Author Archives: The Toad in MY Road

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About The Toad in MY Road

A 70 something retired IT Pro looks at life.

Travel in Italy

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The Adventure Begins

Thanks to a couple free airline tickets from my Sister and Hilton points gained through frequent work travel, my husband and I were able to travel Italy for the past 7 days. We first visited Rome, seeing the Vatican, especially the Sistine Chapel – one of my bucket list items, Parthenon, Trevi Fountain, and several other smaller sites. Next we visited Sienna and saw a Medieval Village and imagined how it’s citizens of past centuries lives their lives. The City Center in Sienna is one of the best preserved Medieval villages in Italy. The original wall surrounding the city still stand and the central church dates back to the early 12th century.

Today we are on our way back to Rome where, tomorrow, we will visit the Coliseum and view the place where so many Gladiators fell, and, where many Hollywood films were made. Friday we are going to travel around on our own and just see what we can find. Saturday, the torture tube known as an airliner, will whisk us back to the USA.

One thing I have discovered about travel, first in Germany, then in Japan, and now in Italy, is that most of the people in these countries are very much like people in the USA. Most are good, want a home to live in, food on the table, transportation, jobs, an education for their children, and for their children to grow up safe and become successful adults. Not much different than me. Of course there is always the bad element, the pick pockets, the thieves, etc., no different than in the USA.

And I find people in the service industry unfailingly polite and willing to help the American who does not speak their language. If they don’t speak English, they will tell you so, politely, and offer to find someone who does speak English.

The food in Italy has been fabulous. Europe in general seems to eat more pork and MUCH less beef than the USA. Having said that, I have had the most tasty pork and beef on this trip. European pork and beef has much more fat and thus more flavor than I find in pork and beef served in the USA.

For that matter, I found that higher fat content in beef, pork and chicken is more highly prized in Japan. There, a chicken breast is cheap as it has no fat content. The legs and thighs are more expensive due to their high fat content and better flavor. Interesting contrast to the USA where lean meats of all kinds are more expensive and more highly valued.

If you have the chance to travel to a country, other than your home country, I highly recommend it. Take in the culture, the food, and the people. Once you see what is out there, the world does not seem quite as threatening or horrible. Yes, there will always be bad elements in every society, race, and religion. But overall, I find there is more good in the world that we give credit.

Humanity at Its Worst & Courage

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Copyright 2018 The Toad in MY Road

28 February 2018, Atlanta International Airport

Today at the airport in Atlanta, I witnessed humanity at its worst. A blind man, with a large, gold Labrador Retriever Guide Dog exited the train at terminal A. Everyone was jostling past this man in their hurry to their destination. People were actually banging into this man and his dog, knocking them about as they hurriedly went on their way. Both man and dog remained calm as humanity swirled about them. The man looked left, then right, not sure of which way to proceed. His blindness was obvious, not only because of the large guide dog in complete Guide Dog harness, but because there were only had 2 slits of skin where his eyes should have been. Clearly he was either born without eyes or lost them due to injury or disease.

I stepped up to the man and asked if I could help him to the escalator. He responded, “yes, please”. I guided him to the escalator. As we ascended to terminal A, the gentleman asked if I could point him to the line for a food outlet where he might buy a wrap. I agreed to help. At the top of the escalator, there was a Great Wraps and I guided him to the line to make his purchase. I asked if I could assist hm further and he said no and thanked me for assisting him. He wished me safe travels and I wished him the same.

I relate this story not because I want praise for helping a blind man but rather to say how much in awe I am of this man, and all unsighted people, who travel alone. I cannot imagine the courage it must take to step out into our busy world alone and not be able to see where you are going. Sure the guide dog helps you move through the traffic, but the dog cannot tell you which way to go to get to the escalator. It cannot tell you which eatery has wraps. Instead, you must rely on the help of total strangers and pray that they are willing to help you.

Today I witnessed 100’s of people rush by this man with no thought to offer assistance. I wanted to shout to the people – slow down, be aware of others, show some compassion for your fellow man for one day you may be the person that needs help.

