Hello form Vegas! The last 24 hours have been a world-wind; both flights were smooth with just a little bit of turbulence. I wasn’t afraid at all and enjoyed everything including changing planes in Washington, DC.
Pet relief stations in all the airports…who knew!
It’s been a long time since we’ve flown; trains to take between gates along with a hundreds of escalators and people movers.
Before we even left the airport we stopped at the liquor store and bought a bottle of tequila…taking the advice of everyone who has ever been here and lost a shit ton of money on cocktails.
You can start gambling right away since the airport has slot machines everywhere!
We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel that didn’t break us right off the start, taxis have set rates now.
Our hotel is mind boggling to say the least! They give you a map because you WILL get lost. Our suite (all the rooms are suites) is beautiful! I love the bathroom with the make up vanity.
The Venetian is a 5 star work of art resort with so much marble it’s crazy. The ceilings in the lobby are painted…the hotel will be a blog post in itself to do it justice.
After getting the lay of the land we went exploring and were utterly overwhelmed! I can’t even explain it if you’ve never been here.
Another important piece of advice we took from friends what have been here; go to Walgreens right downstairs from the hotel and get drink mixers, water and sunblock…I even got a discount using my Walgreens card!
The first night we ate at a restaurant called Yardbird and it was the best fried chicken we’ve ever had. The place is very gluten free conscious. Some mini cheddar waffles, spicy ice cold watermelon and crispy brussel sprouts completed a delicious first dinner here.
Walking…they tell you to bring and wear comfortable shoes; best advice ever! Last night we walked the strip; we were just in time to see the volcanos erupt at the Mirage and the fountain show at the Bellagio. These free “shows” are magnificent for what they are.
Walking around there were many tourists, people dressed up as topless showgirls and in full S&M ensembles. The Joker and Batman plus some aliens rounded out the these people. You CANNOT take their photos without paying let alone paying a lot more to pose with them. If you don’t know this they will demand you pay them; Darth Vador, I read has followed people yelling for them to pay. We knew this so watched the unknowing people be harassed. Oh well that’s not my monkey.
Along with the above mentioned people there were tons of bums and lots of people smoking dope; you could smell weed in the air everywhere. The walking pace is fast and furious, which is good for us being fast walkers ourselves.
We hit the wall around 10 pm and retired to our room and had a nightcap which I downed and frantically crawled into bed; I was so damn tired after waking up on East-coast time at 4:30 am.
That was day one guys. Current situation is relaxing by the pool watching the stunningly gorgeous pool waitresses in thong bikinis. We plan to relax for a big part of the day then take the deuce bus to old Vegas to the less touristy and hip Fremont section.
Good morning! We just went through TSA screening and are waiting at our gate. Flying today will be the ultimate challenge of living on the journey vs the destination.
I never flew as a child so airplane travel has always been scary for me; today, I am trying to be excited and not nervous. It’s a little hard to tell the difference, I’ll know more once we take off at 8:15 am.
Our first flight is to Washington DC then grab the connecting flight to Las Vegas.
My ticket says window seat which normally would scare the daylights out of me. Sam who loves to travel, gave me a pep talk; he has a lot more experience than me after flying to China & Japan.
Noah flies very often because his friend Steven has his own plane. Steven flies into Bennington, VT from Stamford, CT. He just picked up Noah on Friday night for the weekend and flew him home last night. Pretty cool right? Steven picked up Noah one day to fly to Martha’s Vineyard for a seafood lunch. 🦞
This morning Marty is super excited, he loves to fly. He grew up flying back back forth of Germany while growing up to visit family there.
So here I sit waiting, trying to keep myself calm and focus on experiencing all of it, just like Sam said to.
One of the things on my checklist this week was to pick the pears we had on our pear trees.
I say this week because if we wait until we get back from Vegas they would have already fallen off the trees either rotting on the ground or the dogs would eat them all. Klausie-boy loves pears.
Now I know that our pears aren’t the prettiest fruit on the block, but they are delicious. It’s like that old saying you can’t always judge a book by it’s cover.
This year we had our son Noah’s roommates Fred prune the trees in the early spring. I’ve know Freddy since he was 3 years old and I loved watching him work.
We asked Fred how he knows what branches to prune and where. He explained the technical side of fruit tree pruning then told us what they say, “You cut between the branches making an area big enough to throw a cat through.”
