The UPS Man is My New Best Friend

Today was just one of those great days to see Big Brown pull up outside Casa de Owen. Not only did he have my Stampin' Up! 2006-2007 Catalog & Idea Books, but also my SU order for my June hostess club and the books that I ordered. Suffice to say, it was a good day and I gave the UPS guy the biggest smile he'd seen today (he said so!). Now I'm in that post-catalog-review haze. My brain is swirling with ideas. I'm trying to figure out what I want to order on Saturday when I can place an order. Oh such a dilemma to have (and Steve & J will be off getting J a haircut, so I'll have the house to myself when I place my order!!!)!!!!!!

Aghast

My in-laws keep their boat in a boatyard in Tiverton, RI during the winter. It's taken out of the water and shrink wrapped for the winter, then put back in the water for the spring. Once it goes in the water, they keep it at that marina for a couple of weeks for repairs, cleaning, etc. Once the nice weather comes, they cross the Narragansett Bay to their home marina in Wickford. This year, they were in a slip next to a sailboat named Free Spirit. Aboard were four people, three Englishmen and a young woman we would find out was from Newport, RI. Jonathan had fun talking with Molly and Jack (one of the younger men). The spent time talking with him and told him about their world trip that would continue as the better weather arrived. That was early May. This past Friday we had the noon news on when we heard about a sailboat that had left Newport only days before was being searched for by the Coast Guard. Steven & I looked at each other and said, "Naw. It couldn't be those people." Sadly it has turned out to be the very ones. Jonathan told us after we left that day back in May, that he had a crush on Molly because she was pretty and nice.

Apparently the Free Spirit was caught up in the stormy waters that Tropical Depression Alberto had created in the Atlantic Ocean, as it came north. The captain called his step-daughter on the satellite phone to say they needed help. That was Wednesday and the search began with U.S. and Canadian coast guards. This afternoon, the rescue search was called off after no sign of the Free Spirit or her crew.

We're aghast at the realization that we met these people, spent an afternoon chatting with them and now they are all gone at Mother Nature's hands.

Rest in peace
Molly Finn, 19
Jack Bielecki, 19
Jacek Bielecki, 56
Richard White, 34

Your families and friends are in our thoughts and prayers.

An ACK! And a mea culpa!!!!

As my dear friend Kathy just pointed out to me, I have forgotten my favorite Irishman! So he gets a blog entry all his own. Please forgive me U2 frontman!

BONO

I am a bad, bad party girl.

The Fantasy Men

There are too many of them to be on my "List" a la Friends, but here's my list (in the only fair way I can think of, so no one man is slighted over another, alphabetically) of gorgeous men that I wouldn't throw out of bed for eating crackers:

• Christian Bale
• Benjamin Bratt
  
• Don Cheadle
• Sean Connery
• John Cusack
  
• Patrick Dempsey
• Johnny Depp
• Hugh Jackman
• Jesse L. Martin
• Matthew McConnaghey
• Brad Pitt
• Keanu Reeves
• Rick Springfield
• Patrick Stewart
• Jason Thompson
• Chow Yun-Fat
  

Monday Musings

• School is almost out.
• The once sunny day is clouding up.
• I'm getting through all the laundry.
• I saw an awesome picture of Brad Pitt today.
• Tomorrow night I'm going to the movies with my friend Trish to see X-Men 3 (again).
• We saw Cars at the movies yesterday (go see it!).
• We had a wonderful rib dinner at a friend's house last night with ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
• Another week and I'll be back at my karate classes.
• Sudoku rules!
• Five album covers at Goldstamp to be embossed.
• Bottles of Prima flowers lined up on my shelves make me happy.
  

The Fireflies

I like children. And sometimes I don't like them so much. Imagine my surprise as I volunteered every week in J's kindergarten class this school year, that I love being a part of the teaching system. With budget cutbacks, there is not enough in the budget to cover assistant teachers every day. So they have relied more heavily than ever on volunteers. I've truly loved working with these 19 children. As the school year comes to a close, I'm realizing that experience is about to end. I've got one more day in the classroom with them and that's it. I'm feeling a bit sad about that. They are all wonderful little kids, each different in their own way. Some I will cross paths with in the new school, but most I won't. I hope the Fireflies all enjoy their future school experiences as much as I've enjoyed this year.

Life is for the Living

This weekend was a crazy one, yet despite the pressures to put on a kindergarten and a separate family/friends birthday party, it was all good.

My friend Kim spent the weekend with us because of family circumstances. Kim is the one whose daughter, Meggie died 18 months ago. Despite it, Kim is a tower of strength. She is now a child safety advocate and is trying to get a bill passed in the U.S. House (H.R. 1861 The Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act). Her outlook on daily living is so different from what it once was, understandably so. We spent much of our time laughing and giggling about silly things, but we also talked about Meggie. Kim shared things with me about the day Meggie died that I never asked about, but was always curious. Kim also spent time talking with my son, who turned 6 on Sunday. He was only 4-1/2 when Meggie died and he's never truly understood what it means when a friend dies. They apparently had a really good talk about it all. Saturday night after a long day of birthday parties and he was in bed, we talked about Meggie and all that has happened as a result. Kim told me every detail of that horrible day in their lives. I sat and cried as she spoke. At one point she asked me if it was too hard for me to hear and I said no. It was hard, but I needed to hear it. As her friend and as a mother, I needed to understand her pain.

Before we went to bed in the early morning hours we hugged one last time. She is one of my oldest friends and we've both had our ups and downs with our relationship--as can be the case with any friendship. What a blessing that some twenty-three years, marriages, children, the death of one of those children, we are still together. What a gift life is that we can enjoy it together. Life truly is for the living through happiness and sadness.