Dad & Cordelia

He took her from Susan and started walking her around the restaurant. The next time we saw him he was in the bar surrounded by a group of women. Turns out Cordelia is a chick magnet!

It's kind of sad because this is probably the closest he'll get to having another grandbaby. He actually caught himself saying "come to Grandpa" when he picked her up. Maybe he can be the 3rd grandpa...

Saturday

Saturday morning we got up and tried to take Sofie to the dog park. Sadly it was closed due to the wet weather (it's not a real dog park, just a school's fenced-in baseball field that is a dog park from dawn to 1pm on the weekends). We ended up driving down to the gravel-filled dog park that Sofie doesn't really like then over to work so she could be off-leash for a bit out behind the building. When leaving we decided to do a bit of exploring and went down to Castle Island and walked around the fort. A man fishing off the pier caught a huge fish while we watched and we met some good dogs. I hope to go back soon.

The husband and I then walked over to the Museum of Fine Arts, where an old man and his wife cut the line in front of us (and yes I did call them out on it). We bought the City Pass which would have been a better deal if we'd thought about it before we went to the aquarium, but it still saved us money. Anyway, we didn't pay extra for the special exhibits but the regular museum was enough. The ancient seals were just about the coolest things, very intricately carved.

After the MFA, we drove up to doggie day care and dropped Sofie off for the afternoon so we could do some shopping. We hit the cd shop, a bookstore, Trader Joe's, a Flag Day carnival and got lunch before picking her back up.

Saturday night we walked over to the Prudential and went up to the 50th floor to the Skywalk Observatory. I had wanted to go to the restaurant on the 52nd floor but heard it wasn't very good and since it was mostly about the view and not the food and since we had tickets from the City Pass, we did that. It was cloudy out but it didn't obscure the view of the city at all. It was just getting dark and was very pretty. It's always amazing to see what a small town Boston really is. I know the suburbs go on for quite a distance, but the city itself is compact.

We decided to get some dinner on the way home and stopped off at a restaurant we'd walked past several times. It was loud but the food was good - salt and pepper calamari and lobster mac and cheese.

My Brother's Pets

Scarlet the parrot

Carmen the dog

My Sister's Car

Maybe now she'll buy a new one that doesn't beep randomly...

My Mom

I am up way too late considering I have a 5:30am flight but it's been hard to part company with my mom. I've known for a while she wouldn't be around long but since Ma died, I've been feeling it even more. My mom is going to be 85 in August and I still don't think I know her that well. I'm glad she has seen me succeed in my career, but I regret that she'll never see one of her daughters have a baby. There's a lot going through my head right now and I thought writing it down would help, but it's just making me want to cry. So I'll call it done and hope that I have enough time to learn who my mother really is.

Barbara Elizabeth Lomonaco

Ma passed away this morning around 6am. She got to meet her granddaughter and had her family around her.

I last saw her in person in March when she was in the hospital. She looked pretty good but we didn't get to talk like we both had hoped. I'll never know for sure what she wanted to talk about but I know I said what I wanted to say.

We Skyped in April after Cordelia was born and I was visiting and helping out. It felt like old times.

Ma always seemed to be about style, but she had the substance to back it up. If you got to hang out with her it always shone through.

Apparently I'm going to be responsible for helping to tell Cordelia about her Grandma Barb and making sure she knows about all the stupid things her mom did growing up.

I think I'm also going to take on the responsibility of buying Cordelia all the super-girly things Grandma Barb would have bought her. It may even be fun.

I'll miss you, Ma. I'm glad I knew you and I'm sorry you had to go so soon. I've had the privilege of having 3 moms in my life and now I've lost 2, both to ovarian cancer. I don't know what else to say. It's just not fair, which sounds childish, but it's not fair.

Wednesday

It's Wednesday. I don't have anything to do but wait for people on the west coast to get to work and call me back or send me stuff. It's my second week on this job and so far it's been fine. Everybody seems very nice and the director even brings his dog Spuz to work. Luckily, Spuz and Sofie get along. Sadly, Sofie does not like the director. It doesn't help that he wears a hat all the time.

We are going to look at apartments later today. We got permission to move out of the hotel last week and we've been trying to find something. It hasn't been easy, since we need to find something for only 6 months, furnished, that will take Sofie. I'm going to room with AH, who was a housemate last year. We've seen one place but it was a bit of a dump and the parking was ridiculous. $345 per month and they didn't even open until 7am. WTF?

