The Week in Review

I survived my first week of work!  It will only get easier for the next 7 weeks.  Since I am not a morning person, getting up at 5:15 is the one thing that will NOT get easier. 

The weekend was sunny and cool.  Today we had lunch at the minigolf place even though we didn't golf.  The old dogwood was in full bloom.

I have always loved their bike racks made of the same colorful golf balls that the course uses.

We walked Kita up to the horse farm this afternoon.  After the rain we finally had mid-week, everything is growing and blooming like crazy.  It's a beautiful time of year here in New England.

Have a wonderful week!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Mark and I decided to try somewhere new for supper on Sunday.

We were heading to Avon to the Big Y anyway, so we drove a little farther down Rt. 44 to the building that used to be The 99 Restaurant and Pub.  It

recently reopened as Colony Grill.

It has a very large selection of drinks and a very limited menu of thin-crust pizza.  The crust was crispy and the toppings went right to the edge.  I think I prefer Naples' pizza however as this one was a little burnt.

The owner chatted with us after we finished eating.  His other two restaurants seat 130 and 175--this new one seats 250! 

When we got home I had a message saying the pregnant counselor had her baby, and I started work today!  I probably won't be posting very often until I get the hang of my new schedule.

Weekend Work

Ross spent yesterday and today in the garage working on his MR2.  He's making good progress on this very big project.



Kita enjoys hanging out with the men but stays out of the way by laying down behind my car.

I have to figure out why my camera won't focus where I want it.  I think Kita's little half-smile should be in the dictionary under "chagrin"!

On Thursday a Nordstrom Rack will be opening in the former Linens 'n Things store in the shopping plaza just beyond the mall.  While I definitely won't wait in line for the doors to open that morning, I do plan to stop by later in the day to check it out.  If I'm not working, that is--when I shadowed the pregnant gal on Thursday, I thought she looked ready to give birth any minute.  I've been catching up on my mending in hopes that my wardrobe will be ready by the time I start subbing.

We are so excited that it is finally raining!  We had showers during the night and a nice light but steady rain since noon.  Tonight we're supposed to get a couple of inches of rain, and we desperately need it after a few very dry months.  It seems so strange to wish for rain here in New England!



Should've Taken a Photo...

While walking Kita in the reservoir this afternoon, we met a standard-size American Eskimo Dog who could have been her twin!  He was the exact same size and shape, only a creamy white.  He had the same black eye rims (minus the Keesie "spectacles" of course), black nose, and black lips.  His fur was a little softer than Kita's (her guard hairs are a little coarser but maybe he was groomed more recently than she has been) but the same length.  After visiting for awhile, we each continued on our walks and I later realized that with my camera in my waist pack, I should've taken a photo.

My Favorite Flowers

I've been enjoying the pot of hyacinths that our neighbors brought over when they came for dessert on Easter. Some of the first plants at my childhood home to bloom in Spring were hyacinths this exact same color.

I was going to plant them outside right away but then I decided to keep them by the kitchen sink instead so I could enjoy their fragrance.  That's when I realized that my favorite flowers each have a very distinctive smell.

I also adore peonies.  We have divisions that came from the plants at my childhood home in our yard now.  One of my earliest memories is toddling up to the peonies (which were as tall as I was) and sticking my face into the blossoms while inhaling their sweet scent.  We've brought divisions of these peonies to every home where we have lived.

Lilacs are another favorite of mine.  I associate the warmth of early May with its sunny days and clear skies with the special fragrance of lilacs.  In grammar school, the nuns always put of vase of fresh lilacs in front of the statue of the Blessed Virgin. (It was quite an honor to be the child who brought a new bouquet to school for this purpose, but I don't think we had a lilac bush in our yard, or at least I don't remember bringing lilacs to school.)

My positive childhood memories of these fragrant flowers make them even more special to me today. 

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday!

Meet Murphy

An across-the-street neighbor and I have been taking care of each other's pets for several years now.  Whenever one of us has to be away for the whole day or an overnight, the other does the feeding, walking, etc.

They adopted Murphy in late November from a rescue, and he is a keeper--a very dignified yet friendly older gentleman.  Mark held his leash while I held Kita's when we went for our walk.

Kita adores Murphy!  He generally ignores her while she tries to "kiss" his nose, but she never gives up.  Kita prances and dances around him, yet Murphy just keeps on walking.  I think she hopes he will play with her like our other neighbor's dog does--so far, no luck.



Shopping Adventures

Nordstrom is having their "special shoe size event" this week so I went shopping this morning. It's so hard to find cute and comfortable shoes in my size--in fact, most fashionable (and cheaper) styles stop at 10.

These Italian shoes are as comfortable as slippers. Nothing too wild in style but I hope to be able to wear them for a long, long time.  The soft leather fits over that chipped bone in my foot which makes shoe buying exceptionally difficult.  Thank goodness my job starts soon as these were still pretty pricey.