Big enough to throw a cat through? WTF? I’m not making it up…this analogy comes straight from the mouths of arborists.
My question is who thought of a cat? Why not a football, which is something you do throw? It doesn’t matter because whatever Fred did worked and the trees looked so much better this summer.
Last year, we had a high yield of pears from all three of our pear trees. The pears may have been plentiful, but all tiny. Even though they were small they tasted wonderful proving size doesn’t matter. Apparently, looks don’t matter either because they were ugly suckers.
This years pears…
This year we only had useable, full size pears on one of the three tree. Two trees are of the anjou variety and the pollinator is a bosc. Most years we have both varieties, this year only green anjou ones.
A pollinator? It took us flatlanders probably five years to figure out why the two green anjou trees never bore fruit…it needed a different variety for pollination. Once we planted the bosc tree, we had pears.
Last year, I gave away tons of pears to people. We had literally boxes of them. People were stuck at home because of covid and welcomed the pears. People made all sorts of tasty looking creations. I made a few pear crisps and pear galettes which are my favorite.
Over the years I’ve made lots of yummy dishes using pears…here are just a few I found on my personal Facebook page:
The pears we picked on Thursday we put in a milk crate and stuck them in the walk-in refrigerator until we get back. After looked at my pear posts I am definitely going to make that pear and bleu cheese tart with fresh thyme and rosemary. I’m starving right now while writing; practically drooling on myself.
Hey, have a great Saturday, we head to Albany tomorrow afternoon to spend the night at the hotel near the airport, although we will be officially on vacation after today’s farmers market.
We are trying a new place in Albany for dinner that comes highly recommended on the “518 Gluten Free” group on Facebook; I’ll let you know how it is.
See you guys soon…I am planning on writing blog posts from Vegas with some photos; I taught myself how to publish a post from my phone. Yay!
***BTW…Please excuse my upcoming vacation posts including this one. Without my laptop my editing may be fair at best but perhaps poor. Just wanted to give you a heads up. 🤓
After wanting a pool my whole adulthood, we finally took the plunge; I know a shameless pun. I’ve never wanted to spend the money, well, on anything for myself that I thought was frivolous, but at 55, I am not getting any younger. What am I waiting for?
Before the pool was installed, we decided to plant some evergreen trees to create a natural privacy fence. We chose twelve trees in three different sizes to create the look we wanted. The new trees give the yard’s actual landscaping a professional look.
Whenever we do a project, there are always hurdles to jump over; it’s the Irion way. In this case, the hurdle before planting the trees was ground bees. Marty got stung on Monday night when we started to prep the new pool and trees area.
Marty is allergic to bees, and it’s always frightening whenever he gets stung; he’s had to make a few trips to the ER in the past. This time I quickly gave him some Benadryl and made a paste of basil leaves, baking soda, and crushed ice to put on the bite. This takes away the burning and pain.
Marty texted Sam, a nurse, and told him he got stung; he immediately said to get Pepcid AC. This seemed weird, but the same drug that helps with acid reflux also helps with bee sting reactions. Who knew? Well, now we all do. I ran out to the store and gave it to Marty within 10 minutes. He was ok thank you, Jesus!
Back to the bees, we also knew we had ground bees under the outdoor kitchen deck; Sam got stung in the back of the head the week before. Luckily, he’s not allergic to bees. These aren’t the good kinds of bees; these are those angry fuckers that I hate.
I got in touch with an old friend of ours, Harvey, who owns a pest control business…Harvey’s Pest Control. As business owners, we always try to get back to people as soon as possible. If we say we will do something for a customer, we make sure we follow through. Harvey has the same work ethic as us.
Even before the pandemic, we found it was getting harder and harder to find a business that would return your call, let alone show up for an appointment. It can’t be blamed on the worker shortage our country is facing right now; it’s like they don’t want our business or our money. Remember the appliance store that dragged its ass fixing our dishwasher? I dragged my ass for the same amount of time before I wrote them a check to pay for the repair.
Harvey showed up exactly at what time he said he would. Within a few minutes, he was in his bee suit and got to work dusting the nests. He explained exactly what he was doing and what to expect.
We also talked with him about the mice issue we had last year when the mice chewed a hole in our dishwasher hose. He will be coming back quarterly to take care of those guys, too, an issue we won’t need to care for ourselves anymore.
