Colleen and Sydney came up and we had a really fun visit! We went to the Nutcracker Suite Ballet by the American Repetoir Theater and the Princeton Ballet School. Even Phil enjoyed it! Sydney was a little bored but she may remember that we took her. Front row seats!
Finally, I was able to share a whole bunch of things that I pick up wherever I go for them. That was fun. Colleen enjoyed the black dress I got her. I’m not sure if it will fit but she loved it.
Facebook sucked me in again! Lulled me back in until this morning, Phil sent me an article about how FB uses up so much battery life on our devices. So I deleted the apps off both phones. Gone! Banished! exiled! I will only check in online here and there.
A wonderful picture book arrived in the mail from Marie from out France trip. It is phenomenal!!
Today feels double long since I have a client meeting with physicians from 8-10pm. And then an early meeting tomorrow with my French client.
I cooked up some chili and mashed potatoes and corn. Not bad! It’s a good winter meal. Tomorrow, I am going to cook up a couple soft boiled eggs with toast! Yummy!
Now I am going to head done to keep working on expense reports and my forecasting of hours. Hopefully, I won’t fall asleep!
We are home and enjoying a down day! Well Phil went for a bike ride and I have been sorting out the studio cleaning up and organizing. I just came down to start the spaghetti sauce. Yummy!
Yesterday we went to Bethlehem, PA which was so lovely! I want to go back. We went to an Irish pub called McCarthys I think. Dinner was awesome and the gift shop even better. Phil bought a magnificent navy blue sweater. Absolutely stunning!
We are on the road about halfway to Marie’s. Turkey day! We just passed Somerset and headed through the tunnels on I-70. There is snow on the ground, just a light dusting. I brought the cheesecake and Phil plopped his backpack on top of it! He is such a bull in a China shop.
I used the nw mixer and it was really powerful, though I found myself missing my mom’s old Sunbeam mixer. Cuisiart is fancy but what I really wanted was one that was effective. Oh well.
We had such a great dinner! Marie is an ace of a cook!
We are on the road about halfway to Marie’s. Turkey day! We just passed Somerset and headed through the tunnels on I-70. There is snow on the ground, just a light dusting. I brought the cheesecake and Phil plopped his backpack on top of it! He is such a bull in a China shop.
Today, the car is getting taken care of—oil change, tire rotation/alignment, inspection so that everything is legal for our road trip. Cheesecake is done and in the frig! I need to share the recipe with the shuttle driver!
One thing I have noticed is this nagging little headache behind my right eye. I think it is related to sinuses and maybe the beginning of an infection. I will have to see how I feel over the next couple days.
Yeah! The girls from Brazil 🇧🇷 were great! They went through this house top to bottom and scrubbed everything. The only thing we have left is to do the carpets and the light fixture in the kitchen. I will have Phil tackle that.
The cheesecake is done and in the frig! Now I have to get the car done and stop at Boscovs for candy. I want to fill a nice jar with goodies.
We drive to Wildwood for Sydney’s play, which was very well done for high schoolers. I find it so hard to be in that school because I really hated going there. I have such negative vibes from there and from the town. It makes me so down in the dumps to go there. It lifts as soon as I am home and anonymous again. I love that I never run into people I know! I know I’m weird but I prefer that.
Busy day with work, cooking, and un-decorating. I have 3 calls tomorrow that I must do and then I’m off! I need some down time!
The house cleaners are coming tomorrow and I get the car done on Wednesday. Must make my cheesecake tomorrow as well!
Ah....it’s good to be home and running the errands to fill the fridge and to get the house sorted out. Unpacked and laundry going! Shortly, after a quick rest I will start making a beef stew at Phil’s request. All the Halloween decorations need to be put away and the Christmas ones need to come up.
Tomorrow, we are driving to Wildwood to see Sydney in her play. Chris and Kelly are supposed to be there as well. 🤓
I am so exhausted—th strip home via the Tappanzee Bridge was a nightmare. 287 dumped me onto 202 south and I wish I had stayed on 95 south right through the heart of NYC. Seriously. Never again.
Home now with the fire going and waiting for Phil. He left work at 6 o’clock. WTH? Now we won’t eat until 8. Shoot me!
While I wait for Phil, I am listening to a bag pipe player across the street!! Awesome!