Losing Maggie – the Story of Maggie’s Journey

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Copyright 2018, THE Toad in My Road

(Originally hand written on 18-19 April 2017)

MaggieBlueChairOn Thursday, April 13, 2017 shortly before 10 PM CST, I had to say good bye to my Baby Angel, or Maggie, my 16.5 year old mini-Dachshund. She succumbed to congestive heart failure brought on by old age.  I adopted her from the Denver Dumb Friends League as a 10 month old puppy in October 2001. For the next 15.5 years she was my heart and the soul I hope to achieve.

Everyone she met was her friend and every day revolved around her – or so she believed. Her favorite spot was in someone’s lap or held on their shoulder. Mommy was preferred, but others would do when Mommy wasn’t available.

She was small, with delicate little legs and a long sleek body but she had the heart of a tiger and for that reason, we also called her Tiger Boo. You see Boo, was one of her other nicknames – all of which she answered to when called. As Tiger Boo she would growl and bark at her bigger brothers when they did something that displeased her. I never saw this behavior with a human, in spite of the fact that her original owner’s boyfriend abused her during the first 10 months of her life. The girlfriend turned her in to the Denver Dumb Friends League, allowing me to become her new owner and to begin a journey which I shall forever cherish.

When Maggie came into my life, she was to be the little sister to Nikki – my other mini-Dachshund I had rescued from my Sister after her divorce. The first day Nikki and Maggie met, the romped in my backyard until they were exhausted and sleeping next to each other. And thus began a 7 year, 2 month journey for the pair. Nikki was “the Big Dog” and Maggie was her “little Sister”. Both were black & tan, short-haired, mini’s. At 14 pounds Nikki was the larger of the pair. Maggie weighed in at 9 pounds. They were so inseparable that we referred to them as “bookends” due to the fact that they sat butt to butt with their faces opposite, forming a semi-circle. “The Girls” were always together. Nikki became Maggie’s protector; no harm would ever come to Maggie as long as Nikki was present.

When we traveled, the girls stayed in the same crate; Nikki at the front, Maggie at the back. When I sat in my recliner, Nikki was on my left side while Maggie was on my right side. If I tried to change them to opposite sides, they would switch on their own. During the long nights doing homework for my Master’s degree, Maggie slept in the pocket of my hooded sweatshirt while Nikki slept in a bed on my desk.

Throughout Maggie’s life she had a habit of sitting up on her hind legs when she wanted something. Her balance was exceptional. No matter how un-level the surface upon which she sat, she maintained perfect balance. A Meerkat would have been put to shame by her skills. Nikki was much stockier, with bigger paws and more heavily muscled and did not have this skill. Maggie would beg for both of them though.

In 2003 we moved to Vicksburg, MS. Nikki and Maggie made the move like the superb travelers they were – always best buddies. One was never far from the other. In March and October 2005 Maggie & Nikki gained 2 brothers – Cooper, a long-haired standard black & tan Dachshund arrived in March and Geoffie, a wire-haired standard Dachshund/Terrier mix with red hair arrived in October. The girls did not think much of the boys and vice versa. It is funny, though, how the three black & tan dogs stayed closer together while Geoffie, the red haired one, remained on his own, more or less.

In 2005 Maggie became critically ill and had to be rushed to the vet. She was in the hospital 5 days while the vets worked to save her. She apparently had an intestinal blockage, likely caused by eating a Greenies. I never bought those again! The vet was amazed at her fighting spirit; he was not at all sure she would pull through. She fought like a Tiger and won! That was the last time she was ever seriously ill.

Maggie was not without her battle scars though. After Nikki died and was no longer there to protect Maggie, Geoffie bit her on two separate occasions. Both were bad enough to send her to the vet. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him! Maggie came first above all others.

I had always known that Maggie had a heart murmur. I felt it in her heart beat the first time I held her. It never slowed her down though. She was always curious and wanted to see what was happening. Sometimes she would tear around the house like a nut; other times she would sleep so deeply that you had to shaker her to wake her up.

