Creative week-end

I rarely if ever take two classes two days in a row, but when they are offered at times that I can take them..........well........a gals got to do, what a gals got to do!!!!!

The one above is called a chain maille..........well the back of it is. It is made from sterling silver jump rings and is the box stitch.......it was a challenge at first, but once I caught on, away I went. I just made the back of the bracelet and it has two lobster claws on either side........so you can attach different fronts.........here let me show you.........

Now I can make different fronts to attach to it...........this is the one I created yesterday. The stones are garnet.........I am so pleased with how it turned out.........and I rarely say that about anything I make..........I can always find fault with something...........this, well I am keeping it and so excited about it...........

The next bracelet is the class I took on Friday night...........I made EVERYTHING on this bracelet except the beads..............everything!!!!! Jump rings and all.............it was a learning lesson.........I enjoyed the class too...........and looking forward to designing more of this type.........

Here is a close up of the links and beads.......if you look really close, on each side of the bead is the tiniest little filigree copper bead........so small and dainty.

The next one I make, I am going to use these beads I think, as they will go better with the copper instead of the gold foil........which I had thought of that before........see how the links aren't the same size.........ok, some people would want them that way and I will make some that way, but for me.........I like via la difference..........

This last bracelet is one that I made last week sometime...........I call it the "hoochie mama" bracelet.........and it is a good seller for me..........you can wear it with everyday things or for fancy nights out...........ooooo, don't you think an all clear crystal type of thing would be fun for News Years Eve? Do I even know anyone that goes out for News Years Eve any more?

Here is a close up of the beads and pearls............
Oh, the more I think of it.........sheer crystals and such with a few pearls thrown in..........sparkle, sparkle. What do you think.............I would appreciate any and all comments.........

give aways..........

I am so lost for what to write.............and what pictures to share..............so I wandered through some of my favorite blogs and read and read and read some more and got lost in time..........BIT TIME.........but I did find some wonderful blogs.........and some with give aways.........

1. Canadian Country Gal ~ 8/31 really cool Halloween sign............really cool

2. cupidscharm.blogspot.com/ This blog is having a 20% of her jewelry......oh and what beautiful jewelry it is...........and the way it is displayed, well I lost lots of time at this shop!!!

3. http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ this neat site has free vintage clip art, PLUS a whole list of other sites that has free clip art..........now how cool is this.........pretty darn cool in my opinion!!!

4. http://velvetstrawberries.typepad.com/andreasingarella/ OH eye candy of pictures........the last few days has been to die for pictures of New York shops..........

Hope you enjoy these few sites.......let me know what you think.........hopefully I can share some more in the next few days.......see I can justify reading and wandering if I think I am helping someone else by doing it...........tee hee..........whatever works, right?

I have gathered up some goodies for my 200th post...will try to get some pictures taken tomorrow.......today I have another class.......chain maille........and I am the only student........so do think that will automatically make me teacher's pet?????

another quote

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.
— Anna Freud

What can I say.......that pretty much sums it all up.........I just have to keep repeating it to myself and start believing it. This morning I was packaging up a bracelet that had been ordered and I had stuck in a little something extra, why?. because I had totally forgotten about the order and felt super terrible.......thank goodness the person who ordered this bracelet is a friend and knows me.........and my "duhness!!".......also sent a little surprise to someone else in the form of jewelry and I just stopped...........I would never have thought in a million years that I would end up making and playing with beads and pearls and things that go sparkle.........me........the lover of material and painting.........but one day I just decided I would take a beading lesson and the rest is history. Now I am going to take some metal classes for jewelry and see if I can conquer my fear of "oh man, mine doesn't look very good" and keep trying to improve until I feel that maybe someone else will like it too.............after all, the strength and confidence will come from within......I carry it with me.........right?

Smell..........

found on flicker (as well as the rest of the photos)

I have no idea why I am writing or sharing my favorite smells.........egads, could it be that 'moi' is having a bad writing/thought period..........yikes that alone is scary.......