The hotel we're staying in is very nice. Everyone seems to know Sofie by name and most of them seem to like her. I'm going to miss having her around, but I won't miss the random barking at people who walk by.

Despite the quality of the hotel, not having a kitchen is expensive. We have to get something out every night and I'm so over it. I actually want to make spaghetti again. Hopefully one of the three apartments we're seeing today will work out.

We had a great trip out here - stopped and saw so much. I'm glad we didn't have to make it in four days like last time. And since Sofie isn't staying with me, I can fly home in December and save the husband some miles.

I hope the guy from the studio calls me back soon. I need to get my computer fixed so I can print checks. I'm not sure what's wrong with it - it may have something to do with me installing my scanner or maybe something I picked up from the internet. It's not like I look at porn and crap but I do click on things that may be trouble. We'll see what happens.

I think I'll go and see if the boss' cat is in - Peewee is her name. She's about as old as Baxter and it's nice to pet her. I miss my kitties.

Last Day Driving

I'm in a Motel 6 in Sturbridge, MA this morning getting ready to go to the laundromat before finishing the trip to Boston. I don't know when I'll have time to do laundry again so I figure I'd better take care of it now. Especially since both the husband and I fell into the creek at Fallingwater.

Yes, I know you're not supposed to go down to the creek but I did anyway and took some pics. Then I slipped on the wet rocks and fell in and then husband fell trying to help me. Soaking wet jeans made for an uncomfortable tour of the grounds but since we didn't pay for the interior house tour, it was fine. We changed pants in the parking lot and continued on our way. But now we're both down to only 1 pair of jeans and that won't do. So it's off to the laundromat.

After that, I'm hoping to stop by Sturbridge Pottery. I think we'll have time since it's only an hour or so to Boston and the hotel probably won't be ready for us until 3pm.

Other than that, it's been a good trip. We are all three of us tired of being in the car but we've gotten to see a lot of sights and that's made it worthwhile. I especially liked seeing the baby kangaroo in the canvas bag at the animal park in Donegal. It was behind the register and they're having a naming contest. I went with Hamilton.

Again?

I like ABBA - I always have. I went to see Mamma Mia! in the theatre and enjoyed it, even singing along under my breath.

But now that my neighbors own the dvd and play it at least 3 times a day, I'm starting to hate them with a passion that is unholy.

If I wasn't going to Boston on Sunday, I'd probably need bail money soon.

Boston

Forgot to mention, I am going to Boston. I have to be there May 18th and we're going to start driving May 10th. We have a house sitter lined up and are getting the place sorted and cleaned. Have to get the cats groomed and Sofie needs a bath, too. She's going with us but I'm not going to be able to keep her with me. Right now I'm stuck in the hotel and while it's dog-friendly, I wouldn't be able to leave her alone in the room at all. So that's not really going to work for me if I can't even go to the fitness room or the store without her. Things may change after I get there but I'm reconciling myself to being alone until mid December.

The in-town show fell through when the actors passed so I didn't really have a decision to make.

Police Raid

The husband, Sofie, and I were taking our morning constitutional when a large group of police in helmets rounded the far corner coming towards us. We were in a very nice neighborhood of Toluca Lake, on the route we take almost every day, about four houses away from them. I asked "what is that?" and the husband replied "a raid".

We crossed the street and stopped, waiting to see what happened. The husband was all for turning around but I wanted to watch so we stood there while they approached a house and spread out around it, some at the end of the driveway, some at the side gate nearest us, and the rest going to the front door. We couldn't hear anything, but a man came out of the house and they put him in handcuffs. Then a woman came out, but I couldn't tell if they cuffed her or not. The dogs came out but they were all happy and excited to have the company so the cops didn't bother them.

When we were sure there wasn't going to be any shooting (we never saw a single gun even drawn), we continued on our walk. It was surreal, especially since the people who lived there had said hello to us the other day - nice as pie. I guess we'll find out from the news if it was drugs or something else.

Sped and Dilly

I'm sitting in Sped's living room, waiting for her to come back from her mommy support group. I came down yesterday to help out with Dilly for a week or so. She's still pretty damn cute but what a set of lungs! I'm sure it will get better for everybody when Sped can bottle-feed - at least then Dad with be able to take a shift in the middle of the night and Sped can get more sleep. Both mom and dad are super parents and I enjoy watching them interact with their little girl.

On a selfish note, I'm hoping being here will help me decide once and for all if I want a baby. I know this part may be rough but I also know it doesn't last forever. None of the phases, good or bad, last forever. What changes is the complete responsibility you have for another person for 18 years. That's a long time and shouldn't be taken lightly if you're ambiguous in the first place.