In December 2007 we moved to Knoxville, TN. Maggie and Nikki rode solo with me to start our new life. Maggie was my precious Angel; Nikki was the house protector. The girls were SO quiet and Maggie was SO scared in the new temporary living space. Both girls stayed close to me when I was home, but Maggie was glued to me. When I left, they got in their crate and hid under the covers – they were totally silent so that no one would know they were there. A few weeks later when THE TOAD and the boys, Cooper and Geoffie, arrived, the girls became much less fearful.

Our home in Knoxville had an in-ground swimming pool. We tried to get the dogs to swim in the pool. Maggie was terrified. She would stand in the shallow water on the first step but had no desire to go further. Not even her favorite treats could tempt her off that step and into deeper water. Nor would it tempt any of the other dogs. Maggie did love laying on the warm concrete around the pool when the sun was shining! We called it “Maggie baking her boobies” because she would lay on her back with her belly towards the sun.

When Nikki died suddenly in December 2008 due to a brain tumor, Maggie was clearly distraught. She no longer had her Big Sister to protect her. During this time, Maggie became more attached to THE Toad since he is retired and home all day. She stayed with him in his office, either laying on his lap or shoulder.

Maggie was very afraid of being alone. Once, when I took Maggie with me to visit my Aunt in Louisville, KY, she chewed a half inch off the bottom of the bathroom door. I never knew she was a Woodchuck!

When we moved back to Vicksburg in 2010 and THE Toad went back to work, all the dogs had to stay in their crates during the day. Maggie was NOT happy. She lead a vocal chorus of her, Cooper & Geoffie barking so loudly that you could hear them to the end of the driveway. And even though Maggie was the littlest, she was the loudest. Every night when I arrived home, I got an earful from Maggie on the indignities of being in that crate!

Our last stop in Maggie’s life was Chippewa Falls, WI. The weather there was colder than I think Maggie had ever experienced – Denver included. While she did not like wearing coats, she did wear her coat, even in the house.

Throughout the winter of 2016/2017 Maggie slowed a lot. She slept more and her adventures outside were less and shorter. Much of that was due to a lack of a fenced yard. We ordered a fence but never installed it after THE Toad’s heart attack. All the while Maggie stayed in her fuzzy blanket in the blue recliner in THE Toad’s office. Only her little head poked out from the nest she made in the large fuzzy blanket. Initially any attempts by Cooper or Geoffie to occupy the chair with her was met with snarls and growls from Tiger Boo. Eventually THE Toad put the recliner footrest out and Maggie grudgingly allowed Geoffie to sleep on it.

Maggie’s “coughing”, caused by the congestive heart failure, continued to increase throughout the winter. She would have a coughing spell, it would stop & she would continue on her way. During late March and early April of 2017, on warmer days, we took some walks to the back of the yard. Maggie would keep up and occasionally run ahead. We never had her on a leash. Unlike the boys, she did not run off. One of our last trips outside, she had a great time, surging ahead of the boys in the grass with the warm wind lifting her hears to Dumbo-like flying.

On Monday, April 10, we took the dogs to Northern Paws Kennel for what would be Maggie’s last time. She seemed fine when we dropped her off. Then on Tuesday I received a call that she’d had a seizure while playing outside but had gotten up after a moment and was fine. Unbeknownst to me, Maggie hit her head hard on the footboard of  our bed a month or so earlier while I was on travel for work. She experienced a seizure afterwards. Based on THE Toad’s advice, we stayed in Minneapolis and I continued my meetings for work – this in spite of my desire to race home and pick her up – a decision I will forever regret.

Maggie suffered additional seizures on Wednesday & Thursday. To Northern Paws credit, they kept Maggie up front with them, which I am sure she liked. When we picked her up at 4 PM , they carried her out on her bed. Both boys and Maggie were very quiet on the ride home and all evening – which was nothing unusual after a trip to the kennel. Maggie and I sat in the blue chair with her and I wrapped in a big fuzzy blanket. Cooper sat in the other chair with THE Toad and Geoffie moved between the two chairs. Everyone seemed exhausted and no one asked for dinner.