I have so many "that's my favorite smell" that I know I will leave some off, but here goes a few of them.

1. Lilacs

2. Babies

3. Popcorn - I don't care if it's movies popcorn, fair, rodeo, band concert, or at home popcorn...I just like it.

4.Leather.....

5. My ocean

6. Rain

7. Men who wear just the 'right' amount of after shave or cologne.

8. sheets that have been hung outside to dry......oh I love crawling into them that first night......we have no clothes line, so I miss that terribly.

9. Shampoo, the smell on my grandchildren's hair

10. Horses........ok, you really have to like horses to like that smell, but I do love horses.

11. the smell of the neighborhood bar-b-ques when people are grilling.........oh I do wish we did more neighborhood spur of the moment "come over for dinner" type of thing

12. cotton candy

13. freshly cut grass

14. fall........fall has an aroma all of it's own........

15. certain colognes........I wear Happy..........but I like lavender too......oh and Avon use to make this body spray that was called Pear something or other.........that was fresh and light.

16. orchards.......

17. well the above of course leads us straight to freshly baked pies.......

18. new car smell

19. the musty smell of an attic......why??? Oh don't you just know that you are going to f ind wonderful treasures in a musty attic...things that belonged to people long ago and now that you have found them, will treasure them even more.........

20. freshly brewed coffee

Now I know the minute I stop at 20, I will think of a kazillion more........I will........I know I will......

but for right now, those are the ones that I can think of right away.........do you have a favorite smell?

Another quote

Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.
— Yves Saint Laurent

Before I forget, the picture that is on the blog today was taken from The Vintage Workshop.........www.thevintageworkshop.com ......it's a cool site, especially if you are looking for anything vintage.

I have always loved clothes............now I was never a thin reed model, but I loved clothes. When I was single and working at the telephone company, I had matching shoes for outfits.......color wise........I wore a lot of flats, and I sure wish I could remember the name of them now, but I can't.....sigh.......like that surprises me!!!! Back then we "dressed" for work.....even at the telephone company where no one could see us, except the other operators.............but the day of the pantsuit was just barely peeking over the horizon, so nylons and dresses it was. Today, I still like to dress, but sadly I truly am not in the "circle" that has a lot of social functions to attend.......so I have a few nicer outfits for mass and holiday celebrating, but other than that, it's pants, capris and I will wear shorts around the house, but unless it is in the 100 degree temps, I rarely wear them out of the home............one my legs are so white that I could blind someone and two, my legs are far far far far far from my best feature. This year I hardly purchased anything new for the hot weather.........hmmm, I think I purchased one new top for my vacation and then this past week, when my daughter from Why-oh-ming was here, 3/4's of my lunch landed on my shelf of a bosom, and I wasn't going anywhere looking like an advertisement for Red Robins, so we ran to Kohls and I bought two more tops............man I love that store.........good prices and nice styles..............I do like the quote tho'........it's like a lot of things........the out side shell is just that, a shell, what's under that shell is much more important............

First day of school.......

Today is the beginning of the school year.........sigh. It was hard leaving him, my grandson, sitting on the gym floor, with that deer in the headlight look in his eyes............he already had told us that he had an upset tummy. He will be fine.........well not fine maybe, but he will survive. It was a total mad house in the gym. Second through fourth grades were meeting in there..........now think, that is one teacher per class, the 20-22 children in each class (I 'think' there are 5 or 6 of each grades) and then add the extra baggage.........parents, little brother and sisters, grandparents, and one family had two aunts and an old babysitter to boost.............are you getting the picture yet? I like how this school system does supplies too, you are offered a chance to purchase a box, that has ALL of the school supplies that your child will need for that grade........one stop shopping. Each boy or girl is responsible for either one roll of paper towels,

box of tissue, or hand soap........and of course their backpack. Nice.

