No BoSox

The Boston Red Sox finally have been mathematically eliminated from making the post-season. This is not a surprise at all; anyone who has been paying marginal attention knew weeks ago that the team was "done for."

Lew and I have watched quite a few games this year. By "watched" I do not mean we sat down and paid close attention. A game was just "on" while we surfed the internet or read books. (Yes, we can be classified as part of the "marginal attention" crowd referenced in the paragraph above.)

Maybe the Red Sox will have a better 2023. If so, we might even pay more-than-marginal attention.

Dad 639: Hurricane Ian

(Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another nice day in the Northeast. We will enjoy it while it lasts.

 

Well, while we are enjoying our weather, Florida is getting slammed by Ian, a very strong hurricane. The category of the storm is a four or five.

 

Rain in Florida is up around the 20-inch mark. Winds are as high as 155. Pilots have flown into the eye of the storm, and the severity of the storm has caused them to turn around.

 

I did talk to sister Deb today. She is in Leesburg, about one hour above Orlando. She has not seen any results of the storm yet. It looks to me like she will be on the top side of the storm. She may stay across the street with neighbors tonight. I'll check in with her early evening and see what is going on.

 

Not much news from Maine as everything is status quo. Tracy has a better name for how things are going. Perhaps she can put it in here.*

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

 

* (When people ask how my mother is doing, I often reply, "We are in a holding pattern." ~ Tracy)

Singing With Mom

On more days than not, Mom and I recite the 23rd Psalm, which she memorized as a little girl. Then we sing a few songs, usually Jesus Loves Me, The B-I-B-L-E, and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. One of our verses, with Mom singing my name:

He's got Mary Lou and

Tracy

in His Hands

He's got Mary Lou and

Tracy

in His Hands

He's got Mary Lou and

Tracy

in His Hands

He's got the Whole World in His Hands!

As I'm leaving at the end of my daily visit we sing the following:

Tomorrow,

tomorrow,

I'll see you

tomorrow.

It's only a DAY

... A —

... WAY!

Sometimes Dad even joins us on the Annie song!

Fall Kickoff

This morning I attended the Women's Ministry Fall Kickoff at my church.

It was a lovely time and I made some new friends! Got a chance to catch up with some "old" friends, too.

Coffee, tea, juice, and water were served.

As for the food?

Muffins! (It's been a "muffin" couple of days!) I had the pumpkin strudel.  😋

Muffins

Lew and I went to pick up some homemade muffins this morning. Our waitress from our old breakfast place (now closed) decided to revive her mother's amazing muffin recipe, so we ordered a dozen from her. We got three pumpkin, three coffee cake, three blueberry and three 3-berry.

We weren't her only customers this week. She made and sold at least 20 dozen muffins! She told me she will make the muffins as long as people keep ordering them. I hope business will be good for her!

The best muffins in the world are back!

Dad 638: New Job

(Dad writes today. He would be great in the role he is willing to take on! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! A brief blog post on this last day before Autumn. The weather has struggled to get to a temperature in the low 60s. Looking out from the interior, it seems a little better than it feels outside. FALL TOMORROW! Then comes Winter!

I think I found a new job. It will be as a medical doctor. I will tell all new parents the sex of their recently born child. I saw a kindergarten lesson showing that a doctor will tell what they think the sex of the new creation is upon birth. Well, I'll tell them definitely what it is. Two choices: girl or boy (female or male). I will be sure of my answer, and I'll even do this for no fee. And the sex will not change after my decision! (Just a thought!)

 

What is this world coming to? Thank you, Joe!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Big Savings!

Today I called our cable company to talk about our TV plan. There are a couple items on our bill that represent "old" add-ons for which the company now has newer options for basically the same channels.

My question to the company: We want to keep our current channels, so will switching to the "new" add-ons save us money?

The answer is "YES!"

I am pleased to report that we now are paying $6 less per month for our cable TV!

😄

Pats or Tom?

Once upon a time, if you watched a New England Patriots game, you watched Tom Brady as their quarterback.  Alas, no more.  (Old news, I know.)

Today the Patriots were on CBS and Tom Brady was on FOX at the same time.  Even though I already knew how she would answer, I asked Mom if she wanted to watch the Patriots or watch Tom Brady....