Then about 9 PM Maggie began coughing and was unable to catch her breath. I decided to call the vet’s emergency number and take her in that night. THE Toad said the look in Maggie’s eyes was pure fright as she did not know what was happening to her. We got the boys in their crates and quickly got ready and drove to the vet. I was praying for a miracle.

At the vet’s office, Dr. Emily, a sweet young vet, said her heart beat was very erratic and was even stopping. She recommended an X-ray. I held Maggie down while Dr. Emily worked the X-ray machine to get the picture. That X-ray showed the devastation that age had wrought on our Baby Angel’s little body. Her heart was so big that it filled her entire chest cavity, pushing aside her lungs and trachea. Only 1 lung was working, the other was filled with fluid. Her little ribs were disintegrating. One was completely inverted and pushing in to her instead of out. The picture made it abundantly clear what had to be done.

Through tears and a quivering voice asked Dr. Emily how to put her down with as little pain to her as possible. I also wanted her cremated and her ashes returned to me. Dr. Emily said that she would give her a sedative, which could potentially kill her, but that would ease her current pain. She would follow that with an IV of barbiturates that would stop her heart. THE Toad and I hugged and held on to Maggie for what would be the final minutes of her life while Dr. Emily gathered what she needed. First was the sedative – a shot in her hip. Maggie cried for what would be the last time as the needle slid into her muscle. Within the next few minutes Maggie slowly relaxed and fell into a peaceful sleep. She was wrapped in her pink & beige leopard fuzzy blanket as she drifted off and her breathing eased. When Dr. Emily shaved her fur to insert the IV, she never moved. As the IV slid into her vein and Dr. Emily taped in place, we hugged and held our Baby Angle for the last time. Dr. Emily carefully injected saline then the barbiturate to stop her heart – the heart that had beat so faithfully for 16 years, 4 months and 12 days. Maggie now lay dead in my arms. We laid her on the cold steel exam table, removing her fuzzy blanket and said goodbye to her for the last time. Dr. Emily gave THE Toad and I each a hug and said she was sorry for our loss.

Maggie’s ashes will be returned to us next week. We will go pick them up and pay the final bill for our dear, sweet Angel – who is now at the Rainbow Bridge playing with Nikki, Penny, Sandy, Sam, Heidi & Harry. While I have loved all my dogs, Maggie was the most special to me. Tiny & delicate with the heart of a Tiger. I had her for 15.5 years – too short. Yet what a wonderful little creature. I thank God for bringing her into my life and allowing me to walk this wonderful journey with her. Sweet dreams little Boo! Mommy misses you!!!

PS: 17 January 2018: Nine months and another move after your passing, I still miss you and cry for you Baby Angel. I wish you could have made the move to New Hampshire with us.

 

Thanksgiving with Family -It Doesn’t Get Any Better

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This year, for the first time since Thanksgiving 2013, THE Toad and I had family visit for Thanksgiving. What a wonderful treat! I miss the days of my childhood when Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, and Cousins gathered at our house for a huge Thanksgiving dinner – cooked by my Mom & Grandma. However, as I have ranged far from my birthplace due to THE Toad and my jobs, we have seldom been able to celebrate holidays with family.

This year my Sister and her boyfriend visited for the first time. We made turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies and dinner rolls – though not without some hiccups. First – the organic pumpkin used in the first set of pies had NO taste – we threw them away and made new ones, this time with the old standard – Libby’s pumpkin! Then I burned the first set of dinner rolls requiring the backup rolls to be used. The final result was a delicious dinner with pumpkin pie and whipped cream for desert. In the end everyone was stuffed and we adjourned to the family room to sit in front of the fireplace. Yes, it was finally cold enough to turn on the fireplace!

During the other days of their visit, we toured the little town where I live – doing some pre-Black Friday Christmas shopping at the small businesses downtown, touring the brewery, eating lunch at the deli, laughing our asses off, talking about growing up in the midwest, and seeing the  Christmas lights.  We had the best of times – making new memories and reminding ourselves of old ones. Nothing could have been better!