With the bee problem taken care of, we got to planting our new trees. We read up on how to plant them, the distance between them for privacy and care. Basically, they take care of themselves and won’t need any additional care in the future, like shaping or trimming them. We put in one of these trees many years ago right in the center of Marty’s garden railroad, which is now a beautiful backdrop behind the pool. The train layout will be rebuilt on a smaller, more manageable scale when Marty has spare time. 😂
We got out a tape measure and a can of spray paint marking where each tree would go. We usually wing things, but we did it the right way this time. The trees are still small but will grow 1-2 feet every year when they are young, topping out around 20 feet. The one we have already is easily 20 feet and looks great.
With the bees and the trees checked off our list, it was time to have the pool installed yesterday. Thank goodness we opted to have the professionals take care of this for us; it would have been a major ass-ache and would take us a long time if we did it ourselves. Time we don’t have right now. Plus, there is so much important leveling that we weren’t experienced in doing.
Our small round 15-foot pool with a temporary ladder.
The guys took their time making sure the ground was dug out and precisely leveled, which took the brunt of the time they were there. I had to leave to make deliveries and go to dance class, so I didn’t get to see the pool until I got home last night. It turns out 15 feet is the perfect size for us and our yard. The great thing was that since it went where the old train layout was, we didn’t lose any more yard space.🙂
Today, we were on the road bright and early making deliveries; when we got home, Marty worked on the pool, getting the filter running, and starting to spread river rocks around the outside of the pool. Of course, we didn’t have enough rocks…we need double the rocks we bought, which will have to wait until we get home from Vegas next week. Another typical Irion project thing.
“Last one in is a rotten egg!” “First one has to eat it!” Outside of pool still needs to be wiped down after the installation and from the rain last night.
While I was doing things around the house this afternoon, Marty ran upstairs and changed into his bathing suit; are you coming in too? Um…isn’t it cold? I waited and watched him before I committed to changing and stopping what I was doing.
He got in quickly and said it wasn’t bad. The water and the air temperature were the same at 70 degrees. I decided I’ve waited long enough for a pool; I needed to suck it up and go in too.
Yup, that’s me, and holy shit, do I look exhausted but happy!
He wasn’t bullshitting me! It wasn’t bad; I was amazed! Afterward, we put on the solar cover with the hopes of keeping out some leaves and warming it up next week while we are away. We have all winter to keep an eye out for a heater to start and extend our swimming season. We will also design the deck that we will build on the right side of the pool in the springtime. Maybe lumber prices will go down a bit by then.
While we were both in the pool, a black dragonfly kept circling the pool and swooping down near us, continuing to circle us numerous times. I told Marty this has a meaning; how could it not.
Photo from Uniguide
I looked up the meaning of a dragonfly and specifically black ones like the one that visited us.
From uniguide.com:
“Like the butterfly, the dragonfly only lives as an adult for a short period of time. Thus, they remind us to seize the day and live life to the fullest. Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today.”
“The black dragonfly reminds you that some matters require discretion. In our culture of over-sharing and attention-seeking, the black dragonfly reminds you that you have the privilege and a right to your privacy. It’s ok to politely shut out anyone who invades your privacy in an unwanted way.”
Both of these meanings read so true with us, finally getting a pool and the trees we planted for privacy. There are no such things as coincidences in life; that dragonfly let us know that we did the right thing for ourselves at the right time.
After the Troy Farmers Market, Marty and I headed down to NJ to my brother Dan’s place. My sister Jennifer and her kids were going for the weekend too.
I never heard of the town where Dan, his wife Liz, and their 3 daughters live. We took the NY Thruway to Route 287 in NJ to 78. Once we got on 78, things looked very familiar. The closer and closer we got, I kept telling Marty that I’ve been this way tons of time on my family’s Sunday drives.
Just as I said, “I do know this place,” I saw the sign for Spruce Run reservoir. That’s it! My father loved Spruce Run, so we visited there a lot when I was little. He also used to fish there with his friends.
As the GPS led us to Dan’s, I knew the turn for Spruce Run was coming up on the right; my brother’s home is directly across the street from the turn and the sign into the reservoir. What are the chances?
My brother’s farmhouse and the road just one mile to Spruce Run.
My brother and his wife Liz own a 210-year-old farmhouse across the street from where George Washington stayed, ate, drank, and made strategic plans during the Revolutionary war. My dad and I both loved American history; maybe that was why he loved this place. After all, there are plenty of other beautiful places stocked with fish he could have gone to.
