Since you've been gone

In honor of 
National Dog Day...  
remembering our Duncan 
aka
"Rappa D."



Dear Duncandog,

It's been a loooong while

since you've been gone

and

 life ain't the same.

When I come into the house…

you aren't scampering to the door to 

excitedly greet me.

Oh Boy, I miss you.

Whenever I turn around…

I am not stepping all over you.

Oh Boy, I miss you.

When I load the dishwasher...

you aren't there pre-cleaning every plate
with your efficient 
lapping technique.

Oh Boy, I miss you.

When it's bedtime,

you aren't there to hug 
and wish good night.

Oh Boy, I miss you.

Anyboohoo……..

Since you've been gone….

you have been 
thought about,
talked about,
chuckled about
and 
thoroughly missed.

Boy, Oh Boy, 
I miss you

my furry little friend.

And the Thank You goes to...

It's not uncommon
to criticize and complain

about companies 
and their products 
and/or services.
Sometimes you can't help but
wail, whine and whimper,
piss, moan and groan,
bemoan and bellyache.
(OK Kat...we get it)

Nice words and thank-yous 

sometimes are few and far between...
ESPECIALLY
in a public forum. 

So today I thought I would take the time 

to thank those companies 

(ala Jimmy Fallon style) 

who have done me a solid.

Anywhooooo…..

Here we go…

Thank you

Southwest Airlines 

for
starting the ages you were born at
 1898 
when booking a flight

so I have to scroll at least a couple of years
before reaching my birth year.

Thank you
Verizon
for making me feel like a 
Super Hero.

Thank you
Pilot Pen 
for my fav ink.

You are FINE...

Thank you
Pistachio growers
for NOT dyeing your pistachios red anymore

and staining my fingers like they did
back in the day.


Thank you
Nike I. D.

for allowing me to feel like Kobe and LeBron
in my size 6.5 shoes.

Thank you 

Netflix 
for giving me a reason to never leave my couch

and showing me
a career in making meth  
is not a wise career path.

Thank you

Butter

for not being dairy.

Thank you

Samsung

for helping PaulA work 24/7.

Thank you 
Jeopardy
for James Holzhauer

a reason to watch 32 episodes in a row.

Thank you

Tanguerey 

for mixing well with others.

Thank you

Agua 

for the life size Mark Wahlberg smiling at me 
in the grocery check-out line.

Thank you

Target 

for stocking broccoli, blenders, 
and books
for one-stop shopping. 
 
You aim to please.



Thank you
Pine Hills Market

for giving me a reason
to not eat red meat.

Thank you
UPS 
for your 
cute 
delivery people.

bahaha...had to throw this pic in



Thank you 
Patriots

for making your fans
SUPER bowl happy.



Thank you
Snickers
for speaking to my inner self

at 5 p.m.


Thank you 
Carvel 
(in Avon, CT)
for knowing my order as soon as
 you see my face

medium twist in a cone, please without me having to waste valuable words.

Thank you
Veuve Clicquot

 for adult bubbles.

Thank you

Alexa 

for creepin' 
on my convos...

then sending me unsolicited ads.

whoops…
sorry, that didn't sound like a compliment.

Thank you
Eversource 
for making me listen to 100 voice prompts 

before i actually reach a real 
live 
breathing
helpful 
person.

alright,
alright... 

now my compliments have turned 
inside out,
upside down
into
darn straight
complaints.

I'll quit while I'm ahead.

The Babysitters

This past spring PaulA and I had the privilege of babysitting 

our grand baby, Ansley 

for five days so her parents could 

attend a work event and wedding in Florida.

I was thrilled we were asked 

as there was this one time we babysat…

Maybe Mary Poppins was unavailable 

and they had to go with the B team.

 I know Mary Poppins is good with kids…but, 
heck, we are the real deal. 

Last I knew she was fictional.

Move over Mary Poppins, 
PaulA and I got this...

plus I had my own magic carpet bag of activities 

I had planned to pull out.

It didn’t take me long, however,

to realize that each activity would last 

8 minutes …

if I was lucky. 

After doing a little computation,
I figured I would need 7.5 activities an hour or 

75 activities for the 10 hours she was awake

X 5 days = 

375 activities.

I would have to repeat a couple activities.....
And 
I was gonna need a bigger carpet bag.

Coloring 

Stickering books and ourselves

Sitting in a bucket of water

Tunneling 

Playing in the sprinkler

Putting puzzles together

Riding in cars

Looking for  airplanes in the sky...

I was grasping at straws 

Picking flowers (dandelions)

Blowing bubbbles 

peek-a-boo-ing 

walking Charlie and her grand Paul

collecting plastic eggs 

Reading

Snack timing…my fav and Ansley's

A few field trips were called for…

Kroeger, Target, Mall, 
Library Story Hour,
Playground,
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon,

and the NFL Draft.

hope that was ok

Anywhooo….

After Chelsea and Austin returned from their trip,

 Chelsea mentioned that Ansley 

was asking for “Meme”

“Oh really?….Tell me more…"

I may have whispered “Meme” into Ansley’s ear 

a few hundred times while she was sleeping.

Mary Poppins might be all magical and everything,

but definitely not as 

magical and special
as a grandchild/grandparent relationship.

Although,
 I would like Mary Poppin's nifty parrot umbrella to teleport me to Atlanta.

One thing PaulA and I know for sure...

life is

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

with Ansley in it.

Happy BriDay

June 5th is a great day...

Brianna’s 28th birthday.

Happy BriDay

Bri and her dad, PaulA, 

both have June birthdays...
(although they are born under different 
zodiac signs.)

Bri, however,
is definitely her father's daughter...

with many of PaulA’s great qualities.  

She's

smart, 

a total BOSS,

works hard at the Office,

loves the beach, 

handy with tools

loves the Red Sox,

enjoys a good cigar now and then….

okay, maybe that's just PaulA.

If I was 30 years younger….

I would totally want to be her friend.  

Although this mom is her friend.

no question.

Talking about hair...
(go with me here)
I’m pulling strands 

of a distant memory

regarding a Brianna
hair escapade.

PaulA and I were away one weekend…

and 
came home to find Brianna had gone to the dark side... 
a brunette. 

what???
(I should preface this that Bri was not left Home Alone
ala Kevin McCallister style...
she was of Home Alone Age.)

We were in total shock.
well, at least I was.
The Brianna with brown hair 

was not the Brianna we knew.

where did she go?

I tried not to freak out in a BIG way. 

I hoped she would quickly come back to the 

blonde side... 

all on her own.

After a few days of walking around as a brunette…

Bri found out that 

Blondes really do have more fun…

and wanted her yellow hair (as she used to call it) back.

Anywhooo……..

On Breezy Bri's birthday,
I often use the 
Jerry McGuire line
Brianna "completes us"

she just does.

But  
instead...

I'll affirm..

Brianna 
is the 

grand slam of our 

blue, green, brown, clear = grand slam

Manomet beach walk.

And trust me,

in this family...

that's says A LOT.

Happy Birthday Sweet Wish.