23 June 2010: Mona's New Best Friend

Dog's best friend! Mona wanted to go live with Auntie Rie!

31 March 2010: A River Ran Through It

The flood gates were opened and RI was hit hard. Several days of heavy rains caused rivers to overflow their banks and cause some devastating damage all over New England. Unfortunately this one hit close to home...literally. My sister's house (which is also my childhood home) was flooded when the Pawcatuck River rose to record heights. She had 2 FEET of water in her living room. The first pictures I took in Manchester, NH and the last picture was sent to me by my sister. It is actually a block farther from the river than the family home. My thoughts and prayers are with my sister and everyone else affected by this disaster.

12 February 2010: Home Bound

Friday at home after a long week out on the road. I never left my house today so today's photo is brought to you by my twisted sistah!

26 December 2009 Photo: Defying Gravity

My sisters and I went to see Wicked tonight in Providence. It was a great show and I am glad I FINALLY got to see it. I am excited I am going to see it again in Syracuse with Bill in a couple of weeks.

23 December 2009 Photo: Snowman Tree

Ok...so I am a little obsessed with the tree ornaments. Funny how both my sister and I have an OVER abundance of snowman tree decorations.

December 5 2009 Photo(s): Candymania Part Deux

Well here is some of the finished product getting ready to be shared with friends and family near and far. If you are one of the lucky ones you will get some. If you come to visit me, there is a good chance there will be some here. If you have had the pleasure of tasting it, you know it is good. If you have not, you don't know what you are missing. Click on the second picture and make it giant...your mouth will water :)

Fun fact #1: I grew up with my mother making this candy every Christmas. We always called it Mom's Famous Candy and I assumed it was her recipe (not that she ever said that). I saw an almost exact recipe in a cookbook once - someone must have copied hers. Right?

Fun fact #2: This candy was the favor at our wedding. My sister made 14 or 15 sheets of it and brought to RI in a separate suitcase on a plane all the way from Georgia. Can you imagine if they asked to inspect that suitcase? HAHA

UPDATE FROM PILLOWGATE: I have made 5 calls to the General Manager of the hotel...she has not called me back! Does that mean I can call the authorities on her? Or maybe the owners of the hotel?

25 November 2009 Photo: Be Thankful For Pies - OH and Cheesecake

I helped my sister make a whole bunch of pies today. I think the last count was 8 pies and a cheesecake. What are you thankful for?

14 June 2009 Photo(s): Magical Moments

By 9AM this moring, I had a pretty magical day. Bill and I went across the street to our neighbors who live on the water to watch the 6am balloon launch. When we got down there, the water looked so inviting that I decided to take the kayak out to watch the balloons take off. I love kayaking and love hot air balloons so it was a perfect combination. I put my camera in a plastic bag and off I paddled. The rising sun with the rising balloons...it just couldn't get much better than that.

Afterward when we got home, Bill was taking Mona out and came across a baby woodpecker who was learning to fly. I had come across the same scene last year so I knew the baby would be ok so I ran to get the camera and take some photographs. As we were standing around, the bird started hopping toward my sister and she kept moving back to let the bird have space but it continued to follow her. I told her to stand still for a moment and the woodpecker hopped right on her foot and started climbing up her leg while saying, "Are you my mommy?" We were AMAZED and enjoyed this magical moment until I removed the baby and placed it in the tree out of harms way. All this followed by a lovely morning under the gazebo reading the Sunday paper...I just wish everyday could start off so perfect!

9 April 2009 Photo: Glowing Global Glass

This morning when I walked out side, the sun was hitting the stained glass earth my sister JoAnne made me a few years ago. It was almost glowing. Because of my job, I am able to travel to many amazing places and encourage college students to study abroad. I am a firm believer that we should all explore new places whether it is the next town over or on the other side of the globe. The more we understand about our neighbors, near and far, the better off we will be (in my opinion). Ok...stepping off my soap box before I am pushed off.

4 April 2009 Photo: ¿Dónde está el sol?

We got home on Friday after a week in NYC. It was nice to be home and sleep in my own bed; however, when I woke on this fine Saturday it was cold and rainy. Within a few hours, the rain switched to snow. It wasn't the kind of snow that stuck on the ground but there were flakes on my car. I thought it was spring! My tulips are coming up outside (at least they were), the grass is turning green, the trees are budding and snow snOW SNOW was falling.

Luckily the sunflowers that my sister, Anne Marie, sent for my birthday were still alive in my house. Even though I did not have any sun outside, the bright yellow flowers inside made my day a little brighter.