Have you ever seen one of those movies where a character misses meeting people who were destined to meet in their lives? They keep “just” missing each other. They are often at the same places simultaneously but didn’t cross paths…then later, after they do meet, they connect all the dots.
This has been true for me many times. Marty and I were at the same music events at the same time when we were young adults. I dated the guitar player in a band where Marty was the lead singer. I never saw their band play; I just used to watch Tom practice his guitar at his house.
I can imagine sitting in the backseat of my parent’s smoke-filled car on our way to Spruce Run; I am about 8 years old. After we pull off Route 78, we turn down a country road, then veer off to the right, turning to the reservoir. We drove and turned right in front of my brother’s place before he was even born. The movie audience gasps when they make the connection themselves when they recognize Dan’s future farmhouse.
The movie has many flashbacks, and this would be a big moment in the film. Almost bigger than not meeting Marty until the time was perfectly right.
I believe people are in our lives to serve a purpose, who are here with us while working through our Earth School lessons. Some people are good, others bad; it’s all about making the right choices and realizing this person’s role and is part of your soul group. It’s very complicated psychic & spiritual shit, but I know for me, this is 💯 true.
Their farmhouse was pretty incredible, especially since their home is older than ours, and it is right smack in the middle of the Revolutionary War area, very close to Valley Forge. George Washington and Old Honest Abe are my favorite presidents. As a complete wacked out Hamilton fantastic, the play made me retune into the Revolutionary War time period and how much I love learning about it.
The Tavern where George Washington slept, ate, and planned the next steps during the Revolutionary War.
History everywhere and the farmhouse’s chicken coop with 38 chickens who put themselves to bed at night.
The fireplace in their farmhouse was massive! I’ve never seen one this big except in Williamsburg, Va, on a family vacation one year. I remember watching the actors in their 1700 clothing cooking in a fireplace just like Dan’s. I wanted to eat what they were cooking, I remember. Lol!
There was a big metal arm on the left side of the fireplace with a hook at the end. The arm swung back and forth; the hook was to hold a pot. There was also a built-in bread oven located at the back right wall of the fireplace; I imagined how many loaves of bread and what types of different foods that were prepared. I love food anthropology, and this stuff is right up my alley!
All the wood in the farmhouse was just like our home; hand-plained beams with marks in the wood. The house was solid for sure; they all were, that’s why they are still structurally 200 years later.
Dan and Liz are restoring the farmhouse, not renovating, keeping, and replacing as many authentic things as they can. We tried to do this when we were restoring our home as well.
My brother Dan, his wife Liz, and my sister Jen.
The weekend was a family-filled time of barbecuing, sitting around a fire pit, talking and getting to know each other, watching movies, and laughing. Having a large family like this is something I never thought I’d be a part of.
My four nieces and nephew…
I could almost feel my dad’s presence when the adults all went for a historic walk near their farmhouse. This is where in that make-believe movie I mentioned, people start to get chocked because it’s just so heartwarming that we found each other and now we were all together in the same place I used to come when I was a little girl; long before my brother was even born since he is 13 years younger than me.
When the audience puts away their tissues, they are ambushed with such raw emotion between a sister and a brother. They watch as they get to know each other and see just how absurd it is they the two have more in common than imaginable. Health issues, spiritual beliefs, emotional issues, the same food likes, the love of cooking, and we both love to play the drums and are self-taught.
Realizing we have gone through so many similar life situations and only knowing each for less than 2 years makes everything bittersweet. I have many things in common with my sister Jennifer; that too would make your head spin. DNA is a curious thing when you never had it in your life before.
I am so blessed and lucky that my family circle has expanded, but it also closed a big hole in the circle at the same time. Every birthday growing up, I wished for siblings whenever I blew out my birthday candles; this gives the movie audience’s heartstrings another tug and a happy ending. ❤️
***I’ve wanted to post this sooner but just haven’t had a spare second actually to sit down and write. I’m getting it in under the wire of my bedtime, which will be very soon. Good-nite! 😴
A tired-looking me early this morning in the production kitchen. Thursdays I am more tired than usual since I belly dance for 3 hours on Wednesdays. I know I was feeling dehydrated too, we sweated our asses off in the dance space last night. I love dancing until sweat is dripping off of us!
