Fall Clean Up Has Begun!

Here's a surprise (not), I spent several hours out in the yard yesterday.

It was a beautiful afternoon and perfect weather to start on the ole fall cleanup. The town of Franklin does a yard waste pickup each fall, with mine scheduled for Monday, November 3. I've always taken advantage of this and plan to do so again this year.

So, I started cutting back some of the plants that were killed by a frost we recently had and did some raking with everything being stuffed into big brown paper leaf bags and placed curbside.

There are endless leaves on the ground but still oodles on the trees, so there's still a lot of work coming. I'll chip away at it each day with the goal of filling as many leaf bags as possible by the 3rd.

The other chore I crossed of the fall clean up list was tending to my bird baths -

With water still in them, I added some bleach and let them soak for a while.  I returned with a brush and scrubbed each clean removing the algae, grime, dirt and bird poop that collected over the summer months, see above.

The tops then come off and get stored under cover for the winter.  I've never chanced leaving them out for fear of the water freezing and cracking the tops.  This year, I also plan to scrub the stands and bring them inside also.

There's always something that needs tending to, it's never ending.

"Be The Ball Danny"

When It Rains, It Pours

So this happened about a couple months ago, UGH!

See the crack circled in red below?!  Well that is my right front tooth and that is a crack, under the gum line, where I snapped the tooth, ALAS -

Frustratingly, it happen smack dab in the middle of BLT eating season and when local farm fresh corn on the cob was becoming available. Unable to bite into anything for fear of snapping the tooth completely off, I had to refrain from the above delicious items and SO much more too, SNIFF!

This is the culprit!  A word to the wise, PLEASE do NOT chew on these flossers -

Frick'n Murphy!  

Sadly, there is NO fixing this break and saving the tooth.

Rather the fix is a long one and a VERY expensive one!  It requires an oral surgeon to remove the tooth, and do some bone grafting. Wait 4-months. Return to oral surgeon and if all looks good and on track, a post will be installed. Wait another 2-months. Return to oral surgeon one more time and if all looks good, I then need to go to my regular dentist, who'll take an image of the area to have a fake tooth made, that will then be mounted to the post.

Here is the mouth piece, with a temporary tooth, that was made specifically for me.  This is only for aesthetics and needs to be removed when eating - 

Well, yesterday was the DAY!

As reluctant and nervous as I was, AND with a blood pressure reading of 164\94 (sitting in the surgeon's chair), I had the damaged tooth pulled, OUCH -

All stitched up and with a now unsightly, sore hole in my smile I was sent on my way.  Took about 1/2 hour from the time I pulled into the parking lot, to the time I pulled out AND will a much lighter wallet!

The bleeding finally stopped late last night, after sucking on gauze all day. Good thing I ate breakfast before I had the procedure, as I wasn't able to eat anything afterwards.

Feeling fine this morning but need to be very careful for the next week or so.  I'm relegated to soft foods, e.g. scrambled eggs, mac & cheese, soups and broths, etc.

And NO, having a front tooth removed is NOT a prerequisite to moving to Tennessee, HEHEHE!

Let the games begin... 

We Scored!

I found and shagged the following items from the weeds, thorns and overgrowth that runs along the ball field, at the school that is about a mile down the street from me:

(1) kick ball, (3) soccer balls, (2) footballs, (1) nurf ball, (2) frisbees and a wiffleball bat -

Trixie and I were killing time this past weekend while there was an "open house" being held at my place. So, we took a little drive then stopped at the school to get out, stretch do some walking and enjoy the beautiful afternoon -

We walked the ball field, which was built against the tree line and drops off pretty quickly, so a fence was installed.  All the above items were over the fence and stuck in the overgrowth.  Seems the town finally and somewhat recently cut back, although half-assedly done if I'm being honest, some of the overgrowth along the fence.  This exposed the above items and made them more accessible and easier to snatch.  There were other balls in there too, but still to difficult to get at and I wasn't willing to get torn up trying to shag them all.

You can see the shoddy workmanship that the town of Franklin's Highway and Grounds Division does, and what apparently what the town's management and administration find acceptable and are okay with -

The following pics show further proof of the dangers of doing half-assed work!

You can see small trees along the fence line that are on the inside of the ball field. These saplings were trimmed in such a manner that some of the limbs have been turned  into dangerous spears!  This is a ball field where town sports and intramurals are played, typically elementary aged kids.  Imagine what could happen God forbid if some kid ran into one of those spikes?!

