Inspiration 365 Days a Year | Inspriation 365 Day a Year Movie

Inspiration 365 Days a Year Inspriation 365 Day a Year Movie

Florida 2010

My brother, treating us to lunch.
On the beach

It was a little chilly in FL while it was warm in CT. Go figure!

Dinner at Lario's

My mother's oldest sister, Victoria, lives in Florida. She has been ill off and on for a few years now. My mother wanted to go see her sister when she was told that Victoria was near death. Since I have a very understanding boss (principal of the school where I teach), I took 3 personal days to take my mother down to see her sister. My aunt Victoria was in isolation due to MRSA infection. (When she was transferred to a nursing home they said she did not have MRSA...who to believe?) We entered her room (or should I say we stood by the door) and wore those surgical masks. It was so sad to see her in propped up in bed, with so many tubes coming in and out of her body. She was a beautiful woman in her day. I hardly recognized her. She recognized my mother and me not at all. She kept asking for water but we were told nothing by mouth.

Every day we went, she would talk a little more. The last day she was talking up a storm about her old boyfriend and education. My mother was sad to leave not knowing if she would ever see her sister alive again. But she made a miraculous recovery and is in a rehab/nursing facility.

While in Florida we stayed with a cousin, Michael. Thanks Michael for your generous hospitality! Thanks Jim for letting me drive your car!! Loved it! Please come and visit!

My brother and his wife, Jaimie, were in Miami Beach on vacation. They invited us to join them for lunch one day and dinner the next. We also walked on Ocean drive a few times. What a lively place! I told my mother that as long as we were near Miami Beach, we HAD to go to the beach at least once. So Sunday morning we went to the beach for 45 minutes before going to see my aunt.

My aunt is now stable and perhaps my mother will get to see her again in the near future.

Last weekend (Feb 27) I went to a workshop for school in NYC.

It was the third in a series of three (of which I went to the last two).

NYC received a lot of snow and we were worried that it would be

either cancelled or unsafe driving conditions; neither occurred.
So off we went-five of us from school. The workshop was interesting…just have to figure out how to implement the ideas. These pictures were taken by my friend Tammy.

Thanks Tammy for sharing!

Here we are making a project from boxes and caution tape.

The title was a person under construction. We also made a newspaper perseon. He was so danred cute I wanted to take the whole thing back to school, but there was no room in the car.


We went outside the college to recreate a picture that we were given during class.

Deridre, Tammy, me and Peg at the info center on 42nd Street

Pumpkins

Last Friday was Kindergarten and First grade's turn to serve up breakfast at school. There were lots of goodies. Matthew had some salt dough leftover from culinary school. He made a pumpkin patch to decorate the table in the teachers’ lounge. Unfortunately, someone took two of the pumpkins thinking they were marzipan. I hope they didn't break a tooth!

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On Labor Day weekend Dave and I, along with my brother Roman and his wife Jaimie, went to our house in Vermont that we call "the lodge". While there we went to the Vermont State Fair in Rutland. After the fair we spotted a barn sale full of antiques. Roman bought an old copper fire extinguisher (he and his wife are volunteer firefighters).

The A frame can be seen (almost) through the trees.
This cow is having the hair blown dry. Did you know that they trim the hair along the backbone, leaving the top most hair longer and then it is blown dry to give it a mohawk look? Who knew?

This was a working dairy farm in the not too distant past and is now an Antique Barn.

This is the view from outside the barn. Beautiful!

This barn dragonfly was gigantic!

This is one l-o-n-g barn! Can you imagine all the cows in here?

Looking at the antique fire extinguisher.

On the way home from the fair we saw this giant chair.

It reminded us of the Adirondack like chairs my father makes.

Would you like to buy one? Only $50! In any color as long as it is white!!

The following is a montage of activites in the Month of July.

In July we had 100 family and friends join us for our annual Pig Roast.

Dave checking "el lechon".
Jack and Audrey sitting at a picnic table given to Justin and Jessica for their 4th birthday!
Thanks Sabrina and Mark!

Ito holding Ethan.

Beer pong! UGH!!

I can see Jack and Ethan a few years from now cooking up mischief....

Cynthia Danae (aka Cindy) was blessed at Church. The McDermotts came from Idaho to meet Cindy and see Jack....oh, to see Justin and Ashley, too.

I love hearing turkeys gobble!

Finally! Enough blueberries to make a pie. Yum!

We picked 12 pints and I made a blueberry pie. Tomorrow...muffins!

In the beginning of July we decided to go to a cemetery in Simsbury. Another blogger mentioned it in her blog and thought we would follow in her footsteps. We used to stop at cemeteries when the kids were younger and we are continuing the tradition.

Jack had finished his ice cream and wanted more. So he marched up to the window and said "More please!"

4th of July in Vermont

Dave, Rebecca and I headed up to our place in Rochester,VT nestled in a small valley on July 3rd. We are 45 minutes north of White River Junction and just over the gap from Brandon. We have an A frame house (co-owned by my brother-in-law and husband). We love going up there through three seasons, spring, summer, fall and not so much in the winter when everyone goes to ski. We are not skiers, hence no need to travel the snow laden roads. We have started going up once during the winter at my insistence. But I digress. This is about our day in Burlington.

Burlington, VT was celebrating its 400th year. In the park we listened to 'crunchy' music. (I don't think they know the 70's are over.)

We entered the Mall and took a little break on the bench. A kind passerby offered to take our picture so that we would all be included.

We loved walking up and down this 'closed' street. There were people singing and playing instruments. One was a little girl of about 5 playing the violin. She squeaked out Hot Cross Buns very well. Kudos to her for performing in front of an audience!

Dave saw this atop a hotel. It reminded me of one of my favorite movies "The Wizard of Oz".

"I've got you now, my pretty!"

After walking up and down and all around we choose a restaurant with tables outside. It reminded Rebecca and me of Italy! Mangiare!

Down the hill from the park and the 'closed' street was an area where many activities where taking place. We just walked around and enjoyed the scenery.

Here is a nod to our friend Flavio who loves Al's French Frys.

A picnic at Elizabeth Park in West Hartford

It was such a nice day, beautiful in fact, that we decided to go to Elizabeth Park in West Hartford. Such a change from the rain we have had off and on for the past week! My parents, the McDermotts (Ashley, Justin and Jack), the Fishers (Jessica, Ryan and Ethan), Rebecca as well as myself went for a picnic.

My camera doesn’t work so I ‘borrowed’ pictures from Jessica and Ryan.

We didn't find the picnic tables so we had to improvise with benches.The picnic benches were on the opposite side of the park. We'll have to remember that for future reference.

My mother loves to walk around and look at the roses.

Here is my father looking for my mother.

I loved the colors in this flower!

Jack just wouldn't accept that this door was locked!

One of the flower gardens at the park.

My parents in a moment of not arguing!!

A picture of me taking a picture.

Jessica, Ryan and Ethan under some beautiful purple flowers.

Walking to the cars with my parents.

An end to a beautiful day.

This is what someone of us did when we got home. Lucky Ethan!!