I knew I was forgetting something in my last blog. I don't know how I could foget to mention the small fire I had on Oct 9th. I have a heavy duty extension cord in the outlet behind my livingroom couch. I plug my vacuum into it b/c I can conveniently reach all areas from that outlet. I called my son on the phone & told him to call me back on my cell phone b/c I was on my way to see him. Before I left the house, I decided to vacuum. I have a very fluffy cat! I finished vacuuming & was heading for the door when the phone rang. It was my son calling me back. Within 1 min of his call, I heard snap, crackle & then immediate flames underneath my couch! I yelled, "The couch is on fire!", threw down the phone, unplugged the vacuum, ran to the kitchen, got 2 glasses of water, opened up the recliner & threw the water directly onto the flames! Nothing happened! The flames were still there melting the fabric & rug underneath. I pulled the couch forward b/c I was going to try to flip it onto it's back so that I could get directly to the flames. This is a huge recliner couch with an all metal frame & a monster to move! The room was filling with smoke & I could taste the chemicals in the back of my throat. I used my adrenaline strength to pull the couch forward. Doing so somehow, miraculously, smothered the flames & put the fire out. I still turned the couch on it's back & soaked the entire underneath & arm of the chair with water so it wouldn't reignite. The whole thing took maybe 2 minutes but they were some of the longest minutes of my life! If I wasn't able to get those flames out & soon, the whole house would have gone up. If my son hadn't called me back when he did, I would have been out the door, the couch would have gone up & then the entrie house with my poor cat inside. My son stayed on the line & was ready to call the fire dept or ambulance if I keeled over with a heart attack! He calmed me down when it was all over. I told him I was going to stay home so that I could make sure the couch didn't reignite & told him to call me in the morning. Which he did to make sure I didn't die in a fire while I slept! That's the closet I've ever come to burning my house down. I don't recommend it! But all is well, even the couch survived with damage only to the underneath. I was very lucky. Love to all out there!
Hi Everyone! I've had a pretty busy summer. I visited with my 3 sisters in both July & August. In July, sis #2 had her annual "Girls Party". It was on 7/11 & it was chilly, overcast & VERY windy!! Despite the weather we all had a fabulous time. There were 12 of us. We had a grab bag gift giving party just for the fun of it. I recorded it all & the DVD has made the rounds for everyone to see & I have made lots of copies upon request. Everyone & their families enjoyed watching our antics! 12 partying women can make alot of noise!
I missed Albany's Alive @ Five Irish Concert this summer since I was away. I did manage to find out about the Irish 2000 Festival just days before it began. It moved from the fairgrounds close to my home to fairgrounds that were 64 miles away. I decided to go anyway & made a reservation at a nearby motel. I hated the new location. There was a long line up a steep hill, I drive a 5 speed Jaguar, and then NO parking once you arrived at the top! The nearest parking space was 1.5 miles away from the Main Gate! I ended up parking in an old man's driveway for $5 and I had to leave my keys with him too! That made me apprehensive, it is a Jag, afterall, but he wasn't going to steal it from his own front yard! So that worked out. Once inside the gates, I had a wonderful time listening to the music & watching the dancing. I loved one of the songs, named after 1 of my sisters, so I bought the CD. I said I must be getting old when I start buying Irish Folk music! Then I went back to my little motel room. Right next door were 2 20's guys drinking beer on the porch. By 10pm, they were finally quiet. I thought great as long as they don't reappear in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, they did. At 3:13am to be exact. Along with a bunch of their drunken buddies too! Apparently, it was a bachelor party celebration. They were loud & obnoxious for 45 mins. After they left at 4am, other people were coming & going, a taxi right in front of my door, up & down the stairs on the other side of my room & then walking around over me. I got 3 hrs sleep & RAN out of there at 7am. I could get home & take a nice long nap before my football game started. It was a disaster! I'm so used to my isolated lifestyle I couldn't take all the commotion!
My next adventure was to go to the Parade of Homes in Sept. There were 15 newly built houses throughout the region that are professionally decorated too. Each house is built by a different builder & ranged in price from $130K to $1.3 million. I only got to 6 houses the 1st day. My GPS wasn't very helpful since most houses were in brand new communities & therefore not on any mapping system yet. I stayed in a hotel overnight this time & had a much better night. There was a little yippy dog at the end of the hall but I didn't hear it late at night. The next day I finished touring the remaining 9 homes. I enjoy doing that very much! That is one of my hobbies!
I'm planning another trip to South Jersey in a few weeks. My 89 yr old Uncle had a massive heart attack on Oct 1st & his sister is flying out from Colorado to see him. She'd like to see my sisters & I too while she is visiting the East Coast. My Uncle is the nicest man ever to live on the planet, really!, so I'd like to see him before he passes. Our closest cousins are his 2 daughters that we just love too & would enjoy spending time with. I haven't seen my Aunt or cousin from CO since 1999 either. So my sisters & I are trying to coordinate plans that work for all of us.
My daughter went back to college on Aug. 30th. She will be coming home this Friday for the weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing her again. She is no longer staying in the dorms & instead is living in a rented 4 bdrm/2ba condo with 2 friends she made last year. Her boy friends are directly across the hall. It is a brand new bldg so they are the 1st to occupy it. All nice, new & clean. The condo has a media room, computer room & general store. She only needs to leave to go to classes. Since they are in an apt & not a dorm, they have adopted an orange female kitten named Fiona! I've had cats for nearly 30 yrs but they were all abandoned cats that just showed up at my door & refused to leave until I gave in & took them in. So I've never had the pleasure of a tiny kitten. I'm looking forward to having the little kitten here too. I hope my cat will survive the invasion of her space!
My son is back in college too. This is his senior year which I'm thrilled about until he tells me that he is going to do another semester next year to complete his internship-ugh! He's also been given a leave of absence from his job at Wal-Mart so he can concentrate on his grades. He's also thinking about moving to Albany & rooming with his closet friends but he'd still have to commute to college all winter long. He lives right across the road from the college now & just 1 mile from work so I don't have to worry about him driving. I'd like him to stay where he is b/c I stop by his apt every week & I know I'd see him less if he moved further away. He's 21 yrs old now so he's going to do what he wants. He still listens to the advice I give him but ultimately he makes his own decisions. He broke up with his girlfriend of 16 months in June. He now has a new girlfriend. She lives in Albany so that is coloring his decision too. I haven't met her yet since she isn't local & spending time at his apt. All of his girlfriends have eerily looked alike! He definitely has a "type"! I expect that I'll like her too!
What about my husband you ask?! He's a workaholic. He is a plant engineer. When he's home he likes to build & invent things. He is always tinkering with some new project. He is a genius & naturally born electrican. He's the smartest person I've ever met. He sometimes gets frustrated with the people from work b/c everything he does comes so easily to him he can't understand why others don't understand it too. I have to remind him that they aren't dumb, he's just too smart! His intelligence & work ethic has provided a very nice life for us. We don't argue much. How can you win an argument with someone who literally does know everything?! Besides, we agree on just about everything. Politics, religion, how we raised the kids etc. We've been married for 29 years & happily so we must be doing something right! So that's my update. I'm probably forgetting something important but I'll end as always: Love to all out there!
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