I can't believe it is September already! And after Labor Day! Put away all your white clothes!(Old rule). Again, A Big Happy Birthday to Dan and Dave Bozyk who celebrated #60 on Sept 2! Where did the time go?
Allison has been enjoying her new job and has a wonderful work schedule, like Tom. They both get every other Friday off, and work an extra hour each scheduled day to make up for the time. It really comes in handy, especially when we travel. They don't have to use their personal time off for long, weekend trips. How perfect. But on this particular Friday off after Labor day, Allison signed up for volunteer work at Northrop. The company has a committee that usually sponsors community or global volunteer projects. On this day, Northrop was filling small food bags with rice and dehydrated veggies/protein packets for the World Hunger Association. Family and friends were invited to help out, so I joined Allison at her work place to pack food bags. It turned out to be a lot of fun-the sponsor came in and played music while we worked at our stations. Several tables were set up measuring and filling the bags. Allison and I checked the weight and sealed the bags before packing them in shipping boxes at our station. It was a very well organized production line, and we packed approx 10,000 bags of food in 1.5 hrs. (We all got a little competitive during the event). Other Northrop facilities had hosted this program, so we were competing for # of bags packed and time. The organizer for World Hunger kept count and would ring a large bell every time we hit 1000 bags. No prize, but we got a Northrop Volunteer tshirt and company photo op! And I got to see Allison's work facility(the non secret areas anyway!). This facility has a lot smaller group of employees, so we did very well for our limited number -about 30 people.
Happy Birthday Mike Bozyk! I think a great Birthday present will be a new librarian job! Make a Wish!
Over this past weekend Tom remained in Salt Lake City instead of flying all the way home and going back out west. Also, he decided to avoid any possible flight delays or cancellations that may have occurred in our area. We have had an incredibly rainy end to summer. Including the threat of Hurricane Florence traveling up the coast and affecting our area. Everyone was in disaster mode. Lots of airline flights had been cancelled down south, which affects our local airport, BWI in Baltimore as flights are rerouted. Even though they were not predicting a direct hit to Maryland, there was the threat of storms, tornadoes and flooding with downed trees and power outages, as well as flash floods along the coast or river floods similar to the disaster that occurred in Ellicott City in May. So Allison and I prepared the best we could by filling up gas tanks, charging phones and pulling out flashlights and lanterns. We often lose power with trees falling on the lines during regular storms, so we were prepared. Turns out, the storm moved inland rather than up the coast. Thank goodness for us, but very bad for the Carolinas. Glad to hear friends and family were spared in Charlotte, NC. Not so good for those on the coast dealing with flooding.
And we were not completely spared. We had quite a bit of rain from the storm during the week. None of us were able to get out and do any yardwork for several weeks because of the constant rain. I did finally manage to get out and cut the grass in between rain showers. One good thing about all the rain is that the ground was soft. I had 3 large bushes that suddenly died in the front flower bed-not sure why. But this was a great time to dig them up and replace them. Also, I usually try to get some grass seed down at this time of year. Apparently September is supposed to be the best time for growing grass and I had a couple of large patches on the front lawn that needed it. So I spent time in between rain showers raking, spreading dirt and seed and hay to some very shady spots on the front lawn. I also took advantage of the rain and time off work to do some cleaning in the house. Allison and I took a bunch of her outgrown clothes to a designer consignment store, but they really only wanted professional work clothes. They did purchase two of Scott's outgrown Columbia jackets, so Allison traded in the cash for some earrings and a dressy sweater for work. Good deal!
During the week, Allison has also been participating in Northrop Ultimate Frisbee. The games are scheduled every Tuesday after work, but not on rainy days. We took advantage of her day off Tuesday night for AMC $5 movie night and saw Crazy, Rich Asians. (chick flick and very cute and funny).
I have not been called into work at my previous nursing home as of yet, so I scheduled another interview at a nearby nursing home for on call work. It is actually owned by the same company where Mom B lives. Hope they send the paperwork soon to get started back to work! There are lots of opportunities out there, just want to find the one/s that fit my new schedule the best. I also spend time during the week attending to my mom's business and well being. I had a 2 hour meeting with her broker to cover finances. And turns out the renter in the Florida house moved out, so now I am working on getting the house on the market for sale.
However, on the weekend, Allison and I decided to make a go at the Renaissance Festival- in between rain showers. We all very much enjoy attending at least once a year, getting dressed up, laughing at all the shows, eating tasty treats and even doing some shopping! Last year Allison and Scott attended with some friends. This year Allison and I attended and had a wonderful time! We visited on Sunday-a little less crowded and a bit drizzly in the morning. But not as hot or humid as it can be in August when it opens. Each weekend has a theme and this was Highland weekend so lots of men showed up in their kilts. I was having a great time sending Scott photos of all the different types of outfits to give him an idea of how to wear his kilt that Tom brought him back from Scotland on a previous business trip. I heard there was even a storm trooper in a kilt! You certainly never know what you may see at the RenCen festival! One guest was even wearing a Star Trek shirt! Allison and I are purists and enjoy the medieval theme the most, although I did don a pair of fairy wings. Someone asked me if I was The Fairy Godmother! The Game of Thrones is very big as you can imagine, and therefore lots of Dragon items for sale. Allison's favorite! We spent our day eating our favorite snacks-crab dip on a pretzel with melted cheese and Old Bay seasoning, chinese food, fried pickles and topped it off with chocolate covered cheesecake! The food is not so medieval, but if it is on a stick and you can eat it with your hands, then it counts! We also watched several shows including our favorite comedian jugglers, a comedy Shakespeare group doing Othello and something new, an acrobatic show on ropes/ribbons high up in the trees. And of course there is jousting! Plus Allison loves to get in some archery. I picked up a few tapestries for my dining room wall and we called it a day! A wonderful ending to the weekend-sure beats having a hurricane!
However, on the weekend, Allison and I decided to make a go at the Renaissance Festival- in between rain showers. We all very much enjoy attending at least once a year, getting dressed up, laughing at all the shows, eating tasty treats and even doing some shopping! Last year Allison and Scott attended with some friends. This year Allison and I attended and had a wonderful time! We visited on Sunday-a little less crowded and a bit drizzly in the morning. But not as hot or humid as it can be in August when it opens. Each weekend has a theme and this was Highland weekend so lots of men showed up in their kilts. I was having a great time sending Scott photos of all the different types of outfits to give him an idea of how to wear his kilt that Tom brought him back from Scotland on a previous business trip. I heard there was even a storm trooper in a kilt! You certainly never know what you may see at the RenCen festival! One guest was even wearing a Star Trek shirt! Allison and I are purists and enjoy the medieval theme the most, although I did don a pair of fairy wings. Someone asked me if I was The Fairy Godmother! The Game of Thrones is very big as you can imagine, and therefore lots of Dragon items for sale. Allison's favorite! We spent our day eating our favorite snacks-crab dip on a pretzel with melted cheese and Old Bay seasoning, chinese food, fried pickles and topped it off with chocolate covered cheesecake! The food is not so medieval, but if it is on a stick and you can eat it with your hands, then it counts! We also watched several shows including our favorite comedian jugglers, a comedy Shakespeare group doing Othello and something new, an acrobatic show on ropes/ribbons high up in the trees. And of course there is jousting! Plus Allison loves to get in some archery. I picked up a few tapestries for my dining room wall and we called it a day! A wonderful ending to the weekend-sure beats having a hurricane!
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