Hello strangers! I haven’t had the chance to write for a couple of days, not because I didn’t want to; life is bat shit crazy right now.
Since last week, all of our large wholesale customers have put in substantial orders because it’s almost Oktoberfest season which begins at the end of September. We’ve also heard from a few retailers that haven’t ordered for a while.
Filling large wholesale orders is never a problem, except right now, we are scrambling to get them all done and shipped out before we leave for Vegas in less than 10 days. The good news is since they will have just received their product, there shouldn’t be any big surprise orders when we get back.
When we first started the business, I would get stressed out looking at the big picture; on the journey, we fill one order at a time, feeling accomplished as we check each customer off the order/delivery list.
I am a list maker; I plan everything, down to the last detail, which helps keep me feeling in control and calm…well, ok, not calm, but calmer. I make to-do lists, shopping lists, menu planning lists, business to-do lists. I use my calendar for everything because I can’t remember shit anymore.
This week besides filling orders, I am organizing and packing for a trip to my brother Dan’s on Saturday. We are leaving directly from the Troy Farmers Market, so everything has to be packed Friday night since we get on the road Saturday mornings around 5:30 am.
My sister Jennifer is going too, along with her kids Sofia & Julian. Dan and his wife Liz have three girls Tabby, Celeste, and Lizzie. We were supposed to all spend Labor Day weekend together last year, but like everything else, it didn’t happen.
I am super excited to spend time with my brother and his family. So far we’ve all only spent time together during Christmas and New Years up here in Vermont back in 2019. I love learning more about my biological siblings every time we get together. We text and stay in touch during the year, but in person is best for getting to know someone.
My siblings and I have so many things in common it’s amazing; we all love to cook; Dan and some of his family need to be gluten-free like me, which makes food prep easy since we know what each other can have or not have.
Jennifer, Dan, and me…the shrimp in the middle! Jennifer is bending down lol!
When they visited Vermont, they all stayed at an Airbnb close to where we live. The three of us, plus Marty went grocery shopping, we planned our meals earlier, and we all pitched in cooking. This made me so happy being able to show them cooking tips and hacks. We have another sibling who, ironically, is a chef. Jennifer and Dan said that I move around the kitchen just like he does; I am told we also have a lot in common. My other brother and I have never been in contact, but hopefully, he will want to someday.
All of us back in 2019…
We plan to get back to Vermont Monday afternoon; we have a lot of prep work to do in the production kitchen. Tuesday, we are having a pool installed. WAIT WHAT? That’s right; we bought a pool yesterday! I got tired of my water mister and pretending I was at a pool. On our way home from deliveries to Saratoga, NY, we stopped at a pool place to see what they had. They had our pool! 💦
We said in the car if we could find a good quality above-the-ground pool at a good end-of-the-season price, we would consider buying one. We ended up buying the 15 foot round floor model that comes with a brand new liner and everything else you need for a pool. Plus, they could install it! Marty and I do everything ourselves, but we didn’t want to tackle putting up a pool right now.
Am I excited? Hell yes! After all, we picked our Vegas vacation, a hot and sunny place with lots of pools. Both our quick getaways had pools, so I was thinking, we work hard, we love pools, so why the fuck not?
Marty prepped the spot where the pool will be installed on Tuesday. I will be able to see it every time I look out the production kitchen packing room window!
It turns out we have the perfect level spot in our yard. Marty used to have a large garden railroad with LGB trains. Since we started the business four years ago, he hasn’t had the time to rebuild the layout like he wanted to do. There will still be plenty of room for his garden railroad; now, the trains can run around the pool!
The rest of next week will be spent in the production kitchen and making our big deliveries in NY. We are leaving next Sunday night for our trip, staying in Albany overnight, making getting to the airport, which is across the street from the hotel, a snap, plus we have a safe place to leave our vehicle.
Needless to say, I’ve got a lot to look forward to in the next two weeks. I’ve packed for the weekend and for Vegas in my head a dozen times. I have a traveling checklist for the first trip ready to go; I have to start working on the Vegas one ASAP. Luckily we have a Walgreens downstairs in the hotel just in case I forget something important. Whew!
One day last week, Marty noticed a man with an easel set up diagonally from our house. Marty came and got me, and we went over to say hello and set what in the hell he was doing. It turns out that the man’s name is Ned, the husband of Maria who we know through the business.
