Sixteen

It's cold out there today, brrr!!

16 degrees at 7:00AM and it hasn't warmed up too much since.

As I understand it, tonight is predicted to be in the single digits!  Too cold to venture out that's for sure.  We'll be ringing in the new year with the neighbors, some friends, some food and a movie.

Have fun and be safe if you're heading out! Don't drink and drive!

Happy New Years Eve all!

The Santa History of Em

Started back in 2008 and has continued through this past 2013 Christmas, pictures with Santa!

All taken at the same place, and four I think, with the same old Santa.

Thanks for the picture with Santa memories Bass Pro Shop!

Another First For Me!

 

Had my first black & tan yesterday afternoon, actually, had two!

Officially called "Outlaw Oatmeal Stout" and described as follows - "Deep rich and creamy with roasted coffee and chocolate overtones.  A great dessert ale.".

Not too bad - tasty!

XMas Score!

Well, the fat man hooked me up good with a couple bags of OH-SO delicious salt & pepper pistachio nuts, YUMMY!

Also, seeing as how I'm such a homer athletic supporter I scored some awesome home town team swag!

Go Bruins & Go Pats!

A Trixie Christmas 2013

Trixie dog enjoyed her Christmas!

Santa brought her a new Rudolph chew toy that she loves!!

She was coo coo for all the presents, wrappings and stuff strewn about.  However, here she is sitting nicely behaving.

Look, Up In The Sky...

Hey, what's that?!

Up there in that hickory tree!

Get closer!

No, closer -

Ah, I see now.  A lovely Red Squirrel

Merry Christmas 2013

From our house to yours, we wish family and friends a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree 2013

Our Christmas tree is up (has been for several weeks now) and looks terrific!

The Elf On The Shelf appeared shortly thereafter and has been bee-bopping throughout the house from place to place.  Amazing how he knows when the trees up.

Gifts have even started to appear under the tree.

Years Gone By

Sitting here this morning drinking my coffee and doing a crossword puzzle, and for some strange reason a memory of the past; my childhood, popped into my head.

I was reminded of a nursery rhyme that my grandmother from West Virginia would tell us.  Of course, that got me thinking and reminiscing of those times gone by and just how much I miss them...

It went like this:

Eye Winker

Tommy Tinker

Nose Dropper

Mouth Eater

Chin Chopper

Gobble Gobble Gobble

(here she would tickle under our chin)

Fall 2013 Honor Roll!

Honor Roll!

Emilie made the honor roll!

Her first report card as a middleschool-er and, WOW, look how well she did!

We're VERY proud of her!

Keep it up Emilie!

Fun With Commute!

So, can anyone shed any light on why this person (a woman in this example) needed to pull onto the highway this morning, with what appeared to be a car that was still warming up (fogged up windows and an exhaust that was puffing cold smoke), while on her cell phone and immediately get into the high speed lane (using NO directionals (blinkers if you're from Boston)) and then proceed to drive at or near the posted speed limit?!  Especially, when there was no one in front of her in the far right lane for a couple hundred yards?

Dipstick!

Pre Storm Auto Maintenance

Battened down the hatches out in the yard in anticipation of the snow storm heading our way.  I also ran a few errands, like gasing up the Toyota, filling the gas can for the snow-blower and, if needed, generator, the package store of course and the automotive store.

Picked up an under the hood air filter and a cabin (inside) air filter.  As you can see from the above photos they were both in dire need of replacing.

Believe it or not the dealership (that word along makes this believable) wanted $87.70 to replace both these filters.  I did it myself for $28.98!  Quite a savings wouldn't you say?!

Breaker One Nine, Over

While sitting in Thursday mid-morning stop and go traffic amongst the endless number of 18-wheeler trucks I snapped the above picture.  It doesn't capture what I was wanting to show, perhaps because I was caught off guard.  The driver of this big rig was a woman!  I also have to say she didn't appear to be the stereo-typically woman one might think of (at least what I think of) when thinking about woman truck drivers.  She looked attractive.

Nothing wrong with this, just saying.

Someone Should Be Fired For This!

Following a 9AM appointment Friday morning, and thinking my commute would be a breeze after all it was 10:30, I jumped on Rt. 495 North.  However, at the half way mark, ~30 miles in, at Rt. 117 traffic was at a complete standstill!  Dead stop!

After 2 hours of sitting in stop and go traffic I finally made it to the office.

Come to learn, the brilliant powers that be thought it would be a good time (keep in mind a snow storm is on the way.  Not to mention that it was ~20 degrees out at that time) to close the two left lane, UGH!  Why you ask?  Well, they were repainting some of the Rt. 495 lines...  If you can believe that!

