So -- 2014 was an order of magnitude better than 2013. It was a Leap of Faith year. A year ago at this time, I was waiting to see if the leap would be possible. I wondered what I would do if I got an offer; I wondered what I would do if I didn't. The offer came. I took it. No wait -- I didn't take it; I grabbed it and held on tight.... Read more →
The day before yesterday we finally visited Valley Forge National Historical Park. I say "finally" because we live all of about five minutes from it. In case you're rusty on your US history, Valley Forge was where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778. It's a beautiful piece of land, situated high on a hill where the army could spot any surprise attacks from the British forces. The Visitor Center is great, with lots... Read more →
Oh, hello! So... Christmas happened, and it was lovely. Originally, we were going to go to my younger sister's house for the traditional family Christmas Eve dinner, but we didn't. It was pouring rain when Joe got home from work. Traffic was a mess. It would have been a white-knuckle flight for two and a half hours and we would have arrived exhausted and frazzled. I was sad about missing it, but not sad about... Read more →
A little while ago I posted this on Facebook: Joe has gone to work and I have turned on every damn light in the house. The two are only slightly related. Joe, you see, prefers area lighting. A lamp here, a lamp there... maybe turn the track lighting to low. Keep the light over the stove on low. I, on the other hand, crave light. Turn on those bright overhead lights! Put hundred-watt bulbs in... Read more →
In addition to Make Way for Ducklings, my Realtor® surprised me with an old copy of Ivanhoe. This particular edition was given to my Mom on her birthday in 1938 by her friend Bill (who I think was female, but I'm not at all sure). Mom subsequently lent it to my Realtor's Mom, and now it has come back to me. On one of the blank pages in the back of the book was this... Read more →
Today's prompt: What has happened during the past year that has felt like a new beginning for you? Hah! The whole year has been a new beginning, which started when I got a LinkedIn email from a woman I worked with at the software company telling me about a possible opportunity. (Aw, fuck it - the "software company" is Manugistics. The company doesn't exist anymore.) I had my first interview on December 11. I got... Read more →
We had a lovely day today! The lovely and talented Michael and Maria, our friends and guides to the area, invited us to go and tour St. Mary's Villa in Ambler. Yes, another castle!! St. Mary's Villa Before the castle became St. Mary's Villa, it was the home of Dr. Richard Mattison, an asbestos baron who pretty much built Ambler into a company town. The castle -- known as Lindenwold -- was a big Victorian... Read more →
Today's Holidailies prompt asks about miracles: To commemorate the first day of Hanukkah, let's talk about miracles. What do you think constitutes a miracle? Have you ever experienced one? When Joe was a volunteer docent at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, he worked primarily in the Sant Ocean Hall. The Ocean Hall is right next to the Hall of Human Origins, so a lot of folks go from one to the other. Occasionally Joe... Read more →
In honor of National Chocolate Covered Anything Day (which totally sounds made up to me, but also totally sounds like a delightful thing to celebrate), Holidailies asks us to talk about the best (and worst!) chocolate covered things we've ever eaten. The worst is actually a tie. When I was a kid, my Pop brought home a box of chocolate-covered grasshoppers from a business trip. I don't remember where he got them. I took a... Read more →
I was just kinda sitting here wondering what to write, almost giving up, staring at my screen, when I mosied on over to Facebook and saw that one of my friends was playing Bingo! And just like that -- you could probably even say "Bingo!" -- I knew that I would run off at the mouth write about that wonderful game. As a kid at Catlick school, I was subjected to played Bingo twice a... Read more →