because I always make way too much and there isn't much better than reheated beef stew - yet again in my own humble opinion!

Unfortunately Amy wasn't feeling too well as she's battling the nasty cold that seems to be going around and around and around out here so they didn't stay for too long after dinner - just long enough to watch the latest episode of "House" that we had on DVR and then VH1's "Best Week Ever", though if you ask me if that was the best they could come up with for this week then NO ONE had a best week! Normally the show is pretty funny but this week - not so funny.

Later this evening Amanda and I will head over to the Mohegan Sun Casino for a concert by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra - which thankfully wasn't canceled for any reason! We went to see them last year for the first time after Christmas at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts and they were excellent (you can read about it in my post here if you'd like) so I'm expecting no less of a spectacular show this evening. Add on the fact that it's less than 5 minutes down the road and what more could you possibly want? Well, I would like Jamie to be there with us as I'm sure she would absolutely love the show, too, but alas she won't be here until next month. Maybe next year if we're lucky?

Anyhow, I'm sure it will be a nice evening out with good head-banging classical music and pyrotechnics and maybe even a stop at Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream! Sure beats the heck out of being at work! Oh, and speaking of work, if you'd like a small glimpse into what I do (or is that say?) for a living, click on this link to WTIC-Fox 61 News and then scroll down to "EMS Shortage" on 11/8. That voice you hear as the ambulance rolls out of the bay is mine (cringe!). Ah, fleeting fame!

Stepping Away From the Blog ...

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After my day spent chained to the vacuum on Saturday, I could really use a nice vacation at someplace like the Rio Las Vegas but alas and alack, I must go to work for sixteen hours instead. Sitting in front of a bank of computer and radio equipment all day is absolutely nothing like sitting by the side of a pool sipping tasty beverages all day but someone's got to do it I guess.

Due to a new IT policy at work, I am no longer going to be taking my laptop to work with me on Sundays so I anticipate it will be a very long day having only very limited Internet access to things that are only work-related. Translated that means absolutely, positively NO blogging on Sundays so I apologize to all of you whose blogs I have not had the chance to visit recently. I know that I am horribly behind and I do apologize sincerely. Between the cleaning of the house and having to work, blogging has had to take a bit of an unaccustomed backseat these past few days. Give me a little longer and I'm sure I'll start to have withdrawal symptoms!

In the meantime, I hope that everyone has a very nice Sunday and I will hopefully be back amongst you when I get home from work Monday afternoon. If not, I will definitely be going through withdrawal at that point! Do they make something for that?!