My Sister and I have become best friends as adults and have a great time together. She was always the adventurous, break all the rules one while I was the studious, follow the rules child. As children we never seemed to do much together – she was dolls and dresses and I was cowboy boots, cap pistols and jeans. But as adults, and thanks to modern technology, we are in contact every day even though we lives miles and several states apart.

I also talked to my Dad and to friends, IM’d with my brother and cousins, and said hi to friends on Facebook. While it definitely is not the same as the days of my childhood, we celebrate traditionally where possible and embrace the new ways to stay in touch with family & friends.

Rainy Days & Fridays Always Get Me ??

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Rainy Friday’s, especially those worked from home, come with mixed emotions. I want to curl up by the fireplace and read a book  But right now, it’s too warm to have the fireplace going. What kind of November in Wisconsin is this? Thanksgiving is upon us and we are in the low 50’s! Strange weather. AND, I have to work today. I am taking a short coffee break to make a few notes here. And then there is the excitement of the coming holiday tempered by the mountain of housework to be done before family arrives to celebrate with me. So it is with longing to curl up and read a book, I go back to work – but at least I am working from my recliner, in my sweats while I wait to sign for a FedEx delivery. The only way it could get better is if the house cleaning fairies showed up to do all my housework, all my projects were caught up for the day, and I were napping/reading that book! I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you?

The Fourteen Week Chicago Shuffle

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For the past 14 weeks, work has required that I be at a customer site in the Chicago, IL area. This meant weekly travel that sometimes extended through the weekend, making my stay to two weeks. I have not seen my office at work since June 24th. Hopefully it’s still my office. Given the shortage of office space at work, they very well could have assigned it to someone else!

The good news is the customer accepted the system – allowing my company to gain needed third quarter revenue. The better news is that I am on vacation next week AND my Daughter is visiting!!! We are going to P A R T Y!!!!!

During my tenure in the Chicago area I discovered some great places to eat, some really neat towns and shopping areas, and found a great hair stylist at an Aveda Salon. And on one of those weekends I had to stay in Chicago for work, THE Toad came down for a weekend. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of Wylarah Filet Mignon at Eddie Merlot’s, Chicago-style deep dish pizza at Giordano’s and Chicago-style hot dogs at Portillo’s. While all of this was a SERIOUS deviation from THE Toad’s post heart attack diet, he immediately returned to the “straight and narrow” on  his diet. Come to find out, THE Toad has lost over 30 pounds since his heart attack! And he admitted to feeling much better. Now I have to get on my pony & get MY weight off. He is doing SO much better at watching his diet than I am; it’s sad.

While I said in one of my previous texts that I had a breakthrough in my eating and had avoided all the sweets, snacks and bad food during my initial weeks in Chicago, and I did manage 17 days of exercise, I completely fell off the wagon as the installation in Chicago grew more intense and stressful. The last month has pretty much been too many calories, no exercise, and stress, stress, stress! Not a combination for weight loss.

So what’s coming up after vacation? Back to Chicago! But, since the system was accepted, things “should” be less stressful. And, I have to eat better and exercise or I am going to be the next one to have a heart attack!

Work Travel, Heart Attack, and Other Crazy Toads

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So many Toads; so little time! The Toads in my life are moving at Mach 2 these days. Since my last blog post the Work Travel Toad has returned full time. As have the Bitchy Customer Work Toads. Lord save me from female Project Managers who feel they have to act like the ultimate bitch to be successful. I guess they never heard the old saying “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar!” Do they really think it makes them more successful? I have worked the Project Management game for 15+ years and have been very successful at it, but not once have I felt the need to act like an unmitigated bitch to be successful. Treating people respectfully and appreciating their contribution to the project goes a lot further.