In other news, the Boston show may be back on with a different accountant. There's really not any reason to not take the show. Even if they don't give me the housing allowance there's still the possibility of making an extra $14k. Yes, I am talking to someone about a show in town, but I haven't said yes, just talked rates. I'm going to have to make this decision today because if I'm going, then I have a lot to take care of beforehand.

No Boston For Me

Well, it looks like the show in Boston has fallen through. I'm not sure exactly what happened but I do know it had nothing to do with me. Oh well. I'll make it to NYC eventually.

I do have another offer for a Disney show with an accountant and producer I've worked with before. I've told them my rate and asked where the office will be. I'll probably say yes depending on the answer.

One good thing about not having to rush out of town? I don't have to scramble to finish my to-do list.

Back To Boston?

Someone around town seems to think my vacation to Portland was actually me taking a job in Portland... no wonder I haven't been getting any calls.

M emailed me to ask where I was and what I was doing; she'd been told I was working in Portland. Turns out the accountant from Surrogates has an offer to do a Kevin James show in Boston and had called her. I wrote her back then immediately wrote the accountant to let her know I was still available.

I heard from the acct this morning and she's still working out her deal, but it should all be coming together soon. Looks like we may be heading back to Boston even though I said I didn't want to travel that far.

Maybe this time we can stop in Gettysburg.

To Do

I still don't have a job lined up but I am getting better at working on my to do list. I've gotten a few of the small projects crossed off and now have to buckle down for the bigger ones. I have about a week or so before I go down to Sped's house and I need to be done with as much as possible by then. I should post some pics, maybe that will help motivate me. Bragging usually does...

And to my sister, I'm sending mom a little package.

Cordelia's Nursery Part 3

Cordelia's Nursery Part 2

Cordelia's Nursery Part 1

Introducing...

Cordelia Elizabeth

7 lbs 4 oz

19.5 ins

Portland

The husband and I (and Sofie) went to Portland last week for a little vacation. We had a nice time, but it wasn't thrilling or anything.

We left on Wednesday and drove, taking 2 days so we wouldn't be exhausted. We stopped in Redding and went to a little used book store, where we got my dad some Zane Grey books. Then we tried to see the Sundial Bridge but there was a sign saying "no dogs" so we didn't bother getting out of the car.

After leaving Redding Thursday morning we stopped in Mount Shasta City to get a close-up of the mountain. I'd read about Shasta and always hoped to see it in person, but never thought I would. It's pretty impressive, even though it was shrouded in mist and clouds.

When we got to Portland, we checked in and went for a walk. The hotel was right downtown so we saw some of that area, including Pioneer Courthouse Square where we saw a man walking a cat on a leash. Sofie and it made eye contact, but nobody wigged out. Then we got some excellent Indian food from one of the carts in a parking lot and went back to the hotel to relax.

On Friday, we drove out to Powell's to drop off 12 boxes of books for trade-in, then took off to Fort Clatsop (the Lewis and Clark fort out on the coast). It was a scenic drive but it looked a lot like East Tennessee. After the fort, we drove down to Seaside and took Sofie to the beach. She was ok with it because the water must have been at low tide and was a distance away. The only thing that did bother her was a German Shepherd named Brutus who kept licking her. Then we had lunch at Bigfoot's Pub and Grub, which was probably our 2nd best meal after the Indian food.

Saturday it rained, but we went to the Saturday Market and had a look around then drove out the Columbia River Gorge and saw the waterfalls - Wayne's recommendation and totally worth it.

Sunday we drove up to Fort Vancouver just over the river in Washington. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Since it was a fort of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was pretty swank. I'm so used to the bare, stark military forts that it was a nice change. We also had lunch in Mt Tabor Park, which is an extinct volcano within the city limits. If I ever moved to Portland, I'd want to live within walking distance of that park.

Monday we took Sofie for her morning walk and went down to Voodoo Doughnut. We'd seen it on tv and had tried to go on Saturday, but there was a line. Luckily, no line on Monday and we got 3 tasty examples. Then we checked out and hit the road.

The drive back seemed to take forever, but you get a much better and longer-lasting view of Mount Shasta heading south. We stopped in Reading again and went to the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area. I got my passport stamped and then we headed a bit further south before stopping. We finally got home Tuesday around 3:30pm and that was it.

When all is said and done, I liked Portland and would take a show going there, but I doubt I'll go back on my own to visit again.