I don't remember being scared about the first day of school.........I was excited, but not nervous at all. School was my social life.........remember I was an only child. I always had friends, always. In fact I could hang out with the cool kids and the nerds and feel comfortable with both........weird, huh? Like a typical girl I wanted my hair to look good and when I went to public school, I of course, wanted to look "good" in my new clothes. Parochial school didn't put that pressure on you.......uniforms. I think back and it really is a good idea. It's done and over with........no peer pressure, no upper class, poor class...........you dress the same and you didn't add that extra stress of "what to wear" each day.

I will drive to pick him up this afternoon and each day there after.......but today I am not looking forward to it..........again the first day jumble. I will have the afternoon snack ready for when he comes home, and hopefully no homework tonight............tomorrow will be smoother and after a few weeks, all of this nervousness will be gone.........

Alone............

I am an only child. My mother had two definite pregnancies after me, but both sweet baby girls didn't make it, one when I was four and the other when I was sixteen...........a sad thing for two people who were good parents and would have loved other children. Me, well I will never know what kind of sister I would have made; I do know that I would have learned to defend myself better........I don't do that well at all............well, if it's about my children or grandchildren, stand back and duck.......I come out full blast..........sometimes not rationally at all...........but full blast.........for me, well I just seem to take it..........maybe that is something that I should add to my list of things to accomplish or "do".......will think about that.

The other day my daughter had taken the day off, so I could go and get my teeth "deep" cleaned.........trust me, it doesn't hurt, but it does hurt the pocketbook............big time.........so she and my son-in-law took the boys to Six Flags Fiesta here...........that left me with the whole day alone..........hmmmm........practical or foolish..........I chose foolish. I went to a movie by myself..........Henry Poole was Here......definitely a chick flick, and won't win any Oscar nominations, but I did enjoy it........it had some good chuckles and lots of little nudges of "hey I feel like that sometime too" type of thing.........after that I went to TJ Maxx and found some sheets.............now thank goodness I have two sets for my bed and can rotate..........I also cruised the Halloween aisles and found somethings that I may go back and indulge in..........can't wait to long tho', as they do go fast. There was a couple in there........they were having so much fun.......he would pick something up and suggest where they could put it, then she would do the same........it was nice to watch them. I then ambled over to Borders........I sat down in the jewelry making aisle and picked out some books that I wanted to really really look at closely, so I could make a "good" decision before purchasing..........so often I just glance and then disappointed when I get home..........so I gathered them up and sat down in a chair in one of the sections and looked and pondered and looked some more...........chose two and felt so comfortable with making these choices. It was a nice day.........I was alone and that part didn't bother me..........oh I would have much rather spent it with someone, male of female, but since that wasn't going to happen, I took my own company and enjoyed that. After my divorce, I found that I liked being me..........I had always been someones daughter, wife, mother...........all of a sudden I was me.........good, bad or indifferent............I had to learn to like this person, or change what I didn't like.........still working on that part of it, guess I always will be...........but for those of you that have never been "alone" if you are able to do it, even for a day.......try it............actually one day isn't a good time period, because the first few times you flounder..........most people can't even imagine going to a restaurant and eating alone...........I still bring a book with me............but I also people watch and think up scenarios and stories about those people surrounding me...........don't give up after doing it once.......try it again........shopping by yourself is a whole different experience, as is movie watching.........eating in a restaurant.........now I have never gone on a vacation by myself......egads I would be lost forever, huh?...............alone, not something that I want to be forever, but once in awhile it's nice..........

Not for those with a weak stomach.........

