Play Ball!

Spring training games started this weekend. The Mets played in three (two were split squad games): they lost two and tied in the third. Not an auspicious beginning, but I'm not worried.

I feel good about the Mets' chances. I'm not alone.

LGM!

Six Days Later

My last post was a short one on Valentine's Day. I started another about the holiday weekend. Then we lost Internet, cable, and our landline. We had a new system installed last Tuesday. The company gave us a three hour window and arrived within a half hour. Pretty painless.

Then the secondary box in the bedroom died. I made a few attempts to trouble shoot with no luck. A technician came out on Saturday; he told us we had been given a refurbished box, not a new one. Some of the refurbished boxes weren't completely refurbished--they were looking for their old systems. So much for a fun afternoon.

We had slow Internet on Monday and painfully slow Internet on Tuesday.  A tech's attempts to fix the problem remotely led to us losing all services in the main box. I was stuck home all day yesterday waiting for another tech to squeeze us in. I'm sick of dealing with cable problems. Hopefully the new system will finally work.

***

Besides dealing with Cablevision, Jeff and I had sushi on Valentine's Day with chocolate mousse cake for dessert after drinks and appetizers at Sedona Tap House (Wagyu beef sliders and Zen martinis.) When we got home, I realized I had lost one of my new earrings--an origami crane from the Carolina Raptor Center. On Saturday, we returned to Sedona Tap House, but my earring wasn't there. Bummer. Since we were there, we had beer and salmon sliders.

***

We learned that Fat Cat Pie Company was closing after 16 years because its building had been sold. We used to go there often. We had birthday parties there, celebrated its tenth anniversary, attended fundraisers and other events. Fat Cat was an important part of the revitalization of Norwalk's Wall Street. We'll miss it and hope it returns in some new incarnation. 

Happy Valentine's Day

I have a love/hate relationship with Valentine's Day.

I love the idea of Valentine's Day, but I hate the commercialization and the hype of the holiday.

Today we celebrated going off the wagon with drinks and an appetizer at Sedona Tap House. Then we picked up sushi from Little Tokyo.

A quiet celebration at home.

Small Successes and Setbacks

First steps can be hard. I wrote that three years ago. Large, complicated projects can be overwhelming. Even little projects can be overwhelming, when you have enough of them. I remember my brother saying he had things to do that would each take about five minutes, but there a hundred of them. It's easy to just give up.

It helps to think that I can't do everything today, but I can do these three things. Another idea is to give myself a short period of time--such as 15 minutes--to work on something. I have permission to stop after the 15 minutes. Often, I'll continue after that time limit.

Now, what about the setbacks? It's one thing when the setbacks are out of your control. Yesterday our new cable box in the bedroom didn't work. I spent about a half hour on a live chat with a service rep trying to fix the problem. We couldn't fix the problem, and laundry got pushed back.

The real problem is when you cause your own setbacks. On Wednesday, I was up around 6. For a brief moment, I thought that I could possibly get to the gym by 7:30. I quickly walked that back: 8 would be more realistic. But then I got sucked into the Internet slideshows: first, classic 1960's cars and then stars without makeup.

I got to the gym by 8:20. 20 minutes is not a major setback. But it got me thinking. How many times do I read one more article, watch a few more minutes of TV? It adds up.

I need to focus on these minor setbacks to keep them from becoming a major problem.

Book Five: Old Bones by Preston & Child

I couldn't wait to read this book. I first heard about it last fall--a book with Nora Kelly as the main character. Then I read it also featured rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson. I was psyched.

I requested the book be put on hold at the Norwalk Public Library either last Tuesday or Wednesday. On Friday, I was surprised to find the book already waiting for me.

Then I had a funny feeling. I hoped I wasn't too psyched for the book--that my expectations weren't too high.

Preston & Child didn't disappoint. They used the fascinating true story of the Donner Party, embellished it a bit, and added a carrier of a mysterious disease.