Wow—I am tired of teaching! But this group is so fun! Heidi does hilarious accents from all ethnicities and she had us roaring while she did her teach backs. So fun.
I did my first one-on-one with one of my direct reports. I think it went well b/c I used a template to go by that my boss uses. This method should help us all move forward in our jobs.
It’s Wednesday already and I missed writing something yesterday. My coworker & I were quite busy training and I think we are providing as good as we possibly can while dealing with errors in the training domain and in Fetalink.
Tired! Sushi and generals chicken. Gonna get in my jammies now! Tomorrow we test them and make them practice.
Wow—what a whirlwind. Got home yesterday and chilled for a bit then Phil & I went to dinner at the little Mexican restaurant in Lambertville. Delicious! Then I went through my suitcase and decided on what I was going to need. However, I was just too tired to deal with it. Jammies and bed were calling my name! I tried to watch Project Runway but I dosed off before the strike of half past eight. I gave in and hit the sack! And did I ever sleep!
I left home at 8:55 and grabbed a breakfast sandwich at the bagel train before getting on 195 to the NJ Turnpike (which was the only real slow part of my trip). I managed to stop at a really NYC sorry of rest stop right before the GW bride. BR break and a second cup of tea for the day!
Right now I am posting from the Red Garage at the hospital in Danbury. All good!
Oh boy—hit up Marshall’s! I always find good stuff there when I’m up here. There goes my per diem+.
Of course after the dinner fiasco, I did not sleep at all! But right now I could nod off any second. So tired! I will sleep on the plane no doubt. Dang it . . . I wrote a long paragraph this morning but did not save it. Oh well! I managed to grab a good old American breakfast (sort of) and make a couple sandwiches for the plane ride home in the American Airlines lounge. At least I did not have to eat the food on board --it is very difficult to distinguish between what is loaded with salt, sugar, or fat . . . or all three.
On the flight, I slept about three hours and got online to clean up email and do some WBT's. It helps to get caught up on these long haul flights. I don't mind that.
Home now with the fire going and Phil getting ready to go to dinner. Mexican in Lambertville!
Today, is packing and travel to CDG airport to the Hilton Hotel. I am looking forward to home! Ashley is late to breakfast.
Actually, she missed it. We connected at noon and checked out. My hotel was very expensive but it should be covered except for the nights Marie was there.
Our train ride was challenging because there were 2 guys sitting in our seats. I was lucky that a French woman came to my rescue and to those hoodlums to move into their own “place!” Ashley really struggled with her luggage since there was no room left. Ridiculous that passengers don’t put the small stuff under their seats.
We finally slogg d through the airport and waited an eternity for the Hilton shuttle. The executive lounge was underwhelming and one of the wait staff gave us such poor service, that I complained about it at checkout. So we huffed our way out of the restaurant and went to bed without dinner.
Sleep was a good solid 6 hours which is not enough for me because right now I could fall asleep. This French client is not very interested in us being here on site. They rarely include us in the conversation and I have to beg for the workflows and the scripts, which I have not received either. So I sit and face the horror of nodding off.
Yuck—it is quite cold at 44 degrees and raining. At least it is not windy.
Marie is in France one day and makes the front page of the paper.
This was the most amazing day for Marie being in France! After a long day we are in our jammies and stretched out in bed watching some French program called “Tilt.” And a video of Marie came on! We videotaped it and of course texting everyone! So hilarious!
We toured 2 more castles today—Chenonceau and Chambord. I managed to see more this trip because it is late in the season and there were no crowds. Marie really loved touring the castles and especially Chenonceau. She had been following that one on Pinterest. We did get some great pictures.
We slept sort of broken up last night—asleep at 8pm and waking at 1130pm. We chatted for a couple of hours then tried to go back to sleep. Once again, Marie said I was laughing in my sleep. Of course we woke up late to start our day—7:45am.
Breakfast is small but good. I was able to get a good cup of tea at least.
Right now, we are on the shuttle to our first castle—Azay le Rideau. As our driver stated, “This is my favorite of all the castles In the Loire Valley.”
Must sketch a French mouse
We arrived safe and sound and got through customs very quickly only to go wait at the wrong luggage carousel. Then we headed to a real French restaurant im the airport and voila—Marie saw a mouse scurry across the floor! She practically jumped onto the chair. I could not stop laughing! The waiter came over to ask us what was he matter—like he didn’t know! It was comical!