Although, well deserved, I digress back into my town of Franklin bashing.

There is an after school program at this school called Solutions, that watches kids till parents get out of work. I plan to swing in there one of these afternoons to see if they're interested in the balls and stuff I snagged.  Some of these items could very well be there's anyway.

A Ride Back In Time

One of the best spots in Tennessee!

This location and this view has always been VERY special to me!

Last week I once again got to sit in that swing (from where I took the above picture from) and sway, and just like Marty McFly in Back To The Future it was like I was thrown back in time, and SO many wonderful memories came rushing in taking me back to when I was a wee pre-teen youte to the present, as a now (almost) senior (citizen).

Even though so much has changed over the years, the memories created in that swing, on that back porch and in that yard remain with me and I hold them close.

I cherish and am thankful for each and every one, even the difficult ones!

#Blessed

Oh, We're Coming!

Welcome to Frye country!

Over 15 acres of rolling privacy! Our blank canvas!

The first picture below is a panoramic pic and shows the approximate location of where we intend to build our house, using 4 driveway makers that we hammered in to show each corner of the house.

It's not the highest point on our property, so we're conceding a bit of the mountain view off in the distance, but it's the flattest area that still offers a nice view off in the distance.  This location is also closer to the entrance of our property, which should save us some money when it comes to having to having town water and electric trenched in -

This next pic will be our view looking out the front of our house!

We plan to cut, prune and thin some of the trees along the fence\property line, in an effort to open up our view to the mountains some.

Also, my finger, hopefully, won't be blocking our view in the future, rookie move sheesh -

This pic is our property to the right of our house, if looking out from the front porch -

This pic is our property to the left of our house, if looking out from the front porch -

Here is our ~1 acre pond, considerable lower than normal due to lack of rain, which is located to our left and rear of the house, again if lookin out the front porch and what will greet us as we open the gate to pull into our driveway -

Our treks around the property was somewhat difficult, as the land had yet to be bush-hogged and or hayed by the renter.  As a result my brother and I were covered in sticky briar type stuff on our sneakers, britches and sweatshirts.  However, it was bit cathartic to remove each piece one by one, which is what my brother is consumed with in a couple of the pics above.

It was great to be walking our land once again and exciting as we plan and map out our future Homestead!

Road Hog

Returning home from my walk the other afternoon I noticed the below grey car stopped in the middle of the street.  No hazard lights on, no blinkahs on and nothing in front of it blocking it's way. It was just stopped and idling.

I stood at the end of my driveway for several minutes just watching this, staring in confusion. At first I thought maybe they need assistance but the more I watched the more it seemed the person was looking down at their phone.

Okay, so perhaps the person is lost or needed to respond to an urgent text, but why would you just stop in the middle of the street like that?! It's dangerous! It's selfish! It's inconsiderate! It's wrong!  

Have the decency, curtesy and respect to do the right thing! If there was an immediate reason and need to stop there, at least pull as close to the curb as you can and put on your hazard lights so everyone is forewarned.  Better yet, drive another 100 yards up the street and you can pull into the side street and out of harms way.

As you can see below, this stunt was causing confusion for other cars coming up behind it - 

And this is another reason why we can't have nice things!

These days most people are selfish and only think about themselves, which is exactly what I was witnessing with the above actions, hence all this entitlement you see all the time now.

I'm awarding this person the following - 

Shame on this POS. Do better!

NOT The True Definition Of "Heave" Ho!

I was awakened this morning, around 5AMish, to the sounds of Ms. Trixie heaving!

So, I bolted out of bed in the hopes of somehow controlling or containing what was about to come but alas I was too late.

Mind you, Ms. Trixie sleeps on my bed, on her own blanket.  Even in my stupor I was thinking if she vomits on her blanket it'll be fine but nooooooooo!

As Murphy's Law goes, she missed her blanket entirely and instead puked on my heated comforter, down the side of the bed, onto the white bed skirt, which then piled onto the carpet, OMG!

It all happened so fast, in an instant really.

Of course at this point and still half asleep, I am NOT happy, NOT AT ALL, so I quickly rush Ms. Trixie downstairs and put her outside, where she remained.