The snapshots that are below are not for the faint of heart, or queasy stomachs.........so if you are........then please just stop reading now. Truly, no joke, no funny tricks.........it will be a snapshot of my grandson's horrid, horrid accident that took place over two weeks ago while he was visiting his other grandmother in Omaha.........thank goodness it wasn't on my watch. He was riding an oversize trike..........you know one of those super duper big ones.........well shoot, I can even ride it..........of course my knees are up under my double chin and the extra tires on my body are getting in the way of my hands on the handle bars (isn't that visual picture something that you want to forget?????) but they are good size..............he was wearing shoes.................ahhhhh, but grandma ran into the house for like 4 minutes to get something..........and 7 year old grandson for some unknown reason......guess you would have to be 7 to understand...........took off his crocs and........somehow, someway, he flipped and his heel got caught in or by the pedal.............this is the results
This was taken this morning, he had the stitches taken out yesterday (took four nurses to hold him down.........yikes........he is my grandson.........drama full blast). We have been told, that if it had been any deeper he could have lost the whole bottom of the heel........the other day he forgot to walk on his toes and he and I both almost tinkled our underwear!!!! The look in his eyes as the pain registered and me for wanting to take the pain away from him...........I can't imagine how long it is going to take for him to be able to walk on his foot............it doesn't slow him down much......did in the beginning, but like all youth, he has adapted and at this very moment he and his family are at Six Flags Fiesta.............hope they are having fun.................moi?, well I am off to the dentist's office for a deep cleaning .............oh please hold me down from the excitement of that!!!! May treat myself afterwards and go to Borders and look at books, like a grown-up...........you know, not saying "don't touch" "do you have $$.......then don't touch." or having to take the books I want to look at over to the children's section so they can play with the train section so I can look at the books (which isn't to bad really - except each time I want to change books out, I have to make them leave and then if there are other kids there, they lose their spot and then I have to hear the whining over that ...................you know what I mean if you have little ones). Hope today brings you some sunshine and at least one smile, better yet a big bunch of giggles!

Hope I can do this..........

Look.............isn't that cool............I found this spot onhttp://romantichome.blogspot.com/please go visit it............it's a very nice site. Hmmm, well I can tell that, that whole sentence is confusing.........aren't the pictures grouped together neat(?), I found the site to do this on the above blog and here is the site where you can go and do this yourself http://www.bighugelabs.com/. These are pictures of the vacation, which I am sure you recognize, but to be able to do this with some of your family photos.........hobby, flowers, stores, homes, shoes............shoot..........the possibilities are endless.............and let's face it, if I can figure it out, so can you...........have fun and enjoy the day..............try to giggle at least once............

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

Today in 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid tribute to the Royal Air Force, saying " Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." I have always liked that quote and while reading the newspaper this morning I saw this in the Today in History..so I thought I would share..........

I took this class last week.........it is called the Tree of Life........it wasn't that easy....but I love the knarly look of the tree.......I have the base made for another one, but I am not sure if I will be making any more...........now I need to find just that special something to hang it from........maybe a pretty ribbon, a leather piece, copper chain? Will have to think about this...........

Are you doing anything special today? I am nearer and nearer to my 200th post................200!!!! Will be having a give away...... still looking for some goodies to share.....

It's a Tuesday

It is Tuesday, and raining...........we need the rain so badly. Of course I just left rainy Vermont.......and trust me, those natives had, had it with the rain!!!
I mentioned yesterday that my daughter from Why-oh-ming was here............it was so much fun. Rarely do I get to spend time with my children alone anymore.............now don't get me wrong, I love all of my grandchildren, my son-in-laws and all of the extended family that marriage blesses us with (and I have been blessed in that department), but spending time alone with one of my three chillun', well it is like a mini vacation. I have always known that my daughter is a crowd person...........like big avoidance of crowds.................but re-experiencing it with her had me laughing up a storm. On Saturday there was a bead show, we get about 4/5 a year in this area and I try to attend each one, looking for bargains and trying to find lower priced items like pearls.............love those pearls! We arrived quite soon after it opened........she walked in with me, we did 1 booth and then as we were bumped, nudged, elbowed, feet walked on and totally mauled, she looked at me and said " Car keys please.........I can't do this." I looked and saw that this was a joking matter.........she had to get out. Later she did come back and we worked out the best system, she would watch me and see if I was actually purchasing something in a particular booth, get in the line from Timbuktu and I would hand her the items and $$ and I would move on to the next booth........anything to get me out of there faster.............it worked for me. I gave her a few options for lunch and she chose Red Robin, as there are none in Why-oh-ming.....totally forgetting the noise level.............she looked at me and just shook her head........I had to laugh. We were blessed to with two families that had children that were out of control.........I mean out of control............makes me shake my head. Now here is the kicker..........we were off to to Sea World..........now she handled the crowds there just fine.............but we were also out in the open too.........think that makes the difference for her........I don't know, but trust me, if we went on a ride and it involved water..........we were the two out of the whole group that got it............I mean the only way we could have been wetter is to have been bigger...........egads I think we had about have of the Guadalupe River soaked into our clothes!!!!!! We didn't take the camera as I didn't want to chance it getting wet or broken..........so you are saved from those family photos............tee hee........Well off to do some errands............hope everyone has a nice day.