I enjoyed reading about the archaeological work and Corrie's work with the FBI. Hope to read about Nora and Corrie working together again soon.

Here's Lola?

I receive a lot of emails about things going on locally such as art shows, concerts, and festivals. I read that Earth Animal had an artist drawing pet caricatures as a fundraiser for Westport's K-9 Unit. We arrived as the store opened to get this caricature of Lola.

It 's cute, but unfortunately, we don't think it looks very much like her.

At least we contributed to a good cause before heading to a walk at the beach.

Love Songs of the 1960's

Jeff and I went to a concert at the Norwalk Library last night. I was interested because I heard Jim Clark at another event at the library. I wasn't familiar with the other musicians.

Here are the songs I remember: My Guy, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, It's My Party, Blowing in the Wind, And I Love Her, Wouldn't It Be Nice?, Stop in the Name of Love, Scarborough Fair/Afro Blue, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, The Look of Love, I Say a Little Prayer, and What the World Needs Now. 

I really liked the idea of the program, and I liked all these songs, but I thought there were other songs that would have been better choices than My Guy, It's My Party, Stop in the Name of Love, I Say a Little Prayer, and I'll Never Fall in Love Again. 

I think As Tears Go By or Time is on My Side by the Rolling Stones, Because by the Dave Clark Five, You Really Got a Hold on Me by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Can't Help Myself  by the Four Tops, and Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell/Judy Collins would have been better. Four Burt Bacharach songs were too much.

Oh well, no one put me in charge.

Mid-Week Miscellany

It's hard to believe that January is already gone. It seemed to fly by. Next week is Valentine's Day, and February will be half over.

Jeff and I were talking about going out for Valentine's Day. We don't like the special expensive menus, and places will probably be crowded. Valentine's Day is also the day we can begin drinking again. We'll probably go out for a drink and pick up sushi and come home. Maybe watch a movie.

I'm continuing with a good gym routine: I've already gone to the gym more this year than I did through April last year. I'm walking with Lola most days with an occasional weekend day off. I try to think about things I can be writing as we walk.

We enjoyed two days with 50 degree temperatures this week. I took Lola to Cranbury Park and the west side of NRVT in Wilton. I have to say we've had a mild winter. I am hesitant to write this, as if the gods of winter will suddenly wake up and hit us with cold and snow. As much as I'd like to see mild weather until spring officially arrives, I know it's still winter and we're due some tough winter weather.

I'm still working on cleaning/organizing. It's a slow process. I've got tax papers all over the dining room table, along with a few other papers to be filed. I won't get one 1099 until next week and then I want to have everything ready for the accountant. I'm missing one of my mother's 1099's, so I have to track that down. 

I took a box of boots, hats, and pocketbooks to Goodwill today. Yesterday I took things to PAWS (a leash, pee pads, and a few other things.) It's not much, but at least those things are out of this place. Small successes. 

It looks like a wash-out for tomorrow. I'll make it a homebody day--do laundry, make butternut squash and carrot soup, do more organizing work. Find some dry time to get out with Lola.   

Book Four: Verses of the Dead by Preston & Child

I was at the Norwalk Library last Friday for a lecture on Empress Marie of the Romanov dynasty. I looked for this book and also Old Bones. I'm especially interested in Old Bones because it's a Nora Kelly novel and Nora, who first appeared in Riptide, is my favorite Preston & Child character. Corrie Swanson also makes an appearance. I love her too.

Unfortunately for me, the library didn't have Old Bones. Well, I planned to read Verses for the Dead first anyway. Hopefully the library will have Old Bones next time.

In Verses for the Dead: Special Agent Pendergast investigates a series of murders in Miami Beach. The killer cuts out the victims' hearts and leaves them at gravestones of women who committed suicide.

For the first time, Pendergast has to work with a partner: Agent Coldmoon. Coldmoon has his own agenda, but is a good agent. Another Smithback makes an appearance--that was a surprise.

Verses for the Dead is a good book, though not one of Preston & Child's best.