Now we are down in the waiting area for the train to Tours. I am charging my phone and keep getting a mild shock. I hope it does not burn out my iPhone. Waiting 3+ hours in a cold hard seated bench after being up all night was tough! But we did it. Finally got the train track # assigned only to find the escalator broken with the top steps all piled up on one another. And by the time we dragged all our luggage and computer bags down the thing, we saw a sneaker mangled in the bottom step. As Marie says, “Safety Third!!!”
In the shuttle and ready to begin a fun journey. The only snags are Marie’s return trip and making sure there are 2 double beds. We will work out he kinks. I will reserve a room at the Marriott for Tuesday night. And we need to get train tickets to and from St Pierre too. I’m glad I am heading to the airport early.
Marie and I had a great plane ride. We chatted and laughed so much. The food was horrible as expected and the characters sitting around us provided some hilarity.
I did manage to get quite a bit of work done.
Thursday was a very productive morning. The afternoon was not. Now it is time to ramp it up and finish laundry, packing and some final computer work. I cleaned out the closet and got moving on lots of laundry. I have started packing and picked out a few outfits. Now it’s time to get serious.
Im hiding out in Starbucks! I feel bad but I really prefer having Phil with me. I went to Kohl’s to kill some time then I’m going to Shop Rite for my once every other month supermarket shopping.
Right now I am on a call with a client and the ambient music is so annoying.
Today is the 9th anniversary of Dad passing away. I can’t believe that. Mary Pat sent a group text and wow did that shock me. Theresa responded with a short video of Jack. He is so big and growing up quick. But she does not really ask about any of us like our lives don’t matter. Oh well....it is sad to not have her in our lives more.
Doug Hunsberger has finally gotten a hold of me and tonight we are supposed to meet for an official interview. I feel sort of bad that he is writing about our family and stealing our story. I should run this by my sisters. He is supposed to call me about 8-8:30.
Pat & Betty is looking really good! I do not like the shadow on the dice so I may paint that out and do it from life. It is too dark! But I am learning to critique my own work and correct it. Lines, angles, size, color, interest, highlights and transition colors. I really like doing a value under-painting first. It makes it so much easier to develop my colors using the gray palette.
Here I sit at 1134 after getting up late and taking a mid morning nap. My plan today is to finish the scissors and dice still life. I looked at my group of paintings and I do have a growing body of work. I wish I could stay focused and create at least one new painting a week.
Phil is holding to his housework plan and he has finished dusting and vacuuming the upstairs. He will finish the downstairs shortly after a coffee break. It is a rainy day and he pines for cycling—just like our duck. I will do the bathrooms and wood floors this week.
Time to make a fabulous fruit salad since I will be home for the week! Done ✅
I did manage to get up into the studio today to work on Pat & Betty. I love this painting. Mom was issued these bandage scissors in 1945 with her name engraved on them. Dad always had a set of dice in his pockets or even one dollar bills to play Liar’s Poker. What a juxtaposition in items that could be found in your pockets?
The places Phil takes me to! This year’s free streets event took us from old city through Northern Liberties to West Kensington. Gritty old poor areas of Philly I would not want to drive through, bit it was fun to ride through such varied ethnic neighborhoods. It was fun!
After that 7 mile loop, we rode to South Philly and had a cheesesteak at Pat’s Steaks. It was horrible! I really suffered heartburn and I think gall bladder discomfort. Two sandwiches, 1 FF, 1 water, 1 soda equaled $35. What a rip off! We tried to shop at the Italian Market but it was so cheesy that I wanted to go to Trenton instead. I never thought I would write that! One of the first stores we passed was selling live chickens out of cages stacked up to the ceiling on one wall. Yuck!
Phil gave me an option to ride the Delaware or Schuylkill River. I thought the Delaware would be interesting for a change. We rode along the waterfront towards the Walt Whitman bridge. What a waste of river front property. It is overgrown and trashed. Sad. Then we headed to Performance Cycling and then back up Front St. back to where the car was parked. Good day out doors!
Finally, we did the market shopping and visited the hardware store. Those guys are so funny and they made my day.
And to top off the day, Marie is going to come with me to France! I am so excited, we should have a great time.