Then there is the 5 AM phone call to your hotel room from your Daughter to say “Mom, Daddy had a heart attack last night, emergency surgery and no one can get you on your cell phone!” Talk about shifting into over drive! Immediate calls to the corporate travel agency for a plane home, speeding drives to / from airports, one way car rentals, mad cart rides through the airport to get to the next plane, and a lot of luck got me to the hospital 12 hours later. THE Toad, was fine. I will say that he seems to have a new outlook on life and is more amenable to helping me and spending time with me.

Miraculously, he had driven himself to the hospital, then was transferred to another hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to insert a stent into the main artery to the heart. Turns out I was right – the day before I left on travel, when he had arm and shoulder pain, he was indeed having heart attacks. Of course, being your typical hard headed male, he was certain it was shoulder pain due to his torn rotator cuff. When the doctor was taking him into surgery, he suggested to THE Toad that he should listen to his wife next time as she was obviously smarter than him! Score one for the wife!

In the aftermath of the heart attack THE Toad & I have made the decision to move to New Hampshire to live closer to our Daughter. Luckily my work allows me to work from anywhere so long as I have a major airport nearby and a high speed internet connection. So, instead of waiting until I retire to move near my Daughter, we are putting the house we purchased 2 years ago up for sale and making plans to move. I truly hope my next move is to the funeral home! I have an enough moves in my life! On the other hand, I am very much looking forward to living near my Daughter and being able to visit with her more frequently. We have not lived in the same town since she was 18 years old and went off to college. This will be a real treat. She is, and always has been, my Daughter and my best friend. My journey through life with her is my most cherished experience.

During this past week, while working at the customer site, I had a critical breakthrough with the Weight Toad! I managed to resist the temptation to indulge in the various donuts, muffins, cookies and snacks that are ever present during major installs at a customer site. I stuck to my clean eating plan – consuming fish, chicken, salads (without massive amounts of salad dressing), veggies, black coffee and water. I felt SO much better all week long. Today I did indulge in a pizza for dinner and I must say, I feel really crappy this evening. Back to the clean eating tomorrow. I felt SO much better all last week. That was a MAJOR accomplishment for me. I also lost 2 pounds. At least the Weight Toad is going in the right direction – down!

And today just happens to be the 34th anniversary for THE Toad and I! Proof positive that miracles do happen!

 

Family Toads

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Another family visit & some much needed down time! This time I am visiting my Uncle, Aunt & Cousins out west in Arizona. We celebrated my Uncle’s 80th birthday on Friday. He had no idea I was coming to town & was quite surprised when he walked into my cousin’s home & saw me. Big hugs all around! Wonderful. My cousin & I made him his favorite desert and meal for his birthday dinner. Chicken & dumplings the way my Grandma made them and pineapple upside-down cake. To say my Uncle was happy with his birthday would be an understatement. He also received a gift card for the local golf course from my Dad & I. My cousin gave him his fishing license and a Salt Blaster gun – it shoots tiny bursts of salt to kill insects. Interesting device.

Sunday Unc and I went to his local golf course & enjoyed 9 holes of golf on his gift card. We had a great time! I even scored my first birdie in all my times playing golf. Seeing as how I only play golf every few years or so, my Dad would chalk this up to “even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now & then!” So it is with some sort of blind, dumb luck I achieved a birdie and two pars on the 9 hole course. The remaining holes were boggies and then some! Like I said – luck. I did have lots of fun & so did Unc.

If you can’t tell, I adore my Unc! He was 16 years old when I was born & has always spoiled me. I spoil him too – there is no food I won’t fix if he wants it! Over the years he has given me many things, mostly his time but also some very cherished trinkets. I call them trinkets not to minimize their value, they are far from that – beautiful Native American jewelry (he knows how much I love it), a gold locket with engraved flowers on it, and gold, intricately carved pendants and matching earrings. He also gave me his time and experiences – driving a car at night when I was 16 & not normally allowed to do so, visits to Native American ruins, working in his t-shirt store in Durango, NM and at the big flea market in Denver, CO. He also gave his time to my daughter and allowed her to learn whether or not she wanted to be a photographer. She did!