I'm not a canidate any more..............

No one even had to ask me to step aside, or to turn my club card in, no one had to look embarrassed because I was trying to hang on desperately to my club membership..........and it was all for the best. I am no longer a member of the Rand McNally Road Map club and the Read the Exits Correctly organization. Oh how I have tried to be a good member..........at one point I was actually starting to feel a little confidence sneak into my system, but alas, those feelings were dashed quickly. On the recent trip back east, my older friend finally realized that if we didn't want to constantly be lost, and if her GPS system was going to lose signals in the mountains, she was on her own............she had to drive and navigate...........I was calling her Wonder Woman at the end. She travels quite a bit by herself and is use to doing this............I admire that so much........she just makes her plans and off she goes........she is my hero in this area. This past week my daughter from WY came to San Antonio for a conference..........I was so excited..........until I realized that she was relying on my to drive her around...............whoa.........it started........that jumble and squirmy feeling in my stomach. I don't do downtown by myself. I have always gone with someone that has read the map or knew their way around............I just jumped from lane to lane and watched the lights and other motorists hand signals...........aren't they hand signals???? Oh man, I was lost all of the time..............big time.............when I went to pick her up Friday to bring her out to the house..........I ended up in an area that I shouldn't have been in..........oh it wasn't good. I pulled into a convenience store parking lot, made sure the car doors were locked and said a wee prayer............I tried calling my son-in-law and daughter.................neither answered and thankfully I was able to reach another young woman that I knew and when I gave her the address of where I was at, I heard her say........." Oh my gosh!".............yeah, not good. She did a map quest and gave me instructions, I thanked her over and over and started off again............well I did semi, sorta ok..............I missed something somewhere, but I was able to navigate to the hotel finally and thought I was going to hyperventilate.............not really............but it wasn't a good feeling. I just get myself ALL worked up...........really worked up..........a nervous wreck............it's just the way I am..............I am trying to over come this...........sometimes it works and other times..........well, I am trying. So if you want to do a road trip with me, be sure you know where we are going, are able to read a map, and have lots and lots of patience..........lots of patience.

Nantucket

Well it's the last day of vacation, and my birthday...........what a way to celebrate..........my oldest friend from childhood, my cousin and her friend.........at Nantucket Island, MA!!! I mean is life good or what????? The ferry ride took an hour and 50 minutes..........so some of us rode up top and the rest of us went below and found a nice area with booths........eventually we all ended up at the booth and for those of us that didn't know each other well, we got to know each other better.........with lots of giggles.

Had a wonderful lunch of a lobster roll and lots of giggles and talk.......you should have seen some of us trying to get up on those high bar stool chairs...........I am sure it was quite entertaining!!!!! This is quite the bosom shot, huh?..........looks like a ripe ole' cantaloupe staring at you in face!!!!!!!