Phil took Friday off which is great to have him here! He shared a story today about the tomato plant I gave him for his birthday or for his house. It was an orange grape or pear tomato plant. He nursed that plant all summer on his porch and enjoyed his first farming adventure. However, with the heat of the summer, it completely wilted and dried up one week when here was up here in Ysrdley. He almost gave up on it after the first harvest, which he claimed the tomatoes were delicious. But “Lazarus”resurrected from the dead with new sprouts and flowers, which turned into more tomatoes! These were all learning lessons on how tomatoes blossom from flower buds to a fruit. He continued to harvest these small tomatoes until this week when he came home and found his plant had been blown off the porch down the steps to the ground below with most of its branches broken off. What a journey for one poor plant! At least Phil was able to collect the last of the tomatoes for one last salad!
Long day to head home—14 hours worth. I left the hotel early so that I could get to the airport and sign into the WebEx for women and finances by 10am. The stupid Apple GPS took me to the airport via dirt roads!! I am not kidding. Ridiculous! The best part about the ride was the view! The cottonwood trees were a magnificent golden color.
The last straw is trying to get gas. If I had stayed on 550, I would have passed one. Instead, I had to double back to sonoco making an illegal u-turn. This was a 14 mile unnecessary trek.
Once at the airport, I got a cup of tea fro the “oldest” employee of the airport. She was a real Mountain Woman. She gets up at 0330 and heads into work in a short sleeve shirt no matter if the temps are inthe 30’s. She was raised inMaine so she is strong stock who loves the snow & Ice.
Bummer! I drove all the way to the Four Corners and missed it by 20 minutes! The national monument closed at 4:50pm and I got there at 5:10. Well, at least I managed to drive to Arizona. Tonight, I need to pack and once again I bought a bunch of clothes fro TJ Maxx. I hope I can squeeze it all in my suitcase.
Traveling home tomorrow will be a long slog and won’t get to Yardley until midnight. But at least I will be home for a week before France.
What a scary ride from Durango to Farmington at 9pm last night. Glad I made it safe because GPS did not work. I slept fair and today will be challenging because we are working until 8pm tonight. Going to be a long day.
This client is so easy going—including the lactation consultant. She is so sweet. The orders workshop went better than I expected as well. I always learn from these one off events.
Long day doing a 12 hour shift. Trying to get a grip on my CT client. We will have a meeting tomorrow about it all. What a PIA!
Starting the journey to Farmington and working on physician order sets. The Lifetime app locked me out of all the Project Runway shows so I broke down and signed up for Hulu. And there are no commercials! $12 per month but so worth it! I shared wmy log-on with Phil so he can check shows and movies.
I see that there are 40 emails from CT. Oh boy—I must answer them.
Wow—45 degrees and I woke up freezing! So lots of layers, fireplace on, and then get moving. I had dishes to clean from last night and I discovered that I had left a burner on low all night. That is the smell that geeeeted is when we came in from the play. Tonight, we are cooking kielbasa and cabbage! All fresh ingredients—carrots, cabbage, potatoes. Yum!
I still have a slight headache 🤕 I think from the flu shot. But the plan is to get up stairs and paint today! I want to try out my new pochade box. I need to finish the pansies, the scissors and dice, and the eye series. I will have to address laundry though.
The pansy is done and I used the cigar box now that it is all situated. The setup works well when I Use my Coulter box and tripod. I found tension hinges on Amazon and saved them to my shopping cart to replace the ones on the cigar box.
I am tired! We had the kielbasa and cabbage—was so good. Now I am trying to watch previous episodes of PR. The internet is acting up!
Today we will be going on a short bike ride around Trenton to see various churches. It is always interesting to see the people and their reaction to some many cyclists riding through some of the worst neighborhoods. At Pat’s Diner now!
Then the plan is to go to Howell farm for basket weaving and broom making. To top off the night, we are going to see a play at the Quaker Theatre — To Kill a Mocking Bird. Should be a great day.
It was fun! Afterwards, we went to the markets and loaded up on fresh food. Then we headed home to take a nap, 3 hours later I woke up—so tired. Now, we are at the Newtown Theatre for the show. It is really good, especially the kids.
Lots of meetings today and right now I am doing a train-the-trainer event with my French client. Wow - so many meetings! And the interview with Princeton. The recruiter did not have a position available that would be a fit for me but they have my info. C’est la vie!