Living The Life of Trixie!

Lap dog!

Double Reds!

Here I am hooked up to the double-red machine -

Raffle winner board. Check out #3 - 

It's become an annual event for JoAnne, Emilie and I to attend the American Red Cross blood drive hosted at Gillette Stadium. The home of the New England Patriots.

The event is sponsored by Bob's Discount Furniture store. They do a tremendous job too.  They hold hourly raffles for furniture and signed Patriot memorabilia, have special appearances from past Pats players, host the local towns high school cheer leading team AND have always had several Patriot cheerleaders on hand!

And this year was no different!  Joe Andruzzi and Chandler Jones were on hand for pictures and autographs.  Pats cheerleader Rachael was there too signing autographs and mingling with everyone!  The highlight of the morning was when Cathy from Bob's Discount Furniture grabbed her mic and began calling out the names for the first hourly raffle...low and behold she called out "JoAnne Frye"!!!  YUP, JoAnne won a $325.00 gift certificate to Bob's Discount Furniture store, yippee!!

Alright alright, so JoAnne winning the gift certificate was tied with getting Rachael's autograph, hehehe.

Gobble Gobble Gobble!

Here's the lone wild turkey hen once again.  She's made her way into our garden and is gobbling (no pun intended) up the winter rye grass I planted.

She's welcome to stay and hang around as long as she wants.  However, I'm afraid her days are numbered the way she hangs out near and crosses the street.  From what I've seen so far most drivers stop and let her pass but there's someone out there that simply won't be paying attention (texting I'm sure) or will be looking to run her down.

Marine Toys for Tots

A local morning radio program, WAAF, held it's annual Toys for Tots toy drive last Friday morning at Boch Toyota in Norwood.  This is the same radio station that I typically listen to on my 62 mile commute to the office.

Ironically, I had previously scheduled an appointment at this same dealership and on the same day as the toy drive, to have two recalls taken care of on my Corolla.

So, I stopped at Walmart on my way over and purchased several toy for the drive.  Dropped my vehicle off and was able to sit front and center and enjoy the show in person.

The top picture shows the morning show crew, which includes LB (Lyndon Byers, an ex-Boston Bruins #34, who spent the early eighties with the team and who was also their enforcer).  Also, sitting all the way to the right is Mr. Ernie Boch Jr. of  Boch automotive.

It was a good take for a good cause and helped kill the 2+ hour wait time for my vehicle repairs.  There was also free food and swag and look at the number of toys donated, all going to a worth cause!

New Tradition Perhaps?!

I joined my neighbor and a couple friends at the Pot Belly Pub in Mellville Thanksgiving morning.  They were having a special of 16oz shrimp Bloody Mary's along with "pic and shit" (hors d'oeuvres).

My neighbor and friends are Harley riders and this pub is a biker-type bar and one of the places they stop in at when out riding.  So, not only did I experience my first "biker" bar, but also my first (couple) of Bloody Mary's.

Cheers!!

Spider Bird

Nope that's not Spiderbird clinging to the side of that Box Elder tree, nope.  Rather that's a White Breasted Nuthatch.

They're about the same size as the Chickadee but they sport a cool looking blue-grey topside.  They love the suet we put out and can often be seen filling their bellies upside down.

Flat & I'm NOT Talking About Women's Shoes...

If you're in the area and happen to have a can of Fix-A-Flat, please stop by and lend a hand.  Our Halloween pumpkin has sprung a leak and deflated...

A Passerine Bird - The Blue Jay

Ever since the bird feeders went up last week we've had oodles and oodles of birdies visiting and dinning.

My outdoor thermometer read 18 degrees yesterday, however, that didn't seem to bother the birds.  Here is a handsome Blue Jay grabbing a nibble.

They're a skittish bird and easily spooked.  They seems to swoop in, grab some food and then they're off, up in the trees at a safe distance.

They offer a beautiful blue color to the otherwise drab colors of Winter.

I Survived Thanksgiving!

This Wild Turkey hen has hanging around the neighbor the last several days.  She's by herself, with no other turkeys in sight.  She'll call out every now and they but there's no replies, alas.

I'm guessing she's feeling pretty good now that Thanksgiving has passed. Perhaps, a sense of security, however, her days could be numbered as she crosses the street quite often,  They're not the brightest bulbs on the tree these turkeys and this one is no exception.  I'm afraid it's just a matter of time before someone hits her, especially with the knucklehead speeders on out street.

My neighbor called on Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving, to let me know that he and his wife took care of our Thanksgiving turkey this year.  He said all we need to do now is catch it...

BRRRR!

 

Yup, it was that cold when I got in my car Thursday morning!!

