One Year Later and a Dream Come True!

Approximately one year ago I began this blog with a birthday greeting to Roger. While I haven't had a chance to update this since March, I am surprised at the amount of content I managed to put up here over the past 12 months, some good, some not so good, some eventually removed (where's your sense of humor?!?!).

Now, another year has passed, and a another birthday has come and at long last, a brand new Harley for Roger. I encourage you to click on the picture above for a larger image of his huge smile and his beautiful bike.

Since the day we met, this is all he's talked about - motorcycles. I should say, motorcycles and Nicole. And now was finally the time for him to strap on the ol' saddle bags again after many years of being restricted to 4 wheel transportation. His back is doing very well and it just seemed like the right thing to do at this point.

But, I can't even begin to express what this has done for his spirit, except to say that it has truly soared! In fact, he went as far as to model the rainsuit he purchased "just in case". I must say, this man has never modeled anything for me in all the years we've been together. Well, there was this one instance, but I won't go into that! Let's just say it was very late at night.

So the road is indeed winding. Perfect for cruising the ocean road or forested roads or just taking the back roads to work - on a big ol' Road King Classic! And by the way, it gets a minimum of 50 mpg!

Ride, Roger, Ride!

Oh, below is a photo of me trying to pass off as a Harley Chick! Gotta keep up with those gals you know!

Hello, Arkansas!

We spent the final three nights in Russellville with Roger's Mom and Dad before heading back home to New England.

The only downside was that winter decided to rear its ugly head at the end of February! We drove up Magazine Mountain to visit a fairly new resort that was built by the state of Arkansas. In spite of our view being dramatically cut short due to fog, the building itself was stunning! Lots of wood and rock and huge fireplaces. I can't wait to go back on a good weather day and perhaps spend a night in one of the cabins.

It also just so happened that Wanda's birthday was just around the bend, so we helped her kick off the celebration!!!

We mostly spent the days relaxing, eating and drinking coffee, relaxing, eating and drinking coffee, etc., etc., and of course lots of visiting. Not only with Don and Wanda, but with Shirley and Roger's cousin Kathy.

Alas, it was time to head back, and just in time! Guinness had the pleasure of staying in a kennel for an entire week. The picture below was taken within an hour getting home. Back in the lap of his bestfriend!!!

Goodbye, Texas!

We had a great time in Winnsboro, which is where the pictures in the earlier post were taken. The most exciting thing, other than seeing the brand new colts, was getting to see the Space Shuttle, following behind the International Space station. That was so exciting and luckily the skies were very clear! The picture below isn't of that celestial event, but of the almost full moon.

We said farewell to family in Texas, then headed to Arkansas for the final stop of our week long tour.

Just a few miles down the road from Daddy's house, we came across a true Texas Car Alarm. Just try to get near this pickup! Of course, seeing as its a retriever on post, you'd probably just get licked to death!

You know you're in Texas when...

Mistletoe hangs thick in the oak trees all year long.

You have an endless supply of pecans to snack on just outside your door.
There's always a tank to drop a line in.
Folks put up massive gates, but do without an actual fence.
And the neighbors always take time out of their busy schedule to come say hello.

And let me tell you, this handsome guy had one very busy schedule as the resident stallion. Had I known his prowess, I probably wouldn't have ventured so close! Below are 2 pictures of ONE of the TWO mares that gave birth to his babies overnight while we were in Winnsboro.


The colts were too far away for to get a picture, but one was blond, and the other looked identical to the stallion. "Mini-me" right out of the chute, so to speak, immediately stood shoulder high to his mother who is pictured above!

Match the Man to the Moment

Some of you are aware that Roger and I did the Grand Family Tour in February. It was a great trip covering almost 800 miles. I'll post more pictures later. In the interim, I thought I'd pass along some moments that were shared with us featuring the men above. Clockwise from upper left, Roger's dad "Don", my step-dad "Ray", my dad "Tommy" and of course, Roger.

Please feel free to match the moments below to the man above.

a) This fella has 2 similar moments and I'll share them both. Who decided the rooftop of his house was a good place to lay back and rest - UNTIL the vultures started circling. Then, who decided when repairing a sprinkler head that since he was on the ground anyway, that the middle of the yard was a good place to take a nap, only to be awoken by the neighbor and EMTs who thought, well, lets just say he got a free ride to the local Emergency Room.

b) This fella has decided that should he ever experience a pharmaceutically induced erection that lasts longer than 4 hours, rather than call the doctor as recommended by the pharmaceutical company, would instead call his neighbor into action.

c) This fella, alone on a Saturday night, as his wife was out with a girlfriend, invited a door-to-door Kirby Vacuum cleaner salesman into his house. While the salesman demonstrated/steam-cleaned the entire living room, this particular fella sat in his easy chair eating pizza, watching TV and lifting his feet when necessary so as not to impede the demonstration.

d) This fella, said to his beautiful, loving wife of 17 years, "please, don't ever let me get old." :~)

Happy Birthday, Momma!

