Richard, you reminded me of the summer after I was married and moved to Schenectady. I worked at a camp for handicapped kids and at the end of the sessions I got an award "To the sweet girl with the bad mouth". Still proud of that one! I am turning 51 this Sunday, not sure what the plans are. They are seldom wild now. By the beginning of the week we are going to get some rain from Katrina. I am worried about losing trees as that has already happened in past storms. We took our soph. back to college last weekend in about 95 degree temps. It has been nice this week though. This morning I watched a mother and two fawns eat the corn we put out and play in the back yard. Richard, did you get my email question about realtors in Springfield?

Speaking of missing classmates, where is Karen? I have learned that it's the quiet ones that hide at the back of the classroom that are really the wild ones. Guess she is out there being wild somewhere. Someone's gotta do it. I still respect you (a lot), Karen.

Guess summer must be winding down and we are all back closer to the computer. Its nice hearing what everybody is up to.
Our friend finished putting the new light switches and wiring in our kitchen this morning and I touched up the paint on the sanded areas. My one big project finished just in time....before school starts. So I am excited about that. Patti, it will be nice having a spankin' new school to work at. They are suppose to "redo" Union Street, Elm Hill, and update Park Street schools in the future. Voters rejected the proposed consolidated school...so, we will see what brilliant ideas they will come up with.

F.Y.I Bo Birsky's memorial service is in Springfield on Saturday at St. Mary's.

Happy Thoughts...

Patti, glad to know your memory's coming back! My sister's even worse, though. She doesn't remember her own sister (ME!) visiting her at college in Wisconsin before we moved to Israel.

Good to see you here again, Jerry!

Yes, I know the "enabler" thing. Our kids never stop being kids. My middle son is always reminding me that they're adults now, but I keep calling them kids.

Richard, don't disappear. We miss your observations!

WOWEE!!! Hard to believe I was last in here a whole month ago today! How time does really fly. I've got today off to go to a state beach on Newfound Lake near Bristol, NH with my friend Carol who really likes that lake. Last Tuesday we went on the very nice 90-minute cruise around Squam Lake in Holderness where "On Golden Pond" was filmed. Got to see a loon with binoculars off the 3 o'clock side of the boat, and then the real treat was seeing the protected little island where bald eagles have nested. Saw three of them including the very large chick and the HUGE nest atop a pine tree. One of the adults took off in flight for us. Our driver/guide gave us some of the inside scoop on the filming of the movie and where Katherine Hepburn changed her clothes by herself instead of with others. Thanks for setting me straight on your cousin Larry, Karen. Glad Neil is back to work following surgery, Kathi. Yeah, the garden needed some more shade on South Street so those big basswood trees came down. I haven't seen it yet. Glad you had fun working the fair, Pat. Hope you're back in the right time zone, Lori. Been out on Lake Champlain, Richard? Have fun everyone. I'll try to be back sooner next time. Jerry

Funny how us parents are the ones doing most of the lifting, carrying, and paying for!!! I don't remember it being quite that good for us back in the old days! haha. Where is your son going to school? It'll seem strange around the house for a while but somehow we get by...then they come back and we start all over again. My daughter and her boyfriend were here from NYC this weekend and we had a good time together. Now we can be more friends. She is doing all this sewing and selling on ebay so she went through all my fabric, etc....of course, that meant I had to clean out the closet to get to the stuff. Wonder who was left to sort and put it all back....hummmmm...good guess..ME! But when I am done, it will be good and cleaned out! School starts for me on Thursday. As I said before I am just getting into vacation...2 more days. And my son is borrowing my car to get to West Leb to work as his car is in the shop....hopefully, not too much $$$ and days later, I'll have mine back. See, thats what we parents do. I hope that you can all get together for a good visit this fall. Happy Thoughts!

Lori I do remember the apartment quite well actually. I spent a lot of weekends there while going to Castleton and Janice held a wedding shower for me there as well. Boy that was quite a while ago wasn't it? So now, I do have a very vague memory of our last time together.

School is finally going to start for us with students on the 8th but a community opening house on the 6th so we have to be ready by then. Still not allowed in the building though until the 31st. Those who have "snuck" in say it's never going to be ready on time.

We are about to make national headlines with a court case that will begin this week, today in fact in Augusta. The case is in regard to a 7th grade science teacher vs the school administration. He feels his civil rights were trampled on by the curriculum changes made that would no longer allow him to teach as wide a field of study. That's the short version. We've been waiting for 2 years to get this over with. A year ago when it began to become more publicly known there were blogs that were talking about us ignorant backward Northern Mainers stifling the creativity of one of it's more forward thinking instructors. What bull.

The case is expected to take 4-5 days. I'll be glad when this weeks is over.

Nice to see you back Richard. I don't remember how many apartments we've helpoed our sons move into. Or back out of for that matter. Doesn't seem to get easier but that's because I'm an enabler. I like to be as involved as they will allow. sounds a little like this morning's Dr. Phil show. Hmmmmm..........

hi, i don't have much to report- just being friendly. i am also winding toward the end of summer here. i am so sorry to see it go. i helped to move my older son into his first apartment during the last week. i hope he gets better at moving, cuz i sure carried a lot of the load, bought the pizza, etc.

Can't believe summer is rolling to a close. School this week. Funny how I just start getting into the vacation mode and its time to go back...probably just trying to feel like what retirement would be like....hahah...another 15 years or so.....I'll be like those teachers we thought were so OLD. I am sure the weather will get very hot for the end of Aug and Sept...Once I am actually there and in the moment everything is fine! Its the getting there. My daughter and her boyfriend are up fro NYC this weekend. We are going material shopping, as she remodels old band t-shirts and sells them on ebay. It'll be fun. Happy Thoughts and hope all is well with all of you.