We took a bus tour around the island first, before lunch and I am so glad that we did............learned so much about the island.........things that I had no idea about. Did you know that the Quakers were big whalers? I didn't.........and at one point, we went past this plain pasture looking area, stone fence around it and beautiful, wild grass...........it was a Quaker cemetery...........they don't have headstones. Here is a picture of the cemetery that you can see from the little narrow road...........on the opposite side of the street is the other part of the cemetery..........but unlike these headstones, they are all facing away from the road..............why?.........well, because of the strong winds and salt air, it would have worn down and erased the names and dates...........I don't know why this fascinated me, but it did.

Here is a picture of the oldest house on the island........a saltbox..........of course no one lives there, but if you didn't know that, you wouldn't realize it, as it is in good condition.......can't go inside.......in fact we couldn't get off of the bus to see it..............no pull outs and trust me the roads are super narrow
This charming little cottage is known as the rose cottage.........during the growing season, it is totally covered with climbing roses............we had missed it.... .......but so many of the homes are like this..........all made with the shingle siding or clapboard sidings (but only clapboard in the front.........has to have shingles on the other sides of the house..........the historical society is very very strict on the island..........this is the one and only contemporary home on the island............if anything happens to it, well there won't be any more...........it's the one of the right in the back round........can't see it very well, but it sure stands out. Here is a picture of the lighthouse.........again, we didn't get close to it......a day just isn't long enough.















Of course my blog wouldn't be complete with out some flowers........I mean I fell in love with the hydrangeas.........bet you couldn't tell, huh?

Saw this from the bus window...........have no idea what all of these flags mean, well I know the American and English flag, but I am ignorant of the others........just thought it was a cool pictures

On the way back to the cape, I snapped this.........definitely out of my budget............tee hee



All in all it was a wonderful vacation and a special special birthday................and I am done with my day to day diary..........hope I didn't bore you totally and that you found something that you enjoyed.........

It's whale watching day

Before we took off on that adventure, as we went and purchased out tickets and still had a wee bit of time to spare, we went to the the town of Barnstable..........now it's not pronounced Barn Stable (as in a place for boarding horses), but Barns-ta(short a)-ble). Here is the general store there. I have to admit, that if I didn't get to do anything else on the trip, being a passenger and not the driver was the best. I was able to gawk and oooh and ahhhh at all of the homes, and beautiful scenery.......it was like heaven. Sadly, on the cape, where I fell in love with almost every home I saw, we couldn't stop to take pictures..........the roads are soooooooo small, curvy and of course the traffic during July and August is terrific. BUT, right next door to the general store is the cozy cottage.........well you know me, I am in my own little world.........oblivious to so many things..........well I spotted THE most wonderful hydrangeas......I had been seeing them everywhere and just couldn't get a good pictures........so thinking I was at a business, I trooped over to them and took a picture......... Aren't they wonderful? Well 3/4 s of the way of my plodding to get the picture, my friend yells at me from the sidewalk..........."what are you doing? This isn't a shop, it's a house!" well shoot, I was already trespassing.....so I snapped and got back on the sidewalk..........here are some more of the this cottage and the garden in the front

















See how they have the quilts on the rocking chairs? Now wouldn't you think it was a store? Oh come on, back me up here.........

Ok, we get on the boat and again, we are so unaware of things........we thought it was going to be an hour in total for this excursion.............right.........it's an hour and some odd minutes to get to the whale area...........but here are some of the neat sites on the way out................



















This light house isn't a working one any more.........there were people up on the top waving to us.......and the homes are only summer homes..........

Ok, we get to the area where most of the whale siting are..........and did we hit a bonanza of a day.........usually you stay out, maybe an hour............we stayed forever and was I happy.........we saw a gazillion different sitings........maybe in total the same 10 or 11 whales, but did they ever cooperate and put on a show.........I will put a few pictures on, but my camera and the crowds combined didn't do justice to these magnificent mammals..................





















As you can see, I didn't do any justice at all........but I was so thrilled, I just stood there with this big ole' smile on my face.........it was wonderful...........tomorrow Nantucket.