Roger and I had the chance to get to Fort Worth to celebrate Momma's 70th birthday. Doesn't she look great!?! She's living proof that like her birthday card says, "70 isn't what it used it to be!"

We descended upon the Outback Steakhouse in Burleson for her birthday dinner, which was also shared with Melissa (the 19th), Me (the 16th) and Loretta, also on the 19th. It was a great time and I'm almost sure the management of the Outback will not allow us all back under their roof at the same time ever again. There may have been, but I'm not completely sure, some crawling under tables a time or two, or three, during the evening.
The boys above are Marty (in-law to Dave), Dave (my big brother), Roger and Bryan (my little brother).Ray was brave enough to foot the bill for the entire crew. Of course, had I known that, I would have ordered a better brand of tequila and a bigger and better cut of steak!
Seven-year-old Aubrey, who managed to keep herself entertained amongst the crazy adults, gave everyone drawings of hearts. Mine had a snowflake in the middle!
In the end, everyone had a grand time, with lots of laughter and lots of getting to know each other again. Like with so many families that scatter from here and there, the opportunities to all gather together become more rare, but this makes each holiday or birthday even more special!

New England Speak

The Letter "R", or the letter "R-uh"
No photo to share this time, just a quick lesson on how to speak like a New Englander. Please note, this only applies to those who live east of the Connecticut River, south of Lake Winnepesauke and, I hate to say this, but those who most likely have not gone to college. Nothing personal, but it's very true.

You can also pretty much exclude most Mainers, as they have a whole 'nother issue going on up there. Or, as they call it "Down East". What in the world does that even mean? Seriously! But I digress.

There are actually 2 simple rules.

Rule #1: this rule is the worst kept secret in the entire world. If a word has the letter "R" anywhere near the end, do not, under any circumstance, pronounce the "r".

Example: hah-bu: where you take your boat
bah: where you take your beer
pahk: where you take your Boston Terrier
bee-yuh: what you get at the "bah"
stai-yuhs: what you go down to enter the original Bull&Finch, aka "Cheers"

As you can see, sometimes it's quite necessary to turn a one syllable word into two syllables to follow this rule.

Rule #2: this rule is rather simple, and seems to be the New Englander's way of making up for all those lost "r"s. If a word ends with a vowel, or a silent consonant, add an "r" to the end. Simple enough!

Example: I hate wearing a brawr but I'll put one on anyway.
You've reached the lawr firm of Diddle and Doodle.

I once told a waitress, as a joke I might add between Roger and myself, "thank you for the "strawr". This got me into all kinds of trouble with that woman! You see, she had gone to college and was quite offended that perhaps I was insinuating that she was mispronouncing her words. Geewhilakers - it was only a joke that she wasn't even supposed to hea-yuh!

Rule #2a: Here's where it gets complicated. If a syllable ends in a vowel or silent consonant, throw in an "r".

Example: drawer = drahr-yu

Okay, I know, drawer is only pronounced with one syllable, but again, sometimes you just have to make it into two so you can follow the rule.

I'll provide more examples later as I have to make note of them when I hea-yuh them. In the meantime, class is ovah.

What to do?? What to do???

The wind is blowing up to 25mph, a muted sun is trying to peak through, the temperature is only in the mid-30's. So, what is there to do on a Saturday such as this? Go to the movies, head to the shopping mall, or head off to a cozy bar? Of course not! Do as the seals do and go to the beach! These seals are hanging out on Badger Rocks where the Merrimac River (more on the Merrimac in a later post) feeds into the Atlantic Ocean. With water temperatures at 39 degrees, that's actually warmer than the air.

Roger and I weren't the only ones to head to the beach. Take a look! My favorite picture is of the little boy toddling on the beach. Later he was trying to get back to his parents who were looking for treasures around the lobsta' traps, but the wind kept blowing him backwards. She finally noticed and ran over and rescued him! By the way, he was never in peril.

After taking these photos, Roger and I headed up the coastline to Portsmouth, New Hampshire where we noticed the Coast Guard patrolling the shores.

After doing a bit of shopping in historic downtown Portsmouth, we did indeed head to a cozy bar to warm our cockles!