Grampy Wall Update

 

I added a couple additional Charles B. Frye Sr. pictures to his wall.

 

Sure wish I had my grandfather's drawing talent.

 

My favorites are his doodles and free hand drawings.

Super Cold!

Gulp, gulp, gulp...AH!

Vent Me!

 

Picked up a couple flex pipe exhaust vent pipes and installed them on the two bathroom ceiling fans/lights my brother helped me install a couple months ago.  By getting these in place, I'm able to direct the exhaust up and cover the entire unit with insulation.

 

It's a win win!

Mr. Hinkley

 

Here's Hinkley. Affectionately, referred to as "Hink". 

 

He passed his Canine Good Citizenship test and a barrel fun of energy.

Hear ye, hear ye!

 

Well, it's final begun, our new chickens have begun laying!!  We got our first two eggs from them yesterday!

 

Just over their six month birthday. A little longer than I expected, however, I'm sure the colder weather and shorter days had an effect.  Either way, they're finally earning their keep and we're getting fresh eggs, yummy!!

Silly Earth's Rotation

 

The sunsets off our back deck this early November have been nothing short of spectacular to say the least!

Larry, Daryl and Daryl Construction, Perhaps...

 

So, the town is in the process of replacing the water pipes on our street. What a mess too!  There's pipes, signs, equipment and machinery littering the street, not to mention the new potholes and half assed blacktop patching and paving they've done!

 

Anyway, they've made their way to the stretch of roadway in front of our house, where they've been working for a couple weeks. I'm guessing here but earlier this month they were replacing the water connectors that run to each house.  The pictures above show them tackling the next door neighbors line.  Much to my ire and VERY frustratingly the knuckle-heads thought it OK to back them equipment down onto my lawn and WELL past the property line, like 25' past, UGH!!

 

You can see in the second picture that they've patched their work BUT not all of the damage.  The red lines show just how far down the lawn they went.  They left two deep ruts in the lawn but chose NOT to repair, why?!?!  Good old fashion American laziness is my guess!  So, I called the town hall to log a formal complaint.  I was assured that all damage will be addressed and repaired when the bulk of the work has been completed - new loam, leveling, seeding, etc.

 

We'll see! I will believe it when I see it!

A Foul Visit...

 

The wild turkey's paid us a visit the other morning.

 

They we're awful curious about the chickens - the other big birds.  Several of them had the courage to take an up close look and personal look.

 

This is the first time I've seen the wild turkeys show any interest in the chickens.

 

I hope they continue to visit and stay longer. They're enjoyable to watch.  Perhaps, once I get the bird feeders filled and hung they'll stick around longer to forage on the morsels and mess the birds make.  

Life Is Good!

 

What a beautiful morning today!

 

Pour myself a second cup of coffee, pulled out the lawn chair and sat in the driveway watching time pass by.

 

Go BRUINS!!

Taste of the Region!

 

JoAnne, Emilie and I attended a local food festival called "Taste of The Region" this past Tuesday evening.  The event was held at the Tri-County Regional Vocational High School.  We've been going to this event the past several years and always have fun and leave stuffed - this year was no different.

 

There were local area restaurants with a variety of delicacies offered for sampling. New this year was the British Beer Company and their 20oz Pumpkin Beer, A YUMMY!!  I didn't even this fly floating around in my beverage it was SO good!

SHU Senior Day

SHU Senior Day @ Campus Field

4:00PM Friday, November 1, 2013

 

Sacred Heart University vs Siena

 

This years team has only (3) seniors: #6 Jen, #15 Stephanie and #32 Melinda.

 

Emilie and I took off from Franklin at noontime and headed to Fairfield, CT.  We arrived early and walked around the SHU campus; it was a beautiful day.  Although, SHU lost 2 - 0 it was a memorable game being that it was senior day.  Emilie and I got to walk Stephanie out on the field in front of everyone before the game. A very special moment indeed.  We spent some time with Stephanie after the game then headed home.  It was a long day, with a lot of driving but SO worth it getting to spend time with two of the loves of my life!!

 

Stephanie's a senior this year; graduating in the Spring.  NO idea where the four years have gone?!?!

 

http://www.sacredheartpioneers.com/sports/w-fieldh/2013-14/releases/20131101385tp4

Happy Halloween 2013

 

Snapped this picture of rather unusual SUV.  What made is unusual you ask?!  Well, some might guess the skeleton tied to the front brush guard and I admit that's not something you see every day.  On a day like Halloween this would be considered expected.  However, I took this picture back in September...you see what I mean?

 

Happy Halloween All!  Be safe!

Title Town!

 

2013 World Series Champions!