what’s in the bag?

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Banjo Man made a special trip to town to get me this.  It’s a “keep writing those pages” kind of present.   Want to guess?

Posted in writing | 6 Comments

anniversary week

Happy Anniversary to the old married couples in our lives!

Nancy and Mike

Nancy and Mike

Amber and Ben

Amber and Ben

Posted in lake | 1 Comment

book blitz

I’m taking a week off from the internet in order to finish this book.

I really need to finish this book.

Remember this?

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Banjo Man and I have a road trip coming up, but we can’t head west until I finish the book.

I am not even looking at maps, just so I don’t get distracted.  I’m not packing yet, just so I don’t get distracted.

Banjo Man is hiding in the basement, just so I don’t get distracted.

I wear headphones all of the time, just so I don’t get distracted.

Yes, we are very strange.  But we’ll be on the road soon and then we’ll act as if we’re perfectly normal.

Really.

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This is how I’ll feel after the book is done, like I’ve just crawled out of a great big fish.

Posted in rhode island, writing | 2 Comments

croc me mama like a wagon wheel

My friend Bob called the other night to tell me not to miss this particular television show: Super Man Eater Killer Crocodile.  Or something like that.  You get the idea.  He had told me about it months ago and I’d looked for it, but never found it on tv.

Here’s Bob:

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Here’s a link to an excerpt from the animal planet show.  This waterlogged town in the Phillipines has a man-eating crocodile in their midst, so they hire two guys to catch it.  One of them is the most famous croc hunter in the Phillipines, but when he can’t trap the giant croc he gets so stressed that he has a heart attack and dies in his sleep.  So the mayor takes over and they build a bigger trap, with a bigger loop, with chains and rooster parts. Well, be careful what you wish for, because they catch the croc and he isn’t a happy camper. They tie him up and then all the villagers haul him for HOURs, all through the night, in the DARK, on some little cart they borrow from the only guy in town with wheels on his cart. Here’s what happens when the 18-foot crocodile gets his second wind and realizes he’s tied up and being rolled across a marsh to live in a game preserve.

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/giant-croc-captured/p9gwdkq

p.s. this particular crocodile turns out to be about 18 feet long, but he is not the killer.  The hunt goes on for a 30-foot crocodile who has been spotted in the same area.

p.p.s. I was really glad Bob called so I didn’t miss the show.

p.s. again: I’m really glad I don’t live in the Phillipines.

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Posted in television | 7 Comments

i want to be a construction worker

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If you have a two-year old (or three or four?) grandchild who loves–and I mean LOVES–trucks, then this is the dvd you have to own.  Real trucks, real dirt, real construction workers.

My grandson has two copies of this dvd, just in case one breaks.  Because without “I Want To Be a Heavy Equipment Operator” (one of four shows on the dvd) life would be one long temper tantrum.

Check it out HERE.

Posted in a more pie opinion, grandmother stuff, movies | 4 Comments

sneaky saturday list

Banjo Man planned to sneak out to Kohl’s, a 25-minute drive from our house, to shop.

But I saw his “to do” list for the weekend.  Weeding, bank, post office, something about the lawn mower bag, the dump, Kohl’s…

Me:  Kohl’s???  You’re going to Kohl’s without me???

Banjo Man:  I didn’t want to make you feel bad that you had to work and couldn’t go.

Me:  Huh.

Banjo Man, shoving a sale flyer toward me:  “I need pants.  There’s a sale.  What does this coupon thing on the front mean?”

I peeled off the sticker.  We get 30% off everything.

Banjo Man:  That’s a good deal, right?  I need pants.

Me, thinking, adding, subtracting pages and hours:  If we don’t go until after 5, and if I can get 16 pages written and still have time to shower, at 4:30, then I can go.  Eight hours, two pages an hour…

Banjo Man:  Uh, I really need pants.

Me:  Do not talk to me until 5.  I’m busy.

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Banjo Man needs a shirt, too.

Posted in family, rhode island | 3 Comments

it’s not the nail

Edited Saturday morning:  if you receive the email version of the blog, you may have trouble seeing this video.  If you can’t play it, click

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still working on the next book…

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…one brick at a time.

Posted in writing | 6 Comments

from sarge

Sarge emailed a link this morning.  It’s a facebook page for his platoon.  Great pictures!

Check it out:  https://www.facebook.com/3rdPlatoon84thEscAbn

Love,

Army Mom

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while banjo man is out of town…

Last night I had a date with Sam.

Sam the Man, photo by his daddy

Sam the Man, photo by his daddy

He’s eight weeks old and very, very handsome.  He wore a striped sleeper with a red crab on his bottom.

Spiffy.

Oh, he wasn’t as excited about our date as I was.  In fact, he was sound asleep on his daddy’s chest when I arrived.  And then he snuggled with his mommy and had dinner.

But after dinner?  He was mine, all mine.  While his parents cleaned up the dishes, Sam and I looked out the windows.  We talked about rocks and monkeys and fog.  We watched the first one-on-one date of “The Bachelorette”.  I learned that Sam doesn’t like wet diapers.   He doesn’t mind burping, spitting up, having his nose wiped or sneezing.

He’s a laid back kind of guy.  Just my type.

Posted in friends, rhode island | 4 Comments