I did manage to get to Lowes and have a piece of glass cut for my pochade box. It is s a little large but it should work fine. The Vasari paints arrived yesterday and I want to try them out! Sunday will be a studio day.
Tomorrow, Phil & I will do the church Tour of Trenton. That should be interesting! I need to head to bed since I got up so early.
Ding dong! I know what that means! Joanne—Jo Jo, etc. what a relief that she is off the project. She dragged it down so.
Steve has to cut the meetings down. One apology only!
My CT client has finally realized that the TTT event is WH focused and they need to step up their game. Training materials and handouts are nonexistent.
It’s Flyday!
Finally in Philadelphia and have an hour + drive home. 5 o’clock!!! Oh that ride home took more than an hour but home I am now!
Today was a very productive day. Our client is very happy that so many things have been crossed off the issue list. I managed to finally get my travel arrangements done for France. Next I need to knock of the TTT agenda and value measurement for my CT client.
This morning my manager emailed and set up a quick meeting. She offered me the team lead position again and as we chatted, I reminded her that a stepped down after they made me fire my first direct report for refusing vaccines. And then, they wanted me to take on 3 more direct reports that were not WH clinical consultants. She finally understood why I gave up previously and asked this time around if my direct reports would be part of our team. Hopefully, this will be a better experience. Phil probably won’t like it but I would like to make the maximum that this position can make—$134,000 or become a WH client executive.
Finally packed up and once again, my suitcase is stuffed going home from here.
Yuck. But I slept really well last night, so well I could not get up this morning. Today was productive I suppose; once again, we are going over the issues list and fixing stuff. The room we are in all week is freezing! At lunch I went out and bought a shawl and a long sweater at Ross’s. Much better to be all covered!
I have a few fires I need to put out—training agenda for CT, travel for France, and fill out the flu stuff for TN.
Tonight I am catching up on blogging and TV. Oh and I have a telephone Interview scheduled for this Friday for a nurse leader position at Princeton Healthcare System. Hmm .... we shall see how that goes!
On the shuttle now where I am heading to my least favorite place. This client is so challenging and there is not much to do here except shop. I brought my watercolors to maybe try getting to color on my sketches. So there is that instead of shopping .... And maybe I can sketch something that reminds me of the good things about Tennessee.
Ah...PHL airport. Now I am very glad I checked my bag, what a slog through security this morning. Terminal F (well named) had no Precheck!! I know—the horrors but the line was an hour long. Good thing I leave early so that I have time for delays like that. I almost didn’t have time to grab food from the lounge. Gratefully, AA has to-go cups and I throw everything in them and tuck them in my bag.
Lots of challenges traveling today, but I arrived on time and intact. I tried to check in early to no avail as my room was not ready. So I mosied on down to Soft Surroundings and bought a very comfortable pair of navy slacks and of course I am going to look for more I other colors. I also bought a few other things—sweater and a navy tunic.
And finally off to Centerpoint for catching up with the client and dinner with Bridget. She needs to move onto another job as she is not very happy.
Phil is driving me today because it ends at noon. He is going to try to get a ride in while I finish up my painting.
Abbey is the most giving teacher and I love her critiques! I see and learn from her demos so much. I finally am going to work on setting up my cigar box. I understand the value in using it and keeping my work much more compact. Use the tip of the brush gently and with less paint. I would like to keep my paints in the cigar box as well so that everything is all together.
We stopped at Home Depot in Trenton and it seems they do not cut glass anymore. I have to cut it myself. What the heck! A new skill!
Colleen just texted me with pictiyof her new Jeep! Sweet! Her dad bought it and she has a loan for $160 a month. She seems to be very happy with Tommy. I hope it all lasts.
I have my cigar box almost ready—just need the glass insert. I tried to cut a piece but made a mess of it. I will go to a glass shop and have it cut proper.
Now I am so tired but I have to pack for tomorrow. I better get moving.
Unfortunately, my very interesting fascinating journal entry that I wrote while in the Chinese restaurant picking up take away, was lost in cyberspace b/c I did not hit save! Dang it!
I shared how amazing Abbey is with color and her methods of applying paint with only one brush. And of course her little cigar box that has traveled around the world with her. I wish I could paint with her weekly.