Okay, she had an upset stomach, I get it but why down the side of my bed?!  Why this morning of all mornings?! And here's the kicker, I have an open house this morning at 11:30AM, so instead of a relaxing Sunday morning with my coffee, I'm cleaning up dog vomit, stripping my bed, flipping mattresses and needing to do multiple loads of laundry, all in the hopes of getting everything washed, dried and the bed put back together and made before I need to be outta here for the open house.  On top of that, can you put an electric blanket in the washing machine, then in the dryer?  Chances are, because Mr. Murphy is a dick, the answer is no, no you can't, not without ruining it, UGH!

Trying to stay positive and on the bright side of all this.  It was time to flip my mattress anyway, which entails stripping all the linens from the bed, washing them and then putting everything back in place. The good news is that when all is said and done I'll have a nice fresh, clean bed to curl up into this evening.

The jury is still out on whether Ms. Trixie will be sleeping with me tonight on the freshly laundered linens...

Achy And Breaky And Sore!

A HUGE thank you to both Loriann and Bekah for recommending we stay at the Johnson City Red Roof Inn!

The 8.0 rating by Expedia, and the Red Roof Inn itself, was (not) spot on!

We truly enjoyed staying at this (not) "smoke-free" hotel.  Our room (not) being cleaned and smelling like cigarette smoke, the horrible flat pillows, (not) having the tissues and toilet paper replaced, missing out on the free coffee at 6AM because the office door was locked and there was no one working the front desk (even though the complimentary coffee ran from 5AM to 4PM) or even the "shady characters" hanging out and milling around at weird hours didn't dissuade us, (not) one bit.

Even today, a week later, the kinks in our necks and aching backs only serve as a reminder on what a pleasant stay (not) we endured at the Red Roof Inn.

Thanks again cuz, UGH!

A Country Wedding!

Tennessee weddings in the country are something special!

Congratulations to Maria & Kyle!

The wedding was beautiful - from the location, to the weather, to the views, to the décor and of course the bride, all spot on perfect!

Meet Oscar, the weiner dog, AND ring bearer! He performed flawlessly and on cue and even stole a bit of thunder when after delivering the rings to the groom he opted to lay down and curl up on the brides dress train instead of going back to his bed. A great moment and one that you couldn't have scripted any better if you tried -

Maria and Loriann made the cake and the cupcakes, what talent!

OMG, SO darn delicious -

The flowers were all stunning!

I don't know how David pulled it off or where he got all these lovely flowers from but kudos to him for tapping into his feminine side and pulling off this beautiful feat -

It was all perfect!

We had a great time celebrating and SO thankful for getting to be a part of it!

Chasing Sunsets

"Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully."

I took these first two sunset pictures below off my back deck here in Franklin, MA this past Wednesday evening, Oct 15th -

I took these next two sunset pictures while in Blountville, TN this past Saturday evening Oct 11th -

Eerily, similar and both beautiful!

The Sun Shines In My Kitchen!

The best refrigerator art ever by the talented Ms. Emma -

Finally, something wonderful to brighten up my kitchen!

Bless Your Heart, Welcome to Tennessee!

Our Tennessee visit was great!

Love Tennessee, love the Johnson City area, the open spaces and the farmland!

Most importantly was visiting and spending time with the family! To catch up, to celebrate - congratulations Maria & Kyle, to eat, to drink, to laugh and to cry. I cherish it all!

My cousin Loriann took us on a back road drive to the Nolichucky river to see parts of the area that was devastated by hurricane Helene just about a year ago.  One spot in particular, and the main reason for the drive, was to see where my Uncle Joe's ashes were scattered - what a beautiful and peaceful spot it is!

The drive itself brought back a rush of wonderful memories of times gone by, sitting in the jeeps passenger sit next to my uncle. Whether we'd be heading out to go fishing, running errands or just out for an adventure, those back road drives were something VERY special. The memories that came rushing back as we retraced and visited the area made me both happy and sad.

Back in the day and at the time I didn't realize just how meaningful and special these excursion would become and I'm forever grateful for the time I got to spend with my Uncle Joe and the memories I get to carry with me.

Loriann is a chip off the ole block without a doubt, except she drives those country back roads SO much faster than her dad 😁

Listen to Rodney Atkins - Take A Backroad

#Blessed

Alas!

Tennesseans Here I Come!

I'm headed to the Volunteer State!