Ned Reade
Maria and Ned went to Martha’s Vineyard earlier in the month; Maria told me she loved our front porch with all the flowers. She said our house looked like the ones on Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. Apparently, Ned liked our front porch too; he decided to paint our house while my flowers were still in all their glory.
We take such pride in our 1832 home and do our best to keep it well kept; it is a piece of Arlington history and should be treated with respect. We count ourselves lucky to be our home stewards. I consider us stewards rather than current owners; since we are caring for this historic home during our lifetime, and hopefully, many other people will do the same over the years. These old homes deserve it and so does our little town which was the first capital of Vermont.
I noticed a sketch of our house on paper; we left him to his artwork. I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know how talented he is.
Our house!
Marty went out to check on Ned about an hour later, and he was done! Marty took photos of the artist, his painting, and easel with our home in the background. The painting was beautiful! It captured that hot sunny summer day perfectly!
Ned’s view, he didn’t paint our trash cans lol!
It turns out Ned is one of the artists who were painting pieces for an art exhibit of “Arlington gardens” or something like that.
After yesterday’s farmers market, we went to the art show and looked at the beautiful works of art done in both oil and watercolor. Our house didn’t make the show because the artist could only select a few pieces; Ned had four on display.
What a great feeling and an honor to have someone admire our home and come by to paint it. Somebody literally painted our house! The funny part of this story is that our next-door neighbors David and Arthur are having their beautiful, white, historic Deming House painted right now.
When I started this blog back in January, I knew very little about…well, everything. Marty & Sam gave me short tutorial lessons then left me to figure things out, which I needed to do.
The stuff I figured out is so damn basic to some people, but to me, learning to embed a video from Youtube or share a link were high five moments.
When we head off to Vegas next month, I want to take short video clips while we are there, then edit them into a real video. I know exactly what I want to do; I have to learn to do it.
My fall/winter project is to start making cooking videos or demos. I saw an advertisement for a brand of cameras used in shooting a cooking video. Yowza! That’s how I can do it; I thought when I looked at the ad. Now I need the equipment to make it happen. I did shoot a few very short video clips while I was making my version of Bombay Sloppy Joes the other day. I was holding my phone/camera, so the video is shaky as shit, but I saw how easy it would be to film.
The ad I saw online…fancy shit!
I showed Sam the photo of the ad of the woman making a cooking video, and he said, “Wait here!” I watched him run out to the barn workshop. Within a few minutes, he came back in with a tripod he used to take photos of stuff he sells online.
He showed me all the different positions of the tripod and how to film me talking, just my hands and workbench or over at the stove cooking. How exciting; I can’t wait to get started. Next, Sam told me I need to build a set so the videos will look professional; I also need different lighting to change with what I am cooking. He took a quick video of me talking; then he panned down to my hands, pretending to chop, then went back up to me. I looked like a fucking dork, but there are endless possibilities. 🤓
My favorite shot, seeing my stove on my camera on the tripod.
So get ready to bear with me while I start experimenting with videos. I’ve decided that the videos I make in Vegas will be in different categories rather than day 1, day 2, etc. Categories like restaurants and food, bars and drinks, attractions, our hotel, and activities, you get the idea, I have to remember while I am there to take the videos!
Klaus is helping. My polka dot socks and my rug needs to be centered on the no slide pad! LOL!
Now that the summer is coming close and fall is right around the corner, I have something to look forward to and not think about how much I dread the long, cold, dark winter.
What a gorgeous sunny, hot summer day we had today. The sunshine felt great after days of cloudy, rainy weather. Today, after our deliveries, we decided to take advantage of the nice day and go to the Washington County Fair; Sam came too since he was off and was our delivery driver. Our deliveries were in Saratoga, so we literally had to drive right by the fairgrounds.
The fair was quite packed when we got there shortly before 4 pm. You could see it on people’s faces that they were so happy to be able to go to the fair again after last summer, you remember, the summer where not a single fucking thing happened. Concession stand workers looked happy to be back in business; kids showing their animals had huge smiles on their hot red little faces. Hell, even the animals were happy to be there and relaxed.
Sam’s birthday is on August 29, always back to school time. I had a planned cesarean section and could pick his birthday. I chose August 29, which was close to my due date. I wanted to be sure to have him before the school cut-off on September 1. My thoughts were it would suck to be held back a whole year because you missed the cut-off by a day or two. If he was ready to go to Kindergarten, he could go; he could wait until the following year if he weren’t ready. He was ready for school by the time he was 3, for pity’s sake. I asked his pre-school teachers what they thought, and they said, “Oh my goodness, he’s ready!”