Of course I had to pick up a few things from Jerry’s Artarama ang Hobby Lobby, fabric and a container for her medium. I found her table on Amazon and put that on my list.
Up at 0400! I can’t sleep so I’m surfing the internet and pulling the covers over me or shoving them to the side. The AC is so cold blowing on me but the room gets so hot in between that it makes me schizophrenic when sleeping. This happens at home too. The perfect temperature for sleeping is now 65 degrees. Most of my life I was comfortable at 72 degrees. What a change!!
Made the trip to Pensacola airport without any problems. Actually, I got in early and managed to grab a seat on an earlier flight so I can work in the lounge, instead of working at the gate in PNS. I had to give up my first class seat but I will be able to eat, chill, and get my time sheet and expenses in!
Tonight I will need to get my stuff together for Abbey Ryan’s class tomorrow! I can’t wait!!! I will need to get on the road by 0730.
Fortunately, I was able to get aan earlier flight to Charlotte. But alas, no real work got done. One of our consultants called me and complained about the same stuff she has been whining about for months. It’s time she makes a change. It’s getting old.
So far, so good. Joint Commission is still due into the unit today.
Well, they are here on the high risk OB floor. They called me up to stand by for help as needed. I only have 7.5 more hours! Yippee! And I am standing here in the floor and realize that there is no central monitoring. Wow! That is going to be a big ding.
The registration & transfer process is really messy.
Finally, I got to participate ina JC meeting! It went better than I expected. I do know my stuff. This nurses’ unit is covered with tape and it is obvious the staff pulled all sorts of stuff off the walls. They are testing the manual BP cuffs b/c for some reason they aren’t working somewhere in the hospital.
Yeah! I’m done!! And I made a beeline for Mudbugs at the loop! Treating myself to an amazing seafood dinner! Yummy!!!
And I ate the whole thing!
Got to bed a bit late after watching the Voice so slept in a bit, then came in at 0630 so the I can grab breakfast first at the hotel. Smart move b/c no one needs me at that hour.
Today is busier than yesterday due to Joint Commission being in the house. I stressed the importance of getting a grip on all the alarms and no sound! Apparently there wasn’t any sound on and after some investigation, there still was no speaker, which was identified last week. I have been a bit pushier with each conversion.
While wearing my wristies, I had to go outside to warm up. Who knew little geckos can jump so far? I just watched one jump right into a tree, so cute! Sydney would have loved seeing that!
Halfway done!
Of course I fell asleep too early last night and I will be dragging g all day. Let’s get ready!
So far so good! Things have settled down here. I gave out my phone # to everyone I could. There is a consultant that works for USA_AL, Joe, and he is very good. Apparently, they pulled half the support people and sent them home. Sigh ....
It’s time to do rounds again.
Things have gone much smoother than I ever thought. I managed to work with the manger & educator and they appreciate my expertise. The 3rd party learning support people are the typical sit around‘s; they were receptive to some feedback. Leadership does not want any of us to create any job aides without the educator’s blessing. I agreed and spread the word.
The analysts that I am working with are a hoot! We got along very well by the end of the day. I will never forget the term “bikini” in terms of PowerChart!!
Colleen is looking at a new car. Should I sell her mine and get a new one?
It’s 0630 and I am heading to the airport bright and early to head to Mobile, AL, which I dread. This will be the second week of support and I’ve heard it has been very bumpy. Oh well, I will do what I can, but I am worried about my back. I packed light with my scrubs and lab coat. We shall see how things go—bright & early tomorrow as I must report at 0600.
Oops . . . I do not function well when I get up at 0430. I just spilled my tea all over some guys seat! Shoot. He was pretty understanding but commented “that’s why I don’t bring coffee on board!” Pardon me! Thank goodness it was leather & easily cleaned up. For first class, the seats are close together and my roller computer bag barely fit. Things get tighter and tighter. And now we wait for a gate agent to open the plane door. Jeeze!
Wow! Charlotte airport is a mess! The ceilings are all being replaced and the carpet makes it impossible to roll my suitcase stacked with my computer bag. Uphill. Moving sidewalks aren’t working. Just a nightmare for those with tight connections. I’ll keep that in mind when booking trips for the next year. Terminal E is horrid similar to terminal F in PHL. American Eagle is awful too.
