Things I learned while hiking Mount Monadnock today

1). Not so much a hike at points as it is a climb

2). Bees apparently dwell at the top of the mountain

3). Bee stings on pinky fingers hurt a LOT and swell a LOT, so much so that you won't be able to remove a very loose ring.

4). Removing mole skin from the bottom of your feet tickles

5). Do bears poop in the woods? I don't know, but it's certainly not easy for girls to pee in them.

6). Coming down the white dot trail seems a whole lot easier than it would be to go up.

7). It is COLD at the top of the mountain!

8). Pumpkin ice cream at Kimball's Farm is a good way to finish the hike (it's even better when you get the last of the pumpkin ice cream - sorry Jenn!)

9). After driving home for a little over an hour, your legs DO NOT want to move to get you into the house.

10). Watching a guy with a broken ankle trying to make it down the mountain reminds you to be WAY more careful.

11). Seeing the chopper heading up to the top of the mountain to get the guy with the broken ankle makes you think of faking an injury for the ride.

12). Boys will leave girls in their dust on the way up the mountain, but will help them so they don't fall on the way down.

13). Pinky fingers will swell so much from a bee sting, that they won't be able to bend.

14). Ham sandwiches from Store 24 are yummy, especially at the top of a mountain.

15). Faces can get sunburnt, even when most of the day your head is down, trying not to fall over.

16). Calves will protest on the way up the mountain

17). Knees will protest on the way down

18). Did I mention something about bees stinging, and it hurts like heck??

poor neglected blog

aww...poor blog! I have ignored you! I didn't mean it, I swear!

I have been busy (sorta)

Last Saturday was spent with the NVCB. A parade and two concerts (including the YDDB), my lips were DEAD at the end of the night!!!

Sunday the boy and I went to church at Groveland Congregational Church, where we are going to have our wedding ceremony.

Monday I worked around the apartment for a bit, then went to the last yoga class until August. :-(

Tuesday was spent around the house, where I made a REALLY yummy tuna salad. It was totally different than normal tuna salad. It's mostly rice. Try it! It's good and light for a summer dinner! (easy to make too)

Wednesday the boy and I went to Cambridge to visit Greg (who was house-sitting for an aunt) and his gf Debbie. It rained lightly off and on for most of the afternoon, but we still had fun. In between the showers we grilled up some "rollers and sliders" as John would call them. That's hotdogs and hamburgers in case you were wondering. We also got some frisbee in, until Debbie threw it over the fence....we got it back, but the rain stopped us from continuing. :-)
We played Nintendo Wii - my arm was SORE the next day!! (btw - I STINK at Wii baseball, I'm pretty good at bowling and golf) Then we played some cards, which was a lot of fun. We ended up watching the fireworks from an upstairs bedroom (all four of us were crammed around one window, it was hilarious) because it was still raining at fireworks time, and we didn't feel like getting soaked.

We spent the night in Cambridge (and BOY was my stomach sorry that morning) and we took the T back home. We came home and spent the rest of the day hanging out in the apartment, napping and watching TV.

Friday (finally caught up to today) I am still trying to clean up and organize around here. I bought a shelf (nothing special) for the kitchen so I can put some of my appliances on it so that they are more accessible. I made a kick butt pizza for dinner. I used Pillsbury pizza dough, and made a pepperoni and chicken garlic sausage pizza. We had some pepperjack cheese that I grated onto the pizza with the mozzarella. It was yummy!

I've also been crocheting a lot too. I can't post the picture of my latest creation until I give it to the person tomorrow (I don't wanna ruin the surprise). The other things I am working on I can't put on the blog either, because I am making some gifts, so I can't put them online without giving away the surprise of it. If you email me, I'll show you pics (as long as YOU'RE not the one I'm making it for!!) ;-)

Tomorrow I'm heading up to to York to see my aunt, stopping at my mom's on the way to drop off/pick up some stuff. It should be a fun day! :-)

gorgeous views

I took a walk today. I needed to get some quarters for our washer/dryer, so I needed to go to the bank. It's about 2 miles away, so I decided to hoof it. It was gorgeous outside, so it wasn't bad. I stopped at the gas station to buy a bottle of water. The scariest part of the walk was that there are NO sidewalks along rte 111, so I was constantly on the lookout for cars who didn't see me. I was a good girl and walked against the traffic like I am supposed to!

