If you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, why not go to the Heifer Parade in downtown Brattleboro Vermont, this Saturday, June 2nd at 10am.
Here is a video featuring pictures of this event, taken by Yours Truly (that would be me) :-) featured on the Scenes of Vermont website. Take a look here:
http://www.scenesofvermont.com/2009Reviews/Paradeofheifers/index.html
You never know......you just may fall a little in love with Vermont and it's bovines just like me!
For more info:
http://www.strollingoftheheifers.com/
Mooooooooo!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Vermont......... It's all I need
My good friend CT called me last week to see how things were going with my Dad. During our conversation, we began talking about a trip she will be taking to visit her daughter in Hawaii and asked if we had any trips planned. I told her nope. Nothing special........"just going to Vermont. It's all I need." She told me we should make bumper stickers with that slogan. This could be the new Vermont tourism slogan. (I LOVERMONT is soooo yesterday anyways) :-)
So,if you start seeing bumper stickers saying "Vermont......It's all I need", you will know where they came from.
T-shirts may follow. :-)
Which brings me to todays photos and todays blog.
For the past 21 days straight, I have been visiting my Dad in the hospital.....some days staying for 10-12 hours a day. I needed to decompress. Mr. S knows exactly what I need.....and all it took for him to say was "Let's go to Vermont for the day", and I was there.
We drove up at 5 am this morning. Just me and Mr. S on a roadtrip to my happy place.......my favorite place on the planet. There were no sights, sounds, or smells from the hospital. There were no words exchanged between us such as pain, TPN, ileus, fistula, bowel movements, foley catheter and CT Scan. There were no sounds from IV pumps, heart monitors, blood pressure cuffs and footseps of Drs., nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and portable x-ray machines.
I see and hear these things on a daily basis while doing my job at work. But, when the patient laying in the bed is someone that you love, these sights, sounds, and smells somehow become exaggerated, and hit a nerve.
Yes, today was a day to decompress and get away from it all. As soon as we pulled up to our house in Vermont and got out of the car, two kids were driving tractors down the road. The smell of manure was wafting in the air from the farm across the street. I was in my glory! These are the sights, sounds, and smells that bring me peace. (Yes, I find comfort in the smell of manure....does that make me strange? Perhaps....but I don't care) :-)
Vermont......It's all I need.
So,if you start seeing bumper stickers saying "Vermont......It's all I need", you will know where they came from.
T-shirts may follow. :-)
Which brings me to todays photos and todays blog.
For the past 21 days straight, I have been visiting my Dad in the hospital.....some days staying for 10-12 hours a day. I needed to decompress. Mr. S knows exactly what I need.....and all it took for him to say was "Let's go to Vermont for the day", and I was there.
We drove up at 5 am this morning. Just me and Mr. S on a roadtrip to my happy place.......my favorite place on the planet. There were no sights, sounds, or smells from the hospital. There were no words exchanged between us such as pain, TPN, ileus, fistula, bowel movements, foley catheter and CT Scan. There were no sounds from IV pumps, heart monitors, blood pressure cuffs and footseps of Drs., nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and portable x-ray machines.
I see and hear these things on a daily basis while doing my job at work. But, when the patient laying in the bed is someone that you love, these sights, sounds, and smells somehow become exaggerated, and hit a nerve.
Yes, today was a day to decompress and get away from it all. As soon as we pulled up to our house in Vermont and got out of the car, two kids were driving tractors down the road. The smell of manure was wafting in the air from the farm across the street. I was in my glory! These are the sights, sounds, and smells that bring me peace. (Yes, I find comfort in the smell of manure....does that make me strange? Perhaps....but I don't care) :-)
Vermont......It's all I need.
I hope my two sisters and my mother can find a happy place to get away from it all too. It's good for the soul. My brother has arrived from Ohio, so our whole family is together. My father was transported to a hospital in Boston this past week. I will update again at some point.
By the way......hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
We are family
Hi there. Long time no me. I apologize for the absence, and I figured I would post an update as to my whereabouts. My father has been in the hospital the past week. It has been a roller coaster of a week, and at one point, we were prepared that we could lose him. He's a fighter and today was a much better day. We are still not out of the woods and have a very long way to go but for today he was stable, had a good day, and for that we are very thankful.
I learned one thing this week. Our family travels in a pack and when the chips are down, we are all stuck together like glue. There haven't been enough chairs in the hospital to accomodate the number of us who have been by my Dads bedside this week. I am so proud of all of the adult grandchildren (my own 3 included) who have been up there every single day. Today, my nephew Greg and his wife Jess actually brought Rowan in for a visit. (My dad is out of ICU and is on a telemetry floor for now) You all remember Rowan, don't you?
My dad was put in the chair and his bed had just been changed with clean sheets when Rowan arrived sound asleep in Greg's arms. Greg laid her on the clean bed.
I am sharing this image I took today because to me it is an image of love, life,and hope.
I learned one thing this week. Our family travels in a pack and when the chips are down, we are all stuck together like glue. There haven't been enough chairs in the hospital to accomodate the number of us who have been by my Dads bedside this week. I am so proud of all of the adult grandchildren (my own 3 included) who have been up there every single day. Today, my nephew Greg and his wife Jess actually brought Rowan in for a visit. (My dad is out of ICU and is on a telemetry floor for now) You all remember Rowan, don't you?
My dad was put in the chair and his bed had just been changed with clean sheets when Rowan arrived sound asleep in Greg's arms. Greg laid her on the clean bed.
I am sharing this image I took today because to me it is an image of love, life,and hope.
This is real, this is my life, and I know you all have been hearing about the folks and seeing the folks appear on this blog for the past two years.
Please keep us in your prayers.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Into the Mystic
A few more images to share from Mystic Seaport CT. Mystic Seaport is a "Museum of America and the Sea", featuring old whaling ships, and a 1700's village depicting life in an American Seaport during that time. Here are a few windows that caught my eye:
The Blacksmith Shop: the reflection in the trough of water is what initially caught my eye.
The Blacksmith Shop: the reflection in the trough of water is what initially caught my eye.
A Cherry blossom Tree in full bloom, in the backyard of one of the colonial homes:
The old vs the new. A few modern-day sailboats getting ready to head out into the water for a lesson were reflected on the window of one of the old buildings:
Another window reflection:
A view from the inside looking out:
The song "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison kept playing in my head..............
"We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic
And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when the fog horn blows I want to hear it
I don't have to fear it
And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will flow into the mystic
When that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home
And when that fog horn whistle blows I got to hear it
I don't have to fear it
And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will flow into the mystic
Come on girl..."
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic
And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when the fog horn blows I want to hear it
I don't have to fear it
And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will flow into the mystic
When that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home
And when that fog horn whistle blows I got to hear it
I don't have to fear it
And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will flow into the mystic
Come on girl..."
The Specs:
All Nikon D90, 17-55 mm lens, ISO 200
Photo one: 1/640, f2.8, -1/3 EV
Photo two: 1/2500, f2.8
Photo three: 1/2000, f2.8
Photo four: 1/800, f2.8, -1/3 EV
Photo five: 1/2000, f2.8
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