Here I Mobile, which is very southern but I do love the style of architecture. The hospital is in the middle of a ghetto, not the nicest area. I can’t wait until this assignment is over. I did have a decent dinner at the bar next door to the hotel—crab cakes, salad, and Fench fries. I treated myself to the bread pudding it was really great.
Recently, I have had Christopher on my mind so I texted him. He sounds good but only taking one class this semester, which is really bettter than none. I invited him to the bike ride but did not hear back from him.
Last night I fell asleep very early after dinner then was wide awake at midnight. Phil tried to get me to bed art a decent hour but I was not sleepy. Finally, I put some ephemera into my art journal. That is so cool but my ink drawings are screaming for color. This afternoon I think I will pack and then try to put some colors in.
Phil and I want to head to the movies this afternoon. Victoria and Abdul gets a 4.5 rating and I have wanted to see it for weeks. I love Judy Dench! He is a bit frustrated because AIT is going live with Capacity Management tomorrow and he needs to log in and troubleshoot something. Lots of out loud thoughts have been shared the last hour or so!
Bills are all paid and there is plenty of money left in my checking account. Wow - this is the first time I have ever felt really comfortable financially. My four-year Cernerversity was last week and I have saved almost a quarter of everything else in my retirement accounts. Almost a 100,000. That is crazy! Cerner has really provided me many more financial opportunities than any other employer. I received a 4% raise and I upped my retirement contribution by 3%. Now the goal is to stay until I am 66 years old and draw from my retirement until I am 70. Then I will receive the max from SS. I also created an account online so that I can track any activity on my SS account. My credit score is 840 and right now the only debt I have is my mortgage with Phil. I pay him 1000 a month. My next goals for this year are to put a freeze on anyone opening a credit card in my name or with my SS#. And to get a will drawn up.
Now to go pack for the dreaded conversion in Mobile, AL! Then put some color into my journal! I managed to paste all the stickers & stubs into my journals and it makes me happy. I did not get a chance to pull out the watercolors though, so I packed them for AL.
So I think Phil sort of proposed to me tonight! He somehow researched marriage in PA and he is interested in how the Quakers do it. They use an illuminated contract that all the attendees sign, which is considered a legal document. I like the idea! We need to take care of each other until we die. He still gives me butterflies in my stomach. I really feel loved by this man.
He took me to see Quaker Oaths and it was an adorable love story. We stayed after the social showing at the Newtown Theatre to listen to the director/writer discuss making of the movie. She made the movie for less than $50,000 and had 13 of her cousins in the cast. It was priceless!!
A momentous day!
Phil & I will go to the Trenton market and pick up food for the weekend. Dry ice seems to be used for fixing car dents so we will stop at the ice cream store for that.
Breakfast at Pat’s and now at the market. The riot of colors of all the veggies, especially the peppers, is a visual feast for me. I have such an urge to set up my easel and paint! Look at the cranberry beans!
Carolyn & I finally connected & she is doing really well after her cataract surgeries. She is very pleased with the results. Good to know that she splurged for the more expensive lens. As an artist, I would too.
We Phil & I took the light rail from Roebling to Bordentown. Convenient & cheap. I came across a couple of artists that I liked especially a woman who creates the cutest little paper mache pumpkins.
We had a new gastronomic experience—potato chips on a stick. Yummy!
FSR event went well but as usual I am happy to head home. My biggest concern right now is the conversion next week. I have not received any travel information and Hurricane Nate is approaching. Should be interesting. My saved flight has probably been cancelled.
Here in ABQ airport, there is no internet. WTH - is as bad as the Doubletree. Which I did complain about & they are going to remove the parking charges. We shall see if that happens.
I managed to spend almost a hundred dollars on knickknacks.
Two good things happened—I was upgraded to first class on both my flights. 🤓
On board flight #2 for home. I was in Dallas for a couple hours chilling in the lounge, the soup was so loaded with garlic! Yuck. Here is a snap of the mountains leaving Albuquerque
Home now! Phil had brought me a turkey dinner from Pat’s Diner! And bread pudding!!! I’m a lucky girl!
Today I am up early—0500 east coast time. I slept really well and do not remember going to bed. All the news is about Las Vegas. It is so sad and the evil in the world is beyond imagination.
Workflows went smoothly today and lunch was an expensive sandwich from the hotel lobby. There are few food options around the ABQ convention center. I made do.