"Tom Brady!" (No hesitation.)

Yes, the GOAT is still loved by many New Englanders!

🏈🐐🏈

Last Week of Summer

My calendar says that Thursday, September 22nd is the "First Day of Autumn."

This means we began the final week of Summer today. We are still having some beautiful summer-like weather, but there is definitely that "fall" feel in the air already.

I actually enjoy the Fall except for one thing:  It is followed by Winter.

Enjoy your last week of Summer!

Dad 637: School Days

(Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! The weather is still beautiful and will remain very nice for the next few days. Fall is trying to get in, but summer is still trying to hang on. We will take it.

 

The schools are in session. Daughter Deb has been busy in her first year substituting. She worked the first five days! I don't know about today. She seems to like it. Good for Deb!

 

Just heard that Glen, Deb, Josh, and Zack will be taking a vacation early next year. They will be on board a ship. Josh will be right at home on the sea. (Josh will be back working on the tanker sometime early in October. Hopefully after that he will have served all of the time needed to become a 2nd engineer.)

 

I hear great-grandson Bode likes his time in preschool.

 

Tracy and I are still visiting Lou every afternoon. I must get ready for today's visit.

 

Tune in next week for more info.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Reading

Every now and then I write about my love for reading. I don't recall mentioning it for a while, so I figured it was time to get another blog post out of it.  😁

After I finish reading a book or a short story, I add it to my Reading List page for the current year. My 2022 Reading List page is currently at 68 books/stories.  I hope to add many more by December 31st.

Read a book!

🕮

A Selfie With Mom

Mom and I both thought it was a good idea to take a selfie of the two of us yesterday, so we did.

I texted our photo to a few people. I also posted it on Facebook, where there are currently 86 reactions to it!

All of my blog readers probably have already seen the picture, but I still want to share it here.

I love my mom! 💕

A Family Birthday

It snuck up on me, but today is nephew Josh's 24th birthday.

I remember holding him on the day he was born. I'm kind of in shock it was 24 years ago.

Happy Birthday, Josh, with love from your old Auntie!

QE II

Today is truly the end of an era.

Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the tender age of 96. She led quite a fascinating life.

And now Charles is King. It was a long time coming for him.

In other news, the NFL season starts tonight.... Where did the summer go?

Dad 636: He Got No Sleep

(Dad "writes" today! Excuses, excuses.... ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another very nice post-summer day. We use Labor Day as summer's end. According to the pros, we have some summer weather coming. And then comes Fall. We'll take it.

 

Don't feel too much like writing today. So I'm not going to.

 

The news just showed a judge calling a mistrial in a case and letting the criminal off. The reason: the man on trial complained of not having a pillow and blanket and got no sleep. I had a pillow and blanket but was up six to eight times last night for bathroom trips. I'm tired today as this happens nightly. Therefore, I will not be getting any more writing done.

 

Tune in next week when I'll feel like writing. That's it!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Renewing My Commission

My Notary Public commission expires toward the end of the month. I thought about not renewing it, but I decided it would be useful when I rejoin the workforce.  (Employers appreciate having a Notary on staff.)

On Friday I completed the online renewal application, paid the renewal fee, and printed off the paperwork I am required to mail to the State.

Today I made a couple stops here in town to get three signatures that I needed on my paperwork and to get sworn in. (Paraphrase of swearing in: I will uphold the Constitution and do my duty, so help me God!) Then I was off to the post office to mail the paperwork to the State. I even sent it certified receipt.

Now I just need to wait for my new certificate, and then I can order my new stamp!

National Days

When I clicked on the search bar of my computer just now, I learned that today is "National Hummingbird Day."

Who makes up these days?  Is anyone allowed to do it?

I just googled "national days" and found a site that lists a lot of these crazy days. I saw that in August there was a "National Toilet Paper Day."

Tomorrow is "National Pet Rock Day" as well as "Eat an Extra Dessert Day."

I like the extra dessert idea, but then I saw that the following day is "National Cellulite Day."

Happy September!

Busy day today.  Had a doctor appointment, ran a few other errands, visited Mom, went out to dinner with Dad and Lew, continued playing catch-up....

And now I want to wish my readers a blessed September!