I got my roll of quarters, and I also stopped at Video Signals, where they now sell used books. I bought "I Love Paul Revere, Whether He Rode or Not", which talks about American historical myths. I've only read a few pages, but it's pretty interesting. I also got "Waiting for Teddy Williams", which I have yet to start reading. I figure if it lasts that long, I can bring it on my trip with Debbie.

On my way back, I stopped to drink some water on the edge of this pond, across from the church.

Isn't it pretty?
That stick-looking thing in the green gunk is actually a little tiny beaver. He wouldn't come close enough to me to get a good picture. I guess he's camera shy.

There were also little tiny orange fish in the pond, but the pictures didn't come out, I just kept seeing reflections because it was so sunny outside.

Happy Day!

NVCB Concert went well. We played well, but there weren't an awful lot of people in the audience. Two of my students did show up though.

The boy and I went for a walk today. A LONG walk. He said it was a good 4-5 miles. We saw two deer staring at us from up on a hill. They didn't even move. The four of us stood there staring at each other for a good five minutes until we decided to walk on. I wish I had my camera with me. We were looking at houses and the scenery as we walked by. There was a HUGE satellite dish on top of a hill. I can't imagine what it would be for. It is definitely too big for personal use. We had a great time. We walked for about two hours.

We came back to the apartment and I made baked macaroni and cheese for dinner, then we collapsed on the couch and watched some tv.

And now it is time for bed!

give me a P, give me an R...

give me an O, C, R, A, S, T,.......

procrastination....I didn't feeling like finishing...

laziness has also set in....

STACK of papers to enter into grade book growing....

you know you're putting things off when you'd rather balance your checkbook than do what you should be....

oh the joy...

Being the first "weeknight" of February vacation....I am basking in the joy of not having to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn tomorrow morning!

Tonight was a rehearsal of the YDDB...of which there hasn't been in many months...

I haven't looked at this music in a while...and I am ashamed to say I was underpracticed...but I still had a lot of fun. Both Steve and myself had arranged some songs for the group to play which we took a look at tonight. I think both went well. He arranged "Just A Closer Walk with Thee", and I arranged "Clarinet Marmalade" (talk about opposite ends of the musical spectrum).

The boy came along and listened (I think he was bored to tears for most of the rehearsal...I told him to bring along his trumpet). However, we both had a lot of fun at the end of rehearsal. John's homemade brew was DELICIOUS!!! We imbibed in many a glass...nut brown ale and New Castle....mmmmm.....(Peter would be proud)

I have learned that it was not just in my imagination....there is a certain member of the group who seems to look at me more often than not. I didn't mention anything before or after rehearsal to the boy, and as a matter of fact, he actually mentioned it to me first. In a way I am glad to know it's not just in my head, but I am also skeeved out to find out that it's not just in my head at the same time... (the guy is old enough to be my father...and then some...)

eeeew

Yesterday was Yangtze River buffet night...mmmmmmmmmm......

Today was lunch/dinner (linner? lupper?) with the boy's family, whom we met up with in Braintree for a lovely meal at JJ something-or-others. I had a personal pizza (2 slices left for tomorrow, woohoo!), with peppers and pineapple (they ran out of ham....who runs out of ham???). I also had some Blue Moon....yummy!!!

Anyhow...I am looking forward to the week's vacation, and I assure you that I will have more entries in the blog too keep you apprised of all the details.

aaaaah.....

Today was great! I did absolutely nothing. Well not nothing...I watched tv, slept, crocheted, and that was about it. It was great. I LOVE 3 DAY WEEKENDS!!!