And then there is Auntie – or my big Sister as I like to think of her! She is a scream. We have such fun together – mostly ganging up on my Uncle to get our way! Auntie has worked hard her entire life – running the various businesses she & Unc have had over the years – photography studios (yes, they are both photographers), t-shirt shops, and other ventures. She is tough, smart, savvy and wise.

This afternoon we are going over to my cousins for a Memorial Day cookout & visit. It will be my last night in town. I am looking forward to the chance to visit with my cousin again before I fly home tomorrow. This time spent with family is just so wonderful and so good for recharging my batteries! Nothing can beat it!

Tomorrow I fly home to MY Toad and the 3 little dog Toads.Then on Tuesday I start dealing with the Work Toad again. Oh Joy!

 

 

 

Cold Toads

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And I don’t mean Toads that are cold. I mean a cold that causes massive headaches, sinus drainage, fits of coughing, and feeling like you want to sleep forever. Since returning from vacation last week, both THE Toad & I have contracted our worst colds in some time. Thus far, my sinuses are much improved, but the cough and tickle in my throat is relentless. My most recent fit of coughing brought me to the point of nearly harking up my lunch. To say that I am losing my patience would be an understatement. It is a beautiful Saturday outside & I am stuck here coughing my head off in the house! Arg! What really sucks, is I probably caught this from someone on the airplane home, because people these days seem to have forgotten to cover their mouth when the cough & sneeze!

Family Visits

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Another month has passed since my last post. Things are considerably better than they were in my Toads Down the Rabbit Hole post – due in large part to medication and in small part to the THE Toad in MY Road straightening up his act somewhat. Visits to Family Toads over the past month have helped immensely! Long conversations with a close Girlfriend, my Daughter, and my Sister have been invaluable at retaining my sanity.

I spent a week with my Father – always interesting. He has SO many things to say – many of which I agree with; many which I don’t. It was a wonderful visit and I cherish each one. I know that as the years pass, my visits with him become more and more important – both to me and him. Father has reached the age & health conditions where time left is much shorter than time passed. Luckily his mind is clear and he is able to golf, mow his grass, and drive – all things that provide him with a sense of continued freedom and self-worth.

Today finds THE Toad & me winding up a week spent with our Daughter & her Boyfriend. They are a wonderful couple with a great relationship. I truly enjoy spending time with them – they are so thoughtful – showing me places & things they think would interest me. And, given that my Daughter and I are identical twins separated in age by 21 years, I love all the same things she does; so the places we go are just as interesting to me as they are to them. Tuesday we visited Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, NH – beautiful ocean views & relics of WWII coastal defenses. The day of hiking & sightseeing was topped off with a delicious lobster dinner! Wednesday we visited Woodstock Vermont, a Sugar Bush Cheese & Maple Farm (a family-owned & run cheese & maple syrup farm), the Quechee Gourge, and lots of beautiful Vermont scenery. We also had Mother’s Day Brunch and Friday dinner with the Boyfriend’s parents. AWESOME people & GREAT food! We went to a ballgame, visited with friends that own a winery, ate some great Paella, and drank some of their wine – ooh, la, la – good food, good friends, and good wine – what more can you ask for! My Daughter & I discussed our move to New Hampshire when I retire. Now, if the plane just had not been delayed today causing us to miss our connection home! Alas they are stuck with us another day. I don’t think they mind. I certainly am enjoying the extra visit time. Happy, Happy, Happy!

Coming up on Memorial weekend I am flying to Phoenix to visit my Uncle, Aunt & Cousin. That will be another adventure to tell. I am so looking forward to seeing my Uncle! To say that I have always idolized him would be an understatement!

The Work Toad is as frustrating as ever. The last 6 months of the year are shaping up to be pure hell – working 7 days a week for months on end. Not my idea of fun and the reason I have decided to retire in 2 years, 3 months & 1 week instead of in 5 years, 3 months & 1 week. And yes, I am counting!

In the mean time, I purchased a new long lens for my camera & am getting back into my photography big time! Got to develop some options for retirement that do not involve IT or Project Management! The time has come to sharpen old skills, develop new ones and move out on the next book of my life!