Tonight, I am going to join the ladies for a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It will be a good bonding experience.
Gratefully, I have been weaning myself from Facebook. Since Last Friday, I have only peeked at it and there is not too much that I am missing. I like journaling better to get my thoughts out and down on “paper.” The political scene is horrendous and I must resist being pulled into any of that. The news is consumed with the shooting in Las Vegas. My poor young coworker fell apart today b/c there are issues with her family in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria. She would not say what specifically but apparently there are missing family members. Sad.
New Mexico
Event is going well after a bumpy morning. Sometimes I over think things and once I started using the workflows, things got much smoother.
Sandy emailed everyone about a team lead position. I responded that I am interested again now that life has settled down. This time we must interview for it.
In town by the UNM is an art supply store called Aztec Arts I stopped by and picked up a few things—watercolor crayons and a white pencil for my sketch journal. Also, tape dots and two-sided tape for inserting ephemera into my journals.
Afterwards, I headed to uptown Albuquerque which is a walking mall. I found a few things at J Jill. A tweed-like sweater coat and a wool spring green sweater. Nice! But there went my per diem.
Finally, I picked up some Chinese food which was horrible! I could not eat it. What a waste.
Oh well.....
Starting the journey to Albuquerque via Dallas. We I’ll be hosting the client at the convention center. This should prove interesting. I will be presenting future state review without the systems integrating. Shaking my head here.
Starting Friday the balloon festival kicks off. Hotel rates have skyrocketed; unfortunately, I will be leaving right before the madness. I am a little disappointed because this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. What is a plus is I was assigned to rent a car so I will at least be able to explore a bit and maybe see some of the early shenanigans.
Taking off from Philadelphia international airport gives me a unique office window to the world. Here is a photo of the Delaware River which I noticed a few oil slick booms in place. Pollution of this planet is so apparent even from 30,000 feet in the air.
During my flight and after my nap, I started reading a book on my Kindle app about art journaling. I had an aha moment—create a color journal with all the various mediums that I have. I could add in additional surfaces and papers for testing pigments.
While in Albuquerque I would like to hit up an art supply store. I would like to add a white colored pencil to my sketch supplies. To make it easier to have everything one one place, I need to grab the little purse with the art supplies on it for a quick grab & go sketching set. I managed to do two head sketches—very quick on the airplane. I can do it!
So when in New Mexico—get Mexican for dinner! Chicken fajitas! We shall see if it is good. I found this little place near the hotel.
It's 10am and I am sitting by the fireplace trying to shake the chill off of 47 degrees! Today's temperatures are supposed to rise to upper 60's. So that I am productive (i.e. Not Facebooking), I am watching Dennis Perrin's video of him painting sorbet peonies at the front of his house in Maine. The breeze, wind chimes, and birds make me ache for spring and early summer again. I'm a little disconcerted thinking that those seasons are limited in my life now. Each one is precious, as is the this fall. 
Tomorrow's work trip is to Albuquerque, NM. This should be interesting as we need to prep 2 domains. Bouncing back & forth will be distracting.
Up early to get on the road! We arrived here by 10am at the Speckled Hen in Strasburg, PA. Breakfast was very good and served w/o any plasticware. Phil's Frenchtoast Stacker came with real maple syrup. How sweet is that--literally!
The weather has changed to a cool 59 degrees with winds up to 25 MPH. So, we are changing our bike route to head west and ride the trail along the Susquehanna River to Marieta. We will start in Columbia.
Before we ride, we are going to stop at Best Buy because I need to get a hard drive and a jump drive to save my pix. I want to let go of Facebook (mainly b/c I am getting bored with it and I cannot stand the ads) and journal more on this blog. I'm not sure if I will share it with anyone but I will have a better personal journal of my work.
And of course Phil wants to stop by the Era Pro bike shop. 🤓
Good news of the day: Marie invited us for Thanksgiving! We should have a great time. 🦃🍁🍂
Somewhere along the line I want to pause and sketch! That didn't happen but I did ride 28 miles with Phil on the River Walk bike path. It's a beautiful windy & windy trail. My knees, butt, back & wrists hurt. Now we are at Katie's Diner for a real Amish meal. I told the sweetheart of a hostess 2 of us for dinner. She wrote down Phil's name as Feal!