Home Sweet Home

we left Vermont and none to soon, it was raining again and as we looked at the Mad River, it was rising and traveling at a terrific speed...........we stopped for breakfast in Rochester,VT and ate at the Wochester Cafe and Country Store...no pictures, no site to share...........but it was a wonderful and cozy place. The breakfast was phenomenal and I snuck over to the country store......and I am sure glad I did. I purchased THE most wonderful lilac sachets.........oh my goodness........they just brought the whole feeling of spring and the wonderful fragrance to life........and trust me, my unmentionables and jammies are smell'n ever so lilac!!!!!! As I paid for the meal, the lady that was taking the money received a call.........I could tell that she was worried and when she got off the phone, she asked which way we were heading.......told her south and she said that was good........the area that we had just passed through was flooding and all of the bridges and low roads had been closed............these poor people have been plagued by rain. Everywhere we went the locals would share the rain stories........sure has hindered their tourist money I am sure.

We arrived at my home site and spent a wonderful afternoon with my Uncle and cousins and some of their children..........poor Karen, her head was spinning. She thought it was just me..........but my whole family has the same traits.......what you ask??? Well apparently I talk about one thing and before anyone can digest that information, I am on to another subject with no warning and those around me are totally lost...........sigh........I know where I am.........well kinda sorta. None of us seem to finish all of our sentences...........tee hee.....I didn't pick up on that one.......mostly because I know where the sentences are going and so why bother finishing it, and so did they, so we were off onto another subject, so as not to waste time. Oh, here is one that cracked me up........we are an Irish family.........there are spots and drops of other nationalities from marriage, but all in all we are Irish. So my cousins and I were super jaw jabbering about this one and that one in our family and on my paternal side that like "tea" or died from Irish "tea"..............just an accepted part of our lives............poor Karen, I think she actually raised her hand to get a word in and asked " What disease do you get or how do you die from tea?".............We all just looked at her...........and of course we all burst out laughing...........big laughs too..........'tis a blessing to be Irish..........unless you let the Irish tea bless you first'..........alas we were referring to alcohol...........it has effected our family (mine on both sides) quite heavily........we can smile and laugh at some of the happenings, but we also realize that it has taken those that we loved way to soon and caused some horrid scaring to parts of our family..........but the funny part was, I think Karen thought she had entered a foreign land.

Later we drove up to the cemetery, as I hadn't seen my parent's headstone. In fact I haven't been back to MA since my father's burial 16-17 years ago........oh how things have changed........any ways, as we were driving through the cemetery I couldn't find one of my relatives that I was looking for........so I made some comment about names, Karen looked over at me and said "Please, don't tell me it's an Irish name, so far that's all that is buried in here are Irish people."......I got to laughing........I did find a few of the French relatives to show her that there were more than the Irish allowed..........goodness, never let it be said that we were snobs!!!!!! Tee Hee.........

This is a picture of my great grandparent's headstone.............on my paternal side...........I took photos of all of my family's headstones, but I won't go into all of those.........it just made me feel better to go and visit.

We were off to the cape..........and boy did we run into some traffic...........holy mackanolie.........of course it was around 6pm and did the traffic get bogged down and bumper to bumper in the lane we were in...........of course the left two lanes were zooming past us...........well what did we know...........we were tourist and not sure what we had gotten ourselves into..........as we inched a 1/8th a minuted closer and closer to this exit, I finally realized, it was the ONLY exit to RI and that was where the back up started...........this one exit. All of the people who work in Boston or surrounding areas have to take this one and only exit to get home!!!!!!! Well once we went over the bridge and landed on the cape another whole adventure started.............we finally found our motel at dark thirty............and before I would sign in I asked to see the room.............trust me, I wasn't comfortable there at all and neither was Karen...........ok, call us snobs, but the Bates Motel looked better than this and I know it had to smell better too. We lucked out did find a nice place, the Cape Point Hotel..........that had a room for all three nights, the same room, so we wouldn't have to change mid point..........until tomorrow............that's all folks.............