Postings will be on a hiatus until my return.

Comfort In Chaos

It's difficult to see at times, especially when your in the midst of a storm, but I believe this to be true.

One of the hardest parts is surrendering and trusting to the process.

Not sure if there's a divine power behind all this but as the saying goes, the Lord works in mysterious ways!

More LLV Adventures

I had a certified letter last weekend to be delivered, several actually.  Certified letters requires a signature, so they're a pain in the behind quite frankly. If no one is home or no one answers the door we need to fill out a PS Form 3800, notifying the person we tried and that they now need to go to the post office to sign and retrieve the letter\package themselves.

I'm finding that my success rate for obtaining the required signatures is poor at best.  Most folks just are not home during the day.  Dismounting the LLV, going to the door and waiting to see if someone answers takes time. When they don't answer there's a process to scan the certified item, fill out the form, and leave form behind, again all taking time.  It's really more of an annoyance than anything else.

Anyway, being it was a Saturday, I was successful in obtaining the persons signature for one of certified letters I had!

When I pulled into the driveway, there was a woman with hedge trimmers going to town on pruning some bushes; working on her fall clean up.  I think I startled her because she didn't hear me approach due to the noise of the trimmers.  I introduced myself and told her I had a certified letter that needed her signature.

As I scanned the letter and prepared the scanner for her signature, I realized this woman was listening a foreign language song, which was very familiar to me!  So, as she was trying to sign the scanner in the bright sunlight, making it difficult to see, I asked her if that was Greek music she was listening to and she said yes. SO, when she handed me back the signed scanner, I thought I would thank her in Greek and said "efkaristo"

"Efkaristo" (ef-kha-ree-STO) is the Greek word for "Thank you". The word comes from the ancient Greek word meaning "I give thanks" or "I show gratitude," and is a combination of "ef" (meaning well/good) and "charis" (grace/favor), literally meaning "I give good grace". 

She was a bit surprised and with a BIG grin she replied with "parakaló", which is a dual purpose response to efkaristo, meaning both "you're welcome" and "please". 

Sadly, I admitted to her that I could not speak Greek but for a few words and that wished I had listened to my mother and learned it when I was younger, when she was still around to help teach it; a regret.

This woman told me that she's working on teaching Greek to her young grandkids, how nice!

I'm pretty sure I made new friend! We both departed with BIG smiles and to be honest, it made my day! It helped usher in some wonderful memories of my mom, all be it with a tear or two.

#Blessed

I'm No Werewolf But...

Pictures just don't compare to seeing all the the things I've posted in person...

I took this pic early this morning, around 1:30AM, while watering Trixie.

A stunning "waxing giving moon", with soft cirrus clouds floating about and airplane contrails crisscrossing the sky!

It had me mesmerized, as I stood upon my back deck in the chilly night air, in my skivvies, taking it all in, as Trixie let it all our, HEHEHE!

For those inquiring minds, here is what the Google machine has to say about the waxing giving moon - 

"The term "waxing giving moon" refers to the waxing gibbous phase, a period where the Moon's illuminated portion grows from being more than half full to nearly full. The "waxing" part means the visible light is increasing, and "gibbous" describes the shape, which is more than half but not completely full. This phase is seen as a time of growth and momentum, just before the peak of the full moon."

#Blessed

I'm Thinking Cold Feet, Brrrr

Can you find the critter in the first photo below?!

The last stop on route 10 sits next to a section of the Charles River in Norfolk, MA. I made my last delivery and was crossing over the bridge heading back to the PO, when I spotted this beauty, so I hit the brakes.  Suppose one of the benefits of being in a mail truck with flashing lights (fyi - there was no one behind me when I stopped), at least in my mind, which allowed me to capture these couple of pics.

From my experiences and observations, Grey Herons seem to be a bit skittish, so I was a bit surprised this dude stayed stoic and didn't take flight -

However, once I started moving about and making noise, off he went. I thought the pictures of him flying off were better than they turned out, alas.  I need to work on my transition from photo to video, maybe that would have been a better visual.  He's tough to spot, so I circled where he is in the two pics below -

They seem pretty agile and quick for such a big bird.

I think I need a better camera, as these photos just don't justice or could just be me and that my picture take abilities need some work. Perhaps, it's time to upgrade my iPhone.

Either way, enjoy!