We always celebrated Sam’s birthday by going to the fair, which happens to be on his birthday week. Today, I was so happy he said he wanted to go with us. Marty and I have gone to the fair alone after the boys were grown up, but it was nice to have him come along.
Going to the fair with an almost 21-year-old is, of course, different than going with two young boys. I listened to one father say, “If you don’t stop it, we are going home!” “Wahhhhhhh no,” cried his son and got his shit together quickly, I am guessing. We all laughed because it’s funny to see when you’ve already been through it. I don’t miss having to reprimand my boys, but I do miss when they were little.
I kept seeing the cutest little girls in cowboy hats, dresses, and cowboy boots with braids. I know grandchildren, I mean granddaughters aren’t in the immediate future, but I keep hoping one day I will have a little girl or two to take places and have someone to do girly things with me. God blessed me with two amazing sons, but dammit I want granddaughters someday. LOL! 😉
Before my tattoo sleeves and piercings…
This morning I found a photo of Sam and me getting ready to ride on the Himalaya. The photo was from 2009; Sam was turning 9. I am such a mush because I started to cry when I looked at his little face next to me. Every time I looked at it, I said, “Aw, he was so little.” Today, although we didn’t pose on the ride Himalaya because they didn’t have that ride, we tried to re-create the 2009 photo, which was the first Facebook photo I ever posted.
I wore my hair the same on purpose, it was lighter back then, medium brown which would get super brassy every summer. It was blah and didn’t do a thing to make my features pop as I got older.
We walked around the fair; it was hot and sunny. We supported a local fire department and ate our dinner at their stand. They had local sausages for their sausage, pepper, and onions which we had bunless. The best news was that the only thing they cooked in their fryer was french fries so we could have them. Score! It was delicious, and they did a nice job. It was important to us to get something from a local fundraising group and not a carny wagon. I did get a rootbeer sno cone from a carny truck before we left since they were the only ones that had them.
So my youngest turns 21 on Sunday; age has never been a thing I’ve thought about much when it comes to Sam; he’s so darn mature, always has been, an old soul. I’ve been saying for years that I hope one day that I can be half as mature as Sammy when I grow up.
An official update…I’ve finally been able to sleep for the last 3 weeks; I mean, really sleeping thanks to those Midnight Drops. Sleep is definitely underrated. I’ve had problems sleeping my whole adult life, so this is actually kind of weird.
I’ve always gone to bed later than Marty. Sometimes it’s nice to stay up and enjoy a little peace and solitude, but not being able to sleep on most nights sucks. Marty has always been the one who is up early, making a pot of coffee, and enjoy the early morning quiet.
Now I am up first; weird. What’s weirder is that I wake up on my own, ready for it?… Not tired at all! I’ve even been able to brew a pot of coffee without making a complete mess.
The peace and tranquillity of the morning hours are completely different from the evening. In the morning, it’s a feeling of the calm before the storm getting ready to start my day as opposed to at night when I start to panic, “Oh shit, I’m going to be so tired in the morning! It’s going to be a long ass day!”
Whenever an alarm would rip me out of a terrible night’s sleep, I woke up tired and pissed off while most people wake up refreshed since they actually slept. I forgot what it felt like actually being refreshed or to sleep for 5-6 hours straight. It’s amazing balls! More than that, it’s awesomesauce.
Laying in bed at night when most people are sleeping, and you can’t turn off your brain or even shut your eyes is maddening! It’s been used to torture people, for Christ’s sake! It’s a problem I see many of my Facebook friends are having as well. I see their posts in the middle of the night asking if anyone else is up—usually a shit load of people who should be sleeping answer back.
The bottom line is, thank God I no longer feel tortured, tired, or miserable in the morning. I don’t start my day anymore planning when I can fit in a nap which is priceless. Totally worth a four-hour round trip to the dispensary to stock up those hard-to-find Midnight Drops. 😴
Oh yeah, one more thing…One other big plus with the Midnight Drops is that the combo of CBD & THC is helping with my arthritis pain. I didn’t realize it at first; the build-up of the CBD over the last three weeks is definitely noticeable. A win/win!