I found a scarf to wear with the purple lightweight raincoat I bought online recently on super-sale.  The scarf colors match a lot of my clothes.  I'm planning ahead for a visit to Malima and Dawn sometime this Fall!

And in the department of random, I was breaking down a corrugated box yesterday to put in recycling when I noticed it said "Saint-Gobain Containers"...Saint Gobain is the huge multinational company that partners with CNRS where Dawn works!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The First Rainbow of 2012

We desperately need rain and got only a few sprinkles today.  Just as we were finishing dinner, the sky opened up and it began to pour while the sun was shining in the west.

Old habits die hard--from the time I was little, I've always searched for rainbows during our rare sun showers.  Success!

The rainbow was a little faint, especially on the left side of the bow.  It stretched across the whole eastern sky though.

During the summer it would nearly be impossible to see with all the leaves on the trees, so we were especially excited to see this rainbow now.  It's the first one of 2012!

The Easter Bunny Lives

We had a lot of fun this weekend preparing for and celebrating Easter.  First thing Saturday morning I handed Ross a bag of plastic eggs and gave him the job of decorating the dogwood near the road.

After we visited Hill-Stead, The Easter Bunny (aka Malima) brought Mark an egg filled with Ferrero Rocher hazelnut chocolates--delicious!

That same Easter Bunny brought me a basket she lined with fabric my Dziadzi had woven and that she then filled with adorable goodies.  I can't wait to listen to the CD mixes Malima and Vio put together for my upcoming lengthy commute!

On Sunday morning, The Easter Bunny left baskets for Ross, Malima, and Vio on the dining room table.  Later in the morning, we took turns hiding eggs around the house for each other to find. 

There was even time to dye eggs before dinner!  Malima brought along some blown eggs to decorate in addition to our hard-boiled ones.  We always have to have the hard-boiled ones for our traditional "egg wars"!  We also had the traditional kielbasy with beet horseradish as an appetizer.

Look how cute!  Later in the afternoon a couple of neighbors joined us for dessert...and too quickly it was time for the young'uns to head back to Boston.  On the plus side, Ross got a lot of work done on his MR2 with Mark's help, so it was a fun and productive weekend all around.





Happy Easter!

Wishing all of you a very Happy Easter with love ~   Mary & family

A Correction

Remember when I wrote about the new tree trunk sculpture on the grounds of Miss Porter's School on March 22nd?

I thought that the top animal was a river otter, but after reading an article in our local newspaper I learned that it is a mink.  The animals are all Miss Porter's School mascots.  Also known as MPS, the mink stands for M, the 'possum for P, and the squirrel for S!

You can learn something new every day!

Errands Day

This morning I ran a bunch of errands in preparation for Easter, including a couple of stops that are unusual for me.

Stonewall Kitchen is a Maine-based gourmet specialty shop that has their own line of jams, jellies, and sauces. This store opened in Avon a couple of years ago.

The store is really pretty with themed displays featuring their products. Look, Dawn, here's a "Spring time in Paris" display complete with Eiffel Tower!

This display featured their blue and white china with fresh tulips and jams.

Fresh Market is a new store in Avon that seems to be a direct competitor of Whole Foods.

This is the first thing you see as you enter the store.

Everything is arranged in a very appealing way.  For a small store with a health food focus, they have a huge bakery and aisles of candy (sorry, no picture of those!)

I also stopped at Munson's for chocolate Easter eggs and Big Y for most of my groceries.  Munson's has cute decorations but it was crowded and I actually forgot to take photos! 

It's a beautiful day so I think I'll take Kita for a nice long walk now.  Hope you're having a great day!

More Lovely Orchids

The greenhouse is full of color this month!

These clear orange flowers are one inch across.

This Phaelanopsis  flower is the first to bloom on its spike and is 3" across.

The color and petal texture of this Potinara are so beautiful! It's also 3 inches across.

These tiny orchids are just beginning to open and there are too many to count on this flower stalk!

I guess I won't have to buy an Easter lily this year--I'll just use one of these for a centerpiece!

Boys' Banquet

Yesterday was the special dinner of the Connecticut Chapter of Les Amis d'Escoffier Society. Mark's father became a member many years ago and eventually so did his sons and grandsons.

It's a formal, men-only event which was held at the Lincoln Culinary Institute this year.

The program has one page for the menu in English and one in French.

Malima and I went out for Thai food and a movie while the boys were at their event.  We both have read The Hunger Games and loved the new movie!  Jennifer Lawrence was perfect as Katniss Everdeen! 

It was the first time I've been to the cinemas in Blue Back Square.  The theater was on the small side but there weren't too many people for the Sunday evening show so we had great seats. And the seats were very comfy too. We stopped at the Pinkberry located between the theater and the parking garage for frozen yogurt on our way to pick up the guys.  A fun weekend all in all!